DEI Training: What, Why and How?

By Catherine Tansey

Most companies outwardly acknowledge that diverse workplaces and DEI training are important, but many leaders and HR teams remain in the dark as to how to measurably move closer to their diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) goals. Rather than investing in research-vetted initiatives, many organizations reach for the same ineffective training again and again — unfortunately, by doing so, companies create more harm than good.

Below we dive into the importance of DEI or DEIB training, how to get it right, and why it matters. We use the latest research to share recommendations for People teams building their own program or evaluating a firm to partner with for DEI training.

When it comes to DEI training, here’s what People teams need to know.

What is a DEI Training?

DEI training is formal programming that promotes and enables more diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplaces where employees feel a sense of belonging.

DEI training enables more fair and unbiased opportunities through actionable, behavior-based training and tools — or it should, anyway.

However, a lot of DEI training fails to accomplish much. Companies tend to bank their efforts — and their budgets — on two types of DEI training that research has proven particularly ineffective: traditional unconscious bias (UB) training and compliance-centric training. These forms of training are so widely adopted that they’ve become ubiquitous with DEIB training itself in the modern workplace.

Creating more diverse, equitable, and inclusive companies where employees feel they belong is a must, but research demonstrates that there are more effective approaches available — particularly training that focus on behavior change rather than raising awareness about bias or the threat of legal action.

Goals of DEI Training

When it comes to goals for DEI training, what a company hopes to achieve will be as unique as the company itself because each training should address the company’s specific needs and opportunities, as revealed by DEIB organizational assessments and DEI surveys.

Yet, despite the variations in DEIB goals from company to company, leaders across all orgs and industries should remain focused on one goal in particular: increasing the proportion of URGs (underrepresented groups) in management.

In Getting to Diversity, sociologists Frank Dobbin and Alexandra Kalev explain why:

Great DEI training equips managers to better lead diverse teams. In doing so, organizations can expect to see:

• Increased productivity and efficiency on teams

• Better communication

• Increased awareness of others

• Improved retention among underrepresented groups (URGs)

In addition, holistic DEI training helps HR teams refine company-wide systems to:

• Ensure underrepresented candidates are fairly evaluated

• Give managers the tools to provide more objective, actionable, and therefore fair feedback

• Teach managers how to assign work more equitably

• Ensure managers are comfortable having compensation and career growth conversations with all their reports

Why is DEI Training Important?

Diverse teams are proven again and again to be more effective and higher-performing than their less-diverse counterparts:

• Increased retention: A 2020 report by professional services firm Accenture found that better-retaining women by just five percentage points would save a company with 50,000 employees up to eight million dollars per year.

• Higher profits: 2019 research by accounting firm McKinsey found that the top 25 percent of most “ethnically and culturally” diverse firms are 36 percent more profitable than those in the bottom quarter.

• Better teamwork and problem-solving: A 2019 article published in Harvard Business Review concluded that cognitively diverse teams solve problems faster.

On the contrary, less diverse and equitable organizations face hurdles like high turnover (76% of job seekers say a diverse workforce is an important consideration when evaluating employers, according to Glassdoor), poor company culture, and even hefty payouts.

Just evaluating cases with disclosed settlements, 189 Fortune 500 companies have paid out a cumulative $1.9 billion for discrimination and harassment cases, according to a 2019 report.

The above numbers are some of the essential data points for building a business case for DEI training. But beyond the cold hard numbers, more diverse and equitable organizations create a better workplace experience for all and one that extends beyond the doors of the office, too.

Types of DEI Training

1. Traditional unconscious bias training

UB training is certainly noble in theory: by making people more aware of their biases, they’ll cease to behave in biased ways. Yet despite the fact that UB training may be the most prevalent swing companies take at DEIB initiatives, research finds it fails.

One 2019 meta-analysis of almost 500 studies demonstrated that UB training doesn't change biased behavior.

Other research has shown that UB training can make things worse. “The suggestion that the firm discriminates in favor of white men also tends to put off white men managers, who mostly think they earned their stripes fair and square,” according to Dobbin and Kalev.

2. Compliance-centric training

This form of DEI training educates participants on potential legal risks and underscores how to stay compliant to avoid breaking the law. While widely adopted, legalistic training actually negatively affects progress toward diversity.

“The pattern we found is not encouraging: legalistic training for managers led to declines in managerial diversity…. 5.4 percent decline in the proportion of managers who are Black men to a 14 percent decline for Black women,” concluded Dobbin and Kalev.

Compliance training sends a confusing message to the workforce: we care about diversity, equity, and inclusion, but it’s more critical that you understand what is and is not against the law. Unsurprisingly, employees’ takeaway may be that you don’t actually care about DEIB so much after all.

3. Behavior-based training

Research is strong that training designed to change behaviors, rather than raise awareness, is most effective at producing more diverse workplaces.

Dobbin and Kalev found that “cultural inclusion training,” training that promotes collaboration and communication on diverse teams, increases the proportion of URGs in management. For Black, Latine, and Asian American men, these gains ranged from 8 to 13%.

Behavior-based training is successful because it equips managers with tools for actionable change. “The only way to achieve DEIB goals — or any goal — is by behaving in ways that align with our goals. And doing so over and over again,” said Danielle Callendar, Director of Process Change at Peoplism.

