Diversity Training Gone Wrong?

The Boston Globe contains an interesting article on a subject that most employers and employees are quite familiar with by now in 2010. Has anyone not received some form of diversity training at work? The question raised by the Globe is whether it does any good. Critics say it doesn’t. Supporters say it does. Perhaps the real answer is that we don’t know, based on recent research examined by the Globe.

Studying attitudes and behaviors is tough to do. Reaching conclusions about changes in those attitudes and behaviors based on diversity training is even tougher. Should employers stop doing it? No. Should they give the way it’s done more thought? Yes.

If employers engage in diversity training just to check a box or to have some evidence they can use in case they get sued for discrimination, the training is hardly worth the time and expense. If diversity training is part of a broader initiative to create, in time, a more diverse workforce that works together in harmony and with respect, then diversity training can be an important component in any employer’s human resource practices.

Researchers believe that diversity training can be improved by: making programs voluntary; leaving out the legal material; designing them so that people don’t feel targeted; and combining them with minority outreach measures, mentoring, and establishing and monitoring specific goals for increasing diversity in the workforce. Of course, one size doesn’t fit all.

Think about your diversity training program. Consider the points made in the Globe article. Talk with your trainers. Obtain advice from your labor and employment counsel. Do all of this with a view toward making diversity training in your organization different, thoughtful, work-changing.