Guidelines for Conducting Diversity Training
This guidance is intended to assist agency managers and providers of
Federally sponsored diversity training, including human resource managers,
human resource development specialists, organizational development specialists,
special emphasis program managers, EEO managers, teachers, and instructors,
with the design, delivery, and evaluation of diversity training. Part
A of the guidance specifies basic guidelines for diversity training.
Part B provides general principles for implementing
diversity training.
A. Introduction and Basic Guidelines for Diversity Training
General Principles
The purpose of Government training for Federal employees is to assist
in achieving an agency's mission and performance goals by improving
employee and organizational performance. Agency officials are responsible
for ensuring that their organizations' training needs are identified,
programs are established to meet those needs, lines of authority are
clearly identified, and all training programs contribute to the overall
efficiency and effectiveness of the Federal service.
Diversity training, like other Federally sponsored training, should
adhere to certain principles. It should:
- Have clearly stated goals and learning objectives that relate to the mission and needs of the organization;
- Use appropriate training approaches, methods and materials;
- Provide advance information to employees on course content and instruction methods, attendance policy, and alternatives for learning;
- Be provided in a supportive and non-coercive environment;
- Be conducted only by experienced and fully qualified instructors; and
- Be monitored and regularly evaluated.
PART B of these guidelines, "Principles for Implementing
Diversity Training," discuss these points in more detail.
Goals of Diversity Training
The goals of diversity training are to help Federal employees understand:
- The legal and statutory requirements for Equal Employment Opportunity
and Affirmative Action which support diversity in the Federal government
and in private industry;
- That diversity is the similarities, as well as the differences,
among and between individuals at all levels of the organization,
and in society at large; and
- How diversity contributes to a richness in the organization by
having a variety of views, approaches, and actions to use in strategic
planning, tactical planning, problem solving, and decision-making.
Diversity training usually focuses on:
- Interpersonal skills Federal employees need to provide services
to, work with, and manage persons and groups with similarities and
differences;
- Behavior Federal employees are expected to exhibit in all workplace
contacts -- behavior that respects each individual, preserves human
dignity, honors personal privacy, and values individual differences
as well as common characteristics; and
- The work environment and its relationship to effectiveness and
efficiencies in organizational performance.
Management's goals for diversity training may include:
- Increasing employee awareness of equal employment opportunity
laws;
- Increasing employee understanding of how diverse perspectives
can improve organizational performance;
- Preventing illegal discrimination or harassment in the workplace;
- Improving workplace relations;
- Building more effective work teams;
- Improving organizational problem-solving; and
- Improving service to customers.
Agency goals for diversity training may be achieved through a specific
course on diversity, such as "Managing Diversity," or by including
diversity content in other agency training programs, such as "Introduction
to Supervision," "Building Effective Work Teams," or "Customer Service Training."
Internal Review and Control
Agencies should review diversity training programs in advance of
delivery. This review should include:
- Review by at least one level of management above the person who
prepares or selects the materials;
- If training is developed or conducted by contractor, review of
the training materials by a competent, knowledgeable training specialist
with delegated approval authority;
- Review of the training material by an EEO official; and
- Consultation with the appropriate employee partnership mechanism.
In addition, agencies should use feedback mechanisms to monitor the
quality and effectiveness of diversity training and the reactions
of participants and instructors. The organizational need that the
diversity training is intended to meet should be addressed in the
design of the training evaluation.
B. Principles for Implementing Diversity Training
Establish Clearly Stated Goals and Learning Objectives that Relate to the Mission and Needs of the Organization.
Clearly stated goals and learning objectives are strongly recommended
for all Federally sponsored training, including diversity training.
- Do a thorough needs analysis and link diversity training to needed
improvements in organizational and/or individual performance.
- From identified performance improvement needs, identify goals
for the training.
- Ensure training program design is consistent with top management
direction and guidance.
- Specify learning objectives in behavioral terms.
- Obtain employee and management support for the training goals
and objectives.
Use Appropriate Training Approaches, Methods and Materials.
Training approaches, methods, and materials, to be effective, should
consider the organization's culture, the intended audience for the
training, and the nature of the diversity issues that the organization
wishes to address. The specific approaches, methods, and materials
should be thoroughly planned.
- Use best practices of others as benchmarks for diversity training.
- Document, or have vendors document, all methodologies employed
and how they support desired training outcomes.
