When you create a business, you want to make sure that your business’s culture is not only a positive one, but an inclusive one. The unfortunate reality of many businesses is that they focus on inclusivity too late, resulting in them spending an enormous amount of money that may or may not work at all.
This is why businesses should focus on inclusivity within their work culture as soon as possible in order to see the results of their effort. Delaying or straight up ignoring women or other underrepresented groups will only harm your business in the end. Here are some of the best business practices for inclusivity.
Inclusion
Inclusion within your company should be set from the lowest level jobs to the highest ones within your business. While communication, in general, is crucial to success, don’t be afraid to overcommunicate so that everyone knows what your expectations are while working. Many entry-level workers from low-income backgrounds may not have had internships to prep them for this environment, so clearly highlighting your expectations will close any gaps and keep everyone on the same page.
Ensure that your product reaches a large audience, including underserved communities. There should be no discrimination or have a negative impact against specific groups. If someone under your employment doesn’t contribute positively to your work culture, they should be the first to go; a bad apple isn’t worth rotting the batch.
Equity
Make sure the expectations for performance reviews are clear for your employees and thoroughly researched for yourself. Let your employees know how to best negotiate for higher compensation and speak with others (both internally and externally) to ensure fair market value. Salary should always be transparent and based on your employees’ work, not how they were paid in the past.
Diversity
Lastly, make sure that advancement is available to everyone within your company. As a leader, you should make sure to lead by example; this means making sure that higher-paying positions are scalable by everyone. Reach out to job boards to ensure the diversity of your team. Most importantly, choose the people who support you for you—if their opinion on how you run your business declines because you value diversity in your workplace, then you could do better than having those people as connections.