Canadian HR Reporter

CANADIAN HR REPORTER November 28, 2016 INSIGHT 23 'Equity' fatal trap for human resources Is unconscious bias training 'an Orwellian nightmare, unsubstantiated by science'? In late September, I posted three videos on YouTube. ey were the culmination of a growing sense of frustration I experi- enced, both personal and professional, about the expanding dominion of a rigid and resentment-driven ideol- ogy of power, masquerading under the guise of compassion, threatening both the University of Toronto and society beyond academia. e fi rst video criticized legisla- tion that added the categories of "gender identity" and "gender expression" to the list of group- membership features protected under Canadian law (including the Criminal Code, and defi ned as hate speech). e second criticized the uni- versity's HR and equity depart- ment's decision to make "anti-rac- ism and anti-bias" training man- datory. e third criticized the ideological presumptions associ- ated with political correctness, and off ered tips for resistance. The videos produced a fire- storm of response in the media and on campus, and the univer- sity warned me I was violating university policy and the tenets of the Ontario Human Rights Act. Most of the attention focused on the fi rst video, where I stated my refusal to accede to the re- quirement embedded in recent legislation that "preferred pro- nouns" be used on-demand to ad- dress people who requested them. I objected on the grounds of free speech and my strong antipathy to made-up "non-binary" pronouns I regard as the words of politically correct authoritarians. But it is the issues addressed in the second video that are of cen- tral importance to HR. Several years ago, the HR de- partment at the University of To- ronto added "and equity" to their nomenclature. A small change, but words have power and the de- cision was a major step to the later decision to make political training mandatory for staff — an incur- sion into private life that organiza- tions engage in at everyone's peril. After I made the videos, I was given a copy of the "anti-racism and anti-bias" training mate- rial. ere were two elements of particular concern. One was the defi nition of "equity" — a slippery term. ere are many values upon which our society is based, such as freedom of religion, association, and speech. We also hold equality of op- portunity in high esteem. is is because the individual and so- ciety alike are best served when each person's unique talents can be expressed in a manner that is of benefi t to self and others simultaneously. When a person seeks, for ex- ample, employment, it is not use- ful (and can be downright harm- ful) for her potential employer to forfeit the benefi t of her skills be- cause she is black, white, short or Catholic because those attributes bear no relationship to her com- petence. Equality of opportunity is a vitally important principle. But "equity," defi ned as it was in the training material, is an entirely diff erent thing — and dangerous beyond easy comprehension. "Equity" was defi ned as "equal- ity of outcome." Here's the theory: Every strata of every organiza- tion should be staff ed by people, defi ned by their group identity, in precise proportion to the rep- resentation of that group in the general populations. Since wom- en make up 51 per cent of the gen- eral population, then every strata must contain 51 per cent women — or the organization is corrupt and discriminatory and must be reconstructed. Imagine for a minute what this means. First, the group-identity structure of the general popula- tion would have to be accurately and fi nally assessed. We would have to know, for example, the proportion of each racial or eth- nic group. But how many of those are there? Are there Asians, blacks and whites? Do we divide whites (Caucasians) into Northern Eu- ropeans, Southern Europeans and people from the Middle East? Do we divide the Middle-Easterners? And what about religion and nationality? Or what about dis- ability? And how do we count people with multiple identities: Is a gay person (because we also have to take sex, gender identity and gender expression into ac- count) who is female and Catholic gay, female or Catholic? And are we also supposed to swallow the idea it is only corrup- tion and prejudice that make a giv- en organization diff er in makeup from the general population? Fe- male nurses outnumber males by about 20 to one. Male engineers outnumber females by the same margin. But the data from Scandi- navian countries — where eff orts to make the environment similar for males and females have been pushed very far over the last four decades — indicate these diff er- ences emerge primarily because men and women have diff erent intrinsic interests. These are biologically predi- cated, and appear associated with degree of prenatal testosterone exposure (among other things). Do we want to forbid our daugh- ters to become psychologists (an- other woman-dominated career) and require them to lay bricks or install drywall — occupations that are 99.9 per cent male? HR is seriously overstepping its boundaries. Trained in a manner that is all-too-often both politi- cally correct and historically ill- informed, those who serve in such organizations are increasingly fol- lowing the dictates of ideologies that had catastrophic eff ects when instantiated socially. And the equity issue is only one of multiple dangers. HR is also racing down the road of "uncon- scious bias training" — a pseudo- educational enterprise based on the misunderstanding of a sci- ence that is still in its infancy. e so-called racism, for example, re- vealed by research lab procedures such as the Implicit Association Tests (IAT), is very diffi cult to distinguish from familiarity bias or in-group preference. If you took the IAT, it would re- veal people implicitly favour their family and friends. Should that be eradicated? Besides, there is no evidence unconscious bias train- ing programs actually reduce such bias, and some evidence indicates the problem is actually worsened. So, a word or two of warning to HR from a research psychologist who has made the study of to- talitarian ideology his life's work: Don't go there. Equity is an idea of almost