4 Signs That Your DEI Employee Training Has Been Ineffective
Wouldn’t it be nice to know danger is up ahead, before it hits you? Coal miners used to use canaries as their notification. Canaries are more sensitive to the dangerous gases in the mines than the humans are, so if a canary died in the mine, they knew it was time to get out of there.
Of course, we’re not in a coal mine. But that doesn’t mean you have no way to tell when your company may be heading in the wrong direction, especially when it comes to DEI initiatives.
DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION
Across the board, more and more companies are embracing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion training. There has been a general awakening towards issues of tolerance and acceptance, and DEI training helps raise awareness to inform and educate your workforce. The lessons learned in this critical training will make your company culture better and have a litany of benefits driven by that improved culture. Those benefits include a more productive workforce, less turnover, higher job satisfaction, and better and more trusting relationships with management. All good stuff, right?
But sometimes those lessons don’t stick. As an HR or compliance professional, what are those early warning signals that prior DEI training has been ineffective? In other words, what are the canaries in your coal mine?
1. Comprehensive Attraction Analysis
Achieving true diversity and inclusion starts the moment a job is presented to applicants. Your employee demographics will directly reflect the pool of people you are choosing from. Pay attention to trends and patterns in your applications, noticing if there are minorities that may need to be reached through different means. Try diverse job fairs and pay attention to the schools that your corporate recruiters are visiting. Choose a range of schools that represent different demographics and cultures.
Initiatives like the Parity Pledge are encouraging companies to be mindful of who they are interviewing for open positions. Take the pledge today to start your journey towards equal opportunities.
2. Covering
If employees feel like they can’t be themselves at work, chances are your culture isn’t being perceived as inclusive.
“Covering” occurs when an employee tries to mask who they are because they don’t fit into the majority group. If your company is overwhelmingly Caucasian, an employee who isn’t a part of that group may try to erase signs of their cultural identity to fit in. Or if your company hasn’t taken a firm stance supporting LGBTQ+ identities, someone in your company may be projecting a version of themselves that is not true to who they really are.
If your employees are engaging in covering, it will eventually take a toll on their self-esteem and may lead to resentment towards the company or even you directly. The best way to prevent employees from taking this route is to increase trust in your culture of acceptance. Loudly support diversity and inclusion, and quickly resolve issues that arise from any prejudice or discrimination occurring among employees, no matter what level.
3. Retention Analysis
Low employee retention can be caused by many issues. The first step is to look at the demographics of those who are leaving. Is there a pattern of a certain gender or minority group that seems to be leaving in droves?
If you suspect that diversity and inclusion is one of them, consider enacting quality exit and stay interviews to figure out what your employees really think. It has been shown that employees leaving a company are much more likely to share their real experiences when being interviewed by a 3rd party. That way, they can remain anonymous and not fear retaliation.
4. Management Buy-In
To truly have an organization devoid of discrimination, it must start from the top. Prejudice and discrimination should never be tolerated, and leadership must demonstrate an active posture of inclusion. Employees who see their managers and even the C-suite recognizing and supporting people who look like them is one of the most powerful ways to make all employees feel safe.
If you’re a CEO, consider signing the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion pledge. This will clearly communicate to your employees that advancing diversity within your organization is something you are actively pursuing.
ARE YOUR CANARIES STILL ALIVE?
I challenge HR and compliance professionals to take an honest appraisal of your organization. Is there a trend in your recruiting efforts manifesting a disproportionate demographics of applicants? Do employees feel like they need to “cover” their true selves? Is there any demographic with lower retention than others? Does senior leadership talk the talk AND walk the walk?
There’s tremendous value in DEI training to address all these issues. If any of these resonate with you, I encourage you to look into your training options. If you have done DEI training and these canaries persist, we suggest you take a retrospective look at your process.
The ETHIX360 blog brings you weekly updates on all things human resources and compliance.
MEET THE AUTHOR
J Rollins is the co-founder and CEO of ETHIX360. J is a well known leader and innovator who has served on senior leadership teams ranging in responsibility from Chief Revenue Officer, Chief Marketing Officer, SVP of Product Strategy and Chief Operating Officer.
ABOUT ETHIX360
At ETHIX360, our goal is simple: to provide an affordable, flexible, and comprehensive answer to employee communication, policy management, corporate training and case management on issues related to corporate ethics, code of conduct, fraud, bribery, and workplace violence.
