Wentling, R. M., & Palma-Rivas, N. (1997). Current status and future trends of diversity initiatives in the workplace: Diversity experts' perspective (Diversity in the Workforce Series, Report No. 2; MDS-1082). Berkeley: National Center for Research in Vocational Education, University of California.

IMPLICATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR HRD PROFESSIONALS AND OTHER CORPORATE LEADERS

The results of this study indicate that diversity training in the future will become more integrated with other types of training. This means that HRD professionals and other corporate leaders will have to be able to effectively link diversity training to other types of training such as management development, new employee orientation, team building, and so on. Therefore, HRD professionals will have to be able to plan, develop, implement, and evaluate diversity training even when they may not be directly delivering this specific type of training. In addition, as demographic changes continue to make the workforce more diverse, HRD professionals will have to not only be able to incorporate diversity training with other types of training but also effectively interact and provide education and training to trainees who are diverse. Another responsibility HRD professionals may have is to teach trainers to incorporate diversity concepts and principles into their training programs. This means that diversity will have to be an important aspect of train-the-trainer programs. In sum, the results of this study lead us to conclude that HRD professionals will have to master the field of diversity in order for them to be able to link it to other types of training; apply it to their specific training programs; and teach it to trainers so that trainers, in turn, can be able to apply it and link it to their training programs.

Another finding of this study is that diversity training should not be conducted in isolation and should not be provided as the sole strategy for addressing diversity. The diversity experts suggested to have diversity training linked with the organization's strategic training plan and the strategic corporate plan in order to more effectively address the organization's training and business concerns. This means that, to have successful diversity training programs, HRD professionals, first of all, should develop a strategic training plan based on the corporate strategic plan. To accomplish this, HRD professionals will have to be able to communicate the importance of having diversity training linked to the corporate strategic plan as well as other training programs within the organization. Corporate leaders will also have to consider the training unit or HRD department when developing the strategic plan for the organization. In short, corporate leaders and HRD professionals will have to work together to develop coordinated strategies to effectively address diversity.

The diversity experts identified needs assessment and evaluation as essential components that contribute to the effectiveness of diversity training programs. This means that HRD professionals need to understand the role of both processes in the success of diversity training. This also implies that they need to have knowledge and skills to develop and implement the needs assessment and evaluation processes. Specifically, this means that HRD professionals need to know how to plan data collection, identify sources of information, develop data collection instruments, analyze information gathered, and report findings. Most important, though, would be to make use of the information gathered to improve diversity training programs. Corporate leaders must also understand the value of conducting needs assessment and evaluation and therefore allocate resources for conducting these processes.

Diversity is a relatively new topic in the field of HRD; therefore, many HRD professionals will need to acquire the skills and knowledge required to implement a successful diversity training program. According to the diversity experts in this study, some of the skills needed include the ability to understand different cultures, understand other's diversity issues as well as their own, handle conflict and hostility while remaining neutral, respect differences, and utilize an inclusive philosophy. Having these competencies will not only be an advantage for the HRD professionals themselves but also for the organizations that employ them.

Wentling, R. M., & Palma-Rivas, N. (1997). Current status and future trends of diversity initiatives in the workplace: Diversity experts' perspective (Diversity in the Workforce Series, Report No. 2; MDS-1082). Berkeley: National Center for Research in Vocational Education, University of California.