It is human nature to have prejudices, especially unconscious prejudices. When it comes to recruiting managers and potential employees, extensive research It shows that today’s hiring process is unfortunately still plagued with bias. That’s why it’s so important to learn how to reduce bias in the hiring process.
Eliminating unconscious bias in the hiring process is a serious concern for small business owners. But how do we do that? And how can you help other team members do the same? From how to establish an inclusive interview process to how to write an inclusive job posting, here’s what you need to know and what to do. To do. What technology can do to help.
What is bias and how does it show up in the hiring process?
Bias is the way we compartmentalize or create categories in our minds that create generalizations and stereotypes in our relationships with other people.
Bias in the hiring process is employee prejudice that favors one class of employees over another. Some biased attitudes are conscious, but others are unconscious, meaning they are outside the person’s awareness and control.
What are unconscious biases in the hiring process?
Unconscious biases in the hiring process, also called implicit biases, refer to prejudices against certain groups of workers that employers and managers are unaware of. Unconscious biases can directly conflict with the beliefs and values expressed by an individual or organization. Self-awareness is the first step in minimizing this unconscious favoritism.
How to write a comprehensive job posting
Letting go of prejudices starts with writing a comprehensive job posting. Job descriptions play an important role in the hiring process and give candidates their first impression of you and your organization.
Here are the most important points to keep in mind when you sit down to write a post for an open position.
1. Beware of sexist language
When candidates are considering your job description, even subtle word choices can have a big impact on whether they can recognize themselves in the role. This is especially true when it comes to reducing unconscious biases about gender. Gender pay gap.
Pay attention to gender pronouns, verbs, and descriptors in your job listing. Either remove the stereotypical gender words entirely and replace them with more neutral words, or use an equal number of gender words to balance it out. example? every time you use a word like driven, Competitivenessagain With confidence, use words like Cooperative, cooperativeand Interpersonal relations. Software programs can also be used to highlight gendered words and display gendered language that you may not be aware of.
2. Avoid unnecessary jargon
We’ve all seen job descriptions full of industry jargon and overly technical language. You should avoid such posts unless you want them to be understood only by insiders. Instead of intimidating job seekers into feeling less qualified, use a comprehensive vocabulary that encourages more diverse applicants to apply.
3. Focus on essential skills
Be prepared to turn your palms back…Men typically apply for jobs when they determine they are 60% qualified, whereas most women can provide 100% of what is required Did you know that if you don’t feel like it, hold off on applying? It’s sad but true. The more skills they list, the less likely women are to consider themselves qualified. By listing only the skills you really need, rather than a long list in your job posting, you create a more even balance of men, women, and non-binary people applying for the job.
4. Show, not tell, your commitment to diversity and inclusion
Job descriptions are not just about recruiting applicants.This is your chance to show off your charm corporate values, to show prospective employees where you stand.do you have DEI strategy in place? Are you taking steps to enable people with disabilities to thrive in the workplace? It’s an important thing to mention in every job posting.
How to Avoid Hiring Bias When Considering Resumes
When your resume is submitted for review, make sure you are doing everything in your power to address hiring biases at this stage. Here are her three ways to level the playing field when considering candidate pools.
1. Consider a blind review process
Consider a blind, systematic review process to ensure that you are focusing on people’s specific skills and qualifications rather than superficial demographic characteristics.
Blind screening hides all details that might reveal a candidate’s race, gender identity, socioeconomic background and age, including a candidate’s name, photo, college, address, and year of graduation. This helps prevent biases from creeping in and allows a more open eye to see what each person brings to the table.
Technology can be very helpful here as well. Consider trying software programs such as Pinpoint and Blendoor that “blind” or anonymize the process. If you don’t have the resources for a blind recruitment platform, you can also try a DIY approach. Ask the applicant to remove their personal information from their application.
2. Ensuring diversity among reviewers
One of the best ways to avoid bias when screening candidates is to Diverse group of people Involved in the review process. By obtaining candidate opinions from a balanced mix of men and women, people of different races and ages, and people from different teams within the organization, bias does not unduly limit hiring opportunities. increase.
Also consider regularly checking your existing screening processes for discrimination. How many candidates from underrepresented groups applied for the position? How many of those applicants ended up being interviewed or pre-screened? , you are much more likely to meet your diversity goals.
