Businesses today are facing the worst economic crisis in over 60 years. Financially challenged companies are being encouraged by bottom-line-conscious executives to cut costs by reducing and/or eliminating legal compliance training for their managers and staff.
These short-term initiatives could cost businesses more than they initially save. A recession is the wrong time to cut compliance based training programs, especially in the areas of diversity and harassment.
Higher unemployment results in higher EEOC and harassment claims. In fact, there is almost a perfect correlation between established workplace training programs and all major areas of recession-related litigation exposure, such as: avoiding harassment, discrimination and retaliation claims.
When you add the dynamic of the Unintended Consequences of Increasing Diversity due to the rapidly changing workforce, reducing diversity and/or harassment training initiatives could be a recipe for disaster.
Many companies today lack the planning and support to initiate a truly inclusive environment. “Diversity” is often measured by representation rather than with an ongoing commitment and passion for an inclusive culture. Many diversity efforts fail today due to inadequately trained staff and leadership. Diversity is seen as a “project”…with a beginning and an end…for example --”we need to hire XX number of diverse people…” versus an ongoing process of continuous improvement that is linked directly to the overall business strategy.
Representation is often sought as the goal, but inclusion can be overlooked. It’s not always as it seems…some companies are considered “successful” at diversity based upon sheer numbers, however, in most cases, their diverse employee base is concentrated at lower levels within the company.
Building a pipeline of diverse talent at all levels within the organization requires innovation, outreach, commitment and complete organizational participation.
In today’s economic environment, being able to quantify the effects of employee development is a requirement by senior management. Creating an inclusive environment is critical to attracting and retaining talent across all diversity dimensions. And, the benefits of ongoing training and development can be tied directly to increased retention and reduced turnover…both can be tangibly measured as a result of an inclusive environment.
Why does inclusion matter?
Fostering and supporting an inclusive environment enables
the organization to get the most effective results from their resources.
This directly drives financial results and fuels innovation.
Training has been proven as one of the best strategies to pre-empt an
onslaught of costly recession-related litigation. Not only will you reduce
barriers and foster improved workplace communications, you’ll also be
implementing best practices to enhance your reasonable defense should
an issue arise.
e-Learning and blended learning formats provide flexibility, reach and convenience, making the most of an employer’s investment.
Diversity University’s e-learning solutions:
Metrics rule the business world, and The Edge Advantage captures over 100 points of data giving the organization a true, unbiased view of its inclusive environment. This priceless data can be used to identify barriers that screen out potential applicants and identify biases and cultural misunderstandings that affect the interview and selection process, as well as internal barriers that cause an organization to be less productive and less profitable.
Don’t leave your company unprotected!
Check out our award-winning diversity and harassment e-learning programs. Dozens of Fortune 500 firms agree that our courses offer “best in class” e-learning. Don’t settle for an “informational” e-learning program when your employees can receive the power of a fully experiential learning approach. From leveraging diversity for a competitive advantage to building a high performing team culture within a diverse environment, the courses offered by Diversity University support an ongoing process of continuous improvement.
Quantifying the success of diversity initiatives begins
with a strong, research-based and proven program that is reinforced to
sustain learnings. Your management demands a direct bottom line payout
to justify the allocation of limited training funds – let us show you
how to create a strong business case for diversity and harassment prevention
training today.