In this case study we outline the brief received from Sharps Bedrooms Limited, detail the training programme delivered, and provide the results and learner feedback to illustrate the effectiveness of an equality, diversity & inclusion (EDI) training programme for managers.
The Customer
Sharps Bedrooms Limited is the UKs bedroom and home office specialist. Now offering showrooms across the UK and employing over 600 staff, Sharps Bedrooms’ aim continues to be making their customers’ lives easier by offering creative, quality solutions to maximise the storage available for any space. As an employer, they want to provide an inclusive environment to enable each member of staff to enjoy their work and to help them build careers as personalised and tailor-made as their fitted furniture.
The Goal
At the start of 2022, Sharps Bedrooms Limited approached us to find a programme that further developed their managers knowledge of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion matters.
The Brief
Having established Sharps Bedrooms overall aim and our suggested training solution, our trainer visited the company for a meeting. This allowed for more detailed discussion to take place. It was agreed that our generic course content would be adapted to meet Sharps Bedrooms exact requirements.
The training would begin with a 1-hour online summary session for the Directors, with six one day face-to-face courses delivered to managers between March and July. These would be a customised version of our 1-day Equality, Diversity and Inclusion training course with 12 managers attending each session.
The Training
The 1-day customised training course topic outline included:
- What do we mean by Equality, Diversity and Inclusion?
- Context, Business Case and Key Legislation (Equality Act 2010)
- Challenging and addressing inappropriate behaviour in relation to discrimination, unconscious bias and micro-inequities
- Exploring scenarios and best practice to improve interactions in the workplace
- Action planning to create a positive and inclusive working environment
The Results
When asked if the managers would change anything about the course, the majority felt not with a typical response being:
“Not at all as it had the sit down and listen and then the activity in the afternoon that allowed us to put into practice things we had been told”.
Another comment received was for the company to perhaps consider a follow-up equality, diversity & inclusion course in the future to allow for certain topics to be covered in more detail.
The Conclusion - case study EDI training at work
The managers who attended the training fully engaged with it and appreciated the opportunity to be able to discuss the topics covered with their peers. Their feedback confirmed that they now have the knowledge and confidence to be able to reflect on their behaviour as regards diversity in the workplace and have an action plan to create a positive and inclusive working environment for their teams.
Training managers in equality, diversity & inclusion will go towards fulfilling Sharps Bedrooms aim for their employees that, “We know that diversity is valuable, and we strive to be a better workplace for everyone."
Almost 6 months on from the final managers' training course the managers still give consideration to the way they operate and ask, "are we meeting our equality and diversity responsibilities?".
We are grateful to Sharps Bedrooms Limited for their permissions and assistance in the production of this case study.
Relevant training courses and consultancy services
Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Training
Adopting a supportive, pragmatic yet fun approach, this 1-day course is suitable for everyone in an organisation. It will give participants an understanding of the key issues and individual responsibilities in positively promoting equal opportunities and diversity, includes issues relating to working with diverse teams and customers, and covers all the equality strands.
Read more
Our full list of In-house Training Courses
Our training courses are delivered as live, virtual, interactive sessions or the trainers can come to your workplace to deliver many of our workshops face-to-face.
Training delivery is flexible and can be tailored to suit your requirements and delegate numbers.
All of our training is delivered by experienced subject experts.
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Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Consultancy
For those employers looking to create a diverse and inclusive workplace which complies with current equality legislation, we can offer a range of consultancy services. These include diagnostic analysis, strategy and policy development, action planning, project evaluation and stakeholder engagement & partnership working.
Read more
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