{"id":38436,"date":"2022-10-04T10:12:53","date_gmt":"2022-10-04T08:12:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.targettraining.eu\/?p=38436"},"modified":"2022-12-06T12:40:53","modified_gmt":"2022-12-06T11:40:53","slug":"unconscious-bias-in-the-workplace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.targettraining.eu\/de\/unconscious-bias-in-the-workplace\/","title":{"rendered":"How do we start talking about unconscious bias in the workplace?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cWe know what unconscious bias is, and why it\u2019s important. But we don\u2019t know how to start having a conversation about unconscious bias in the workplace in our organisation\u201d. This was a statement from leaders from a multi-national pharma company headquartered in Europe. Any organisation which is trying to build diversity and manage <\/strong>unconscious bias<\/a> will start with this, or a similar statement. We worked with the group to break their words down into 3 sub questions and this post shares how we worked with our client to answer these questions.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Should we start with training?<\/h2>\n

Training seems an obvious place to start. But if you can\u2019t make it mandatory (and<\/strong> ensure that 100% of your employees attend), the people who attend training will be self-selecting. We see this time and again on our training courses, when we hear the common comment \u201cPerson X should really attend this training\u201d. Person X is usually a senior manager or a \u2018problem\u2019 colleague who probably really needs the training, except that no one seems willing to tell them!<\/p>\n

Running training courses is also not practical for many industries. For example, about 50% of the employees of our pharma client work in labs. Small teams with a constant workflow will find it difficult to leave their workstations to attend training.<\/p>\n

We are not saying that training is not part of the solution, just not the<\/em> solution. In the next section you will see some ideas on how to work with people on this topic outside the training room.<\/p>\n

How can we support attitude changes?<\/h2>\n

A workplace is a collection of people with different backgrounds, experiences and views. Everyone is entitled to their views but at the same time we have a right to ensure that the people who work with us work to our goals and values. \u2018Inclusion nudges\u2019 are a very effective way of achieving this. An inclusion nudge is defined as \u201ca relatively soft and non-intrusive mental push that mitigates implicit bias and helps the brain make more objective decisions\u201d[1]<\/a>. Here are 3 types of nudges with examples:<\/p>\n

Feel the need<\/h4>\n

In one organisation we work with, 24.5% of employees are women. What percentage of executives in the company do you think are women? The answer is 7.1%. What do you think about the gap between the two figures? This is an inclusion nudge based on data that aims to help people \u2018feel the need\u2019 for change by creating a kind of \u2018ah-ha\u2019 moment.<\/p>\n

Process<\/h4>\n

A Process Nudge means changing a system or organisational process in order to eliminate bias by default. Changing the way you conduct meetings or screen candidates are examples of this kind of nudge. We know companies who use a Gender Decoder [http:\/\/gender-decoder.katmatfield.com<\/a>] to ensure the language in job ads is not biased to male candidates.<\/p>\n

Framing<\/h4>\n

The way we frame things can also nudge our brains to think differently about bias. Consider the question \u201cShould we hire more women and ethnic minorities?\u201d reframed as \u201cAre we getting our fair share of the talent that is out there?\u201d Which question would steer you to take action?<\/p>\n

Inclusion nudges are a simple and cost-effective way to start working on attitudes and behaviours and they can be launched anywhere and anytime; on a poster in the office corridor, on the intranet, in a conversation in the canteen over lunch. In the next section you will read more advice on how to get these kinds of conversations going.<\/p>\n

For more ideas on how to create nudges to reveal bias, see the post 9 Questions to Uncover Unconscious Bias:<\/em><\/p>\n

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9 Questions to Uncover Unconscious Bias<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n