Unconscious Bias Training for Companies Is More Important Than Ever

Between pandemics and protests, we’ve reached a seminal moment in American business. And now, complacency isn’t an option when it comes to even seemingly subtle or unintentional discrimination.

Successful businesses will adapt to the changes happening all around us and the companies that don’t will struggle. While the law offers protection against outright sexism, ageism, and racism, what has become increasingly evident during the protests happening throughout the country is that unconscious bias has been … is … and will continue to be an issue for people. So how do you build awareness of and handle unconscious bias at your company?

Bias is literally part of human nature

No matter how much we might not want to admit it, unconscious biases influence most of our decisions. Science tells us this is because our brains can consciously process 40 pieces of information per second—while we unconsciously process 11 million pieces. Therefore, for us to function with all the stimuli bombarding us, we create mental shortcuts that make decision-making easier. These are our biases.

Some examples of unconscious biases we may have:

• You prefer to shop at smaller, local mom-and-pop-style companies because of the personal service you receive at the grocery store in your neighborhood
• You’re not wild about working with Baby Boomers because that last one you worked with was clueless about technology
• You’re a Michigan grad and you love trading good-natured barbs with the new intern from Ohio State

Obviously having an unconscious bias for or against Buckeyes, Boomers or big stores doesn’t necessarily change the world. However, biases can lead to bigger issues, including racism, sexism, and ageism which can lead to discrimination against entire categories of people. Now you’re talking about potential problems with employees.

The thing is … biases often begin with just one experience — whether it is positive or negative. And without training and education, it can lead to much bigger problems within your company like I just mentioned.

If our brains create bias, how do we fight it?

Most of the time, we use that faster part of our brains that process millions of pieces of information to make decisions. It’s this fast, instinctive mind that is in control — handling everything from switching lanes while we’re driving to work, to making food choices at a packed lunch counter at the deli that day.

So, can you de-bias yourself? No. But you can train yourself and your employees to identify and make allowances for personal biases. Educating people builds in safeguards to make decision-making more objective, make workers more aware, and helps ensure the treatment of individuals is consistent and fair.

1. Teach employees what unconscious biases are. The first step of limiting the impact unconscious biases have on your organization is making sure everyone is aware that they exist and that everyone has them. Most importantly, having them doesn’t make you a “bad” person, but it’s also not a handy excuse for poor behavior. Awareness training is key.

2. Identify which biases are most likely to affect you. Take tests—like Harvard’s Implicit Association Test—to figure out which of your individual perceptions are most likely to be governed by unconscious biases. Once you know your biases, it’s easier to address them.

3. Figure out where biases are most likely to affect your organization. Biases can often affect who gets hired, who gets promoted, who gets raises and who gets what kind of work, among other things. By knowing where bias is most likely to creep in, you can take steps to ensure that biases are considered when important decisions are made in those areas. 

4. Actively promote diversity in leadership. To put it bluntly, if the people doing the hiring and promoting all look the same, unconscious bias is likely determining who gets hired and promoted. Making diversity a priority (with specific goals) throughout your organization’s leadership is a huge step in overcoming biases.

5. Encourage employees to speak up about biases they encounter. Create a culture from the top down that is psychologically safe and encourages open dialogue about biases (and enables people to speak up without being labeled or treated as a troublemaker). The issue isn’t that there are biases, the issue comes from how people handle them.

6. Hold employees accountable.  As we’ve heard from the protests, actions speak louder than words. Don’t just say you want diversity, inclusion, and freedom from bias, use your eyes, ears, and data to back it up. Also, accountability doesn’t mean being punitive.

For example, say a manager has hired 10 employees and eight of them are women under the age of 27, it should at the very least call for an inquiry into whether there might be a pro-female and age bias in the manager’s process. It might be a total coincidence, but it is worth checking. If the data reveals bias, someone should intervene with more training and discussion.

Training and education are the keys to overcoming bias

Everyone has biases, and being aware of them doesn’t change them. Whether your reasons for addressing unconscious bias and creating a more diverse and inclusive workplace are altruistic, legal, or because you know the proven financial benefits of diversity, it’s past time to train and educate your workforce on overcoming any biases they have.   

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