Written by Natasha Connolly, Community Engagement Executive
Now I know what you’re thinking… What an odd thing to say as a company whose main purpose is working with organisations on diversity and inclusion. Hear us out…
You’ve probably seen it before – those one-hour, one-off diversity and inclusion training sessions? They’re meant to improve diversity and inclusion within teams. They are sold as a ‘quick fix’ to solve any problems. I think we all know that they simply do not work or achieve any meaningful change.
‘Why’ you ask. These quick, snappy, and standardised sessions don’t allow anyone involved enough time to really understand what’s being discussed. There is no time to have meaningful conversations let alone figure out what to do next. Working on diversity and inclusion is a constant, ongoing commitment. We hate to break it to you, but it’s one of those jobs that will never be finished or ‘ticked off’ a list. This is why a one-hour whistle-stop session just isn’t going to cut it.
Doomed from the beginning
People need to feel genuinely motivated to want to work on diversity and inclusion. However, it would be unrealistic to expect people to feel this way towards diversity and inclusion training if they know they are doomed to be met with a standard, impersonal, routine session. That won’t excite or inspire anyone. Without a structured, personalised and engaging programme, how can we expect anyone to genuinely feel passionate about this?
A lot of diversity and inclusion training also often misses the mark when it comes to providing actionable steps and real-life application. A theoretical session based solely around a PowerPoint fails to help people apply diversity and inclusion to their everyday lives. If people can visualise change within their own lives and workplaces, and see a clear route to getting there, they are much more likely to feel excited about putting effort into working on it.
People need to talk about examples in their lives, they need to hear other people’s stories and they need time to discuss with each other. And that all needs to feel inclusive too. Not everyone wants to speak up in a big group. Without thinking about all these things, training could completely miss making any impact on people.
One size doesn’t fit all
Let’s face it, the ‘one size fits all’ approach to a lot of diversity and inclusion training is yet another reason why so much training fails. Teams are constructed of different people. Each with their own unique identities, experiences, opinions, and perspectives.
Every team will have different areas that need improvement, everyone is starting from a different point with varying circumstances. This is why a personal plan for each team is so important, the first job is understanding who you’re working with.
If this isn’t done, the training provided is pretty much doomed to be unhelpful and hard to engage with. It’s like buying a dress or suit that’s five sizes too big, it just doesn’t fit right. Why would anyone do that…?
Diversity and inclusion training is a personal journey, it deserves to be treated as such and this should be reflected in the training provided. The training needs to be personalised for you, be engaging, and include actions for people to take afterwards. We recommend:
- Personalised training for your team
- Interactive and engaging sessions
- A programme of learning for everyone
- Follow-up guides and actions for everyone
We take huge pride in working closely with each and every one of our clients to ensure all input from us will be relevant, engaging, and important to them. We don’t take part in any tick box exercises over here. We are focused on helping you to engage people and drive change
Find out more about our training here:
