More than 25 years ago, after serving as a partner in a management law firm and a trial attorney for the EEOC, Stephen M. Paskoff, Esq. had a brainstorm: why were so many companies spending valuable resources – including time, money, and reputations – defending themselves in court or settling high-profile cases when they could have avoided these problems in the first place with a few preventative behavioral steps? In 1986 he left his legal practice and founded Employment Learning Innovations, Inc. – ELI, Inc.® – a training company that pioneered a systematic and comprehensive approach to helping organizations change workplace behaviors, build civil, inclusive, and productive cultures, and prevent problems from occurring or escalating.
Since the company’s founding, ELI has certified over 8,000 instructors in its learning methodology, and more than a two million people in countries around the world have been through ELI training. ELI’s behaviorally based, interactive approach equips individuals with practical tools for applying the organization’s policies and values to their daily on-the-job conduct and business practices. Rather than focusing on complex legal theories or lectures, ELI’s programs – whether delivered via classroom instruction, e-learning, or interactive webcast – emphasize the connection between workplace conduct and the organization’s ability to achieve its business mission.
Twenty-five years ago, workplace problems were mostly thought of in legal or risk management terms. Today, companies are turning to ELI because we offer them a way to put their values and policies into practice. Compliance is an important element, but it is no longer the only element. Building a respectful, diverse, and ethical culture is a business necessity, and ELI is helping organizations meet that challenge head-on.