In June I attended an online conference on LGBTQ+ inclusion in the workplace. This one-day event was a thought-provoking day of great speakers, and I will summarise my key takeaways for you here.<\/p>\n
The first session \u2018Transforming The Workplace: Taking A Holistic Approach To LGBTQIA+ Inclusivity\u2019 first highlighted that policy is important, but culture is key to making a workplace inclusive. The fact that 1 in 5 people are not out at work just highlights how much more there is to do in this space. The speaker highlighted that more inclusive organisations attract the best talent, and also get the best from their employees. So as well as being the right thing to do, it\u2019s also best for business.<\/p>\n
The session on \u2018Implementing Practical Policies \u2018To Transform Workplace Culture\u2019 followed on well. The speaker highlighted that everyone wants to feel like they have value, and jobseekers are prioritising inclusion. Policies are all well and good, but they need backup of a commitment from leadership. An excellent point was made that responsibility for inclusion lies across the organisation, not just in HR, as \u201cculture eats policy for breakfast\u201d.<\/p>\n
Top practical tips from this session were:<\/p>\n
The next session was all about data collection in the workplace. I have detailed slides available if you would like further information on this, but they key takeaway from this session was that you must build trust with your workforce to give them the confidence to disclose by fostering \u201cpsychological safety\u201d. Mitigating cynicism is also important, so ensure you have an action plan in place to show people how you will be using the data so they don\u2019t think \u201cwhat\u2019s the point?\u201d.<\/p>\n