As we commemorate Juneteenth, a day that reminds us of the long journey toward freedom and equity, it’s worth asking: Are we building businesses where equal opportunity is genuinely accessible to all?
It’s a question that goes beyond checking boxes or meeting quotas. Inclusivity influences how we treat people, how we honor diverse stories, and how we create workplaces that reflect the values we claim to believe in.
Building an inclusive team is thoughtful but also a crucial business strategy that shapes how your company thinks, innovates, and grows. A recent study showed that diverse jury panels raised more relevant facts and corrected more errors than homogenous ones. Similarly, teams made up of varied backgrounds in simulated market settings were 58% more accurate in financial decision-making compared to uniform teams.
Leading companies are already turning these insights into action. Zymergen, a biotech startup, revamped its hiring process to focus on collaboration and real project experience. The result? Women now make up nearly 32-40% of their technical team, a rare achievement in tech.
Meanwhile, Delta Air Lines has integrated equity as a central component of its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) strategy, offering their employees immersive learning experiences and partnerships with organizations that confront historical inequalities head-on.
These examples highlight that inclusivity is more than representation. It’s a deliberate effort that builds stronger teams and drives better outcomes.
In this blog, we’ll explore how you can create an inclusive team by changing common hiring practices for small businesses and implementing inclusive workplace policies that support diverse backgrounds.
1. Assess where your team stands today
Inclusion begins with awareness. Before you can improve diversity in small business teams, you need a clear understanding of what it currently looks like. That means evaluating your current policies, recruitment practices, and leadership dynamics.
Ask yourself: Are minorities represented at all levels or mostly in entry-level roles? Is feedback equitably given? Are promotions fair and transparent?
You can also gather feedback through anonymous surveys, host listening sessions, or bring in an external consultant to evaluate where your business stands on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Once you know where the gaps are, you can begin to close them
2. Change your hiring policies
Although 31% of companies say they value inclusivity, many small business owners try to “diversify” their workforce without shifting how they recruit or what qualifications they prioritize. That approach is often counterproductive.
Therefore, it’s essential to reevaluate your hiring practices for small businesses. Look beyond conventional resumes and degree requirements, particularly those that tend to exclude candidates from historically marginalized backgrounds.
Consider transferable skills, lived experience, and leadership potential, not just titles or institutions. Partner with organizations that serve Black professionals, veterans, or people with disabilities. And make sure your job postings and career pages reflect your inclusive values, not just your technical requirements.
3. Make education and conversation part of your culture
You can’t build an inclusive workplace if your team isn’t educated about what inclusion actually means. So, your team building strategies must include offering resources and regular opportunities for your staff to learn about topics like unconscious bias, allyship, cultural competency, and anti-racism. These can be delivered through expert-led sessions, free DEI webinars, team book clubs, or even short videos embedded into onboarding.
What matters most is consistency. Treat inclusion as an ongoing practice, not a one-time training. Encourage open dialogue and not just about big issues like race or identity, but about everyday experiences that shape how safe people feel at work.
Unlike large corporations, small businesses have the unique advantage of operating closely with their teams; use that to build a workplace rooted in trust and connection.
4. Create a diverse leadership
While 45% of companies say they promote diverse individuals into leadership, that leaves more than half falling short. When leadership doesn’t reflect diverse identities and experiences within your team or customer base, it sends a quiet message about who holds power and whose ideas are heard. Building an inclusive team means looking beyond just hiring and thinking about who gets promoted, mentored, and trusted with decision-making.
Take a closer look at your promotion practices. Who’s getting the high-visibility projects, the leadership coaching, or a seat at the table in big meetings? If it’s always the same profile, in terms of race, gender, background, or educational path, it’s time to widen the circle.
And here’s why that matters: when people see themselves represented in leadership, it fosters trust, motivation, and a stronger sense of belonging. Inclusive leadership shows employees that their voices matter and that there’s room to grow, no matter their background.
Moreover, companies with more diverse leadership teams generate significantly more innovation-related revenue. One study found that businesses with higher-than-average diversity in management saw 45% of their total revenue come from innovation, compared to just 26% in companies with less diverse leadership.
5. Diversify your partners, not just your employees
Did you know?
Only 25% of companies actively make an effort to work with diverse suppliers and business partners.
That’s a missed opportunity for many business owners, and you don’t want to be one of them,
Partnering with diverse vendors opens the door to new markets, strengthens your brand reputation, and helps foster trust with a broader customer base. It also allows your business to tap into innovative solutions and services shaped by different lived experiences. That’s why it’s important to build inclusivity in your partnerships, not just within your employees.
Here’s what you can do about it:
- Check your vendor list: Take a close look at who you’re hiring for marketing, legal services, bookkeeping, and other operations. Are your partnerships as diverse as your values?
- Identify gaps: If your network mostly reflects one demographic or background, it may be time to expand intentionally.
- Be intentional about driving change: Seek out Black-owned, women-owned, veteran-owned, and businesses owned by people with disabilities to bring fresh perspectives and greater equity into your operations.
- Go beyond one-time contracts: Build long-term relationships with diverse partners to deepen trust, collaboration, and community ties.
6. Celebrate and reward your employees
Representation without recognition falls flat. If you want inclusivity to stick, your culture needs to go beyond hiring practices for small businesses. You must celebrate inclusivity not just during heritage months but year-round.
Take time to spotlight the achievements of employees from underrepresented backgrounds, especially Black team members. Acknowledge their contributions publicly and meaningfully, whether through internal shout-outs, bonuses, promotions, or storytelling.
Just as important, recognize and reward those who actively foster inclusion: the team members who mentor, advocate, or help create safe spaces for others. These behaviors set the tone for your culture and show that inclusive leadership is valued at every level.
The bottom line
Inclusion starts with small, intentional choices, from how you hire to how you lead. It’s a long-term investment in your people, workplace culture, and business outcomes. From more accurate decision-making to stronger collaboration and innovation, diversity brings measurable value.
But inclusivity isn’t something you can improvise. It requires clear intentions and a business setup to support these important investments. After all, you can’t pay people fairly or offer equitable raises if your payroll and cash flow are a mess. Similarly, you can’t invest in DEI training or employee growth without knowing what your budget actually allows.
That means accurate financial data is essential for making inclusive decisions, whether it’s setting fair salaries, supporting employee growth, or driving equitable business investments.
That’s where our bookkeeping and accounting services can help you.
At CoCountant, we make sure all transactions are accurately categorized and matched with your bank and credit card statements to catch any discrepancies early. Each month, we prepare detailed financial reports, like profit and loss statements and cash flow summaries, so you always know exactly how your business is performing. Our team also manages payroll and contractor payments, ensuring your team is paid correctly and on time.
This clear and reliable financial information helps you budget confidently, build and support an inclusive team, and make smart decisions that drive your business growth.
FAQs
How do I make sure my team feels included after they’re hired?
Create a culture where every employee feels heard and valued. That could mean setting up anonymous feedback channels, offering mentorship programs, celebrating different cultural traditions, or having regular check-ins that go beyond performance to include well-being and belonging.
Is it expensive or time-consuming to build a diverse and inclusive team?
Not necessarily. Many impactful changes cost little to implement, like training interviewers to reduce bias or adjusting job ads. Over time, inclusive teams lead to better performance, retention, and innovation, saving you money on turnover and boosting results. Think of it as an investment in your business’s future.
