WEBINARS – September 2020


Excited to announce our line-up of practically-based webinars which are sure to help you create a more inclusive workplace for you and your customers.

See our calendar. Click on the link to get the full details. https://www.diversityatworkcommunications.com/webinars



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Your Diverse Customer Training Magazine


Have you noticed that your customer base is changing?

Do you wonder if you are providing equitable service?

Would you like to enhance your customer service training and protocols but don’t know how?

Do you want to create loyalty and an excellent customer service experience every time?

We are pleased to announce the debut of our digital quarterly training magazine,

Your Diverse Customer.

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Take a peek inside.  Our magazine has a universal focus.  Whether you work in the private, public or non-profit sector there is something for everyone.  Best of all, we have chosen themes which will resonate with readers from across the globe.

Preview_ Your Diverse Customer (1) Here is a PDF version, please note scrolling is not shown here.

Or http://pub.lucidpress.com/yourdiversecustomer/

Your Diverse Customer Magazine is available in a printable format or online.

For more information, contact info@yourdiversityatwork.com

 

 

 

 

Meetings: A Tool Kit – New Immigrant Workplace Success Series


Evelina Silveira, President, Diversity at Work, London, Canada

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I am pleased to announce the release of my first tool in a series of resources to assist employers develop and retain new immigrant employees.  The  step=by-step exercises and processes will enhance your own coaching skills while empowering employees with vital information in a culturally relevant way.  I am sharing some of my coaching secrets and style which has resulted in many new immigrants enhancing their skills and employers retaining talent.

You can preview the toolkit below.  It is 31 pages in length and offers a 20-minute consultation with each purchase.  Buy it today and, begin having more productive meetings by developing your own and your employee’s  skills.  Feedback has been excellent!

Includes several handouts such as business idioms; checklist for inclusive meetings; coaching pre-assessments, low-risk no-stress ways to participate in meetings and more.

https://diversityatworkinlondon.files.wordpress.com/2018/01/meetingspage1.pdf

https://diversityatworkinlondon.files.wordpress.com/2018/01/secondpage.pdf

Meetings: A Toolkit Ebook

A 31-page toolkit which includes a 20 minute telephone consultation for each book sold.

C$225.00

The Guide to Workplace Inclusion


Preview and Purchase at www.yourdiversityatwork.com/ebook/

Read  below what others have said about our book:

linked in

ENDORSEMENTS:

This is an important and timely book for those who want more inclusive workplaces. It moves seamlessly from concepts and terminology and translates them into practical and actionable ideas. All readers, no matter where they are on their diversity and inclusive journey, will find something valuable in this book. Evelina Silveira and Jill Walters have created an impressive resource that includes examples of promising practices from across the globe. This should be every HR professional’s companion!

~Ratna Omidvar, executive director, Global Diversity Exchange, Ted Rogers School of Management, Ryerson University

The No-Nonsense Guide to Workplace Inclusion provides a thorough and engaging roadmap of the journey toward organizational inclusion. The authors write from a position of rich, credible experience, with the result that this Guide can help companies capitalize on opportunities and skirt problems on the road to fuller inclusion of an increasingly diverse workplace. Filled with examples and evidence-based solutions, this Guide is a valuable tool for any organization working on building and strengthening its culture of inclusiveness.

~Alison Konrad, PhD, professor of organizational behaviour, Ivey Business School, London, Canada

Managing diversity and creating inclusive workplaces can seem like a daunting challenge for many organisations, but Evelina and Jill have produced a really accessible, highly practical guide to help organisations get going. What we particularly liked was that it was packed full of real examples and illustrations and lots of useful links and tools.

~Tracy Powley, director, Focal Point Training and Consultancy Ltd, United Kingdom

Because inclusion is one of the core values of the USTA, it is important for me to lead, motivate and work well with individuals of diverse backgrounds, capabilities and interests in order to achieve the outcomes we’ve set for ourselves. This book is a great resource for any organization looking to create a successful culture of inclusion.

~D.A. Abrams, chief diversity & inclusion officer, United States Tennis Association/ author, Diversity & Inclusion: The Big Six Formula for Success

This book goes a long way in addressing the systemic discrimination faced by the LGBTQ2 community in the workplace. It tells you what you need to do and gives you the resources to do it. It makes it easy for any workplace to become more inclusive in their hiring, recruitment and retention practices. I highly recommend it for every workplace.

~ Deb Al-Hamza, past president, Pride London Festival/ diversity social worker, Children’s Aid Society of London & Middlesex

I think this book is very comprehensive! There is very valuable information from ‘Foundations for creating an Inclusive Business Environment’ to ‘Best Practices in Diversity.’ I see the value for small to medium businesses that lack a dedicated human resources professional or lack the experience with implementing policies and procedures to promote an inclusive environment; however, larger businesses can also benefit greatly from the examples, detail and strategy offered. I will continue to visit many of the resources offered in the future and have made note of some of the examples.

