Confirmation Bias at Workplace

John Lubbock once said “what we see depends mainly on what we look for”. Well, I cannot think of a simpler way of defining confirmation bias.?

Confirmation bias could affect anyone from an administrative assistant to those working in leadership. Maybe that’s why a lot has been written about confirmation bias in the last several years. Well, it can be fun and informative to explore how individuals make decision and to know how irrational we humans can be.?

Most of us at some point would have experienced this bias at workplace. Confirmation bias is the human tendency to find, favor, and use information that confirms one’s pre-existing views on a specific topic. Simply put, doing whatever it takes to win an argument, or influence a decision that you think is right. While this is a good personal strategy to get things done the way you want it, it might limit us from making effective decisions.?

For instance, imagine you are a functional head who is been working on a new service/product release. You have an idea that you think may be a game changer for the organization. So, the entire team have been instructed to direct their efforts to explore the feasibility of your idea. The teams carry out multiple surveys, focus groups and market analyses with your idea in mind. Now, this where the confirmation bias kicks in. The teams working on surveys, focus groups are going to design questions with your idea in mind. As a result, all the data and market research that are being gathered is with an intention to support the idea you proposed. So, you are not allowing the data to do the talking. ?

How do we work around confirmation bias??

Considering the following steps could be helpful?

An objective third-party view

When conducting a research, or a survey, the data you gather is completely dependent on what questions you ask. And the questions you ask is dependent on what answer you are looking for. Making a conscious effort to design unbiased questions and having an objective third-party review of your questions before launching could be helpful. ?For instance, instead of asking “Do you think (X) idea would work? Would this interest you? a conjoint analysis could be an effective option to explore customer preferences.?

Promote a work culture that values respectful dissent

It is critical for organizations to embed a culture of respectful dissent in its decision-making process. This could go a long way in promoting a more inclusive and effective decision-making process.?

Hiring Process holds the key

If you have ever wondered why we end up with some regrettable hires and hiring decisions at workplace, the culprit is none other than confirmation bias. The traditional hiring process is nothing but a series of confirmatory checkboxes on the way to hiring the wrong person. Most recruiters, and hiring leaders go into an interview with preconceptions of a candidate, and the interview process is only a discussion to find information that confirm their impression. Asking questions that could provide an objective perspective about the candidate holds the key. It might make sense to avoid asking confirmatory questions and instead base it around disconfirming evidence. ?