Over the last few years there have been many times when I have been asked, ‘Do you know anyone who can do some diversity and inclusion training?’. This reflects the fact that it’s now widely acknowledged that we need to do something about it, but there is a blind hope that some training will provide the solution. I have also heard anecdotally that, despite training happening in organisations, nothing much has changed. No problem, says the business, let’s do some work on unconscious bias – that will remedy it…
I wonder if that’s one of the reasons I wanted to review this book. Now, I’m not a DE&I Officer, nor am I hiring one (if I were, this book would be a must-read) and, having said that, I still took an enormous amount from it. It is also worth noting that it’s quite US centred, and whilst so much of what Thompson shares is of value outside the United States, it’s hard to ignore.
Mr Thompson has great credibility in the field, and he’s shared his formulas, tools and learning so that we can all better serve our clients and organisations in terms of DE&I. I hope not to have created any spoilers but here goes:
Data is key, not anecdotal reflections or accounts but actual data and a good look at that data through his lens. I heard that all is not as it seems, and we need to dig about and give context to what we see. The danger is, we get stuck on KPIs and stats and really don’t see the true picture.
Hiring a DE&I role means that the organisation must be able to share information and be willing to challenge how we look at hiring. I was fascinated to read about how and who is shortlisted for roles. In my experience, some roles go out to the public for application some just to recruitment agencies and some just via personal recommendations – but that leaves, in many cases, little room for real diversity in the final shortlist process.
Also, I could not stop thinking about how to engage the company at all levels and when to use the CEO and senior team to help drive things through. But my lasting thought is just how many times in my career we have hired someone who is a ‘good fit’ without really being aware just how exclusive that group might be.
If you are in DE&I certainly worth a read. If you are stumped about how to get it moving in your organisation also worth a read.
