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In the July/August edition of the Harvard Business Review, Frank Dobbin, Professor of Sociology at Harvard University, and Alexandra Kalev, an associate professor of sociology at Tel Aviv University looked at Why Diversity Programs Fail and what works better.

Epic fail

Many of today’s organizations are working to reduce bias and increase diversity in the workplace. The problem, however, is that they’re using outdated strategies that are contributing to the opposite effect. The article concluded that some of the traditional methods used to alleviate bias have failed miserably because they focus on controlling behavior. In fact, there are several studies that support the claim that efforts such as diversity training, hiring tests, performance ratings, and grievance procedures tend to aggravate bias rather than reduce it. Tell a person what they can or cannot do and inevitably they will do the opposite.

The unexpected win

Tactics that don’t focus on controlling behavior seem to deliver greater results. When managers engage in solving the problem, when they’re exposed to people from different groups, and when they are held socially accountable, is when we begin to see the bias fading away. The irony is, none of these tactics were originally intended to impact diversity and bias. By natural interaction and involvement, through teamwork, working towards a common goal and simple accountability to their peers, the positive results were substantially higher than those of the traditional methods.

ELI’s Civil Treatment program is on the mark

The article was especially interesting because its findings were in direct line with the theories and principles on which ELI has built its Civil Treatment program. You can’t simply outlaw bias. Just establishing a rule and threatening punishment will only exacerbate the problem. The issue must also be addressed from a cultural point of view to have any positive and lasting effect.
“Learning needs to be an ongoing experience. A single class not backed by leadership support, commitment and reinforcement will fail. It won’t change comfortable ways of interacting, and it won’t address inherent conceptual resistance. The only way to successfully accomplish that is to incorporate lessons into daily conduct and make them as routine as closing a sale, turning on equipment, or processing monthly reports,” said Steve Paskoff, President and CEO of ELI.
The effects of behavior in the workplace are far-reaching, whether negative or positive and will ultimately impact your bottom line. From financial and legal risks to health insurance and turnover costs, your culture is a contributor to your company’s overall success—and more specifically, your bottom line.