1. Forget the ‘trickle down’ process of traditional line management
If your office is looking a little mono-ethnic, or male heavy, as the business owner or CEO, make an effort to engage with new members of staff. Chances are they could be a woman, or from a different ethnic background.“In terms of inclusion on a hierarchal level, if they’re in a junior position, they will appreciate this gesture even more and could feel motivated to work harder.”Checking in on this individual as time goes on, whether it’s commending an achievement they’ve made or simply a regular casual greeting, staff across different levels of seniority and from different social and cultural backgrounds will feel enfranchised and part of the team, especially if the team is not yet very diverse.
2. Keep up communication and ‘open up’ meetings
Find out from senior management which members of staff are particularly excelling in their roles, and then you can determine if they could be further challenged by inviting them to sit in, or even contribute to additional meetings in which they might have an interest. Whilst we’re not suggesting that bosses must engage in rudimentary ‘positive discrimination‘ tactics and select employees for these upscaling challenges just because they are from a minority, instead, base your selection and inclusion principles upon the purpose of merit, and by extension, you’ll foster an environment of just that – a meritocracy. This means that ALL employees are incentivised to work hard, as they can hope to move towards holding greater influence at management level, regardless of their identity or background.3. Make team presentations a thing if you haven’t already – and switch them up

4. Make your company kitchen a meeting point for everyone
It’s important that you make your kitchen area a warm and welcoming hub of the office, and a place in which all members of staff feel comfortable setting foot in.“This doesn’t just start with an uplifting decor or pleasant lighting, start by setting your HR or office management staff to work, and make your fridge and cupboard areas available to staff with various dietary requirements, whether they’re religiously or morally based.”For example ensure there are separate sections to split meat from dairy products, meat from vegetable products, and create segmented sections to ensure that no one’s separate spaces are cross-contaminated.
“You could even send out a quick ’round robin’ email to ensure staff remain considerate about how the fridge is used to store different types of food.”Another ‘cost-light’ method to make the kitchen area more welcoming is to hold informal ‘coffee morning’ style cross-team meetings there. Doing this will ensure that all members of staff have to traverse the kitchen/workspace boundary, which will encourage better social mixing.
5. Make sure your workforce bonds outside of the office

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