3 REQUIREMENTS FOR A DIVERSE AND INCLUSIVE CULTURE

Diversity and inclusion are two separate aspects. Diversity refers to recognising, respecting and valuing differences in people while inclusion refers to an individual’s experience within his/her workplace and in society, and the extent to which he/she feels valued and included. In a company, there should be a diverse team, and they also need to address the issue of inclusion. Inclusion is to make all individuals or employees to make them feel they fit in and appreciated for their unique abilities and perspectives. How to make all your employees feel included and accepted? Here are 3 things to consider:

1. CREATING A BUDDY SYSTEM FOR NEW HIRES

Implementing a buddy system in the work environment not only offers the new employee perks, but can also be of service to the company. Providing a workplace buddy makes sure your new employee has someone to talk to, which is crucial during the first anxious weeks of a new job. The buddy is an experienced team member who will mentor the new HIRE on the job over the first few weeks or months. This will provide a clearly defined procedure detailing the roles of the person, as well as their designated job responsibilities. The buddy system will also allow the new employee to share the ideas, tools, skills and strategies they have learned from previous work experiences.

2. CONDUCT A TEAM BUILDING WORKSHOP

The workshop’s focus is on developing approaches that will encourage participants to collaboratively improve their ability to recognise each individual’s personal attributes so the group can better act as a team in a successful way. The participants will have the ability to put their best talents to work through group conversations, experiential leadership exercises and realistic real world challenges. Group leaders will be given opportunities to lead their team in a number of ways through problem-solving tasks. Once each activity is complete, participants will have an opportunity to reflect, evaluate and explore their thoughts and experiences.

3. DISCOURAGE CLIQUES AND EXCLUSIVE GROUPS

For businesses, unnecessary cohesion is bad since those outside of these groups are often frustrated and unhappy with the working environment. They could even spend more time trying to cope with their cliques than they actually do on their work. What’s more, cliques may be more about the group than the company. It directly affects the firm’s bottom line. However, when they have had enough, it indirectly acts as a cause that drives high potential workers to leave the company.