In this guide, you are going to learn everything about workplace diversity training:

What is Diversity Training, in simple words?

Diversity training is like going to school to learn about how different people can be. Just like how you have friends with different hair colors, different favorite colors, and different pets, people can also have different skin colors, different religions, and different ways of doing things.

Diversity training helps us learn about these differences and understand that they are all okay. We learn how to be kind to everyone, no matter what they look like or how they do things. We also learn about how to be friends with people who are different from us, and how to work together to make the world a better place.

So, diversity training is like going to school to learn about how to be a good friend to everyone, no matter what they look like or how they do things.

Introdution

Businesses nowadays have a diverse array of workers employed. Since most are happening online, gathering employees from around the world has been made easier.

With that said, organizations are practicing diversity training as part of their norms. But what is it really for and why is it important?

Business owners have one common goal: to succeed. To reach success, business owners expand their businesses. Expansion is often associated with having workers from different areas and diverse cultures. Because of this, companies have diversity training programs in their workforce.

What is Diversity Training?

Diversity training is a professional training program designed to facilitate positive intergroup interaction across different diversity types to reduce prejudice and discrimination, and generally teach individuals who are different from others how to work together effectively in a business or team environment. Diversity training in office environment addresses all of the unique things about employees – culture, education, gender expression, religion, indigenous, race, colour, ethnicity, language, nationality, sexual orientation, religion, gender, socio-economic status, age, and physical and mental disability – and the manner in which we work together. This goes beyond being “politically correct” and moves into the realm of learning how to embrace differences among employees and including the valuable inputs and perspectives all employees bring to your company.

The objective of diversity training is to increase participants’ racial, cultural, different diversity type awareness, knowledge, and communication. Diversity training can have lots of benefits to an organization by helping to prevent civil rights violations, increasing the inclusion of different identity groups, promoting better teamwork, and many more benefits in an inclusive environment. The main goal of a successful diversity training program is to create a positive work environment by helping employees recognize and be tolerant of differences among co-workers.

Critical Elements of Diversity Training Programs and Why They Matter

Diversity training, by definition, is the training in which different people are being taught about their differences, learning to accept and understand them, then work towards one common goal.

Diversity programs offer people a wider understanding of differences and uniqueness which can potentially contribute to being successful when carrying out a task. Knowing and understanding what’s around them gives workers a boost in confidence and morale, making them better in what they do. A happy workplace is a productive workplace.

Why Diversity is Important for Organizations to Survive in the Modern Workforce?

The modern workforce is broad. More and more businesses are rising. Compared to previous generations, businesses these days rise (and others fall) at a faster rate, all thanks to the modern means of expansion.

Competition gets harder and harder as more organizations are forming and expanding. To stay on top, or the competition at the very least, diversity is a key strategy.

Having an assortment of characteristics in a team is essential for an organization to survive in these modern times. It allows an organization to have a wide range of ideas to work with, and the importance of diversity at work can be judged by the result of having better productivity for the organization.

The fact that diversity can increase the productivity of an organization, we need to validate its importance. With the competition getting tougher and tougher by the day, diversity will be key to staying a healthy and competitive company.

But diversity, like most other things, has its positives and negatives. Diversity by definition is like variety. A diverse workplace consists of people from different races, characteristics, gender preferences, religious orientations, different ethnicities, etc.

This can lead to problems when working together. A staff member would want to work on a project, but it contradicts what another staff member would want to have. Or it could be contradicting a staff member’s beliefs. This issue can lead to some serious matters if it is not resolved immediately, thus requiring the need for diversity training.