unparalleled danger. Un- conscious bias training is an Or- wellian nightmare, unsubstantiat- ed by science. Expanding your job to include the radical transforma- tion of society and the individual is hubristic beyond compare, and it is pride that goes before a fall. Go back to hiring people ac- cording to their competence — and nothing else. Everything else is a nightmare you do not un- derstand, and would not want to experience. Jordan Peterson is a clinical psycholo- gist and tenured professor at the Uni- versity of Toronto. He can be reached at jordan.peterson@utoronto.ca. How can we be market-competitive? Enhancing internal competitiveness while also maintaining internal equity Question: Recently, we lost some good em- ployees to competitors, and we are having diffi culty fi nding qualifi ed candidates to replace them. e salary expectations of the candidates are higher than what we are paying current employees. How can we be market-competitive with compen- sation while still maintaining internal equity? Answer: is is a challenge for many organizations when trying to control payroll costs while also trying to keep up with market rates year-over-year — but there are ways to rectify the situation. First, it is important to do some analysis to understand the full scope of the issue. Ensure your organization has updated job descriptions and job evaluations, and get current market data to ad- just the salary ranges (pay bands/ grades). en, do a gap analysis to identify the amount and per- centage salary increase required to bring employees up to the midpoint. One-time market adjustments One of the quickest ways to get an organization back to being mar- ket-competitive is to implement a one-time market adjustment to salaries to bring all employ- ees up to the salary midpoint, as per the gap analysis. Be aware of other issues this may create, such as rewarding poor performers or demoralizing those who do not receive a market adjustment, es- pecially those with long service. To mitigate these issues, con- sider providing it as a fl at-rate, companywide increase, and ex- clude poor performers or newer employees. Alternatively, the market adjustment could coin- cide with the annual merit in- crease cycle so employees fl agged for the adjustment would see one larger increase encompassing the market adjustment and merit increase. Other options could include limiting the market adjustments to certain groups of employees, such as core business positions, hard-to-fi ll positions, certain re- gions or business units, "at risk" employees or top talent. Other compensation tools Consider off ering other compen- sation in addition to annual sal- ary. Target-based incentive plans can help to motivate and engage employees and will help to attract strong candidates who may feel more in control of their earning potential when incentives are of- fered. Also, the organization does not pay the incentive if the targets are not achieved. e employer can also increase its contributions to employees' re- tirement plans, provide (greater) education assistance, pay for gym memberships in whole or in part, increase employee discounts, and implement third-party partner discounts. However, if these alternatives are not highly valued by the em- ployees, then they will not achieve their desired eff ect. Implementing a hiring range Depending on how large the wage gap is, the company may want to implement a hiring range for new employees. is would start at the minimum of the pay band (grade) and have a suffi cient range to al- low for some negotiation with candidates without exceeding the salary of existing employees with at least one year of service. e hiring range will provide existing employees with reassurance new hires are not being paid more than them, and show candidates that loyalty and strong performance are properly rewarded. Rewards, recognition programs Having an assortment of rewards and recognition programs can help to increase the company's market competitiveness without having to increase salary costs. The rewards can be financial (such as gift cards or small bo- nuses), or non-fi nancial (such as premium workspace or fi rst pick for upcoming projects). With recognition awards, such as service anniversary awards, employee-of-the-month awards, and thank-you cards, employees can see their eff orts are being rec- ognized and appreciated, and are more likely to stay, as well as be more motivated to achieve posi- tive results. Enhancing the value proposition Consider enhancing the value proposition by increasing the employee benefits offering, or providing additional vacation time or other paid time off . Free parking, public transit discounts, free or discounted on-site food service, on-site gyms, and work- from-home options can also help entice employees and candidates (however, be mindful of the po- tential tax consequences). Whiche ver metho d you choose, it is vital to communicate any changes to employees and get their feedback. e more em- ployees understand how their pay is determined, the more content they are with their pay. Employ- ees who see how their work is re- warded tend to be more engaged and more productive. Finally, recognize that employ- ees may leave anyway. More than likely, pay is not the only reason good employees are leaving, so a company should make the eff ort to determine what other reasons are causing employee turnover. Janet Russell is an HR practitioner and compensation expert based in Toron- to. She can be reached at j_russell7@ yahoo.ca. Question: Recently, we lost some good em- ployees to competitors, and we are having diffi culty fi nding qualifi ed candidates to replace them. e salary expectations of the candidates are higher than what we are paying current employees. How can we be market-competitive with compen- sation while still maintaining internal Janet Russell TOUgHeST HR QUeSTiON In late September, I posted three videos on YouTube. ey were the culmination of a growing sense of frustration I experi- enced, both personal and professional, about the expanding dominion of a rigid and resentment-driven ideol- ogy of power, masquerading under the guise of compassion, threatening Jordan Peterson GUeST COMMeNTaRY

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