The holidays are a great way to celebrate the year-end, and the workforce is increasingly diverse. As many holidays revolve around religion and culture, it’s important to ensure all employees feel included and celebrated.
Celebrating the holidays is extremely important as it directly impacts the culture and employee experience, as well as provides an opportunity for organizations to celebrate their employees. It is important to create a culture of belonging for all employees.
Getting feedback from the employees is a great way to start planning events. Start by providing an optional space where people can give their opinions and thoughts. This will allow people to give their opinions which can later help the People team to use this data.
Some questions to ask:
Partnering with DEI teams can help develop a program that ensures the best practices throughout your organization.
These practices are:
DEI leaders can further help create events that are best fitted. DEI leaders can help each department and hold each other accountable for achieving objectives.
Work inclusivity should be top-of-mind. DEI teams should be part of the conversation to ensure a great time for everyone.
It is important that all backgrounds within the company feel included. Regardless of the culture and religion, everyone within the company should have a great time. Create events around diverse holidays instead of Christian-centered holidays.
Being culture oriented and eliminating the bias towards a Christian-centered holiday offers employees more opportunities. This will help recognize individual cultures rather than one specific culture.
Another way is by creating a holiday calendar. Awareness of different religions, awareness, and inclusion will inform everyone within the company of various holidays throughout the year. Internal communication about holidays and letting managers know about future holidays can inform everyone about the meaning. Add Epoch’s Calendar of Events for People Operations Teams to stay on top of holidays and special days to acknowledge in the year.
In order to be part of the change, educating people is required. Building awareness can help DEI members to prioritize every month rather than the months that have holidays. Some ways to achieve this is by scheduling a monthly guest speaker. Guest speakers can give a story, personal struggles, and more. This direct connection can help employees understand the guest's perspective.
Creating a safe space for difficult conversations. Many people tend to not share their opinion in the fear of judgement, or having a negative experience. By creating a safe space where people can share their personal experiences and perspectives creates debates, team building, and helps further educate. Lastly, recognize employees' preferences. Assuming that an employee will like something can be a recipe for disaster. An example would be providing food when people are fasting for their culture. Understanding the value, meaning and perspective can make everyone feel welcomed and respected.
Working towards a more diverse and inclusive work environment creates a better employee experience. Educating employees on different cultures and values can help them understand their differences. Employee experience is crucial to the growth of any company.
During the holidays, it is important to give back to employees to give them a sense of meaning and purpose. The Epoch community helps share ideas on inclusive events, gifting, and which vendors to use. Join our community today to be part of the conversation!
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