Yes, Equality And Diversity Training Does Benefit Your Bottom Line.
If you're like most employers, you embrace the principles of equality and diversity publicly and whole-heartedly. But in your private moments, you might admit that you don't really see the point of taking time out of work for equality and diversity training. You know that many of your employees see it as a bland box-ticking exercise. And you don't know what equality and diversity has to do with running a business, let alone how it affects your bottom line. Allow us to explain.
What is equality and diversity training?
Equality and diversity training is designed to help employees understand and respect the differences between people in the workplace. It can cover a variety of topics, including but not limited to, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, and disability. The goal of this type of training is to promote a workplace where everyone is treated fairly and with respect. This might sound like common sense, but nearly everyone walks away from these courses having learned something new.
What are the benefits of equality and diversity training?
First of all, it's good for your reputation. Most likely, your customers are themselves diverse. Even if they are not part of any minority group, they know and love somebody who is. As a company you want to be able to reach all of your market. You also want to be associated with things that people have positive feelings about, such as love, acceptance and diversity. The only way to demonstrate those values consistently is to have staff who know how to do so. No matter how much you give to charities or which organisations you partner with, one bigoted tweet or a bad experience with your business that goes viral can sour all of that hard work. Better to avert crises than try to resolve them.
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Second, you'll have a larger pool of talent to draw from. If you want to attract the best talent, it is important that you are not only willing to hire diverse people but also foster an inclusive environment in which differences are respected. The most talented people have options regarding where they work, and this is something that minority groups consider when deciding where to work.
Third, it's good for morale. To take one example, a shocking 46% of LGBT+ staff are not ‘out’ at work, for fear of harassment. This imposes a needless cost in energy that could have been put to better use at work. In fact, 17% of LGBT+ workers report feeling exhausted from spending time and energy hiding their sexual orientation or gender identity at work. A further 1 in 10 have left a job over harassment at work. Employers don't like turnover. Especially when it has nothing to do with performance. Employees don't like having to leave. It really is better for everyone to prevent situations like this from arising!
It's easy, so let's go!
Studies have shown that businesses who make a commitment to equality and diversity are more profitable than those who don't. So why not get on with it? Thanks to our online training courses, it's even possible to train your staff without setting aside large chunks of unproductive time, as all of our courses are totally flexible! Just set a deadline, and your employees can nibble away at the course during slow periods.