As you embrace a truly inclusive culture, you need to take every stop possible to erase bias in hiring and throughout your company.
Bias inevitably occurs in virtually every industry – and initiatives must be ongoing to minimize or eliminate it as it can have devastating effects on diversity, recruiting and promotion and retention strategies.
- Results of one recent study show that 84 percent of 3,000 respondents said bias negatively affected their happiness and confidence. Three-quarters of respondents said bias impacted how engaged they felt at work, while 68 percent said it adversely affected their productivity.
To avoid bias and discrimination in hiring:
Watch the wording in your job descriptions.
The gender implications of the words you use in your job descriptions can significantly impact your recruitment process. For instance, women have been found to be less likely to apply for positions for which descriptions include “masculine coded” language such as “active, confident” or “driven.” Even subtle word choices can make a difference.
Use blind skills challenges.
Certain information on resumes and in CVs can lead to unconscious bias. To effectively address this, encourage blind applications that remove such details as race, nationality, gender and age. In some cases, even a candidate’s name can be a factor.
Make data-driven decisions.
As you do in all business critical matters, let intelligent data insights drive your recruitment decision-making. Use big data, predictive analytics and social signals to assist your hiring managers as they source and engage with talent. There are numerous methods you can use to gain insight into job candidates, as well as gauge the performance of current employees.
Have a structured interview process.
Design a structured interview process that tests all job applicants in the same manner and assures they are all assessed against the same markers. You can achieve this by sticking to a specific set of questions for every candidate, without exception. This increases objectivity and allows every applicant to be judged fairly based on their responses.
Educate your team.
Awareness training educates employees so they spot signs of bias early on. Have your team members complete assessments like the Harvard Implicit Association Test, which teaches about how unconscious biases shape personal and professional perceptions. Also, include training on affinity bias, racial bias and others.
Hold everyone accountable.
Once you have educated your team, hold each member, especially HR pros, responsible for applying what they have learned and spreading education about reducing bias throughout your organization. One example is making inclusion part of every meeting. Leaders and facilitators should acknowledge every attendee and show that they value their time, respond with constructive criticism, ask for conflicting opinions to achieve balance, and make sure all decisions are true group efforts.
Consider a partnership with PrideStaff Fresno as you work to eradicate bias and build and retain your winning workforce in areas including accounting and finance, administration, customer service, healthcare, IT, insurance, sales and marketing, and more. Contact us today to learn more.