How to Improve Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace

By Jamie Mackenzie, Chief Marketing Officer at Sodexo Engage.

Many companies have been putting a renewed effort into improving diversity and inclusion (D&I) throughout this year, but there’s still a long way to go in creating truly equitable workplaces. Recent research shows that 41% of ethnic minority workers have experienced racism in the last five years and one in three disabled people feel they have experienced prejudice as a result of their disability.

There may be work that needs to be done, but its worth businesses making the effort and continuing to improve their D&I efforts. Alongside striving for diversity from a moral perspective, organisations that embrace D&I see increased revenue, a business benefit which is becoming more important as a recession looms in the UK. Plus, taking the time to ensure a wide number of perspectives are being listened to at work boosts creativity, making for better output.

But what do businesses need to know, and more importantly do, in order to improve D&I in their workplace?

How important is D&I?

The importance of striving for better D&I within the workplace has never been greater. The rapid adoption of remote and hybrid working following the Covid-19 pandemic has seen teams become more dispersed than they have been previously, and this distance can create challenges when it comes to promoting diversity.

When teams and colleagues are isolated from one another the efforts and initiatives put in place to improve D&I become undermined. This is because many of these strategies, such as physical resource libraries or in-person seminars, rely on employees being onsite to get access to the resources which the Human Resources (HR) teams set up. This means organisations have to do more than ever before to bring people closer together and leverage all the potential benefits of cultivating a diverse and inclusive workplace.

The benefits of getting it right

For organisations who are willing to put time and effort into improving diversity and inclusion, the benefits are clear. Diverse workforces are 35% more likely to outperform their respective national industry medians, 45% more likely to grow their company’s market share and 70% more likely to capture a new market.

They can also be more creative too. A Washington State University study found that diverse teams make better decisions 87% of the time, while research conducted at the University of California, Berkeley, found diverse groups of people clearly outperform non-diverse groups when it comes to creativity.

It has also been proven that diverse workforces are better at making decisions 87% of the time compared to non-diverse teams. The wide variety of business benefits linked to strong D&I initiatives cannot be denied.

Making actionable changes

Once HR leaders have recognised that they need to ensure D&I initiatives are being properly planned in their business, they need to take steps to bring them to life. One way they can do this is by taking the time to understand the unconscious biases they themselves and those within the business may have.

A great place to start in helping employees explore unconscious bias is to encourage them to review, question and analyse their personal biases and assumptions by running training seminars and workshops. This can be done with groups of individuals from different teams where they can have open and honest discussions on the subject.

Another step that organisations can take which may seem obvious, but many fail to do is, is recognise religious or cultural holidays outside of Christmas.

HR teams can create a calendar of different religious and cultural events throughout the year. They can then plan company-wide events around them, or simply encourage managers and wider teams to ask their colleagues how they plan to celebrate them.

This includes also remembering to be respectful of these celebrations when scheduling meetings or planning other work events too.

Key takeaways for HR teams

D&I is not a new issue for HR leaders, but it’s one which continues to be incredibly important. Whether from a financial or cultural standpoint, it’s clear it’s important to running a successful business. Realising this importance is the first essential step HR leaders need to take, with the second step being starting initiatives to ensure their business is going above and beyond.

Whether it’s showing employees that all religious holidays are of equal importance or educating themselves on the power unconscious bias can hold, there are easily actionable steps HR teams can take. These are must haves for any business looking to keep up with the current D&I landscape.