Over the past several years, an increasing number of companies have implemented a DEI strategy for their organizations. With growing diversity awareness and the adoption of the hybrid workplace model, it’s a good time to reassess and double down on your efforts to improve diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Here are some ideas for DEI best practices for your hybrid team.

DEI Best Practices for the Hybrid Workplace Model

Amanda Xido, editor-in-chief of Nomadic, a digital academy for training leaders, offers the following tips in her article for Fast Company: 

• Watch out for proximity bias: Proximity bias, which Xido defines as “the tendency to look more favorably on the people we see more often,” isn’t a new phenomenon, but the issue is more relevant than ever in the hybrid workplace where employees who opt to work remotely more frequently may not receive the same opportunities for advancement as their in-office colleagues. 

• Make DEI a priority: Make it known that you’re committed to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace. This can largely be achieved by practicing empathy, which can be as simple as listening more closely, holding one-on-one meetings in person so you don’t miss any verbal cues, and frequently inviting feedback from your team on how they’re doing both in and out of the office.

• Promote honest communication around personal well-being: The hybrid workplace, by allowing us to peek inside the homes and lives of our coworkers during Zoom meetings and to have more candid conversations about serious subjects, has helped to promote greater intimacy in the workplace. Managers should continue to foster such openness by asking after their employee’s mental well-being on a regular basis.

Improving Diversity and Inclusion in the Hybrid Workplace 

In the midst of the unprecedented changes that have occurred over the past couple of years, it wouldn't be surprising to find that you've lost track of the progress you’ve made or let DEI initiatives slip. But with remote and hybrid work, it’s more important than ever to make improving diversity and inclusion a top priority.