How to Conduct an Inclusive Training Program for Employees 

In today’s time, inclusive training has become one of the most innovative types of training. Aside from the thing that inclusive training gives an opportunity for everyone to enjoy different learning sessions without discriminating against other types of people. Inclusive training promises a great opportunity for everyone to seize different activities that value the differences of other people. 

Statistically speaking, inclusive training gives employees an opportunity to feel safe and valued in the workplace because they feel a sense of welcome in the working environment. Take note that as a trainer, making inclusive training is crucial in bringing the employees to their highest potential that they could be able to contribute to the objectives and goals of the company. 

Let’s get to know the qualities of inclusive training and the tips that can help in conducting an inclusive training program.  

Qualities of an Inclusive Training Program

As most technical books highlight, an inclusive training program is non-discriminative in nature. They typically erase different stereotypes and cultural biases that are present in the workplace. Trainers have to make sure that an inclusive training program highlights different sessions that emphasize conflict management training, where employees get to foster communication skills and value systems that are affecting the workplace. Cultural identities and potential sources of conflict are taken into note in this type of training. 

Aside from cultural and upbringing differences, ways on how to exercise inclusiveness, anti-harassment and anti-discrimination, and handling colleagues with invisible or other disabilities are emphasized in the inclusive training program. 

To effectively conduct an inclusive training program, create a positive and welcoming atmosphere for the employees, which highly facilitates an optimistic atmosphere where they can effectively gather and share ideas from their colleagues. 

Tips for Conducting an Inclusive Training Program

Remaining as positive as possible in the inclusive training program is a must; that’s the first thing. However, you must also embody different qualities mentioned in the article where everyone gets to have a fair share of leadership. Effective inclusion training is ongoing in the sense that the employees during the conduct of the training session get to be driven with reinforcements and corrective feedback. In addition, an inclusive training program must perfectly suit everyone’s needs. 

Should you want to pursue a successful inclusive training program, here are some of the tips that you can do to effectively facilitate the needs of the employees during the training program

Get to Know Your Employees

Effective and inclusive training starts a light atmosphere if employees get to be familiar with their colleagues. To start with the inclusive training session, organize sessions where employees get to be familiar with other colleagues participating in the activity. Aside from facilitating activities that employees just give their name, age, and other basic information, try to make use of activities where you assign the employees into their respective and random pairs and then try to share with each other the origins of their respective names. After sharing each other’s name origins, they get to have another pair and then try to share their pair’s origin of the name.

Aside from making this kind of activity, try to also make different groupings on every activity that you are going to have so that employees get to face different people and they get to be familiar with all of the participants in the inclusive training. 

Create a Warm Atmosphere

In making an inclusive training program, make sure that employees get to seize a warm atmosphere so that everyone could have an effective exchange of ideas in different learning sessions. 

To create a warm atmosphere, set the rules before the conduct of the inclusive training. In addition, use funny and interesting icebreakers so that the different learning sessions that employees feel that it is an “information overload”, employees get to relax their brain cells while absorbing different pieces of information- and they can save more learning for later sessions to come. 

For the speakers and trainers who are going to facilitate the inclusive training program, give activities that entice the interest of the participants by enhancing their visualizations in the conduct of the inclusive training program.  

Diversify Your Training Method

An inclusive training program is non-discriminating by nature. In this statement, we mean that differences and needs must be catered in different learning sessions in the inclusive training program, respectively.

To effectively address the needs of the learners in different learning sessions, diversify the training method in the training program. You can make use of an online modality, offline or the conventional modality, or you can even make use of a blended modality where participants get to enjoy different pieces of information regardless of the pace and place they desire. 

For online or blended learning modalities, interaction can still be done by making use of the breakout room sessions or a good combination of synchronous and asynchronous learning modalities among the employees. 

Establish a Code of Conduct

An inclusive training program becomes well-managed in terms of behavior when a code of conduct is made. Orient the employees with the rules and regulations that must be observed in the conduct of the inclusive training program. 

Emphasize the dress code, the behavior, and the things that every employee should observe in the conduct of the inclusive training program. 

During the inclusive training, reiterate the code of conduct for the entire duration of the inclusive training. Prohibition of drinking alcoholic drinks, profane and vulgar words, insulting remarks, and other rules are some of the things that you can emphasize every after the learning session. 

Highlight the rule of respect and attentiveness in the making of the code of conduct.

Allow Employees to Engage

Without further engagement among employees, the general aim of an inclusive training program that seeks to appreciate and value differences among employees will be eradicated. Ensure that employees get to engage with their colleagues and other participants frequently, use different learning activities where participants get to exchange ideas. When exchanging ideas, the trainer must ensure that when exchanging ideas, master the art of listening where they get to appreciate the differences of the employees.

To allow employees to further engage with other participants, make use of learning activities that help the participants effectively generate different ideas. In this way, employees get to have a healthy discussion and get to determine some things relevant to each learning activity. 

Create Group Sessions for Dialogue

The aim of an inclusive training program is to encourage participants to have a healthy manner of establishing a dialogue with other participants. Trainers must effectively foster group sessions where participants get to have a healthy exchange of information. 

In addition, foster thought-provoking questions that pose problems relevant to the organization’s workplace, and participants get to propose solutions that could benefit the common good. 

In every learning session that you ought to establish a proper dialogue among participants, they get to imbibe the sense of empathy where they get to see other situations and problems in a different picture. 

Encourage Group Learning

If you facilitate a training program that is highly individualistic in nature, this will not encourage the participants from achieving the general goals and objectives of the inclusive training program. 

It helps to organize learning sessions that emphasize group learning. Without risking the hostile exchange of ideas, you must make use of thought-provoking questions and activities that exercise the elaboration and fluency skills of the participants. 

Effectively address the differences of the participants while encouraging them to enjoy group learning. 

Provide a Self-Paced Learning Option

The inclusive training program can be enjoyed in an offline, online, and blended modality. Considering the different instances that have affected today’s world, making use of a self-paced learning option ensures everyone that they enjoy learning irrespective of the pace, place, and time. 

An inclusive training program does not only cater to the characteristics of the participants, but also to their unique needs and circumstances. Trainers have to use platforms that effectively address the needs of the learners in accordance with the choice of the platform they want to use. 

Before deploying an inclusive training program, conduct a survey on the type of modality that participants would use. Participants should enjoy the different pieces of knowledge in accordance with their convenience. 

Ask for Feedback

There is always room for improvement especially for trainers who are willing to grow better. There is no perfect approach to catering to the different characteristics and needs of the participants. 

Feedback refines your processes and improves your approaches.

To effectively craft better inclusive training programs for employees, make use of feedback. This ensures that there is the successful delivery of the objectives. Letting participants evaluate the place, pace, speakers, topics, food (if applicable), and other aspects should be done, so that several mishaps and mistakes incurred in the inclusive training program are prevented.

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About the Author: Staff

This article is written by a staff writer at Trainer Hangout.