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The Unintended Outcomes of Unconscious Bias
Coaching that works.
Use a Checklist
In his book, The Checklist Manifesto, Atul Gawande tells the
story of the first ever B-17 flight. In 1935, the B-17 was the
most complex and powerful aircraft in existence. In its maiden voyage,
the pilot forgot a crucial component resulting in an
accident that killed several crew members. After that
incident, the U.S. Army implemented one small thing:
a checklist. Since then, pilots have flown the B-17 1.8
million miles without a single accident.
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Use a checklist (like this
one by Google) to make sure your performance reviews match your
unbiased intentions.
Reducing Bias Leads to Greater Success
We're all biased. By taking steps to eliminate bias in the workplace
you can encourage fair evaluations and ensure that your results
driven by data, not biases.
Identifying bias isn't enough. You have to take action. Standardize
employee evaluation forms to focus on facts that can be
measured. Provide in-depth training for your managers focusing
on performance reviews. Implement frequent one-on-ones. Maybe
even eliminate the yearly evaluation all together.
Whatever you do, make sure your changes are systematic so that
everyone is using performance reviews to drive further success, not
allowing their biases to leave performance evaluations languishing
in unproductivity.
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Atul Gawande, "The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right," 2010.
