When we need the help of a doctor, solicitor, care worker or sales assistant we hope or expect that we will get the best advice or service possible from them - whoever we are. But are our hopes realised? Or is it the case that (often unconscious) biases and assumptions about people different from ourselves create some big barriers to that hope? If, for example, we unconsciously associate a certain accent with poor education - are we less likely to take the time to provide needed information to someone with that accent?
One doctor from Harvard, Augustus White, has captured his thoughts about demographic differences between doctors and patients and variations in the care and treatment patients experience. He was subsequently interviewed by the Boston Globe and their headline take on his work can be viewed here. You may need to log on to the Boston Globe site for access. Dr. White's book is called Seeing Patients; Unconscious Bias in Health Care.
For me - here is where inclusion comes in. An inclusive approach to providing a service sees an organisation paying close attention to whether diversity is impacting customer experience - taking action where needed. For example, a bank might analyse whether all their customers feel able to access their account information in a way that works well for them. Do some customers with visual impairments report a much lower level of satisfaction? If so, what can be done about that?
Reducing the variability in satisfaction ratings among customers in different demographic groups would be a key indicator of success for an organisation setting out to be inclusive. This focus on outcomes will drive the right investment decisions in terms of understanding and responding to customer diversity.
