Top 10 Reasons Diversity Training Fails

1. Diversity training comes out of the Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Office. Diversity training must come from and be supported by the whole organization, possibly through a diversity steering committee of employees from a representative cross-section of the organization.

2. Diversity training is being done because it is the "right" thing or "moral" thing to do. Though this is important, there must be a connection made between diversity and bottom line profits.

3. Training is all the organization is doing. The organization is not reviewing or scrutinizing their hiring, promotion, leadership development, and business practices.

4. The training has management's support but not their commitment (i.e., management or senior management does not attend training, does not "walk the talk"). Management's lack of participation will give an unspoken message to the rest of the organization that the training is just a fad that will pass.

5. The training being conducted is "off-the-shelf" and not custom designed to meet the unique needs of the particular organization. Participants should not ask themselves "What does this have to do with me?" The training fails because participants were not engaged, not interested, and did not find the training practical, pertinent and compelling.

6. Training is developed and led solely by diversity consultants and trainers. The training is thus the consultant's program and not a program developed by the employees of the organization, for the organization. No ownership or buy-in is solicited and thus none is secured and the program eventually perishes.

7. Diversity training was designed and developed without a formal needs analysis or diagnosis of the organization.

8. Diversity training program is awareness-based but provides no skills, no practical, "hands-on" everyday tools. Participants should not wonder what they are supposed to do next.

9. Internal resources are not formed, developed, and encouraged. Thus, work does not continue once the external diversity trainer has moved on.

10. Diversity training had no formal follow-up. Many of the action items had no one assigned to them and no one revisited the training. Training alone is not the cure-all panacea. A good training program has internally driven initiatives supported by senior management commitment as well as ongoing attention and training from internal as well as external subject matter experts.

Excerpted from the Diversity Training Group at http://www.diversitydtg.com/