Today’s changing demographics in the workplace calls for  every employee from CEO to  janitor to take diversity  and cultural sensitivity training. Such training, which not only allows one to think out of the box, but also  to undergo a serious personal analysis of their attitudes and beliefs about working with others who are different from them.

If training is not complete, then dissension has the possibility of derailing any initiatives. Furthermore,  people who are not educated and trained about diversity issues can contribute to disenchantment in the workplace.

At times individuals who head diversity programs are not fully trained themselves. This wastes company time and funds. The result is that the person hires one or two minorities or diverse employees believe they have accomplished their goals.

The result can be disastrous because new employees are not integrated into the company properly and the guise of diversity becomes nothing more than a shame, leaving all employees feeling dissatisfied and overwhelmed.

For diversity training to work effectively, the training needs to be taken seriously and needs to be offered on a regular basis. And there has to be a follow-up to see if anything needs to be changed in the future.

Points to Ponder:

  • Lack of serious commitment is essential for success. It cannot be a bottom-up approach.
  • Training is important. Lean to communicate effectively, and be educated about diversity.
  • Lack of a serious commitment dooms companies to failure.