How to Make DEI Learning & Development Count

The best way to make DEI Learning and Development Training count is to simply do it from the very beginning! DEI training should be embedded into the full employee lifecycle as soon as an applicant becomes a new joiner. Whenever I consult and create roadmaps for my clients through Holistic Inclusion Consulting, I always share the importance of being proactive especially when it relates to DEI.

In practice, this means baking DEI training into the onboarding process. Every new joiner should participate in a session or online course that outlines an introduction to DEI within the workplace. These courses should culminate in a quiz at the end of each section to help employees understand the primary goals of each course.

These trainings and quizzes should be expected on a monthly basis. This establishes the expectation and understanding that DEI is incorporated into every employee’s experience. Ongoing interactive DEI workshop training needs to be embedded the same way that annual security or harassment training are a requirement for all employees.

4 Successful DEI L&D Actions that Work:

1. Enroll New Joiners in HIC's Microaggressions Course:

• Employees create awareness surrounding the common occurrences of microaggressions

• Employees explore the outcomes associated with the experience of microaggressions

• Employees discover techniques to minimize the occurrence of microaggressions

• Employees discover ways to respond when someone has been microaggressive

This Course Includes:

• 1 hour on-demand video

• Full lifetime access

• Access on mobile and TV

• Certificate of completion

2. Create DEI New Joiner Welcome Emails for Incoming Employees

• Define diversity, equity, and inclusion within the workplace

• Share the DEI goals for the current year on a team, department, and organizational level

• Include one way new joiners can help push the DEI needle forward
  

3. Set up a Bot that Adds All New Joiners to the DEI Committee channel

• Ask, How are you going to push DEI forward on your team?

• Ask, How will you measure your impact?
  

4. Conduct Quarterly Interactive DEI Workshop Trainings for All Employees

• Q1: HIC Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Foundations

• Q2: HIC Driving Impact with a DEI Lens: Tools for Allyship and Impact

• Q3: HIC Our Implicit Bias

• Q4: HIC Understanding & Mitigating Microaggression