Building Diverse Teams: How Good Intentions Get in the Way
Most companies I've worked with have good intentions and would never overtly discriminate or exclude certain people. They pride themselves on employee experience and have collegial cultures where employees are kind to one another and even grab a drink together on a Friday afternoon. But some of these same companies still find it challenging to attract a diverse candidate pool when hiring, lack diversity in leadership, and see very talented people leave the company.
Unfortunately, good intentions are not good enough. Engrained processes, practices, and behaviors that, on the surface, are benign can get in the way of helping diverse teams thrive. One of the most challenging parts of creating a diverse and inclusive culture is identifying and removing systemic bias. These are the practices you perform routinely without realizing they perpetuate bias.
One example of this is the practice of using referral bonuses for recruiting. Referral bonuses are the common practice of giving rewards to employees for referring potential candidates. I use this example because, on the surface, it feels completely benign. Referrals from employees typically result in higher recruiting success rates and even have been linked to higher performance and retention rates.
But the impact on diversity goals can be detrimental. Most people have networks of people with similar backgrounds. For example, a developer on your team may refer a friend he grew up with or someone he met at college. The result is that referral bonuses perpetuate the diversity of your existing employee base. If you have goals to increase your team's diversity, it may be time to reconsider the use of referral bonuses or at least ensure you're relying on a mix of recruiting sources to fill your candidate pool.
This practice is relatively easy to spot, but some are more subtle and require deeper analysis:
What behaviors or attributes are most celebrated in your organization?
Which roles are on the "track" to leadership?
How are promotion decisions made?
Who has access to leadership?
Who is getting assigned the best projects?
Who attends informal gatherings?
Good intentions and "nice" cultures can mask things going on under the surface that undermine diversity goals. The effort to dive into culture and practices is hard work, but it's the only way companies can realize the long-term business benefits of diversity.
