The key to building a diverse workforce is committing to cultivating a culture of inclusivity for employees of all backgrounds. LGBTQ+ employees may not feel comfortable or accepted unless their employers proactively take steps to make it clear that they are welcomed and supported.
Explore How to Ensure Workplace Inclusion for LGBTQ+ Employees:
Assess Hiring Process
Review your current recruiting strategy to see if there are opportunities to make LGBTQ+ candidates more likely to feel comfortable considering your organization. In your job postings, make sure that all language is gender-neutral and that your commitment to being an inclusive employer is clearly stated. Offer inclusive benefits, such as paid leave for adoption, medical leave for gender reassignment, and coverage for domestic partnerships.
Request Feedback
While your company may have the best of intentions in ensuring inclusivity for LGBTQ+ employees, you could be ineffective or even make things worse unless you get feedback from said employees. Give them the opportunity to have their voices heard on what they need, whether it’s an anonymous survey or face-to-face conversation, and use that feedback to guide your initiatives.
Establish Strong Policies
It is essential to build your company’s policies around being inclusive. Evaluate the language in your company’s nondiscrimination policy and update as needed to ensure it is clearly communicated what will not be tolerated. Review other policies in your employee handbook to revise to be more inclusive for LGBTQ+ employees, such as dress code or any gender-related wording.
Provide Education
It is crucial to give any employee in a management position the practical knowledge to best establish an inclusive and sensitive workplace environment and supportively leads LGBTQ+ employees. Bringing in experts to train your managers will ensure they have the education they need to make all their employees feel accepted.
Support Causes
Make your company a public ally to demonstrate that LGBTQ+ inclusivity is a core value of your organization. Support LGBTQ+ causes with charitable donations and pay to be a corporate sponsor for any local-related events. This will make it clear that inclusivity is a part of your employer brand and company mission so your LGBTQ+ employees know you aren’t just paying lip service.
Attract Top Talent
Find employees to join your team by working with experienced staffing firm PrideStaff Akron. Our mission is to work closely with you to understand your hiring needs and match you with the candidates that are the best fit. Contact us to learn more about our staffing services.
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