Training a more inclusive workforce

Maretha Smit looks at why organisations need to undertake a gap analysis to get the most from diversity and inclusion training programmes and the core knowledge areas that underpin learning how to thrive in a new New Zealand.

Diversity and the ever-increasing complexity of diversity dimensions have become a defining feature of the New Zealand workplace. While our talent pool in Aotearoa is diverse by default, we need to actively design for inclusion within our organisations.

Building knowledge through training is an essential component to ensuring all our people feel respected and valued and that New Zealand organisations can harness the benefits of diversity and inclusion to create better business and social outcomes.

But there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach to effective diversity and inclusion training. While training has some core areas, the first step for any organisation is to understand the maturity of their current diversity and inclusion journey and analyse areas for improvement.

This allows business leaders or human resources departments to develop a strategic approach that will provide the best return on investment, rather than taking an interventionalist approach when issues arise.

Later this month, Diversity Works New Zealand is launching the Aotearoa Inclusivity Matrix (AIM). This evidence-based framework references global research but is specifically developed for the unique diversity and inclusion dynamics we face in New Zealand workplaces. It will be supported by tools that analyse the maturity of workplace practices across seven areas of impact, including leadership, attraction and recruitment, career development, inclusive collaboration and social sustainability. Its purpose is to enable business leaders to understand where they are at now and formulate a roadmap for transformation, which should include training specifically designed to meet the needs of the organisation.

However, before you can implement advanced training programmes to improve organisational capabilities across your workforce, it’s essential to ensure people have a basic awareness of the concepts of diversity, equity and inclusion.

Three core areas of training are fundamental in delivering that awareness and creating a drive for inclusion throughout your talent force.

We recommend starting with an understanding of unconscious bias, because that gives people an insight to themselves. It is difficult to begin a journey into valuing and understanding others if we do not start by understanding ourselves and how our brain works.

Once we understand ourselves, we move to understanding others, especially those who are culturally different. Cultural intelligence training gives us perspective on how other people think and feel and why they behave the way they do.

The third core area is inclusive leadership. Once we have a better understanding of ourselves and those around us, we use that knowledge in a strategic way to create more collaborative interactions in the workplace so everyone feels supported and able to do their best work.

These basic elements of awareness are essential foundations that need to be in place to successfully embed diversity, equity and inclusion across your organisation’s systems, processes and strategies.

Core training areas

1. Understanding unconscious bias

Unconscious bias affects our decision making in ways we cannot even imagine, making it the enemy of diversity.

Training could be designed for these learning outcomes:

• understanding the neuroscience underpinning unconscious bias

• identifying our own unconscious biases and those of others

• considering the affect unconscious bias has in the workplace

• discovering how to challenge our thinking and build new neural connections

• getting strategies to manage and mitigate bias as individuals, groups and organisations.

2. Inclusive leadership

In the constant search for inclusiveness, leaders need to learn how to manage different viewpoints and transform dissent and disagreement into value for organisational growth. Training could be designed for these learning outcomes:

• the role of leaders in diversity and inclusion

• the psychological foundations of inclusive leadership

• differences between inclusive leadership and other leadership styles

• inclusive leadership skills and traits.

3. Improving cultural intelligence

Cultural intelligence is a crucial competency in connecting with diverse markets and creating an inclusive workplace. Training could be designed for these learning outcomes:

• understanding culture and cultural integration in the context of the workplace

• recognising the risks of cultural dissonance in the workplace

• understanding the four components of cultural intelligence: cultural drivers, knowledge, strategies and action

• developing tools and strategies to help you reflect on your own biases, judgements and thought processes.

What to look for in a training provider:

• an organisation that will take the time to understand the needs of your business and the sector you operate in

• content that is evidence based and peer reviewed

• learning that combines theory with best practice examples, tools and strategies for both individuals and the organisation

• an approach that dials down defensiveness and dials up curiosity

• collaborative sessions that allow participants to learn from the experiences of everyone in the room

• measurable learning outcomes.

Maretha Smit is the Chief Executive of Diversity Works New Zealand, the national body for workplace diversity and inclusion. She has a strong background in and appreciation of the challenges in diversity and inclusion. She has experience in senior leadership roles in the disability sector, as well as delivering programmes to improve social cohesion through performing arts, education and training. She is passionate about her life purpose to create a more sustainable and equitable society through national conversations and creative initiatives.