Callendar offered this example to compare the different types of DEI training:

4. Manager training

Research suggests that focusing on managers and influential individuals in the org is the most effective way to affect change through DEI training.

In their 2022 Annual Review of Psychology article Diversity Training Goals, Limitations, and Promise: A Review of the Multidisciplinary Literature, Patricia G. Devine and Tory L. Ash concluded that in place of requiring all employees to attend DEIB training, “organizations may be better served by equipping socially connected and highly respected individuals with the tools and motivation to inform and persuade other members of a social network to promote greater equity.”

Change must begin somewhere, and when managers foster more inclusive teams, make less biased decisions, and uphold the scaffolding of the organizational DEIB strategy, they help foster diversity through the org.

5. Anti-bias training

Anti-bias training is the more effective alternative to UB training. Rather than simply raising awareness of implicit biases, anti-bias training teaches participants to combat these biases with in-the-moment tools and provides the opportunity to connect with people from different backgrounds.

“[Anti-bias training] teaches attendees to manage their biases, change their behavior, and track their progress. It gives them information that contradicts stereotypes and allows them to connect with people whose experiences are different from theirs,” wrote Harvard Business School professors Francesca Gino and Katherine Coffman in their 2021 Harvard Business Review article Unconscious Bias Training that Works.

Another aspect of anti-bias training that supports its success over UB training is the frequency of training and its role in the greater context of diversity strategy. Anti-bias training is conducted as a multi-part series and part of a holistic diversity strategy, which also includes structural systems change and other DEIB initiatives in the workplace.

How To Build a DEI Training Program

1. Start with a baseline

Collect or pull together qualitative and quantitative data on DEIB metrics across the organization.

Look at metrics like diversity of candidates, hires and promotions, employee sentiment about equity, inclusion and belonging analyzed by demographic group, compensation across groups, and the proportion of URGs in manager roles, to start.

2. Get clear on your motivations

Meaningful, lasting change requires an authentic desire for change from all levels of the organization, and in particular alignment among leaders.

If your investments in DEIB are to “tick the box” or pacify the vocal few on your team, you’re unlikely to get far.

3. Examine your existing processes

Rooting out bias and discrimination can't only hinge on manager training. Getting to diversity requires a close examination — and oftentimes, an overhaul — of company processes and systems.

Be sure to look closely at recruiting and hiring, specialized training programs, performance management processes, compensation, and work-life flexibility policies to begin.

4. Attract influential leaders to boost engagement

Deciding whether to mandate (or not) DEI training is tricky business.

If it’s mandated, the workforce may resent the implication that they need DEI training and work to undermine the effort. If it’s voluntary, it’s likely that those who need the training most will not attend.

Rather, HR teams should strike a balance with campaigns that emphasize the importance of training to the most influential leaders and change-makers at the company. If they get onboard, it’s likely the rest of the workforce will too.

5. Emphasize positive business outcomes

Attract leaders to training by highlighting the benefits of DEI training like communication and collaboration on diverse teams. Emphasize that great managers know how to leverage diversity for better performance, which will support excellence across the org.

6. Get outside help

Building a DEI training program from the ground up is a huge lift. Partnering with experts in the field ensures you get a training program designed with the latest research in mind to actually move the needle at your company.

Measuring the Impact of DEI Training

As we’ve already discussed, the diversity of employees in leadership roles is a top indicator of the success or failure of DEIB initiatives.

HR teams should collect and track data that illuminates specifics, like the hiring, retention, and perceived equity, inclusion and belonging of employees from underrepresented groups over time, for example through a DEIB survey.

Outside of these metrics, how people ops teams measure the success and failure of their DEIB training efforts will be largely context-dependent.

Organizations regularly conflate these self-reported behaviors with widespread systems change, believing that if individuals feel differently, career systems will change. But research suggests that “individual-level, self-reported cognitive and affective outcomes are, at best, indirect indicators of the intended systems-level changes.”

DEI Training as Part of a DEI Strategy

To bring about meaningful change at your company, DEI training must be part of a holistic and organizational-specific DEIB strategy.

HR teams should pair behavior-based DEI training with other research-backed interventions, like formal mentoring programs, demographic-specific recruiting channels, and company-wide skills training, while tailoring these initiatives to address the unique needs of the company.

What won’t work?

A plug-and-play DEI strategy that fuses together generic tips and meaningless quotas.

Research shows that “a winning strategy must be adapted to the unique organizational structure and context of each firm.” Success will depend on the strategies you implement but also the context in which you operate; in other words, what works for one company may not work for another.

To produce measurable DEI results, partner with a DEIB firm who can pinpoint issues and build a customized strategy for your company. Look for a provider who offers:

• Behavior-based modules

• Small groups

• Interactive sessions

• Time for reflection

• Follow-up survey to measure outcomes (not satisfaction)

• Follow-up support

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Getting DEIB training right is a full-time job. For initiatives that actually work, HR teams need to analyze HR processes and career-systems, get employee input, research best practices, design training programs based on what they uncover and well-vetted research, and get employees and leaders to actually enroll in the training.

Partnering with a firm like Peoplism, ensures you get a customized, comprehensive DEI training program to help you build a more inclusive and equitable workplace.

Get in touch today to learn more about how we can help.