When recruiting new team members, you want to make the best impression you can of your workplace culture, including areas of inclusivity and employee support. By showing you are making conscious efforts and improvements in these areas, your organisation can become more appealing to new candidates. Employees will feel supported and accepted in these workplaces and are more likely to stay leading to a happy workforce with high retention for employers. People also perform better when they feel like they are valued and that they can be themselves.
You may now be wondering ‘how can I show this commitment to inclusivity to new and existing employees?’…
Allowing your employees to have a voice.
Employees who feel ‘heard’ are more likely to share opinions in the fast they will be listened to, taken seriously, and actioned in the organisation.
How can I give employees a voice?
- Doing surveys – This could be started as soon as a new employee onboards with the company. Asking questions such as ‘How did you find the onboarding process?’ ‘Is there anything you would like to see going forward?’ ‘How did you find our recruitment process?’
- Setting up weekly check-ins with line managers – This gives employees a chance to have a private 1-1 session with line managers, raise any concerns or feedback any ideas in confidence.
- Having regular staff meetings – Bringing teams together really helps to build a feeling of inclusion in the workplace. Teams who may not usually meet can network, share ideas and feel valued across the whole business.
- Creating forums for employees to discuss topics they would like to bring to the attention of management.
Managers at all levels of the organisation should also be willing to listen to inclusion-related concerns without passing judgment or sweeping concerns to the side. When possible, reward or thank employees for sharing their honest feedback and working to make the organisation more inclusive.
Give your employees access to learning and development opportunities.
Employees with access to learning and development opportunities are more likely to feel that their organisation cares about their professional and personal development wherever they are in their career pathway.
How can I provide access to learning and development opportunities?
- Start a mentoring program.
- Offering ongoing training virtually or in person.
- Allowing employees to attend conferences, webinars, etc. related to their jobs.
- If your organisation doesn’t have a training and development lead, you may want to consider using e-learning tools or hiring an external trainer to deliver courses or workshops.
Allow your organisation to accept and embrace change.
Sometimes change is unavoidable. As an organisation you must be prepared for these changes as we move forward. An inclusive organisation recognises that these changes occur, and current and previous practices may have to be consistently reviewed in order for the business to keep up with industry and societal changes.
For example, offering flexible and hybrid working. Adjusting to allow employees to work from home or flexible hours has become a huge topic post pandemic as a work life balance become a huge consideration of our day to day. Allowing employees flexibility around work can mean they feel valued and appreciated. It can also increase your talent pool when recruiting as the job becomes more desirable and open to more candidates.
Why not catch up on our previous HR webinar discussing ‘How do you show you are an inclusive employer?’.
Do you have upcoming recruitment in your organisation? Why not read more about how our education bespoke applicant tracking system, FACE-Ed can help. The software supports recruitment in education all the way from vacancy creation to onboarding of new candidates, ensuring you are following Safer Recruitment and KCSiE guidance. Request a demo of the software here.
You may be interested in joining our next HR software webinar on the 20th April to see FACE-Ed and our HRIS, SAMpeople, in action. Register here.
