We all have our own unconscious biases – it’s human nature. But when it comes to recruiting a diverse workforce for your company it can be a hindrance.
To avoid this, companies around the world are turning to technology in a bid to boost the diversity of their workforce and ensure they hire the best individuals for their business.
We caught up with our Innovation Team to hear how new technology is being utilized to combat unconscious bias.
How many of us have ever stopped and considered the inherent gender bias of the language we use every day? When it comes to crafting the perfect job description, the gender implications of words used can have a significant impact on the recruitment process.
Researchers have found that women are much less likely to apply to job descriptions that include ‘masculine-coded’ language such as “active”, “confident” and “driven.” Interestingly, the effect of feminine-coded words like “interpersonal”, “honest” and “support” on male applicants was found to be negligible.
While CVs remain the most efficient way of introducing a hiring manager to prospective talent, there is certain information in CVs that can lead to unconscious bias. One way to address this is to encourage ‘blind applications’ that remove details like race, nationality, gender and age – all factors that can lead to biased decisions.
To help recruiters, start-up GapJumpers removes CVs from the application process entirely. GapJumpers allows employers to create bespoke tests that mimic the challenges of the job itself. Applications are then reviewed by the employers and interviews can be offered based on the scores received.
GapJumpers says 54% of its users are women, yet female workers account for 59% of the platform’s highest performers, highlighting its potential. And GapJumpers doesn’t just tackle gender imbalance; it can also eliminate bias created through educational and ethnic background, as well as age.
Another way to minimize the influence of your unconscious bias on your applicant selection process is to let intelligent data insights guide your decision-making process.
Tom Lakin, senior innovation manager at Resource Solutions, our recruitment process outsourcing business recommends Entelo for clients “to surface new and diverse talent with the right skills quickly.” Favoured by Visa and Facebook, talent aggregator Entelo uses big data, predictive analytics and social signals to help hiring managers find and engage with talent. It allows recruiters and hiring managers to rank candidates against open vacancies and includes several features, like diversity filters and a ‘more likely to move’ function, which assesses the likelihood of candidates moving jobs.
The future of online recruitment is definitely mobile, with statistics showing 82% of candidates already search for jobs on their phones. By 2021, experts predict 87% of all mobile internet traffic will be video, and with visual content getting an average of 1200% more shares than written content, it’s easy to see why.
A job description has long been the starting point for hiring managers, but with written content not gaining the cut-through needed on mobile devices, could the traditional job description soon make way altogether in favour of something more visual? Australian app, VideoMyJob, offers companies the chance to do just that.
The app enables a novel alternative to text-based job descriptions by allowing employers to write a script and record a video of themselves talking about the role, which can then be edited and shared on social media. Faye Walshe, Global Head of Innovation at Robert Walters Group, said: “VideoMyJob is an affordable and authentic service for even the smallest employers to create branded video job ads.”
When interview time arrives, it might be tempting for hiring managers to favour an unstructured session in order to get a better feel for a candidate. But unstructured interviews can make it harder for hiring managers to fairly benchmark candidates, making it more likely that unconscious bias will creep in. Creating a structured process that tests all applicants in the same way ensures they’re all assessed against the same markers.
The simplest way to achieve this is to stick to a specific set of questions for every applicant – and remember not to diverge from them. This can help reduce subjectivity and allow candidates to be judged against others on the specific answers they give.
It might sound like unconscious bias can be difficult to remove without the help of the latest recruitment technology, but if you’re looking for a more human-based approach then consider introducing interview panels into your recruitment process.
Establishing a panel that includes a diverse set of colleagues (in terms of gender, ethnicity, socio-economic background and age) can ensure any personal unconscious biases are mitigated and help you to consider an applicant from a wider perspective and make a more informed decision.
Ultimately, our unconscious bias is inescapable, but equipping your business with the right tools and processes can significantly reduce its impact on your recruitment process. While new technologies provide rich insights to help guide data-driven decision making, underpinning new tech with regular diversity training is key to helping hiring managers recognize and reduce their bias blind spots.
Black Women Face Over 30% Lower Promotion Rates than White Men Almost half of Black women (42%) have not received a promotion during their time in their company. 1 in 3 Black women either received less than half or none of their requested salary increase. 1 in 5 Black women are either unsure of the
Read MoreThe Canadian Progression Gap: professionals with a disability are 23% more likely to be stuck in training or entry level positions. Just 7% of professionals with a learning disability are in executive positions. Almost 20% more professionals without a disability have been offered a promotion than th
Read More1 in 10 women rely on additional income outside of fulltime work 40% of women feel underpaid for what they do, vs 24% of men 67% of men earn a median salary of $55k or more, vs 39% of women A quarter of females (24%) have not had a pay rise in the last 12 months, 9% more than men Men are twice as li
Read MoreCome join our global team of creative thinkers, problem solvers and game changers. We offer accelerated career progression, a dynamic culture and expert training.