From the above data, it is clear that workplaces that promote and celebrate diversity and inclusion are important to current and prospective talent but, in addition to this, having a genuinely inclusive workplace environment can also bring about a range of benefits for both HR and employers. Take staff retention for example.

At a time where employers are grappling to keep hold of top talent amid the ‘Great Resignation’, having an inclusive culture can help with retention. For example, 2019 data from Limeade Institute found that, when employees feel included at work, they are 28% more engaged and three times more likely to stay. Additionally, with the above data from The Manifest highlighting that most jobseekers are looking to join diverse and inclusive companies, this could help with HR’s talent attraction strategy too. But this is not all.

Inclusive cultures

Separate data has highlighted that inclusive cultures can boost employee happiness, morale and overall business performance. A Boston Consulting Group survey found a correlation between inclusiveness and happiness on the job; of the employees who reported that they work in an inclusive working environment, 81% also said that they are happy in their jobs – three times more than those who don’t feel included. Additionally, a Deloitte study found that diverse companies enjoy 2.3 times higher cash flow per employee, while Gartner stats found that inclusive teams improve team performance by up to 30% in high-diversity environments, as cited by an Achievers article. Given the plethora of benefits that diverse and inclusive workplaces can have both for staff and the business, employers and HR would be wise to prioritise this agenda at work.

Branch’s thinking – about the importance of focussing on employee inclusion from an organisational standpoint – aligns with a wealth of data on the subject. According to research by Josh Bersin, inclusive companies are 1.7 times more likely to be innovative leaders in the market, and 1.8 times more likely to be change-ready. In addition, a white paper from Cloverpop – cited by Edume – found that inclusive teams make better decisions up to 87% of the time, and make those decisions twice as fast within half as many meetings.

Internal inclusivity data

As is clear, there are many benefits to having an inclusive working environment. So, to regularly ensure that employees feel included at work, the firm runs an employee inclusion survey where workers are asked whether they believe that they have experienced or seen any biases at Weetabix. The most recent ‘Inclusion Without Exception’ survey found that 79% believe that ‘Inclusion Without Exception’ is a priority for Weetabix, while 72% of respondents believe that Weetabix is an inclusive place to work (up from 67% the year prior). In addition, 77% of staff said that they are proud to be working for an organisation that champions inclusion and equal opportunity (up from 70% in the previous year), while 82% up from (65%) believe they have an opportunity to learn more about D&I at Weetabix. So, based on the above data, it appears that the firm is progressing its results year-on-year – something which will benefit both staff and the business.

While there were many positive takings from the study, the data also shed light on two areas where staff believe that they may have witnessed bias. For example, ‘age’ (36%) followed by ‘education’ (24%) were the two areas where employees believed that they have witnessed bias from within the organisation. Yet, as with any results, Stuart alludes that this can help the firm to reflect and consider as an organisation the activities and training that are needed to help managers and employees around that.

‘Breakfast With…’ sessions

Aside from utilising employee surveys to get feedback from staff, Weetabix also has initiatives in place to help employees share various inclusion stories. One of the initiatives that Weetabix runs, which helps to promote inclusion and raise awareness of mental wellbeing within the workplace, is its ‘Breakfast With...’ sessions. Essentially, these are interactive Q&A-style sessions – that started off pre-Covid-19 in the on-site restaurant – which are led by someone different each week, whether it is ‘Breakfast With… Sally Abbott, the Managing Director’ or ‘Breakfast With… Stuart Branch’ talking about the people strategy. However, as with many organisations, inclusion-related initiatives like these were quickly moved online in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic – a move which Stuart says saw an uptick in the number of people joining the sessions.

He explains: “We saw the attendance rate go up quite dramatically, we encouraged people to sit at home with their bowl of Weetabix or Alpen or cup of coffee and we continued to run the ‘Breakfasts With…’ around all sorts of subject matters, [for example] managing your time, [separating] between home and work time, mental wellbeing, right the way through to understanding Covid-19 and return to office. We have, though, over the last three years, run sessions which are ‘Breakfast with… the Diversity and Inclusion forum’, and ‘Breakfast With… the ‘Inclusion without Exception’ champions.”

Additionally, Weetabix has also run ‘Breakfast With…’ sessions with colleagues who have been able to talk about their journey at Weetabix or experiences that they may have had throughout their life. One example Stuart shares is employees who have talked about their dyslexia. He says: “They have talked about how they use certain aspects of Microsoft tools and fonts to enable them to be effective in their work.” Other stories to have been shared were around employees who had been bullied at school, how this has given them the determination in life to succeed and how it has affected their career at Weetabix. Additionally, at the time of the interview, Stuart adds that one live session (at the time of the interview) was about Ramadan. He continues: “So, we have been talking about employees that are practising Ramadan and how that affects them at work and, again, telling these stories creates a curiosity for people to learn more about that Muslim faith.”