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Monthly insights
Thoughts from Pat Baillie, Associate Director of Training & Professional Development
 This month feels like conference month! I headed back up to Minneapolis the end of March to the Multicultural Diversity Forum to staff the Out & Equal booth. It was MUCH warmer on this trip than Creating Change with a balmy 29° when I landed! This is not an LGBT conference so it's a great chance to talk to HR, Diversity & Inclusion professionals and Executives who aren't part of our regular constituents. I was back at the national office for just a few days and then headed to Atlanta for the Linkage Diversity Conference. I had been asked to present on the current trends and developing cultural competency for LGBT workplace equality. This again is not an LGBT conference and represents global HR, Diversity and line managers who are bringing diversity into their workplaces. I gave a lot of facts to the group without a lot of time for discussion and worried that this didn't fit the mold of most workshops. But the feedback Q and I received made us realize our session had hit the mark and those coming to the booth had even more questions on "how to do" LGBT equality. We had the usual promotional materials at the booth that Q set up but also we included the 20 Steps to an Inclusive Workplace Toolkit which helps to navigate the next steps for a corporation. We also had the "I am _____ Inclusive" pins we had debuted at the Summit. Everyone expected to see the Lesbian, Gay, Bi and Transgender ones but people were amazed we thought of including size & weight, spirituality, ability, age, and people of color. They suddenly saw themselves on the table and picked up buttons to wear during the conference and to take home to co-workers. Making those connections is what we do everyday when we let others see who we are and share a common vision of workplace equality for everyone.
Sincerely,
Pat Baillie
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Trainers' corner
News for Out & Equal certified trainers
This month we sent out reminders to everyone who has been on the Trainer's Network for more than two years that their certification to train the LGBT Diversity Leadership material is expiring. Please review any of your training materials that use the Out & Equal material and update them at this time.
Trainer's can get recertified by re-taking Train the Trainer in two ways. The next confirmed classroom course is October 28 at the annual Summit in Dallas, TX. You can also recertify by taking the online webinars. Start with the Building Bridges webinar (3 parts) and then take the Train the Trainer (3 parts). For those of you still on the Trainer's Network, consider how you are using the training materials. Also review the Trainer's Forum recorded sessions to keep up on the current LGBT events and training updates.
Having been a classroom teacher for years, I wasn't sure about moving to the online training community. I have taken lots of asynchronous training programs to meet annual training and HR requirements but how do we teach skills and promote understanding if we don't have that eye to eye contact.
Now 2 years later, I am a staunch advocate of the webinar platform. I can reach so many more companies who can't afford to bring Out & Equal into their workplace. I can also provide a lot more direct hands on support for trainers as they prepare for a course. Here's some key points I used to make the transition:
- Take lots of training on the platform system.
- Attend other webinars and note what you like
- Sign up for demos and hands on time to learn the system
- Select material you are already comfortable with
- Do you have a presentation you can do in your sleep? This is a great way to start so you can focus on the technology as you present.
- Practice with meetings and small groups
- Don't read the material
- Add images and less material to the slides (I have found you need to change slides about every 30 seconds to keep learners attention)
- Record your training and make it available after the fact
Having archives and accessibility through webinar materials can work for project development, full course deliveries or short topic updates. Let us know if we can help with our lesson learned as you step into the virtual training world.
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Out
& Equal Workplace Advocates™ is a national nonprofit 501(c)(3)
organization. Out & Equal champions safe and equitable workplaces
for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. The
organization advocates building and strengthening successful
organizations that value all employees, customers, and communities. Visit our website. |
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