Inclusion Champion Training Programme

Build confident, capable Inclusion Champions across your organisation

The ELIS Advantage Inclusion Champion Training Programme is a structured, practical learning experience designed to build confident and capable Inclusion Champions across organisations.

The programme equips participants with shared language, practical skills and clear role boundaries to support inclusive behaviours and contribute to meaningful culture change.

It focuses on awareness, communication, influence and action, helping organisations move beyond good intentions, individual goodwill and compliance-led approaches towards more thoughtful and sustainable inclusion practices.

Designed for HR, People & Culture, Learning and Development, Organisational Development, inclusion and leadership teams, the programme can be customised and delivered internally.

Choose the option that fits your Organisation:

DIY Inclusion Champion
Training Programme
€795 plus VAT

Purchase the DIY Programme

Move beyond intention towards sustainable inclusion

Many organisations establish Inclusion Champion or DEI Champion networks because they want to create greater awareness, encourage inclusive behaviours and involve employees in culture change.

However, champions can be placed into these roles without enough clarity, preparation or organisational support.

What the programme helps your organisation achieve

Seven features of the Inclusion Champion Training Programme

Focus on systems, not blame

Support learning without unnecessary defensiveness

The programme explores how organisational norms, structures, processes and systems shape people’s experiences of inclusion.

This systemic lens supports participants to move beyond explanations based only on individual behaviour or intention.

Champions are encouraged to consider:

What is happening
Who may be affected
What organisational conditions contribute to the issue
Where responsibility sits
What action is within their role
What may require organisational or leadership attention

This can support more constructive conversations about change, responsibility and impact without relying on blame or shame.

Clear definition of the Inclusion Champion role

The programme clearly defines what Inclusion Champions are — and are not — responsible for.

Champions are supported to act as:

Advocates
Connectors
Conversation starters
Sources of reflection
Contributors to culture change
Supporters of inclusive practice

They are not positioned as:

Compliance enforcers
Investigators
Organisational decision-makers
Counsellors
Mediators for every conflict
Solely responsible for organisational inclusion

Clearer boundaries can reduce role overload and emotional labour while giving champions greater confidence in how they contribute.

Champion networks and shared ownership

Reduce isolation and reliance on individual heroics

The programme positions Inclusion Champions as part of a wider network rather than isolated individuals responsible for driving change alone.

Participants explore:

Peer connection
Shared learning
Reflective practice
Collective problem-solving
Organisational sponsorship
Leadership responsibility
Access to guidance and escalation routes
Sustainable expectations

Inclusion is framed as a shared organisational responsibility, supported by champions but not transferred entirely to them.

The programme frames inclusion through both the human case and the organisational case.

The human case considers:

Dignity
Fairness
Belonging
Respect
Wellbeing
Access
Voice
Opportunity

DIY Programme with ELIS
Advantage Implementation
Consultation €1,495 plus VAT

A practical, ready-to-deliver Inclusion Champion programme

The programme combines training content, clear frameworks, practical activities, structured reflection and implementation support.

Participants explore how they can contribute to inclusion through their everyday interactions, relationships and influence while recognising the boundaries of the Inclusion Champion role.

The learning focuses on practical application rather than relying on awareness or theory alone.

DIY Programme with ELIS Advantage Implementation Consultation

The complete Inclusion Champion Training Programme combined with personalised implementation guidance from the ELIS Advantage team.

The consultation creates dedicated space to consider how the programme and champion network can operate within your organisation’s particular context.

This option is designed for organisations that want the flexibility of a DIY programme alongside specialist guidance, constructive challenge and implementation support.

€1,495 plus VAT

Purchase the Programme and Consultation

Enquire About Partner Licensing]

Choose the Programme and Consultation

This can result in:

Unclear or overloaded Inclusion Champion roles
Champions feeling responsible for fixing organisational inclusion
DEI initiatives that rely on goodwill rather than capability
Champions becoming informal compliance enforcers
Resistance, defensiveness or fatigue around inclusion work
Limited practical guidance for everyday inclusive behaviours
Over-reliance on policy or mandatory training
Champions working in isolation
Increased emotional labour for people from underrepresented groups
Inclusion activity that is disconnected from organisational strategy
Uncertainty about how to respond to exclusion, harm or resistance

The Inclusion Champion Training Programme provides a clear, practical and inclusive framework that helps champions understand their contribution without placing responsibility for organisational change on individuals alone.

The programme supports organisations to:

Build greater confidence and capability among Inclusion Champions
Create clearer role boundaries and realistic expectations
Establish a shared language for discussing diversity, equity and inclusion
Develop practical skills for everyday inclusive communication
Support more consistent inclusive behaviours across teams
Reduce resistance and polarisation around inclusion conversations
Help champions navigate impact and intention constructively
Develop confidence in responding to exclusion or harm
Explore how organisational systems, norms and structures shape inclusion
Connect the human and organisational cases for inclusion
Build stronger Inclusion Champion networks
Reduce champion isolation and burnout
Position inclusion as a shared organisational responsibility
Align champion activity with wider organisational and cultural priorities

Build confidence through application, not theory

Participants develop practical skills that can be applied within everyday workplace interactions.

