Building Inclusive Employee Experiences in the Non-Profit Sector

Creating an Inclusive Employee Experience

Leaders can champion inclusion at every stage of the employee lifecycle, taking into consideration how culture is influenced by ideas, institutions, interactions and individuals. This framework, proposed by Stanford psychologist Hazel Markus, reflects the four key drivers of culture and levers for culture change. Here’s what you can do to create a more inclusive workplace culture:

Attraction and Recruitment: Cast a Wide Net

• Review Your Brand: Audit your website, job descriptions, and mission statements. Do they explicitly communicate your commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)? Do your photos and stories represent a diverse community?
• Expand your Talent Sourcing: Move beyond traditional recruitment channels. Post openings on job boards dedicated to diverse candidates, partner with organisations serving underrepresented communities, for ethnically diverse candidates or for candidates living with disabilities, and encourage employees to refer candidates from diverse backgrounds.
• Standardise Assesments: Implement a structured interview process with clear criteria to evaluate all candidates for the same role. This reduces unconscious bias and ensures a fair assessment.
• Offer Flexibility: Accommodate different needs of candidates by offering virtual interview options and flexible scheduling. This is especially helpful for people with caregiving responsibilities, disabilities, and full-time jobs.

Onboarding: Set the Tone for Belonging

• Confirm DEI Commitments: Ensure you clearly communicate anti-discrimination policies, codes of conduct, and available support resources (e.g, Employee Assistant Programme, mental health benefits such as medical coverage for psychiatric treatment) to employees from their first day on the job.
• Assign Peer Mentors: Pair new hires with experienced colleagues who can help them navigate the organisational culture and build connections, ensuring they feel welcomed and supported.
• Offer Flexible Work Arrangements: Where possible, offer flexibility in work hours and location, such as remote working or hybrid options. This demonstrates trust and supports employees with diverse needs, from parents to neurodiverse individuals, allowing them to balance work and personal responsibilities.

Development and Growth: Empower Every Voice

• Offer Equitable Rewards and Recognition: Audit your reward systems. Are you recognising and promoting only a certain type of work style or background? Implement mechanisms to celebrate contributions that align to your organisation’s values, such as inclusion and teamwork.
• Make Learning and Development Accessible: Provide growth opportunities for all. Even in the face of budget constraints, you can get creative, for example, partnering with other non-profits to share training costs, seeking grants for professional development, or bartering services for training access.
• Provide Inclusive Benefits: Check your compensation and benefits for equity gaps. Does your health insurance cover domestic partners and mental health services? Do your parental leave policies support all parents?
• Meaure Employee Engagement: Regularly use anonymous quick pulse and more comprehensive engagement surveys to assess the employee experience in your organisation. Share the findings and, most importantly, be seen to act on employee feedback.

Offboarding: Part as Allies

• Conduct Meaningful Exit Interviews: Treat exit interviews as a critical learning opportunity. Ask candid questions, including questions about the individual’s experience with inclusion and psychological safety. Ensure confidentiality to get honest feedback.
• Act on Feedback: Use the insights from exit interviews to identify systemic issues and address them. This demonstrates that employee feedback leads to real change.
• Stay Connected: Invite departing employees to stay connected as alumni, through newsletters, social media and/or in-person events. This turns former employees into lifelong ambassadors for your mission, extending your community and impact.

By: Michael Chan, Responsible Business Lead, Johnson Stokes and Master