Workplace Training: Diversity training is an important step in developing awareness within an organization since it provides a venue and forum for discussion with a controlled and secure environment. Through diversity training in the workplace environment, both employers and employees are able to effectively address topics that are not frequently discussed. In most cases, diversity training in the workplace has proven to be efficient if it flows through an organization, which implies that it should be mandated training. Based on the primary objectives of the training, it can either involve the entire employee teams or functional levels within the organization. In order for this training to promote inclusion among teams in the workplace and achieve other objectives, it needs to be customized and relevant. Through customization and relevance, diversity training not only resonates with the audience but it's also applicable to the employees daily work experiences.

Dimensions of Workplace Diversity:

It's important for organizations to identify the various aspects of diversity that require the most attention within the particular context since there are numerous dimensions of diversity. Some of the most common dimensions of workplace diversity across the local and international organizations include ethnicity, gender, religion, race, age, ability, culture, and sexual orientation. Each of these dimensions or the intersection of the dimensions can have a huge impact on the organization's overall performance. As a result of the potential impact of each of these dimensions of diversity on an organization's performance, there is need for a partnership or collaboration approach in developing the training ("Utilizing Diversity Training," n.d.). This is mainly because the partnership and collaboration approach will promote the applicability of the training and influence every particular workplace environment.

Developing Effective Workplace Diversity Training Programs:

As today's workplace environments have become more and more diversified,...

Some of the critical elements that must be considered in the development of these training programs include integrity, openness, humility, respect, inclusion, acknowledgement, and dignity. The development of effective workplace diversity training programs includes the following important steps:
Planning of the Program:

The effectiveness of the workplace diversity training programs is usually dependent on the efficiency of the planning stage. During this stage the organization's management should combine the training into organizational goals and practices, acquire current policies on workforce diversity, and adopt particular descriptions of diversity in the workplace. This should be followed by collection of the most recent labor market statistics, research on current aspects of workplace diversity, and inclusion of the diversity-related news into the content of the program ("Designing Effective Workforce Diversity, 2006). The planning stage should also include the establishment of evaluation tools for the diversity training before it's designed and the identification of non-training activities to support the learned lessons.

Selection of Trainers:

The next step in developing effective workplace diversity training programs is the selection of trainers since the trainers are as important as the content being delivered. The selected trainers must be experienced and skilled facilitators who can promote a secure and supportive environment for open and honest discussions. Since effective training on diversity in the workplace needs to be highly experiential, the trainers should possess strong skills for provision of interactive training exercises.

Practical Steps in Diversity Training Programs:

While developing the content of a workplace diversity training program seems to be an easy step, employees' response to the content can be risk, particularly…