Engaging in DE&I

The Research

Cowry conducted an implicit response test (IRT) to draw out peoples’ System 1, automatic responses to the different messages as well as an explicit survey. An IRT is a psychometric technique, developed by Harvard University, which aims to uncover unconscious instinctive reactions without the intrusion of more explicit judgements. In this test, we showed 400 participants either the current email (control) or six behaviourally optimised versions of the subject lines and messages.

There were two groups of participants pre-set by Scottish Power, a general sample with high engagers and a group of potential low engagers. The general sample was collected as office-based employees who were accustomed to the diverse, dynamic environment. Whereas, the low-engagers consisted of remote off-site workers who rarely went to the office and had face-to-face interactions with colleagues.

We controlled for external demographic variables and whether respondents had taken a D&I survey at work before.

The Text Messages

The six crafted versions of the survey invitation channelled some key psychological principles. For example, one version relied on social norms, playing on peoples’ tendency to jump on the bandwagon of others’ choices. Another emphasised on the business benefits of completing the survey. A selfish frame email stressed on employees being able to have a say in what the future of their company looks like.

Our hypothesis was that people who were more engaged with the company culture would have a higher sense of belonging, which motivates a collectivist, prosocial mindset as compared to less engaged individuals. Individuals who were less engaged would lean towards messages that appealed to their own benefits.