35◼STRATEGIES BloombergBusinessweek August 10, 2020
Look not only at outcomemetrics(howmanyBlack
peopleareintheC-suite)butalsoatprocessmet-
rics(performancereviewratings).Thosecanhelp
identify why outcomesareuneven.Communicate
these goals to staff witha transparent,long-term
vision about why meetingthemis vital.Tieit back
to the company’s missionandvaluessoemployees
feel they have a stake intheoutcome.
As with any reform,theremayberesistance.
“People don’t volunteer tochange,”saysAbigailMary
Dunne, a senior facultymemberattheCenterfor
Creative Leadership in Greensboro,N.C.Winskep-
tics over by talking aboutwhatyourcompanyis miss-
ing out on by failing tobemorediverse,shesays.
And though you can maketherobustbusinesscase
for diversity, she adds, makethemoralcase,too.
The next step is to holdemployeesatalllevels
accountable for meetinggoals.That’snodifferent
from any other vital businessinitiative,saysKira
Hudson Banks, a consultantandpsychologypro-
fessor at Saint Louis University.Beupfrontabout
progress, even when it’sunevenorstalled.“Tobe
accountable doesn’t meantobeperfect,”Bankssays.
Meeting diversity goalswilltakemuchmore
than training sessionsontopicssuchasimplicit
bias. “Training can be helpfulandstarta conversa-
tion, but only if it’s part ofa largerstrategy,”saysElla
Washington, a professoratGeorgetownUniversity’s
McDonough School of Businessanda leadership
coach. Relying too heavilyonanti-biastrainingcan
give the inaccurate impressionthatracismis anindi-
vidual, not a structural, problem.Similarly,mentor-
ing programs and employeeresourcegroups,while
popular, are unlikely tocreatelasting,systemic
change in the absence ofstrongorganizationalgoals.
Banks adds, “We can’t niceourwayoutofracism.”
Any serious initiativerequiresleaderstoanalyze
their internal processes—formalones,suchashir-
ing and promotion, and informalwaysdecisionsare
madeandworkgetsdone.
Withhiring,recruitfroma broaderapplicantpool
andworkwithexecutivesearchcompaniesthatspe-
cialize in diversity. Makesureyourcandidatepools
have multiple female andnon-Whitecandidates.
Research by Stefanie Johnson,authorofInclusify:
The Power of UniquenessandBelongingtoBuild
Innovative Teams and a professorattheLeedsSchool
of Business at the UniversityofColoradoatBoulder,
has shown that when halfa candidatepoolis non-
White or female, the hiringcommitteehasa 50-50
chance of choosing oneofthoseapplicants.When
only one person in the finalistpoolis non-Whiteor
female, that person is neverchosen.Youmightalso
anonymize the applicationprocess,removingnames
and other race- or gender-identifying details from
résumés; this effectively boosts underrepresented
candidates’success,Johnson’sresearchhasfound.
Williamssuggestsmovingtomorestructured
processes for job interviews and performance
reviews. Having standard questions and criteria can
reduce disparities. One experiment using a struc-
tured review process led to Black men and White
and Black women getting higher bonuses. In a differ-
ent study, an insurance company that added objec-
tive criteria to the interview process offered jobs to
46% more minority candidates than it had under the
old, subjective approach.
When setting salary ranges, Dunne suggests that
human resources managers base their recommen-
dations on fair market rates. Managers should share
that research with employees during the compensa-
tion conversation so hires can see how management
arrived at its numbers. Don’t base salaries on what
people made in previous jobs; a recent study shows
this perpetuates inequities, which is one reason
14 states have made it illegal to ask job candidates
about it. The research, led by Boston University
economist James Bessen, found that in those states,
Black employees saw a 13% pay increase after the
ban went into effect. Women saw an 8% uptick.
Making progress on pay and promotions is only
part of the challenge. “Representation is not equity,”
Banks says. Diversity might be a numbers game, but
equity and inclusion stem from company culture—
the informal systems that are harder to measure and
change. Employee engagement surveys, company
culture assessments, or focus groups can help busi-
nesses track if they’re creating an inclusive work-
place, Georgetown’s Washington says.
Middle managers have an outsize impact on
company culture. They shape how engaged direct
reports feel and how well they perform, Dunne says;
too often, “you have talent that is completely and
utterly buried by inept managers.” She says “race-
laced” interactions—such as underestimating a Black
employee’s qualifications—make those workers want
to shut down instead of investing more in their work.
To see how they’re doing on inclusion, middle
managers can create dashboards, Johnson says.
Make a spreadsheet to keep tabs on who gets what
assignment, making sure you’re handing out the
plum ones (and the scut work) fairly and spending
one-on-one time with everyone on your team. This
makes annual performance reviews easier to write,
because you have clear records of what people did.
On the other end of the influence spectrum is
the chief diversity officer, who too often lacks the
authority to make any real changes, says Tulshyan,
the Seattle-based consultant. Too many CDOs
report to the general counsel’s office (focusing onRelying too
heavily on
anti-bias
training can
give the
inaccurate
impression
that racism
is an
individual,
not a
structural,
problem