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Linda Cunningham |
“Stereotypes, biases and demeaning comments can undermine those efforts,” said Linda Cunningham, division director, employee relations, organizational development and diversity, UNMC Department of Human Resources.
Beginning this month, UNMC Human Resources has introduced “Ouch! That Stereotype Hurts” training workshops to help participants explore communication skills for promoting inclusion and respect in the workplace.
Based on the book, “Communicating Respectfully In A Diverse World,” by Leslie Aguilar, the “Ouch!” training is designed to create a dialogue among employees in a respectful manner.
The simple act of naming a bias as such or objecting to it on the spot establishes a social atmosphere that discourages bias.
The workshop is intended to teach effective techniques for speaking up in the face of demeaning comments, as well as help participants understand the impact of stereotypes and biased statements.
“Members of the UNMC diversity and inclusivity committees, as well as the human resources organization, all took part in the training workshop and highly recommend it to all employees, staff and students,” said Aileen Warren, assistant vice chancellor for human resources at UNMC.
Warren added that all UNMC deans and directors have taken part in the workshop this month, and human resources is purchasing the video to have available on the intranet for future viewing.
Employees can attend a forum today to learn the Ouch! techniques. No registration is required to attend the forum. The Ouch! forum will be held today from 3-4 p.m. at the Durham Research Center, Room 1002.
Employees interested in becoming Ouch! trainers can contact Michelle Coe at 402-559-5827 to sign up for one of three train-the-trainer sessions taking place in February.