How to Remove Bias from Selection and Promotional Processes - Installment #2

Last month we posted the first installment of frequently asked questions and answers regarding How to Remove Bias from Selection and Promotional Processes where the question was:

Are assessments racist and should we stop using them in our selection process?

This month we are following on with another important aspect of the topic.

How can we proactively address biases through our assessment and selection program?

Your choice of assessment tools should consider potential biases that exist within any organization. Long-standing gender and racial/ethnic biases often serve as very real barriers to employment and/or advancement within organizations and can create problems if you rely too heavily on a track record of success for evaluating candidate potential.

Diverse groups often find themselves last in line to receive opportunities to take on leadership roles or develop records of success. While you cannot completely ignore past performance in your assessment program, we do recommend that organizations pivot away from relying on this type of potentially biased criteria.

Focusing on the measurement of future capabilities helps to unmask potential and override biases associated with legacy barriers to promotion. It is critical to establish a set of objective assessment specifications that minimizes inherent biases and accurately identifies our next-generation workforce and leaders.

In fact, new technologies allow organizations to expand their measurement criteria to assess an almost-limitless array of attributes that reflect the workforce demands of the 21st century. Organizations that build future-focused measurement criteria into their assessment programs are able to more-fairly assess a broader, more-diverse base of qualified candidates—thereby helping to remove barriers and level the playing field.

If you'd like to find out more about removing bias from selection and promotion, contact Jason Griffin at [email protected].