Diversity and Inclusion

Diversity and inclusion have never been the focal points that they are now, but a lot of leaders fall into a trap that keeps them from creating this kind of an environment. What’s getting in the way? Unfortunately, hiring decisions based on bias have become some of the biggest errors leaders make. And these are not intentional decisions; unconscious bias often affects hiring decisions. But sometimes things that might not seem like a bias are as such. Maybe it’s thoughts as simple as, “I got a good vibe from him,” or “She went to the same school as I did,” played a role in a recent hire. These seemingly innocent thoughts cloud our better judgement and are forms of bias.

What Is Hiring Bias?

It’s likely that some form of bias exists in most hiring processes. The interview process itself is about making judgements, and bias is exactly that. Hiring bias is an inclination, opinion, or feeling about a person someone makes when trying to decide if a candidate is right for a job. Those opinions and feelings could be based on anything from the clothes they wear, to their accent, to the neighborhood they live in. This bias occurs because our brains take shortcuts to help us quickly make decisions. Not letting bias influence hiring decisions is tricky because people are often unaware of it. This unconscious bias—also known as implicit bias—is often characterized as a feeling that the person is or isn’t the right fit for the job, yet someone just can’t place their finger on why that is. This can cause hiring managers to make selection and promotion decisions based on mistaken assumptions around capability and motivation. The good news is that due to the policies, laws, and a drive toward businesses creating more diverse workplaces, more is being done to ensure equal opportunity and prevent biases based on race, age, gender, religion, physical ability, and many other aspects affecting hiring processes.

However, even with these policies in place to prevent discrimination based on identity, conscious or unconscious biases can extend to other attributes as well, which aren’t protected by law. For example, someone might not want to hire a candidate because they aren’t outgoing enough, or someone only wants people with degrees from an Ivy League school. These biases can be baseless when it comes to how someone will perform in the role.

What’s the Problem With Bias in Our Hiring Process?

If biases get in the way of the facts, bad hiring decisions are more likely to happen. We might even unknowingly decide not to choose candidates who have more to offer or who would help us create a more diverse workforce. It’s proven that the more diverse a workforce is, the more innovative and better people are at problem solving and the more profitable the organization will be.

Conversely, according to Harvard Business Review, aside from having a negative impact on overall team performance, bad hiring decisions can cost us up to 400 percent of an annual salary and are the reasons for as much as 80 percent of employee turnover. The questions then become: What steps do we take to get there? How do we recognize unconscious bias? How do we develop a process that will create greater fairness in our recruitment process?

Want to find out what three of the most common hiring bias traps are? What skills are critical for creating an inclusive environment? How can we manage and mitigate hiring bias? Find out the answers to all those questions and more here.