It's difficult to spot one's own unconscious bias. Despite our best efforts, prejudice and discrimination continue to shape our attitudes and actions. Of course, it's up to us to keep them in check. Hiring, retaining, and training employees is a huge responsibility, but it can also be a great honor. Investing the time and energy to recognize the inherent value in every person has the power to revolutionize businesses, households, neighborhoods, and entire communities. Now the question is, how do we face this accountability? With diligence, attention, some neuroscientific knowledge, and a focused effort.

I'm interested in this subject because it explains why we shouldn't always trust our "gut feelings" when making important business and personnel decisions. Still, many people refuse to admit they were ever mistaken, prejudiced, or misguided. A key takeaway is that we are rarely to blame. You can be incredibly biased despite having the kindest heart. Therefore, as we investigate biases, there is no need to provoke feelings of defensiveness, regret, or anger in ourselves or others. Instead, a shift in perspective can be highly beneficial and fascinating.

In this light, let's examine the situation. If you dig deeper, you can find ways to enhance your company. Our group's expanded vision will improve efficiency, morale, and teamwork. Hard work can reduce bias and boost an organization's bottom line.

Unconscious bias refers to prejudices that you might not realize you have.

We must first arrive at a shared definition of what is meant here. This is a common discussion point among HR managers. But we can't assume consensus among the audience. Naturally, everyone has their own unique experiences based on factors such as gender, race, age, religion, and so on. Then, the manifestations of unconscious bias can be profoundly affected by factors such as business sector, organizational structure, and geographical location.

Unconscious bias occurs when a person who does not know you makes assumptions about your character, intelligence, or capabilities based on your appearance, speech, or behavior. This person acts in this way without being conscious of doing so.

Historically, it has been challenging to define, teach, and change bias because of its inherent nature. It calls for a careful balancing act of probing inquiry, reflective thought, and a willingness to let go of preconceived notions about ourselves and the world around us. Anti-discrimination training is always needed so that we can put our beliefs and values into practice.

Public outcries over racist incidents in the workplace and mounting evidence of the cost of employees' feeling excluded have prompted more companies to provide training and education on recognizing and addressing unconscious bias. As a result, the importance of diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplaces is rising.

Unconscious bias is nothing new, but a growing awareness of the problem calls for action. It has my support.

Training to reduce one's own unconscious biases

Woods Kovalova Group's Unconscious Bias training addresses how we have been conditioned to act when we counter people we perceive to be different from us. Personal experiences and messages from parents, the media, and society, both overt and subtle, have trained our brains to fear, suspect, and judge those who are different from us. In addition, our preconceptions about how others should speak and behave may have led us to dismiss or misinterpret the words and actions of others. This bias may show up in the workplace when we don't try to hire, train, or promote people who are different from us.

UB training aims to increase awareness of the mental shortcuts that lead to snap judgments about people's talents or character, often based on race and gender. Its purpose is to reduce discrimination in the workplace, from personnel decisions to interactions with clients and coworkers.

Getting Your Start at UB Won't Do It

From what we can tell from the scientific literature, training alone is insufficient. Yes, it's a start, and we applaud anyone trying to learn more about such a crucial issue. But merely conducting studies and imparting knowledge is not enough to complete the task.

Further, organizations must take a more comprehensive approach to diversity and inclusion. Everyone in your organization, from managers to frontline workers, needs the tools to identify and combat unconscious bias. Even so, that isn't sufficient either. Also, ensure your procedures for selecting and developing talent are impartial. Two things are needed to accomplish this goal: behavioral inclusion and structural inclusion.

Being able to include people based on their behavior is a fascinating topic in and of itself. It originates in neuroscience and attempts to make us aware of our biases and blind spots so that we can alter our perspectives and behavior accordingly.

Can you tell me more about your company's progress beyond just training?

Keep Analyzing Your Actions

We should keep asking questions, be friendly to our allies, and learn about the parts of our brain signaling when we encounter bias. Unfortunately, our unexamined behavior stands in the way of achieving true equality, so we must examine ourselves.

We experience stress hormones when confronted with the unknown, how fight or flight can occur in the background, and why the human brain is central to this discussion.

Conscious Discrimination and Financial Success

Consistent evidence links unconscious bias to financial outcomes. Let's break it into manageable pieces. Job postings, recruitment, and employee development

A failure to engage or produce. It's also important to remember the adverse effects of negative publicity, legal action, and low morale. So let's examine the bright side of things. Why does this work? Happy workers mean better teamwork, more output from workers, and better public relations. I could go on and on.

Aside from concerns about equity and openness, businesses have real benefits when actively promoting diversity. For example, if appropriately led, diverse teams can outperform more homogeneous ones in areas such as fact checking, maintaining objectivity under pressure, and information processing and solution generation. In addition, if promotions are handled openly and fairly, workers will be happier and more engaged. Employees fervent about their job and company are more likely to take pride in their work, experience a greater sense of belonging, and remain with the business. Thus, an inclusive work environment can reduce turnover, saving companies money that would have been spent on retraining new employees.

Constantly adjust your perspective.

I'm sorry to tell you this, but "unconscious bias" is more than just a buzzword. So, as you move forward, consider these suggestions.

Train yourself to accept the unforeseen. It's important to reflect on how you treat those who are different from you physically and those who are the same.

Relax and give some thought to the possibility that your worldview might be wrong. Then, put yourself through the wringer and get the answers you deserve.

Check out these five nontraditional methods for boosting diversity in the workplace during the hiring process.

Commit to radically enhancing your company by conducting an introspective self-examination and assisting others in doing the same. In this case, yes, it would be the moral thing to do. On the other hand, it makes good financial sense. Think about how bias affects your daily life, workplace, and organization. Regarding prejudice and ignorance, what steps can you take today to retrain your brain? If you put in the time, you will be rewarded.

Image courtesy of Redd @reddalec

About Jim Woods:

Jim has a passion for accelerating talent across organizations. While this passion has fueled his work in leadership assessment and development, it has crystallized in the area of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. 

Jim's experience spans many industries, including public, finance, consumer, retail, pharma, industrials, and technology. “Organizational & people agility,' “design thinking,' and 'digital transformation' are some critical themes Jim works with clients on across the globe.