Recruitment is one of the most important aspects of any organisation’s EDI strategy. The people that you hire will affect your internal culture, your productivity, and how customers and future job candidates perceive you. Plus, studies have repeatedly shown that employing a wide range of people improves performance and leads to better business decisions after hiring diverse candidates.

However, it’s not enough hiring for diversity and to just have a diverse group of staff: you need to support them throughout their journey with you. Trying to enforce blanket policies, providing no training, and refusing to be flexible is likely to mean that you’ll quickly lose the diverse talent you’ve brought on.

If you are trying to increase the diversity of your staff, you need to make sure that the environment which new hires are coming into is inclusive.

For example, do you have a robust training package on topics like bias, respecting others, and allyship? Is there a clear code of conduct for staff and a zero-tolerance approach to harassment? Does everyone know what reasonable adjustments are and how to ask for them?

There are many more issues along these lines, of course; every person is unique, with their own individual concerns and circumstances. If you want to create a welcoming workplace with a diverse group of staff in an inclusive work environment, you need to be able to recognise and celebrate everyone’s individuality. Ideally, you should be as proactive as possible, thinking about the various needs that people might have and putting policies in place to provide for them.

Creating a welcoming work environment that improves staff retention often boils down to the following principles:

• Transparency – i.e., do people know where to find the information they need? Can challenges and problems be freely discussed and solved as a team? Is there regular two-way communication between all levels of the organisation, like strategic updates and employee surveys?
  
  
• Flexibility – i.e., are your policies able to accommodate different circumstances and adapt to people’s needs? Do you regularly review procedures and update them if they’re no longer fit for purpose? Are new ideas welcomed, rather than rejected?
  
  
• Support – i.e., are talented people recognised and rewarded? Are everybody’s achievements celebrated? Do your staff know who to talk to when they’re having a problem (and do they know how to help others)?

With these principles in mind, you can create a work environment that encourages everyone to stay and reap the benefits of an inclusive environment.

If you’re starting your inclusive recruitment journey and looking for the best diversity and inclusion hiring practices, why not check out our leadership and recruitment courses?