Unconscious bias training has been part of many employers’ diversity and inclusion toolkit for years, but criticism from both sides of the political spectrum has many questioning its impact. How can employers ensure that unconscious bias training sessions continue to be effective, proportionate and relevant for both their workforce and business needs?
1. Plan unconscious bias training workshops carefully
It is important to ensure that participants understand what unconscious bias training is before attending, by providing factual, unbiased reading material and resources.
Resources for employers
Line manager briefing: Unconscious bias
Some participants will inevitably be sceptical, unsure or uninformed, so explain in advance what unconscious bias is, why the training is taking place, and where it fits into your organisation’s diversity and inclusion strategy.
Employers should also consider delivering unconscious bias training to groups of people who work closely together. This encourages teams, or people who perform the same or similar roles, to share issues and solve problems together.
Creating safe spaces and time for employees to reflect both before, during and after training can make a big difference to the effectiveness of unconscious bias training.
2. Communicate how training fits into your wider strategy
Unconscious bias training should be designed to complement, or refine, a much broader employment, diversity and inclusion strategy.
Diversity and inclusion survey
Research finds that more than three-quarters of respondents seek to raise awareness of unconscious bias. However, only half offer unconscious bias training to all employees, while only one in seven operates follow-on activities to their training to ensure that the learnings are acted on and embedded.
To achieve the benefits that the training offers, your organisation’s approach to inclusion and equality should be represented in your values, purpose, vision, culture, performance management, reward, and organisational processes.
This means that employers need to share their and diversity and inclusion strategy with their staff and explain where unconscious bias training fits into that strategy.
Employers should tell their staff if they are using different unconscious bias training solutions for different populations, and de-biasing your processes, communications, systems, etc. Explain why you have taken the approaches that your organisation has, and what you hope to gain as a result.
3. Take a holistic approach during your workshops
Employers can structure their unconscious bias training sessions to explore:
- the impact of unconscious bias in the major aspects of life (for example work, education, relationships and social interaction) from different perspectives, including the most commonly under-represented communities;
- the different types of unconscious bias (for example confirmation bias and affinity bias), and how they can impact individual and collective decision-making;
- how biases can be influenced by circumstances such as peer pressure, hierarchy, workplace culture, incomplete information, assumptions, stereotypes and time pressure;
- the use of language, explaining how it can be chosen, interpreted, or empathised with differently based on perspective;
- practical examples of how bias influences our decision-making in the moment;
- bias-reduction strategies, and alternative ways that individuals can counter-balance bias;
- the cultural and organisational challenges in de-biasing processes, including how to review a document for biased language;
- the importance of implementing structured, consistent interviews and assessment tools in their day-to-day people processes;
- how individuals and teams can develop a “bias baseline”, and to track their individual collective progress;
- the sources of bias, including the impact of workplace culture, friends and family, and digital media; and
- how to identify and consider views and opinions that challenge the status quo when making decisions that impact others.
4. Follow up unconscious bias training with action
Employers should follow up unconscious bias training workshops with a debrief session, to embed awareness and increase education of unconscious bias, and to measure any changes in bias.
Employees can be encouraged to explore and discuss their thoughts and to come to terms with what they have discovered from their unconscious bias training. In particular, encourage them to think about how they can apply their new knowledge to the benefit of their colleagues and customers.
In addition, employers can build diversity- and inclusion-related objectives into performance plans so that their staff know that meeting others’ needs, regardless of difference, is important.
From organisational design principles to employee and customer experience, employers should consider the needs of under-represented groups in the various stages of designing and approving new products, processes and services, and make their needs a priority.
Training for line managers on unconscious bias
“All individuals, including you in your role as a line manager, make unconscious choices that discriminate in favour of, or against, certain characteristics in a person or a group. As a result of these unconscious biases, processes such as recruitment, promotion, work allocation, performance reviews and redundancies are not conducted in a fair or consistent manner.
By acknowledging and addressing the unconscious biases that you, or others, have, you are helping to create an organisation that attracts, retains and nurtures the right skills irrespective of any differences, visible or invisible…
…As part of your commitment to creating and cultivating a workplace that embraces equality, diversity and inclusion, it is important that you take steps to address any negative biases that limit opportunities or creativity, and that can lead to discrimination.”
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Extract from Line manager briefing on unconscious bias.