These include:

Inclusive communication
Active listening
Asking thoughtful questions
Navigating impact and intention
Responding constructively to exclusion
Giving and receiving feedback
Exploring different perspectives
Recognising personal assumptions
Knowing when to act, connect, support or escalate

Skills are developed through structured reflection, dialogue and practical application.

The focus is on learning, experimentation and continued development rather than expecting champions to have every answer.

Practical, skill-based learning

Safe, structured approach to challenging conversations

Enable honest dialogue without pressure to overshare

The programme creates clear learning conditions for discussing inclusion, difference, exclusion and impact.

Participants are supported to engage thoughtfully with complex topics without pressure to disclose personal experiences, represent an entire group or “get it right” immediately.

The programme helps champions consider:

How to remain curious during disagreement
How to listen without becoming defensive
How to separate intention from impact
How to acknowledge harm without escalating blame
How to respond when they do not know what to say
How to recognise the boundaries of their role
When an issue may need to be referred elsewhere

This supports psychological safety while enabling honest and purposeful conversation.

Flexible and white-label ready

Adapt the programme to your organisation

The programme materials are designed for customisation and internal organisational delivery.

Organisations can adapt:

Branding
Language
Examples
Organisational terminology
Participant communications
Delivery format
Session structure
Programme length

This allows the programme to reflect the organisation’s context while maintaining the integrity of the core frameworks and learning outcomes.

Balanced business and human perspective

Connect organisational outcomes with dignity and belonging

This balanced perspective helps champions connect values, people’s experiences and organisational priorities. The organisational case considers:

Engagement
Retention
Performance
Decision-making
Innovation
Reputation
Risk
Organisational effectivenes

Benefits to your organisation

The Inclusion Champion Training Programme can support:

Increased confidence and capability among Inclusion Champions
Clearer champion roles, boundaries and expectations
More consistent inclusive behaviours across teams
Greater confidence in everyday inclusion conversations
Reduced resistance and polarisation
More constructive responses to exclusion or harm
Improved understanding of impact and intention
Stronger links between inclusion activity and organisational systems
Reduced reliance on compliance-led approaches
Greater shared responsibility for inclusion
Stronger Inclusion Champion networks
Reduced champion isolation and emotional overload
Practical tools that support continued culture change
Stronger alignment between inclusion efforts and organisational strategy
Reduced time and cost associated with developing champion training internally

Who is the programme designed for?

The programme is suitable for:

HR and People & Culture teams
Learning and Development teams
Organisational Development professionals
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion teams
Employee experience teams
Leadership and culture development teams
Organisations establishing an Inclusion Champion network
Organisations refreshing an existing champion network
Inclusion and belonging initiatives
Employee resource group leaders
Culture ambassador programmes
Values and behaviours programmes
Leadership development initiatives
Organisations seeking to build internal inclusion capability
Organisations seeking a structured and licensable Inclusion Champion programme
The programme can support organisations across different sectors, locations and levels of DEI maturity.

Choose your Programme Option

The DIY package includes:

✓ The complete Inclusion Champion Training Programme

✓ Customisable facilitator presentation

✓ Facilitator guidance

✓ Participant learning materials

✓ Inclusion Champion role framework

✓ Practical communication and listening tools

✓ Guidance on impact and intention

✓ Activities exploring organisational systems and inclusion

✓ Human and organisational cases for inclusion

✓ Guidance for challenging conversations

✓ Reflection and practical application exercises

✓ Champion network and shared-ownership guidance

✓ Organisational implementation guidance

✓ Editable Microsoft Word and PowerPoint materials

✓ White-label customisation rights

✓ Licence for internal delivery within one purchasing organisation

This package includes everything in the DIY programme, plus:

✓ A pre-consultation implementation questionnaire

✓ A private 90-minute consultation with the ELIS Advantage team

✓ Guidance on defining the purpose of your Inclusion Champion network

✓ Discussion of champion roles and realistic expectations

✓ Support with adapting the training to your organisational context

✓ Consideration of participant recruitment and preparation

✓ Guidance on organisational sponsorship and shared responsibility

✓ Discussion of boundaries, support and escalation routes

✓ Consideration of inclusion, accessibility and emotional labour

✓ Guidance on connecting the champion network to organisational strategy

✓ Identification of possible implementation challenges

✓ Discussion of how the network can remain active and connected

✓ A concise written summary of agreed priorities and next actions

Internal Organisational Licence

Both packages include a licence for the purchasing organisation to customise and deliver the programme internally.

The licence permits use within one purchasing organisation.

It does not include:

Resale of the programme or individual resources
Redistribution outside the purchasing organisation
Sublicensing
External client delivery
Use across unrelated organisations
Use by consultants or facilitators with multiple clients

Consultants, facilitators and delivery partners interested in using the programme with external clients can contact ELIS Advantage to discuss a separate licensing arrangement.

DIY Inclusion Champion Training Programme

€795 plus VAT

The complete programme for organisations with the internal capacity and confidence to customise and deliver Inclusion Champion training independently.

This option is designed for organisations with an internal facilitator, HR professional, Learning and Development specialist or inclusion lead who can customise and deliver the programme.