Company culture is the "glue" of any organisation. But what happens when there is a disconnect between company culture and the work environment? Qualified employees leave the company, leading to high turnover rates. To avoid this, it is vital to create inclusive environments that provide a sense of trust, which encourages collaboration among employees.
A workplace culture that fosters collaboration is one of the most powerful forces for innovation and growth. But how do you actually create a collaborative and truly inclusive culture? Yes, it is important to embrace the differences that people of different backgrounds, ethnicities, cultures and genders bring.
Diverse perspectives are vital to ensuring an organisation is successful and often companies rely on diversity to take them far. However, diversity in itself is not sufficient and does not necessarily imply inclusion. For example offering women board positions or having an equal representation of men and women in the workforce seem to be steps in the right direction, but it doesn’t ensure staff feeling valued or included.
The author of the 2017 Harvard Business Review article “Diversity doesn’t stick without inclusion” https://lnkd.in/ecX2V2B uses a very interesting analogy: “Diversity speaks to who is on the team, but inclusion focuses on who is really in the game.”
It takes more than having a diverse workforce to be a winner. It is true that diversity can make a group stronger by offering perspectives and problem-solving skills that would be missed if everyone was alike. The truth is that it is not only diversity which is required…. an organisation needs to create and nurture a culture of inclusion in order to build a sustainable business.
According to the "Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) - Global Market Trajectory & Analytics" report which was recently released, over 65% of employees are of the opinion that their managers do not foster an inclusive environment. Achieving greater diversity in the workplace is relatively easier as it represents the mix or the make-up of an entity. Inclusion is all about making the mix work together as a cohesive whole by respecting, welcoming and valuing the diversity of every individual's unique background, experiences, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, faith, tradition, and most importantly perspectives.
How inclusive is your organisation’s culture? At PREDIXA, we provide your organisation with an inclusive culture score and our consultancy partners can support you in your journey to improve.
Do you want to know more? Please reach out to Paula Newby or Kirsten Westholter.
