Inc.com; Jun18, 2018
Organizations with inclusive cultures are two times as likely to meet or exceed financial targets, three times as likely to be high-performing, six times more likely to be innovative and agile, and eight times more likely to achieve better business outcomes. Here are Five ways to create an inclusive culture in the interest of reaping these benefits.
- Understand how diversity and inclusion vary across generations: Generation X and Baby Boomers tend to define diversity along the traditional lines of gender, race, and ethnicity. While Millennials typically define diversity beyond demographics, viewing cognitive diversity and an individual’s variety of experiences and perspectives at the core of diversity.
- Recruit without bias: It’s critical to measure diversity and inclusion in all talent practices, but conscious and unconscious biases seem most glaring throughout the recruiting process.
- Offer inclusion training: Training is perhaps the most popular and obvious solution to foster higher organizational diversity and inclusion. In fact, nearly all of the Fortune 500 companies and nearly one-half of U.S. midsize companies mandate diversity training. Training helps raise awareness, uproot bias, and create a common language to facilitate diversity and inclusion discussions.
- Openly talk about varying inclusion topics: Voluntary employee-led groups with shared characteristics or life experiences–commonly known as Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) or affinity groups–are useful for many companies since they provide (safe environments to have open dialogue and provide a helpful source to hear from diverse group set.
- Gain leadership commitment: Get leaders involved. Creating an inclusive organization must be a priority for an organization’s top leadership. Consensus must be built through open conversation, understanding the benefits of inclusion, and connecting diversity and inclusion with the business strategy. Once top leadership has consensus, middle managers must be involved and equipped.