Our Workshops Promote Connection & Inclusion
- Want To Think About Things In A Different Way?
- Want Training That's Engaging, Meaningful, & Impactful?
- Want To Do Something Creative & Inspirational?
WHAT WE DO
Inclusion Training
Companies are requiring professional development. How can that be done in a more humane way? Participatory and hands-on training courses, like our workshops, open minds and hearts. In our engaging, meaningful, and impactful workshops, you’ll learn strategies and techniques for better understanding Diversity, Inclusion, Equity, & Justice plus having deeper and more productive conversations and collaborations.
Team Building
Companies are requiring a return to the office. How can that be done in a more humane way? Accessible and inclusive team building activities, like our workshops, enable everyone to feel more comfortable participating. In our engaging, meaningful, and impactful workshops, you’ll learn strategies and techniques for better understanding your colleagues plus working with them at a deeper and more productive level.
CE Credits, CPD Hours, & PDCs
You can earn Continuing Education (CE) and Professional Development (PD) by completing our online workshop.
Smith Assembly is recognized by • American Association of Veterinary State Boards (AAVSB) RACE® to provide 2.5 Hours of Continuing Education (CE) Credit in jurisdictions that recognize RACE approval; • Engineering Institute of Canada (EIC) to provide 0.25 Continuing Education Units (CEU) or 2.5 Professional Development Hours (PDH); • Human Resources Professionals Association (HRPA) to offer 2.5 Category A Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Hours; • Law Society of British Columbia (LSBC) to provide 2.5 Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Credits in Ethics & Professional Responsibility; and • Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) to offer 2.5 Professional Development Credits (PDCs) for SHRM-CP® or SHRM-SCP®.
Our Live-Facilitated Workshops
For Groups
We offer the following five types of live-facilitated workshops for groups of 2-100+. During these experiences, whether they're online or in-person, a Smith Assembler guides you and your team in real-time.
Smith Assembly's inclusion training and team building workshops are co-created with two innovators from Oaxaca Mexico to have a diverse and intercultural lens. They aren’t just engaging and meaningful, they’re also impactful. Learn how to think about JEDI in a new way, have more productive collaborations, and add several strategies + techniques to your toolbox. Past participants have told us our workshops are so creative and inspiring that their friends and family enjoyed hearing about it!
Collectively, the Smith Assemblers who co-created these workshops identify with a variety of demographics and characteristics. These include, Female, Male, Latinx, Person Of Color, Indigenous, White, Heterosexual, LGBTQIA2S+, Neurotypical, Neurodivergent, Younger, Older, Religious, Atheist, Able-Bodied, Living With Invisible Disability, Citizen, and Immigrant.
Contact us for a brochure, to chat about your unique needs and goals, or to schedule and purchase.
JEDI Reflection | |
|---|---|
| Type | Inclusion Training |
| Description | Create Common Language Through Global Case Studies |
| Co-Created With |  N/A |
| Activity |  Hands-On Icebreaker + Overview Of JEDI, Selected Global Case Study, & Guided Discussions + Workplace Integration |
| Duration |  1 - 2 Hours |
| Focus |  Guided Discussions |
| Price |  $$ |
JEDI Reflection | |
|---|---|
| Type | Inclusion Training |
| Description | Create Common Language Through Innovators’ Stories |
| Co-Created With | Estrella Soto* & Enoc Ramírez* |
| Activity | Hands-On Icebreaker + Overview Of JEDI, Stories from Global Innovators, & Guided Discussions + Workplace Integration |
| Duration | 1 - 2 Hours |
| Focus | Guided Discussions |
| Price | $$ |
Fantastic Creatures | |
|---|---|
| Type | Team Building |
| Description | Create A Creature Inspired By Oaxacan Alebrijes |
| Co-Created With | Estrella Soto* |
| Activity | Icebreaker + Beginner Level Arts-and-Crafts |
| Duration | 1 - 2.5 Hours |
| Focus | Creativity |
| Price | $$ |
Grandpa’s Toys | |
|---|---|
| Type | Team Building |
| Description | Build Two Toys Created By A Oaxacan Family |
| Co-Created With | Enoc Ramírez* |
| Activity | Icebreaker + Intermediate Level Arts-and-Crafts |
| Duration | 1 - 2.5 Hours |
| Focus | Stories |
| Price | $$ |
Hands-On Activity + JEDI Reflection | |
|---|---|
| Type | Your Choice |
| Description | Mix-and-Match To Craft Your Ideal Workshop |
| Co-Created With | Your Choice |
| Activity | Icebreaker + 1 Arts-and-Crafts + Choice Of 1 JEDI Reflection + Workplace Integration |
| Duration | 2.5 - 4.5 Hours |
| Focus | Your Choice + Guided Discussions |
| Price | $$$ |
* The Mexican state of Oaxaca is home to 18 different indigenous peoples (pre-Hispanic tribes). Enoc, his family, and his community are of Zapotec descent. Estrella identifies as Oaxacan. Through their work with the nonprofit organization OAXIN, these two innovative leaders collaborate closely with a number of indigenous communities. These include an Ikoot community in San Mateo del Mar, a Mixe community in Jaltepec de Candayoc, a Triqui community in Yosoyuxi Copala, and a Zapotec community in Santiago Suchilquitongo.
Our Virtually-Facilitated Workshop
For Individuals & Groups
Are you looking for an online course you can do on your own schedule and at your own pace?
We offer a self-directed version of the 'Hands On Activity + JEDI Reflection' workshop described above.
