Exploring Unconscious Bias: Fostering the Most Inclusive Workplace Possible at Bullhorn
At Bullhorn, we want every employee to have a sense of belonging, a voice that is heard, and a clear path for success.
An important pillar of this vision is a commitment by the executive team to create the most diverse and inclusive culture possible at Bullhorn. This commitment is important to our executives, important to Bullhorn culture, and important to our business—not because we are responding to a crisis or checking a box, but because we recognize without it, we lose out on diverse perspectives, retention of talent, and potential for innovation.
Starting the conversation about unconscious bias
We had a lot of options for how to begin a conversation about unconscious bias ranging from a short computer-based eLearning to bringing an entire team of consultants on-site to deliver an incredible learning experience live. We chose to start with the Boston office with the selection of IBIS (Interactive Business Inclusion Solutions) as the vendor to deliver this training because of their unique approach: interactive theatre, where professional actors play out a scene for the audience, then stay in character to answer questions about their intent and awareness of how behaviors impacted other people.
IBIS consultants, with help from Bullhorn’s HR and TA teams, created customized content with specific examples of conversations that have actually happened at Bullhorn. The facilitators expertly guided participants through a discussion with the goals to:
- Gain a deeper understanding of Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) and Unconscious Bias (UB)
- Communicate the business case for focusing on D&I at Bullhorn
- Increase awareness of each individual’s own role as a leader and champion of diversity
- Identify intervention opportunities to mitigate biases
- Gather a set of practical tools for identifying, interrupting, and addressing unconscious bias
The program wove together lecture, group discussion, interactive theatre, and small group action planning discussing how we could do things differently on both an individual and organizational level. The result was a learning experience focused not on feeling badly for what has happened in the past, but learning how to be better humans in the future, and doing it together as a team.
The sessions were extremely well-received by Bullhorn’s Boston employees. Participants raved about how engaging the sessions were, and how tailored they felt for our culture. Employees appreciated Bullhorn investing in live sessions and making a strong statement that we are committed to starting a dialogue around diversity and inclusion and our own biases.
We received over 40 suggestions from Bullhorn employees on how to continue to do this work together as a company, and are currently exploring a plan of action to put as many of those suggestions into place as we can.
We all need to feel a sense of belonging and inclusion at work every day. Bullhorn is committed to our employee vision, and we took a big step closer to it last week. We’re excited to continue forward toward our goal.
Want to join the team at Bullhorn? Visit our careers page to learn how you can Run with the Bulls.
