Let’s disclose the secret! The success of your training program is predefined if your training program is accessible. This is because we are all aware of how crucial inclusiveness is at work always but especially now in these unsettling times post-COVID. Strangely, though, even in organizations with excellent corporate cultures, accessibility and inclusiveness can come in last when it comes to staff training and development. However, creating an inclusive training program shouldn't be a last-minute decision.

There is no single approach to employee training. Not every employee interacts and participates in training in the same manner. We cannot anticipate getting the same outcomes from them. That is both incorrect and unrealistic.

Inclusive design is a process that focuses on the needs of all people. This process is about designing for everyone and not just for a specific group. As a result, inclusive training is a training program that is designed by keeping diverse audiences in mind.

Bring On The Inclusive Training

Making sure that everyone on your team can participate in and benefit from your employee training goes beyond just checking the Diversity & inclusion box. In the end, you assist learners in greater information retention. Employee engagement is maintained via inclusive employee training, such as inclusive Leadership Training, which is similar to how fostering an inclusive work environment benefits everyone and the business.

How To Include Everyone In Your Employee Training Program

Providing inclusion training is not the same as making your employee training program accessible to everybody. You should also be educating your populace about equality, diversity, and inclusion. However, inclusive training goes beyond that. It involves removing any obstacles that can keep your staff members from achieving their greatest potential.

The first step in creating an inclusive organization may not always be training. Making your employee training more inclusive is an aspect of developing a plan to enhance inclusion.

The following are some tips on how you can accomplish it:

1. Use Appropriate Language

It’s crucial to ensure that the Learning Management System supports many languages, especially for beginners. Then, you must consider the language diversity of your staff. For example, if you have multiple German employees and even if English is your primary working language, you should think about translating the material into German. This is due to the fact that learning new topics in one's mother language might aid in memory retention. Short phrases, a warm tone, and a minimum of complicated jargon can win the game.

2. Choose Figures For Gamification That Are Inclusive Of All Cultures

The value of gamification in staff training is something you probably know already. Human nature dictates that learning takes place best when there is some component of play involved. According to a current TalentLMS poll, 83% of employees who underwent gamified training feel engaged. In contrast, 61% of workers whose training wasn't gamified reported feeling uninterested and ineffective.

However, although gamification may increase employee engagement with your online training program, limiting the variety of gamified characters you offer runs the risk of alienating your staff. People are more inclined to connect with information when they can recognize themselves in it, whether it is emojis with different skin tones or fictitious characters in shows and commercials.

However, using "different skin tone emoji" is not always necessary when developing inclusive training materials. Gamified characters are available that don't care about race, age, gender, or aptitude.

3. Observe The WCAG-2 Accessibility Standards

Regardless of whether you presently employ people with disabilities or not, it's crucial to ensure that your online training program complies with WCAG 2.0.

To improve the usability of online material, several rules have been put in place, for those with disabilities (including those with learning, cognitive, and communication impairments, those with blindness, low vision, and hearing loss), as well as for everyone. However, if you are using a good Learning Management System (LMS) you won't need to worry about it because it will include inbuilt WCAG-2 accessibility criteria.

4. Increase The Variety Of Ways You Provide Material

Examine your content distribution as you consider how to foster an inclusive atmosphere. What techniques, (such as PDF, videos, Zoom, webinars, or infographics) do you employ to distribute content?

Best practices recommend delivering your knowledge in a variety of methods since not everyone learns in the same manner. It's a wonderful concept to provide alternatives since some people will choose to watch videos while others like to read or listen to stuff.

Another issue to think about is that if people can't access information from multiple devices, there's no meaning in inclusive training. Ensure that your LMS provides an iOS and Android app. In this approach, your staff members may participate in microlearning on the move using their phones or attend webinars while traveling.

5. Allow Your Audience To Study at Their Own Speed

It is not a surprise that because of the global virus outbreak, the majority of businesses have switched entirely or in part to remote employment. Additionally, providing remote instruction via an online course or online Leadership Training is increasingly prevalent. However, people must also cope with changes at home while dealing with all these changes at work.

Your employees' schedules are likely more unpredictable and stressful than normal due to homeschooling children and caring for aging relatives. Evidently, it's crucial that everyone engages in the training process and efficiently completes the tasks. But providing flexibility in today's inclusive training programs is equally important.

In these already trying times, training for new hires shouldn't increase this pressure. Instead of attending a live presentation, self-paced learning enables everyone to participate in the workplace training program, regardless of their schedule.

Endnote

When training sessions are accessible to everyone within both the content and technology there is a more diverse group of people that come together and can share their skills and experiences to make all members of the community better.

Making sure your training is inclusive and open to everyone is crucial for developing a diverse workplace. And it indicates that your courses' language, substance, and delivery style are varied enough to avoid alienating anyone.