Combating Unconscious Bias in the Recruitment Process

 

How much does ‘gut feeling’ play a part in your hiring decisions?

Harvard Business Review recently stated that ‘80% of employee turnover is down to bad hiring decisions’.

An alarming statistic which shines a light on the the true cost of an unsuccessful hire. Its especially concerning when you consider the time and resources involved in the recruitment process, the onboarding experience and the training and development of that individual.

Those bad hiring decisions are often the by product of a “gut feeling” that one might experience during an interview. While gut feelings can sometimes provide valuable insights, particularly for those more experienced recruiters, it’s important to recognise that they can also be influenced by unconscious biases. As such they may not always be reliable indicators of a candidate’s qualifications or suitability for a position.

 

Let’s Take a Closer Look at Unconscious Bias

In simple terms, unconscious bias refers to the biases that interviewers may have without even realising it, based on factors such as background, stereotypes, and culture.

Let’s be honest, how often do we form our opinions within the first fifteen minutes of an interview and then spend the rest of the time trying to validate that initial impression? This is known as confirmation bias, which is just one example of unconscious bias.

Here are a few more examples:

• The Halo or Horns Effect. This occurs when interviewers form an overall positive or negative impression of a candidate based on a single trait or characteristic, overshadowing the evaluation of other relevant factors.
• The “Similar to Me” Bias. Which refers to the tendency of interviewers to unconsciously favour candidates who are similar to themselves in terms of background, interests, or experiences, potentially overlooking other qualified candidates who bring diverse perspectives.
• Stereotyping. When interviewers’ preconceived notions about certain groups can influence the evaluation of candidates. It’s not just about gender, ethnicity, or other visible diversity characteristics – even factors like height, body weight, names, and more can trigger unconscious bias.

All these biases can have a negative impact on the decision-making process during interviews and as such we need to eradicate them as much as possible so we can avoid:

• Missed opportunities to hire qualified candidates
• Costly hiring mistakes, resulting in unsuitable hires for the role
• Discrimination or unfair treatment of candidates based on factors like gender, race, age, and more

 

So, whats the Solution? 

A scientifically proven solution to reducing unconscious bias is the application of psychometric technology. I’ve seen first-hand, on a consistent basis, how the use of the Talent Dynamics psychometric assessments have helped unpick the can do’s and wants of a great candidate, resulting in a successful long-term appointment.

They have ensured fair and more objective evaluations. Which have ultimately led to better hiring decisions and a more diverse and inclusive workforce.

How do they do this?

• Providing objective and standardised measures of candidate characteristics and abilities.
• Data driven decision making from quantifiable scores that can objectively compare candidates to validate suitability for a role.
• Focusing on job-related skills and qualities, aptitudes and personality traits that can be pre-determined by the interviewer, so specific to a role.

 

Powerful Outcomes

The outcome of these powerful psychometric assessments ensure we’re making a recruitment choice based on fact. In a standardised, comparable format, which assesses those talents you might not always uncover or recognise in a typical interview scenario.

There are so many benefits but I’ve listed some of the main ones below:

• Understanding how people will behave at work to better predict job performance.
• Identifying hidden or leadership potential in job applicants.
• Accurately testing general intelligence of candidates.
• Interpreting candidate emotions and their ability to maintain relationships.
• Reducing hiring bias.
• Supporting diversity and inclusion.
• Saving time, money and resources in the recruitment process.
• Get the ‘right’ candidates that meet your business needs by reducing unconscious bias.

 

Summary

Creating a more cost effective and bias-free recruitment process begins with acknowledging the presence of bias and taking proactive steps to mitigate its impact.

Ultimately a data-driven process achieved through psychometric assessments has been proven to deliver more effective and fair hiring decisions which reduce the overall cost of recruitment.

Whats not to like?

 

 

By Emma Tolley, Psychometric Specialist, Lead Talent Management Consultancy

Further Resources:

Video: Mitigating Unconscious Bias

 

To learn more about the capabilities of Lead Talent Dynamics and how psychometric assessments can drive more effective recruitment decisions visit: Lead Talent Dynamics

For more information on Talent Dynamics please get in touch with Emma Tolley on 07770 917545. 

#psychometrics #psychometricassessments #unconsciousbias #diversity #inclusion