A recent study found that 83% of responding companies acted on DEI initiatives in 2021. While this number is great, DEI should be an integral part of every company's daily operations. Ask yourself...is your company diverse, equal, and inclusive?
To achieve DEI, you must first understand what it is and how it can benefit your company. Once you understand the concept, you can implement processes and measure them to ensure success.
This guide is the perfect resource for any company looking to create a more inclusive workplace. Keep reading to learn more about DEI training.
What Is DEI Training?
Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) training is a process that helps people understand the importance of diversity in the workplace. It also helps them to understand how they can be more inclusive and supportive of diverse groups.
Diversity is the idea that every person has different backgrounds and experiences. And those differences create a more diverse workplace.
Equity is the idea that everyone should have an equal opportunity to succeed in their career. Inclusion is the idea that everyone should feel welcome and comfortable in their work environment.
The goal of diversity training is to help people understand how their actions affect others. It also helps them see themselves as part of a larger community.
Diversity training is not just for those who are new to the workforce, but for all employees. It can be an opportunity for employees to learn about their own biases and assumptions, as well as those of their colleagues.
How to Implement Effective DEI Workplace Training
Diversity training is a vital part of any company’s culture. It helps to create a more inclusive and diverse workplace.
The effectiveness of diversity training depends on how it is implemented. There are many ways to implement diversity training, but the most effective way is by having effective DEI training.
Effective DEI training is about understanding the different types of people in your company and what they need from you as a leader. It also includes understanding how to have productive conversations with people who are different from you. And how to make sure that everyone feels included in the process.
Below, we'll outline important practices to follow with DEI training.
Align DEI Strategy With Training
The importance of strategic alignment is that it ensures that the training aligns with the company's goals and objectives. It also helps to ensure that the training is not just a one-time event but rather an ongoing process.
Before you create your DEI strategy, take into account these three key factors:
What are your company's goals?
What are your company's objectives?
What are your company's values?
To create a DEI strategy, it is important to understand the different types of training that are available. There are three types of training:
On-the-job training (OJT)
Training in the workplace
Training outside the workplace
The first type is usually provided by the company or an external trainer. The second type is usually provided by a company’s HR department. The third type is usually provided by an external DEI speaker or coach.
Define Goals
Goals are important for any training. They help to determine the success of the training. To set goals, it is important to understand what you want to achieve with DEI training.
The goals should be measurable, specific, and realistic. Setting goals helps to make sure that the trainee is on track and progressing towards their goal. It takes time and effort to reach your goal, so you must set a realistic timeline for your team.
Address Microaggressions in the Workplace
Microaggressions are subtle and unintentional actions that can be harmful to people of color. They are often unintentional, but they can have a significant impact on the target person. They can be verbal or nonverbal.
DEI training is a way to address microaggressions in the workplace. It is an approach that helps people learn how to recognize and respond to microaggressions in a way that does not perpetuate them.
Know Your Audience
When you are teaching a new skill, it is important to know your audience. This is especially true when you are training employees or students.
The importance of understanding your audience with DEI training is that it helps you to tailor the training to the needs of your learners. It also helps you to create a more effective learning experience for them.
You can learn about your audience by asking questions about their background and interests. You can also use other tools like to get insights. Gather feedback from employees on what they want from the training and how they want it delivered.
You can collect information through surveys, interviews, or focus groups.
Engage Your Audience
Engaging your audience with DEI training can help you get the best out of your employees. An engaging experience provides them with a better understanding of what they are doing and why they are doing it. Engagement helps to build trust with your audience
It is important to understand what your audience wants and needs from you. This means that if you are going through DEI training, it's important for you to know what your audience wants from you and how they want it delivered.
Explain the "What" and "Why"
The importance of explaining what DEI training is for cannot be overstated. It helps team members understand the benefits of using DEI and how to use it effectively. You should do this before you start training.
You can start by educating them on what DEI stands for and what it means for your company. You should also explain how they can benefit from it by understanding their role in the company and how they can contribute to its success.
It's important for companies to have this training because it helps them create an inclusive environment. You want a culture where everyone feels included and valued.
