Forget the old model: improving diversity and inclusion means changing perspectives - one employee at a time.
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes, 8 seconds.
Many organizations have begun to prioritize improving diversity and inclusion. Over the last five years there has been a 113% increase in the number of executives that hold diversity and inclusion titles. Their programs aim to address one or more of the following four measures:
Diversity: When an organization hires individuals representing a spectrum of people who identify with different races, ethnicities, genders, ages, sexual orientations, languages, educational backgrounds, etc.
Equity: When an organization ensures that all employees are seen as equally qualified; and that their participation and contribution are equally recognized.
Inclusion: The degree to which diverse individuals within an organization can:
Use their voice without fear of reprisal.
Participate equally in decision-making processes.
Increase the amount of power they have.
Belonging: The feeling of a strong sense of connection to the organization and engagement in its culture.
Why diversity and inclusion training needs to change
Although training over the last five to10 years has increased awareness and sensitivity, research has shown that it has had little positive impact on the experience of employees who identify as diverse. As a result, organizations are not yet seeing hoped-for benefits like increased engagement, retention and productivity.
They are not getting the results they had hoped to generate by rolling out eLearning. Neither has conducting group workshops and handing out learning materials moved them significantly toward their D&I goals.
The vastness of the gap between what organizations hoped they were achieving and actual reality was drawn into acute focus in 2020, when racial and social unrest in the U.S. was picked up and amplified around the globe. Rayshard Brooks, Daniel Prude, George Floyd and Breonna Taylor were all killed by police.
Millions of Americans, many of whom had lost their jobs during the pandemic, had not only the rage but also the time to express it. The resulting Black Lives Matter protests and other recent civil movements have shone a light on how little progress has been made to address bias and discrimination in society and the workplace.
The challenge we face is that our biases are very personal, unique to our own individual experiences.
Understanding what they are and experiencing how they effect our actions and conversations with others is a critical first step in changing behaviour. This calls for a different approach to diversity and inclusion training.
Practica Learning is offering a more personal approach D&I learning.
At Practica Learning, our clients are augmenting or even replacing the eLearning and instructor-led training typically used for diversity and inclusion training. They are shifting instead to training that focuses on one-to-one conversations, whether between peers or between an employee and a manager.
These individual conversations are an opportunity for two people to address a real situation, surface it, talk about it, find common ground, and together build understanding.
Each person’s voice is heard, their points are acknowledged, and responded to. It’s about empathy, and adjusting perspectives in a way that addresses and respects personal experience, as well as unconscious bias.
The end result is that the employee feels safe, included and respected, all of which lead to a sense of belonging.
And what we’ve seen is that for every person who changes as a result of these conversations, there’s a corresponding cultural change within the organization.
At Practica Learning we increase confidence in holding these inclusive conversations. One-to-one conversations in the organization are the key to building their sense of inclusivity and belonging.
But let’s not kid ourselves; there is a lot of anxiety associated with these types of conversations – and rightly so – they are, awkward, even difficult to have. As a result, people opt out of vital conversations about diversity and inclusivity because they fear looking wrong, saying something wrong, or being wrong. But avoiding these conversations corrodes trust and moves organizations away from lasting change.
That’s where we come in. Our Roleplayers provide one-to-one coaching for leaders, managers, and employees. We work with people in a safe space where these inclusivity conversations can be practiced and mastered before putting them to the test in the real world.
We all learn by doing
Our Professional Roleplayer Coaches provide personalized coaching and feedback from the perspective of the other person, using a well-established approach known as Deliberate Practice. It’s a methodology we’ve successfully used over the last 20 years to upskill leaders and employees.
But you don’t have to take our word for it. Here’s what a recent participant said:
“This course is extremely applicable, especially with the D&I scenario. I've had many conversations around this issue and the profile is very applicable. The scenarios reflect our world. I've also been able to coach my direct reports who are managers to the skills I learned in the last session about asking questions before fixing things. So I've noticed a big difference in how I coach and what I coach to.”
If you’d like to learn more, please Contact Us, or call us at:
Toronto: 416.366.6296
Toll-Free: 1.866.945.0648
We’re here to help you practice and master the communication skills you need.
