- Harvard professor looks at how one midsize consulting firm assessed its internal culture after observing a high turnover of diverse hires
- Even when committed to diversity and inclusion, companies can inadvertently fall back on White male employees for important clients and tasks
- Developing a developmental culture instead of an assessment one
Summary by Dirk Langeveld
Companies attempting to hire a more diverse workforce may inadvertently sabotage the opportunities available to these hires by falling back on trusted White male workers for significant tasks, according to recent research.
Robin Ely, a business administration professor at Harvard Business School, scrutinized one midsize consulting firm and how they assessed their internal culture following the high employee turnover rate. The findings included:
- The firm’s White male partners tended to turn to other White male employees as their most trusted employees to handle important clients, assigning women and minority hires to simpler tasks
- These decisions resulted in diverse hires leaving to pursue opportunities elsewhere or taking longer to advance their careers when staying at the same company
- Ely also determined that the problem may be exacerbated if a company has an “assessment’ culture, which assumes that talent is fixed rather than developed
- She recommends that companies focus on developing potential in all employees through equal opportunities, training, support
- This approach has other advantages as well, including more honest feedback and a better ability to track and adjust the company’s development
