Last week we focused on retention of women. This week we will explore the issues related to retention of African Americans. Studies show that turnover rates for African Americans in the corporate world is higher than for their white counterparts.
A study conducted by Martin N. Davidson, professor of business administration at the University of Virginia’s Darden Graduate School of Business, based on research with 473 managers of color, showed that turnover rates among black executives is as much as 40 percent higher than for whites. According to Davidson, “Once black managers come aboard, oftentimes they do not stay because they are not getting the opportunity for stretch assignments nor do they always get accurate performance feedback.” A study by the National Black Chamber of Commerce conducted several years ago revealed that blacks leave when they experience non-inclusive practices. A third of the respondents in this study said that they would have very likely stayed if their employer had offered better managers who recognized their abilities.
A recently released study from the National Bureau of Economic Research shows that when it comes to getting and keeping jobs, blacks are held to a higher standard. Black workers receive more scrutiny from their managers, which can lead to worse performance reviews, lower wages, and even job loss. The research, authored by Costas Cavounidis and Kevin Lang, of Boston University, underscores how bias factors into company decisions, and creates a feedback loop, resulting in racial gaps and higher attrition rates.
Retention drivers for African Americans do not differ much from those for whites. However, blacks often do not get the same developmental opportunities that lead to upward mobility. For example, blacks are much more likely to be in staff rather than line jobs where they have profit and loss (P&L) responsibility. Several studies have shown that advice given to black managers on how they can move up is to take on P&L roles. The issue with this is that they are less likely to be considered for such roles, which may in part be to the trend for lower performance ratings for blacks.
Based on Winters Group research and research conducted by FutureWork Institute, the key retention drivers for blacks are as follows:
- Climate of inclusion
- Mentoring and sponsorship
- Supportive leaders who are culturally competent and recognize and value differences
- Objective performance feedback (e.g. manager addresses his/her own unconscious bias)
- Opportunity for P&L responsibilities
- Community involvement opportunities and company has good social responsibility record
Several studies have shown that effective mentoring can make all of the difference relative to opportunities for upward mobility. One study showed that mentoring is even more important to the advancement of blacks than it is for whites. Frank Dobbin of Harvard, Alexandra Kalev of the University of California, Berkeley, and Erin Kelly of the University of Minnesota sifted through decades of federal employment statistics provided by companies and found that mentorships, especially for black women, increased their numbers in management by 23.5 percent.
A University of Pennsylvania study of more than 1,000 employees at a large tech company over five years found that those enrolled in mentoring programs (as both mentors and mentees) were promoted at six times the rate of those who were not enrolled. And those in the mentoring program had retention rates of 72 percent on average, compared with 49 percent for those not in the program.
What is the inclusion solution?
- Recognize that outcomes for blacks are different than that of their white counterparts.
- Develop effective reciprocal mentoring programs where the expectation is that the mentor will also learn from the mentee.
- Scrutinize performance data to see if blacks, on average, receive lower ratings.
- Ensure that blacks are getting developmental assignments that will lead to opportunities for upward mobility.
- Listen to the concerns of black employees. We often do focus groups for companies and in the end they rationalize away the results and do nothing to change the climate.
