9 Practical Ways to Reduce Bias in Your Hiring Process

You've experienced it before—an amazing candidate ticks all the right boxes on paper, but somehow the hiring decision doesn't feel right. Bias, whether conscious or not, affects recruitment processes and results in missed opportunities for diverse and capable talent. Understanding how bias manifests in hiring and adopting strategies to counter it can significantly improve the quality and inclusiveness of your hiring process.

The first step towards reducing bias is knowledge. This guide will help you grasp the concept of bias in hiring, explore different types of bias, and understand their impacts. Equipped with this information, you'll be better prepared to implement actionable strategies to minimise bias and make more equitable hiring decisions.

1. Understanding Bias in Hiring

1.1 What is Bias?

Bias in hiring refers to the preconceived notions and preferences that influence decisions during recruitment. Unchecked, these biases can undermine the objectivity needed for fair hiring processes. Biases are often subconscious, based on individuals' backgrounds, experiences, and societal stereotypes. This means they can emerge unintentionally, affecting your judgement without you realising it.

Bias is not just about discriminatory intentions. It’s crucial to understand that well-meaning individuals can also harbour biases. For instance, giving extra weight to candidates from prestigious institutions, assuming they are inherently more qualified, is a form of bias known as educational bias. Recognising these subtleties can help you address them more effectively.

Pro-tip: Reflect on your initial impressions of candidates. Challenge yourself by asking if they are based on facts or assumptions.

1.2 Types of Bias Affecting Hiring

Several types of biases can impact your hiring. Affinity bias leads to favouring candidates who share similar backgrounds or interests. Confirmation bias causes you to favour information that confirms your preconceptions. Halo effect is where one positive attribute affects your overall perception, while the horn effect does the opposite.

Here are more examples:

• Gender bias often skews perceptions of capability based on the candidate's gender.

• Racial bias can limit opportunities for candidates from specific ethnic backgrounds.

• Age bias might lead to assumptions about generational skills and adaptability.

Understanding these biases allows you to strategise your recruitment process. It's vital to update and scrutinise hiring practices to ensure that bias doesn't undermine the equity and diversity of your workforce.

Pro-tip: Create a checklist of common biases. Share this with your hiring team to remind everyone to stay vigilant. Also check out full guide on unconscious bias for more details.

1.3 Impact of Bias on Recruitment

Bias in hiring can lead to a less diverse workforce, causing innovation and creativity to stagnate. Diverse teams bring varied perspectives, leading to better problem-solving and decision-making. Bias, however, can filter out talented individuals who don’t fit the pre-existing mould, limiting your company's growth and inclusiveness.

In addition to the detrimental effect on team diversity, hiring bias can affect your company’s reputation. Organisations known for biased hiring practices may find it difficult to attract top talent. Furthermore, biases can lead to increased turnover if employees feel undervalued or discriminated against, impacting team cohesion and morale.

Pro-tip: Collect regular feedback from employees about their hiring experiences. Use this data to improve your hiring practices continuously.

2. Strategies to Minimise Bias in Your Hiring Process

2.1 Use Standardised Job Descriptions

Standardised job descriptions are a fundamental step to ensure that the hiring process starts on a level playing field. Begin by clearly defining the role and its requirements. Include specific skills, qualifications, and experience needed for the job. This reduces the likelihood of subjective interpretations and helps candidates understand exactly what is expected and required.

Additionally, review your job descriptions to make sure they are free from gendered language or other biased terms. Use tools to identify and modify biased language. By focusing on skills and experience, you create a foundation for a more equitable hiring process.

Pro-tip: Regularly update job descriptions to keep them aligned with current business needs and industry standards.

2.2 Implement Blind Recruitment Practices

Blind recruitment involves hiding personal information like name, age, or gender from applications. This helps focus on the candidate’s skills and qualifications rather than their demographics. An ATS can assist in anonymising CVs to prevent unconscious bias.

Another approach is to remove education history and previous employer details during the initial screening. By doing so, you focus purely on the candidate’s abilities and achievements, ensuring a fairer selection process.

Pro-tip: Consider using a standardised application form for all candidates to make comparisons easier and more objective.

