Why You Shouldn't Wait to Train Your Team on Justice and Equity
You know it’s important, but it can be hard to find time (or choose the “right” time) to train your team on justice and equity.
Plus, there are so many choices out there, it’s almost impossible to know what will work for your people and what won’t.
You might feel like it is simply easier to put off this decision until later (much later).
But here are 3 reasons why you shouldn’t wait to train your team on justice and equity:
1 - Without quality training, you run the risk of losing good employees.
If you don’t start the work of getting everyone on the same page about your organization’s beliefs, goals, and plans, you’re likely to lose the team members who champion these ideas the most.
In fact, you might find yourself constantly looking for new people to join your team, because people have become restless and impatient, effectively creating a “revolving door.
2 - Training will help you figure out your organization’s priorities for advancing equity.
A lot of organizations don’t think about training… until after they’ve created their strategic plan (or even later, after they’ve already started working on equity initiatives).
But developing a shared language and understanding of history is essential and foundational work that needs to happen prior to the strategic plan. When your team is clear about the definition of “power” and what diversity, inclusion, and equity really mean, they will be better positioned to set shared goals and create a timeline for implementation.
3 - This work requires you to be proactive, NOT reactive.
When we’re proactive about creating justice and equity within the workplace, we can feel better about the work we’re doing, begin with a spirit of possibility, and have more room and tolerance for (inevitable) error.
Quality training can also help your team build skills, shared language, and relationships necessary to navigate problems when they arise.
You will be better equipped as a collective to recognize and address errors in the future.
Conversely, if you pursue this training because something has gone wrong in your organization (or if you’re responding to complaints), you’re starting from a reactive place. This is often characterized by fatigue, which leaves little room for (inevitable) error.
Plus, people within an organization are less likely to trust training that comes after something has popped off, because it feels like a way to placate instead of educate. Those initiatives are already doomed for failure.
You know you need equity training for your organization, but here’s the thing: There’s no “right” time to get started.
In fact, the sooner the better.
Don’t wait until there’s confusion or frustration to begin building your team’s internal muscle to do hard things…
If you want to keep good team members, show them that your organization has their backs.
If you want to get everyone on the same page about justice and equity in your workplace, engage them in learning shared definitions for power, justice, and equity.
If you want to set organizational and area- or department-specific priorities, show your team that you’re serious about this work.
Get effective equity training right now.
You will be better equipped as a team to recognize, address, and dismantle oppression in the workplace and in the communities you serve.
In fact, this will help ensure you have a happy, productive, and aligned team working toward shared goals.
If you’re ready to get started, we invite you to schedule a demo of our Justice at Work training, to see if the program is right for you. We’d love to help.