May 2008 Newsletter
Training News May 2008
Big companies mean big diversity. Are you confident in promoting and managing your organisation's diversity?
Here's what we have in store for you this month:
Why talking about diversity is a waste of time.
It’s Time to Stop Talking about Diversity.
‘Diversity’ is a buzz-word often associated with esoteric chants about acceptance and tolerance. The reality of implementing an environment of understanding is a lot more taxing than simple words. Regrettably talking about gardening does not make flowers grow; here are some tips to make sure your business turns ideas into action.
The Fallacy of Black and White
Diversity is not about race. If you wish to be successful in your approach to diversity in your company do not obsess about racial dynamics. While these form one of the tiers of ‘diversity’ the term in itself is diverse.
Religion, culture, nationality, age, sexual-orientation and gender all form spokes in the wheel and need to be regarded as equally fundamental criteria when implementing company policy and dealing with conflicts. If you give any one of these factors too much attention you ironically display prejudice and marginalise employees.
Sensitivity does not mean Softness
We often read about discrimination cases in the press and this makes employers nervous of being caught up in similar reputation-smashing incidents . This can sometimes lead to treating groups that are regarded as minorities with favouritism out of fear.
Possible negative outcomes from this approach include hardening resentment as other employees pick up on this, as well as exposing weakness to the uncommon, but real threat of manipulation.
Ingenious with Gender
According to Personnel Today gender-based discrimination still results in considerable pay gaps between men and women, with male directors earning on average 22% more than their female counterparts.
Most discrimination of this nature is not conscious and so the next time you are in a position to employ someone, or offer a promotion, make sure it is a clinical process based purely on skill and not partiality.
Keep the Political on a Policy Leash
Equal opportunities for your staff are the foundation of respect and encouraging healthy competition in your business. If for some unfortunate reason you do encounter a case of victimisation a clear-cut, company policy will offer guidance in the mess of emotions that naturally accompany the situation. If you are a small company it is just as important to have a concrete procedure to deal with issues of fairness and equality.
Herding cats: tired of being scratched?
Learn how to herd cats.
Intrigued?
Herding cats is about managing challenging people at work.
This is the topic of our training taster workshop designed to give you a 90 min taster of what we do every day. You'll meet some of the you:unlimited team, mingle with other training and HR practitioners and discuss any specific training needs you have.
Apart from giving you a flavour of our training style, this workshop will also equip you with tried and tested techniques to help you improve communication with important and challenging individuals.
The next “Herding Cats” taster workshop will be running in central London from 9am – 11am on Wednesday 21st May 2008.
Spaces are limited, so if you are a Manager or HR & Training professional, with the responsibility of booking training, contact linzi@you-unltd.co.uk or call on 020 7407 0044 and we’ll book spaces for you and / or a colleague.
Meow
An Interview with our very own Steve Burge
During his 32 year police career Steve Burge has helped design national policies on diversity.
Since his retirement as Chief Superintentdant he has been actively involved at you:unlimited helping giants in a range of industries understand and implement diversity policies-
We interviewed Steve to get to the heart of some important questions concerning diversity training.
What sort of organisations do you believe would benefit from diversity training and why?
Managing diversity is about managing and leading people well. When that is achieved positive performance results follow and a great working environment is created.. All organisations benefit from understanding, the sometimes simple and at other times complex issues, which affect us all.
There is so much in the media about equal opportunities and diversity. In your experience do you think that this constant exposure has hardened people’s receptiveness to these issues? If so, how do you combat this in your training?
There are so many aspects involved in managing diversity. Diversity is about including people to allow them to be positive contributors to their organisation.
The press often reports sensational issues which tend to blur this management imperative. Diversity is about recruiting the best people for the job and enabling them to flourish in an organisation that has a positive working culture. If people understand this concept their receptiveness is won. This needs to be taken into consideration when promoting and delivering all related training.
What issues do you think are of particular importance for a business that is formulating an approach to diversity?
It is vital that the correct policies and practices are in place to create the best working environment possible. That in turn attracts the best people from the widest possible resource pool. The values of any organisation have to include this and good, strong visible leadership is essential.
What steps do you take to ensure that your training facilitates lasting change?
I use a combination of things. The first is to ensure that the development is contextualised to the organisation’s requirements. It has to be clearly linked to the organisational policies, systems and processes to make it relevant. It has to be meaningful and enjoyable which can be achieved through interaction, practical exercises, quizzes etc. People have to explore themselves, as well as others, to develop their understanding of key issues in the work place. When that is achieved they can determine how to improve their performance.
Are there any interesting stories / findings that you can recall from your diversity / inclusion workshops?
My main finding is that the workshops are liberating for people. They can openly discuss issues that have affected them in the past. That in turn allows groups to know a little more about one another.
It is surprising how shallow some relationships are in the workplace. Helping people to look a little deeper often produces amazing results. Diversity Training can also be very empowering and the best results are when people have realised their worth and set up action plans to develop further.
In conclusion, is there any important advice you would like to offer companies addressing diversity?
I would ask two questions: Do you really understand your employees? And, do you really know what’s going on in all areas of your organisation? Success is closely linked to emotional intelligence because it is the people that you employ that make all the difference to your company.
To find out more about our diversity workshops follow the link: Diversity Training or contact us on 020 7407 0044.
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