Unconscious Bias in Hiring: Recognising and Mitigating Its Impact

Unconscious bias is a silent but powerful force that can influence hiring decisions without us even realizing it. I’m going to explore the concept of unconscious bias, how it affects talent acquisition, and strategies to recognise and mitigate its impact which are useful for both us and hiring managers.

What is unconscious bias?

Unconscious bias refers to the automatic and unintentional judgments or stereotypes we hold about people based on their characteristics, such as gender, race, age, or appearance. In the context of talent acquisition, sadly unconscious bias can often creep into the hiring process without us realising, leading to unfair and less diverse outcomes for candidates and businesses alike!

Understanding Unconscious Bias:

Unconscious bias is a natural part of human psychology. Our brains use shortcuts to make quick decisions, but these shortcuts can be influenced by societal stereotypes, the way we have been brought up, etc. It's important to recognise that unconscious bias is not a sign of ill intent; it's a cognitive blind spot that affects everyone.

Recognising Common Bias Types:

Several types of unconscious bias can impact hiring:

• Affinity Bias: Preferring candidates who share similarities with the interviewer, such as the same degree/university or hobbies.
• Confirmation Bias: Seeking information that confirms pre-existing beliefs about a candidate rather than objectively evaluating their qualifications.
• Halo Effect: Forming a positive impression of a candidate based on a single strong trait, overshadowing other qualifications.
• Availability Bias: Relying on readily available information or relying on stereotypes when assessing candidates.
• Group think: Making decisions based on the consensus of a group without critically evaluating each candidate's qualifications.

Here are some strategies to mitigate unconscious bias:

1. Awareness and Training:

The first step in addressing unconscious bias is awareness. Conduct training sessions to help recruiters and hiring teams recognize and understand their biases. Training should be ongoing to reinforce awareness.

2. Standardise your processes:

Implement standardized recruitment processes, including structured interviews with predetermined questions, to reduce bias in candidate evaluations.

3. Diverse Hiring Panels:

Assemble diverse hiring panels to assess candidates. Different perspectives can help identify and challenge bias.

4. Blind Recruitment:

Implement blind recruitment practices, such as removing candidate names and addresses from initial assessments, to mitigate bias based on personal characteristics.

5. Regular Auditing:

Regularly audit your recruitment process for bias. Analyse data on candidate progression and hiring decisions to identify patterns that may indicate bias.

In summary – Awareness is Key:

Unconscious bias is a massive challenge in talent acquisition, but it can be addressed. Recognising common bias types, providing awareness training, implementing standardised processes, assembling diverse hiring panels, and practicing blind recruitment are steps towards reducing bias and creating a fairer and more inclusive hiring process for all.

In my role as Talent Partner at Rullion as well as in previous organisations, I've come to understand that acknowledging and addressing unconscious bias is an ongoing journey and one of continuous improvement. It's about striving to be more aware of our biases and implementing strategies to mitigate their impact. By doing so, we not only ensure fairness in our hiring practices but also unlock the full potential of a diverse and inclusive workforce.

Further reading if you’ve made it this far:

The Impact of Unconscious Bias in the Workplace - CIPD - podcase on addressing unconscious bias.

A reminder to watch out for unconscious bias | CIPD HR-inform

#unconsciousbias #talentacquisition #edi #inclusion #recruitment Rullion