Discover 4 practical lessons to help your business remove barriers, attract diverse talent and create a more inclusive workplace.
Finding and keeping good team members remains one of the biggest challenges for Queensland businesses. For small businesses in particular, every employee plays an important role. Creating a workplace that is accessible, flexible and inclusive can help you attract a wider talent pool, retain valued staff and build a stronger workplace culture.
These principles are explored through Workforce Evolve’s Module 3: Design your Workplace and Workforce and Module 7: Build an Inclusive Workplace. Together, these modules encourage businesses to think differently about their workforce and workplace by exploring strategic workforce planning, workplace flexibility, inclusive recruitment, accessibility and diversity.
Below are 4 practical lessons businesses can apply to attract, support and retain a diverse workforce.
1. Start where you are
No matter how long you’ve been running a business, it’s never too late to make positive changes. Businesses are often closer to meaningful change than they think, and small, practical steps can make a real difference.
For local Gladstone business owner Katrina Lucas of Mabel and Mack’s, who participated in the recent Workforce Evolve Accessibility and Inclusion Pilot, one of the biggest shifts was realising how simple those changes could be.
“One thing that really changed my perspective was that the changes I could make were so simple,” says Katrina. “Having an awareness of the physical space… writing up an inclusion and disability statement, that was something I could do myself. It did not require a lot of effort.”
Whether it is reviewing your physical workspace, updating workplace policies or making small adjustments to recruitment practices, meaningful progress often starts with one simple change.
2. Remove barriers from recruitment
Barriers can hide in plain sight. Acknowledging them isn’t about lowering expectations. It’s about giving more people a fair opportunity to demonstrate their skills and capabilities.
Inclusive recruitment should be considered as part of broader workforce planning. Small improvements, such as a clearer job advertisement, a simpler application process or a stated willingness to make adjustments, can help ensure talented candidates are not unintentionally excluded.
Another participant in the Workforce Evolve Accessibility and Inclusion Pilot, Mark Cachia, CEO of Gladstone Airport Corporation (GAC), reviewed the organisation’s employment documentation and recruitment advertising with Workforce Evolve coach Isabella. Together, they identified opportunities to incorporate diversity and inclusion messaging into vacancy notices and other recruitment materials.
“We had an assessment done on our documentation,” explains Mark. “For employment advertising, we did not have a diversity or inclusivity piece in there, which we now have.”
For many businesses, reviewing job advertisements, using inclusive language and clearly communicating available adjustments can be a practical first step. These changes can help businesses better position themselves to reach a broader pool of jobseekers and increase their chances of finding the right person for the role.
3. Listen to people who experience barriers you don’t
It can be difficult to recognise barriers when you don’t experience them yourself. Seeking input from people with lived experience can help uncover barriers that might otherwise go unnoticed. As part of the pilot, Katrina and Mark were paired with Inclusion Consultants who have lived experience of disability.
For Mark and the GAC team, a walk-through of the airport revealed that a winding check-in queue could be difficult to navigate for someone with vision impairment. Providing access to a straighter pathway offered a more accessible alternative.
At Mabel and Mack’s, the pilot identified opportunities to improve the in-store furniture layout and entrance grip, as well as add an accessibility statement to the business website.
The takeaway is simple: what works for one person may create a barrier for another. Increasing accessibility starts with understanding those barriers and seeking practical solutions. By asking questions and listening to people with lived experience of disability, businesses can identify improvements that better support employees, customers (both current and potential) and the broader community.
4. Turn good intentions into written commitments
Inclusion that’s only held in people’s heads can fade when things get busy. A Diversity and Inclusion Statement helps turn good intentions into action. It sets out what your business stands for, identifies priorities, outlines accountability and provides a framework for measuring progress.
Pairing your statement with a review of your workplace can help identify opportunities for improvement. This might include looking at recruitment processes, communication methods, staff training and the physical environment. Starting small and setting achievable goals can make the process more manageable and help build momentum over time.
Creating workplaces and teams that thrive
Building a more accessible and inclusive workplace doesn’t have to happen all at once.
As Katrina and Mark discovered, small practical changes can help remove barriers, create better experiences and open the door to a broader range of opportunities.
For businesses looking to strengthen workplace culture, build a more inclusive workforce and better support their teams, the final Workforce Evolve Online Workshop Series for 2026 is now open for registration. Participants can complete all 7 modules or focus on the modules most relevant to their business.
If you’d prefer to learn at your own pace, Workforce Evolve is also available as a free self-guided program with practical tools, resources and support to help Queensland businesses build stronger and more inclusive workplaces.
Workforce Evolve is proudly supported and funded by the Queensland Government
