Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Training: Tips and Best Practices

Why improving DEI training is critical ↓

Best practices for today’s DEI training programs ↓

Resources to bolster your DEI training success ↓

Empower employees and managers

It’s important for the C-suite to set an example and consistently speak to DEI as a priority. But to cultivate a truly diverse and inclusive culture, employees and their managers need to be focusing on it regularly at the ground level.

One recommendation for making sure your DEI program resonates, according to Inclusion Design Group CEO Dereca Blackmon, is to use presurveys. “Research shows that forcing training down people's throats can create a backlash that can actually make things worse,” Blackmon says. “But we can't afford to abandon what's right just because it's not easy. We have to do the work beforehand to make sure people understand why training is important not only to their company but also to their personal success.”

Frame DEI training around professional growth

People are busy, with many competing interests in their professional and personal lives. If DEI is seen as unimportant – or worse, a burden or distraction – it won’t take hold. The training will be more successful if it is tied to meaningful skill-building and career advancement.

“Diversity and inclusion is the fundamental foundation of psychological safety,” says Crystal Lim-Lange, CEO of Forest Wolf. “But it helps to pitch it as a path to higher performance. People are not interested in remedial action that’s going to shame them, but they are interested in opportunities to become better and more successful.”

Account for the many dimensions of identity

DEI isn’t just about race, or gender, or ethnicity. Emerging generations identify by a wide range of traits that deserve recognition and understanding. To ensure your DEI training is comprehensive and geared for an ever-expanding spectrum of diversity, avoid being too narrow in scope.

LinkedIn Learning courses like the ones below illustrate how you can incorporate training around disabilities, age/generation diversity, and cross-cultural diversity, for example.

Move from intention to impact

It’s all too easy for DEI to feel like a “fluffy” initiative, lacking in tangible outcomes. Avoid this pitfall by shifting your organizational directive from intention to impact. 

“Sometimes, as leaders, we're over-reliant on our own perspectives, our own worldview, what we experience in the workplace, what we think is inclusive or not,” explains author and inclusion strategist Ruchika Tulshyan. “And we often miss out on seeking perspectives that are different than our own. And I think this really comes back to this idea of over-relying on our good intentions rather than the impact that our actions may have.”

Drive organizational accountability around DEI

As Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) strategist and consultant Dr. Tana M. Session explains, “When you think about creating and implementing a DEIB strategy, there has to be accountability to ensure that the strategy is successful.”

“As a leader,” Dr. Session continues, “you're familiar with setting goals and strategies, measuring success, and holding people accountable for accomplishing those goals. Well, your DEIB strategy needs to be respected, and managed in the very same way.”