Tips for selecting diversity training programs

Selecting a good diversity and inclusion training program can be challenging, but here are some tips to help you make an informed decision:

1. Define your goals: Before selecting a training program, it’s important to define your goals and objectives. Determine what you hope to achieve through the training and what specific areas of diversity and inclusion you want to focus on.
2. Research potential providers: Do your research on potential training providers. Look for providers with experience and expertise in diversity and inclusion training, and check their references and reviews.
3. Check the training content: Look for training programs that offer a comprehensive and evidence-based curriculum. The training should cover a broad range of diversity and inclusion topics and provide practical tools and strategies for application.
4. Consider the format: Consider the format of the training and choose one that suits your needs. This could be in-person, online, or a combination of both.
5. Evaluate the trainers: The trainers leading the training should have expertise in diversity and inclusion, as well as strong facilitation skills. Consider their credentials and experience in delivering diversity and inclusion training.
6. Ensure accountability: Make sure the training provider has a system for measuring and evaluating the impact of their training. This will help ensure accountability and determine the effectiveness of the training.
7. Assess cultural competence: Consider the cultural competence of the training provider. They should demonstrate cultural sensitivity and an ability to work with diverse groups.

Overall, selecting a good diversity and inclusion training program requires careful consideration of the training content, format, trainers, and cultural competence of the provider. By taking the time to research and evaluate potential providers, you can find a program that meets your specific needs and goals.

Diversity and Inclusion and The Importance of it Being Connected

A well-known winning strategy for most organizations is the application of diversity. While most companies achieved success by this strategy, others tend to be led to a different and downward path, which contributes to their demise.

Diversity is the representation of different characteristics, not limited to races, ethnicity, social and economic backgrounds, religious beliefs, genders, sexual orientations, disabilities, age, and more.

Inclusion is defined as having someone be a part of something, like a group or a team.

Differences in every team member can cause problems for the whole team. Their uniqueness can lead to misunderstandings, which poses a threat to the reputation of a company.

While diversity may seem like a hindrance, the problems it poses can be turned around and eventually be used for the growth and success of an organization. That is where inclusion comes into place.

Diversity plus workplace inclusion is the formula for a successful diverse workforce. A diverse workforce can bring about plenty of ideas to the table, coming from different expertise and perspectives.

Workplace inclusion is when the team members know and feel that they are part of the same group and that they are all working together to reach a common goal. By having workplace inclusion, these numerous approaches and ideas can be beneficial for the company’s growth if handled properly.

Functional Goals of a Diversity Training Program and How It Can Benefit Your Organization

Workplace diversity training is a must for diverse organizations. Not only will it bring about workplace inclusion, but it is beneficial for your organization’s growth.

Diversity training focuses on the introduction of the uniqueness of each employee, teaches them how to understand and accept one another, and leads them on ways how to fruitfully work together on a common goal.

Diversity training also leads to workplace inclusion, in which individuals are treated respectfully and equally. Individuals are given equal opportunities in the workplace space and resources and can contribute equally to the organization’s ascendancy.

Types of Diversity Training?

Unconscious Bias Training: This type of training focuses on making individuals aware of their implicit biases and teaching strategies to mitigate their effects.

Cultural Competence Training: This training aims to improve participants’ ability to interact effectively with people from different cultures.

Inclusion and Belonging Training: This type of training promotes an environment where everyone feels valued, respected, and a sense of belonging. It addresses inclusive behaviors and practices.

Anti-harassment Training: This is a training aimed at preventing workplace harassment, including sexual harassment, racial harassment, etc.

Anti-racism Training: This form of training helps individuals and organizations to confront racism and actively work towards promoting racial equality.

Gender Sensitivity Training: This training focuses on understanding and respecting differences in gender and promoting gender equality in the workplace.

LGBTQ+ Awareness Training: This training focuses on promoting understanding and respect for people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or questioning (LGBTQ+).

Disability Awareness Training: This training focuses on promoting understanding and respect for people with different types of disabilities, and creating a more accessible and inclusive environment.

Microaggressions Training: This training helps individuals to understand and identify subtle but offensive comments or actions directed at a minority or other non-dominant group.

Religious Diversity Training: This training promotes understanding and respect for people of various religious beliefs.

Generational Diversity Training: This type of training aims to promote understanding and collaboration among workers of different age groups.

Intersectionality Training: This training explores how different social identities (like race, gender, class, etc.) interact and can lead to unique experiences of discrimination or advantage.