Identify Several Touchpoints Throughout the Process
Touchpoints are the different ways in which we can communicate with our audience. They are the different channels of communication that we use to reach out to our audience. This can be in the form of a video, a blog post, an infographic, or even a podcast.
Touchpoints are important during training. Using different ones helps us understand how our audience is reacting to what we're doing. They help us know how to adjust and improve on what we're doing. They also help you create a stronger connection with your audience and make them feel like they are part of the community.
Gain Organizational-Wide Buy-In
Organizational-wide buy-in is a key component of DEI training. It is important to get everyone on board with the idea of DEI training and to make sure that they are all invested in the process.
The benefits of organizational-wide buy-in are many. For example, it helps to ensure that the training is effective and implemented correctly. It also helps to ensure that there is a culture shift in the company, which can lead to more productivity and better customer service.
How to Gain Buy-In
The first step to getting buy-in for DEI training is to have a clear understanding of the skills and knowledge that will be taught.
Once you have a clear understanding of what you want to teach, it is time to get buy-in from your leadership team. You do this by creating a presentation or video outlining the benefits of DEI training and how it will help your company.
This plan should include the following:
Who will be involved in the training?
What are the goals of the training?
What are the objectives of the training?
How long will it take to complete this training?
What is the cost of this training?
Who will be responsible for completing this training?
Monitor and Measure Results
DEI training helps employees learn how to deal with difficult situations. It is important for managers to measure and monitor the training process. This will help them identify areas where they need improvement in order to improve their performance in those areas.
DEI training should be measured for effectiveness, efficiency, and impact on performance.
The importance of measuring and monitoring DEI training is seen in the following benefits:
It allows employers to understand their employees’ needs
It allows employers to make changes accordingly
It gives employers an understanding of the level of training their employees have received
It allows employers to make training improvements
It allows employers to meet their legal obligations
Encourage Bystanders
You should encourage every member of your team to be a proactive bystander. A bystander is a person who witnesses an event but does not take any action to help or prevent it.
A proactive bystander is someone trained to be aware of their surroundings and react appropriately in case of an emergency. These people train to be part of the response team and can help others in case they are needed.
Do You Need Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Consulting?
Diversity, equity, and inclusion consulting is a process that helps companies to understand the needs of their diverse workforce. It also helps the organization make changes to improve their diversity.
The process involves identifying the barriers that are preventing people from achieving success in their careers. Using that information, you then make changes to remove those barriers.
Some companies may need DEI consulting because they are not aware of the needs of their diverse workforce. Or they have not made any efforts to improve diversity.
Benefits of DEI Training
Companies that need DEI consulting should consider the following:
Diverse teams are more creative and innovative
Diverse teams are better at solving problems
Diverse teams have a broader perspective on the world
Diverse teams have less bias toward certain groups of people
Companies with diverse workforces are more likely to be profitable in the long run
The benefits of DEI training are many. Companies see better customer service and more effective decision-making. Other benefits of DEI training include:
Increase in employee engagement
Increase in employee retention
Increase in productivity
Decrease in turnover rates
How to Motivate Teams to Embrace DEI Practices
The first step to embracing diversity is to understand what it means. The second step is to understand why diversity, equity, and inclusion are important for your team.
For example, diversity helps your team be more creative because it allows them to think outside of the box when they have different perspectives on things. Equity helps your team be more productive because they can make decisions based on data rather than assumptions or biases. Inclusion helps your team feel included in their work environment because it provides them with a sense of belonging.
The third step is to understand the different levels of diversity, equity, and inclusion in your company.
The fourth step is to have your leaders practice DEI. When your team sees it in action by your leaders, they will be more willing to adopt it themselves.
Learn More About DEI Consulting
This guide covered DEI training and why your organization needs it. As you can see, DEI is an evolving concept that must be implemented by everyone. We hope this guide taught you more about how to create your DEI strategy.
At FIG Strategy and Consulting, we have years of experience in helping organizations just like yours. We help you align your DEI strategy across all operations to maximize the effect.
Are you ready to get started with DEI? Contact us today to discuss how we can help.
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