Inclusion Training Workshop (OAX) was co-created with two innovators from Oaxaca Mexico to have a diverse and intercultural lens. It isn't just engaging and meaningful, it's also impactful. Learn how to think about JEDI in a new way, have more productive collaborations, and add several strategies + techniques to your toolbox. Our online workshop also qualifies as Continuing Professional Development (CPD) credit for five organizations. Past participants have told us it's so creative and inspiring that their friends and family enjoyed hearing about it!
Earn 2.5 CE Credits, CPD Hours, & PDCs for AAVSB, EIC, HRPA, LSBC, or SHRM.
$195 Per Participant
Visit our thinkific site for details — workshop benefits, supplies needed for the Hands-On Activity, topics covered during the JEDI Reflection, screenshots, and a sneak peek of the videos — or to buy.
LEARN MORE, PURCHASE, & STARTCLIENT TESTIMONIALS (DRAG TO VIEW)
PHOTO GALLERY
We offer two workshops for diversity and inclusion training (JEDI Reflection Case Studies & JEDI Reflection Global Innovators’ Stories), two for team building (Fantastic Creatures Hands-On Activity & Grandpa’s Toys Hands-On Activity), and a combo of both (Hands-On Activity + JEDI Reflection). All of our online courses are ideal for individuals with remote and hybrid working arrangements. Courses can also be scheduled onsite for in-person groups working at the office.
WHAT'S JEDI
JEDI Is Justice, Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion
Inclusion training goes by many terms and/or abbreviations — D&I (Diversity and Inclusion), DEI (Diversity Equity Inclusion), EDI (Equity Diversity Inclusion), DEIB (Diversity Equity Inclusion Belonging), JEDI (Justice Equity Diversity Inclusion), and DEIJ (Diversity Equity Inclusion Justice) tend to be the most common.
The term JEDI felt right to us. We believe it’s important to simultaneously talk about equity and justice (not focus solely on diversity and inclusion). No term is perfect. JEDI, for example, is associated with a well-known cultural brand. They've had numerous challenges in all four topic areas (especially when some of the most hardcore members of their fan base are involved). Some people see that association and history as a disqualifier. However, we see concrete examples as a great resource when sharing information and supporting initial conversations about sensitive topics like JEDI. It's often easier to look at how diverse, inclusive, equitable, and just other organizations are (rather than your own employees, management, or business).
WHAT YOU LEARN
Overview Of JEDI Reflection & Workplace Integration
Our inclusion training workshops include a participatory reflection on JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion) and recommendations for integrating it into your workplace. We start with a hands-on icebreaker or activity to help you relax and open your mind and heart. Next we acknowledge the sometimes overwhelming complexity of JEDI, demystify it by defining each term, and ask you to choose a story to explore in greater detail. Then, we facilitate a reflection. During that reflection, we explain why this type of learning is important and share several strategies for integrating these concepts into your organization. To wrap up the workshop, we provide you with a list of take-away resources. JEDI initiatives like these reduce absenteeism and turnover while also increasing productivity and profitability.
Topics include intersectionality, unconscious bias, why diversity and inclusion are beneficial to your business, and how to integrate equity and justice into your workplace. You'll learn strategies and techniques such as navigating discomfort, having more productive conversations, becoming a better ally, and cultivating a culture of accountability.
HOW WE DO IT
Improve The Health Of Your Workplace Culture
We Nurture Your Openness
Changing attitudes and behaviors requires (at least temporary) freedom from judgement. Our facilitators establish a neutral environment so that you'll feel comfortable being exposed to new concepts, experimenting with different tools/techniques, and asking questions. You’ll see how we all sometimes make mistakes, then learn the best ways to acknowledge and overcome them. We also incorporate somatic activities, such as hands-on icebreakers and energizers, to further open your mind and heart to new ideas and viewpoints.
We Expand Your Perspective
Demystifying others has been shown to increase feelings of connection, inclusion, and belonging. Our diverse staff and global lens give you an opportunity to casually observe and practice a variety of intercultural communication, collaboration, and problem-solving techniques. During our workshops, you'll also be introduced to a global innovator or case study. You'll hear stories about how they’re overcoming bias and discrimination to develop innovative and sustainable strategies for their communities.
We Strengthen Your Connections
Connection — relationships with others and an internal sense of connectedness to others — is a fundamental human need. Creating small connections between employees and managers through common interests and shared experiences overcomes unconscious biases related to gender, age, race, and status differences. When present, connection helps people better understand one another and leads to more inclusive workplaces. Employees and leaders who feel very included are nearly three times as likely to feel excited by and committed to their company.
WHY WE START WITH CONNECTION
Connection is key to effective inclusion training and team building.
Healthy connections, like people, need consistent care and feeding to thrive. Connections are the lifeblood of successful cultures and businesses. We start with connection because it fosters inclusion, and inclusion empowers diverse thinking and produces more innovative solutions.
When’s the last time you and your colleagues gathered together for something other than work?
Strong connections and trust among employees, management, and leadership are integral to an organization's health, happiness, performance, and success. A regular cadence of accessible and impactful learnings and activities can foster feelings of connection, inclusion, engagement, and inspiration within your workplace.
CONNECTION THROUGH TEAM BUILDINGWE'D LOVE TO CO-CREATE WITH YOU
Revolutionize Employee Engagement In Your Workplace
Smith Assembly will help you disrupt the status quo and cultivate a healthier workforce and culture. The value of our approach is in celebrating diversity and centering connection and inclusion. We show you how to evolve your communication and collaboration skills and your design and development practices to be more participatory and co-creative. Inclusive workplaces promote engagement, which markedly benefits productivity, retention, and financial performance. By learning how to fish so to speak, you can continue to drive success + impact long after our workshop ends.
