Cultural Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging in the Workplace

Cultural diversity is a well known phrase and you can find more than an abundance of information on the topic. My personal experience though is that the critical takeaway to understanding how be successful with having a diverse workplace is really simple: it’s your actions to  support a positive diverse environment rather than ensuring you’re just ticking the “diversity” boxes.

But don’t take it from me, let’s look at the facts when diversity is managed effectively in the workplace:

  • Even when people have a moderate sense of belonging, their engagement with your business increases 56% and retention increases 50%. 1
  • A diverse workforce make better decision making 87% of the time2
  • They also drive faster decision making two times faster than non-diverse teams and with half the meetings2

Why?

Diversity done properly brings a broader range of experience and perspective to the table.

So, how do you do it?

For starters, we need to understand that human beings just want to belong. As such, it’s important we come together in a meaningful way. Secondly, cultural diversity can’t be a program or a goal, but a way of working. It can take a disengaged workforce and makes them engaged. But to your own business potential, you also need to consider inclusion and belonging. Pat Wadors from UKG explains it best:

Diversity by definition is everything that makes you and I unique. The seen and the unseen.

Inclusion is the act (aka – the doing bit) of creating fairness and opportunities for all. These are our attempts to acknowledge what makes us different and diverse and create a welcoming environment for it.

Belonging is a human need – we are compelled to belong in our unique way. Only when your staff have a sense of belonging is when they can unlock their potential at work. This is achieved through effective inclusion practices coupled with an embracing of diversity.

cultural diversity

Story Telling

There has been strong evidence that story telling in the workplace helps drive inclusion and belonging. This rings particularly true for international workers who are seeking to find their place in a new environment (both work and the town they have moved to) and understand where they fit.

Story telling is wide and varied. It can be short bites of information about yourself at the start of a team meeting or could be something bigger like an international food day where your people can express themselves through dishes from their home country that they enjoy and can share willingly with others.

Another story telling technique is by allowing room in meetings for people to provide their view on a particular topic of discussion or an issue and allowing them to expand on their own experiences that may be different to what your business has experienced as the status quo. One you reach this level of inclusion is when you will start to see the productivity benefits of diversity.

People remember how you make them feel, not necessarily what they said. Story telling is a tried and true technique in allowing words, activities and actions to come together to drive a feeling of belonging at a workplace.

At the end of the day, when it come to diversity, don’t try to solve everything at once. A successful diverse organisation takes time, and by actively listening to and surveying your employees on how they’re experiencing the work environment, you will build trust.

And remember, in a nutshell, diversity, inclusion and belonging is a journey, not a destination.

Our Cultural Liaison Program taps deeper into Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging by ensuring international workers are equipped with the tools they need to understand the customs and what is means to live in Australia from those who have experienced it first hand. To find out more about the Cultural Liaison Program, visit the Migrant Workers section of the Dizon & Associates International website.

Sources:

  1. Pat Wadors, the foundation of DIBs – 13.09.2022 https://www.linkedin.com/learning/diversity-inclusion-and-belonging-2019
  2. CloverPop, hacking diversity with inclusive decision making https://www.cloverpop.com/hacking-diversity-with-inclusive-decision-making-white-paper?utm_campaign=Forbes&utm_source=Forbes&utm_medium=Forbes%20Hacking%20Diversity%20White%20Paper

Author: Paul Dizon