Sensitivity training teaches employees how to understand and be respectful of coworkers from different races, genders, sexual orientations and other identities. Training sessions cover topics like diversity and sexual harassment and give examples of inappropriate or illegal behavior in the workplace. And while sensitivity training primarily aims to prevent harassment and discrimination, it’s also the first step to creating an inclusive workplace that makes employees of all backgrounds feel like they belong.
What Is Sensitivity Training?
Sensitivity training is an educational program designed to help employees prevent harassment, discrimination and bullying in the workplace. It is meant to raise awareness about underrepresented identities, challenge unconscious biases and ultimately lead to a more inclusive workplace.
What Is Sensitivity Training?
Sensitivity training teaches employees how to be respectful of the differences among their coworkers, how to be more aware of unconscious biases and stereotypes, and how to use inclusive language in the workplace. These educational programs often cover topics like race, gender, sexual orientation, age, religion and disability.
Some types of sensitivity training, like sexual harassment or anti-harassment training, may be required by state and municipal laws. In states that don’t require this training, many employers still offer it to prevent harassment and create a workplace that feels safe and welcoming to all employees.
“The purpose is to try and generate an inclusive workforce where people are mindful of different cultural needs and boundaries of different collective types of people,” Caitlin Collins, an organizational psychologist at Betterworks, told Built In.
Hannah Stegen, co-founder and chief product officer of CultureAlly, told Built In that sensitivity training boils down to a version of the golden rule: “[Sensitivity training] changes that notion to treat others the way they want to be treated, recognizing that we might not always be the best judge of what other individuals might need because we don’t hold that experience,” Stegen said.
Why Is Sensitivity Training Important For the Workplace?
Sensitivity training establishes expectations for appropriate conduct in the workplace. It’s designed to help prevent harassment, bullying and other elements of a hostile work environment that can damage employee morale and pose legal troubles for the organization. It also comes with a number of upsides.
Helps With Employee Recruitment and Retention
When organizations become more inclusive, they are also able to recruit more diverse employees. If they can make those employees feel like they belong, they will be more likely to stay, which reduces the costs associated with hiring and training new employees.
“Imagine if you really knew people for who they were, and they felt understood,“ Jane Hyun, founder of cultural fluency firm Hyun & Associates told Built In. “They’re going to work hard for you. They’re going to want to stay with you. They’re going to want to do the best job for you.”
Helps With Employee Trust and Collaboration
If an organization creates an environment where employees feel like they can express their authentic self without judgment, they are also going to be more creative and collaborative, which will lead to more innovation. They will also be happier, which could translate to better client relations.
Sensitivity training can also improve communication among coworkers. This is increasingly important as the working world becomes more diverse and globalized.
“We might perceive someone’s behavior one way, but there might have been some disconnect with their intentions,” Stegen said. “Instead of jumping to those conclusions, have a conversation and build those relationships with your colleagues so you don’t have that misunderstanding of intentions and behaviors.”
Types of Sensitivity Training
Sensitivity training covers the broad categories of diversity and harassment. Topics like microaggressions, unconscious bias and bystander intervention will likely be covered in these training sessions, but they are sometimes discussed in greater detail on their own.
Diversity and Inclusion
Diversity and inclusion training educates training about all types of diversity, including cognitive and experiential diversity. This training might address harmful stereotypes about various identities, and it may raise awareness of an employees’ own unconscious biases. It might also discuss microaggressions, or unintentional insults against people from underrepresented groups.
Sexual Harassment
Sexual harassment training is one of the most popular types of sensitivity training. Several states and municipalities require employers to administer sexual harassment and anti-harassment training, while others consider this type of training to be a best practice. This training covers the legal criteria for sexual harassment and hostile work environments. It will also explain how to report harassment and how bystanders can intervene when they witness harassment.
When to Use Sensitivity Training
Sensitivity training should be a regular part of your employee training protocol, but here are a few moments where it might prove particularly useful.
A New Employee Is Onboarded
When a new employee joins a company, that’s a great opportunity to introduce them to the cultural norms of the organization. It’s possible they have never been through sensitivity training before, so this training could teach them what acceptable behavior looks like. If they have undergone sensitivity training before, the training could teach them something new that might be specific to the demographics of your company’s workforce.
An Employee Makes an Offensive Joke
If an employee makes an offensive joke based on race, gender or another protected characteristic, it could prompt a lawsuit alleging harassment or a hostile work environment. It will also hurt employee morale and make workers question why the employee isn’t being punished for their actions.
