Introduction
Equal employment opportunity is a conviction that promotes equal opportunities in organizations to maintain or achieve fair labor chances. The core of equal employment opportunity is that all workforce members should be fairly compensated or treated in various employment decisions such as compensation, termination, promotion, and hiring. The primary principle of equal employment opportunity is that every person has similar means of pursuing a job where meritocracy is the core basis. Therefore, in the hiring process or employment, a person shall not be discriminated against according to sexual orientation, religion, race, creed, and color, among others. Diversity and inclusivity are interconnected ideas that refer to the various unique people that make up individuals and the environment that facilitates them to work collaboratively. In this case, diversity and inclusion in the workplace have become a measure of compliance with labor laws globally. Therefore, many companies have ensured that diversity training is integral to the organizational culture. Recently, companies that have refused to have policies of equal employment opportunity, diversity, and inclusion have often faced lawsuits that have tainted their reputation. Although equal employment opportunity is a policy embraced by many companies, a diversity-training program is essential to educate employees, and organizational leaders need to implement changes.
How Diversity fits Into the Scope of Organizational Development
Companies that do not embrace policies of equal employment opportunities, diversity, and inclusion in contemporary society often face lawsuits. Therefore, such cases create an appropriate option for organizational leaders to learn and embrace diversity. In any organization, there are positive effects of implementing a diversity-training program at all levels of the employees (Barbosa 31). Thus, such an organization will avoid litigation and equal employment opportunity problems after embracing diversity and inclusion. Managing diversity in an organization also helps to make such a workplace more efficient. Such efficiency happens when the organization can manage conflict, teamwork, marginalization perception, and cultural diversity.
Through globalization, the workplace has become increasingly diverse because of the incorporation of many people from across the world to work in such an environment. Global economic integration has accelerated the diverse nature of such work environments (O’Donovan 8). The effects of globalization have made the world become a global village where organizations have seen the need to recruit diverse staff. In this scenario, workplace diversity has demonstrated various dimensions that range from organizational, economic, national, and linguistic cultures. The ability to fit into any organizational culture globally without feeling alienation is a worldwide corporate tradition that thrives when a company has effective diversity management.
Outlining a HR Plan that Includes Diversity Training for all Employees
From an HR perspective, it is relevant to demonstrate leadership accountability and commitment from the top. Other employees will only take the issue of diversity seriously if they notice commitment at the top. Therefore, demonstrating such leadership should happen through behavior, messaging, and agency policy, further promoting diversity and inclusion objectives and goals. In the organization, there should be a straightforward implementation of a communication strategy that signifies the issue of diversity and inclusivity (Barbosa 35). Thus, HR should let all the staff know that diversity is an essential strategic priority that enhances organizational objectives. Reinforcing leadership commitment will also help the workforce see the need for the initiative.
HR should also ensure that the organization fosters a connected culture that helps the staff appreciate diversity in the workplace. Therefore, cultivating a supportive, fair, inclusive, and welcoming workplace will allow the team to feel valued and connected to the mission and vision of the organization. It should be the initiative of HR to promote equal employment opportunities for all (Chandler 50). Henceforth, HR should use qualitative and quantitative data to assess processes and programs and identify obstacles that may hamper opportunity and inclusivity for all. Employees should be trained on the demerits of discriminatory workplace practices, particularly in the hiring process.
Identifying Specific Diversity Training Segments
One of the most relevant segments of diversity is awareness training, where it is believed that every leader within an organization must learn the skills and competencies of diversifying their workforce. Awareness training as a training session greatly helps the employees to know about different individuals from multiple backgrounds (Hays-Thomas 304). In this case, new and old colleagues learn about ethnic and racial identities, gender minorities, and sexual minorities of other people. Every organization’s prerogative is to ensure all its employees are aware of workplace equity. Therefore, all staff must know that they must treat every other person equally irrespective of their identities and marginalization.
Diversity audits are another training segment that helps address the perspectives of management. Such audits should be regular checks that assist the HR personnel in identifying and mitigating discriminatory practices in the workplace. Diversity audit training is some of the most relevant that trainers should recommend to the HR professionals for immediate implementation because of their role in the work environment (Chandler 61). Although the audits are complicated for HR professionals, they help unearth the problems an organization faces regarding diversity and having an inclusive workforce. The audits require ample time to do them effectively as they are daunting. Such audits should encourage employees to be transparent, which will assist in discrimination in the workplace.
