​Recruitment & diversity are high on the agenda for 2020 – and they will most likely remain for some years to come. But there is one final HR element that could help make your business a success in 2020 – inclusion.
Since 2016, 189 complaints of workplace bullying have been made to Ireland’s Health & Safety Authority – the lack of inclusion in a workplace can be detrimental to your business.
Inclusive, supportive, approachable – invincible. Why wouldn’t you want your workplace to be like that?
Here’s why inclusion will be crucial in 2020 & how your HR team can help make this a reality.
 
Inclusion: Why So Important?
If you have read this series so far, the talent war in Ireland won’t be new to you. With around 40,000 potential new jobs to be created in Ireland in 2020 forecasted already, recruitment is a busy sector. It’s safe to say that this, coupled with low unemployment, leaves Ireland in a stalemate when it comes to talent retention.
When somebody is working for your business or considering applying, the atmosphere, the team & the culture are everything. Yes, commutes and salaries are things to consider – but if your workplace isn’t inclusive of everyone, if colleagues do not put in the effort with each other, if the working environment is negative or toxic, then talent will simply move on.
Everyone is different and difference should be embraced by all throughout the organisation, with everyone’s strengths spotted and encouraged to grow.
An inclusive workplace where all people feel valued by each other, get on with each other and feel approachable with each other, is an invincible workplace.
 
Building An Inclusive Workspace
Inclusion is easier said than done – you have multiple hurdles to jump over; personality traits, age differences, varied interests, different backgrounds, the list is endless. Building an inclusive working environment can be a challenge, but it is a must if you want to keep staff satisfied & happy, and productivity at its peak.
Here’s just some ways in which you can lay those foundations to build a better inclusive workspace for your colleagues:

• Team Meetings

Often these can be tainted in negativity – yes, some meetings could have been communicated via email. However, businesses shouldn’t become too reliant on email or other communications tools like Slack. If you want your employees to feel like a team, make sure they are having literal face time with their colleagues.
Team meetings need to be a regular occurrence – whether that’s in a boardroom, at the local coffee stop or over lunch, regular and productive team meetings will help build your team’s relationships with each other, make them feel that their work is valued by their colleagues and help to advance productivity in the long-run.
Holding regular team meetings lends more benefits than just making sure your team get on – it helps to get stuff done quicker and more efficiently; colleagues will feel that they can approach staff much more easily.

• Zero Tolerance for Exclusion

Have you spotted any signs of exclusion in your workplace recently? Is there a colleague that always seems to miss out on an invite to Friday lunch? Isn’t offered a coffee when the rest have? Or perhaps has made you aware of more serious workplace bullying?
Come down hard on this – don't just hide behind your office door hoping change will happen overnight and all your colleagues will begin to get on. That isn’t going to happen.
Work cohesively with your HR team to carefully monitor for any signs of exclusion or bullying and once spotted, deal with it.

• Workplace Culture

Once you have nailed this zero-tolerance approach, what next? Embed it into your workplace culture.
Depending on the size of your business, this might be a short-term or long-term change. Mixing departmental reams regularly will offer colleagues an added opportunity to get to know different colleagues and branch out their work networks.
If you’re a smaller team, demonstrate with leadership that inclusion is high on your agenda by practicing it yourself – treat your colleagues to a coffee, include them on more client meetings – ensure that you practice what you preach in order to embed this approach within your culture.
 
Inclusive = Invincible
Make 2020 a success by ensuring your workplace breathes inclusion. Win the talent war by demonstrating that you take inclusion seriously and improve the working lives of your colleagues by taking a zero-tolerance approach to exclusion of any manner.
In 2020, an inclusive workplace might well mean an invincible workplace – make 2020 a success and get building an inclusive working environment. 

Workplace diversity is one of the cornerstones of a successful company. As the world becomes more and more interconnected, businesses must ensure that their workforce is reflective of their customer base. Workplace diversity is crucial for businesses of all sizes - whether it be a Small-Medium Enterprise (SME) or a large multinational corporation. Having a diverse workforce increases a company's knowledge base, offers up new perspectives and helps businesses to better understand the needs of the customer in an increasingly globalised marketplace. 

Furthermore, during a time when talent acquisition and retention are such hot topics – increasing diversity is a sure fire way to help companies source, and retain, the best talent. Not only that, a diverse workplace is integral to harnessing a company culture that is characterised by inclusion, outward thinking and equality. With so many positives, it’s easy to see why companies should be focused on improving diversity in the workplace.
 
Undoubtedly, HR Professionals are ideally placed to encourage and manage diversity within businesses. So, here at the HR department, we’ve come up with 4 ways for companies and HR departments to promote and manage diversity in the workplace for the benefit of employees, employers and society as a whole.

1. Make Diversity a Priority

Let’s start with the simplest way HR professionals can encourage diversity: prioritizing it. The first step to overcoming a lack of diversity in the workplace is making it centre stage, and understanding that diversity involves the inclusion of all workers, regardless of their gender, sexual orientation race, religion or ethnicity.

Here in Ireland, PayPal, the online payments company, employ over 2400 staff and prioritise diversity within their organisation. So much so, - they won the ‘Diversity Champion 2016’ award at the Irish HR Champion Awards last year. Their Vice President of global operations for Europe, Louise Phelan, argues that Irish workplaces should learn from American businesses and invest more in their diversity programmes. HR, as a department, is well positioned to underline the importance of an integrated workforce and help to foster a company culture that champions diversity.
 
2. Monitoring

Many companies are aware of the need for gender diversity and are therefore monitoring the hiring and retention of female members of staff. However, having a diverse workforce is more than simply having a balance between male and female workers. It is about creating a workforce that is representative of society as a whole. HR should regularly monitor the overall diversity of an organisation to ensure that all religions, races, ethnicities, genders and sexual orientations are known and that progress can be made through recruitment. HR professionals should be aware that a diverse workplace is more attractive to prospective employees - all the more reason for HR to lead the charge in diversifying businesses.

That being said, monitoring diversity is not just about the hiring process, it’s also crucial to keep a close eye on current employees. It is vitally important for HR to watch out for any forms of discrimination in the workplace and have effective protocol in place to deal with any such situations should they arise.

3. Mentoring
 
HR departments can play a central role in encouraging companies to undertake mentorship programmes. Initiatives can take place within a company internally or with external organisations such as local schools, universities or youth groups. This can help to ensure that young people from all walks of life are aware of the opportunities that are available to them in business, and positions your company as a role model when it comes to encouraging and promoting equal opportunities.

Mentorship programmes also have the potential to increase the talent pool in Ireland, particularly if they target people from disadvantaged backgrounds, with the aim to provide them with the skills and opportunities to make better, more informed decisions about their future. Importantly, HR professionals can push for mentoring initiatives of all different styles and sizes, from helping mothers return to work after maternity leave to offering work placements for students.

4. Partnerships
 
Much like mentoring, partnerships with organisations such as charities, not-for-profit organisations or schools can be particularly effective for widening the talent pool and offering opportunities. Internship initiatives, which have the backing of partner organisations and are open to all, are just one good example of how HR departments can increase the diversity of the workforce.
 
There is no doubt that workforce diversity adds enormous value to business. The reality is that the demographic of the workforce in Ireland is changing rapidly. For example, with an increase in overseas workers - particularly with the rise of tech industries here - and an aging population, organisations need to adapt, adjust and diversify their workforce in order to cope with the changes. Importantly, companies, and particularly HR departments, need to drive home the fact that improving workplace diversity is not only a necessity, but also a fail-safe way of improving a company’s productivity and profitability.
 
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