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Updated: September 7, 2020 Experts Corner

Strategies to build a culture of inclusion for small businesses

By Karen Hinds
Karen Hinds

When I started my consulting firm 22 years ago, I always knew that having a diverse team would give us a competitive edge.

We were deliberate with each hire, but long before each hire we were intentional in our outreach and relationship-building strategies.

Our team is now 12 strong and our clients are benefitting from this early investment. As large organizations hire dedicated staff and consultants to advance their diversity, equity and inclusion agendas, many small businesses are feeling overlooked as they lack the same resources to attract and retain a diverse workforce and team of leaders.

However, there are simple strategies that any small business can implement regardless of budget. Here are a few.

Make diversity, equity and inclusion a value, not a priority

What’s the difference you might ask? Small businesses rely on their values; it’s the fuel in their creative engines, it’s the glue that keeps them afloat in the most challenging times.

When diversity and inclusion become a value, it is baked into the fabric of the organization. It permeates the systems, processes, policies and procedures.

Values don’t change very often, if at all, but priorities do. Priorities come and go depending on business trends, who is leading the organization or what customers want.

Small businesses must be intentional and make diversity, equity and inclusion a core value.

Educate your team

Leaders are still struggling through the awakening they experienced around racism in the last few months. Although there is a desire to do something, there is uncertainty about where to begin.

Learning together is a good starting point to bring awareness to why diversity is important. Our clients are creating learning circles to expand their understanding on bias, racism and building inclusive cultures by reading books, listening to podcasts, watching documentaries and hosting courageous conversations.

They are not only exploring the business case for inclusion but looking at the system of racism that is at the root of the gaps in the political, social, educational, economic and judicial systems in the United States. The educational journey around building an inclusive culture should be ongoing and not a hot topic of the moment.

Create the right environment

Too often small companies source diverse candidates and bring them into a workplace culture that is intolerant of different people. There is an unspoken expectation for diverse talent to assimilate instead of making room for them to show up as their authentic self.

Some companies are unknowingly promoting a version of the “group think mentality” disguised as team building. This is a major factor in turnover for diverse hires as they feel unwelcomed and marginalized.

One small company’s solution to this was a recurring 21-day challenge. The entire organization looked for ways to individually and collectively identify where their culture was hostile to diverse candidates and then took action over the 21-days to move the needle towards creating an inclusive culture with long-term and short-term strategies.

Build strategic partnerships

There is an abundance of diverse talent waiting to be sourced, yet companies still express there is a shortage. Tapping into the strong network of historical black colleges and universities, local community colleges, professional associations and community organizations can be excellent recruiting sources for diverse talent.

This would require recruiting teams to step out of the comfort of their familiar recruiting strategies.

Require a diverse slate before hiring

Before any position is filled, challenge your team to always present a diverse slate of candidates. This will require proper planning to anticipate hiring needs and keeping your network of strategic partners warm so they can advocate when an urgent hire is required.

Karen Hinds is the founder/CEO of Workplace Success Group in Waterbury and author of five books.

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