Blog

ELI’s learning solutions help clients obtain their best results in line with their mission and values. Since 1986, public and private employers have used ELI programs to realize their commitment to building enduring Civil Treatment® Workplaces staffed by diverse, respectful and engaged team members. Together, they do their best work connected by a commitment to their organization’s objectives, guiding principles and standards.

On October 2, 2020, ELI provided a response to the September 22, 2020 Executive Order and the subsequent OMB memo on diversity and inclusion. The focus of that memo was to demonstrate why ELI programs do NOT violate the Order or memo.

As a complement to that memo, we also want to take the opportunity to explain further what we do and how we approach working with our clients to ensure they have productive and inclusive workplaces.

We at ELI want to reaffirm that our company’s purpose is to help organizations address factors that hinder their ability to fulfill their mission and values and create a work environment that enhances that ability. We focus on showing organizations how to bring their people together, united by a common purpose and standards of behavior so that teams and individuals can work together to deliver results aligned with organizational mission and corresponding objectives.

ELI’s Approach to Creating Productive Workplaces

1. We believe that workplace behavior has a key impact on workplace performance and ultimately how organizations, teams and individuals deliver results aligned with organizational mission and corresponding objectives.

2. It is the responsibility of all employees at all levels to help create an environment where everyone can and does contribute to their fullest and deliver the best results in terms of the organization’s mission and goals. We call this work environment a Civil Treatment® (CT) Workplace.

3. For nearly 34 years, ELI’s learning has focused on driving behavioral change in line with organizational standards. We do not now and never have focused on changing attitudes. These are our behavioral principles first embodied in our Prescriptive Rules® that are followed by many government agencies we have worked with¹:

1. Guard Words and Actions—By practicing this principle, every employee helps to create a workplace where there are no jokes, comments, or remarks that demean or stereotype people based on race, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion, age, or disability.
2. Investigate and document—This principle describes the commitment of the organization to look into all concerns that are brought forward.
3. Get help—It is unreasonable to expect any supervisor or manager to know how to handle the wide range of issues that could be considered unwelcoming, unfair, or discriminatory behaviors. The organization must establish mechanisms that make it easy for anyone to seek help.
4. Be Consistent and Professional—This principle speaks to the need to establish standards of behavior for the workplace that are consistently adhered to by all employees.
5. Welcome concerns—Leaders must create an environment where every employee feels comfortable raising concerns without fear of negative consequences.

4. In a CT Workplace, individuals selected and employed based on their qualifications, skills and talents do their best work individually and in teams. How they are treated, given opportunities and involved in daily routine interactions adheres to applicable law and policies as well as organizational values such as fairness, respect and teamwork. ELI’s approach to diversity and inclusion helps organizations generate their best individual and collaborative results.

5. To create a CT Workplace, organizations must:

1. Be committed to the long-term goals and the process of achieving those goals.
2. Proactively and regularly share and demonstrate their commitment to their core values and to the goal of developing a CT workplace.
3. Make sure that workplace behavior issues are handled with the same urgency and efficiency as safety, operational, market, client and other issues. This includes having mechanisms in place to prevent, find out about [detect] and correct problems before they become serious in terms of legal, operational, safety, PR or other perspectives.
4. Make sure that employees can freely speak up about ideas, suggestions and concerns without worrying about retaliation or other negative consequences.

6. In a CT Workplace, organizations are committed to finding the best talent without regard to race, sex, sexual orientation, religion, national origin, age or disability. Finding and engaging these individuals requires a commitment to searching for and employing a diverse and inclusive workforce.

7. ELI is a learning company. Lessons are learned when they are communicated, understood and applied. We’ve developed a methodology that is interactive, engaging and intended to

1. Matter to participants
2. Help to minimize risk (organizational and personal) and maximize workplace engagement
3. Correct problems quickly when they appear

ELI’s focus has always been on bringing people together, not dividing them. We believe that our clients’ mission, vision and values enable them to unify teams comprised of people from all sorts of environments and backgrounds. Our clients want to enable individuals to be employed and treated based on their qualifications, skills and performance. This helps our clients get their best results and build enduring CT workplaces.

¹ These rules are slightly differently but completely consistent with ELI’s newer statements about “Civil Treatment Foundations.”