The True Cost of Unfair Interviews

As a hiring manager or HR professional, taking the time to ensure every interview you conduct is fair affects not only the candidates you're considering, but your company's overall success. That's because, with issues like unconscious bias and poor structuring undermining many recruitment processes, the cost of an unfair interview might be higher than you think. So, how can you pinpoint what makes an interview unfair and take actionable steps to rectify it?

1. What Makes an Interview Unfair?

1.1 How Bias Influences Interview Outcomes

Bias in interviews can manifest in subtle but impactful ways, affecting decisions based on irrational preferences. Whether it’s conscious or unconscious, bias can creep in through seemingly innocuous questions or assumptions about a candidate’s background. For example, assuming all technology professionals should fit a certain stereotype might lead you to overlook a skilled candidate who doesn’t match that idea. Similarly, various studies have concluded that interviewers are generally more likely to positively rate candidates with similar educational and cultural backgrounds as themselves.

Bias isn’t limited to individual preferences; it can also be systemic, affected by the broader company culture. This can lead to homogenous teams that lack variety in insight and approach - a significant drawback in innovative sectors.

In your interview process there are a few things you can do to mitigate bias. This includes ensuring a range of employees from different departments and job levels are included on interview panels, in order to get a broader range of perspectives. If possible, you should also measure your candidate drop off rate, to ensure that stages of your recruitment process aren't disproportionally causing certain groups of candidates to leave the process early.

1.2 Impact of Poorly Structured Interviews

Interviews that lack structure often lead to inconsistent evaluations, causing qualified candidates to slip through the cracks. A structured interview format involves carefully curated questions related to job requirements, asked in the same order to each candidate. This not only offers a uniform assessment criterion but also streamlines the evaluation process.

Without such structure, interviewers might focus on irrelevant topics or personal interests, resulting in fragmented feedback and potential misjudgements. You should be able to monitor whether your hiring managers deviate into unplanned territories, allowing for unfairness to creep in. Leveraging platforms like Evidenced can facilitate this by offering individual interviewer insights, ensuring each session covers necessary competencies, and removing the guesswork from your oversight.

Tip: Develop a reliable company-wide template for interviews, and regularly review and adjust it based on job role requirements and past hiring outcomes.

1.3 Lack of Interviewer Training and Its Effects

Training for interviewers is crucial in standardising interview quality and minimising the risk of bias. Yet, it's often an overlooked aspect of the recruitment process. Untrained interviewers may unintentionally focus on incorrect markers of success or, worse, bring personal biases into their judgements. This leads to decisions that don't align with the company's overall strategy or values.

Well-structured training sessions should cover aspects like understanding unconscious biases, asking open-ended questions, and utilising structured frameworks for evaluation. Interview intelligence tools such as Evidenced support this by providing tools for virtual shadowing and feedback sessions, enhancing the interviewer’s awareness and skills over time. This way, you're not only improving immediate hiring outcomes but also investing in long-term strategic growth by fostering a more competent and aware interviewing team.

Tip: Regularly update training modules to include the latest in best practices for unbiased interviewing, and encourage continuous learning within your team.

2. The Costs of Unfair Interview Practices

2.1 On Candidates: Stress and Lost Opportunities

The effect of unfair interviews on candidates is obvious, as losing opportunities due to clearly biased judgement can cause a litany of stresses during the job search. Moreover, when a candidate is faced with obvious bias during an interview, for example when asked an irrelevant or inappropriate question, they may not be able to recover and demonstrate their true abilities throughout the rest of the process.

The impact can also extend beyond the immediate interview, as candidates remember their interview experiences and carry it forward into the rest of the hiring process. In fact, a 2023 study from the CIPD found that 'unfair treatment at interview stage reduced organisational attractiveness by 67%, and only part of this damage could be repaired later on, even when candidates were led to positively re-evaluate the organisation and their interview experience and were offered a job.'

Tip: Encourage candidates to provide feedback about the interview process to identify and rectify issues of perceived unfairness.

2.2 On Companies: Reputational Damage and Legal Risks

Organisations that engage in unfair hiring practices risk long-term reputational damage and legal repercussions. Reputation tarnished by perceived or actual biases can deter top talent from applying, or even customers engaging with the company. With the prevalence of platforms like Glassdoor, where candidates share their experiences, a single poor interview can ripple out wider than you might expect, to potentially cause:

• Reputational Impact: Bad reviews can deter future candidates.

• Legal Risks: Non-compliance with equal opportunity laws can result in lawsuits.

• Financial Losses: Legal battles and PR crises can lead to significant costs.

Companies must be vigilant about maintaining compliance with employment laws, such as the UK Equality Act 2010, to avoid costly legal battles, which can strain both finances and resources. Moreover, biased practices contradict efforts to foster diversity and inclusion, essential in contemporary corporate cultures.

2.3 On Hiring Quality: How Unfairness Lowers Talent Acquisition Success

Unfair interviewing significantly hampers hiring quality, as it often leads to overlooking well-suited candidates in favour of those who perform better under biased criteria. This can also lead to:

• Mismatch Hiring: Candidates selected might not fit the role as well.

• Increased Turnover: High turnover as poor fits leave the company.

• Resource Wastage: Time and money spent on repeated hiring practices.

3. How to Ensure Fairness in Interviews

3.1 Establishing Clear Evaluation Criteria

Setting clear evaluation criteria is crucial for fair interviews and involves defining the competencies and qualities you look for in a candidate. In order to stay consistent and objective in your next interview, try creating a competency-based scorecard detailing:

• Technical skills relevant to the role

• Behavioural and interpersonal skills

• Problem-solving and critical-thinking abilities

• Cultural fit with the organisation

• Past performance and experience indicators

Our interview guides are a great resource for building effective question banks based on core competencies. Make sure to also clearly outline expectations in job descriptions and interview stages, to align all interviewers and candidates on what matters most.

3.2 Training Interviewers on Bias

Training interviewers to recognise and minimise bias is essential because bias can subtly affect judgement and lead to inconsistent decisions. Here are ways to train your team:

1. Raise awareness by addressing common biases in recruitment

2. Offer workshops focussing on unbiased questioning tactics

3. Use tools like recorded mock interviews for practice

4. Utilise software such as Evidenced, which offer virtual shadowing to observe and refine interview approaches

Tip: Regularly update training sessions to reflect the latest insights into bias mitigation strategies.

3.3 Implementing Structured Interviews

Adopt structured interviews to ensure consistency and fairness across all candidate assessments. A structured approach helps eliminate variability and offers a standardised framework. Here's how to implement this effectively:

• Develop a standard set of questions for each role

• Sequence questions logically to gauge skills progressively

• Incorporate real-world scenarios for practical assessment

• Use a tool like Evidenced to automate interview flow

• Gather objective data for performance comparison

Tip: Schedule periodic reviews of your interview structure to ensure it evolves with role demands and industry standards.

Through establishing clear evaluation criteria, training interviewers thoroughly on bias, and implementing structured strategies, you're well-equipped to foster fairer, more effective interviews. This meticulous approach not only enhances candidate experience but also refines the quality of your hires, ensuring long-term success and inclusivity within the workplace.