Equitable workplaces require equitable performance feedback
The first AI-enabled software tool to interrupt biases in written job performance feedback has been released by Textio, the pioneer in augmented writing solutions for the entire employment lifecycle. The new product, Textio for performance feedback, provides real-time coaching for managers writing employee feedback to make certain that feedback is effective and fair, and identifies and replaces language that could be biased based on race, gender and/or age.
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![Textio for Performance Feedback (Graphic: Business Wire)](https://mms.businesswire.com/media/20221017005361/en/1603358/4/Guidance_Press.jpg)
Textio for Performance Feedback (Graphic: Business Wire)
The new product uses Textio’s pioneering AI and language science to provide guidance for anyone writing workplace feedback, ensuring that every employee across the organization receives high-quality performance feedback every time. Textio uncovers patterns of inequity in feedback across department and demographic groups and surfaces these inequities to DEIB leaders. Teams that use Textio to write feedback see in-line nudges that interrupt bias in real-time, empowering managers and peers to give direct, specific and actionable feedback consistently.
DEI practitioners not only recognize the need for scalable platforms to support their initiatives, they’re welcoming these tools with open arms. Diane Krieman, Director of Diversity and Inclusion Strategic Initiatives and Operations at Uber, stated, “It’s one thing to hire a diverse team. It’s another to retain and grow them. We’re excited to implement new software, beyond recruiting, to make sure that our managers are well equipped to offer actionable and equitable feedback for all our employees. Neuroscience tells us that what is most impactful beyond just creating awareness and educating, is interrupting bias in the moment, which makes the potential of tools like this so exciting.”
Textio for performance feedback will help people leaders:
- Improve the effectiveness and fairness of their performance management systems, showing leaders common patterns in personality, actionability, fixed and growth mindset, and overall feedback quality across their organizations.
- Discover and address inequities in their performance management and feedback systems.
Textio for performance feedback will help managers:
- Write feedback clearly, simplifying complex sentences and paragraphs so that feedback is easy to read and understand.
- Make feedback actionable by providing specific examples and constructive suggestions within their performance observations.
- Make feedback relevant by guiding managers away from personality-based feedback and towards comments that focus on an employee's work and behaviors.
- Receive guidance where they’re already working; Textio integrates directly into Workday.
New in-depth research an impetus for Textio’s performance feedback product
Textio research data, released in June, revealed significant racial, gender and age biases in workplace performance feedback – with women and people of color disproportionally affected. This data catalyzed the development of Textio’s performance feedback product.
Written feedback data from 25,000 people at more than 250 organizations showed significant inequities. Women receive 22% more feedback about their personality and 30% more exaggerated feedback than men. Men are 3.5 times more likely than women to be described with the words brilliant or genius, and people under 40 are described this way much more often than those over 40. Black women receive nearly 9x as much feedback thatʼs not actionable when compared to white men under 40. Compared to men, women are 7x more likely to report being described as “opinionated,” and 11x more likely to report being described as “abrasive.”
Such workplace performance feedback inequities can have far-reaching consequences by exacerbating opportunity and pay gaps – something especially problematic, as the most underrepresented groups are also receiving the least quality feedback.
Textio for performance feedback a major milestone
"Textio has a strong foundation supporting hundreds of major corporations in their inclusive hiring efforts. It's clear that the next frontier of DEIB-grounded communication tools is on the employee retention side,” said Textio CEO and Co-founder Kieran Snyder. “Textio is now a multiproduct provider, bringing inclusive written communication to the entire employment lifecycle."
About Textio -- Because Words Matter
Textio, founded in 2014, is a pioneering leader in providing augmented writing software for inclusive workplace content and communications at all stages of the employment lifecycle – from recruitment to retirement. A third of Fortune 1000 organizations use Textio to help them bring inclusive language to their employment communications. With data from more than a billion documents, Textio’s platform harnesses artificial intelligence to create a unique language intelligence that interrupts biased language and replaces it with inclusive and equitable alternatives.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20221017005361/en/
Contacts
Felicia Riley
Sr. Dir, Corporate Marketing
Felicia@textio.com
206-479-1063