Nurturing an Inclusive Workplace Culture: Creating an Environment Where Everyone Thrives

In today’s era, differences should not be an obstacle for companies to move forward. Diversity in human resources should provide opportunities for companies to gain broader and more innovative perspectives. 

Studies from management consulting firms McKinsey and Boston Consulting Group of thousands of global companies have shown a strong correlation between diversity and company performance. McKinsey’s data analysis on over 1.000 major companies in 15  countries indicates that company with diverse executive team tend to have better financial performance. Moreover, another study from Boston Consulting Group shows that firms with the most diverse workforce generate 45% of their revenue from innovation, significantly higher than less diverse firm (only 26%). From this data, we can conclude that diversity opens up opportunities for better company performance.

To embrace diversity, inclusive workplace culture is needed, which is a work environment where everyone feels accepted, respected, and empowered to contribute. Beyond enhancing company performance, an inclusive workplace culture allows employees from diverse background to collaborate, share ideas, and reach their full potential. 

Creating an inclusive work culture should not be merely a formality, but rather the establishment of a workplace that truly values the diverse identities and backgrounds of its employees. In implementing this, there are certainly challenges to be faced, such as:

1. Unconscious bias and bias motivated behavior

Everyone has unconscious bias in their mind, which is an assumption or attitudes in our belief about certain groups or individuals. This bias influences how we think and behave. The danger arises when individuals use unconscious biases in making workplace decisions, thereby creating a discriminatory environment. 

2. “Stuck” behavior/resistance to change

Some individuals may resist diversity and inclusion efforts, either because they hold different views or because they feel threatened by change. Overcoming this resistance requires strong leadership and a commitment to change.

As a leader and decision maker in your company, you could do these efforts to nurture an inclusive workplace culture:

1. Start an initiative to support diversity, such as encouraging gender equality and diversity in recruitment and promotions.
2. Communicate and promote the values of diversity and inclusion through consistent actions. 
3. Provide inclusivity training programs to employees, such as how to recognize and address unconscious bias, how to build cultural competency, and managing differences of opinion between individuals. 
4. Regularly evaluate and measure progress in creating inclusive workplace culture. 

With the right combination of training and concrete actions, companies can create an inclusive work culture where all employees feel valued and have opportunities to grow.

You might consider seeking the assistance of a human resources consultant to implement an inclusive work culture in your company. mnd-hub, an experienced HR consulting firm, offers an Organizational Culture service within their Alignment program to incorporate key behavior into applied habit of people. Contact mnd-hub via email at admin@mnd-hub.com or fill out the following form to discuss with our HR experts today!