What is included in diversity training?
Diversity training companies worth their salt understand that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to diversity and inclusion training, especially if you are looking to produce results that are sustainable and positively impact the bottom line.
It is wasteful, to say the least, to offer training for compliance purposes or to try and shift the organisational culture in an aspirational direction if there is no real buy-in from the start.
Getting to where we need to be is not a one-year wonder. It is a continuous process of training, feedback, and improvement to reach where you need to be.
A meaningful diversity training program would impart meaningful knowledge that professional workers can use to improve themselves.
Building diversity training programs that matter
Training must incorporate the policies, practices, procedures, guidelines, and tools to help us improve dramatically on multiple fronts. Furthermore, training will cover all the challenges and unique aspects of being an employee in a multicultural setting.
The basics are still important
Although it may seem counterintuitive, a little education on the foundational principles and values associated with diversity, equality, and inclusion is a must before deciding what should be included in a diversity training program within regional organisation centres.
After all, most employees have a grasp of the fundamentals, thanks to all the focus on diversity and inclusion.
They know not to discriminate based on race, colour, ethnicity, language, nationality, sexual orientation, religion, gender, socio-economic status, age and physical and mental ability.
Furthermore, they understand behaviours that are unacceptable and the dangers of deep-seated bias that are entrenched into our perceptions.
However, even with basic foundation training, there is no doubt we should work together more respectfully and have greater appreciation and collaboration after training.
Furthermore, all additional programs should be growth-focused and speak to participants in a way that creates ownership of their own and the organisation’s evolution and collective destiny.
However, after the foundation and scene-setting at diversity training centers, we need to gather qualitative feedback from participants to shape training programs beyond the initial phase.
The importance of consultation after training
There is no real substitute for employee consultation when understanding the real issues at stake in a specific organisation. It helps you build on the foundation you have already established in your training program.
Diversity training companies must have breadth and depth of expertise to facilitate effective consultation processes that organisations should follow.
However, to extract meaningful feedback, your consultation process must be far-reaching, steered by a sophisticated understanding of corporate dynamics.
The feedback can then be shaped into best in class plans that are uniquely centric to the particular organisation’s needs.
Furthermore, diversity and inclusion training goes hand in hand with a consultation. It is through genuine consultation that we have the opportunity to reach out to each other.
The need to balance research with consultation
Consultation, however, goes beyond research. The main difference is that research deals with facts, whilst consultation unlocks emotions and thoughts, embracing different opinions to find commonality and consensus on key issues.
The best diversity training companies can effortlessly balance research and consultation. If we focus on one without the other, we will not come to grips with what sits at the core of propelling significant change.
We must determine what will carry momentous weight in the organisational transformation towards achieving diversity and inclusion imperatives in our training program.
Providing value through diversity training
The purpose behind diversity training is to imbue the core values of inclusion and equity into the hearts and minds of your people.
Diversity training companies understand this and attempt to understand a professional worker’s perspective.
When there is an attempt to cross the bridge, people start to see a genuine interest in their aspirations, ideas, wants, and views, which can help enrich diversity training, providing workers with the material they need to improve themselves and thrive in a multicultural setting.
