SELECTED TRAINING AND WORKSHOP SESSION TOPICS
(Email admin@ppl-co.com to request the complete list of training and workshop topics)
Why Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Matter
The “Why Diversity & Inclusion Matters” workshop presents the foundational understanding and significance of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). Participants will learn a common language for discussing DEI how values, culture and experiences effect interactions with colleagues, attitudes about work, and understanding of workplace values.
Objectives:
- Clearly define and explain the concepts of diversity, equity, and inclusion to ensure participants have a shared understanding.explore the impact of shifting demographics and societal movement.
- Uncover the market driven business case for DEI.
- Learn how DEI influences talent management, organizational strategy and organizational decision-making.
- Discuss the positive impact that diverse perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences can have on decision-making, problem-solving, creativity, and innovation.
- Explore how diversity, equity, and inclusion positively influence organizational performance, employee engagement, and customer satisfaction.
- Encourage participants to develop actionable steps and commitments to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in their personal and professional lives.
- Share relevant resources, tools, and initiatives that support ongoing learning, engagement, and progress in the areas of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Understanding and Countering Unconscious Bias
You can find it in every work environment, but most of us don’t see it. It interferes with good management decision-making, affecting everything from hiring, promotions, layoffs, and team building to advertising, marketing, product development, and product placement. It impacts our thought processes and can cloud our judgment. It is unconscious bias.
In this session, participants will explore unconscious bias and how it impacts business environments and work relationships. They will discover how their own values, culture and experiences effect interactions with colleagues, attitudes about work, and understanding of workplace values. Participants leave with practical strategies to identify and counter biases, as well as practical tools for building deeper, more robust intercultural relationships.
Objectives
- Introduce participants to the concept of unconscious bias and explain how it can influence perceptions, judgments, and behavior.
- Encourage participants to reflect on their own biases and identify areas where unconscious biases may be present.
- Explore various types of biases that commonly occur, including affinity bias, confirmation bias, first impression bias, among others.
- Understand the potential consequences of bias, including its effects on decision-making, diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace or other settings.
- Encourage participants to become more self-aware of their own biases and how these biases may affect their perceptions and actions.
- Equip participants with practical strategies and techniques to mitigate the impact of unconscious bias.
- Invite participants to take personal responsibility for recognizing and addressing their biases and to hold themselves and others accountable for fair and unbiased decision-making.
- Assist participants in developing an action plan to implement what they have learned in the workshop and continue their journey towards reducing unconscious bias.
Understanding and Preventing Workplace Microaggression
In most workplaces, daily exchanges between team members encompass a wide variety of personalities with varying degrees of conversation. What happens when those conversations drift into stereotyping — specifically, the subtle type? Unconsciously and unintentionally, comments from one employee may offend another employee resulting in the commission of a “microaggression.” Typically, these microaggressions arise from assumptions or stereotypes about an individual or group of people based on their race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation or age. This session will improve employee awareness of microaggressions by facilitating opportunities for participants to discover common examples of everyday microaggressions as well as develop ways to avoid the remarks that tend to offend and create unwelcoming work environments.
Objectives
- Heighten participant understanding of what workplace microaggressions are and the various forms they can take.
- Raise awareness about the impact of microaggressions on individuals and the overall work environment.
- Provide participants with tools and strategies to recognize microaggressions in the workplace and understand how they can manifest in different situations.
- Educate participants about the psychological and emotional impact of workplace microaggressions on individuals and teams. Explore the concept of stereotype threat and how it can affect marginalized groups.
- Discuss the importance of creating an inclusive work environment free from microaggressions. Explore strategies to promote respect, empathy, and cultural sensitivity among team members.
- Provide guidelines for offering feedback and engaging in difficult conversations around microaggressions.
- Encourage participants to become allies and empower them to intervene when they witness microaggressions in the workplace. Provide practical tips and strategies for bystander intervention.
- Discuss the importance of individual and collective accountability in preventing workplace microaggressions.
Building a Culture of Collaboration While Managing Change and Generational Difference
Collaboration and change management are crucial for organizational success. However, creating a culture of collaboration across generations can be challenging. In this 2 hour session, participants will explore how to navigate change and generational difference while staying true to organizational values. Through interactive activities and small group discussions, participants will gain a deeper understanding of generational distinctions and how those distinctions impact collaboration and change management. They will also learn strategies and tools for fostering collaboration, overcoming barriers to collaboration, and managing change effectively.
The workshop will cover the following topics:
- Overview of generational differences
- How generational differences affect collaboration and change management
- Strategies for fostering collaboration in the workplace
- Tools and technologies to support collaboration
- Understanding the change management process and key principles of change management
- Strategies for managing resistance to change
- Bridging generational differences in collaborative work
By the end of the workshop, participants will have gained a better understanding of how generational differences impact collaboration and change management and will have learned strategies and tools for fostering collaboration and managing change effectively. They will also be equipped with an action plan to implement their learning and promote collaboration in their workplace.
This workshop is suitable for managers, leaders, and professionals who want to enhance their teamwork and collaboration skills and improve their leadership and management skills related to collaboration and change management.
Dimensions of Diversity
Diversity can be defined as the presence of people with different experiences, identities and perspectives. Inclusion can be described as the creation of an environment of involvement, respect and connection, where a richness of ideas, backgrounds and perspectives is harnessed to create value. During this session, participants will explore a multi-level framework for understanding how diversity, equity and inclusion influence the ways we make-decisions, build relationships and problem solve every day at work and in life.
Participants will:
- learn foundational definition of diversity, equity and inclusion.
- explore various dimensions of diversity beyond those that are obvious and visible.
