How to Cultivate an Inclusive Company Culture

An inclusive culture is one where every employee feels valued and respected, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, or background. Getting there takes more than good intentions. This post covers auditing where you stand, building leadership that models inclusion, and writing it into policy.

Audit your culture first

Review your existing policies and practices against your stated values: leadership style, communication practices, employee support, and company policies. Involve employees from every level so you're not only hearing from one layer of the organization.

Ask direct questions:

• How would you describe the company culture?
• Do you feel valued and supported by your colleagues and managers?
• Do you feel comfortable sharing your ideas and opinions?
• Do you feel that the company is committed to diversity and inclusion?

Look for gaps in communication practices, team-building activities, diversity in hiring and promotion, and recognition of contributions. Build the action plan with employees, not around them.

Gathering feedback isn't enough on its own. Tell people what you're changing in response, and follow through. Then repeat the audit regularly, because it's not a one-time exercise.

Name the biases in the room

Unconscious biases shape hiring, promotions, and everyday interactions, and they're hard to spot without training and practice. Counter them 3 ways:

• Train people to recognize unconscious bias.
• Base hiring and promotion decisions on qualifications and skills, like education and work experience, rather than personal characteristics.
• Keep the conversation open, so awareness doesn't end when the workshop does.

Diversify who leads

An inclusive leadership team isn't only diverse. It works well with people from different backgrounds, and it can recognize and address problems like unconscious bias or discrimination when they come up.

• Build talent pipelines that draw from a diverse pool of applicants.
• Use blind recruitment, removing names and other identifying information from applications.
• Mentor and sponsor employees from underrepresented groups so they can advance.

Train leaders, then everyone

Leadership training should cover unconscious bias, creating an inclusive work environment, and building diverse, respectful teams. Keep it ongoing and update it as your culture and practices change.

Extend training to all employees: workshops on identifying and addressing bias, building an inclusive team environment, and communicating with colleagues from different backgrounds. Make the training itself accessible, with materials in formats like audio or braille and venues everyone can get to.

Point people to support, too, such as an employee resource group for LGBTQ+ employees or an employee assistance program for people struggling with mental health.

Write inclusion into policy

Review recruitment, retention, and promotion policies against your values, and add new ones where you need them. 2 examples:

• Require diverse candidate slates for all job openings.
• Offer parental leave that covers all types of families.

Give it an owner

A diversity and inclusion committee keeps the work moving. It can monitor progress, give feedback, and lead conversations and education. It can also:

• Celebrate cultural holidays and host events, like a potluck where employees bring dishes that represent their heritage, or a diversity fair.
• Support employee resource groups for underrepresented groups.
• Make the physical space inclusive, with gender-neutral bathrooms, an office accessible to employees with disabilities, and prayer rooms for those who need them.