Transcript DIVERSITY TRAINING

DIVERSITY TRAINING
• Diversity and Diversity
Training
• Culture in Aylmer Area
• Why Bother?
• Advantages
• Develop Policies
• Cost
• On-Going Development
What is Diversity
• Obvious - age, culture, sex, sexual
orientation, disabilities, educational
background
• Less Obvious - thinking styles, field of
work
• Study of Differences - Difference as a
positive experience
What is Diversity Training
• Improve awareness of different attitudes,
behaviours and communication patterns of
different groups
• Develop skills to deal with these differences
• Diversity in Aylmer area - Mexican
Mennonite families, aging population,
European families, young families
Why Bother?
• Who do you employ now and who will you
employ in the future?
• Who are your customers?
• Diversity training will help identify these
issues
• Teach respect
• Develop understanding for various groups
Language Barrier
• How do we overcome the language barrier
we experience with Low German group?
• Train staff in low German to communicate
with potential customers
• Hire someone who can translate
• Teach English as a second language
Dealing with Conflict
• Conflict often occurs because of a lack of
understanding
• Develop tools to deal with conflict
• Difference of opinion will always exist
• One way of life is not better than another,
only DIFFERENT
Different Cultures
• Learn more about other cultures in the area
• Accept that differences will exist and accept
them as just that - different
• Develop understanding
Advantages
• Staff will be more understanding group and
this will help them deal with customers and
work with each other more effectively
• Organization will have people that are
flexible and more able to adapt to an everchanging society
• Respond to changing environment and
demands
Develop Policies
• Commitment from the top-send a message
that diversity policies are serious, let them
know what is expected and why, promote
the policy
• Communicate the policies-keep line of
communication open, let staff know what's
in it for them
• Develop a self-help group-get a group
together to discuss problems and issues to
help improve your policies
• Review the policies-compare where you are
now to where you want to be, make
changes, evaluate the process over time
Cost
• This will be expensive and it will take time
• If you can’t afford the entire package that’s
all right
• Choose 2-3 issues now and focus on them,
more can be done later
• Take a proactive approach, do what you can
now
On-Going Development
• Changes will be needed over time
• What is developed today will not work
forever
• Training people now will develop skills,
increase awareness, increase understanding,
enhance productivity and communication
• You will promote skills that your business
will need to survive the future