Diversity, equity and inclusion programs seek to change human behaviors — and in order to do that, HR needs effective learning and development programs. But how does that work in practice?

Donnebra McClendon, global head of DEI at human capital management company Dayforce, had a lot of guidance to offer on how to bring diversity in the workplace back to center stage. A key factor is upskilling and reskilling on these crucial subjects.

“I’m a teacher at heart,” McClendon told HR Dive. And because McClendon, founder of literacy nonprofit organization Leaders are Readers, has always been a teacher at heart, she understands that people learn in different ways — and have different learning priorities.

In the workplace, she advocates for all kinds of training and professional development, from microlearning to conferences.

“Ultimately we’re changing behaviors,” McClendon said of DEI learning. “You can’t change behaviors with a one-and-done mindset or one-and-done course.”

A culture of learning can be facilitated by continuous programming. It’s why she sends “micro-learning lessons” that take five minutes or less to digest, in between quarterly DEI trainings. There is also evidence that continuous L&D improves the work experience as a whole.

One case study comes from the healthcare field, where a 2023 Relias report on training and staff development showed that 35% of workers experienced an improvement in workplace culture after DEI training.

“Cultivating a culture of learning and focusing on respectful dialogue can create a cycle of growth and retention that benefits all staff and leads to persistent and noticeable improvements,” a behavioral health partner at Relias said in a statement.

Tip 1: Tap into your co-workers’ competitive streak

For McClendon, one useful tactic is to gamify the learning and development materials. Working at a human capital management company, she said, “I work in a highly competitive space. Everybody here is competitive and I’m super competitive as well.”

Trivia challenges and Internet scavenger hunts have proven fun for her workforce because those games can be especially thought-provoking, she said.

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