6 Steps for Building an Inclusive Workplace

This resource is aimed at HR professionals and discusses how successful diversity and inclusion requires a workplace culture where everyone is valued and heard. The SHRM has compiled six practical strategies for creating an inclusive culture:

1. Educate your leaders: Keep them accountable (e.g. feedback from own managers, performance evaluation).
2. Form an inclusion council: Carefully select a diverse and committed council comprising a dedicated group of eight to 12 influential leaders who are one or two levels below the CEO. ​
3. Celebrate employee differences: Invite employees to share their backgrounds and traditions in the workplace (e.g. remote locations, different hours).
4. Listen to employees: Conduct a comprehensive assessment of your organization’s demographics and people processes to develop specific strategies to promote inclusiveness.
5. Hold more effective meetings: Distribute materials ahead of time, have virtual capabilities to participate, rotate meeting times, be conscious of your communication style, etc.
6. Communicate goals and measure progress: Benchmark culture, conduct a full audit of your people processes, identify any shortcomings and measurable discrepancies around inclusivity, instill rigour and data into inclusion strategies, and establish a clear business case for inclusion in the workplace.

The resource also includes an inclusivity checklist for HR professionals:

1. Train managers and hold them accountable to show that inclusivity is a core competency.
2. Form an inclusion council.
3. Identify underrepresented groups’ needs and give them necessary support and resources.
4. Benchmark key aspects of your organization’s culture.