4 Steps for Creating a More Inclusive Workplace
4 Steps for Creating a More Inclusive Workplace
[00:00:00] Dr. Jim: Welcome to today's episode of Cascading Leadership. I am your friendly neighborhood talent strategy nerd, Dr. Jim. And today's episode is gonna be focused on how you can create a more inclusive workplace. And the reason why we're having this conversation is that when we look at.
[00:00:15] Dr. Jim: Some of the persistent issues that organizations encounter, one of the biggest issues that they face is an issue of turnover. And one of the factors that drive turnover and turnover intention is going to be how inclusive you are as an organization. So what we're gonna seek to do in this quick episode or quick convers.
[00:00:37] Dr. Jim: Is to talk through four things that you can do to be more inclusive as an organization. One of the first things that you can do to be more inclusive as an organization is to actually provide training on any number of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging topics for employees in the organization.
[00:00:57] Dr. Jim: And the reason why that's important is [00:01:00] that you have to set up a foundation or a baseline where all employees can reach some common ground and build some awareness and understanding of why that's important. If you're taking initiatives and, you're doing sort of these performative exercises, but you're not formalizing the training process, you're not formally building awareness across all levels of the organization your, efforts at creating a more inclusive workplace are going to largely fail.
[00:01:26] Dr. Jim: So the next thing that you can do is to make sure that you're designing, developing and implementing those policies and procedures that focus on equal opportunities and for treatment for all employees.
[00:01:37] Dr. Jim: Is your promotion process? Is your, compensation process is your high potential selection process. Are they inclusive and representative of your entire enterprise? And you need to be able to build a data set around it to make sure that you're not letting that run based off of the gut feel.
[00:01:59] Dr. Jim: You need to be [00:02:00] systematic and intentional. You are being equitable and inclusive in those policies and procedures. If you want to create a more inclusive workplace. The third thing that you can do, In order to create a more inclusive workplace is to foster a culture of transparency, communication, honesty, and mutual respect.
[00:02:18] Dr. Jim: This seems pretty basic and, obvious, but a lot of organizations don't start at that foundational level, so it's important that. Everybody in the organization from leadership down is being open, transparent, communicating clearly what the expectations are why it's important, and then not only just talking about it, but walking the walk.
[00:02:41] Dr. Jim: The last thing that you want to do is have. One set of things that you state. And then when it comes to putting those things into action, there's a disconnect between stated values and actual behavior. And last but certainly not least. And there's plenty of other things that you can do.
[00:02:57] Dr. Jim: But the fourth thing that I would suggest, if [00:03:00] you're looking at creating a more inclusive workplace, Is to make sure that you're regularly evaluating and measuring progress against your goals. So you need to clearly define your goals, and then you need to be regularly measuring against your goals using data to do it.
[00:03:17] Dr. Jim: So there's a lot of resources that are out there that will allow you to do all of these things. But at a baseline level, if you want to get the ball rolling and creating a more inclusive workplace, the four things that you need to. Provide regular training. Make sure that your policies and procedures are promoting equal opportunity and treatment across your entire enterprise.
[00:03:38] Dr. Jim: Build a culture of transparency and then evaluate and measure against your goals on a regular basis. Those are the four keys to helping build a more inclusive organization. Hopefully you found this episode useful and provides you a framework for moving those initiatives forward in your organization.
[00:03:55] Dr. Jim: Thank you for joining us on Cascading Leadership, where we are helping you move your career further, [00:04:00] faster. If you like this episode, subscribe to us You can also find us on YouTube, TikTok, LinkedIn and Facebook. We are also on Twitter. Give us a follow, leave us a review, tell a friend.
[00:04:10] Dr. Jim: We'd appreciate your support. And until next time, we will talk to you soon on another episode of Cascading Leadership.