- Diversity training may use a variety of methodologies including
reading, lecture, discussion, case study, role play, structured
experience, or multimedia presentations.
- Training should not be accomplished using T-groups, encounter
groups, and sensitivity groups as a methodology.
- Make sure planned discussions of individual experiences will be
voluntary and limited to work-related issues. If an employee needs
to discuss personal issues or conflicts, he or she should seek assistance
from the agency Employee Assistance Program.
- Consider having the course content and exercises reviewed by an
experienced training official who is technically knowledgeable and
skilled in identifying psychological issues that may arise during
the training.
- Address any risk concerns identified by persons in lines of authority
and accountability prior to conducting training.
- Pilot the diversity training first to human resource and diversity
specialists and use participant feedback to modify the course.
- Consider using "Train the Trainer" programs to facilitate consistency
in agency training program delivery.
Provide Employees Advance Information About the Training.
Consistent with an agency's authority to assign work, employees
may be assigned to training on a voluntary or mandatory basis. In
either case, agencies should provide advance information to employees
on course content and instructional methods, attendance policy,
and alternative training opportunities.
Although diversity training is not required by statute or regulation,
an agency may require employees to attend diversity training for
the good of the service. Should an agency choose to make diversity
training mandatory, the following procedures are recommended.
- Have top management notify effected employees that the training is mandatory.
- Tell employees the purpose of the training, what the specific course is about, and how it will be taught.
- Have a policy for handling employee requests to be excused for "workplace accommodation" reasons (religious, medical, physical, etc.).
- Have available, and tell, excused employees about alternative opportunities for learning the required material.
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Conduct Training in a Supportive, Non-Coercive Environment.
The training environment should be such that all attendees, including
those who share information about work experiences, are confident
that no harm will come to them and that there will be no threat
to their careers.
- Provide training in a supportive and non-coercive environment
where participants may feel safe discussing workplace experiences
and practicing appropriate interpersonal skills and expected behaviors.
- Obtain consensus on the "ground rules" for class interaction
early in the training activity, including agreement on what is
permissible to discuss in class (and what is not).
- Assure that training is done with proper regard for participant's
privacy and constitutional rights.
- Avoid using training methods that will induce unnecessary psychological
stress. (Some training programs might, of necessity, have the
potential for inducing psychological stress and yet be in the
Government's best interest. A course simulating stresses present
in the employees' work environment would be an example.)
- Allow sufficient time for processing each learning exercise
and continually monitor participant reaction. Take appropriate
measures to address issues if they arise.
- Determine if managers and line supervisors should attend training
with the people they supervise. If employees attend training with
their supervisors, both should be advised of any agency policy
regarding disclosure of work-related diversity issues.
Use Only Experienced, Fully Qualified, Instructors.
Instructors should have subject matter expertise, with demonstrated
knowledge and understanding of diversity. They should also have
demonstrated interpersonal skills and skills in managing group dynamics.
- Verify each instructor's expertise and experience with other
professionals and management officials.
- Conduct a pre-briefing with all instructors, including substitute
or subcontract instructors, to cover expected standards of service
and delivery from every instructor. The briefing may cover course
expectations, anticipated participant reactions, and the dynamics
of the current workforce culture (employment factors, outside
influences, current and projected changes to on-board strength,
dynamics of the changing Federal workplace, "reasonable accommodation"
issues, designation of key officials, etc.).
Monitor the Training Activity.
Monitor training delivery to assure proper classroom management
and desired management results for the diversity training.
- Allow for immediate participant feedback in or outside of the
classroom.
- Inform participants where to direct complaints about the training
program, including anonymous feedback.
- Respond quickly and appropriately to any complaint about the
diversity training program.
Evaluate the Training.
Agencies should evaluate the level of training success in terms
of the extent to which it meets established goals and learning objectives.
Specific areas of assessment include, employee satisfaction, increased
employee understanding of workforce diversity issues, demonstrated
interpersonal skills and appropriate workplace behaviors or improved
organizational performance.
- Use written end-of-course evaluations to assess participant
reaction, vendor and instructor performance and the effectiveness
of any participatory learning techniques.
- Revise training methods and materials, as warranted, in response
to feedback from participants and instructors.
- Consider using other evaluation methods to measure attainment
of learning outcomes, transfer of learning, and the extent to
which the training contributed to improved individual and/or organizational
performance.