Language and Communication Training: This helps individuals to navigate language barriers and develop effective cross-cultural communication skills.

Diversity Leadership Training: This form of training is targeted at leaders, helping them to create and foster a diverse and inclusive environment within their teams or organizations.

Diversity Recruitment Training: This training focuses on fair and effective practices for recruiting a diverse workforce.

Here are some functional goals of a diversity training program

Increased Engagement from Employees

Well-handled workplace diversity training can bring about a welcoming vibe to employees. Employees who feel welcomed have tendencies to feel relaxed and calm, leading them to be more engaged in their jobs. Increased engagement can then lead to better productivity for the company.

Increased Team Effectivity

A diverse workforce consists of an array of diverse perspectives which is beneficial for everyday tasks. Employees with diverse backgrounds can give different solutions to problems, making problem-solving much faster. Employees with different views and experiences can contribute different ideas, making decision-making efforts much easier.

Better Reputation for the Company

Companies that promote diversity training programs tend to have a good, reliable, more human, and positive image which leads to a better reputation. This makes the company more attractive, opening a window for new opportunities, business partners, and clients.

Reduced Employee Turnover

Giving focus on workplace inclusion gives an engaging and inviting them to employees. Employees would feel welcome, accepted, and happy, giving them more reasons to stay and fewer reasons to leave.

Attract talents

Having a workplace that is inviting and one that gives the feeling of belongingness is a positive thing to achieve. Workplace inclusion can unleash an individual’s potential and consequently bring about success to everyone. Bearing this, talents will be attracted to being part of an engaging and upbringing organization.

Don’t miss the high-demand jobs from diverse and social impact valued employers

How a Diverse Workforce Improves Business Performance at All Levels?

A diverse workforce gives the company a wider scope of possibilities and opportunities, as well as new challenges to face. The challenges that a diverse workforce possesses can be turned around when mixed properly with an inclusive work environment.

By having an inclusive and diverse workforce, the performance of a business can improve in the following aspects:

Decision Making

Having a diverse workforce opens up a wide range of ideas and perspectives. With more concepts and ideas being considered, company decisions are made better.

Problem Solving

Problems in the company are inevitable, and these must be resolved. The faster these problems are dealt with, the better. A diverse workforce can have members with different experiences.

These differences in experiences can help in addressing the problems as more solutions and ideas are being presented. The frequency at which problems are solved is vital for an organization’s reputation.

Task Performance

A workforce consisting of members belonging to a single diversity may be effective at performing common tasks, for they may have the same ideas and perspectives.

But a problem arises when they’re given different tasks, for they have similar approaches to a task and have a narrow library of ideas. This is where a diverse workforce becomes important. Having a wide library of perspectives, different company tasks can be fulfilled at a faster and more productive rate.

How to Implement Diversity Training

Diversity training is a must for most successful companies in these modern times. But doing so requires effort and time. One cannot just go and say, “This is how we do it, everyone is expected to comply”, then really just expects everyone to do it. Remember that we are dealing with humans, not robots.

The wrong implementation of diversity training can lead to more problems in the workforce. It may seem a straightforward program, but many are still struggling to learn how to do diversity training effectively.

Here are some of the best practices in diversity training that you can follow to achieve the desired diverse workforce that is engaging and effective.

Start it with yourself

Diversity training is a program to have a positive workforce. It promotes the reduction and eventual elimination of discrimination and biases and teaches individuals how to work together effectively.

Start it with yourself by obtaining a broader scope of understanding when practicing. Get yourself completely engaged with the training and have your eyes set on the goal: a positive diverse workplace.

Practice Daily

A good way to have everyone easily adapt to workplace inclusion is to have a daily practice. Think of it as teaching a child how to do essential activities. The more frequently you teach the child, the faster and better the child will learn. The same thing goes for teens and adults.

It’s a good idea to set eventual themes for the employees. Diverse historical events are some of the good examples to put on the calendar so that they can be celebrated.