If the employee is allowed to keep their job, they may be required to undergo sensitivity training, which could teach them to be more thoughtful with their words and actions. They may also be counseled by a HR representative and warned that future incidents could lead to their termination.
A Company Expands Globally
A company’s sensitivity training should be personalized to the demographics of the company and its business needs. If employees find themselves working with people from other areas of the world, the employees should be trained on cultural fluency, as some cultures have different communication styles and viewpoints on work-appropriate conversation topics. Bridging these cultural differences can help employees work together effectively.
“If I understand the person sitting across from me that's from a very different background, I can better know what he or she is motivated by and I can give feedback to them in such a way that he or she can respond,” Hyun said.
How to Reinforce Sensitivity Training
Sensitivity training is an important tool in educating employees about diversity, but it can’t be the end of the conversation. If sensitivity training is seen as a mere legal requirement, employees are unlikely to retain the information or apply it in their workplace interactions.
“The goal of sensitivity training should be to create behavior change,” Collins said. “It shouldn’t be a check-the-box compliance process.”
Ask Managers to Lead by Example
Employees are more likely to live the lessons from sensitivity training if they see company leaders modeling inclusive behavior. This will help establish organizational norms of what acceptable behavior looks like.
“You need to see it happen, and it has to be actually illustrated in the culture of a company to be taken seriously,” Hyun said.
Continue the Conversation With Regular Workshops
Companies should also be regularly reinforcing the learnings from sensitivity training through recurring diversity programming. At Betterworks, for example, DEI groups regularly host workshops in which they share their experiences and encourage others to do the same.
“I think it’s more personal and means more when you start to hear from your own co-workers on their experience,” Collins said.
It’s important, though, that employees undergo sensitivity training before taking on these more personal conversations. Otherwise, it could be derailed by an employees’ unconscious biases.
“Having that baseline training so that everyone’s on the same page about what this means is really important,” Stegen said.
Create Mechanisms for Feedback and Accountability
Companies should be providing employee feedback channels to learn about unacceptable behavior and creating systems of accountability to address those behaviors.
“It takes mindfulness and repetition until a new behavior becomes normal,” Collins said. “Without the mindfulness and the repetition, nobody pays attention to it, because there’s no accountability for them.”
Sensitivity Training Courses
Sensitivity training can happen in person with a diversity consultant, but there’s also a wide selection of online classes for organizations at a variety of price points. Here are a few popular vendors.
DEI Training by Ethena
Ethena’s DEI Training program talks about the importance of diversity, different types of identities, types of biases and microaggressions. It also offers strategies for bystander intervention and speaking up against microaggressions.
Sexual Harassment Prevention by EasyLlama
EasyLlama’s sexual harassment prevention course talks about the different types of sexual harassment, like quid pro quo and online harassment, and it also discusses other types of harassment, like bullying and abusive conduct. The training also offers guidance for reporting and preventing harassment.
Creating Inclusive Workplaces by CultureAlly
CultureAlly’s sensitivity training program includes courses on the foundations of DEI, unconscious bias, inclusive workplaces and inclusive leadership. The course on creating inclusive workplaces will teach employees how to use inclusive language and some best practices for creating an inclusive environment.
Online Diversity Training by Traliant
Traliant’s online diversity training discusses the benefits of creating an inclusive workplace. It also talks about unconscious bias, microaggressions and challenging one’s assumptions. It also offers tips for giving and accepting feedback.
Allyship Training by Paradigm IQ
Paradigm IQ’s allyship training program is a three-part course that explains what coworkers can do to be a better ally to their coworkers from underrepresented identities. The training also touches on allies’ role in racial justice and how to use more inclusive language.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is sensitivity training?
Sensitivity training refers to an educational program that teaches employees how to prevent harassment and discrimination in the workplace. It addresses harmful stereotypes about underrepresented groups, raises awareness of unconscious biases and offers advice for creating a more inclusive work environment.
Is sensitivity training effective?
Sensitivity training can provide valuable information and guidance for employees who are receptive to learning about creating an inclusive workplace. To be more effective, sensitivity training should be reinforced through inclusive leadership, recurring educational programming and a strong culture of allyship and inclusivity in the workplace.
What is an example of sensitivity training?
One example of sensitivity training is a webinar class on diversity and inclusion. The class might challenge employees’ unconscious biases, give examples of harmful microaggressions and offer tips for intervening when another employee is being harassed or bullied because of their identity.
