Making everyone in the workplace feel welcome, included and safe should be a priority. As we work among people with different backgrounds, cultures and interests, it’s important to learn and understand where someone comes from and who they are as a person. Additionally, celebrating your diverse workforce will also keep your coworkers engaged and more likely to be loyal to the company in the long term. Employees who feel included within their organizations are about three times more likely to feel excited by and committed to the organization.
While you build a more diverse workforce, it’s not just about how many different types of people you have in your team, it’s about bringing everyone together and truly making them feel like they are included and treated equally.
5 Tips to Celebrate Diversity in Your Office
Here are some helpful ways to celebrate your diverse workforce and build inclusivity in the office.
Tip #1: Develop a cultural calendar
Put together a cultural calendar with all the holidays, celebrations and other important dates that are important to your employees. As you build on this calendar, get feedback from your team and coworkers so they can help to give you any ideas of what events you could host or talk about. Use this calendar to create awareness to ensure that all your employees will feel seen and heard throughout the year. A cultural calendar that is available for everyone will also let all employees know what holidays are coming up so they can learn more about significant events.
Tip #2: Improve employee interaction
Give your employees more opportunities to interact and get to know each other informally. The more time they can spend casually together outside of work, the more opportunities they will have for meaningful interactions and building deeper connections. Volunteer events, lunch outings and other scheduled activities are a great way to bring people together. If your team is virtual, host an informal video lunch or even an online escape room to get the team to work together in a fun setting.
Tip #3: Focus on career advancement
Unfortunately, some individuals may have experienced racial or gender bias at work, which could have resulted in unfair treatment when it came to being promoted and advancing in a company. This can, understandably, lead to poor job satisfaction and disengagement. Therefore, it’s important for you, as a manager, to support all your employees and advocate for all coworkers. Make sure everyone understands performance objectives and expectations, which should be standard for all employees. Keep communication transparent, and provide support to your team members when needed.
Tip #4: Prioritize employee feedback
Hearing what your employees have to say about the workplace and the work environment is the best way to understand what is working and what needs to be improved to make employees feel more included. Conduct anonymous surveys or create a space for people to send in their comments and concerns. This could also be a great way to gain new ideas about ways to continue building an inclusive workplace.
Tip #5: Develop employee diversity training
Embracing diversity should be part of the company culture. Therefore, it’s important to have diversity training not just once a year, but throughout the year on various topics so that everyone understands the importance of embracing all types of backgrounds, cultures and beliefs. Diversity training will improve your work culture and help to ensure that everyone feels comfortable and safe at the office.
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