Today, diversity and inclusion are at the forefront of good human resource practices. This goes for any corporate or institutional setting. However, creating a diverse workplace can be a challenge for many CEOs and HR managers.
Below, we break down some of the newest research into diversity training. Read on for several practical take-home (or take-to-work) tips you can implement right away.
Change at Cultural Level
What does it mean to create a culture of diversity and inclusion in the workplace? At the basic level, you’re creating an environment where everyone feels welcome.
If you don’t have staffing policies that emphasize diversity, you should be actively developing them. In the meantime, strive to create a company culture that embraces every person that steps through your doors. Clients, vendors, and service people matter, too.
Creating a vulture of diversity goes beyond simply adding buzzwords to your internal communications. Instead, you need to weave diversity training into every aspect of your company’s practices and policies.
Not Just a One Time Thing
If you want diverse teams in your business, inclusion training can’t be a one-and-done operation. Set up a comprehensive system that gives people the opportunity to discuss bias and diversity culture all year long.
Leaders Who Lead
Diversity training is bound to fall flat if the leaders in a company don’t pay attention, take it seriously, or even fail to attend. And at a more integrative level, companies need to have policies that actively hire inclusively for leadership roles.
The upper management of your company should be filled with various kinds of people, like people from different ethnicities, nationalities, sexual orientations, educational backgrounds, genders, and ages.
The varied experiences and views they bring to the table naturally lead to more inclusive practices.
Diverse Hiring
On that note, it doesn’t just happen naturally.
In many companies, a lot of work needs to be done to get to the point where people feel comfortable. They need to be able to express their views and work alongside colleagues from different backgrounds.
In fact, the benefits of diversity result from making a conscious decision to hire staff inclusively.
Managers need to review their interview procedures regularly. They should pinpoint and address instances of discriminatory behavior and racial or gender bias.
Mandatory Training
Companies need to overhaul their onboarding process. They need to include diversity, inclusion, and sexual harassment training.
New employees need to understand that their company values empathy and equal opportunity in the workplace right from the beginning.
They need to be given the tools to implement desirable behaviors. However, they also need to be aware of the penalties they’ll incur if they cross boundaries with other staff.
Over time, this reduces adverse incidents, and the need for disciplinary action will decline.
Fostering a Diverse Workplace
Creating a truly diverse workplace takes time, effort, and empathy. It’s hard to change ingrained work cultures, but it can be achieved with the right training programs.
Are you looking for a thorough, certified diversity course for your employees? Purchase the diversity and inclusion compliance training course from HIPAA Exams today.
