Destination: an airline where everyone feels welcome

KLM is a diverse organization. For example, our workforce includes some 75 nationalities and people with diverse preferences, customs, and beliefs. We're proud of that. After all, we believe that all these different colleagues make us stronger. But an important condition is that they feel at home and safe: at our company, in their department, and in their team. To make that happen, the network organization Connecting Colours was founded. Cabin attendant Saskia has been involved since the beginning and explains how they want to make KLM the most inclusive airline.

From the people

"It all started about two years ago, as an informal group discussion between colleagues. There we talked about equality, feeling safe within the company - those kinds of topics," Saskia recalls. The group soon became more serious. "We saw more and more situations that were unacceptable. Things that you encounter regularly on the work floor of big companies, but that we at KLM finally wanted to be done with. So, we raised the issue. This resulted in the network organisation Connecting Colours."

Advisor in blue

Connecting Colours has now been in existence for two years and a growing number of colleagues know how to find the organization. For advice, answers, or just to think along with us. 'We give our opinion on projects and decisions within the organisation. Sometimes a project group will ask us - "This is what we want to do, what do you think about it?". Other times we get signals from colleagues. In this way, we always deliver tailor-made solutions. We share our knowledge and expertise with all parts of KLM. In this way we work little by little on raising awareness, and that is the most important thing as far as we are concerned."

Open governance

For the board of Connecting Colours, the focus on openness and inclusiveness is also to be found in their hiring policy. In principle, everyone is welcome, regardless of the business unit. "Though it helps if you know what you're talking about, and that chance is greatest if you have a bicultural background or are part of the LGBTQ+ community. We get an incredibly enthusiastic response. Once colleagues see what we do, they often want to be part of it. As a result, we not only have an active board, but also many ambassadors in the organization."

Great value for KLM

"Diversity is incredibly good for a company. But the value of all those perspectives, opinions and backgrounds only becomes clear when everyone feels free to express themselves. That makes inclusiveness important not only for employees, but also for the organisation. We consequently notice a lot of appreciation from KLM. We really are fully-fledged discussion partners. Nobody is perfect, together we learn: the company learns from us, and we learn just as much from them. Together, we put KLM on the map as an inclusive employer."