It’s easy to see why diversity training is important for leadership. Leaders are the ones who shape the journey an organization takes. They make the decisions. They have a direct impact on company culture. They’re the ones who determine if a company will even have a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) strategy.
And studies bear out that when leadership isn’t diverse, companies suffer. Research published in the Harvard Business Review found that when leadership isn’t diverse, people of color are 24% less likely than white, straight men to get recognition, women are 20% less likely, and LGBTQ+ workers are 21% less likely. In other words, people, ideas, and voices get overlooked when leadership doesn’t embrace diversity.
Investing in diversity training for all employees can feel different. At a large organization, offering training for everyone can be a significant investment. Does it make sense to offer everyone DEI training? And if so, why should you train everyone at your organization?
The Importance of Diversity Employee Training
Offering DEI training to your employees has several advantages:
- It’s a stress-free way to promote change. You don’t want anyone at your company to feel “wrong” about the language they use or the opinions they hold. When everyone learns together, you’re not finger-pointing at anyone. You’re all in a student mindset together, which can be a less stressful way to encourage new behaviors.
- It sends the message that DEI is important for your company. When only some people at your organization get to have diversity training, it sends the message that DEI is only for some team members. Investing in everyone’s training shows you’re serious about including Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion in every corner of your organization.
- It encourages best practices across your organization. From new hires to HR to customer-facing workers, DEI training for everyone ensures every person at your organization has the tools they need to treat each person with care.
- It eliminates barriers to DEI. Some people feel uncomfortable with ideas like unconscious bias. Others are simply unaware such ideas exist. Training helps everyone be aware of the basic tenets of DEI & helps them get comfortable with these ideas, so they can uncover examples in the workplace & work to create a better environment for everyone.
- It promotes a culture of learning. DEI is not a one-time event. It’s an ongoing process, & this means that you will continue to grow & learn. By offering employee diversity training, you’re encouraging a culture of curiosity, growth, & learning, so that as an organization you’re working towards an always-improving team.
- Training is more powerful when done together. Employees can have a different perspective on Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion than management & leadership. They can ask questions & bring ideas to the table that can encourage more growth & exploration.
- It makes DEI part of your company culture. Training your employees normalizes DEI as part of your company’s everyday life. When everyone gets training, you’re all speaking the same language & learning the same best practices. DEI elements will become part of your workplace every day, and exclusion will diminish.
- It gets you on the same page. When organizations start offering DEI to leadership, management, & all employees, they often find there are people in their organization who understand the need for DEI & those who do not. Organizations also usually discover everyone has a different definition of diversity & equity. When you train together, you get to create your own definitions, so you speak the same language & move in the same direction together.
How Does Diversity Affect Employee Training & Development?
Diversity employee training can also be a self-sustaining cycle. Let’s say you offer training to employees about diversity and inclusion. Since your team is trained, everyone is taking part in creating a welcoming culture. This makes it easier to create diverse and collaborative teams because everyone is welcome to show up as themselves at work and receive the support they need to thrive.
In turn, a diverse team affects employee training and development. When you have more diverse voices, from a range of perspectives and backgrounds, you can go deeper into employee training and development. You may be able to have richer discussions about DEI because now you have more perspectives and ideas. Your DEI strategy becomes stronger because you’re building on many ideas. In turn, you’re able to attract more diverse talent, and your training becomes more nuanced and deeper with even more voices.
How Can Diversio Help?
If you want to offer training for your organization, Diversio’s data-driven, people-first strategy is designed to help you make measurable changes at your organization. Diversio for Companies will help you gather, analyze, and benchmark your DEI data so you understand what training you need. If you’re a portfolio, Diversio can measure your entire portfolio’s diversity and inclusion risk so you can choose the right training for your needs.
When you’re ready for diversity employee training at your company, Diversio Training gives you access to over 1,600+ resources that have been expert-tested for effectiveness in driving change. Diversio Academy gives your teams access to live and asynchronous training on a range of DEI subjects, all designed for HR and DEI professionals.
Diversio doesn’t stop at training. We also help you develop a DEI strategy and help you track your progress, right from your own AI-powered Dashboard. Diversio Certification gives you a public-facing way to show your commitment and training.
To see how Diversio can help you offer diversity training and develop a DEI strategy that leads to measurable results, book a demo today.
