3 Reasons Why Discussions and Workshops are Better than Training
Harvard Business Review and McKinsey write prolifically about the benefits of creating a diverse organisation. They will point to organisations getting better results and making more money when they have a diverse organisation supported by effective inclusion strategies.
As you might expect, we agree with this at Spotlight Inclusion. We believe in the power and long-term benefits of a diverse organisation for everyone in, or engaging with, an organisation.
We support organisations in a range of ways, and one thing that has emerged over the last 18 months is the lack of results that training provides for our clients. Learning about equity, diversity and inclusion topics which are positioned as ‘training’ are becoming less and less effective. There are a range of reasons for this:
People push against the concept of being ‘trained’ to be a decent human being. They will often intentionally resist it as a means of protest against the implied message that they aren’t good people.
The training is often seen as the solution. Leaders put the training in place believing that once people know better, they will automatically do better.
The world changes rapidly and we continue to be bombarded with information and stereotypes attached to individuals and groups of people. You have to be especially conscious to be able to reflect on our own biases all of the time, and actively challenge them.
We are instead finding that discussion and workshops which lead attendees to solve their own problems are fast becoming the best way to get results and effect change for the following reasons.
#1 People are engaged
Rather than being passive and listening to the learning (which can often be delivered in an uninteresting and exclusionary manner) attendees are part of the session and engage in co-creating solutions for the organisation. Their ideas are included which means their buy-in is increased - they suddenly have skin in the game.
People also have the opportunity to introduce their own experiences into the discussion if they wish. The relationships they have with their colleagues and employers can bring the challenges of exclusion home in a way that 2 dimensional examples which don’t relate to a specific organisation, can’t.
#2 We are intentionally creating places and times where people can raise their concerns and we can talk about these openly.
When facilitated to a high standard, we create a space where differing views and opinions can be shared in such a way as to be constructive. By raising different views, we are able to work with people. In training sessions, there often isn’t space for these conversations to take place, people feel silenced and resentful. Resistance is fuelled rather than removed.
#3 Attendees come away with their own actions which can be used immediately to tackle inclusion challenges.
In a workshop environment, people know they are going to be collaborating and that there is a problem to solve, and things to take away. The whole perspective on what the purpose of the session is, is changed. It is even better if we frame the workshop or discussion around a question or a problem the organisation is facing.
The creation of actions at the end of workshops means the organisation has assets which are tangible. Such actions can be collected to create plans and strategies which everyone has contributed to.
Now, workshops tend to be longer because we need time to work together and create. This does mean people are away from their day-to-day work for a longer period of time than they would be under a traditional training model, but the results and benefits are much better. In our experience, people come away from workshops celebrating their experience and invariably, they encourage others to take part in further or future opportunities which in turn means a much higher chance of successful change in behaviours and increase in inclusivity.
If you would like to arrange a time for us to talk about facilitating a discussion or workshop in your org, please click here: Select a Date & Time
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If you are looking to create your own EDI strategy, our Inclusion Toolkit will give you everything you need to begin.
Want to learn more? Read our blog post on facilitating difficult conversations here