How Can You Eliminate Bias In Recruitment
Not only do humans quarrel with one another, but they also argue with themselves. For instance, software engineers were questioned about how many hours they anticipated it would take to complete a project. When they were questioned again later that week, their responses varied by 71% from what they had suggested just a few days before.
Organizations seek to help and upskill their Black employees in unprecedented ways around racism, bias, and diversity. So what should be the next step? Businesses can conduct a few virtual training sessions and then revert to the status quo — or they can understand that the racial bias that fuels the injustices they and the majority of Americans worry about also exists within their organizations.
We must overcome our biases to improve the quality of our judgments.
What occurs when unconscious bias skews the ultimate decision-making process about employment? Could you be prejudiced without being aware of it?
Yes, evidence demonstrates that our minds frequently make spontaneous decisions without awareness. Additionally, there is evidence that humans are subject to implicit bias. While we believe that rational explanations drive our conduct, unconscious brain activity affects our judgments and choices. Furthermore, this applies to personnel decisions.
What qualifies as unconscious bias in recruitment?
Unconscious bias occurs during the employment process when you build an opinion about prospects based on first impressions. Or when you favor one candidate over another just because the first appears to be someone you would feel comfortable interacting with outside of work.
Even in the early phases of hiring, a candidate's CV, appearance, name, or birthplace may have a more significant impact on your pick than you realize. In a word, unconscious bias influences your decision – positively or adversely – based on unrelated job-related characteristics.
On the other hand, is it genuinely unconscious?
Bias does not constantly develop accidentally. Occasionally, processes in the workplace begin and conclude with a homogeneity system. We hire and promote individuals who are the most similar to us.
Leading with intuition is one type of biased recruitment.
Human intuition should not be the main criterion for hiring. A 'gut instinct' or a 'feeling' is insufficient as a rationale to hire. They are a matter of opinion and are difficult to justify. While simultaneously being devoid of validity.
Each recruiter's intuition is unique, making it impossible to standardize a screening procedure. Bias can emerge during this stage due to human emotion taking over. As a result, the focus of the hiring decision is shifted away from the candidate's skill set, experience, and actual job potential.
Another strategy is to use emotion to influence others.
Eliminate questions about business culture from employment applications and interviews. Investigating answers that revolve around conforming to the organizational culture may jeopardize inclusion. Subconsciously, the recruiting manager will favor candidates that fit the mold since their intuition tells them they will make an excellent hire. However, this is hardly a compelling incentive to hire.
We routinely create assumptions about others based on our knowledge – or perceived knowledge – of them, our background, and our preferences. Then, we act on our hypotheses.
On the other hand, is not it usually a terrible idea to hire people who fit your culture? Or those with whom you believe you and your teams will get along? Yes. Encourage your employees to reimagine what it means to be culturally compatible in the workplace.
You are wasting money and ability due to your (unconscious) bias.
Discriminatory recruitment practices contribute to the lack of diversity on a team. And a lack of variety is detrimental to your business's efficiency.
One cannot simply aim to eliminate unconscious bias during the candidate selection stage of recruitment; one must also strive to eliminate bias during the talent acquisition process, mainly when talent shortages and skills gaps result in a less-than-optimal candidate pool for a job opportunity.
As a result, your team and hiring process becomes more diverse. By casting a wider net and investigating new applicant sources, you can connect with individuals who currently possess the essential skill set but were not included in your traditional hiring pipelines.
People are having difficulty identifying talent in the same manner they used to, which means they must be more innovative and adaptable to acquire the necessary skills for their firm.
And you may accomplish this by eliminating barriers and welcoming applicants with unusual backgrounds. However, this brings us back to the issue of assumptions: we are frequently prejudiced towards individuals who have taken a professional break or are considering a career shift, which might result in our overlooking otherwise good candidates.
Businesses who understand and embrace this concept have a greater probability of success and are more likely to outthink their competitors. The critical question is whether they are capable of intervening.
Overview
Jim Woods is the President and CEO of Woods Kovalova Group's Denver, London, and Kyiv offices and head of the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Practice. He works exclusively in the banking sector with senior executives and leadership teams to create a significant and sustainable impact in DE&I to create the kind of inclusive environment that allows companies to attract, retain, and get the best out of their employees and serve their communities. Better.
Experience
Jim has more than two decades of experience driving change in the banking industry around performance, growth, and innovation. He's designed and led complex transformation initiatives in companies linked to globalization, demographic changes, sustainability, shifting business models, and new technologies.
Earlier in his career, Jim served in the United States Navy, taught fifth-grade math and science, including university human resources and leadership. Also, Jim has taught at Villanova University. He has authored six business books on DE&I, and leadership.
Education
Capella University, MS in Organizational Development and Human Resources