The year 2020 was a roller coaster of events for the people of the United States of America and other global citizens. Two significant developments have imprinted themselves as the major landmarks for at least the first two quarters of the year, the continuing COVID-19 pandemic and the death of George Floyd, which has been termed racism pandemic. The latter brought forth issues of racism and police brutality, which subsequently sparked protests not only in the United States of America but globally. The death of George Floyd that happened on 25th May 2020 has sparked a conversation that has often been neglected by most people, a conversation on diversity and inclusion, especially in the workplace. In the pursuit to give the subject of diversity a holistic approach, training is one sure way of promoting diversity through the education of workers on the impact diversity has in their daily interaction both within and outside the workplace.
What exactly does training on diversity mean?
Over the years, my work as an attorney has often involved giving legal business advice to various businesses on the subject, creating a healthy working environment. One opinion I have never gotten tired of voicing out is; an investment in diversity training. In simple words, training on diversity is inculcating in employees the spirit of working together regardless of their racial background. The result of such a training being; creation of a discrimination-free working environment.
Most of my clients who took the initiative to invest in training can attest to the positive results realized within their businesses. When employees from different backgrounds work together, both your business and their communities benefit. Notably, while training on the importance of diversity has been beneficial even in the previous years, 2020 has further proven why this type of training needs to be taken seriously.
Here is why training on diversity is more important than ever in 2022:
Reduction of employment disputes based on discrimination
As an employer, discrimination based on race might not necessarily come from you. If you run your business through the help of managers and supervisors, their style of execution of business tasks might appear discriminatory to an employee from a particular racial class. The year 2020 created a scenario whereby most people are now able to speak up and cite injustices wherever they feel aggrieved.
Employees who previously condoned racial discrimination at the workplace due to the fear of losing their job have now been empowered and can no longer be silenced. Therefore as an employer, if you are not working towards setting up internal business rules to help curb racism at the workplace, then avoiding discrimination lawsuits is going to be hard. Private employers have expressly been noted as the harbours of racism; acting now can help save your business reputation from the stereotype. Only through providing equity eduction to your staff will you truly be making an impact on bias, racism, and equality.
The 1964 Civil Rights Act is a statute that prohibits discrimination in the workplace based on race. Employers found liable for such discrimination risk a bad reputation coupled with payment of monetary damages to the aggrieved employee. Internal measures involving mandatory inclusion training can curtail racial discrimination in the workplace. Never treat racial discrimination as a small issue because when the issue escalates, the results are often chaotic, just like the events that took place after the death of George Floyd.
Increase of employee engagement
The best time ever to change your employees’ perspective on race than in the year 2020. Expressing to your employees through inclusion training the value of working together regardless of race can yield positive results, e.g. employees partaking in inclusive actions and thinking, subsequently leading to a productive work environment.
Over the years, I have always emphasized to my clients that having a detailed company constitution that captures every sensitive area that can harm a business. Having an express clause outlawing any racially motivated actions against individuals can help employees without knowledge of Federal and state-level laws on employment to understand that racial discrimination is illegal.
Creation of an inclusive culture
The year 2020 has shown the effects of racial discrimination and its impact on the economy. Apart from companies found liable for racial discrimination having to part with millions of dollars in damages, looting, and violence are some of the most grievous results of racism. Therefore curbing discrimination even just at the company level helps create awareness on diversity in society. After work, your employees will retreat to the community, and the probability of an employee knowledgeable on diversity, creating awareness to those around them is high.
Additionally, an employee who has gone through inclusion training will be quick to note unconscious bias as a barrier to inclusion and diversity. Therefore for such an employee, correcting the wrong before it escalates is easy because they already know the importance of an inclusive working environment.
Breaks down racial power structures
Before training on diversity and inclusion occurs, some power structures within a company are normal for most people. Training, therefore, creates workplace diversity hence breaking down unconscious bias. The conflicts that might arise from breaking down racial power structures are often a small challenge that any company can handle. It is better to deal with employees complaining about the dissolution of certain bodies founded on racial grounds than have a lawsuit based on racial discrimination coming your way.
Notably, there is so much that your business can gain when there is workplace diversity than scenarios where a particular race of people are left out of significant company decisions because of skin colour. Therefore while society at large struggles with racism, be the patriot this country deserves by investing in training that matters and, in particular, training on diversity and inclusion.
Components of a good training course on diversity
For training on diversity to be successful, there are some components that employers need to pay attention to. In my journey as an attorney, I have had the chance to interact with various facilitators on the subject of diversity, and three components have always stood out.
The very first component is that leaders within the organization have to acknowledge the importance of having training on inclusion and diversity. As an employer, the training should not be something you undertake due to current trends but an internalized decision; you must show willingness and express the importance of the training to your employees. Commitment in training should always be from the leadership, and the subordinates will subsequently follow suit. Success in the training on diversity and inclusion will only happen when true commitment is expressed in the entire process.
Secondly, the content used in training has to communicate directly to the leadership by providing usable tools and business case information for diversity and inclusion. Here is an example of one such training program.
The third component is a call to action. Training on diversity should not be an exercise in futility; most employers tend to relapse, and operations go back to normal. A good trainer will ensure that employers are held accountable by having them showcase their execution and development plans. The leading cause of lack of workplace diversity often comes from leadership. Therefore as an employer, you need to ensure the training yields results in your workplace.
How employees benefit from training on diversity and inclusion
Rise in innovation
Human beings are gifted differently hence having a different approach to problems. Employees who have very little knowledge of diverse groups are known to make uninformed decisions, especially in the work environment. Employers that want to yield a creative and innovative human resource that can easily find solutions to problems that a business battle with have to invest in training on inclusion and diversity to help attain those results. When employees can work together, then achieving your business goals also becomes easy.
Teamwork
The greatest wish for most employees is to find an employment platform that gives them the freedom of interaction without fear. Creating a diverse working environment for your employees will provide them with the confidence to interact with other employees knowing full well that culture, background, skin colour and even age is not an issue.
Career development
When an employee lands a job in their dream company, the hope is that they will stay longer and grow their skills and experience. However, when the dream job turns out to be a racist den, such employees are likely to quit and look for employment elsewhere. Therefore, as an employer, investing in training that matters can help retain such employees longer since they see a chance of growth within your company.
In general, training on diversity is something that every employer needs to have a keen interest in. As earlier on indicated, most employees at the end of the day retreat home to a community with people from different races. Therefore, training on diversity and inclusion in the workplace can go a long way towards changing the mentality of most people, not just in the workplace but also in their communities. There is still hope for racism to end in the United States of America and awareness on diversity within your business can go a long way in creating a racist free future United States of America.