Diversity training in the workplace: Benefits, types, implementation

Celebrate differences and make the workplace a safe space by weaving diversity into your company culture. It’s long overdue that we ditch stereotypes, biases, and discrimination so employees can thrive in an environment that fosters harmony and inclusivity.

To help you integrate diversity into day-to-day operations, we’ll explore diversity training in the workplace and share practical strategies that can make a difference for you and your team.

What is diversity training in the workplace?

A diverse workforce opens doors to new possibilities. Diversity training facilitates a positive work culture by promoting equality and showing teams from different backgrounds how to work and interact effectively with each other.

Diversity training programs are designed to increase your team’s knowledge and awareness of diversity and inclusion in the workplace. It typically includes discussions and activities that aim to enhance communication and bring about behavioral change related to inclusivity.

Companies thrive when their teams include individuals from diverse cultures, races, religions, sexual orientations, gender identities, and physical and mental abilities. This diversity enriches the organization with a wider range of perspectives and fosters an inclusive environment where everyone feels valued.

Benefits of diversity training in the workplace

Diversity and inclusion training is mutually beneficial for your teams and the business. On the individual level, an employee who’s part of an organization that embraces diversity feels respected, accepted, and included. In return, they become more open to contributing and sharing their ideas with the rest of the team.

Diversity training in the workplace helps fight against discrimination and prejudice, creating a safer place for the exchange of thoughts and opinions without fear of judgment. An organization will always benefit from the free flow of ideas that result in more well-rounded decision-making.

According to a LinkedIn study, 76% of job seekers and workers consider diversity as an important factor when evaluating job offers. On top of that, 60% of employees are eager for business leaders to speak out about diversity issues.

By making diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) a core mission, your company not only attracts more talent but also fosters a more engaged and motivated workforce.

Different types of diversity training

As companies start to see the real perks of having a diverse team, diversity and inclusion are quickly becoming a top priority for businesses. Here are a few different types of diversity training you might want to explore for a more inclusive workplace:

Awareness training

This type of training aims to raise awareness of diversity issues such as racism, gender discrimination, and accessibility for individuals with disabilities. After accomplishing awareness training, teams should be equipped with the mindfulness needed to promote respect and facilitate collaboration.

Compliance training

Compliance training orients teams on laws and guidelines about DEI. This typically includes discussions on harassment prevention, specific company policies, and the legal and internal consequences of failure to comply with diversity and inclusion policies.

Cultural competency training

This DEI training aims to eliminate barriers to equity and inclusivity by educating employees on different cultures and beliefs. This is particularly important for teams with members of different nationalities or for people who deal with international customers in their line of work.

Bias and sensitivity training

Overcome bias and teach teams to empathize with people of different backgrounds through this diversity training program. Discussions on bias, prejudice, and stereotypes uncover how we may unconsciously engage in potentially oppressive actions.

Leadership training

Change should involve everyone, especially leaders who hold great influence over their teams and the entire organization. Leadership training is created to guide managers and executives on how to lead a diverse workforce with inclusive actions, policies, and decision-making.

How to effectively implement diversity training in the workplace

Assess your needs

Take an internal look at the needs of your organization and teams. Make sure that training is aligned with your employee demographics and the company’s DEI challenges. One way to do a pre-training assessment is by checking your team’s knowledge of issues surrounding diversity.

Many online training platforms like SC Training (formerly EdApp) house engaging quizzes that you can deploy to your teams to gauge their awareness of topics like gender bias and racial discrimination.

Use expert facilitation

Don’t skimp on investing in diversity training. There are plenty of options out there to make sure that your teams are trained with only the best. Invite expert facilitators or use online platforms so training takes less time and effort, without sacrificing quality.

One example of this is SC Training (formerly EdApp). Instructional designers and industry leaders meticulously design their courses, including DEI topics, that you can readily access and deploy to your teams. This way, you’re assured that training is engaging, accurate, and top-notch.

Acknowledge intersectionality

Your diversity training should address the interconnected nature of identities such as race, class, and gender. This will help teams better understand how the different aspects of identity intersect and shape people’s experiences at work.

Ensure inclusivity in training content

The training you deliver to your teams should reflect your goals. Steer clear of stereotypes and use inclusive language in your training materials. Guarantee that training is always culturally sensitive and respectful by leveraging SC Training (formerly EdApp)’s course creation services. 

Start from scratch or share your existing DEI content and their team will turn it into inclusive, bite-sized lessons that you can roll out to your teams anytime!

Get support from leadership 

Have leaders actively participate in your training sessions. Doing so sends a powerful message to the rest of the team on how committed the organization is to being inclusive. What’s more, you’re hitting two birds with one stone by taking advantage of training to orient them on diversity training topics that could potentially influence their leadership styles and policies.

Gather feedback for continuous improvement

After training sessions, get feedback from your teams and compare the outcomes from your initial needs assessment to get an overview of the impact of diversity training.

Capitalize on SC Training (formerly EdApp)’s course review feature to collect insights from your team, and make the necessary changes to tailor your training to suit your organization’s needs.

Align training with organizational goals

Implement change by integrating the lessons of diversity training into organizational policies and other DEI programs. The learnings from training should transform into actions that promote inclusivity and equality in the workplace. This is a great way to unlock and embrace the benefits of diversity training in the workplace.

5 Online diversity training courses

Kickstart your diversity training journey and check out a few diversity training examples that you can use in your workplace.

Diversity and Inclusion

This SC Training course introduces teams to diversity and inclusion. It offers a general overview of the key concepts of cultivating and sustaining an inclusive workplace. This will also educate employees on unconscious bias and train them to use inclusive language to make everyone feel comfortable in and out of work.

Karamo's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Training

Get ready to learn from renowned diversity advocate Karamo Brown. You may know him from Queer Eye and his work with the White House on a law for LGBT+ youth. He carefully worked on this course with SC Training to train your teams on defining DEI, identifying and stopping microaggressions, being inclusive, and making the workplace a safe space.

Diversity and Inclusion in Retail

Many teams in the retail industry face people from all walks of life in their daily work. This course starts with laying out core values needed to be instilled in employees to create an inclusive, diverse, and equal workplace.

It also covers important topics such as implicit bias and the zero-tolerance discrimination policy. Use this course to teach your teams the value of listening to customers and creating an inclusive shopping experience.

Understanding LGBTQIA+ and SOGIE

Familiarize your teams with the importance of understanding LGBTQIA+ and SOGIE with this SC Training course. Train them on creating an inclusive workplace, debunking misconceptions about the LGBT+ community, and using pronouns through gamified content that they can easily access on their mobile devices.

Inclusive Selling

Last but not least, this inclusive selling course will educate your teams on the hows of selling to a diverse market considering differences in culture, gender, and beliefs. It starts by gauging your employee’s view of customer diversity and goes on to explain why it’s essential to be inclusive in sales.

Empower your teams with diversity training in the workplace. Join SC Training today!