![]() ![]() Performance results should be reviewed at the overall organization level, but also at the functional level such as within finance and sales. Low performance ratings for a specific group over time could reveal bias not just in reviews about also access to opportunities to outperform. For example, if one group is receiving a higher share of low ratings than their overall representation, or another group is receiving a higher share of high ratings than their overall representation indicates they should, this could be a sign of bias in the process. Here, you’re looking for equal distribution of high and low ratings across all groups. A process I refer to as subjective objectivity because the assignation of a score often fools us into believing that it’s based on fact not opinion. PerformanceĦ3% of corporations still use an annual performance review process, and most assign a letter or a number to each employee. Attrition is a lagging indicator, meaning you don’t know you have a problem until after the fact, but it can be a red flag – a warning sign that systemic bias exists. These sources can help organizations benchmark and establish whether attrition is an area of opportunity to address. In the UK, it’s the Office for National Statistics. The U.S department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics provides attrition rates by industry for the US. This should include not only collecting hard data, and comparing it against your own and national averages, but also conducting exit interviews with all departing employees to figure out why they’re leaving and whether bias or not feeling included had anything to do with it. Or if it differs between the different underrepresented groups. You’ll also want to track voluntary attrition to see if it’s as common among majority group employees as it is among underrepresented group employees. law defines as “employment practices that appear neutral but have a discriminatory effect on a protected group.” On the involuntary front, this includes testing for “adverse impact,” which U.S. So, you’ll want to track whether or not you are disproportionately losing or letting go of people from underrepresented groups. There are two subsets to attrition: voluntary and involuntary. Here’s a deeper dive into the data you’ll want to consider in each category. In the United States, that is, race, gender, ethnicity, and where appropriate other dimensions of diversity such as sexual orientation and veteran status. Note that within each metric, I’d expect companies to track various employee cohorts: differentiated as allowed by law, region, and culture. You might notice that the first letters spell “apple pie” minus the “e.” That’s so it’s easy to remember and, since “pi” is a number, to enforce the quantitative nature of this exercise. In my three decades of experience as an executive in the energy industry and now as an independent board director and advisor in tech and human capital management, I’ve found seven metrics - spanning the entire employee life cycle - to be most useful for assessing progress towards a true meritocracy. But how can any organization ensure that’s actually happening in practice? Employing the right metrics to benchmark and track are key to achieving a merit-based culture. Most leaders agree in theory that people should be given opportunities for development and promotion based on merit.
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