Despite the steady growth of diversity and inclusion training the benefit is often diminished by faulty delivery, according to a study by Novations Group, a global consulting firm based in Boston.

When asked about D&I programs provided to their organization, nearly one-third of 2,500 senior human resources executives cited shortcomings such no reinforcement tools or metrics. Other typical flaws were trite content and little thought leadership.

Organizations are sometimes disappointed with diversity and inclusion training they are provided. In your experience, which of the following flaws has your organization encountered?

No tools were provided to reinforce the training.                                             29%

No metrics were offered to evaluate training's effectiveness.                      24%

Diversity addressed, but not development and advancement issues.       22%

Clear objectives were not established.                                                             15%

Material was too U.S.-focused.                                                                           15%

Concerns of line managers were not dealt with.                                             15%

Content was trite, humdrum.                                                                               14%

Little thought leadership was shown.                                                                 9%

Facilitation skills were poor.                                                                                 8%

Employer's policies and practices were not addressed.                               7%

"The findings should serve as a warning to both organizations and D&I program providers, said Novations Vice President Fred Smith. "It's the mistakes and shortcomings identified in the study that create 'diversity fatigue.' The best diversity training has moved far beyond the one-dimensional, feel-good event and today needs to be held to the same rigorous standards as other corporate training. Anything less cheats participants, wastes resources and undermines diversity efforts.

According to Smith, some of the deficiencies highlighted in the study apply to training programs in general. "Metrics, reinforcement and objectives are always essential and often lacking, said Smith. "But some issues are particular to diversity training: line manager concerns, focus and the organization's development practices.

Middle managers have to become part of D&I planning, even if they do not participate in the actual training, emphasized Smith. "To minimize flaws the Chief Diversity Officer should build relationships with their middle management teams to gain buy-in and long term involvement. Managers need to see a connection with strategic initiatives.

Overemphasis on American-style diversity is also a frequent complaint, observed Smith. "What used to be the convention&addressing past grievances and so on&isn't as relevant to the needs of today's workforce mix. Instead, D&I has been redirected to expanding opportunity and leveraging talent as a basic objective.

A more fundamental problem, in Smith's view, is diversity programs that simply presume it is just employees who must change. "Nothing significant will be achieved if the organization itself doesn't look at its systems, biases and ways of doing things. There's no return in changing the attitudes or awareness of participants if management also doesn't make some of the right changes.

Equation Research conducted the Internet survey of 2,556 senior HR and T&D executives in December 2007.

Novations Group is a leading provider of consulting and training services on four continents. Novations is recognized for its expertise in diversity & inclusion, employee engagement, talent management, employee selection, leadership development, organization communications, sales training and customer service. For more information, visit www.novations.com.