Despite efforts to make recruitment more inclusive, bias still plays a significant role in hiring practices. Tribepad’s Stop the Bias report reveals that 9 out of 10 candidates feel at risk of bias when applying for jobs, making it a pressing issue to tackle in modern hiring processes.
As part of their ongoing campaign to reduce bias in hiring, and in consultation with Equity, Diversity & Inclusion experts, Tribepad shares five actions for hiring managers to make their recruitment fairer.
Implement anonymous applications: 76% of candidates believe anonymous applications would reduce bias in the hiring process. Remove personally identifying information from CVs and applications until later stages in the process, ensuring the focus remains on skills and qualifications. Anonymisation helps reduce unconscious bias and leads to a fairer assessment based solely on merit.
Use the data: AI and data-driven tools can standardise candidate evaluations and help identify patterns of bias. However, care must be taken to ensure the tools themselves do not perpetuate bias. Use AI to streamline processes such as CV screening, but regularly audit the tools for fairness. It’s vital to combine data insights with human judgement to avoid automated biases – getting the best of both worlds. The value of data lies in its power to drive meaningful change.
Unconscious bias training: Bias, whether conscious or unconscious, influences hiring decisions. Age, personal appearance, and disability are the top concerns for job applicants. Provide mandatory bias training for all recruitment staff, educating them on how biases influence decision-making and ways to counteract them, helping recruiters make more informed, impartial hiring decisions. It’s impossible to eradicate something if you don’t acknowledge it exists.
Standardised interviews: Structured interviews reduce variability in how candidates are assessed, ensuring consistency and minimising the influence of personal preferences or biases. Hiring managers can use a set list of questions for all candidates, focused on job-related skills and competencies and avoid subjective questions that might introduce bias, to create a fairer, more objective process, improving candidate experience and diversity in hiring.
Promote pay transparency: Hidden salary ranges and asking current salary can perpetuate gender and race pay gaps. Upfront pay transparency ensures fairer negotiations, particularly for underrepresented groups, promoting fairness and helping level the playing field for all candidates, ensuring equitable compensation.
