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All Staff Diversity Training

In July 2007 Schneider Ross was contracted to deliver diversity training to all the staff at a leading Museum group.

The project was led by Senior Consultant Tony Warner, who is well-known in the heritage sector nationally and has a great deal of experience in helping Museums to reach out to minority ethnic communities.

What We Did

The training design process began with a series of 1:1 discussions with key stakeholders and on the basis of this input a programme was designed to engage staff and deliver practical changes.

One of the distinctive aspects of the training was that from the outset it involved members of the community local to the museum, who were invited to attend the course, contribute their perspective and share the benefits of the workshop.

28 workshops were delivered. The day covered the law, communication, history, institutional racism and bullying. In addition, it included a unique survey of what needed to be done to embed diversity – with 31 options for pro-active change within the institution.

These feedback sheets were collated and presented to the directors (who had also attended their own training session) as part of their commitment to provide leadership and follow through on the training.

In order to ensure that the Museum could continue to sustain the change beyond the immediate roll-out of the programme, six internal trainers were trained up via a 4 day train the trainer course.

Immediate Feedback

Staff commented favourably on the way the workshop was run and the impact it had on them:

· It demonstrated how diversity affects all areas of the museum. It made me aware of how diversity affects me.

· Trainer was very inclusive and drew on a wide variety of examples. The research shown toward the end of the course was eye opening. .

· Engaged participants, included examples linked to Museums and history, got discussion going, knowledgeable presenter, lots of different media used.

· The trainer’s a good listener, his knowledge is second to none, he used a very wide range of examples, and he ensured that everyone in the group was involved in the discussions.

· It made you think outside the box. Also question why we act/behave the way people do.

Each of the workshops deliberately brought together staff from different roles and from the Museum’s three sites. This helped combat the isolation felt by some branches and has now been institutionalised with the introduction of a shuttle bus service and a programme of Job Swaps where staff from different departments exchange roles for the day.

Longer-Term Impact

9 months following the completion of the roll-out, in order to start to assess the longer term impact of the training, Tony caught up with a number of the key stakeholders.

Clearly, the general increase in awareness, was making diversity an easier "sell". As the head of diversity explained:

"Ethnic monitoring is no longer seen as a nuisance. Staff and departments see the point behind it."

Similarly, the Museum now collects information regarding the language skills of the school age population, which helps it plan services more effectively.

The human resources function had identified free disability training, but in the past there had hardly been any take-up of the offer. Now 60 members of staff have been through the programme and there is avid take-up by all departments.


The programme has acted as a powerful catalyst for positive change and challenging traditional ways of doing things:

* As a direct result of their greater awareness regarding diversity, staff were able to challenge the stereotypical thinking behind an exhibit. The supplier re-worked the design and removed the numerous stereotypes.
* The first female security guards were appointed soon after training. After many years as an all male environment, there are now three women on the books including two black and minority ethnic women.
* A volunteer co-ordinator was appointed to increase the ethnic diversity of volunteers (who were typically white, middle-class graduates.) A rapid increase in volunteers resulted.
* One of the surprises that came out of the workshops was that disabled staff who worked at the museum found the exhibits inaccessible. Accordingly, a working group has been established to ensure that this will not re-occur.

Also the workshops have led to the sort of practical changes that properly engaged staff notice:

* The shop at the Museum now has books in black history on display at eye level and not only in black history month. In the past, black history books were often placed in prominent positions during black history month but then relegated to the lowest shelf or obscure corners for the other 11 months.
* Options were placed in alphabetical order on a cultural diversity questionnaire. This simple amendment avoided awkward questions as to why certain categories were put first.
* Toilets for disabled visitors now double up as nappy rooms.

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