Attracting and recruiting a more diverse workforce is now high on many organisations' agendas. But all this hard work can go to waste if people don't feel welcomed and included once they arrive.
That's where pre-boarding and onboarding can play an invaluable role. It can help ensure not only that you retain a more diverse workforce, but that you develop and embed a much more inclusive working culture. The result? Everyone can thrive and give of their best.
The process can start before your new employees have even arrived, with a pre-boarding portal like Eli that contains a wide range of information to help people feel welcomed, included and up to speed. Just a few ideas:
- Information on all of your employee networks, with the opportunity to sign up then and there, and message others in the network
- Office maps/layouts that include key locations such as multi-faith prayer rooms, lifts or gender-neutral toilets
- Details of support for parents, from on-site crèches to childcare benefits and flexible working
- Profiles and videos showing the diverse range of people at all levels in your organisation
- A welcome video from a senior manager or member of the executive team with inclusive messaging
Autism Unlimited is a good example of what this looks like in practice. Their onboarding puts inclusion at its centre, and 97% of new hires describe the experience as “outstanding,” alongside a 9% reduction in early attrition. Candidates with Autism specifically commented on how the traffic light coloured checklist made their pre-boarding process clear and unambiguous.
It's also worth considering how important pre-boarding and onboarding can be in driving social mobility, particularly for an early careers cohort. By giving graduates or other new starters the chance to familiarise themselves with key information about the team they'll be joining, ongoing projects and initiatives, and what will be expected of them in their first weeks, you can give everyone a chance to begin day one on a much more level playing field. An onboarding portal that allows candidates to connect with and message their peers can be particularly effective in boosting people's confidence and sense of belonging, something our clients NatWest Group, Cognizant and BDO know too well.
As with all inclusion initiatives, speaking to a wide demographic of people is key. What type of inclusive onboarding content would be most useful? What events might make people feel most welcomed? Whether you consult with your diversity network leaders, or survey people across your organisation asking what would have made them feel more included in the workplace when they joined, you'll collect invaluable insights and ideas.
Once people have joined, induction programmes can be key to helping embed a culture of inclusivity. This can be particularly important for managers, who could receive training in areas such as inclusive interviewing, or how to deal with customers who may be displaying racist or homophobic behaviour towards one of their team members; role playing videos can be very effective here, like the training video we developed for The Gym Group, with the help of CA3, to ensure their existing and new people felt confident in tackling all of the above, whether that involved their employees or their customers.
Don't forget to make sure everyone knows and understands the process to report bullying or discrimination too, and exactly what this looks like. Stonewall's LGBT in Britain: Work Report found that one in eight lesbian, gay and bi people (12%) wouldn't feel confident reporting homophobic or biphobic bullying to their employer, rising to one in five trans people (21%) for transphobic bullying. So making sure people feel confident to speak up is vital.
Onboarding is the perfect opportunity to begin supporting your workforce in a truly inclusive way, setting everybody up for success.
FAQs
How can onboarding support diversity and inclusion?
By making inclusion visible from before day one, information on diversity networks, inclusive facilities, parental support and role models, so new starters see themselves reflected in the organisation from the outset, not just hear about inclusion in a policy document.
Does inclusive onboarding actually improve retention?
Yes. Autism Unlimited, for example, saw a 9% reduction in early attrition alongside a 97% “outstanding” rating from new hires, directly linked to how central inclusion was to their onboarding design.
How does onboarding support social mobility?
By giving every new starter, regardless of background, the same access to information about their team, projects and what's expected of them in the first weeks, onboarding can level the playing field for people who don't already have an informal network to lean on.
What should manager training on inclusion during onboarding cover?
Practical areas like inclusive interviewing and how to handle discriminatory behaviour towards a team member, alongside making sure every new starter knows exactly how to report bullying or discrimination if they experience or witness it.