Holidays with regards to religions like Christian, Muslim, and Orthodox are also good examples to be celebrated. Celebration of these events is a good tool for diversity training.

Be Clear On the Goal

Anything done without focus can lead to failure, and diversity training is not an exception. Let everyone learn the common goal for the training. Enough knowledge of the goal can lead everyone to be more engaged and effective in doing so.

Have Tailored Diversity Training Materials

Different kinds of approaches help deal with different kinds of people. Having tailored training materials to each diversity can help everyone have an easy time learning and understanding what the training is all about. While these training materials have different contents, they should all have a common objective.

Embrace Workplace Inclusion

Workplace inclusion gives a sense of belongingness to the employees. The effectiveness of diversity training, or any task in general, will be greatly improved if everyone in the team is aware that they are part of the group, that they belong in it, and have their role and participation for the success of the training. Allowing everyone to contribute to the development of diversity training is also an efficient strategy.

Try to take everything into consideration

Diversity training aims to unite everyone to achieve a common goal. Considering our approach is beneficial for our success. How we communicate with one may not be the proper manner in communicating with another. Having a broader knowledge about differences can be hard, but is rewarding.

Have Everyone Included

Diversity training should not only be targeted at the lower-ranking workers of the company. Everyone, from top rank to the lowest rank of the company, should be included in the training.

Having some staff exempted from the training because of their high ranks gives the lower ranking people the image of being treated unfairly and unequally, which is the exact opposite of the goal. This bad image can lead to more serious issues. Having everyone included denotes the fairness and eagerness of the company in addressing diversity issues.

Doing activities together also promotes unity and gives the image that we are one in this team. Setting up engaging team activities for the company is also a good way to promote cooperation and a deeper understanding of one another.

Patience is the Key

Understanding diversities takes time, especially if you have a large workforce with plenty of different diversities. Conflicts happen even if people belong to the same race, so what more if they belong to different races? To each his own, one can easily adapt to the culture of others, but it doesn’t apply to all.  Be patient with everyone trying to learn

Have a deeper understanding

Diversity training is not all about learning what holidays each race celebrates. Learning and understanding even the smallest gestures and everyday activities are also key for its effectiveness. Some manners might be good for one, while for others it’s not. It’s in our best interest to learn and have everyone understand this aspect too.

Hire an EDII Diversity expert

Having a member of the team lead the training is most of the time the go-to when doing internal training, but diversity training is not an easy task. More often than not, even the best plans made do fail.

Hiring an expert for this matter is sometimes a great option. We want someone who is trained, certified, and is experienced in addressing diversity training to ensure our success. After all, effective diversity training is proven to increase an organization’s effectiveness, so getting help from an expert could be considered an investment.

How Diversity Training can Increase Productivity and Achieved Goals

According to studies, companies were observed to have increased productivity through diversity training. Effective diversity training programs are proven to help companies grow. Because of tougher competitions and the world is open to more diversities, companies are trying to find new ways how to increase productivity with diversity training.

Though innovation may take some time, these are the results of the present diversity training that contributes to the increase in productivity:

Morale Boost

Effective diversity training promotes cooperation among the members of the company. The training helps employees understand and work around the barriers of diversity. Having a great understanding of your workmates boosts morale, leading to more productivity.

Increased Work Engagement

Diversity can bring about confusion and misunderstanding among the workforce. This can lead to distraction and potentially low output for the team. But with proper diversity training and workforce inclusion, everyone can be informed about the mysteries that diversity brings. Having fewer things unknown, employees tend to be more engaged and focused on the tasks at hand.

Increase in Company Reputation

With the rise of diversities, talents are often becoming critical in choosing where to work. Companies with diversity training are tagged as proper, nurturing, and safe organizations to work with. This factor attracts quality talents that can help with the increase of productivity for the company.

Giving focus to your employees and having effective diversity training is crucial. Keeping and taking care of your talents and scouting for more quality ones are key to staying top of today’s competition. Valued employee training can maximize everyone’s potential and lead to a safer, healthier, and more productive organization. Taking good care of your employees will not only benefit them but also you and the success of your organization.