~Lesley Oliver, diversity & accessibility coordinator, Equity & Human Rights Services, University of Western Ontario

The book is strategic, concrete and to the point. The various examples make it relevant to readers and practical. I also like the fact it is rooted in personal experiences and takes a holistic approach. The book makes one reflect on what is not obvious, helps avoid assumptions and discusses unconscious bias.

~Magali Toussaint, international career and cross-cultural coach/ diversity professional, Netherlands, http://about.me/magali.toussaint

 

 

 

 

Five Easy Actions for a More Inclusive Workplace


Evelina Silveira, President, Diversity at Work  co-author  No-Nonsense Guide to Workplace Inclusion

Workplace inclusion can seem like an elusive goal. Does it really have to be that way? Whether you have a strategy in place, or take small steps with bolder ones along the way—it will pay off! Here are a few ideas, they don’t take a lot of effort and best of all you can start them today!

1. Add a voluntary self-identification check box in your application process.

Who’s applying? Who is not? Self-identification will provide you with vital statistics for human resources planning. Case in point: if you start to see a pattern that only men are applying for a job, barriers could exist for women. This is worth investigating. Organizations are increasingly expected to reflect the communities they serve. Voluntary self-identification is one way of obtaining this information from the front end. Be sure to outline why you are requesting the information and how it will be used.

2. Add a diversity and inclusion section to each of your staff /leadership meetings.

Injecting awareness and instructional information into your workplace on a regular basis is a significant reminder, diversity and inclusion is an integral part of your operations. It is not an add-on but just as crucial as health and safety awareness.

3. Ask your generation Y (Millennials) for their opinion.

Seems strange? Not really! They are dying to hear from you. These workers have had diversity as a natural part of their landscape. They have expertise and want to be acknowledged for their opinions. Find out what they think you could do to make the workplace better and ask them to help out with building a strategy.

4. Thank an employee.

Each week send a handwritten thank you note to an employee recognizing their work. How long does it take? The busiest person on the planet has two minutes to thank an employee. Isn’t a good employee worth the time? Your recognition will go a long way with boosting morale.
5. Inform all staff about professional development and promotional opportunities.

You are probably thinking we do that already so what’s the big deal? Consistently, research points to the fact that visible minorities, women and immigrants are often left out of the loop when it comes to growing and developing in the organization. Workplace equity begins with giving everyone the same information and organizational opportunities.

Motivated to learn more about workplace inclusion? The No-Nonsense Guide to Workplace Inclusion can show you how to do it. Endorsed by business management schools and diversity practitioners, it’s all you really need.  Visit http://www.yourdiversityatwork.com/ebook/  to preview and purchase.

Actions You Can Take To Increase Intercultural Understanding in the Workplace


By:  Evelina Silveira,  President, Diversity at Work

1. Start up a Diversity Book Club or Discussion Group    You can take turns assigning a reading which is pertinent to your work and designate a regular meeting time for your discussions. Tailor it to your industry and the specific knowledge you would like to gain.
For example:
Indian-Style of Leadership – This could help organizations who have a number of New Canadian Indian employees gain an understanding of the differences in leadership style in India. It can give leaders an awareness of what some of the challenges these employees may have based on their previous work experiences and help them become more acclimatized to a Canadian workplace.
Cultural Differences in the Way Disabilities are Communicated. The way cultural groups talk about disabilities tells us a lot about their values and how people with disabilities are treated in their communities.
Plagiarism Around the World – Understanding how different countries feel about and define plagiarism is important in preparing international students for post-secondary education.

2. Spearhead Employee Resource Groups These groups can provide valuable information to advance the goals of your organization. If you happen to have a New Canadians ERG, it can be drawn upon to provide education to the rest of the employees and make suggestions for program development and provide insight into new markets.

3. Infuse Cultural Tidbits Into Existing Vehicles of Communication Whether you have an intranet, a regular newsletter or hang up posters, don’t miss out on an opportunity to encourage cultural learning. What about your staff or departmental meetings? After all, when we learn about other cultures, we learn a lot about ourselves!

4. Examine Your Corporate Social Responsibility Initiatives Is there a way you can increase your interactions with some of the major cultural groups in your community? Volunteer at a settlement agency? Be a mentor? Consider sponsoring cultural events.

5. Increase or Begin to Offer Student Placements/ Co-ops Work with local agencies serving diverse clientele and post-secondary institutions to bring diverse workers to your organization. You will be amazed at how much you learn from the experience!

