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Inclusiveness is a key part of a great company culture and as the manager, it's your responsibility to make everyone feel included within the team. In this blog, we provide some tips for making your workplace more inclusive, which will have a far-reaching positive impact on your company. 

Managing and motivating staff can be complicated, not to mention time-consuming. There's no question that dealing with people is one of the most difficult aspects when you're in a leadership role.

When done well, it promotes productivity, teamwork and high performance. Conversely, a poor culture can have a toxic impact that spreads to your whole organisation.

Many managers struggle to make their workplace more inclusive. If a member of your team is uncomfortable or not performing well, you need some effective tools to help them. Doing so, will benefit the organisation and help each individual perform at their best.

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Let's look at five top tips to help make your business a more inclusive place.

1. Find everyone’s creativity

Inclusive leaders invite all staff to contribute their thoughts and ideas to the function of the team. Core team and company values are well defined, while everything else is potentially open for negotiation. Operating in this way empowers all staff to feel invested and heard within their organisation. Welcoming new ideas also creates opportunities to try different approaches, which may never have been considered before.

2. Promote competition and collaboration

Investing time into making sure your staff come together into a unified team will have a huge payoff. When doing so, look for ways to create both a competitive environment and close collaboration between team members. Inclusive leaders find creative approaches to achieve this. By being intensive and nurturing, you'll encourage employees to form a close bond that boosts collaboration, loyalty and new ideas. 

3. Bounce an idea off of someone unexpected in your office

Look for people you and your team don't usually engage with. Staff are typically experts in one area, which means you only interact with other relevant teams. By speaking to colleagues from other, unrelated teams, you'll gain insights and make connections outside of your day-to-day circle. 

4. Switch up your surroundings

Move desks, work in a different area of the office, and talk to the people around you. Changing your environment may seem like a small thing but you'd be surprised how it can grow your perspective, give you the opportunity have conversations with different people and spark new ideas. Encourage your team to do the same.

5. Plan for bad behaviour

Not every employee will be on board when you try to create a more inclusive environment. However, having an inclusion plan can provide a framework for dealing with bad employee behaviour when it arises. This plan includes the procedures to follow in the event of an incident and sets timelines for resolving a complaint. A clear, transparent, and fair conflict resolution process is an important part of an inclusive workplace.

Embracing an inclusive workplace is a business necessity. Integrating these management behaviours into your business will help you to channel your team's energy, building a high-performance and innovative organisation.