Diversity Wins: How Inclusion Matters

April 12, 2024

Diversity and inclusion in the workplace is about more than just ticking boxes. When implemented correctly, diversity policies can have a positive impact on your workforce and on your productivity. 

Companies that are resistant to diversity policies will often find that they struggle to recruit and their workforce becomes stagnant. But those that embrace diversity policies will find they are able to realise new opportunities for growth.

In this guide, we’re exploring the role of inclusion in workplace hiring and how your company can embrace this important component of diversity policy to boost performance. We’ll also look at what happens when companies turn away from inclusive ways of working.

What is inclusion in the workplace?

Inclusion is not just a buzzword you see on LinkedIn. It’s part of a wider workplace policy known as Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, which is often shortened to DEI. Companies with a DEI policy are often those that acknowledge the importance of making sure everyone feels welcome and valued in the workplace. Let’s look at each component in more detail:

• Diversity relates to who is represented in your workforce. Examples of diversity include age, gender, ethnic background, neurodiversity and physical ability. The more people are represented in your workforce, the better, as it means you will be better positioned to serve your customers.
• Equity simply refers to the act of ensuring that everyone is treated fairly within your organisation. There is a big difference between equal and equitable, so what should really happen is that everyone is treated fairly, based on their circumstances.
• Inclusion is all about making sure that this diverse workforce that you have pieced together also feels like a part of the bigger picture. They feel included and that their contribution has meaning.

Put all of this together, and you have a workforce that feels included, valued and respected. And this results in better team morale and increased productivity. If everyone feels that they can be themselves at work, they can show up with their whole self, and this can make a significant difference to how teams operate.

Spotlight on inclusion and why it matters

Inclusion is often a difficult thing to achieve. When you have a hierarchy of management, it can be difficult to let go of this structure in favour of a more inclusive workplace. But there are significant benefits to be found when you let inclusion take centre stage. These are just some of the ways you can make inclusion work for you.

• When you make your team feel included in important decisions, you can get buy-in from every level of the organisation. Everyone from the top to the bottom feels like their contribution is making a significant difference to the outcome. This can help to boost productivity.
• When everyone feels important, no one is elevated above the rest, which removes the risk of egos getting in the way of productivity. If one person feels elevated above the rest because of their contribution, this can lead to ill-will amongst the team that might damage productivity and cohesion.
• You avoid the risk of your diversity policy becoming about tokenism. Tokenism is a toxic workplace culture that often arises out of a misunderstanding of why we need diversity in the workplace. By making sure you prioritise every part of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, you avoid the risk that you are only focusing on diversity for the wrong reasons.
• Innovation thrives in workplaces that make everyone feel like their contribution is valued. If individuals feel that their ideas are often shut down or simply unwelcome, they’ll stop sharing them. They will disengage with their role and become robotic in their approach to work. When this happens on a large scale, it doesn’t matter how diverse your workforce is, because no one will be sharing their unique perspective.

What happens if you don’t prioritise inclusion?

If you have a diverse workforce but you fail to prioritise inclusion, you run the risk of alienating your team and this can have widespread consequences. You are effectively saying that you want a diverse workforce for appearances, but decisions and contributions will only be valued from certain people within that organisation.

At best, you’ll have an unproductive workforce and high staff turnover rate as people who join your organisation will soon realise that the diversity policy is all for show. At worst, you could face legal action for discrimination, as individuals might feel that they are singled out based on protected characteristics. This could also significantly damage your reputation.

Companies that only value the image of diversity within their workforce will be known among employees. And if you have a high staff turnover as a result of this failed policy, you can expect candidates to be talking about your organisation in a negative light.

Final thoughts

It’s vital for organisations to think about all components of their DEI policy if they are to fully reap the benefits of a diverse workforce. When you have a diverse workforce, you get to enjoy the extensive experience that comes with this. And your employees can also learn from one another, making it a more engaging workplace.

Diversity is about more than just ticking boxes and updating your company policy. When implemented correctly, it can have significant benefits to your organisation in terms of reputation, hiring ability and productivity. Not to mention, you will also have a much more engaged workforce.