Addressing Behavioral Variability In Organizations

This article applies to leaders, coaches, consultants, advisors, and decision-makers who are regularly making judgment decisions or have to manage or facilitate others making them.

The Influence of Behavioral Variability:  

Behavioral Variability encompasses diverse decision-making approaches, preferences, and biases individuals exhibit. Managing it is crucial for consistent and effective decision-making. DNA Behavior Solutions offers insights on identifying, understanding, and measuring behavioral variability's impact. By exploring these topics, decision-makers can better understand their challenges and develop strategies to overcome them. 

Behavioral Variability Identification outlines obstacles that undermine consistent decision-making. The behavioral challenge in decision-making is when two or more people with the same facts and information make different decisions.  

• Sources of Behavioral Variability – this guide is a key starting point. Decision makers Bias exists when errors in a set of judgments are consistently in the same direction, and DNA Behavior sets out important findings on Noise as the unwanted Variability (divergence) of human judgments of the same problem, leading to inaccurate and unfair decisions. 
• Behavioral Variability Measurement finds its roots in behavioral Bias. This guide We will show you a) who the most reliable decision-makers are and b) how they need to be managed to reach consistent decisions. 
• Conducting a Behavioral Variability Study – This guide will show how to conduct a study to reveal biases, blind spots, and specific deficiencies in processes and training.  

Behavioral Variability Reduction – this guide provides clear, validated steps to avoid inconsistent decision-making: 

• A cognitive reflection mindset  
• DNA Natural Behavior Discovery behavioral training programs  
• Use of algorithms based on the best 5 judge's decisions  
• Correcting predictions and selecting better judges 
• Independent opinion using a digital decision-making twin  

Behavioral Variability in Hiring will show a low correlation between unstructured interviews and success, measuring at .28. This indicates a need for structured interview approaches that offer higher predictive power. 

Group Decision-Making Process – You will learn how to apply the: 

• Gene Decision Method structured decision-making process that enables the independent weighing up of multiple technical, financial, and behavioral dimensions sequentially before exercising intuition.  
• Decision-Making Moderator Checklist will show the importance of using a decision moderator in high-stress decision-making scenarios. 

Behavioral Variability Educational Scenarios –designed to make resolving Behavioral Variability user-friendly – we’ve done the hard work. 

• Financial Advice – learn how to use real-life scenarios, questions, and discussions to explore Behavioral Variability in decision-making in the financial services advice arena.  
• Hiring - Explore Behavioral Variability in decision-making through real-life scenarios, questions, and discussions. This examination extends to recruitment, talent assessment, promotion, and remuneration decisions. 
• Multi-Year Tech Capex Decision - utilize a real-life scenario involving a multi-year tech capital expenditure (capex) decision. By posing relevant questions and engaging in discussions, to understand how individual differences in decision-making impact this specific context. 
• Sales Forecasting - Using a real-life scenario, questions, and discussions to test decision-making quality, requiring human judgment, in critical sections of any business, using sales forecasting as an example.  

Behavioral Variability Tools  

• Correcting Predictions – learn how real-time knowledge enhances decision-making by making corrective predictions to reduce biases, improve judgments, and show how past performance does not indicate future outcomes. 
• Defining the Scale in Performance Ratings - understand why Behavioral Variability in performance ratings is high because of different people making the judgments. The raters have different motivations and also interpretations of the evaluation scales. 
• Behavioral Decision Variability Areas – 
  • Multiple financial planners assessing risk tolerance for portfolio allocation can have varying judgments, risking client dissatisfaction or financial loss. 
  • Pathologists exhibit a 39% variance in diagnosing the severity of biopsy results. 
  • Legal decisions, such as sentencing and awarding damages, can vary. 
  • Forecasts of revenue and costs can deviate by up to 71% from the average. 
  • Fingerprint analysis can show inconsistencies. 
  • Patent and trademark decisions can vary. 
  • Financial analysts and venture capitalists exhibit a 41% variability in company valuations. 
  • Loan officers and credit analysts can differ in their assessments. 
  • Real estate valuations can vary. 
  • Software developers' time projections for the same project can have a 71% variability level. 
  • Hiring and performance review panels exhibit a 35% to 38% variability level. 
  • Insurance premium underwriting has a 55% variability level. 
  • Insurance claims adjusters show a 43% variability in claim payouts. 
  • Accountants, project managers, and software developers estimate different amounts of time for the same work. 
  • Tax advisors may provide different advice on arguable tax positions. 
  • Individual approaches, past experiences, and inconsistent judgments influence product and operational decisions, leading to Behavioral Variability. 

It's important to note that Behavioral Variability impacts various industries and organizations, including military decision-making in troop deployment, equipment acquisition, and management.

For more information, head to https://landing.dnabehavior.com/behavioral-variability to download the white paper. 

Behavioral Variability Guide Intro  
Behavioral Variability Identification  

• Sources of Behavioral Variability 
• Behavioral Variability Measurement 
  • Decision Making Moderator Checklist
• Conducting a Behavioral Variability Study 
  • Correcting Predictions

Behavioral Variability Reduction  

• Behavioral Variability Reduction 
• Mitigating Behavioral Variability in Hiring 

Group Decision-Making Process  

• Gene Decision Method  
• Group Decision-Making Moderator Checklist 

Behavioral Variability Educational Scenarios 

• Financial Advice  
• Hiring  
• Multi-Year Tech Capex Decision  
• Sales Forecasting  

Behavioral Variability Tools  

• Correcting Predictions  
• Defining the Scale in Performance Ratings 
• Behavioral Decision Variability Areas