As we at Switchboard, the National LGBTQIA+ Support Line, continue to celebrate our 50th birthday this year, we’re excited to introduce a new series of training sessions designed to help your team create a more inclusive and collaborative workplace. Drawing on five decades of experience supporting the LGBTQIA+ community across the UK, these sessions will equip your colleagues with the skills to foster support, address bias, and lead diverse teams with confidence.
The sessions include:
Active Listening & Supporting Colleagues
Learn the power of active listening and how it can enhance your role as a colleague, ally, and friend. This session equips participants with practical strategies for offering meaningful support in the workplace through active listening.
Challenging Bias & Handling Difficult Conversations
Gain a deeper understanding of workplace bias and allyship. This session will help you and your team address biases, foster inclusion, and handle sensitive conversations with greater confidence.
Inclusive Leadership & Managing Diverse Teams
Explore what it means to lead a diverse team effectively. You’ll learn how to support colleagues with varying needs and perspectives, and harness their strengths for better outcomes.
We offer two formats to fit your needs:
- One-hour Lunch & Learn sessions for broader audiences
- Half-day workshops for senior leaders seeking deeper engagement
We’ve also launched a new talk, in addition to our flagship talks, “LGBTQIA+ History & The Switchboard Story” and “Pride & the LGBTQIA+ Community Today” entitled, “Why Come Out?: Supporting the LGBTQIA+ Experience”, which explores the coming out process and how to provide thoughtful support. This is a fantastic talk to book around National Coming Out Day, which takes place on the 11th of October and keeps LGBTQIA+ inclusion on your team’s mind all year long.
We’d love to discuss how these sessions can benefit your team. Attached is our brochure for more detailed information on all of our talks and training offerings.
If you have any questions or would like to discuss which option might be the best fit for your team, just fill out an interest form or email bob.hughes@switchboard.lgbt