3. Replace your resume with a different kind of assessment
Is there another way to reduce the effects of unconscious bias? Try deleting your resume entirely. Instead of requiring a traditional resume, give each applicant assessments and challenges related to the skills they’re looking for. For example, you can ask them to describe a recent great interaction with a customer, let them speak verbatim, and decide who to interview accordingly.
How to create a comprehensive interview process
How do the best and fairest employers approach the interview process? They avoid hiring on gut feeling. By following these best practices when interviewing, you can make data-driven hiring choices that are fair and equitable to all applicants.
1. Understand bias and strive to set diversity goals
change is open and honest communication. Discuss your biases openly and frankly with your hiring manager. Provide bias awareness training as needed. Remind everyone of your company’s diversity goals at various stages of hiring. Also, encourage managers to give specific feedback when evaluating a candidate’s strengths and weaknesses. For example, if a recruiter decides a candidate isn’t a good fit for “unspecified,” ask for a more specific reason.
2. Ask all candidates the same question
According to research Unstructured interviews without clear-cut questions are often unreliable predictors of job success and are prone to biased “gut” decisions. Make sure you ask all candidates the same questions instead of allowing the conversation to unfold “organically.” Try to make decisions based on an informed comparison of people’s abilities, not on people’s first impressions.
3. Ask only acceptable questions
There are laws at both the state and federal levels that prevent certain unacceptable interview questions from being asked during job interviews. These laws protect people from discrimination based on race, sex, religion, age, disability, etc. Certain questions are left out of the table because it would be unfair to judge someone based on these factors.
Several acceptable interview questions Things to ask include:
- Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your work history?
- What are your salary expectations?
- What would you say is your greatest weakness?
- Can you give me some good reasons to hire you?
- What would you say is your greatest strength?
- What are your salary expectations?
- Could you tell us why you decided to quit your previous company?
4. Use an interview scoring system
Using data to scrutinize talent makes the hiring process more objective.Ann interview scoring system allows you to easily evaluate applicants based on the qualifications they are seeking. There are many grading scales to choose from, but the most common is for him to grade each question answered on a scale of 1-5. Free interview scoring sheet It helps implement the system, calculate the final score, and advance with the highest scoring candidates.
Why Fair Hiring Matters to Business and How Technology Can Free Up Time
Whether conscious or unconscious, bias negatively affects every aspect of the workplace. However, committing to fair hiring has a positive impact on everyone in the organization and benefits the business as a whole.Place all employees on a horizontal surface boost employee morale, reduce salesand improve retention. When you create an atmosphere of inclusivity and trust, employees are more likely to feel supported, respected, and trusted. happy and productive.
Developing an anti-bias policy, continuously enforcing it, and improving it is an easy task to slip through. Hiring is not just an interview process, it can be very tedious and time consuming without the right tools.
That’s where Homebase can help.
and Home base adoptionstreamline the hiring process from start to finish. Our software makes it easy to create job listings, add vacancies to leading job sites, and manage potential candidates using our applicant tracking system.—It’s all in one place. And when you’re ready to onboard new employees and add them to your organization, payroll processthere are tools for that too.
With Homebase, you can spend less time on tedious manual tasks and more time on other important parts of your business. Make the hiring process as thoughtful and inclusive as possible. Get started today
Bias in the Hiring Process: Frequently Asked Questions
What is bias in the hiring process?
Bias is the way we compartmentalize or create categories in our minds that create generalizations and stereotypes in our relationships with other people. Bias in the hiring process is employee prejudice that favors one class of employees over another.
What is unconscious bias?
Unconscious biases in the hiring process, also known as implicit biases, refer to the prejudices that employers and managers unknowingly have toward certain groups of workers. Unconscious biases can directly conflict with the beliefs and values expressed by an individual or organization.
How can you create a fair hiring process?
You can create an impartial hiring process by creating comprehensive job listings, following a blind screening process, or deleting resumes entirely in favor of another type of evaluation. When conducting interviews, first make sure you and the hiring manager understand bias and are committed to setting diversity goals. Then use the interview scoring system to ask the same question each time and advance to the highest scoring candidate.
