What does inclusivity actually mean at work? And why is it important to the staffing industry?
Many organizations today talk about the concept of inclusivity as part of their diversity initiatives. But what does inclusivity actually mean at work? And why is it important to the staffing industry?
When we talk about inclusivity at Curate Partners, we’re talking about creating an environment where everyone feels supported to do their best work and to be their authentic selves at work. From the employer perspective, that means:
- Listening to employees and their concerns
- Making everyone feel welcome after they join
- Creating spaces where people can be themselves at work
- Paying attention how we represent our own company
Inclusivity is critical to creating a truly diverse company. That’s because diversity is about more than simply recruiting people with different backgrounds and perspectives to an organization. It’s also about retaining people and supporting their long-term development after they’ve joined the company; and ensuring that all voices are equally valuable. Inclusivity intersects with diversity to build productive, happy workplaces—and at Curate Partners, we believe that all our employees deserve to grow and to be heard, however long they stay with us.
So, how do we do this?
It’s not enough to ask people how they want to feel included. Instead, we challenge ourselves and ask our employees in what ways we can be better. How can we create a more inclusive environment? How can we provide more listening and learning opportunities for everyone who works with us?
Curate Partners has always been a company that prided itself on commitment to diversity and inclusion—and we continue to learn from our consultants and applicants every day. We’re learning from our employees, too.
We recently launched employee resource groups, where our employees share suggestions and experiences. We offer anonymous virtual suggestion boxes to anyone in the company, encouraging employees to share ways for us to grow together. We continue to invest in relationship-building among our employees after they join us. Managers are trained to conduct effective 1:1s that support the development of every individual and focus on creating development plans for unique strengths that every person in our company brings to the table.
Our consultants are a critical part of our community and are welcomed to our employee resource groups. In fact, we treat our consultants in the same way as full-time employees – offering access to resources, team building activities, benefits, and supporting their passions.
How we present ourselves to the broader community matters too. We’re updating our website to reflect the diversity of the people in our community, and to ensure that all our applicants see themselves represented in the industry. We’re strong advocates of intentional hiring to represent a broad spectrum of backgrounds and voices, and we want to show that to the world.
And most importantly, we hire based on qualifications and skillset, ensuring that people of all walks of life and backgrounds have equal access to the opportunities that we offer.
Our commitment to inclusivity is deep. While we’re early on the journey, we’re excited to work towards meaningful results from our efforts. We hope to see our own employee retention rates rise. And we’re optimistic that employees will feel that the company cares for them, that we’ll continue learning together, and discovering more ways of building an inclusive, modern, collaborative, positive workplace.
We’ve been a people-first company from that start because our people are our best asset. So, what can you expect when you work at (and with) Curate Partners?
- You’ll have authentic conversations about your experiences in and out of work
- You’ll receive ongoing support for your passions and talents from your manager and colleagues
- You can count on us for ongoing commitment to creating an inclusive staffing industry