- develop a deeper understanding of the lived experiences, perspectives, and challenges faced by individuals from different dimensions of diversity. Promote empathy and empathy-building exercises.
- recognize and challenge their unconscious biases and stereotypes related to different dimensions of diversity.
- explore the impact of biases on individuals and the broader society.
- explore what a commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion could mean for their organization.
Bridging Generational Differences: Enhancing Relevance and Workplace Effectiveness
Bridging Generational Differences: Enhancing Relevance & Workplace Effectiveness is a 2-hour session that explores the distinctions of Traditionalists, Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials, Generation Z and Generation Alpha. It is designed to help participants understand and navigate the challenges and opportunities that arise from generational diversity in the workplace. The session aims to foster a greater appreciation for the unique perspectives, strengths, and contributions of each generation, and provide strategies for creating an inclusive and effective work environment. Through interactive discussions, activities, and case studies, participants will gain insights into generational differences, explore effective communication strategies, and develop practical approaches for leveraging the strengths of multi-generational teams.
Participants will:
- Develop a comprehensive understanding of the various generations present in the workplace and explore their unique characteristics, values, communication styles, and work preferences.
- understand how to foster empathy and appreciation among participants for the perspectives, experiences, and strengths that each generation brings to the workplace.
- engage in dialogue and interactive activities to break down stereotypes and build bridges of understanding.
- learn strategies for effective communication across generational lines and explore differing communication styles and preferences and techniques for bridging those gaps.
- discuss how the combination of different generational perspectives and skills can lead to innovation, problem-solving, and collaboration.
- learn practical tips for creating inclusive work environments that capitalize on generational strengths.
Engaging in Sensitive Conversations and Handling Pushback
Engaging in uncomfortable conversations can be difficult. According to McKinsey & Company on barriers to inclusive workplaces, four out of ten racial- or ethnic-minority employees were at least slightly uncomfortable discussing identity-related issues at work. Employees were uncertain about how colleagues would respond and concerned about being seen as different. To be truly inclusive, organizations should prioritize the psychological safety of all employees by facilitating opportunities to build inclusive conversation skills that allow respectful and effective engagement in the sometimes sensitive conversations around race, equity, inclusion and diversity and handling the pushback that sometimes occurs in these conversations. We’ll explore the importance of vision casting and listening for understanding about others’ viewpoints. We will help participants see their place and role in moving an organization closer to anti-racist, diversity, inclusion and equity goals.
Participants in this session will:
- Discuss the importance of connecting organizational and personal values as the guide to why
these conversations are important - Learn steps to creating a safe space for open dialogue
- Explore strategies for having difficult or uncomfortable discussions race
Building a Culture of Appreciation and Inclusion at Work
Appreciation and inclusion go a long way toward producing highly innovative, collaborative and productive teams. The most effective teams and leaders know the value that comes from recognizing the successes of those with whom they work. In many ways, how well your team handles difference depends on the example and standards you set. The way forward begins with you and the degree to which you are open and active about working to foster healthy, diverse, and inclusive environments and teams. In this session, we will share strategies to communicate authentic appreciation and demonstrate inclusion in meaningful ways to coworkers. You’ll leave with strategies that will help you increase organizational productivity, job satisfaction, engagement, loyalty and physical and mental health in your workplace.
Learning objectives:
- Learn what appreciation and inclusion mean in the workplace
- Understand how to build an appreciation culture at work
- Practice techniques for becoming a more an inclusive leader
How To Talk About Race at Work
Workplace conversations on race can be challenging. Even with the best intentions and sincere willingness to listen and understand, talking about racism can be uncomfortable. Rather than avoiding the necessary discussions and exchanges, we can learn how to productively talk about race. We can have conversations about race, racism and racial equity. We can create brave, bold and safe spaces to ask questions, share experiences, make commitments, co-create solutions, hold ourselves accountable and creating authentic, measurable and lasting impact.
Participants in this session will:
- Understand the importance of establishing guidelines for having conversations about race
- Learn a framework for having organizational or one-on-one conversations about race
- Explore terminology to understand when talking about race
- Learn questions and discussion starters for conversations on race in the workplace
Inclusive Leadership: Unconscious Bias, Trust and Decision-Making
Inclusive leaders have direct impact on developing and building a culture of inclusion. An inclusive work culture promotes innovation, productivity and profitability. It is the ability to foster and environment of active, intentional and ongoing engagement with diversity. How well your team embraces difference and experiences inclusion is largely influenced by your attitude and capability.
In this session, participants will discuss their role in driving inclusion throughout your organization, the traits of highly inclusive leaders and examine the impact of unconscious bias, trust and decision-making on their leadership. The way forward begins with each leader and how open and active they are at fostering healthy, diverse, equitable and inclusive environments and teams.
Learning Objectives:
- Discover why inclusive leadership is an essential skill for developing high functioning teams
- Uncover key skills for leading inclusively
- Explore how unconscious bias affects decision-making and workplace inclusion
- Learn success factors for highly inclusive leaders
Assessing Organizational Racism and Advocating for Anti-Racist Workplaces
Creating and supporting teams with diverse skills, knowledge, backgrounds, and experiences is essential to developing vibrant workplaces where we value people and their journeys, as well as leverage their talents. Yet, workplaces persist where racism continues to disrupt employee engagement, belonging, collaboration, innovation and productivity. Over time and with intention, organizations, like individuals, can evolve to become anti-racist. The evolution begins with assessing organizational culture to gain a comprehensive understanding of how racism and oppression operate. In this session, we’ll explore evaluative tools to determine how racism shows up in your organization. From decision-making and budgeting to accountability and power, you’ll have a chance to think about your work environment and learn ways to advocate for the change necessary to transform individuals, teams and organizations.
