Bias, defined as a predisposition to favour certain people or ideas over others, can have detrimental effects on the workplace. It can stop some people from getting jobs and prevent companies from enjoying all the benefits of having a diverse group of employees.
When we talk about what’s right and wrong in a group, often, we tend to agree on stuff based on how we were raised and the culture around us. Because of this, we naturally like people who share our beliefs. Due to this emotional closeness, individuals may inadvertently disregard someone who merits a certain opportunity more. Instead, they may allocate the opportunity to someone they already harbor positive feelings for.
Hence, what we interpret as consensus within the group is essentially an expression of bias, frequently operating subconsciously and escaping numerous individuals’ awareness.
When unconscious bias seeps into the recruitment process, its repercussions echo throughout employee interactions. This phenomenon can lead to an escalation of conflicts among colleagues, reduced coordination with team leaders, and subsequent chaos that disrupts the smooth operation of businesses. Ultimately, this sets off a chain reaction of problems businesses strive to avoid at all costs.
However, there are ways to overcome this obstacle. By implementing a well-structured recruitment process that considers various psychological factors, our HR consultants in India can plan the entire hiring process accordingly. Keep reading to learn more about how Prompt Personnel makes it happen.
What are unconscious biases in the recruitment process?
Unconscious bias in hiring is when you judge candidates based on your first thoughts or things that don’t really matter for the job. This can mean you end up with less diverse teams, which isn’t good for business. Being aware of these biases and making decisions with more thought can help make hiring better.
For example, unconscious bias might happen when a company representative prefers one candidate over another simply because they seem like someone, they’d be friends with outside of work. Or maybe this bias might also stem from the candidate sharing similar beliefs or attending the same school as the representative. On the flip side, there have been instances where the representatives have unfairly judged someone based on factors such as the candidate’s location, religion, gender, or regional culture, even though these traits have no bearing on their ability to perform the job.
Companies put in a lot of effort to make sure they’re fair when hiring new people. Recognizing this trend across various industries, our HR services have developed a systematic approach to help companies effectively eliminate any biases.
How can we handle unconscious bias when hiring for diversity?
Diversity hiring also called inclusive recruitment, means hiring without letting bias affect decisions. It means not judging someone based on things like age, race, gender, or sexual orientation – things that don’t matter for the job.
To make this happen, it’s important for recruiters to recognize their biases. Identifying and eliminating biases are interconnected; one can’t happen without the other. Here’s what we do:
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Remove gendered wording
Have you ever thought about how the words we use every day might show a bias toward a certain gender? When we write job descriptions, the language we choose can affect who applies for the job.
Studies have shown that women are less likely to apply for jobs if the job description uses words that are seen as more masculine, like “active,” “confident,” and “driven.” Interestingly, using words that are seen as more feminine, like “interpersonal,” “honest,” and “supportive,” doesn’t have much of an effect on whether men apply for the job or not.
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Introduce blind skills challenges
Even though resumes are a quick way for a hiring manager to learn about potential candidates, there’s some information on resumes that can lead to unconscious bias. One solution is to encourage ‘blind applications’ that remove details like race, nationality, gender, and age—things that can lead to biased decisions.
We work closely with the concerned employers and can create custom tests that mimic the challenges of the job itself. Then, they review the applications without knowing the candidates’ personal details and offer interviews based on their scores.
This approach doesn’t just address gender imbalance; it can also get rid of biases related to educational and ethnic background, as well as age.
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Make your interview process structured
When it’s time for interviews, some hiring managers might prefer to keep things loose and unstructured to really get a sense of the candidate. However unstructured interviews can make it tough for managers to fairly compare candidates. This makes it more likely that unconscious bias will affect their decisions.
A structured interview process, on the other hand, levels the playing field. It means all candidates are asked the same questions in the same way. This helps ensure that everyone is judged fairly and consistently.
The easiest way to do this is to have a set list of questions for every applicant – and to stick to them. This reduces bias and lets candidates be evaluated based on their answers, rather than on subjective impressions.
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Have an interview panel
Addressing unconscious bias might seem tough to deal with it, without the aid of advanced recruitment technology. However, for those seeking a more interpersonal solution, integrating interview panels into the recruitment process can be beneficial.
By assembling a diverse panel comprising individuals from various genders, ethnicities, socio-economic backgrounds, and age groups, can help reduce any personal unconscious biases. It also lets you see applicants from different angles, helping you make a smarter choice.
The Bottom Line:
In the end, our unconscious bias is always there, but you can lessen its effect on your hiring process by using the right tools and methods. New methodologies and the execution of innovative technology can give you useful information to make decisions based on data. To achieve diverse hiring in your business, you’ll need a team of the best HR consultants in India who are trained for this specific task. And that’s where Prompt Personnel has been living its competent mark, as we specialize in helping companies from diverse backgrounds with their hiring needs.
With over 25 years of experience, Prompt Personnel is a trusted name in HR outsourcing companies in India, payroll management, and labour law consultancy. Our services include temporary staffing, contract staffing, and permanent recruitment. We operate in various regions across India, including major cities like Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, and Kolkata.
Throughout our journey, Prompt Personnel has become known as a hub for reliable HR consultants in Mumbai. We’ve received prestigious awards such as ERA’s Fastest-Growing Staffing Company Award in 2007 and the Madhavrao Bhide Udyog Gaurav Award in the large-scale industry (100 Cr+) in 2019. We’ve also been recognized as a future-ready organization in the large-scale category by the Economic Times and certified as a great workplace in India in 2023.
If you want to improve your recruitment process by removing unconscious bias and finding highly skilled candidates who can really help your business in your specific area, get in touch with our best HR consultants in Mumbai at Prompt Personnel today!