6. Take a Cultural Competency Inventory Ask employees if they have: knowledge of a second language, experience from work abroad and cross-cultural education. Having this information handy can be a real help when you are considering the appropriate people for foreign assignments or need some emergency assistance with a culturally diverse client who you are having difficulty communicating

Planning Inclusive Meetings and Special Events


ImageEvelina Silveira, President, Diversity At Work in London Inc.  Publisher of the Inclusion Quarterly

Recently, I was perusing a business magazine that had a section dedicated to meeting planning. It was written by a professional in the field yet I could have sworn that the article was at least 20 years old. There was no attention to the new realities of planning business
meetings that host a wide range of guests from different cultures, religions and abilities. It was the same old same old. Someone reading this article may have thought that they had all of the information they needed to make their next event a success — but they didn’t.

No doubt, the business world is more complicated these days. It can be very intimidating, especially if you feel forced into thinking outside the box for the first time.

Don’t fret. Guess what? A lot of the ideas won’t cost you much or nothing at all, but they really make a world of difference when it comes to making your staff, co-workers and guests more comfortable with participating. Before you know it, it will become
just a regular way of doing business.

1. CROSS-CHECK THE PROPOSED DATE OF YOUR MEETING.
Does it coincide with any religious or cultural events? Are the dates of your meetings scheduled on days when children are off from school?  Tip: Keep a religious/ cultural calendar handy along with elementary school calendars.

2. INVITE ACCOMMODATION REQUESTS.
Ask participants well before the meeting to place their accommodation  requests in by a certain date.

3. CHOOSE AN ACCESSIBLE LOCATION.
Your venue should be equipped with ramps, elevators, accessible bathrooms etc. However, you will also want to consider having your event or meeting in an area that is easily accessible by public transportation.

4. CHOOSE A CATERER/MENU PLANNING.
Depending on your group of participants you may want to consider halal or kosher catering if you know that you will be having Jewish or Muslim guests. If in doubt always ensure that you have lots of vegetarian options.  Sit down meals are best if you are expecting guests with mobility challenges. If you choose to have a buffet, assign a volunteer to assist the participant with getting their meal.

5. IF POSSIBLE PROVIDE MEETING MATERIALS IN ADVANCE.
By doing so, you give participants an opportunity to ask any questions, obtain translations if required or just give them more time to absorb the information if they have challenges with reading comprehension.

6. PROVIDE CLEAR SIGNAGE AND NAME TAGS AND MATERIALS.
Use large print contrasting colour signs and high contrast name tags. Each  participant should have a name tag if there is a new member to the meeting. Consider the above with your PowerPoint presentations and handouts. Opt  for a larger font size like 18 and fonts like Verdana and Arial that are sans serif.

7. ALLERGY ALERT.
Ensure that your promotional materials indicate a scent-free environment. If you are planning to use balloons , choose a non-latex brand. Food allergies should be taken care of early on in the planning stages when you invite requests for accommodations.

8. CHAIRING THE MEETING.
Remember to indicate any changes in topic, break times and adjournments. Whenever possible, try to stay on schedule as some of your guests may have medical issues that they need to take care of during a break at a certain time.

9. KEEP ISSUES ABOVE BOARD.
While it is nice to get support for your position, trying to create a lobby group outside of the meeting spells exclusion. As a practice, strive to keep all related discussions within the meeting to avoid some members having an unfair advantage over others.

10. ADDITIONAL GUIDELINES.
While it is sometimes difficult to do, challenge participants who are trying to “pull rank in the room”. Remind meeting participants of simple rules like speaking one at a time, attentive listening, respect for different opinions and for confidentiality.

While these suggestions may not seem like a lot, by following these tips you will have opened the door to many more people to participate and enjoy your event more freely.  Creating inclusive events requires us to put ourselves in the shoes of many other people and look at the barriers that might be present and seek solutions.

 

 

 

 

Is Your Team Building Inclusive?


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By:  Evelina Silveira, President,  Diversity at Work in London Inc, author of Diversity and Inclusion on a Budget:  How to have a more engaged and innovative workforce with little or no dollars.

Imagine. What would it be like to be escorted into an auditorium en masse to spend endless hours listening to speeches from your leader? Maybe the leader is feared or respected. The theme of his/her talks emphasize the importance of collaboration, discipline and commitment to collective values. You have no choice but to attend or you might be penalized in some shape or form.   For many people who were raised in communist countries they have had these experiences of attending mandatory events to demonstrate their solidarity with the mission and values of the State. They were given updates on the progress that had been made, the work that still needed to be done, and what they could do as a group to advance the State goals.

Could any comparisons be made to our Western-style of team building? You might say that it is not possible:  How can you make the comparison? While not all leaders are feared nor are the penalties for not buying-in so harsh, there are definitely consequences if you don’t “tow the Party line”.

