Clare Lassiter, Pure HR, looks at embracing diversity and inclusion all year round

Most people know that June is Pride Month (to commemorate the Stonewall Uprising, a key event in LGBTQIA+ history), and the slightly less visible (although potentially relevant to more individuals) Disability Pride Month is July.

It is fantastic to see the events that are held in honour of these awareness periods every year, but the understanding of difference and behaviours to ensure inclusivity should both be part of our everyday experience, regardless of the time of year.  So how should you as an employer embrace diversity and ensure inclusivity all year round?

Start as you mean to go on…

Your recruitment campaigns set the tone for an employee’s experience within your business, not to mention the fact that they are public and form part of your brand.

Consider the content of your adverts: do you embrace flexible working?  Are your visuals representative of difference?  Do you use a variety of means to assess candidates?  And when you have selected candidates for interview, do you ensure that they are invited to ask for reasonable adjustments on the day if needed?

When it comes to picking your perfect person, focus on how they meet the requirements of the role in question – it’s best not to go into a recruitment campaign with a fixed idea about your ideal candidate.

Sometimes there is no perfect match, but if you’re willing to offer appropriate training and support your field will be wider.  Don’t allow a protected characteristic to affect your decision-making process – you could be missing out on an excellent addition to your team.

Your customers are diverse… so your staff should be too

Understanding diversity means that you appreciate that every person is unique.

Do you embrace the range of human differences, including beliefs, abilities, preferences, backgrounds, values and identities?  Even if your product or service is niche, it is unlikely that every customer of yours shares all of these identically.

Embracing diversity within your team means that your business is more likely to share perspectives with more of society as a whole and will help you to tap into the markets you want to sell to – in short, it’s good for your bottom line.  And don’t forget that your employees (past and present) help spread the word about your brand and can be your strongest advocates – or critics.

“But I’m fair – I treat everyone the same!”

Employers sometimes think that because their approach to managing staff is consistent, they are inclusive.

Providing everyone with the same tools to do the job is equality, but treating someone differently by providing someone with dyslexia with a screen filter to help them read can provide equity – in other words, the same level of opportunity.

If someone has hearing loss in one ear, ensuring that they are sat with their better ear towards others will help them.  Consideration of the impact of issues is what makes a workplace inclusive – providing reasonable adjustments and referring individuals to Occupational Health so that they and the business can gain clinical advice if needed is a sensible approach.

What about the law?

Embracing diversity and inclusion isn’t just the right thing to do…there are statutory rights attached to difference.

The Equality Act 2010 sets out these protections and outlines the nine Protected Characteristics.  Top marks for anyone who can recite these without checking the list…

Age – Disability – Gender reassignment – Marriage and civil partnership – Pregnancy and maternity – Race – Religion or belief – Sex – Sexual Orientation

Individuals can make a discrimination claim against an employer at any time – there is no qualifying service period – even before and after employment.

With an approximate cost of £30,000 in legal fees and management time to defend a tribunal claim, it is important for employers to understand their responsibilities and to deal with any discrimination in the workplace promptly and fairly – consulting with HR professionals if they need to.

What to look out for

Respond to employee grievances in a timely manner – and instigate disciplinaries if you are made aware of potentially discriminatory conduct amongst your team.

As an employer, you can be held responsible for the actions of your staff.  Is there a gender pay gap within your business?  It is sensible to audit your rates of pay to identify any gaps and then address any potential discrepancies.

Prevention is better than cure…

Educating your team about equality, diversity and inclusion issues is a great way of ensuring that everyone understands the topic, as well as helping to prevent any discrimination in the workplace.

A course for employers and staff (such as the one offered by Pure Human Resources) which includes practical activities can help your team to better understand difference and how this applies to the workplace.

Enabling people to be themselves

Finally, if your workplace has a culture of inclusivity, people will feel more enabled to be their authentic selves.  It is definitely better for business if your employees are spending less time on trying to mask their difference from others, and more time adding value in their roles – not to mention it being far better for individual wellbeing.

So let’s all celebrate those key days and months every year…but make equality, diversity and inclusion our business all year round.

For support with any HR matters including equality, diversity and inclusion in the workplace, contact Pure HR at 01794 329470 or visit their website.