Diversity & Inclusion: Why Is It Important, How To Enforce It In Workplace
As the world paves its way forth into becoming a more competitive space, the organisations are re-structuring and reinforcing their policies to facilitate a more cohesive and supportive workplace.
In the corporate world, one’s workplace is where they spend most of their times, even much more than their homes. It influences their mentality and progress. In short, workplace becomes a mini world for employees, the one they interact and dwell in for most of the part of their everyday lives. Thus, it is of extreme importance that employees feel homely and supported while at work and the corporates are trying their level best into making that happen.
Huge number of HR initiatives and policies are being framed to address the mental well-being of the employees and ensuring that it doesn’t suffer. The covid times have already told us the importance of addressing the mental health of people at workplace and that any problem on personal level is also ultimately going to impact the performance of the individuals. Therefore, to ensure a positive office environment, the Human Resource department of various companies is taking measures to make the events calendar at work even more exciting and fun to release off the tension and stress at offices. The ultimate motive is to create a sense of belonging amongst the people towards the company and help them know they matter. Following the same lines, one of the major initiatives that is taken in this direction include Diversity and Inclusion (D&I).
The idea was first conceived in the 1960s’ United States wherein the agenda was to support and respect people belonging from different gender/ sexual orientation, religion, country of origin, and other individualities, as one. And, for a country that has had a history of supporting “Unity in Diversity” since time immemorial, in India practising this aspect of uplifting humanity came naturally.
Reinforcing such ideals into the working DNA of various companies is a smart decision that serves the need of the hour. Therefore, this article describes why Diversity and Inclusion is important and how it can be enforced in a workplace.
Why Is D&I Important?
Every company sets targets to achieve and envisions milestones to crack up to. In order for a company to do that it is necessary to have an engaged workforce at the core that belongs & works for the company like it owns a certain part of it. And the best way to bring this kind of attitude into the people is by letting them know they are heard and the efforts they make for the betterment of the company are valued. Especially, when a workforce comprises of people belonging to diverse cultures and backgrounds, there are multiple brains coming together with a different way of perceiving and devising plans to achieve a target, serving as a plus! The sense of belonging is going to bring an unwavering zeal within people to work selflessly because now they will consider the company their “own” and bring outputs likewise. According to an observation, “Workplaces that are racially Diverse have the largest Revenue Growth”.
Therefore, to achieve beyond the target and yield greater results, a company’s go-to theorem should be practising Diversity and Inclusion regularly at their workstations. It will not only provide a way to retain employees but also create a working atmosphere that even the outsiders would want to be a part of. Referring to the Harvard Business Review, “a positive environment will lead to dramatic benefits for employers, employees, and the bottom line”. So, the corporate culture must be one where people feel super-charged, motivated, and wanted because it is the people who could make unparalleled accomplishments achievable for an organisation.
How To Enforce It?
We’ve known how the need to have a Diverse and Inclusive Workforce is of great importance. How to build it up is another major concern. So, to make this possible, it’s necessary that:
• A diverse and inclusive hiring and recruiting staff is in position with maximum rationality and openness.
• A vigorous mentorship program must be laid out and sessions must be taken every month to ensure that the mental health of individuals is totally fine. Even if there are personal or identity- related crisis one is facing at work, they could be addressed in confidence so that the productivity is not interfered with.
• Strategise a program that is regularly practiced with the employees to not only be respected as individuals but also respect other individuals for their diverse approach to life.
• Make sure that the benefits of such programs are introduced and presented to the employees.
• Develop Effective Employee Resource Groups in your office so that the environment is optimised to a great and efficient level.
• Allow your people with the space to take ownership and equate responsibility with accountability.
• Keep organising events and activities wherein your workforce is able to feel one with the organisation.
At length, make sure you accomplish every step one-by-one. Indeed, bringing positive change into your working DNA is a must but make it a slow and gradual process for your people to get used to it in the right manner. Also, before you expect your people to get accustomed to this new transition, start mirroring what you demand out of them. All the best!
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