The world has shifted. First COVID-19, then the current racial justice movement converged, rocking people to their core. Long overdue change is happening at lightspeed.

The silver lining of all the heavy and heartache that started the change is that the demand for unconscious bias training for employees is being driven from the employees themselves. Your team is ready to learn and to be a part of creating diversity, inclusion and equity at your company.

And you have to move fast. You’ve been asked to find online unconscious bias training for employees, NOW. Time is of the essence and you still need to make a good choice that actually drives behavior change.

What to look for? Virtual unconscious bias training needs to be on-demand, available on the go, 24/7, and accessible by mobile devices. The format needs to be in bite-sized and actionable.

Why?

Your employees are IMPATIENT.

  • Our average attention span is 8 seconds — shorter than a goldfish!
  • The maximum time spent watching any given training video is 4 minutes.

Your employees are OVERWHELMED.

  • Between COVID-19 and the racial justice movement employees are experiencing ongoing isolation and trauma
  • 75% believe stress is affecting their productivity and health.

Your employees are DISTRACTED.

  • People check their inbox an average of 30-40x per hour. That means every two to two and a half minutes people are hitting up their inbox.
  • And it’s not just limited to checking email or Slack… People switch between devices an average of 21x per hour. So, they’re toggling between their computer, phones (do I have a new text? Has someone liked my Insta story?) and other devices about every three minutes.

Employees are UNTETHERED.

  • 85% of U.S. adults own a smartphone and they’re using them at work
  • 2 out of 3 tech employees surveyed said they would switch companies if they were allowed to work from home
  • 3 of 5 employees across industries said they’d prefer to work remotely as much as they can once it’s safe to return to the workplace.

So, you’ve got to get it right. If you invest in old-school training, asking your team to sit through 20-30-minute chunks of content at a time, they just won’t stay engaged. If they have to be sitting at a desktop computer plugging through the training, they’ll be checked out and checking their other devices.

Heck, do you blame them? Remember, they are impatient, overwhelmed, distracted and untethered. Choose training that meets them where they are.

Online unconscious bias training for employees should be real world, real time and fed by the issues and opportunities that your employees face every day at work. When you’re selecting a virtual unconscious bias training program, look for a format that:

Is BITE-SIZED

  • Make sure content is broken up into 1-3 minutes chunks of actionable content.
  • Each piece of content should only cover one idea. Make sure the training isn’t trying to cram too much into each segment.

Is available ON DEMAND

  • Workplace unconscious bias training should be accessible anytime so it’s easy to fit into a crowded schedule.
  • Make sure your employee’s will have access to the training for at least a year. You want them to be able to go back and access sections of content right when they need it.

Is designed for ON-THE-GO LEARNING

  • If the training isn’t mobile friendly, don’t bother. Make sure it’s accessible from any device, 24/7.
  • Is ‘pushed’ to your employees instead of them having to login. Look for Inbox delivery so they can simply click to start training.

One final consideration. Be wary of companies touting their virtual unconscious bias training for employees that have had to ‘pivot’ from in-person to online. Unfortunately, a lot of training that was designed for in-person has been quickly (and in a lot of cases poorly) revamped for online.

It’s just not that simple. Well designed and effective online training was designed from the start to be just that- delivered virtually. Ask the companies you’re considering for your unconscious bias training whether their programs were designed for in-person or online.

You’ve got this! Your employees are asking to be a part of the change and understand unconscious bias. With these guidelines in mind, go confidently forth and choose a great program for your team. Good luck!