All of the big brand names you can think of, from Apple to Meta, are now heavily focused on inclusivity. This is something that you should also be focused on — no matter the size or scale of your existing business.
As each year goes by, businesses and customers are becoming more inclusive-conscious.
- 3 in 4 companies believe inclusion is a priority (Built In)
- 34% of customers consider inclusivity when making purchasing decisions (PR Newswire)
When it comes to making your business more inclusive, you should be focused on the long term instead of the short term. Remember, the aim is to make inclusivity a permanent part of your company culture instead of letting it fall to the bottom of your priorities list.
To help you, this inclusivity guide for businesses has put together a list of steps you can follow as you start your inclusive journey.
Step 1: Make Your Website Accessible
The first step is to make your website more accessible.
This will involve equipping your website with all the relevant accessibility features so that disabled customers can experience it the same as everybody else.
Before you launch yourself into this, though, you need to understand how accessible your website currently is and the key areas that need improving in terms of accessibility. To do this, simply choose from one of the many accessibility testing tools and gain an understanding of where your website currently stands. Once the testing is complete, you’ll then be able to start making some improvements.
Once your website is officially accessible to all, you’ll start experiencing tons of benefits, such as an improved brand reputation and more customers.
Step 2: Hire Employees from Different Backgrounds
As your business continues to grow, it’s important that you hire employees from different backgrounds. Specifically, you should focus on age, sex, and ethnicity diversity for the best possible outcomes. Remember, there are plenty of diversity hiring boards on the internet where you can post job vacancies that are specifically intended to hire people from diverse backgrounds.
Step 3: Allow Customers and Employees to be Heard
Both employees and customers generally like their voices to be heard. This is why it’s your job as a company to listen to them and make positive changes from the opinions and feedback that you hear. For example, you might find that your employees want the option to work from home on a hybrid basis, which you’ll then be able to take into account and consider. The more you listen, the more they’ll appreciate it.
Step 4: Provide Diversity Training
Diversity training has skyrocketed in popularity over recent years as companies make the shift towards being more inclusive. Usually, most diversity training courses focus on increasing cultural awareness and knowledge, so there’s a lot that employees can benefit from. The end result is a stronger and more inclusive company culture.
Summary
Follow each step above if you’re looking to make your business more inclusive over the coming years. Inclusivity can’t be achieved overnight — but it can with consistent, company-wide efforts.
Read Also: Six Ways To Create An Inclusive Organizational Culture
