Businesses that are inclusive are more creative, efficient, and better for their workers. Here’s how to make the company’s ethos and customer care more inclusive.

Creating an inclusive organization is not only the best thing to do, but it will also boost your market performance dramatically. In terms of creativity, workforce engagement, talent recruiting, benefit, and several other market indicators that contribute to long-term success, diverse and multicultural companies outperform their homogeneous rivals.

So, how do you make the business more inclusive for all staff and customers? Here are some meaningful actions the company should take to encourage diversity and inclusion.

Cheer Partners’ founder and managing partner, Cat Colella-Graham, described inclusivity as “expansive”. “An inclusive culture means creating a sense of belonging for everyone, no matter the level, from all backgrounds. Intentionally sourcing candidates that bring different points of view and then creating parity in a share of voice is incredibly important. Respect is foundational, as is encouraging debate and stress-testing ideas to break consensus bias. Allow everyone to drive best results together.”

The terms “inclusion” and “diversity” are often used interchangeably. However, inclusion and diversity are not synonymous. Inclusion refers to the processes and practices that a business uses to include everybody in the workplace. The aim of inclusivity is to make each customer and team member feel welcome, at ease, and willing to freely express their ideas and opinions.

For others, thinking about diversity as the “what” and inclusion as the “how” is helpful. Inclusion is a measure of the community you build that helps this diverse workforce to flourish. Diversity depends on building a workforce of individuals of all backgrounds; inclusion is a measure of the culture you create that allows this diverse workforce to thrive.

 True diversity and inclusivity are more important than a few social media tweets.

In her article “Beyond Buzzwords: Positive steps businesses can take to promote inclusivity.”, Chioma Onwutalobi, the founder and CEO of SCO Group, wrote: “Brands must be wary of tokenism, stereotypical portrayals and cultural appropriation, which can come across as ignorant, patronizing and artificial, thus achieving the opposite of the desired outcome; in fact, these will often highlight the differences between groups, instead of fostering an atmosphere for a more inclusive and assimilated society.”

Make a conscious effort.

Small business owners must be careful in their commitment to creating an inclusive organization. Do your homework: Learn about local events, companies, and goods produced by people of diverse backgrounds, as well as ongoing support programs. Colella-Graham advised, “Start somewhere.”

You just need to begin now, even though you’ve never done it deliberately before. Concentrate on three or four things you should do more about, and then amp it up. Instead of spraying and praying or relying on carefully selected external content, it’s much easier to commit long-term to a few items you can do well and build from there.

Establishing a Diversity Council or naming a Diversity Advocate to teach, celebrate, and investigate your corporate activities are two ways to get started, according to Colella-Graham. Consider forming employee resource or affinity groups, or implementing an inclusiveness training program. Examine pay parity policies and leadership diversity at the very beginning of the business, which all take time but are vital to long-term inclusivity.

Committing to inclusivity is a long-term process that can take time. Pay attention to which networking activities you attend and how you interact with on social media. Diversity in the workplace can become more natural over time, but only if we take proactive action to promote equality and acceptance right now.

Make as a top priority work with different collaborators and staff 

Big organizations can more easily engage in diversity campaigns, speed up recruiting efforts, or invest in training projects or multicultural community seminars, as Onwutalobi points out. Looking for ways to collaborate with diverse business partners, retailers, and communities is one way small companies with limited capital can contribute to becoming more inclusive.

If you run a small company, for example, your in-house staff may consist of people who are somewhat close to you, so when you have the ability to partner with consultants and freelancers, you may have the opportunity to work with more varied people and reach out to people from groups other than your own.

Reach out to business leaders in their networks to see who can be taken in for a skill-building lunch-and-learn session to help push the dialogue and develop internal initiatives. Form a DNI committee to plan meetings, locate newsletters to distribute, and study alumni groups and other sources of talent.

Get involved in a project.

Working with a campaign or project that empowers underrepresented people is another viable choice. 

Individuals and companies are being asked to devote a percentage of their budgets to underrepresented groups, a percentage of market space for goods from these communities, or a percentage of contracts granted to talent from these communities, according to a recent initiative.

The 15 Percent Pledge, for example, asks retailers to devote 15% of their shelf space to goods made by Black-owned companies. Here are some other activities you may like to consider:

• Sign the I ACT ON Pledge: the CEO Action for Diversity and Inclusion program has made a pledge to advance diversity and inclusion in the workplace. This pledge outlines four tangible measures that CEOs and corporate executives should take to make their companies more inclusive.
• BlackbBizChallenge: on the second day of each month, companies and individuals will participate in this challenge by posting on social media promising to spend more money on Black-owned businesses and service providers and encouraging their friends and supporters to do the same.
• Open to All: this campaign is a nationwide nondiscrimination movement focused on the premise that everyone should be welcome regardless of race, nationality, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identification and speech, immigrant status, religion, or disability, according to the website. Join the movement to create an equitable business climate for both consumers and workers by signing the petition.

Supporting one-time projects isn’t the only way to promote an inclusive community. The dialogue about how to be inclusive and actually translating those motions into effect should be the focus of an inclusive society, not just celebrating months.

Build an inclusive culture.

Inclusion begins with you as a company owner, and community member.

Build a respectful culture and teach the leaders. When forming a diversity and inclusion committee, keep in mind that challenges with employee participation among underrepresented workers should be taken up for discussion, analysis, and systemic reforms to resolve those concerns.

It is important to hear everyone’s voice in order to promote an inclusive society. Encourage your workers to put their whole selves to work. Walk the halls with your staff or have virtual coffee meetings with them to see if you’re on the right track to creating an inclusive atmosphere.

It is impossible to overstate the value of attending diversity seminars and preparation, as well as providing these services to your staff. No one knows everything, and these will provide you with valuable tools that you can use in your company. Remember that promoting an inclusive working community is good for individuals, industry, and society.