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Diversity and inclusion are more than policies, programs, or headcounts.
Employers who ensure their team members work in an inclusive environment by respecting their unique needs, perspectives, and potentials, outpace their competitors. Likewise, diverse and inclusive workplaces earn deeper trust and more commitment from their employees.
What is inclusion?
The notion of inclusion is closely connected with diversity. Yet, diversity is more about representation, and inclusion is about how well the contributions, presence, and perspectives of different groups of people are valued and integrated into an environment. An inclusive workplace makes everyone, regardless of who they are or what they do for the business, feel equally supported and involved in all work areas.
Why is inclusion in the workplace so important?
Research has shown many benefits of an inclusive workplace, including:
• Higher revenue growth
• improved readiness to innovate
• Increased possibility to recruit a diverse talent pool
Inclusiveness also plays a significant role in staff retention. According to statistics, the risk of employees leaving their job is 5.4 times lower in inclusive workplaces. This is not surprising - when employees don’t feel their ideas, presence, or contributions are truly valued or taken seriously by their organization, they will eventually leave.
Having an inclusive workplace culture will help attract a diverse set of talents and help retain the various talents in the mix.
Diversity efforts will not succeed without inclusion in the workplace. You can create an inclusive work environment by:
• Educating staff and leaders.
• Listening to and communicating with everyone effectively.
• Embracing employees for who they really are.
A positive, inclusive environment embraces diversity, engagement, and belonging. Inclusion in the workplace will continue to play a major role in today’s work culture. Organizations must encourage their employees to be their real selves. The feeling of inclusion comes with authenticity.
Reach out to find out more about how to build an inclusive workplace today.
I'm a connector, leader, change-maker, mother and coach. My experience of going through many burnouts motivated me to find solutions to improve the culture in the workplace and achieve more.
