Over the past year or so, you probably sat down with your team and had honest conversations about your diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and fair hiring practices. You’ve encouraged discussion and introduced ways to further your DEI efforts. However, despite the progress made over the past 50 years or so, society still collectively struggles to accept the basic ideas of equality behind the landmark Civil Rights Act. In today’s climate, equality is still a politically divisive issue surrounded by a tremendous amount of misinformation regarding what the law aims to achieve. By and large, the way we’ve talked about affirmative action regulations and equal opportunity has failed.
Biddle helps compliance professionals do their job more effectively by developing a structured training program aimed at specific audiences so that they don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Specifically, Biddle is developing three levels of compliance certification training, as well as training specifically for hiring managers, recruiters, and executives. The goal is for more compliance professionals to achieve “light bulb” moments to ensure compliance success.
Our consultants use affirmative action program training presentations that focus on clients’ specific program analysis results and action items. This type of training forms the foundation to support more specific discussions. This is important because if we are to find a productive path forward, we have to break the chains of past assumptions, protocols, and behaviors. We cannot wait another century to start making moves — the time is now.
The Difficult Circumstances Facing Compliance Professionals
Understanding the challenges facing compliance teams requires asking “What does a compliance team do?” Compliance teams have the important task of making a workforce more inclusive and open to talent from all backgrounds.
Compliance professionals must build a robust affirmative action program (and subsequently structure a training program) that helps their organizations meet the muster of affirmative action regulations, but most don’t do this effectively. For compliance to be truly successful, compliance professionals need the proper resources — but resources are often in short supply.
Overcoming these challenges starts with legitimizing the work of an organization’s compliance team and understanding the importance of compliance training. Affirmative action compliance is often viewed as an expensive, time-consuming paperwork exercise that involves pulling lots of employment data. But it’s so much more. The work of compliance professionals directly impacts individuals’ ability to achieve the American Dream. They ensure that people succeed on their merits and constantly search for ways to improve their training and impact. Affirmative action extends beyond paperwork. Moving the needle in the workplace requires education, difficult conversations, enthusiasm, and empathy.
Compliance training is too important to be downplayed, especially at this moment. The training has to be more involved. That’s why we are developing and soon releasing compliance certifications at three levels:
Level 1: The “What”
One of the biggest challenges of compliance training is that even compliance professionals often do not understand what they do for a living. On top of that, affirmative action regulations themselves can often set off alarms. That’s why it’s important for compliance professionals and the organization to understand the “what” of compliance certification. This includes the tasks that need to be performed, what is required, and compliance best practices.
Level 2: The “Why”
Level two focuses on the “why” of compliance efforts and tends to bleed into the next level: the “how.” There are multiple ways to approach your affirmative action program, so it’s important that you, as a compliance professional, make the decisions instead of an uninformed committee. Level two helps compliance professionals achieve a level of expertise so that they have the authority to have an impact.
Level 3: The “How”
Level three will tackle the most complicated aspects of compliance certification: analyzing data you’ve gathered and interpreting the results of these analyses. Then, you have to undergo further investigation and analyze the results again until you’ve reached a somewhat definite conclusion. Outsourcing this work is expensive and usually only occurs when an organization is audited by the Department of Labor. Level three enables companies to keep the work in-house to show true non-discrimination efforts.
Dispelling Misconceptions About Affirmative Action Programs
When most people think of compliance teams, they mistakenly assume that these teams focus on digging up the company’s skeletons and displaying them for the world to see. This frames compliance personnel as “internal investigators” and people who get others in trouble. Actually, a well-run compliance team is your organization’s first line of defense against accusations of wrongdoing. In fact, they compile evidence against any allegations made against your company. These teams can work with legal to build a company’s case if necessary.
It’s important to address misconceptions surrounding compliance teams and affirmative action programs because, believe it or not, a significant number of people still disagree with the idea of equality. When affirmative action compliance is introduced effectively, however, more people are enthusiastically on board and ready to participate in achieving it. When Biddle explains this initiative, people are often surprised to learn that their anger and frustration have been misplaced. Specifically, Biddle training is based on the idea of straight talk, which involves a few steps:
1. Minimize legalese and business-speak.
Legalese is a type of shorthand that often makes people feel like they’ve failed a law school course. Biddle strives to use language and terms people actually use without oversimplifying what we’re talking about. The goal is not to make lawyers out of our decision makers, hiring managers, and recruiters by drilling down the legal definition of an “individual with a disability” or what constitutes interference with a “major life activity.” Compliance professionals need to really understand what the law requires of them and how to implement policies crafted by actual lawyers.
2. Avoid factoids.
Straight talk also requires you to get rid of the noise. No one in the history of time was ever served in a discrimination investigation by knowing that the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act was passed in 1974. People need to know what the law is, and what it requires of them, specifically in their day-to-day jobs.
