Cultural Sensitivity Training In The Workplace

Need to put together cultural sensitivity training in the workplace but unsure how to get started? Finding the time to put together delicate but vital training programs can feel like an overwhelming task.

To give you a starting point, we will share what our Cultural Sensitivity Training Template looks like so you can get this vital employee training program off the ground.

We'll also dive in and share the benefits of cultural sensitivity training so you can truly understand the importance of building an inclusive company culture and diverse workforce.

Cultural diversity vs cultural sensitivity

Unsure what the difference is between cultural diversity and cultural sensitivity? It's not uncommon to feel confused at the blurred lines between the two terms.

Cultural diversity doesn't just refer to the nationalities, it can also refer to cultural differences such as; gender, age, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity, and much more.

Cultural sensitivity training gives you the skills to learn and understand other employees from a different culture to your own, giving all involved cultural awareness. This helps people learn about other employees from different backgrounds or ethnicities in an open and understanding way to avoid judgment or resulting in employee resolution conflicts.

Benefits of employee cultural sensitivity training programs in the workplace

There are many employee cultural and sensitivity training benefits, so we will share some to help you understand that cultural awareness training and cultural competency are key for a thriving workplace.

1. Create a thriving workplace your employees will love

Implementing cultural sensitivity training from the beginning of the onboarding process is crucial to make sure you start new hires off on the right track. It doesn't only show respect for the company culture; it shows respect for every single employee in the business, which will set the standard and tone for new employees to understand quickly.

2. Focus on acceptable and unacceptable behavior

One of the best benefits of cultural sensitivity training is to clarify the difference between acceptable and unacceptable behavior. When you have cross-cultural training in place which conducts clear outlines of the policies and procedures of the company, employees will understand how to prevent bullying behavior and employee conflict, for example.

You might like to challenge employees during the cultural sensitivity training and help them understand that it goes beyond cultural diversity by raising awareness of perspective and communication skills. This in turn will help employees understand the difference between acceptable and unacceptable behavior in the workplace.

3. Help employees speak up when needed

Managers and the Human Resources department won't know if there are any cultural sensitivity issues in the workplace if no one speaks up about it. During the cultural sensitivity training, it's essential to train employees to raise questions and concerns when they see any cultural differences that would be a cause for concern.

It's key to make sure your online training program clearly states what employees need to do to report employee conflict or any cultural sensitivity issues. This can be anything from harassment, discrimination or anything that would make you question how an employee behaves towards another member of staff that isn't with integrity and respect for a safe workplace company culture.

4. Help employees gain self-confidence

While employees might not like to make diversity and inclusion issues worse in the workplace, it's the HR Manager's and team leader's role to ensure all employees grow with confidence while working for the business. During the cross-cultural training programs, each employee must be given space to voice questions and challenge preconceptions and stereotypes in the workplace.

Giving clear examples of the boundaries for various cultural differences will allow staff members to gain confidence and reassurance during the diversity training.

5. Improve communication skills

If you don't implement cultural sensitivity training in the workplace, you'll run the risk of having many diversity & inclusion issues to sort out. Ultimately, employee training programs are implemented to set the guidelines for company awareness, company culture, policy, and procedures. These vital pieces of employee training are usually given to new hires during their onboarding place. If you've not organized this yet, it's not too late!

Help improve communication skills in the company by gaining exposure to employees to learn about how they can grow with the business and with the team around them.

40 more training templates to check out

You might like to check out our 40+ team training templates to help you train team members anywhere in the world with online training.

Some of our most popular templates include:

• Company Onboarding
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