Skills Over Stereotypes - How to Fight Unconscious Bias and Boost DEI with Blind Hiring

Diversity and inclusion are more than just buzzwords in today’s business world.?

Recent workplace trends have shown that when a company's workforce comprises diverse individuals, it brings a wider range of perspectives and experiences to the table which can lead to more innovative solutions, improved productivity and better decision-making.?

According to a 2020 McKinsey report, companies in the top quartile for ethnic and cultural diversity on their executive teams were 36% more likely to outperform their peers on profitability.

However, achieving diversity and inclusion is not easy. And one of the reasons is Unconscious Bias.?

In this article, we will explore the concept of unconscious bias, its side-effects, and how blind hiring can transform your business’s recruitment processes to mitigate unconscious bias and foster diversity and inclusion amongst your workforce.?

The Impact of Unconscious Bias on Recruitment Decisions

Unconscious bias refers to the implicit biases and prejudices that shape our perceptions and decision-making processes without our conscious awareness.

It is worth noting that if an HR personnel is found culpable of making such biased decisions, he or she is not necessarily being unprofessional.??

What actually happens is that in the course of our upbringing as social creatures, our subconscious mind inevitably develops tendencies to favor or reject people based on stereotypes or assumptions that are not based on objective facts.?

For example, a hiring manager may unconsciously prefer a candidate with a familiar name or background over a candidate with a foreign name or accent, even if they have the same qualifications and skills.

Similarly, unconscious bias can influence your hiring manager to discriminate based on gender, race or educational background, limiting the representation of underrepresented groups in the your workforce.?

Leveraging Blind Hiring to Mitigate Unconscious Bias

One solution for combating unconscious bias and promoting workplace diversity and inclusion is to adopt the Blind hiring method. How does it work??

Blind hiring is an innovative recruitment strategy that focuses on evaluating and screening potential workers solely based on their strengths and skills.?

In this context, demographic considerations like names, gender, race and even academic qualifications become inessential. Instead, your recruitment team’s central focus is redirected to the candidate's skills and abilities. This makes for a fairer evaluation of potential hires.?

That said, how can organizations implement the Blind Hiring approach? You will find a detailed breakdown in our next section.?

8 Actionable Steps for Implementing the Blind Hiring method

Blind hiring can be implemented at different stages of the hiring process, depending on the organization’s goals and resources. Here are 8 holistic steps you can follow to utilize the method effectively:?

Resume screening: The best way to start is removing personal information from candidates’ resumes and applications. These include data like name, gender, age, race, ethnicity, education, or location. Doing this early on in the hiring journey goes a long way to reduce bias in the initial screening and selection of candidates.?

Also, your team doesn’t have to do this the manual way. Some tools and software such as GapJumpers and Blendoor can help automate the screening process.?

Skills testing: Having done the above, your next task is assessing the candidates’ skills and abilities through standardized tests or tasks that are relevant to the job.?

This is because you want to ensure the candidates’ background doesn't obscure your perception of their actual potential and fitness for the role.?

Examples of standardized tests you can use are case studies, simulated challenges, or written samples.?

Interviewing: Though proven effective over the years, the traditional one-on-one interview setup poses the risk of muddling with interviewers’ objectivity as a candidate's physical appearance can prove distractive and interfere with their decision.?

Some methods of blind interviewing are phone interviews, video interviews with masked voices and faces, or text-based interviews.?

Your team members can also create digital twins of themselves which will help them interview candidates from a bias free standpoint.?

Hiring decisions: Final hiring decisions must always be based on the candidates’ performance and scores without considering their personal information or identity.?

Adjusting job descriptions: As bias can be present from the early stages of the hiring process, you should ensure that all descriptions placed on job adverts boards use gender-neutral language and avoid overly specific requirements.?

By emphasizing skills and competencies rather than predetermined qualifications, you will be able to attract a wider and more diverse pool of candidates.

Leveraging AI for screening: AI-powered tools can assist in screening and shortlisting candidates, objectively matching their skills with the requirements of the role. By utilizing these tools, organizations can minimize human bias and ensure that candidates are evaluated based on their qualifications and potential, rather than unconscious biases.

Diversifying the interview panel: The best way to engender diversity is to actively encourage and enforce diversity in every aspect of your organization.?

Therefore, in cases where interviews must be held face-to-face, we suggest you convene a diverse interview panel. Doing so will help bring multiple perspectives to the hiring process.

This diversity of backgrounds and experiences can challenge and mitigate unconscious bias.?

It is crucial to ensure that panel members receive training on unconscious bias and inclusive interviewing techniques to create an environment where all candidates are evaluated fairly.

Ongoing evaluation and improvement: While it is crucial to execute all of the above steps, have it in mind that embracing the Blind Hiring approach in your firm may not be an instant hit. You’d need to constantly recheck and reinvent how the philosophy is entrenched in your business.?

Therefore, you should regularly assess the effectiveness of these practices and solicit feedback from candidates and significant stakeholders.?

This feedback can provide valuable insights into the candidate experience, uncover any potential biases that may still exist, and inform iterative improvements to the blind hiring process.

In conclusion…

You should note that, while blind hiring helps remove biases in recruitment processes, it is one part of the bigger puzzle of building a diverse and inclusive workplace.

There is also the need to address systemic biases, foster inclusive corporate cultures, and provide equal opportunities for career development and advancement for all employees.?