Designing for Diversity - by Binna Kandola & Stuart Duff

About the Book

Design equitable talent management processes that are fair and inclusive to create a diverse workforce now and a talent pipeline for the future.

Book Synopsis

What measures do you use to spot talent and assess employee performance? How do you decide who gets promoted? Are these methods fair and inclusive?

Talent management is a cornerstone of modern organizational strategy but it has consistently fallen short in achieving meaningful diversity. Designing for Diversity challenges the deeply rooted assumptions that have shaped traditional talent management systems and critiques the philosophies that often reinforce the status quo. This book then offers actionable strategies to create systems and processes that genuinely identify and nurture individuals with leadership potential.

While many DEI efforts aim to signal progress, they can inadvertently sustain inertia. This book empowers organizations to move beyond surface-level solutions and implement practices that drive real, measurable change. It explores each element of talent management from performance management systems and talent identification methods, through to talent development and promotion processes. This book also examines the limitations of target setting and the benefits of both formal and informal mentoring. The results is a new paradigm for identifying leaders, fostering diversity, and enhancing competition for senior roles. Whether you're a business leader, HR professional or advocate for equity in the workplace, Designing for Diversity is your essential guide to creating a future where talent management and diversity thrive together.

Review Quotes

"If you subscribe to the view that the best person for the job is always selected, this book will make you think again and again. Professor Kandola meticulously outlines the ways systemic biases impact our perceptions of 'talent' and leadership prototypes, reducing opportunities for women, people with disabilities, racial minorities and LGBTQ+ individuals (and the intersections within these groups). The combination of insights from psychology research with stories from Kandola's decades of experience working in organizations make this a practical and highly accessible book. Practitioners will love the guidance on actions that make organizations more inclusive and their future leaders more diverse. And Kandola's trademark wry humour keeps it all entertaining. Designing for Diversity is a must read for business leaders around the world."-- "Dr Katie Spearritt, Chief Executive Officer, Diversity Partners"

"A timely and essential reflection on the importance and challenges of developing inclusive talent management in organizations. Engaging and clearly communicated, the book draws on the wealth of knowledge of the author, who brings evidence and theory to examples in action, from strategic decision making to the everyday experience of work. Critical, relatable, practical and relevant, the book will undoubtedly influence thinking about talent management and leadership."-- "Steve Woods, Professor of Work and Organizational Psychology, Surrey Business School, University of Surrey"

"Sharp, insightful and thought-provoking - this book is a must-read for anyone striving to improve their businesses - I was so inspired, I had to get a second copy!"-- "Felizitas Lichtenberg, Global Head of Diversity & Inclusion, Wellbeing and Sustainability at SumUp"

About the Author

Professor Binna Kandola is co-founder and Senior Partner at Pearn Kandola. He has been working in diversity and inclusion for over 40 years with organizations including American Express, Microsoft and NATO. He is a Visiting Professor at Leeds University Business School. Based in Oxford, UK, he was named by HR Magazine as one of the Most Influential HR Thinkers of 2023 and is regularly in the UK's Asian 101 Power List.