5 rules for how learning & development can reduce bias

Difference inspires business
5 RULES FOR HOW
LEARNING &
DEVELOPMENT CAN
REDUCE BIAS

2
As members of Learning
and Development
teams, you have a
critical role to play
within organisations...
because you can influence how different
groups of people work together.

3
There are some
straightforward actions
we can take to reduce
both conscious and
unconscious bias.
However, we need first to
recognise that we are biased.

4
Practical guidance
for reducing bias
RULE 1:
RULE 2:
RULE 3:
RULE 4:
RULE 5:
Get motivated
Get people to focus on accuracy
Give people rules that support them - don’t
make them defensive
Potential is not fixed or permanent
Engage with your Employee Resource Groups

5
RULE 1: Get motivated -
it’s not all about ability
We must be bothered enough to do something about
the situation. It’s a question of our motivation, not just
our ability to change.
Increasing people’s motivation to change is not easily
done, but there are measures organisations can
implement to enable change.
One way of increasing motivation is to make people
aware of discrepancies between their own stated
values and their behaviour.

6
RULE 1: ...
For example, in one study, some participants were told
that they had shown an anti-gay bias when shortlisting
CVs. Others were not given this feedback.
Those accused of bias experienced tension between
their supposed action (anti-gay bias) and their
personal values (treating people fairly). They were
subsequently more likely than the control group to
read an essay on how to reduce bias.

7
RULE 1: ...
The same effect has been achieved
by asking people firstly to establish
the goal of being egalitarian and then
thinking of a time when they did not
behave in an egalitarian way.

8
RULE 1: ...
When we become aware that we are not achieving or
behaving in line with a goal, we pause. This is called
the Behavioural Inhibition System and it helps us to:
Focus on what is happening around us
Identify what is causing the discrepancy
Take action to correct it

9
RULE 1: ...
We do not like to think of ourselves as hypocrites…
…so the tension generated in these situations encourages us to
focus on the goal of being fair.
This makes people more willing to focus on their commitment
and to consider the factors which may be obstructing its
achievement.
When people receive negative feedback – for example, about
their responses to photos of black people – they respond with
greater care and attention in the future.

10
RULE 2: Get people to
focus on accuracy, and
make them accountable
The goals we set affect how we make decisions about people.
People involved in recruitment often focus on speed of outcome.
The focus in talent development is often on promoting team
members.
By altering the goal, we can change the process and potentially
the outcome.

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RULE 2: ...
The reduced reliance on stereotypes is significant and
leads to:
A reduction in self-fulfilling prophecies
A greater preparedness to attribute results to
someone’s skills rather than to say, luck.
A greater willingness to consider evidence that is
counter-stereotypical

12
RULE 3: Give people rules
that support them - don’t
make them defensive
The idea that the white, male majority needs to be made more
aware of its privileges is widely canvassed today.
These privileges are both unearned and undeserved, thereby
undermining the principle of merit which supposedly governs
organisational decision making.

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RULE 3: ...
Although it might be tempting to run workshops
designed to bring this message home to members of
the majority group, the evidence suggests that this
approach(showing "white privilege" is more likely to
provoke modern racism by creating a backlash effect.
Participants naturally see this approach as an attack on
their identity and are prompted to defend themselves.
In fact, events which focus on majority privilege are
more likely to lead to people agreeing with statements
like ‘discrimination against black people is no longer a
problem’.

14
RULE 3: ...
People make better decisions when they are given
clear, simple messages about how the process should
be run.
Discussion of bias needs to be incorporated in the
briefing phase of the process.
This guidance and support needs to be tailored for
each specific purpose because bias operates in
different ways for selection interviews than it does for,
say, performance reviews.

15
RULE 3: ...
A key aspect of the message is that we are all biased
– you and whilst we are at it, me.
Feedback mechanisms need to be introduced to enable
people to reflect on and learn from their experiences.
Making people feel defensive, or even making them
feel bad about themselves, can be counterproductive
and lead to more, rather than less, bias.

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RULE 4: Don’t treat
potential as something that
is fixed and permanent
This rule is designed to address perceptions and beliefs that
minorities have about themselves and their performance.
These factors clearly apply to talent identification and
management processes.
The feeling of scrutiny may also be greater if individuals feel they
are applying for roles not typically performed by minorities.

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RULE 4: ...
People feel more threatened by stereotypes associated
with their groups under certain conditions:
If the task the person is engaged in is important to
them.
If people are being assessed in some way, and so
they are under heightened scrutiny.
If the person is made aware of their minority status.

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RULE 4: ...
The threat can be reduced by making it clear that:
Everyone has potential
Everyone has strengths as well as development needs
Everyone will receive constructive feedback designed to
help build on their strengths and improve their
development areas
These messages, given to everyone, help to reduce the
additional threat that some people may be experiencing,
while avoiding putting them under a spotlight and
increasing the level of scrutiny even further.

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RULE 5: Engage with your
Employee Resource Groups;
don’t keep them isolated
ERGs are voluntary, employee-led groups that foster a diverse,
inclusive workplace. There are mixed opinions about them.
On the one hand, they provide support to organisations'
out-groups. On the other, they can increase the sense of
separation between groups.
ERGs are neither the solution nor the problem, but a symptom.

20
RULE 5: ...
The problem is that the out-groups are excluded from
an organisation's informal networks, and so seek out
people who are like them.
ERGs seem to inhabit a world of their own.
They are autonomous, self-contained entities with little
impact beyond the group itself.

21
RULE 5: ...
L&D departments have stayed separate from ERGs up
until now. Perhaps now is the time for L&D to play
more of a role in how these groups evolve and
develop.
Participation in ERGs allows individuals to grow their
capabilities, and critically their confidence: both crucial
for personal development.
If L&D departments recognise and enable the capacity
of ERGs for upskilling individuals, as well as the
collective support they offer out-groups, they could be
a powerful influence in your organisation.

22
RULE 5: ...
We must all rise to the challenge of understanding the
way we react to other people.
The work of racial equality is a head-spinning,
heart-spanning conversation to which everyone is
invited – and in which everyone can find their true
selves.

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To read more about modern racism, how it manifests in the
workplace and how we can all play a part in addressing it,
visit: pearnkandola.com/racism-at-work/
And to find out more about the book: Racism at Work: The
Danger of Indifference,
visit: pearnkandola.com/book/racism-at-work/

5 rules for how learning & development can reduce bias

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5 rules for how learning & development can reduce bias