10 Signs an Organization is Inclusively Delicious!

It’s simply not enough for organizations and companies to have a diverse team of employees. Companies who want to hire, retain and sustain employees of color must be inclusively delicious! What do I mean by that? Well, my experience tells me a few things must be crystal clear beginning at first contact with the company. I also recently spent some time talking with some fellow colleagues about “what makes you want to work for certain organizations” and their thoughts were very similar to my own.

I feel pretty comfortable saying that “most people of color” are very observant and cognizant about whether an organization or company is inclusive or not. Sometimes this assessment of such a company happens unconsciously but often times it’s a mindful act that occurs instantaneously. So, back to this dialogue with my friends and colleagues. We basically talked about what we look for and try to get a sense of when looking for an inclusive place to work and often times again it begins in the interview process. I’ll share with you some of the most popular or consistent “things/actions” people of color look for when engaging with a potential employer or once they’ve gotten the job and are now a part of the team.

10 Signs an Organization is Inclusively Delicious!

1. Upon entering the front doors people of color often look for visual signs of inclusivity in the forms of pictures on the wall, a diverse selection of magazines, decor that represent a variety of ethnicities and most importantly staff who look like them and or staff of color.

2. Many people of color openly or secretly hope the person who will be interviewing them will be a person of color and or someone who is culturally sensitive and unbiased.

3. Once working for an organization, people of color seek to discover if the leader or CEO has a clear vision, mission, philosophy and policy and procedures in place to effectively execute an inclusive work environment.

4. People of color are hoping the leadership team is diverse in race and gender. It’s refreshing to see and know there is potential for them to eventually obtain a leadership position.

5. People of color also want to know whether the company or organization has a system or a body in place that seeks to cultivate an inclusive work environment such as a diversity committee or advisory board.

6. If given the opportunity to meet and or engage with the board of directors, you can be sure that people of color are hoping the board will be diverse in race and gender as well. Let’s face it an all white board, especially an all white male board is a sure sign of an organizations failure to demonstrate inclusivity from the top down.

7. People of color want to “feel” comfortable and included. They want to be seen, respected, valued and heard. They want to be asked to contribute to the overall goals of the team and or organization.

8. People of color do not want to be the token so they are looking to see whether there are other people of color working for the organization. This is especially true and important that organizations have people of color equally represented from the top to the bottom.

9. People of color want to know and be shown that diversity is a top priority and that diversity and inclusion strategies are included in every fiber of the organizations strategic plan.

10. People of color want to sense, feel and observe that the organization is doing the “work” from the inside out. This means the organization has diversity and inclusion on the organizational agenda. It means they openly talk about the importance of diversity and inclusion. This means it’s literally on the leadership agenda as an important factor in remaining competitive and appealing to the employees. This means the organization has a written plan and is implementing inclusion strategies on an ongoing basis.

What I know for sure is that people of color are observing, sensing and assessing the climate of an organization even when they don’t consciously know they are. Inclusively delicious climates are comprised of actions that give employees of color a sense of belonging, acceptance and respect. Being inclusively delicious is NOT about what you are going to do as an organization it’s about what you are active DOING to create work environments that “feel so good” people of color can’t wait to show up to work and they refuse to work any where else because the work environment is satisfying and fulfilling.

Is your organization inclusively delicious? If not, you may need an organizational makeover! Trust me when I say the signs above are being sought out by your potential and currently employees of color.

By Catrice Jackson