Awareness days matter. They spark conversations, spotlight causes and amplify voices that often go unheard. But if your organisation only leans on calendar dates to drive diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts, you’re missing the point – and the opportunity.
Building an inclusive culture takes more than posters and one-off comms. It takes training that’s relevant, engaging and woven into the fabric of your workplace. Diversity training that drives real change, and truly represents your vast and varied workforce.
In this article:
- Why surface- level diversity training falls short
- What meaningful diversity training looks like (with four actionable tips)
- Key elements of impactful diversity training
Why surface-level diversity training falls short
Diversity training should do more than inform – it should transform.
When done well, it helps people understand themselves and others, confront unconscious bias and build empathy into everyday actions. But when your training is passive or generic, it misses the mark. It doesn’t reflect lived experiences. It doesn’t stick.
Training that fails to connect with learners – by not speaking to their role, their organisation, or their reality – won’t drive change. And without clear actions or best practice guidance, it’s just another tick-box exercise.
From an instructional design perspective, engagement is key. But it’s not just about flashy interactions or memorable videos. It’s about making learners feel seen. To achieve this, I really try to put myself in the mindset and the context of my learner – what’s their role? What’s their workplace environment like? What information will they already know and understand on this topic? Zooming out like this always ensures that the eLearning content I write is something that’s going to connect with the learner and actually benefit them specifically within their role and within their organisation.
Four ways to make your diversity training impactful
1. Inclusivity and accessibility
Great diversity training is inclusive by design. That means clear, jargon-free language. Diverse representation across visuals, examples and scenarios. And formats that work for everyone – captions, transcripts, screen reader compatibility and more.
You can see below a screenshot of our unconscious bias training, with a video showcasing the closed caption (CC) option as well as a written transcript:
When learners feel included, they engage. They feel seen and this is where the magic happens.
Top tips to make your eLearning content more inclusive and accessible
- Test with real users to ensure different accessibility needs are being met
- Ensure you offer subtitles and varied speed audio where possible
- Enable keyboard navigation
2. Empathy
Empathy is essential. Through storytelling, real-life scenarios and reflective exercises, learners can explore perspectives beyond their own. It’s how we challenge bias and build emotional intelligence – it’s how we connect with the content and each other.
Top tips to help convey empathy in eLearning
- Include real voices and lived experiences where you can
- Consider emotion-based feedback to questions and quizzes
- Avoid stereotypes in scenarios or examples
3. Critical awareness
Diversity training should go deeper than definitions. It should spark questions and encourage reflection. It should engage critical thinking and help learners examine their behaviours, their environment and the systems they’re a part of.
Top tips for creating critical awareness in eLearning
- Use reflective questions and prompts throughout
- Provide additional resources and data to support deeper thinking
- Make sure your scenarios aren’t strictly “right” or “wrong” - encourage learners to navigate realistic dilemmas and grey areas
4. Actionable guidance
Knowledge is power. Action is where transformation happens.
Effective diversity training equips learners with practical tools they can use right away. From communication techniques to active bystander strategies, it’s about giving people the confidence to champion diversity in real, tangible ways.
Clear takeaways help learners retain information and apply it.
Top tips to help learners retain knowledge
- Make sure there are clear, actionable learning objectives for learners to refer to
- Include useful step-by-step guides where possible
- Try to include role-specific examples and guidance
How Ciphr eLearning can help you deliver diversity training that hits the mark
At Ciphr, we offer a wide range of impactful diversity training courses, developed with leading DEI experts.
Our eLearning covers everything from unconscious bias and active bystanders to neurodiversity and safeguarding. With rich multimedia and interactive elements, our courses are designed to maximise knowledge retention and user engagement. And they’re available in formats that suit your needs – including microlearning.
Want something more tailored? We offer bespoke eLearning and diversity consultancy to help you create a personalised learning experience that reflects your organisation and your people.