Best Diversity Training programmes in the world

Cornell Diversity & Inclusion Certificate Program

Cornell has one of the most famous Diversity and Inclusion Certification program in the world. As today’s headlines prove, an inclusive work environment is not just a nice-to-have, it can make or break a company. You can help make your organization a more supportive and engaging place to work by understanding the perceptual, institutional, and psychological processes that impact the ways people interact with each other. Starting with a look at employee engagement, then identifying interventions surrounding unconscious bias and specific diversity and inclusion strategies, this program is appropriate for anyone committed to going beyond mere compliance to build a truly aware and inclusive work culture.

In the Counteracting unconscious bias course, you will identify the perceptual and psychological processes that impact the way that individuals interact with people who are demographically dissimilar from them. You will examine the psychological processes that impact decision making within organizations and identify how professionals can design better work practices and help to more effectively leverage the potential among employees.

In the Inclusive Climate Fostering course, Inclusion is a relational construct. It’s ultimately about how your team functions and performs based on the quality of social connections, openness to learning, agility, and depth of decision making. How can you foster greater inclusion within your workgroup? Throughout these modules, you will be asked to reflect upon your own experiences and apply the lessons in the modules in your own role.

Address Unconscious Bias, Grovo

Broken into 20 “microlessons” at around three minutes each, Grovo’s unconscious bias training will help managers understand how their bias affects their business decisions and how they can overcome it.

eLesson: Unconscious Bias, Microsoft

Microsoft has its training course on unconscious bias that managers and employees alike can take. Mostly in text and question form, this is a great overview of how diversity impacts business, innovation, and employee productivity and happiness.

FutureLearn: Understanding Diversity and Inclusion

FutureLearn Covering important topics like unconscious bias, supporting diversity, and ethnocentric and ethno-relative mindsets (whether you judge or accept cultures as different and equal), this is an easy course to get everything you need in just a few hours.

Diversity Matters (UK)

The Diversity Matters Diversity and Inclusion training helps to:

• Enhance awareness and understanding of the value of an inclusive workforce/meeting the needs of diverse service users and clients
• Enhanced engagement of staff and volunteer teams.
• Enhance knowledge of good diversity and inclusion practices in the workplace.
• Ensure staff/managers are meeting your legal obligations.
• Improve outcomes as an organisation.

The below course topics is not an exhaustive list but give you an overview of the type of courses we deliver.  Training is bespoke, and training is ‘tailor made,’ and we can adapt the training to meet your needs.

Equity & Diversity UK Training Course (UK)

This Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Essentials training course has been designed to help learners understand more about their responsibilities for promoting equality, tackling all forms of discrimination and fostering good relationships between diverse groups of people in the workplace. The learning package covers all areas of equality legislation, policies, processes, procedures and best practice.

Self-Learning Diversity Training

Some people can learn best on their own, and they are extremely resourceful. If you belong to this group, you may want to check out some of the best diversity resources and books online. We don’t have reviews for these books yet, but you can start with them.

Why is Diversity Training important and why should you train your team?

Diversity training is an area of growing interest within organizations. As organizations and society become more culturally, gender, age, religions, diverse, there is a need to provide training across all hierarchical levels to make individuals more aware of and sensitized to elements of difference. Managing and valuing diversity is becoming increasingly important to delivering higher levels of performance and creativity, enhancing problem-solving and decision-making, and gaining cultural insights into domestic and overseas markets.

Diversity training also addresses how different people are represented in everything from the literature and marketing materials of a company to the diversity training materials themselves. Diversity training in organizations represents a growing and important area of research and practice. Globalization, employee mobility and an emphasis on finding skilled employees means that organizations can no longer afford to neglect diversity issues. Working across different linguistic, cultural and social contexts requires organizations to embed diversity at the heart of internationalization strategies. It challenges organizations to confront insular, discriminatory attitudes and values and adopt a more open inclusive organizational environment which respects and safeguards difference.

