Diversity Training Case Study

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Some of the reasons diversity training does not work well in organizations are outlined below. If your organization's initiative did not do as well as you expected, assess whether your training was affected by any of the following: Poor Timing. The training may have come at a time when employees were preoccupied with more urgent priorities. Stress, because of downsizing and the accompanying fear of job loss, increased workload, or a specific conflict or negotiation with a union might have been much more critical. During such periods, staff is usually functioning at the survival level on Maslow's hierarchy and diversity may not even be a blip on their radar screen, hence their irritation that time and resources are taken up with training.…show more content…
If diversity is seen as the domain of a few groups, people of color and women, for example, everyone else may feel left out and view the initiative as being for others, not them. A broader definition that includes individual aspects such as educational level and parental status as well as organizational dimensions such as management status or division/department creates an umbrella that is big enough to cover everyone. In this framework, everyone's issues would have a valued place. For example, both a white male hourly employee's view that his input is not valued, and an immigrant's perception that her accent has blocked her promotion, would be included among the issues to be…show more content…
Create a diversity council that is representative of a diagonal cross section of employees to get a range of views and attitudes. Include staff who represent the resistors, those who are skeptical of anything called diversity. They can become the most powerful allies if they have buy-in. As informal opinion leaders, when they see diversity in a new light, they can influence others who have been resistant. They can also give critical input in planning future diversity interventions. Explore offering "just in time" training and provide it in other formats. If additional knowledge and skills are needed, find ways to deliver it that do not rely on traditional training in a group setting. Perhaps one-on-one coaching to help managers deal with diversity challenges or interventions at a team meeting to help work groups overcome obstacles to effectiveness can be more relevant and specific ways to train with staff. This focuses and customizes training in an immediately applicable way. You can turn backlash into a benefit when you use it as an opportunity for learning and then take what has been gained to create new credibility and commitment for your diversity

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