Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Training

Develop the confidence to support others in the workplace. Identify your own unconscious bias (we all have bias!) and notice it in others. Learn skills to proactively intervene and use your own position to act as an ally to others.

Learn the practical skills of equality impact assessment. By reviewing our projects, plans, policies, procedures and practices through a diversity lens, we can ensure that we are inclusive from the outset.  It is easy to inadvertently disadvantage particular groups, this process minimised the chance of us doing so, and also identifies where we can build on current successes for more positive impact.  This is a must for any public sector organisation as this approach helps demonstrate that the Public Sector Equality Duty is being delivered. All organisations can, however, benefit from this approach as you will be embedding equality from the very start. It’s also a crucial approach to take when you are undertaking reviews of what you do – who are you missing? How could changes provide greater benefits for different groups?

People thrive when they feel that they are being treated fairly and when they are able to use the full scope of their knowledge, skills and abilities. This course explores the principles of equality, diversity and inclusion and shows how you can use your personal influence to create an environment which is inclusive of all and where people thrive, rather than survive!

Equality Champions play a crucial role in any organisation. They act to share knowledge and to gather feedback to create an ongoing cycle of improvement. This session focusses on what it is to be a champion, we build the knowledge and skills required to act with confidence as an effective agent of change.

Nearly one in four of the population has a disability. People may have been born with a disability, or may have acquired a disability. This session operates from the social model of disability, namely that barriers are a result of the way in which society is structured. This session helps us to take a practical look at our work context to identify what barriers there might be for people with a range of disabilities, and crucially, what we can do about it so that inclusivity is at the heart of our work environment and our delivery to our customers and clients.

We should always seek to start from the principle of inclusive design, but even where we have taken this approach, there will still be a need to look at where specific additional  adjustments are needed by individuals .If you are responsible for people, at work or through the service you deliver, this session is for you. It explores the duty to make reasonable adjustment for people with a disability and looks at practical examples of what these adjustments might include. It covers the adoptions of workplace adjustment passports, so that the adjustments required by individuals are captured in an accessible document.  We will look at the funding which is available to support adjustments in employment and the expectations on service providers to make goods, services and facilities accessible.

Everyone has the right to work in an environment free from harassment, bullying and other unacceptable behaviours and the right to a safe working environment is enshrined in law. This course will provide clarity around behaviours which constitute harassment and bullying and will identify other unacceptable behaviours which we need to prevent. Covering the legal framework, with real life examples, we bring this issue to life. We will explore the actions needed by employers and service providers to ensure that people are treated with dignity and respect, and to know what we need to have in place to take all reasonable steps to prevent breaches and how to deal with them should they occur.

Inclusivity is led from the top of an organisation and organisations won’t be fully inclusive if leaders aren’t knowledgeable, engaged and champions of diversity. This session supports those in leadership roles to review this topic in a safe environment, to assess where they are now on the Maturity Model and to identify the steps they can take to enhance their own diversity insight and to make inclusivity a reality for all in their organisation.

A must for anyone involved in the recruitment process, this course covers the full range of the recruitment journey, from the attraction of diverse applicants, through each of the key stages of the recruitment process. We will cover the building blocks of effective practice, ensuring that we create appealing and inclusive role profiles and effective advertising. We will cover shortlisting and the practical skills of competency-based interviewing and assessment, objective decision making and the importance of onboarding. Participants will have a clear understanding of how the law applies to the recruitment process, covering the Equality Act and the importance of Equal Pay for Work of Equal Value. Inclusive recruitment leads to fair and better outcomes, it is a management essential.

There is a strong evidence base which demonstrates that a diverse team is an effective team. We make faster and better decisions because we are able to harness the innate knowledge of diverse team members. This session shows what it is to be an inclusive team member, and how, through our actions and our personal contribution, we can achieve better outcomes for ourselves, our colleagues, our team and our organisation. Inclusive teams give competitive advantage. The statistics will surprise you!

The menopause used to be a taboo topic, not any more! Those experiencing symptoms of the menopause rightly look to their employers to take steps to support them when they are going through this life phase. Using video input and testimony from those experiencing menopause, and a ‘ how to’ tool kit approach, this session guides managers through the stages of menopause, the potential symptoms and mitigating support which can be put in place. Menopause symptoms can meet the threshold of disability, and a failure to address the impact of menopause at work could lead to claims of both sex and disability related discrimination. More importantly though, talented people can be lost to the workplace, according to a survey by Simply Health, 23% of those experiencing distressing symptoms considered ending their careers early. Timely and effective support could make all the difference.

If you employ people, or provide a service, this session is for you. We all have bias, that is the starting point. It’s a natural human evolutionary trait. However, bias does not always serve us well in our day to day modern lives.  This session explores the concept of unconscious bias, where does it come from and why and how does it influence our decisions. By exploring and understanding unconscious bias, we can learn to identify it both in ourselves and others and take steps to address biases which don’t serve us well. How might our biases be being played out in employment and service delivery? Who might be inadvertently lose or exclude? By learning to identify unconscious bias, our own triggers and when we are most likely to display bias, we can move to put in place structures and processes to control bias, leading to better and fairer decisions and minimising the risk of behaviours and decisions which are unfair to others.