I have been told by many people who grew up in communist countries, that aspects of our North American team building remind them of some of the unpleasant experiences of their country of origin where there was little opportunity for individual expression. The retreats or games, border on superficial and stressful because of the endless amount of small talk in a culture that still seems new. Team building is challenged if you have people in your group who feel that this is yet another exercise in “group think”.

Rock climbing, boot camps, bowling and a whole load of other physical activities that may be on the list for  team building.  I recall one of my workshop participants telling me that her husband dreaded their annual team building event because it involved all kinds of physical competitions and he used a wheelchair. The company never considered his feelings or tried to figure out a way that he could participate. You cannot build a team by excluding some of its members.

What about events that involve drinking alcohol and partying? I once had a client who confessed that now that his team was comprised of more women, people of other faiths and cultures, he was not so sure that the yearly drinking and partying fest in Las Vegas would be such a great reward for everyone! I had to agree. I encouraged him to look at other ways to build his team and consider more inclusive rewards programs like gift cards, cleaning services, and a monetary bonus.

Do you feel like playing Ker Plunk on a Friday afternoon to build a stronger team? Or does playing video games sound like a better idea? With four generation working together for the first time, we need to choose activities that everyone will enjoy or be willing to try.

Team building organizers must consider: cultural perceptions, accessibility, gender, religious obligations, and generational differences. It  is not a single event each year but must be cultivated on a daily basis. One of the easiest ways to build an inclusive team is to ask the individual members for feedback and ideas. Be prepared to implement them and show the progress of their ideas along the way.

 

Quick and Easy Ways To Make Your Staff Meetings More Inclusive


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Evelina Silveira, President, Diversity at Work in London

Do you find yourself engulfed in a monologue that doesn’t seem to end, hoping that your staff will say something?

Staff meetings can be an effective and powerful way to:  communicate information; gain new ideas; and increase morale.  They don’t have to be painful and the sooner you can turn the focus from “me” into “we” the better.  Let’s take a look at a few ideas that will help make things easier for your participants to communicate with one another and with you.

1.  Timing is everything. Your participants need to be available.  Family time is important so please don’t schedule meetings at times that are difficult for staff to attend, for example after work hours or before work.  Remember employees have a lot of extra responsibilities these days with eldercare, childcare and more.  Your staff is not going to be very happy to come to a meeting if they have to rearrange their schedule outside of office hours to come to work.  Check  multi-faith and school calendars to ensure that your meeting time does not present a scheduling conflict for others. Avoid scheduling meetings during peak-hours. Meeting times during a lull will be much more appreciated.

2.  Provide the agenda, minutes and supplementary materials in advance.   With our increasing diversity in the workplace, it is important for us to remember that some people will need more time to read materials in advance to get a background on the subjects discussed.  This is especially true for those with English language barriers or with certain learning disabilities who would find it particularly difficult to read materials on the spot and then comment on them.

3.  Assign a meeting buddy.   Designate one of your staff as a go-to-person to help orientate new employees to the staff meeting topics.  Persons with English language barriers or those who are transferred from other departments, and new hires can really benefit from a meeting buddy.  Taking this step also goes a long way in conveying the message that meetings are important and that their participation is valued. Spending even an hour before the staff person’s first meeting to give them a background on the process as well as the history/background of various topics will be very helpful.

4.  Introductions.  Ensure that each person gets introduced and has a name tag preferably black on white. This is especially good for people who are bad with names.  Printed name tags with a good size font will also help you to identify others who may be sitting further away.  You don’t need to use these all the time, but consider putting them on when you have a guest attending your meeting or when you have new staff.

5.  Try something new.   Add a video or case study for discussion.  Use stories or quotes to inject your point.  With so many possibilities these days with meeting technology and free videos, there is really no excuse anymore for dull meetings!  Be creative and your staff with love you for it.  By changing things around, chances are you will both see a different side of one another and that’s a good thing.

6.  Get a grip on yourself. If you are not sure how your chairing is going and you really want to find out how your meeting style is perceived, all you have to do is:  Ask!  Institute a four or five checkmark  assessment at the end of the meeting and it can tell you how inclusive your meetings really are.  Here are a few quick questions you can ask your participants

1.  Did you feel that you had an opportunity to express your thoughts at the meeting?    YES or NO

2.  Did the chair share the floor?          YES  or NO

3.  Were the participants encouraged to express differences of opinion?   YES or NO

4.  Do you have any ideas for future meetings?    YES  or NO

5.   Additional comments_______________________________________

Here are just a few quick and easy ways to make your workplace more inclusive.  If you would like more information, please check out our other publications:  The Inclusion Quarterly, and Diversity and Inclusion on a Budget:  How to have a more engaged and innovative workforce for little or no dollars.  Visit  http://www.yourdiversityatwork.com.

 

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