Virtually all Fortune companies offer diversity training to their employees. Yet surprisingly few of them have measured its impact. And even when the training is beneficial, the effects may not last after the program ends.
This made us curious: What would happen if we created a training program and rigorously tested its effects? If we used the most relevant scientific findings on behavior change to design an intervention for increasing diversity and inclusion in the workplace, could we change employee attitudes? Could we prompt more inclusive behavior? If so, would those changes stick?
We designed an experiment to measure the impact of diversity training. And the results, which we recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , surprised us. First, we created three versions of a one-hour online training course: one focused on addressing gender bias; one on addressing biases of all sorts e.
The control allowed us to evaluate the specific effects of diversity training as opposed to training in general , and the two bias versions allowed us to test which approach would have a bigger impact. We then invited over 10, employees from a large global organization to participate and randomly assigned the more than 3, who signed up into one of the three versions of the training.
The final sample was The course material was based on research on attitude and behavior change, with a particular focus on preventing defensiveness. The two bias-focused trainings opened with noted experts explaining the psychological processes that underlie stereotyping and how they can lead to inequity in the workplace.
An Implicit Association Test was next: participants reflected on their existing unconscious biases. Then they learned strategies to overcome bias and stereotyping in common workplace practices e. The training in the control version had the same length, format, and opportunities to receive feedback and practice strategies, but it was devoid of any of the instructional content related to bias.
We also measured their behavior over the next 20 weeks by observing whom they chose to informally mentor, whom they recognized for excellence, and whom they volunteered time to help. With the help of social media, movements such as Me Too and Black Lives Matter have raised awareness of the lack of equality across racial and gender divides at an unprecedented level.
As a result, businesses are now paying far greater attention to the concerns of their workers when it comes to equality, inclusion and diversity. The benefits of diversity programs are clear. Diversity programs are also the perfect way to encourage innovation while making the organization a more appealing prospect to candidates. Glassdoor recently conducted a survey indicating that diversity is a major factor in the decision-making process for candidates.
Many view a diverse working environment as a sign of a positive, modern, socially responsible company culture. And yet, simply implementing a diversity program is not enough to create genuine diversity within your organization. Here are seven top elements you should include in order to make your diversity program a success:. You may find it difficult to determine what needs to change, in terms of diversity, without first conducting a thorough analysis of your current state. For example, enhancing gender diversity is often overlooked because women are already present in the workforce.
It is only when their respective roles, responsibilities and salaries are considered that it becomes clear the presence of female staff alone is not enough to ensure a gender-diverse culture.
And that is before we even consider non-binary views of gender. You may want to conduct internal focus groups, research projects or engagement surveys when getting started. This serves as a way to incorporate employee feedback and demonstrate your commitment to inclusivity.
You have been inclusive in your hiring practices but never intentionally thought about what types of diversity training to use or how to actually make it effective.
Diversity training in the workplace addresses all of the unique things about employees - race, color, ethnicity, language, nationality, sexual orientation, religion, gender, socio-economic status, age, and physical and mental ability — and the manner in which we work together. Indeed, diversity training also addresses how different people are represented in everything from the literature and marketing materials of a company to the diversity training materials themselves.
MeToo moments need never happen again with effective diversity trainings. When it works, diversity trainings make employees feel included and part of a common effort. This leads to happier employees who stick around longer, which increases the overall expertise of the company hello, senior level experts! This translates to more success overall, but the benefits are clear on an individual level as well.
Diverse companies had nearly two and a half times higher cash flow per employee over a three-year period than non-diverse companies did in a study from Bersin by Deloitte. It may seem cold to talk about the importance of diversity by breaking down the numbers, but the truth is clear.
The importance of diversity training in the workplace is expressed both in the benefit of working together with people of different backgrounds and in building a successful business.
Turns out, you can have it all, and diversity training may be the key. It is not enough to lay out a list of prohibitive rules and expect people to follow them. This is, in fact, the exact opposite of what makes for a successful diversity training. Diversity training that presents diversity acceptance as a choice that benefits everyone in the workplace results in positive returns that last longer. Diversity training should:. Successful diversity training deals with both the what and the how.
What do you need employees to know, understand, and be able to do after diversity training, and how will you make that happen? It is not, and will not suddenly rid organizations of systems that perpetuate discriminatory treatment. Effective diversity training helps management and employees to understand, and add value to systemic changes, which are put in place to bring about authentic inclusion.
Organizational leaders and change managers should be mindful of this, before commissioning training. Do not think that training will suddenly promote diversity and increase inclusive outcomes for the business. It will not. Diversity training will support an organization to increase knowledge and increase the required behaviours that will positively impact a well designed program of change. It should be a knowledge building and practice enhancing piece. What is the point of deploying training around diversity and inclusion, if leadership, managers and employees, after undertaking it, are no wiser as to how it impacts their duties.
Many diversity training exercises leave employees feeling that it was interesting and engaging, but asked how they can implement their learning, become hesitant with answers. Before rushing into training, it is wise for leaders to consider the changes that they need to implement, and then commission training in those areas, at specific points of the change agenda.
Doing otherwise, means an organization runs the risk of engaging in activity that adds very little value to the diversity and inclusion agenda. Diversity and inclusion training is nothing new. The results of diversity training has, to be truthful, done little in real terms, to advance the experience of Black and Brown people within the workplace.
This is because it has been done in isolation and without the focus of organizational change. In an age where systemic change is the focus of progressive organizations and employees who suffer the ills borne of discriminatory practice, it is important to remember that the cause, and effects of institutional racism is a matter of systemic and operational design and governance.
Systems and processes must be overhauled in order to support inclusive practice and develop equitable environments, and all employees should then receive training in the use of new systemic processes to support diversity and inclusion. How can the benefits of training be calculated, if the systems within which discrimination is perpetuated, remain the same?
Rather than use catchy slogans about diversity, leadership should aim to input the means of embedding inclusion into the systems and platforms upon which the business sits. It is then that training, can be delivered to provide both knowledge, and instruction, for their employees to follow.
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