Six Ways To Eliminate Hiring Bias
When hiring bias plays a role in the workplace, businesses are less likely to welcome diversity and inclusion into their everyday practices and unable to provide the necessary environment needed for the entire organization to grow. In order to ensure this doesn’t happen in your organization, here are six tips for eliminating hiring bias:
Know what unconscious bias is, and isn’t
Unconscious bias refers to the beliefs or stereotypes that a person holds either against or in favor of certain groups of people. This form of bias often affects the way individuals think of different groups around them which then dictates the decisions and choices that they make such as the ones made throughout the hiring process.
In order to eliminate hiring bias in an organization, it’s important to understand what unconscious bias is and how it differs from prejudice. While the latter is deliberate discrimination formed without explanation, bias is more of an unfair conclusion reached based on past experiences or the individual’s background. Additionally, bias can be negative or positive. For example, a hiring manager may show favor toward people that graduated from their alma mater or has similar interests as them which can both result in an easier interview process for that candidate. While this bias isn’t necessarily negative toward the candidate, it can affect the ultimate hiring decision and has the potential to leave qualified candidates behind. With this in mind, consider the remaining steps for eliminating hiring bias.
Conduct a “blind” hiring process
A "blind” hiring process entails removing identifying information from a candidate’s resume or application in order to limit any bias based on their location, name, graduation year, etc. This method allows anyone reviewing the candidate's hiring materials to focus solely on their experiences rather than any demographics. As this method becomes more and more popular across organizations, many existing applicant tracking systems (ATSs) include optional features for erasing these elements.
If investing in new software isn’t in your current budget, encourage candidates to leave this information out right in the job description or have a member of your HR team responsible for organizing resumes without this information.
Give candidate assessments or assignments
Requiring candidates to complete an assessment or assignment tailored to the role in question can help eliminate any hiring bias by encouraging hiring managers to focus on the facts rather than a candidate’s personality, appearance, etc. Now, while a good cultural fit and soft skills can certainly help a candidate stand out, it’s important that they can also complete the responsibilities of the job. While putting together a candidate assessment, ensure the assignment or questions being asked mirror the actual tasks the candidate will be doing in the position and that each candidate is given the same assignment.
Develop a structured interview process
Structuring interviews rather than having free-flowing conversations with candidates eliminates any ambiguity in the hiring process and ensures all candidates have an equal opportunity to show their worth. This means a structured interview process must include asking the same questions and assessing the answers using one rubric. Doing so also ensures the interviewer is aware of the position requirements that must be met in order for the candidate to move to the next step.
Provide a diverse interview panel
Research shows diverse teams are capable of outperforming other teams that have less diversity, especially when it comes to decision making. Therefore, creating a diverse interview panel limits the amount of bias found throughout a typical hiring process by welcoming multiple perspectives, diminishing groupthink or conformity bias, and focusing on all aspects of a candidate’s experiences, not just a “gut feeling” or predetermined bias.
Partner with a professional recruiting and staffing firm
Leave the recruiting and hiring for your business up to the experts by partnering with a professional recruiting and staffing firm. With data-driven technology and proven experience in finding qualified candidates, recruiting and staffing firms are skilled at conducting an unbiased hiring process. Ready to get started today? Contact Nexus Staff for a personalized approach to recruiting with diversity and inclusion in mind. Our team of experienced hiring professionals works closely with candidates to find the perfect match for job-seekers and organizations alike.
