Avoiding Review Bias

Last week, we looked at self-reviews during the annual review process. We discussed why they matter and what to strive for.

Today, we will look at the manager's side of things and address what could be the biggest obstacle when managers create team reviews: Bias.

In casual language, bias often gets called out by others as something obvious or malicious, something the other person does because they are cruel, uncaring, or incapable of being rational. However, bias cannot be explained quite that easily.

The National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) wrote an excellent article about bias in the context of racial tensions. Still, it can be applied to other areas of bias as well. The full article can be found in the following link.

"Bias is a preference in favor of, or against a person, group of people, or thing. These initial human reactions, often unconscious, are rooted in inaccurate information or reason and potentially harmful. "

"Bias is how our minds streamline thinking to make sense of the world quickly. Our brains are biologically designed to perform these quick judgments unconsciously. In early prehistory, this unconscious, streamlined thinking was a form of protection against threats from the natural world."

Keeping this in mind will help us address bias. Bias is the assortment of habitual snap decisions which help us sort people and situations into buckets – and our brains are bucket-sorting machines!

As with many snap decisions, bias can give us a warped perception of reality. We will observe a situation and change how we perceive it depending on bias and available information.

If we observe a disliked team member leave each day precisely at five in the afternoon, they may not be putting in their best effort or dislike being in the office. If we think highly of another team member in the same situation, we might find an explanation, such as needing to go to daycare for their child. If we dislike a team member, their efficient solutions to tasks and problems might lead us to believe it's just work that was too easy for them. If we like them, the thought might become that they are merely highly skilled and dependable.

Bias can even make us place trust or distrust in someone else based on their taste in music, computer games, or the car they drive – things wholly unrelated to their work.

As leads and managers, learning about bias and honestly examining it for oneself is critical to overcoming the problems bias causes during the review process. From there, managers can develop strategies that will help address the most common biases.

While there are countless articles online that give detailed examples of what these biases can be, let's focus on the five most common ones that experts seem to agree on:

·????????Evening out ratings closer to the middle because "no one is perfect"

·????????Over-prioritizing a particular skill that we value highly or feel is challenging to master

·????????Rating for perceived potential instead of proven performance

·????????Exaggerated focus on recent or outstanding (positive or negative) events

·????????Overvaluing those who remind us of ourselves or whom we perceive as 'good people'

Defusing one's bias – positive or negative – can start with dedicated one-on-one time, which will give you a good foundation for future reviews. Suppose your monthly or bi-monthly reviews outline how an employee progressed throughout the year, which challenges were overcome, or what their day-to-day work looks like. In that case, you're equipped with facts that allow you to build a comprehensive overview without relying on how you feel they are doing.

As you write your review and assess your team member, observe the words you use to describe them. Check if your use of words holds a different meaning between different people. Is a team member who pushes forward frequently an aggressive woman or an assertive man? Do you describe someone as competent, skilled, or capable if they are fulfilling basic tasks as readily as someone who works outside their typical skillset? Do you put a high value on someone being articulate when communication might not be a part of their work? The words we use to describe someone can show a hidden bias, so review what you wrote and consider if the word you're using is needed or placed correctly.

Be consistent in your evaluation. Measure everyone on the same scale and ensure your metrics are based on fact, not feeling. Hard data, like delivered results, skills with needed tools, or gained qualifications or certificates, matter and can be applied to everyone in your team. Be prepared to answer questions about your metrics – if you can explain your thinking, chances are you've built a sound system.

Encourage your team to write a self-review. Use it to compare how they see their work with how you see it. It can be conducive to getting reminders about their accomplishments, daily tasks, and goals. Maybe something you have noticed as negative resulted from a team member needing more direction. You can also use these self-evaluations to check if your perception might be warped due to an unconscious bias.

If your company supports them, lean on peer reviews. These surveys help determine how others perceive the person you seek to grade. Perhaps an unnoticed bias made you less critical of a vital shortcoming, or you were harsher on them than their teammates would have been. It can also help you learn more about your report's daily impact on others around them.

Beware of grading someone on perceived likability. Teamwork matters, but it might be hidden from you. The gruff, dry humor you hate about a team member might be precisely what makes their peers laugh and seek out their advice. Personal preferences in the personality of others make for a poor guidepost in your evaluation of their work.

At Hardsuit Labs, we strive to give our managers dedicated training to aid in seeing their bias and how to overcome it. Check if your company offers similar! Maybe your HR team can recommend training, or they might even have something prepared for you.