The Inclusive People Manager - Five Habits for Fairer Workplace Decisions

Picture this: It is Monday morning, and the team is gathered for a quick meeting. A few voices lead the discussion, decisions are made and the meeting ends on time.

By Friday, a customer issue has surfaced. One team member had spotted the risk earlier in the week but chose not to raise it. Having recently joined the team from another department, he felt that his views were not taken as seriously as those of longer-serving colleagues. Nothing obviously went wrong during the meeting. Yet an important perspective never made it into the conversation.

These small moments add up. They influence whether employees feel heard, whether they trust the decisions being made and whether they see themselves as part of the team.

The impact goes beyond employee experience. An Ipsos¹ study from 2024 found that nearly three in ten employees in Singapore plan to leave their employer within the next two years. Separately, Randstad's 2025 Workmonitor survey² found that 62% would consider leaving a workplace where they do not feel a sense of belonging. Together, these findings suggest that beyond pay, whether employees feel recognised, included and able to grow can also influence whether they choose to stay.

Belonging may sound abstract, but employees experience it in very practical and tangible ways: who gets heard, how opportunities are allocated, whether feedback is fair and what happens when someone raises a concern.

Why People Managers Matter

Fair and inclusive workplace practices are not just HR initiatives to carry, but possibly a practical way to run teams more effectively.

While HR sets workplace policies and frameworks, many decisions are made much closer to the ground. Whether it is allocating opportunities, giving feedback, assessing performance, or responding to concerns, people managers play a key role in shaping how fairness is experienced in practice.

When the reasoning behind these decisions appears unclear, inconsistent, or overly subjective, employees may begin to wonder if they have been treated fairly. In some cases, this can result in workplace grievances.

Clear decision-making processes, proper documentation, and transparent and upfront communication can help managers communicate the rationale behind decisions and foster a stronger sense of trust with their employees. Coupled with the use of grievance handling procedures, they provide a stronger foundation for addressing or responding to concerns constructively.

As organisations prepare for Workplace Fairness Act (WFA), everyday interactions and decisions deserve more attention. While processes make fairness possible, managers make fairness visible. Policies and processes form the foundation of workplace fairness, but the perceptions of fairness or unfairness are formed through daily interactions experienced with people managers and colleagues.  

By incorporating simple inclusive habits in everyday interactions and decisions, people managers can make fairer decisions with greater consistency. These actions encourage participation, build trust and contribute to stronger team dynamics.

Five Practical Habits   

Here are five inclusive habits that managers can introduce without a major programme or organisational overhaul.

1.          Write first, then discuss.

Managerial moment: Team discussions
Try this when discussions move quickly or some voices consistently dominate.

Before opening the floor in any meeting, give everyone 3–5 minutes to jot down their thoughts.

This gives quieter team members and those less comfortable speaking a chance to gather their ideas first before the conversation moves on. It also prevents the most vocal person from unintentionally setting the direction before others have had a chance to think.

2.          Agree on what "good" looks like.

Managerial moment: Decision-making
Try this when a decision could become subjective or difficult to explain.

Whether it's evaluating candidates, vendors or possible solutions, agree on 3 to 5 job-related, objective criteria, write them down and apply them consistently.

5 minutes spent clarifying the criteria saves a much longer debate later and helps the team focus on what matters. This also allows managers to be able to provide a clear answer if anyone asks why a decision was made.

3.          Give feedback that leads somewhere.

Managerial moment: Feedback Conversations
Try this when feedback is sensitive or if the situation feels unclear.

FranklinCovey's approach to feedback focuses on development, balancing courage and consideration. While managers need enough courage to address issues honestly, they also need to provide sufficient consideration to understand an employee's perspective and agree collectively.

A useful structure for these conversations is What, So What, Now What:

• What — Describe what happened. Factual, specific, and observable. No judgement, no interpretation.
• So What — Explain why it matters. The impact on the team, the client, the work, or the relationship.
• Now What — Agree on what changes next. A concrete action, commitment, or next step.

For example: "In yesterday's client call, you spoke over Aminah twice (What). 

The client stopped sharing, and the conversation lost momentum (So What). 
Going forward, I'd like us to be more mindful of giving each other space to finish — especially in front of clients. What are your thoughts on how we approach this going forward? (Now What)."

It encourages managers to stay grounded in observable facts, connects behaviour to consequences, and invites employees to share their perspectives and circumstances. Rather than making assumptions, managers are better able to understand the situation fully and continue the discussion as a two-way conversation.

4.          Share the spotlight.

Managerial moment: Creating development opportunities
Try this when the same employees are always the most visible.

Recall briefly: Who presents at the next update at management meetings? Who runs the stand-up? Who receives the stretch assignment?

When deadlines are tight, managers naturally turn to the employee they know will deliver. While this seems like the safest choice, other employees are deprived of the opportunity to gain the experience needed to become equally capable.

Potential is often revealed when people are given fair chances to grow, not only after they have already proven that they can shine.

However, this does not mean rotating opportunities blindly. Consider who is ready, who could step up with some guidance and whose abilities may not yet have had the chance to be seen. By intentionally creating opportunities for other employees to stretch, grow and showcase their strengths, organisations can take a fairer and more progressive approach to recognising talent.

The same principle of fairness and consistency also applies to hiring decisions.

5.          Make interviews consistent.

Managerial moment: Hiring and Selection Decisions
Try this when decisions may be influenced by instincts or initial impressions.

Consistency is one of the simplest ways to support fair hiring decisions. Asking every candidate the same job-related questions and scoring answers against the same objective criteria helps ensure that decisions are based on merit rather than on gut feel or first impressions.

Use a simple scoring sheet and take 15 minutes to align with the rest of the panel. It reduces bias, levels the playing field, and gives a paper trail that fulfils the expectations of the Workplace Fairness Act.

TAFEP has practical guidance on writing fair job advertisements and conducting fair job interviews that managers can refer to directly.

Small habits, repeated often

When these small habits are built into everyday interactions and decisions, managers can prevent or replace more costly issues later such as misunderstandings and perceptions of unfairness, circular discussions, poorly explained decisions, disengagement, and unresolved concerns.

Most managers genuinely believe they run a fair and inclusive team. The litmus test is whether the people on that team experience it that way. If the answer is uncertain — that is a useful place to begin. 

Developed jointly by TAFEP and FranklinCovey Singapore, this article aims to help organisations strengthen their understanding and practice of inclusive leadership.

The original article was first published by FranklinCovey Singapore and is available here.

^References

^{[1] Ipsos. (2024). About 3 in 10 Singapore workers say they plan to leave their employers in under two years. Available at: https://www.ipsos.com/en-sg/about-3-10-singapore-workers-say-they-plan-leave-their-employers-under-two-years [Accessed: 11 August 2026]}

^{[2] Randstad Singapore. (2025). 3 in 5 respondents would quit their jobs if they didn't experience a sense of belonging: 2025 Workmonitor. Available at: https://www.randstad.com.sg/hr-trends/employer-brand/3-in-5-need-sense-of-belonging-at-work/ [Accessed: 11 August 2026]}