Using a Change Model to Persuade Management
Kotter’s 8-step diversity model is the best guide to persuade management to implement the needed modifications to the organization’s practices. The model is the most crucial because it offers an elaborate procedure for change when included in the diversity goals of an organization. This model has the potential to create a diversity and inclusion culture in the company and help the employees embrace the concept (O’Donovan 14). The eight steps include instituting change, sustaining acceleration, generating short-term diversity wins, and enabling actions by eliminating obstacles. Other efforts involve enlisting a diverse army voluntarily, forming a strategic initiative and vision, building a guiding coalition, and creating a feeling of urgency.
According to this Kotter’s 8-step model, the first step should build a sense of urgency. Therefore, the company should assist its team in valuing diversity and seeing its need. Thus, the organization must have a bold statement that communicates the relevance of immediate action in supporting diversity (Hays-Thomas 401). For example, a diversity mission statement would help convey that the company is not taking chances as far as the issue of diversity and inclusion is concerned. In addition, forming a strategic vision will significantly alter the diversity equation in the workplace. Thus, there is a need to clarify how the future will be better than the past if the concept is fully embraced. The diversity vision statement will be a strategic road map to realize the idea.
Proposing a Brief Training Outline of Diversity Content
The brief training outline of diversity content should entail gamification, mobile learning, and micro learning. In this case, gamification in the work environment provides diverse training opportunities where different people are brought together to work on common problems and reach common goals (Inegbedion et al. 6). Employees can interact and learn how to apply new skills collaboratively. Gamification will ensure that different groups of people come together for a common purpose. Therefore, diverse people can communicate with strangers of all backgrounds. If employees work in an environment with no boundaries to race, ethnicity, religion, and sexual orientation, the workplace will be conducive.
Microlearning ensures that training is broken into small and manageable bites. In this case, employees can have what they want in such activity because the issue of complexity is no longer there. It is one of the best ways to bring out definitions and have a common objective in workplace diversity training (Chandler 56). Over the years, traditional diversity has always featured reluctance from employees because of its complex nature. In such situations, resistant employees would take much time to be convinced that diversity is essential to their organizations. Mobile learning is also a vital diversity training content in the workplace. Many work environments have telecommuting options, and mobile learning is always an option. At any given point, employees can access their workplace diversity training programs from the comfort of their gadgets.
Recommending a Comprehensive Method of Evaluation for the Training
The primary aim of a training evaluation is to comprehend whether a program has achieved its intended purpose. In this case, the Kirkpatrick Taxonomy Model is the most recommended training evaluation method because of its immense benefits (O’Donovan 6). The Kirkpatrick model provides a wide-ranging four-level strategy that assesses the effectiveness of any training program or course. The training levels include results, behavior, learning, and reaction (Hays-Thomas 395). The model will help gauge how the employees responded to the offered training at the reaction level. This model is essential for the employees because it will help identify the present conditions for learning. At this point, the trainer can ask the employees to complete brief feedback or survey that gauge their reactions to the training.
The Kirkpatrick Taxonomy Model also involves the learning stage that helps to understand what the staff learned from the training course. In many instances, brief quizzes and practical evaluations are used for evaluative purposes before and after the training. The behavior stage entails evaluating if the employees can put what they learned into practical purposes in their job positions (Inegbedion et al. 2). The setting takes place after the training session to have meaningful results. The model will assist in asking employees to fill out a self-evaluation or requesting their line managers to examine them formally. The fourth stage in the model involves results where the trainer can assess whether the training course met the stakeholders’ expectations.
Conclusion
In conclusion, modern organizations should have equal employment opportunity, diversity, and inclusion policies in their workplace. Having a diverse workplace helps because it promotes innovation and creativity. In addition, it also encourages more significant opportunities, which enhance professional growth and development. An equal employment opportunity policy in the workplace also promotes a diverse workforce where there is no discrimination. To ensure that diversity thrives in the work environment, companies should have an elaborate diversity-training program that will empower the employees on the need to appreciate the concept.
Works Cited
Barbosa, Iris. “Hard Times, Less Compassion? Distinct Perspectives towards Distinct Minorities in the Portuguese Organizational Context.” Managing Organizational Diversity, 2017, pp. 29–48.
Chandler, Nick G. “Cultural Complexity in Large Organisations.” Managing Organizational Diversity, 2017, pp. 49–65.,
Hays-Thomas, Rosemary. “Building Organizational Diversity Competence Through Organization Development.” Managing Workplace Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, 2022, pp. 385–410.
Inegbedion, Henry, et al. “Managing Diversity for Organizational Efficiency.” SAGE Open, vol. 10, no. 1, 2020, p. 1-10. Web.
O’Donovan, Deirdre. “Inclusion: Diversity Management 2.0.” Managing Organizational Diversity, 2017, pp. 1–28.