Video interviews - how to mitigate bias

With this article I would like to initiate a conversation in your recruiting and hiring team about video interviews. Hopefully you find something to think about and maybe this improves the positive interview experience of your candidates.

This is not a list and explanation of all types of bias that exist. There are great other articles for that.

Too long did not read version: tldr - reduce amount of video interviews - do hiring and interview training for all interviewers - do a bias awareness training for all interviewers - adjust your email templates to offer a choice - adjust your email templates to be mindful of accessibility - an interview process should be convenient for the candidate NOT for the recruiter - a recruiter needs to have empathy and strong communication skills as well as an extensive vocabulary - if a candidate does not want to turn on the camera you must respect that - we all have a bias - create a check list to self check why you reached your decision

Normal, long version

Disclaimer and premise: We all have a bias. The goal is to reduce and mitigate it and to try to make processes equal, fair and comparable so that hiring/not hiring decisions are as objective as possible. If you have a recruiter/ hiring manager who hires a person based on looks you can do as much training as you want, the person wont change. If you notice a lack of diversity in your team/company you should analyze your hiring process. If the first interview is always a video call you must ask your recruiter why this person was chosen over the other to check for a potential bias. The same goes for a hiring manager, you as a recruiter should ask for reasons why someone was chosen if the hiring manager prefers video interviews.

1.) Basics:

1.1) Let us first start with the basics on how an invite ( email template ) should look like. Sadly, there are still "senior " recruiters who are not able to do this simple basic thing. An email invite to an interview ( any type ) should have the following information

Length of interview, type of interview ( for example: onsite or phone or video ), interview attendees ( name and function ), day and time, basic content of interview ( for example: introduction, tech or team interview ) , maybe a choice between two options ( appointments ) , your email and your phone number

Ideally you treat all candidates the same way, a phone call. If you think you must insist on video interviews you should at least give the option for all candidate to choose between phone or video interview. You should include a sentence to offer assistance in case someone needs accessibility support . These are the basics. ( I assume you are writing a polite email that is why I don't list it above. If not you should change that. Or better, find another profession. )

Recommendation: - explanation on how the video tool works ( as in: just click on link, log in there, enter code etc. etc. )

Optional content: - links to website, blogs or social media - a teaser if the process is two, three or four stages ( or however long the process is )

1.2.) Type of bias that are in effect during a video interview:

The first seconds ( be it appearance of a person, video background of a candidate, nervousness and technical challenges ( microphone or camera issues ) ) cause you as a recruiter to already make a subconscious decision ( either positive or negative ) at the beginning that determines the outcome already.

You prefer people that are similar to you and look similar. Same for gender, ethnicity or language.

You might be attracted to a person, be it same gender or opposite. You might be annoyed by gestures. You might prefer eye contact but the candidate does not. All these things influence your decision whether you like the candidate or not. And these things are not even related to job, qualification or abilities. Can you see why a video interview is not helpful for diversity?

EVEN more important: There are shy, self conscious and nervous candidates who perform worse in a video interview just because it is a video interview. They are qualified for the role but don't get selected because they are : nervous, might stutter, shy or intimidated. ( maybe your recruiter is very pretty or looks intimidating ! This is something a lot of people don't think about. )

Also ( same goes for onsite interviews ) try to not have too many people in a video interview. A large amount of people in call could also be perceived as intimidating.

A phone interview can already reduce some of the above mentioned exposure. Again, all about mitigation. During a phone interview you will still have a bias but the goal is to reduce it to give all candidates an equal treatment.

If a phone call is not possible due to lack of network coverage or line issues, do a video call but then both sides turn off the camera. Kind of obvious but some recruiters are not aware of that.

2.) VIDEO INTERVIEWS:

2.1.) Why you should reduce the amount of video interviews to a minimum. There is always the argument that a video interview is better for "culture" and "team fit". I get that. But as mentioned above it may lead to an increased biased selection process. Try to have the first interviews via phone and then when video interviews occur you could a) conduct interview and bias awareness training b) standardize and structure these video interviews c) shadow the interview to do sample testing d) read interview feedback carefully to look for indicators of bias that should not belong there ( for example: " she looked odd ", " he was touching his beard all the time " ) e) adjust/limit the attendees to balance the effects ( for example a female candidate should not only be video-interviewed by men and the other way around ) if there is a team video interview show the diversity of your team towards the candidate. Include diverse people in video calls.

2.2) If your candidate prefers a certain tool, you as a recruiter should adjust. It may not be possible all the time due to company policy on app usage and security but offering two options ( and the classic phone call ) is better. You as a recruiter might have a preference but that does not matter. The candidate should choose.

2.3) If your candidate does not turn on the camera respect that and don't press the person about it. Just turn off yours to make things equal.

2.4) Recruiter empathy and communication skills: If you notice the candidate is nervous ( shivering or fast talking ) you can politely address it and put the person at ease. A friendly introduction always helps. Being polite is also mandatory. It also helps to say: " It is okay to be nervous. " I usually say with a smile: " It is normal to be nervous. I am also nervous. So now we are on an equal playing field. If you need five more minutes before we start that is totally fine and interrupt me any time if you need a break. " And it immediately helps.

2.5) Accessibility: There are people that have challenges so you should consider options that a person can still be interviewed. Maybe someone says they cant use a computer easily or their main communication tool is a phone or speech to text.

2.6) Try to create a self check list you take a look at right after the interview / when you fill in your feedback form.

• have I treated this person different than other candidates?
• did the thought: " oh, she/ he / they was pretty " occur during the interview?
• did the thought: " ugh, what was she/he/ they doing today, they look tired. " occur?
• did I ask the same questions as usual or did I go off tangent to talk about personal things?
• did the interview took longer / was the interview shorter, if yes: why? ( there are situations when the qualification immediately is not a fit and you may end an interview early but sometimes if you like someone you tend to talk more. Or you like someone so much you skip parts! ) Be aware!

If any of the above sound familiar you need to focus and try to think about your duty to cover job, qualification, company, process and questions. We all have those thoughts, we need to reduce them as much as possible!

Summary: This is something you as recruiter need to discuss with your team and hiring managers. Create and conduct bias awareness training. Don't be afraid to analyze decisions and try to think from the candidate perspective.

BUT Janosch, we are a PR agency and people must look the part for media appearances. BUT we want our sales people to be charming. If that is the case I don't want you to succeed and you keep doing what you want. Other companies will get the diverse talent then.

For all the others out there: Best of success and let me know if I forgot something or if you have additional input. Have a nice day.