2.3 Offer Structured Interviews

Structured interviews involve asking each candidate the same set of predetermined questions. This consistency ensures that every candidate is evaluated based on the same criteria, making the process more transparent and fair. Prepare questions that are directly related to the job role and avoid any that might lead to bias.

To further improve fairness, use a scoring system to rate each response. This numerical approach helps quantify candidates’ performance, reducing subjective judgments. Implementing interview guides can also help maintain consistency and fairness.

Pro-tip: Evidenced gives you all the tools you need to conduct structured interviews and use scoring systems effectively with your existing hiring process.

2.4 Apply Skills-Based Assessments

Skills-based assessments allow candidates to demonstrate their abilities through practical tasks related to the job. This method is highly effective in reducing bias as it focuses on what the candidate can do, not who they are. Examples include coding tests for developers or writing samples for content roles.

Make sure these assessments are relevant to the duties of the job and standardised across all applicants. By evaluating candidates based solely on their performance in these tasks, you ensure a more meritocratic hiring process.

2.5 Promote Diverse Hiring Panels

Having diverse hiring panels brings multiple perspectives to the table, which can help identify and reduce bias in the selection process. Include individuals from different backgrounds, genders, and departments. This diversity can lead to more balanced decision-making and ensure that a candidate is evaluated from various viewpoints.

Additionally, diverse panels can help identify any inadvertent biases that might slip through. Encourage panellists to openly discuss their viewpoints and potential biases, fostering a culture of transparency and inclusivity.

Pro-tip: Rotate panel members regularly to ensure a wider range of perspectives.

2.6 Encourage Awareness and Training

Bias awareness training is essential for hiring managers and anyone involved in the recruitment process. These programmes help individuals recognise and mitigate their own biases. Interactive workshops or e-learning modules can be effective in educating staff about unconscious bias and its impact on hiring decisions.

Ongoing training is also crucial. Regular refreshers keep bias awareness at the forefront of your team’s minds, ensuring that they continually strive for fairer hiring practices. Complement training with practical exercises and scenarios that your team might encounter during the recruitment process.

2.7 Establish Clear Hiring Criteria

Clearly defined hiring criteria are essential for objective candidate evaluation. Prior to commencing the hiring process, outline both the essential and desirable qualifications, skills, and experiences needed for the role. This structured approach ensures that every applicant is measured against the same yardstick.

Share these criteria with all interviewers to ensure consistency. Encourage interviewers to refer back to these criteria when making decisions. This practice not only promotes fairness but also helps justify hiring decisions with concrete evidence.

Pro-tip: Creating a Job Leveling Matrix allows you to have a framework of assessment for different roles and levels which can be associated with the scorecards you use in each interview.

2.8 Utilise Data-Driven Decision Making

Data-driven hiring decisions minimise bias by relying on quantitative metrics rather than subjective opinions. Track various recruitment metrics, such as the number of applicants at each stage of your process, and use this data to identify potential biases. For example, if a particular demographic consistently drops out at a certain stage, investigate why.

Applicant tracking systems as well as Evidenced can help centralise and analyse this data. By reviewing this information, you can adjust your hiring practices to be more equitable and inclusive.

Pro-tip: Regularly review and update your metrics to keep them relevant and useful for identifying and combating bias.

2.9 Foster an Inclusive Culture

An inclusive culture supports diverse hiring practices. Encourage openness and respect for different perspectives within your organisation. This not only enhances the workplace environment but also helps attract diverse talent. Set clear policies on discrimination and enforce them to ensure inclusivity.

Celebrate diversity through events, awareness programmes, and inclusive policies. Promote Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) that support various communities within your organisation. By fostering a genuinely inclusive culture, you set the groundwork for a fairer hiring process and a more diverse workforce.

Pro-tip: Regularly solicit feedback from employees on your diversity and inclusion efforts to continuously improve.

In conclusion, minimising bias in the hiring process is crucial for creating a fairer and more inclusive workplace. Implementing strategies like standardised job descriptions, blind recruitment practices, and structured interviews can make a significant difference. Additionally, fostering an inclusive culture and promoting awareness and training among your hiring teams will ensure these practices become ingrained and effective.