Hiring Managers - How to Control Your Unconscious Biases

Our brains are constantly receiving information, and there is only so much of it that we can process on a conscious level. This of course, can be both a good and a bad thing. From a talent perspective, the truth is that our unconscious bias can play a huge role in the way we recruit, interview and hire, leading to sub-optimal or downright unfair decisions, none of which are to our benefit. So, what is unconscious bias, and how can we try to control it? 

Unconscious biases 

We all have unconscious biases, and they are defined as “learned stereotypes that are automatic, unintentional, deeply ingrained, universal, and able to influence behavior.” And they can include anything from your gut reaction to someone’s name on a resume to favoring a candidate that went to the same college as you. 

To build the strongest, most diverse teams we can, hiring managers are challenged to reduce their unconscious bias at each step of the recruitment process. Here are some tactics you can use to reduce your bias and hire better candidates. 

Reducing bias while recruiting  

Our unconscious bias can kick in right from the start of our hiring process. Here are a few ways to reduce that bias: 

1.     Look at your job descriptions. Your job listing will play a crucial role in attracting candidates to apply, and research shows that your word choice is important. Take a look and see if you may be using a lot of stereotypical masculine words (e.g., competitive) or stereotypical feminine words (e.g., collaborative), and try to make them neutral. You can also consider running some tests. Switch out some of those words and see how your candidate pool changes. 

2.     Use technology to reduce bias. Consider using technology to enable you to view resumes “blindly,” meaning you will not see the candidate’s name or photo, leaving you to make your decisions based strictly on their accomplishments. 

Reducing bias while interviewing 

It can be harder to reduce bias in interviews because our brains are bombarded with even more information. We are typically meeting with people in person, and we get to know more about their personality and what they look like. 

1.     Standardize your interviews. This means that each candidate you interview will be asked the same questions. You can also consider creating a standardized scorecard by which you can rank the candidates more fairly. 

2.     Have a panel interview. Instead of having one hiring manager select final candidates, or build out a whole team, bring together a team to interview potential candidates and make the final hiring decision. This will help you reduce your individual bias and make smarter hiring decisions.  

Reducing bias while hiring

1.     Set diversity goals. There is only so much we can do to reduce bias throughout the hiring process. By having a diversity goal, you can see if the work you’re doing up front is leading to the outcomes your business is looking for.   

2.     Ongoing work to understand bias. Again, everyone has unconscious biases. But as hiring managers, we have the responsibility to think more broadly about our personal biases and the ones that are ingrained into the way to recruit, hire, and retain talent. Being aware of this challenge and working to eliminate it at each step will be an ongoing process, a learning opportunity and a chance to drive organizational change that will have a positive impact on your employees and your business.