The aim for every resourcing specialist is to secure the best possible candidate for their client. Someone who is an ideal match with the company and position on offer. But to truly achieve this, it is essential to remove bias from every step of the selection and assessment process.
Why? Because resourcing specialists are human too. Like everyone the world over, our decisions can be swayed or influenced by bias – both consciously and unconsciously. It is easy for top candidates to be discarded or overlooked if bias goes unchecked.
Bias in the resourcing process can appear in numerous ways. The most obvious is when suitably qualified candidates are screened out due to a particular characteristic the hiring manager regards as not ideal, for example age, race, gender, a disability, tattoos or an overly introverted or extroverted personality. Bias is also regularly attached to education and location, such as a perception that people raised in the country have a more easy-going nature than those raised in the city, or a belief that individuals possess certain values and qualities based on the school they attended.
While there is occasionally merit in these stereotypes, they are often incorrect.
Some of the most common examples of bias during the resourcing process include:
1.Bias against a candidate’s name
A name can indicate gender, race and nationality. Unfortunately, this is one of the most obvious areas where bias occurs when incorrect assumptions are made about issues surrounding experience, suitability, language proficiency and visa status.
A study by ANU found applicants with Chinese, Middle Eastern and Indigenous sounding names were far less likely to be selected for interviews[1]. Another example from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) shows gender bias is also prevalent. The ABS implemented a ‘blind recruitment round’ where identifying details including name and gender were concealed from the selection panel. This resulted in 15 of the 19 roles on offer going to women. Previously only 21% of the Bureau’s senior executives were women.
2. Bias during Resume/CV screening
The earlier mention of assumptions based on education is a classic example here. Focusing too heavily on the institutions a candidate attended or the grades they secured can result in great applicants being overlooked.
Guilt by association is also a challenge resource specialists face. Applicants can be tainted in the mind of a hiring manager by the reputation of a project they have worked on. If a particular project or project team is known within the industry to have been problematic, missed deadlines or underperformed, there is a risk the candidate is screened out purely on this basis despite possibly not having contributed to the issues.
3. Bias based on first impressions
Research shows we form decisions about people within the first minutes of meeting them. Studies from Princeton University indicate we make judgments on things such as trustworthiness, competence and likability within a fraction of a second after seeing someone’s face. Add body language, eye contact and presentation to the mix and first impressions can be hard to change.
At Concentis we take note of the first impressions formed of each candidate and make a conscious effort to remove any bias that is evident from that during the resourcing process.
4. Bias during an interview
Further to the point above, first impression can be compounded in an interview setting by things such as negative body language, tone of voice, aggressive language and low or overly high energy levels. The key to avoiding bias during interviews is to focus on results and facts. Asses the candidate’s actual performance, rather than a personal reaction to them (be it good or bad).
5. Bias based on answers to obscure questions
Some questions regularly asked in interviews have no correlation to performance on the job. Questions like, what hobbies do you enjoy? What do you do in your spare time, and tell me about yourself? A recruiter is likely to have a personal reaction and form some level of bias to each answer based on their enjoyment of the activity mentioned.
A better approach is to give candidates a task to complete or talk through such as specific challenges they faced on a project relating to stakeholder management or how they executed a particular strategy. This removes bias by focusing on facts and performance related data.
Today technology is playing an increasingly important role in removing bias. Many resourcing specialists are now applying Artificial Intelligence (AI) based algorithms during the screening phase to counter the inbuilt bias of hiring managers.
At Concentis we put a premium on a candidate’s performance history. We believe this type of factual and objective data provides a genuine insight into a candidate’s potential by letting their experience speak for itself. Past performance is typically the best indicator of future performance and is more accurate than subjective data.
Being aware of bias in the resourcing process is the best way to remove it. It is the first and most important step to ensure we as talent specialists are putting the best candidates forward to our clients.
