News story

Marshall E-Learning's Insiders/Outsiders course challenges mainstream Unconscious Bias training

London, UKLearning NewsMarshall E-Learning

Marshall E-Learning has developed an ‘Insiders and Outsiders’ e-learning course that adopts a radical approach to bias and stereotyping. The new course moves beyond traditional unconscious bias concepts, taking learners into the more nuanced world of micro-inequities and insider/outsider dynamics that feature in many organisations but are rarely analysed or acknowledged.

Insiders and Outsiders – how our micro-behaviours affect the workplace

Utilising ‘branching videos’ with alternative outcomes ‘Insiders and Outsiders’ takes learners on a journey to examine the more subtle behaviours that generate micro-inequities and define insider/outsider dynamics. It looks at how this can have serious consequences for wellbeing, team working, creativity and productivity.

The course guides learners through the foundational aspects of unconscious bias, demonstrating how awareness transforms into action.

Learners also explore the concepts and impacts of positive and negative micro-behaviours using the medium of interactive storytelling, where every decision they make will have a unique outcome on the branching storylines.

The immersive training course follows the story of a team of professionals working together to build a new website.

Watch a video about the course. 

As the characters clash and deadlines loom, learners are asked to select from a range of options and asked how the team leader should respond to correct team members’ (and her own) interactions and biases.

The project's success or failure will depend upon whether the learner effectively integrated these lessons and chooses the correct responses.

The Head of Organisational Development at the University of Hull said:

“In her recent ‘Fight for Fairness’ speech, Liz Truss, Minister for Women and Equalities specifically referenced unconscious bias training. The Minister announced that the Government and Civil Service would not use the training as such interventions were, she suggested, thought to reinforce “stereotypes and exacerbating biases”.

Rather than 'reinforcing stereotypes' this ‘Insiders and Outsiders’ course is thought-provoking, informative and mindful.

The use of interactive drama provides a unique dynamic in which the participant can explore and reflect upon, safely and intuitively, the concepts of micro-inequalities attribution bias and mentoring.

The course is a blend of evidence-based content, participation and reflection and will be a welcome addition to our learning portfolio."

Marshall E-Learning’s Head of Diversity, Ann Allcock said: “Marshall’s ‘Insiders and Outsiders’ course represents an important step-change for the use of e-learning to support inclusion in the workplace.

It allows learners to control the action and explore the outcomes and impact of behaviours that make employees feel welcome and valued, and those that don’t. 

The new module moves away from theoretical learning about unconscious bias to a dynamic and experiential model, delivered through an innovative digital platform". 

To find out more about Marshall E-Learning’s ‘Insiders and Outsiders’ e-learning course, please email [email protected] or call 0845 123 3909.