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Creating corporate training programs that work for everyone means designing and delivering learning experiences that accommodate and support employees of all backgrounds, abilities, and perspectives. It ensures that every participant—regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, disability, learning style, or other factors—feels valued, respected, and able to fully engage in the training process.

This article explores what it means to create corporate training for everyone, why it’s important, and seven tips to put it into action. 

 

What does it mean to create corporate training for everyone?

Inclusivity in corporate training goes beyond just offering trainingit involves designing learning experiences that consider diverse perspectives, accessibility needs, and learning approaches

It’s about ensuring that training works as well for the new parent to twin toddlers as it does for the single graduate learning the ropes. That it’s as effective for the extroverts that love group activities as it is for the introverts that want nothing more than silent study and MCQs. 

Providing this experience involves delivering accessible materials, varied training formats, and content that reflects diverse experiences.

This looks like:

  • Offering flexible, accessible online learning tools for remote employees.
  • Using collaborative training that considers different communication styles and decision-making approaches.
  • Gathering feedback from diverse employee groups to ensure training meets everyone’s needs.

Why does universal workplace training matter?

Delivering workplace training for everyone is essential because it ensures that all employees—regardless of their identity, background, or education—feel valued, heard, and equipped to contribute effectively. 

Research shows that diverse teams outperform homogeneous ones by 35% in decision-making and problem-solving. However, without proper training, unconscious biases, communication barriers, and exclusionary practices can persist, hindering workplace productivity and innovation.

Studies indicate that organizations with strong inclusion initiatives see 83% higher employee engagement and 21% higher profitability. Embedding practices that include everyone in training programs allows businesses to create a more collaborative, innovative, and high-performing workforce. Win-win.

 

5 Tips For Creating Training Programs For Everyone

Ready to create a training program for everyone? Here are five top tips to get you started. 

 

1. Consider and address your own implicit bias

Recognizing and addressing your own implicit bias is a crucial step in creating truly effective training programs. Everyone has unconscious biases shaped by their experiences, culture, and environment, which can unintentionally influence interactions and training decisions.

Often, exclusivity in training isn’t done on purpose, but rather out of a lack of information or unconscious habit. To mitigate these biases, trainers should actively seek diverse perspectives, remain open to new ideas, and continuously assess their approach through thoughtful training evaluation methods. By doing so, organizations can ensure their training fosters an inclusive and equitable learning environment for all employees.

For example: It’s common for trainers to call on the same people again and again, because these same people are more likely to think and share an answer first.  The quick response makes it easier for the trainer to progress the class and avoid awkward silences. 

However, this method favors extroverts, who tend to think aloud. Whereas introverts need more time to formulate their thoughts. 

Trainers can counter this tendency by making a point to call on others who have not yet spoken using a variety of techniques. Instructional designers can help to counter this by building these techniques into their directions for how to run activities.

 

2. Vary examples in corporate training

Including diverse examples in training programs ensures that all employees see themselves represented and feel valued. 

Try:

  • Using images that reflect different races, genders, ages, and abilities
  • Varying gender roles in scenarios—leveling the playing field by showcasing a variety of leaders 
  • Asking preferred pronouns during introductions
  • Incorporating examples that resonate with diverse experiences 

For example, how many different types of people can identify themselves in—or even relate to—the people in the following photo? 

Image shows a non-diverse group of employes gathered around a TV. One person is presenting while his peers look on.
Source: Unsplash

As compared to the next: 

A diverse group of coworkers sit around the table with their laptops.
Source: Unsplash

Using these methods supports women’s learning and growth, encourages diversity, and brings valuable voices to the surface. 

 

3. Make accessibility a priority

Making accessibility a priority in training is crucial for ensuring all employees can engage with the content, regardless of their learning preferences or needs. 

Try:

  • Providing diverse learning materials such as videos, written content, interactive activities, and hands-on examples to accommodate different learning styles. 
  • Considering various training delivery methods—whether online, in-person, or hybrid— ensures that employees can access training in ways that work best for them.
  • Offering accommodations for employees with specific needs, such as captioning for videos, gender-neutral bathrooms, wheelchair accessibility, Alt Text for screen readers, and more.  

Sometimes accessibility isn’t just a “nice extra,” it’s a requirement. For example, any e-learning created for US government work must be 508 compliant, aiding digital accessibility. 

Pro tip: Before starting to use an authoring tool, check to see if it is 508-compliant or enables creating 508-compliant materials. 

4. Consider cultural elements

When creating training programs for everyone, it’s essential to consider cultural elements that resonate and meet the needs of employees from diverse backgrounds. This includes avoiding cookie-cutter approaches that assume everyone has the same experiences or learning preferences. It’s an easy management mistake to make, but with proper inclusive training, it can be avoided. 

For example: Using culturally relevant examples, local success stories, and language that aligns with the learners’ cultural norms can help employees feel understood and engaged. A training program designed with cultural awareness ensures that employees from different regions or backgrounds don’t feel alienated by content that doesn’t reflect their own context. 

It also involves understanding the important elements of a culture and planning your training accordingly. For instance, certain cultures do not permit men and women to work together in pairs or small groups (or even be in the same training course).  

Try:

  • Checking how the cultural dynamics might affect the group dynamics in the classroom and adjusting activities accordingly.  In some cultures, the women will always defer to the men; and let the men do the speaking for them. In such cases, it might be better to create activities that call for breaking the groups by gender, so that everyone may benefit.
  • Recognizing that different cultures approach communication in various ways. For instance, training participants from more direct cultures may struggle with content that’s overly formal or roundabout, while those from more relationship-focused cultures might prefer more open, conversational styles. Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions provides clues for how to spot these differences, and keys to which countries tend towards certain dispositions.  
  • Ensuring the content aligns with these preferences and is free of cultural assumptions, jargon, or idioms can help make the training more relatable, like avoiding references that assume familiarity with Western holidays, sports, or norms helps ensure the content is accessible and relevant to a global audience

Tailoring training with these cultural nuances in mind not only makes employees feel welcome but also ensures they connect better with the material, fostering a more inclusive and effective learning environment and positive company culture.

 

5. Focus on continuous improvement

A healthy training lifecycle is a continuous process. Each course is an opportunity to see how the plan is working. Look for trends in how the class reacts to determine what to change to get better participation or more understanding.

For example: Some cultures are more willing to have fun and be silly as they learn (like West Africa), while others are more serious (like the US). So, an activity that involves dancing, singing, or other more involved kinesthetic learning techniques will go over quite well in Cote d’Ivoire but will be met with resistance in San Diego. 

If you had an activity in your class and participants were hesitant to do it, consider rethinking how to teach that topic in the future. Feedback is an important part of the process. 

 

Foster a healthy work environment with Comprehensive Learning Solutions

To meet the needs of diverse employees and organizations, custom employee training programs are a great way to create a healthy learning environment. Ample studies highlight the importance and success of diversity in the workplace, and organizations need tailored training sessions to support it. 

At Comprehensive Learning Solutions (CLS), we specialize in designing custom training programs that are built to meet the unique needs of your workforce. Partnering with CLS means empowering your organization with the tools, strategies, and expertise to help create an inclusive culture for your diverse workforce—where all employees can thrive. 

Contact us today to create customizable, comprehensive training programs.

Karen Feeley
Karen Feeley

CLS Founder and Experienced Instructional Designer

Karen Feeley is a seasoned professional with over 25 years of experience in workplace learning and development. She is a published author, trainer, instructional designer, editor, and project manager with a proven track record of success in the private, public, and non-profit sectors.

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