Most
diversity training programs are a waste of money, says Iris Bohnet. Companies
often conduct programs without ever measuring their impact. And unfortunately,
research on their effectiveness shows they seldom change attitudes, let alone
behavior. The solution? Focus on processes, not people. Behavioral science
tells us that it’s very hard to eliminate our biases, but we can redesign
organizations to circumvent them. Behavioral design makes it easier to do the
unbiased thing by either preventing biased choices or changing people’s
beliefs. Companies can start by collecting data on their current diversity
training. Then they must bring the same rigor to people management that they
apply to financial and marketing decisions. This means defining the desired change,
implementing new programs, collecting hard data, and evaluating the results.
Even simple changes can be effective. For example, hiring managers can use
software that allows them to strip age, gender, socioeconomic background, and
similar information out of résumés so that they focus only on talent. Bias
affects everyone, despite efforts at awareness and the best of intentions. The
good news, says Bohnet, is that behavioral design can break the link between
our gut reactions and our actions, and allow our biased minds to get things
right. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]