…best practices for creating a diverse and inclusive workplace, which can help prevent harassment and discrimination.
Fundamental to preventing harassment and discrimination in the workplace is creating a corporate culture where diversity and inclusion is accepted as a core value and embraced by everyone in the company. Yet, there are so many examples where the corporate culture fosters rather than prevents harassment and discrimination. The examples of corporate executives’ behaviors resulting in lawsuits and huge verdicts, claw backs of severance packages due to misrepresentations about the extent and tolerance of harassment, and the tarnished reputations of once well-respected companies for discriminating against marginalized employees in hiring, promotions, and equity abound.
How do you create the kind of workplace where workers embrace diverse cultures and learn to work with people of different ages, races, genders, religions, and beliefs and, at the same time, protect employees from improper behavior resulting in harassment and discrimination?
One obvious way is leadership’s unequivocal transparent commitment in educating every employee of the importance of workplace diversity, appreciating differences and diversity in thought, and accepting others the way they are without prejudice. This demonstrates the importance management places on building a conducive workplace for everyone that has zero tolerance for harassment or discrimination, formalizes accountability at the top, and takes visible corrective when it occurs.
Educating the workforce about diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) must be offered to everyone and not exist in one department in an organization.
It’s an actionable, objective priority that must resonate across the organization. There isn’t a “one size fits all” educational program that will embed the importance of DEIB, provide continuous learning and improvement and eradicate harassment or discrimination.
But, a first step is acknowledging that there are various ways in which educating employees takes place. Just as there are those employees who absorb information best by being handed a policy for which they understand they will be held accountable. There are others who can only grasp the concept in the context of a robust discussion among colleagues. And others who need leaders to encourage employees to appreciate the criticality of diversity and inclusion delivered through other creative methods such as immersive training.
As immersive training is becoming more popular, it can be an effective tool in helping to prevent and address inappropriate behavior in the workplace. The training can be done using virtual reality technology which allows employees to experience simulated scenarios in a safe and controlled environment. Collaboration between all employees and leaders spawn creative educational opportunities.
Employees with diverse backgrounds must be heard in creating policies, building strategies and making decisions. This encourages inclusion and promotes engagement and speaks volumes about the importance leadership takes in the process. The best source of understanding our biases and their manifestations is by challenging everyone to reimagine a workplace free of discrimination and harassment by celebrating diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging.
In addition to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace and helping to prevent harassment and discrimination, a consequence is improving rates of recruitment and hiring, increasing level of representation in the organization, increasing feeling of engagement and belonging, and increased rates of retention and promotion.
All of these methods must be verifiable by data and evidence to monitor the resources devoted and the outcomes of the investment. I doubt anyone can seriously challenge the fact that a robust DEIB strategy and program will net positive outcomes in terms of a reduction in harassment and discrimination in the workplace. It’s just a matter of connecting and learning, assessing and investing, measuring and reporting, and including everyone in creating the methods necessary to result in the positive outcome of preventing harassment and discrimination in the workplace.
An example of a company that offers HR Business Conduct Training is Sisu VR. By harnessing the power of VR, their training is designed to be more interactive and build empathy. Reach out to Sisu VR and book a demo to learn more about immersive training.
Professional Disclaimer
The opinions of this article do not necessarily reflect that of Sisu VR and it’s employees” or something of that nature advice. The opinions of this article do not necessarily reflect that of Sisu VR and it’s employees” or something of that nature information is provided for general informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional advice.
