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  • Writer's pictureThe Gilmore Group

How HR Leaders Can Interrupt Biases In Recruitment

Every year, companies spend millions on anti-bias training for employees. This is in the hope of creating a workforce that's more inclusive, which can lead to greater innovation and efficacy in performance. It's well established that companies with diverse workforces consistently outperform those with homogenous composition because they tend to have robust problem-solving outcomes.


But within that backdrop, a surprising number of companies don't measure the effectiveness of anti-bias training investments in a meaningful manner. This is primarily because it's a complex subject that's very difficult to effectively measure without an extended empirical study. Then, in some instances, such interventions backfire because there's a defensive response from specific groups of employees.


Where Does Bias Appear?

In order to be able to create these interruptions, it's imperative to first understand different ways bias plays out in our daily work interactions.


  • Gender Bias: In many work environments, it's common for women to wait longer to get promoted—if they are at all—than men colleagues. Mothers regularly deal with direct or indirect questions on their commitment toward work or face disapproval for being too career oriented.


  • Behavior Policing: Often, a more restrictive set of behaviors is expected from certain groups of employees. For instance, younger colleagues may be expected to display obeisance toward more tenured co-workers.


  • Expectation Imbalance: Some demographic segments are, unfairly, expected to do more to prove their worth. Sometimes, this can lead to disadvantaged groups being pitted against each other based on how well they're living up to these additional pressures.


But, one of the areas that bias is most prevalent is in recruiting. While fairness in hiring is only one step in achieving diversity across organizations, it's an incredibly vital first step. It's also one of the most objective processes to help measure results of anti-bias interventions. Without inclusive recruitment practices, businesses will continue to suffer from the limitations of bias.


5 Ways HR Leaders Can Reduce Hiring Bias

Organizations need proactive anti-bias strategies to ensure a more equitable hiring process. Here are some simple actions that can yield lasting impact on improving diversity across your organization.


  • Measure for outcomes. It's important that the metric you apply to recruitment is focused on outcomes, not activity. For example, there's greater value in measuring diverse hires as a percentage of overall hires as opposed to how many diverse candidates were interviewed.

  • Use blind shortlists. One of the most effective ways of interrupting recruitment bias is to implement blind, criteria-based shortlisting early on in the process. Fortunately, HR technologies have created multiple options for ensuring that diverse candidates aren't left out of consideration from the start.

  • Create diverse selection panels. You're more likely to make diverse hiring decisions when you have diverse people on your selection panels. This leads to a more balanced view on candidate fit, rather than the kind of conscious or unconscious bias that a homogenous panel may bring to the table.


  • Have several diverse candidates. A number of organizations have moved toward ensuring at least one diverse candidate is in the final slate. While this is a very positive initiative that adds pressure on the existing recruitment channels, it doesn't move the needle enough. One candidate of color in a final pool with four white men will look like an outlier, making a diverse hiring decision less probable. So if you go a step further and ensure there's more than one diverse candidates in the final slate, you'll increase your chances of more balanced hiring outcomes.


  • Feedback is gold. Consistently capturing independent feedback from stakeholders across different aspects of the hiring process will yield a gold mine of opportunities to enhance the final outcomes. For example, you can learn whether the physical infrastructure is inclusive or if the interview process is open enough. If not, you can then make appropriate accommodations for different situations.


Becoming familiar with our inherent biases is an uncomfortable experience, but it's the vital first step in our journey to overcome them. For organizations, it serves as the very foundation of building a fairer, diverse workplace where professionals from all backgrounds can thrive. When it comes to hiring individuals from underrepresented backgrounds, good intentions alone can't lead to good outcomes. You must consistently follow through with robust actions to ensure your recruitment strategy is equitable.


Source: Forbes Human Resources Council.. Sanjiv Agarwal Forbes Councils Member




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