What is the goal of Workplace Development Training?
What is the goal of Workplace Development Training?
Firstly, it may be helpful to discuss what Workplace Development Training is not. The goal of Workplace Development Training is not to ensure that all people share the same opinions or outlooks. Workplace Development Training is not a cudgel, designed to make people feel badly, but rather it is a helping hand, meant to help create supportive, respectful, and congenial work environments.
Workplace Development training is designed to help offices adapt to the ever-changing world around them.
The more comfortable individuals are living and interacting with the modern world, the more success their business will have.
As humans, we are all susceptible to the believe that our way of doing things is “normal” and “right” while other people’s approaches are “strange” or “wrong.” Considering differences as positives rather than negatives, and adapting to that new perspective can sometimes be challenging.
There can be a tendency to insist that change is unnecessary. For example, some people insist that language is immutable. Clients sometimes comment, “but this is the language that we’ve always used” or “these are the words that I’m comfortable with.” But the truth is that words change all the time and humans also change the way we speak to reflect those changes.
For example, the word nice is Latin in origin, originally from the term nescius, meaning, “ignorant or foolish.” In the 14th century the word evolved, and began to refer to someone who dressed well or who was shy. By the 16th century the word nice took on a positive connotation, referring to a refined individual. Today, nice is a word used to describe a pleasant person.
Someone insisting on using the word nice as it was used in the original ancient context would sound downright irrational to us today. Not only would they be out of step with the modern times, but they would create confusion by insisting that the word nice continues to refer to someone ignorant or foolish. This person’s refusal to adapt would make it pretty difficult for them to communicate or thrive in the modern workplace.
Language is not static. We don’t speak in the exact same way our parents’ did, and they didn’t grow up speaking the same exact way their parents did. Change itself is not bad, or wrong, or new. Change is simply a marker of time. Workplace Development training will help your office keep up with the most effective ways to communicate with each other, your clients, and the world around you.
Studies repeatedly show that when companies invest in Workplace Development training they reap the twin rewards of boosting both morale and profits. According to one study from McKinsey & Company,
“Awareness of the business case for inclusion and diversity is on the rise. While social justice typically is the initial impetus behind these efforts, companies have increasingly begun to regard inclusion and diversity as a source of competitive advantage, and specifically as a key enabler of growth.”[1]
The goal of DEI Training is to create workplaces where employees can communicate effectively, where people feel respected, and where innovation can thrive. If you have any hesitancy to pursue DEI training because you fear discomfort or change, I’d encourage you to reach out to our team. Our aim is to create a safe environment in which to have important conversations. There is so much to be gained from investing in this work.
[1] McKinsey & Company, Dame Vivian Hunt. Delivering through diversity. January 18, 2018.