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Five reasons why you should add eLearning to your diversity and inclusion strategy

Posted in : Blog
Posted on : May 4, 2017

Wanda Santini, PhD, CTDP - Director, Learning

Learning and development initiatives are at the core of diversity and inclusion (D&I) strategies. In fact, learning is one of the fourteen pillars of the Global Diversity and Inclusion Benchmarks. Some form of diversity training is part of implementing every D&I strategy.

How is D&I training delivered at your organization? According to a recent LinkedIn report on workplace learning, instructor-led classes are still the most common delivery format in many organizations. This is particularly true when it comes to diversity training, as it is generally felt that conversations on bias, discrimination or inclusion are better in person. However, here are some proven reasons why should you consider adding eLearning to your D&I training toolkit.

First, eLearning is a scalable, financially sustainable solution. eLearning courses are delivered to many employees, regardless of their geographical location, with no impact to your budget. If you are unable to provide in-person D&I training to all your employees, but still, want to build foundational D&I knowledge across your organization, eLearning is the solution for you. Another advantage is that you can put new employees through basic D&I training, without the need to wait for the quarterly or yearly training session.

Second, eLearning helps you meet the learning expectations of your workforce. The explosive growth of online education in recent years has raised the bar for corporate educators and learning and development professionals. Millions of workers have experienced online learning. They expect that to access training at work is as easy as watching a tutorial on YouTube or doing a Google search. Millennials and Generation X want to learn on their mobile, in small bits and from their couch or favorite coffee shop. So, eLearning gives you an opportunity to cater to the needs of these key segments of your workforce as well as to bridge the gap between traditional in-class training and agile digital solutions.

Third, eLearning supports your organization’s commitment to flexibility and accommodation. Accommodation and flexibility in the workplace enhance engagement and enables top performance. If you provide learners with home access to D&I training on a flexible schedule, it helps make your learning and development initiatives inclusive.

Fourth, eLearning can help make your D&I training more accessible. Our courses are aligned with best practices in inclusive design. So, these eLearning modules provide a more accessible alternative to in-person training. Also, the D&I content is conveyed with consistency to all your learners, mindful of their various abilities.

Finally, eLearning is your secret weapon to ensure learning retention. Research shows that even best-in-class training is subject to the forgetting curve. If there aren’t any booster opportunities after the initial training, the impact on behaviour and performance will be lost. eLearning modules and activities are easy and cost-efficient ways to increase the likelihood of information being retained and used in the business.

I’ve shared this research and my expert opinion with you to make the case that eLearning should be part of you training toolkit. And while in-class delivery remains the first choice for D&I training, online solutions have proven effective at maximizing the reach, accessibility and impact of organization’s training efforts.

Tags Blog Diversity Diversity and Inclusion Strategy eLearning Inclusion