W.I.F.M. – What’s In it For Me? You’ve heard the phrase – this collection of five tiny words is a prime driver of marketing efforts and is (or ought to be) the guiding phrase for the motivation of any workplace team. In those cases, the battle cry is: What’s In it For Them?
Sure, most things we ask of our teams are straightforward and routine – just, you might say, “part of the job.” But, what about unusual requests that might in some way seem (or even be) challenging or uncomfortable? Take participation in D&I training for example.
Is this a familiar scenario?
You hire a consultant to offer a program (recommended, not mandated) on a diversity-related topic. With the help of the consultant, you carefully design a description that you’re sure will attract a large audience. You send it out (and, remember, attendance is recommended, not mandated) and you wait for the positive responses to flood in. And you wait and wait, and wait some more.
Eventually, you end up with about half the number of participants you had hoped for and, to make matters worse, as you glance down the list, you see that the ones who have signed up are those who, in your view, need the training the least. The people who were the target of all this effort and investment aren’t even planning to attend.
Frankly, I’m not sure I blame them. Why should they take time out of their no doubt already over-loaded day to participate in something that they probably think (erroneously) is impractical or, worse, has nothing to do with them or their needs? So that brings me back to our phrase: What’s In It for Them?
If we want our teams to be receptive to the tools that will make them better employees and better people, it is our job to communicate how those tools will benefit them. Because it’s in my wheelhouse, lets talk about tools for defeating unconscious bias.
The question is: Why should they bother attend a program on bias? Why sit through a facilitation – either virtual or in-person — that they expect/fear will be, if not threatening, at the least boring and, most certainly, have nothing to do with improving their lives?
The answer to this question will depend to some extent on your organization. For example, if you are facilitating a program for a sales force that has a diverse prospect base, clearly the ability for the sales professional to see each prospect accurately and, thereby, improve the chances of making the sale is a most tangible and tantalizing WIFM.
Or, if your target group is composed of supervisors/managers who work with a diverse employee population, the ability to get their biases out of the way and, therefore, hire and manage more effectively is a win/win for themselves and for your organization.
In short, wave the flag of “What’s in it for Them” from the start. You’ll be surprised at the difference it makes.
The material in this post reflects the ideas expressed in Dr. Thiederman’s book 3 Keys to Defeating Unconscious Bias and in the training videos Defeating Unconscious Bias: 5 Strategies and Gateways to Inclusion: Turning Tense Moments into Productive Conversations.
Sondra Thiederman can be contacted for virtual facilitation, and panel participation by clicking here or calling 619-583-4478. For additional information, go to this link to learn more about what Dr. Thiederman has to offer.
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