How to Create Effective Workplace Diversity Training Programs to Prevent Discrimination and Workplace Harassment

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 workplace 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 workplace diversity training, believes that by making an effective ethics course part of the fabric of organizational cultures, companies can prevent all types of discrimination in workplace. The best workplace diversity training programs teach employees and management what constitutes unethical conduct. LRN's workplace diversity training programs help employees recognize and report misconduct, including workforce harassment, age discrimination and sexual harassment in the workplace, affirm that they follow the code, and take responsibility for safeguarding their company's culture.

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

• Senior management takes responsibility for driving ethics and workplace 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 workplace 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 ethics and compliance training programs that teach employees how to recognize and deter discrimination in the workplace by embracing the cultural differences that make up their 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 code of ethics and workplace 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 workplace diversity training programs to inspire principled performance.