What is inclusivity?
Inclusivity, also called inclusion, literally means 'inclusion'. When it comes to an inclusive organization, this therefore means an organization that includes and does not exclude. In an inclusive organization everyone is welcome and every employee is valued for his or her unique qualities. Differences in background, perspective or insight are not judged but rather encouraged, because diversity makes the organization stronger. People who have a certain distance to the labor market also get the chance to develop themselves in an inclusive organization. To increase inclusivity in the workplace, it is therefore important that every employee is valued.
Difference between inclusivity and diversity
Inclusivity and diversity have a lot to do with each other, but do not mean the same thing. Society is becoming increasingly diverse. Where diversity is about numbers and percentages, inclusion is about behavior, values and rules This diversity many companies logically also want to see reflected in the workplace. Diversity can manifest itself in both visible and invisible differences between people.
Visible, for example, are gender and background; invisible are knowledge, experience, competencies and so on. If, as an employer, you focus on increasing diversity within your organization, you take an important first step. Inclusivity goes a step further. Inclusivity in the workplace is not only about having a diverse team, but also about fully embracing, accepting and valuing that diversity.
Why is inclusivity so important?
Of course, inclusivity in the workplace is important because of the ethical aspect. Regardless of background, knowledge, or experience: everyone deserves equal opportunities and appreciation in the labor market. However, an inclusive organization is not only meaningful for employees, but also for the organization itself. Different perspectives and insights, provided they are encouraged and connected in the right way, lead to a huge boost in creativity and productivity. An inclusive team performs better and therefore ultimately also leads to a better-performing organization.
More inclusivity in the workplace: 4 practical tips
If you want to include inclusivity in the workplace in your policy, it's useful to have some concrete tools. We have collected a number of them for you:
1. Encourage an open work culture
It is important to give employees the feeling that everything can be discussed and that their own input is valued. Encourage them to share their opinions and talk together when you notice that issues are arising. By creating a workplace that feels familiar and safe, employees will experience more job satisfaction and stay with you longer.
2. Set concrete goals
If you aim for inclusivity in the workplace, make sure you set concrete goals. Only in this way will everyone stay motivated and you’ll keep control of the whole process. Goals that can be set include, for example, increasing diversity in recruitment or improving managers’ skills in the area of inclusivity.
3. Choose blind recruitment
To achieve inclusivity in the workplace you will also need to work on diversity. If you want your team to form a fair reflection of society, you could choose blind recruitment. This means that you remove things like age, ethnicity, gender and other personal characteristics from CVs and cover letters for the initial selection. This way you largely exclude assumptions and (unconscious) prejudices and recruit only people based on their knowledge and performance.
4. Let employees contribute ideas
Inclusivity in the workplace is never achieved alone. By only giving ‘top-down’ instructions about an inclusivity policy you won’t get your people on board. Therefore always involve your team in the process. Let them give their opinion by conducting an employee satisfaction survey, start a conversation and be open to feedback.
