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Three Steps to Identify Your DEI Training Topics
Are you interested in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) training for your organization, but are unsure of what your options are, how to start, or how to expand your learning? Starting with a strategic plan around your DEI training will help it feel relevant, applicable, and motivating to your team. Here are three steps to help you start identifying your organization’s DEI training needs.
Who is your DEI Training Audience?
Deciding what DEI training topics you choose should be based on your audience and the types of workplace decisions they make. Paradigm’s trainings are typically tailored to the job level of the audience, whether they be individual contributors, managers, senior leadership, or a mix of all levels.
Depending on your audience’s level, the strategies and examples shared in training should be tailored to the types of decisions and interactions participants encounter in their roles – for example, our Inclusive Culture training is geared towards individual contributors or mixed audiences, whereas our Inclusive Leadership training is more applicable for managers and leaders.
DEI training topics may also depend on the timing of workplace decisions – for example, many clients will seek Inclusive Hiring trainings before a hiring cycle, or Inclusive Performance Management trainings around the time performance reviews take place. This guarantees learnings are top of mind during these processes.
Lastly, training topics may be specific to types of roles, such as Inclusive Hiring for HR, hiring managers, or talent acquisition teams.
Where are you in your DEI Journey?
It’s also important to consider your organization and audience’s current level of understanding around DEI. If your team is fairly new to DEI conversations and hasn’t been through trainings in the past, we would typically recommend starting with more foundational topics, such as Managing Unconscious Bias or Inclusive Culture. These trainings are focused more on communicating the importance of DEI in the workplace to audiences, and providing common language around DEI.
If your organization is further along in your DEI journey and already has a foundational understanding of common barriers and solutions, topics like Practicing Allyship, Microaggressions, or Anti-Racism can build upon their understanding and be a deeper dive on how to be inclusive at work.
What are your DEI Pain Points?
Finally, DEI trainings can be most impactful when they address your organization’s current DEI pain points. Data collected from engagement surveys, exit interviews, DEI metrics, etc., can help pinpoint the highest priority DEI barriers that your employees may be encountering.
Training topics such as Fostering Belonging, Practicing Allyship, Voice and Psychological Safety, Remote and Hybrid Inclusion, or Growth Mindset can provide targeted strategies and solutions to address particular DEI issues.
Custom DEI Training Tools by Paradigm
Beyond knowing what DEI training topics you’re interested in, impact and efficacy can also depend on the format of training. At Paradigm, we offer live, facilitated trainings of varying lengths, as well as self-guided eLearning. Learn more about how our trainings can meet you where your organization is, and support you in choosing the right trainings to create a more equitable and inclusive workplace here.
January 4, 2023