Recalculating Your Business: The Route to Embracing Inclusion

posted on Wednesday, February 26, 2020 in Grow Cedar Valley

Written by Director of Talent Development, Will Frost

If you were traveling down the road and the bridge was out ahead, would you want to know? Most rational people would say yes because having this information could mean the difference between life and tragedy. In this scenario, you are presented with two options: continue towards your imminent demise or change routes and live to see another day. The same holds for our talent pool; the bridge is out ahead!

Continuing an accelerated trend, we are the least diverse today than we will ever be. What does this mean? Up until relatively recently, this fact has meant more to some than to others. Many companies intentionally implemented diversity and inclusion measures to ensure their workplace remained attractive and accessible to changing demographics and economic pressures. In other words, these companies accepted that the bridge was becoming unstable and took an alternative route. Many, however, have not.

During a time when our global workforce supply exceeded our global workforce demand it was easy to overlook the change that was happening right in front of us. Why change routes when the bridge seems to be holding the traffic just fine? It’s true that many businesses created diversity councils, hosted seminars about inclusion, and celebrated Cinco de Mayo with tacos and margaritas. Shouldn't that be enough? That answer is a resounding NO! Meaningful change isn't simply a committee or a fun immersion into cultural appropriation.

The good news is that creating an inclusive environment for your business doesn't have to be expensive or time-consuming. The fee for an inclusive workplace is merely an open heart, commitment, and maybe the occasional box of doughnuts. Inclusion is about accepting the unknown, celebrating differences, and being flexible. It's about understanding, not abandoning, your individual beliefs and how they influence your actions. It’s about what YOU do, not who THEY are.

Being accepting and flexible empowers us all to measure someone's worth on a scale not based on our own constant. It encourages us to find value in our differences. And, it opens our workplaces to a whole world of untapped talent. It’s time to recalculate the route of success for your business!