What are the different Types of Diversity and Inclusion Training?

There are many kinds of diversity training, each type has a different goal or to a different audience. According to Harvard, there are two types of effective diversity training in the workplace.

Two Methods of Diversity in the workplace

Diversity Setting with Perspective-taking is essentially the process of mentally walking in someone else’s shoes. Results from our experiment involving 118 undergraduate students showed that taking the perspective of LGBT individuals or racial minorities — by writing a few sentences imagining the distinct challenges a marginalized minority might face — can improve pro-diversity attitudes and behavioural intentions toward these groups.

Alternatively, Diversity training with goal-setting can be successfully adapted by asking diversity training participants to set specific, measurable, and challenging goals related to diversity in the workplace. For example, a trainee might set a goal to challenge inappropriate comments about marginalized groups when overhearing them in the future

Diversity Training for Staff Awareness in the workplace

These types of training are training that is typically offered, or mandated by the employer to everyone in the workplace. An example would be a “positive space” training that communicates and educates staff about different gender identification, sexual orientation, and romantic orientation. There are many other diversity and inclusion topics that can be trained too.

Another example of such staff awareness training is to educate the staff about different religions or even caste systems so staff are aware of them.

Other diversity training topics or courses are –

• Respect
• Unconscious bias
• Cultural competency
• Civility
• Sensitivity
• creating an inclusive workspace
• Preventing Discrimination and Harassment

There are many more. If even your minority employees are happy, you have high employee satisfaction which leads to higher customer satisfaction.

Diversity training for Diversity Leaders

Diversity leadership training in the office is for those who lead diversity leadership programs. They are usually managers, directors, or senior executives for diversity and inclusion. Some of these training will include, Provide field-based opportunities to analyze diversity and inclusion problems of practice and use multiple frames to develop meaningful responses; Draw on and develop a critically reflective professional knowledge base that integrates both practical and research knowledge and that links theory with systemic and systematic inquiry; and, Emphasize the generation, transformation, and use of critically reflective professional knowledge and practice.

Business schools or diversity specialists do provide such training.

Diversity training for the Hiring Managers

Another type of diversity training is for hiring managers. An organization cannot become diverse by only educating everyone, they need to hire for diversity. I wouldn’t suggest hiring managers to hire for diversity for the sake of it, they should hire for the best person without having diversity or discrimination in the way of doing that.

Methods of delivering Diversity Training

Usually, there are three main methods for training delivery.

• Face-to-face: Usually more available to an in-house training team More than 50 percent of scheduled class time is at a location like an office location or face-to-face.
• Hybrid online: It means some training is via online methods and others as face-to-face. It works very well in some companies so students get to have face to face interaction with the trainer and at the same time can have some in-depth learning on their own.
• Fully online Diversity Training: 100 percent of scheduled class time is online. It is the lowest cost method of training a large amount of staff but there should be some forum to allow discussions.

We will add some sample of diversity training courses and certification later. I hope you enjoy this and please leave comments below.

Good Examples of Diversity Training

Here are some examples of good diversity training programs in the office. Typically the training includes:

• Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Essentials training course has been designed to help learners understand more about their responsibilities for promoting equality, tackling all forms of discrimination and fostering good relationships between diverse groups of people in the workplace
• Unconscious bias course provides a non-judgmental approach aimed at understanding how unconscious bias operates in the workplace.
• Train the Diversity trainer courses providing skills, knowledge or experience to advise, develop and support colleagues/organizations in DEI. It is suitable for anyone who has to deliver training, support people on a one-to-one, small group development/talks or large group basis
• Race, Faith and Cultural Diversity Training Courses that deal with managing diversity in the workplace. It is targeted at supporting staff and managers to proactively plan to meet the needs of BIPOC, indigenous, Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic people (BAME)
• Equality, Equity, and Diversity Champion courses that teach learns how to raise Diversity and inclusion awareness, and promote individuals or employees to speak about DEI issues. Also including training around DEI crisis management.

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FAQ on Diversity Training