Diversity in the workplace can be a complicated subject at times, especially if you’re just a small business that is trying to grow and scale-up. Promoting diversity requires a lot of work and it demands that your entire workforce follows a similar mindset. Aligning everyone’s attitude towards diversity can be tricky – so it requires you as a business leader to set the example.
There are many benefits of a diverse workforce, not least that this will give you access to more hiring power. So let’s take a look at how you can promote diversity in the workplace and take advantage of all the benefits that come with it.
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Focus on eliminating discrimination in the workplace
This is best done when your business is still small because it means you can root out any toxic behaviour and poisonous employees before they have a chance to transform your office culture for the worst. You may find that it helps to create a team of employees who have a secondary task of eliminating discrimination. They could be there to listen to employees who have experienced discrimination in the workplace and they can help you investigate those issues to see if there are diversity problems. The same group of people can also be used to introduce changes that lead to a more inclusive workforce through different workplace policies. However, if your business is still small and only has a few employees, then you’ll need to set the example and be the one that promotes diversity yourself.
Show your audience that you are an inclusive company
There doesn’t need to be a lot of fanfare about your diversity policies, but it can help to set up a community platform that allows your team to engage with your audience to answer questions and take feedback. Through small interactions like this, you can create a better connection between your team and your audience, and it can give your customers peace of mind knowing that your company is inclusive, that you do care about diversity, and that you are comfortable with the idea of being transparent in regards to your staff and how they feel in the workplace. By working together with your staff and being more comfortable about communicating with your audience, you’ll find that it can be much easier to grow your business and promote diversity.
Benefits of diversity training
Whether your company is large or small, it is extremely important to establish a strong company culture that promotes diversity, thus making it the norm and not something that has to be taught. Instead of spending money on diversity training for your employees, it is important to encourage your staff to learn as they work on the job and teach them the importance of cultural diversity, both within the workplace and also in dealing with customers.
Diversity Network’s Professional Access Portal offers all the resources that your staff need for continuous diversity and inclusion learning throughout the year. Access to the portal will give them an opportunity to access our whole video library, undertake courses to expand their knowledge of certain areas of D&I, and access lots of diversity and inclusion materials throughout the year. Please click here for further info.
