Diversity Training in the Workforce

Diversity Training in the Workforce Today

The phrase "diversity training" is often used by businesses to encompass a variety of efforts by companies to encourage greater sensitivity to racial, ethnic, sexual, and other types of innate differences between the culture and lifestyles of employees, with the aim of facilitating communication and averting potential conflict. Diversity training can be as brief as informative videotapes or extensive as weekend-long retreats. "The purpose of [diversity] training is not only to increase awareness and understanding of workplace diversity, but also to develop concrete skills among your staff that will facilitate enhanced productivity of and communications among all employees." (SHRM, 2004)

Diversity training is thus beneficial to the company in terms of creating an overall sense of employee commonality rather than difference. At its best, usually with facilitated workshops that are participatory as well as observed by employees, it can contribute to the company's ability to make use of more employee resources as a result of greater personal comfort between staff members, as well make individuals whom are members of historically discriminated against minority groups feel a part of the company culture and ethos. Also, the scope of diversity training can include age and age related issues, and the needs of disabled employees. The ages of employees will invariably change even in the most stable corporate ethnic or gender population, as new employees are incorporated into the company. Disability issues, alas, can strike any employee at any time. We are all only temporarily able-bodied, as age can result in limited mobility even for healthy staff members.

Even relatively homogeneous corporate environments can benefit from diversity training efforts in the workforce. It is better to have diversity training before the workplace changes and "Rescue Diversity Training," to minimize a conflicted situation is needed. (Velasquez, 2004) America is increasingly diverse, and all employees must communicate with a diversity of customers, distributors, and other outsiders in their work, whom might be from diverse backgrounds.