Work In Progress: Effective Practices In DEI Learning And Development

This article was originally posted on Forbes.com.

In the wake of the 2020 Summer of Racial Reckoning, organizations worldwide scrambled to address the systemic inequalities that had been suddenly cast in stark relief, such that by 2021 over 8 in 10 organizations had implemented some type of diversity, equity and inclusivity (DEI) ‘initiative’. Nevertheless, these initiatives vary significantly in efficacy; in some cases, they simply fail to move the needle, while in others, they exacerbate the problems they intend to solve.

We have found that DEI programs tend to fail in two main, fairly broad circumstances: In the first, organizational leaders do not define with absolute clarity how such a program will work and what it intends to achieve; in the second, advancements in DEI are seen as so difficult to make that they get shelved in favor of simpler “quick turnover” objectives.

We have surfaced some effective practices—both “do’s” and “do not’s”—to help fledgling DEI efforts avoid these common pitfalls:

1. Recognize that the work is continuous.

DEI awareness and development is not a “one-off” activity. Rather, it’s ongoing work that everyone, top to bottom, needs to engage with. It takes time to understand the nuances of different individuals’ experiences, to see how these experiences can be impacted by DEI related actions, and once a plan has been settled upon, to truly embed it into all aspects of a business. Bluntly, this simply cannot occur in a one-hour workshop. Rather, there needs to be a commitment to continuous learning, implementation and fine-tuning.

2. Emphasize in-person learning.

This work also cannot occur exclusively in an e-learning context. Too many organizations still think, “Oh, we have thousands of employees, let’s put them all through an e-learning program.” But the kind of engagement and discussion that must take place in order to effect fundamental change doesn’t happen when someone sits alone in front of their computer screen, watching a video. At the very minimum, DEI education must occur in a hybrid form, to allow individuals to come together, debate, discuss and truly hear each other out and reflect on different points of view.

3. Avoid leading with ‘unconscious bias’ training.

So many organizations open with unconscious bias training and then lament that this training has shown no impact whatsoever. However, no training has any impact when it's purely an information dump. DEI training must occur in a way that enables participants to think, “How do inequalities play out in my day-to-day work? How do they impact my perceptions or my behaviors? What can I concretely do differently?” Unconscious bias training can lead people to the conclusion that DEI is simply about checking your personal biases, when in fact the scope is far broader. Moreover, beginning in a way that may feel accusatory can result in defensive behaviors, with some participants shutting down and disengaging from the outset.

4. Be clear about what needs to change.

At the start of any learning, there needs to be a clear goal: What needs to be different as a result of people experiencing this training and development? So many times, organizations will simply put everyone through some kind of “awareness training” without being clear on desired outcomes. These must be established clearly and early on; ideally, everyone needs to be aligned on what needs to change, and how the training will support them to do this, before devoting their time and energy to learning. Moreover, the goal should be concrete and actionable—rather than saying, vaguely, “We need to be a more inclusive workplace,” the training’s objective should instead be more tangible and focused, such as, “Creating, and delivering, an inclusive and fair promotion system.” These types of discrete objectives are both easier to understand and to implement with clear results.

5. Have concrete measurements for progress.

Many times, we see a company implementing a lot of “learning and awareness” training sessions without having designed any clear system for measuring impact. Is the work helping? How so? How much? Without defining clear standards for progress, it is impossible to know what, if anything, has changed. Oftentimes, we see organizations simply ask participants to fill out surveys after training with questions such as “Did you enjoy this process?” Unfortunately, this is not a useful litmus test of a training program’s efficacy, or of any DEI advancement whatsoever.

So how can organizations evaluate whether their DEI training programs are effective? We like to refer to the four-tiered Kirkpatrick Model to assess the true impact of training: At level four of the paradigm, targeted organizational outcomes should be visible, alongside ongoing support and accountability practices. We find this is a useful paradigm for organizations to review their DEI learning and assess whether these programs are helping to move the needle.

Lastly, organizations may make some improvements, only for their leaders to be uncertain about how to maintain momentum. How can they make these important learnings “stick,” so that DEI becomes a habit rather than a temporary focus? Ultimately, there needs to be a process of learning transference. There are many ways to integrate the transference: Some training programs facilitate this by ensuring that everyone has a “buddy,” so they can continue discussing ideas, challenging each other, working through concepts and creating accountability, even after the formal period of training has ended. Others create opportunities for constant conversations between team members around what has been learned, how they have implemented it and what needs to be done differently so that the learnings from the training session remain top of mind.

This is a crucial step for companies that are developing their training: To truly embed DEI in their work, organizational leaders must often reconstitute existing programs to give people time in training to talk, create personal action plans and really reflect on and articulate what they're going to do—and, there needs to be a plan for afterward, to make sure everyone remains accountable and has the support available as they work through inevitable challenges. We are all works in progress, and successful DEI implementation is no less than everyone in an organization working together to shift society—however minutely—toward a better, more collective and more inclusive future.