Edu-train-ment

I love this word, it's a blend of everything that I do. Education, Training and Entertainment. I stole it from the Sesame Street inspired "edu-tainment" and added a new part to it. Because I don't want to just educate in a standard presentation format, I want people to get involved. I want them to like learning and ask for more.

And I want to thank C. Beth Blog for inspiring me to write this. If you are having trouble blogging on a regular basis, start following her blog and use it as a momentum builder to start writing more.

Inclusion is the new Diversity

Time to bring it into focus for our business and for yours. Inclusion is the acceptance that we ARE in fact different. Even in a whole team of white christian men over the age of 40, each team member is different. Companies have been trying for years to say that "we are all the same" but it is simply not true.

It is true that age, race, gender, sexuality, size & ability are not determining factors in one's capacity to do good work. But they are in fact differences. The strength of an organization does not come from hiding these differences by pretending they are not real. They come from harnessing these differences, finding the strength of each person and allowing those individuals to perform as they are best suited to. People behave and perform best when they feel comfortable and feel that they can be their whole self. This is not achieved through tolerance.

Tolerance in the workplace tells me, as a person from a non-majority group, that no one is allowed to treat me unfairly because of my class, gender, etc. It does not tell me that my differences are valued. They are tolerated. Not desired, not chosen, not accepted or welcome, but tolerated. Tolerated because the law dictates that it be so.

We need to move beyond this. It is time for the diversity trainers, companies, HR professionals, ASTD, SHRM, and everyone else who puts their hat in the arena of education and "soft skills" in the workplace, to redesign their curriculum. Diversity education needs to be about encouragement, empowerment, strength, unity and inclusion.

"We can do it." said Rosie the Riveter when the women were asked to come into the workplace and "put down their aprons" to help the country. Women were not men, but they could do the work. During the civil rights era Dr. Martin Luther King said, "Almost always, the creative dedicated minority has made the world better." Those same people, the creative dedicated minorities are working at your companies being told that, to succeed, they need to blend in and be like everyone else. This is your loss as well as theirs.

Include the differences of your people and watch your business thrive.

Is your business growing or just surviving?

Like the plant that only ever gets watered when it looks wilted and depressed, many businesses only pay real attention to their people when there is an issue or concern to be addressed. Diversity classes become mandatory after enough lawsuits. New motivation & retention programs are implemented when someone realizes that they are losing all their best talent. This is not a solution, it is a reaction.

Take the time to look at the long term needs of your people. If you are one of the people, take the risk and talk to your manager/boss and say, "We need education, motivation and training BEFORE it becomes an issue. Because by then we are done."

Especially when dealing with the younger generation of employees, many of them are not going to give you the luxury of a two week notice. You'll be lucky if they even say goodbye. I've heard more stories lately of young employees leaving for lunch and not returning, taking a call (presumably confirming a new job somewhere else) and just walking out. These people don't give you the chance to change, because history has shown that business are slow to change, why not just move to somewhere that has already made the changes you want.

Foster and help your people not jus tto work well, but to LIKE their jobs and want to be there. Not just want the paycheck, but want to see the company improve, profit, and grow. This cannot be done with reactionary management and training. It can only be done with collaborative and preemptive action. You can do it, We can help. :)

To Know HR, read Know HR

In case you haven't used the nifty little widget on this page to see the blogs I have been reading, you should check out Know HR. His writing is humorous, pertinent, and refreshing. There are plenty of corporate training, HR focused, training & development blogs online. There are frankly, too many to read. Most of them parrot each other regarding the latest trends rolling out of Newsweek and T&D magazine. Frank Roche however, speaks from a different platform. See the smile?

He says, "I’ve been a professional dog handler, a polymer physicist, and a poet, but quickly realized that “being an artiste + $1.75 wouldn’t buy me a cup of coffee at Starbucks.” I write. I read. I pay attention."

I love his diverse background and unique perspective. Take the time, read good stuff, Know HR.

PRIDE and Diversity Education

Sunday is Pridefest in Denver. The LGBTQIA community is once again gathering in the park to announce that they, that WE are not to be ignored. For those wondering about the alphabet soup acronym, it stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered, Questioning, Intersexed, and Allied. Allied, that's most of you, hopefully. The people who are "in the social norm" but also interested in the rights of all people.

Being an activist I'm involved in a variety of social justice and equality projects. But around this time of the year, more than others I am reminded of how far we've come, and how far we still need to go. I've been teaching diversity education longer that I've called myself a trainer. In any company I worked for I was always the person that my manager could come to to ask questions about the queer community.

I've fielded questions about how to handle employees who transition from being one gender to another and stayed in the same job position. Other employees came to me to ask if I thought it would be safe for them to come out, which I always found rather funny since I was already out, thus I thought they would have already determined that. I figured out why later. In all of these situations I just gave them the best advice I could since I had no "formal" training. After I had formal training, I think things actually got worse.

Diversity education, didn't help teach people how to accept each other, it taught us how to be tolerant of each other.

Layoffs & Limp Logic

I'm trying to figure out where the logic is when companies make their layoff decisions. It seems companies cut a swath through the HR and training divisions early in the cutting. Aren't these the people they hired to help the rest of their employees feel better, work better and stay with the company? These are the people that have a personal desire to see your people be better at what they do, it's part of their make-up. So why get rid of them? Isn't that like cutting off the proverbial nose?

I understand the bottom-line logic. HR & Training produces no revenue. But neither does a dis-satisfied employee. I'm betting that those people working in the company that just saw their friends "let go" are not happy people. They are taking the newly released out for drinks and sitting around complaining about the company. Is that the kind of energy they want to foster?

I'm just trying to get my head fully around the idea so I can unravel it. With layoffs come change, instability, new responsibility and confusion. Wouldn't you want to have the best team you could, on hand, to make sure you can keep the remaining talent you have left? I know I would.