Assessing Organizational Bias
After the recent tragic events in Minneapolis and Louisville, several customers have asked us whether we can measure organizational racial bias. Their reasons for asking are of two types – “I want to know so that if there is a problem, I can do something about it” and “I have no idea even how to ask the question.” The first reason is commendable, the second is understandable and shared by many who are equally perplexed about how to measure it. We have responded as follows:
First, since bias lives in an “underground” context, asking about it directly is not the best way to measure it since the answers obtained are likely themselves biased. In addition, such questioning trigger employee questions to which you will have no immediate answers. However, bias of any type (racial, gender, age, etc.) is, in fact, measurable as long as the technique to measure it is, itself, not biased. As described in our prior note, THE THORNEY PROBLEM OF MEASURING SENTIMENT, some psychological variables can be easily overwhelmed by how questions are asked. This likely makes the measurements obtained inaccurate because they reflect the biases in the data collection tool and not in the true sentiment. Therefore, incorrectly measuring racial bias could be more damaging to the organization than the bias itself if the bias red flag was raised when in fact it didn’t exist, or not raised when it did.
How then do you measure racial bias? When we apply our technology to workplace culture, all existing biases are exposed because they are surfaced as impediments to individual and workgroup performance based on “unfairness” or “inequality.” Such impediments often appear under the employee-generated heading of “HOW I AM TREATED AT WORK” or “HOW OTHERS TREAT ME AT WORK.” Since these feelings and perceptions and their definitions are created only by employee respondents in a safe and anonymous environment and not by the researcher, external bias is removed. A rigid protocol for how this material is further handled in the data collection process ensures that internal bias is also absent.
If you can measure the presence of racial bias, can you also measure its severity and impact on the organization’s performance? Yes, our approach can assess not only the presence and extent of racial bias but also its impact on the organization’s performance. With our proprietary data collection and analysis technology, the extent (perception by what percentage) and impact (degree to which the organization’s performance is degraded) are both deliverable measurements together with the necessary diagnostics for improvement.
If you can measure racial bias, can you help us eliminate it and improve performance at the same time? Yes, we have the follow-up programs and staff needed to construct and implement a program to satisfy both objectives.
Let us know if you would like to know more about how we would suggest measuring racial bias, correcting it and improving your performance.
Tim Gohmann Co-founder and Chief Science Officer 805.405.5420 | tim@behavioralsciencelab.com Behavioral Science Lab, LLC 500 West Second Street, 19th Floor, Austin, Texas 78701 www.behavioralsciencelab.com