3. Address the elephants in the room.
Productive straight talk involves addressing issues directly instead of dancing around them. You have to explain the importance of compliance training in plain terms and talk about affirmative action and DEI without euphemisms. The idea is to talk with people as human beings. Biddle uses examples, such as “Ethan, down at the farmers market” or “Sarah, down at the diner.” People recognize these examples as stand-ins for people in their own lives and can discuss how they might be right or wrong.
Clarifying Compliance Terminology
Compliance terminology has become rather controversial, which underscores the need for clarification. For example, people link the term “affirmative action” with two very different things. Many associate it with hiring quotas, point systems to give women and/or people of color advantage in selection processes, and set-asides that allow men and/or white people to be excluded entirely. These forms of affirmative action are controversial and divisive, and for good reason — they are largely harmful.
The real point of affirmative action regulations for federal contractors is to avoid the need for the forms of affirmative action mentioned above. Biddle distinguishes the two forms of affirmative action by comparing corrective action vs. preventative action. Corrective action is necessary when things go wrong and illegal discrimination harms people. Preventative action is pretty self-explanatory: It prevents harm in the first place. Everyone wins with preventative action because the corrective measures aren’t necessary in the first place. Here’s how the third pillar of the Biddle framework handles persistent issues with compliance terminology:
1. Embracing expertise in compliance training.
Compliance professionals understand the terminology better than anyone else and are equipped to explain it properly. The key here is to stay confident. While you may be facing an uphill battle against misconceptions and misunderstanding, you have the resources to address peoples’ concerns.
2. Lean on positive reinforcement.
When explaining tough terminology, avoid any negative reactions to people’s objections to an idea. Instead, use positive reinforcement to encourage open discussion. For example, if someone explains a concept incorrectly, say to everyone in the discussion, “Yes, exactly, Amanda. Amanda just pointed out something that I need your help correcting.” Avoid negative expressions that could induce feelings of shame.
3. Reframe compliance terminology in business terms.
Of course, this doesn’t mean you should use corporate jargon. When we say business terms, we mean that you should be able to answer questions like “Why is affirmative action important?” and “What do affirmative action program goals mean for business success?” Show organization leaders how compliance programs can help them attract and retain top talent and foster company loyalty.
Building a Framework for DEI Success While Distinguishing Between DEI and Compliance
Though a lot of progress has been made with DEI and compliance over the past few years, people still conflate the concepts and think that both are supposed to “move the needle.” They might assume that companies determine the right mixture of men, women, white people, Black people, Hispanic people, and several other groups is — and then make the workforce reflect their ideal. However, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 makes this practice illegal. The law is designed to make sure that everyone has a fair shot at landing that job or getting that promotion. If the law is being followed, your labor force should be naturally diverse.
Compliance, however, sticks strictly to the law; DEI is rooted in social science. In the context of the past few years, its purpose is to help people figure out how to counter the natural instincts that cause them to fear people who are different from themselves. Neither terms are about “moving the needle,” but they create an environment in which the needle can move naturally. Think of it this way: Compliance with the law is the foundation on which all DEI efforts are built. Without this foundation, even the best DEI programs fail. Here’s how companies can achieve lasting compliance success and maintain a solid foundation moving forward.
1. Treat compliance as more than a technical exercise.
Right now, a lot of companies are falling into the trap of going through the motions when it comes to compliance. A successful program does more than pay lip service; it actively identifies and eliminates employment discrimination issues. When done correctly, compliance and DEI come together to level the playing field in your workplace and make a healthier environment for all. When limited to technical compliance, however, your company is at risk of an audit from the Department of Labor. True compliance will enable you to continue to develop your teams and move the company in a positive direction.
2. Making compliance a continual process.
Compliance requires more than a few training sessions; it’s something that must be top of mind year-round. While there is no one-size-fits-all approach to compliance, a fully funded program could oversee hiring efforts, promotion practices, internal messaging campaigns, and several other functions. Additionally, compliance teams can leverage unforeseen opportunities, such as the pandemic or the Great Resignation. Also, when the world demanded social justice initiatives, companies were able to respond in ways that showed their commitment to equal opportunity.
3. Commit to compliance.
Compliance begins with executive buy-in, which means there must be at least one person in company leadership who prioritizes this mindset. Many companies have introduced chief diversity officer positions, building in a natural advocate for compliance. Then, this person can get a commitment from other executives by showing how growing departments with diverse talent can lead to fresh perspectives, innovative ideas, and organic business growth. Executives want to see hard numbers, but it’s important to emphasize that the numbers stem from compliance.
If your company has just started its compliance efforts, it can be difficult to know where to start. Biddle Consulting Group has several resources to support compliance professionals and will soon offer even more once the compliance certification programs are released. To learn more about ways you can improve your compliance and DEI efforts, get in touch with Biddle today.
