How to Create Effective Diversity Training Programs to Prevent Workplace Discrimination

As the workplace continues to become more diverse, employers must embrace diversity or lose their competitive edge by alienating a large portion of the workforce. Effective diversity training programs bring greater awareness to the distinct advantages, and potential challenges, of operating in a heterogeneous workplace. Diversity is not a way to lower standards or an excuse for treating anyone unfairly. Rather, diversity is about including everyone and valuing the differences among individuals.

The ability to adapt and adjust to change is the key factor in accepting diverse viewpoints and cultures. People address change in four stages:

1. Stage One: Deny existence of the problem.
2. Stage Two: Blame someone else after admitting that the problem exists.
3. Stage Three: Self-blame.
4. Stage Four: Try to solve the problem.

One of the most critical skills in resolving diversity challenges is the ability to effectively solve problems. LRN, the leader in corporate ethics and diversity training, believes that making corporate ethics and responsibility part of the fabric of organizational cultures, companies can prevent all types of discrimination in workplace by. The best diversity training programs teach employees and management what constitutes unethical conduct. LRN's diversity training programs help employees recognize and report misconduct, including workplace harassment and discrimination, affirm that they follow the code, and take responsibility for safeguarding their company's culture.

LRN's experience has shown that companies create effective diversity training programs when they incorporate five key elements:

• Senior management takes responsibility for driving ethics and diversity training efforts.
• Educate on values – as well as laws and rules – to inspire principled behavior.
• Make diversity training interesting, stimulating and engaging.
• Make workplace diversity training relevant to real on the job scenarios.
• Reinforce diversity training by relating course content to actual discrimination in workplace experiences and scenarios.

Since 1993, LRN has helped nearly 300 companies create and implement effective sexual harassment training programs that teach employees how to recognize and deter discrimination in the workplace by embracing the cultural differences that make up their fast-changing workplace environment. LRN's team of 350 dedicated professionals will work with you to develop a set of customized communications and campaign management tools to promote and reinforce your ethics and diversity training curriculum. LRN's courseware and tools are powerful ways to engage your employees in ethical leadership and corporate values. Visit LRN.com to find out how you can create winning diversity training programs to inspire principled performance.