Unconscious bias is costly

Unconscious bias refers to the inherent prejudices and stereotypes that influence our decision-making processes, often without our conscious awareness. Everyone is a victim of it as our brains are wired to find shortcuts to help us make fast decisions. Unconscious bias in recruitment is proven to cost businesses huge amount of money. Study shows that US$64 billion is evaporated annually in the U.S. due to unfairness and discrimination in workplace, excluding the legal cost which could possibly be even higher. It can lead to a higher turnover rate and is detrimental to workplace dynamics leading workers to feel alienated and disengaged. 

Understanding unconscious bias

In finding the right talent for your team, unconscious bias is like a mischievous little gremlin whispering in your ear, ‘Nah, this person doesn’t fit our mould. Let’s go with someone who reminds me of my long-lost cousin Larry!’ Among the many ways in which unconscious bias could be creeping up in a hiring process, the most common ones are:

• Affect heuristics — making stereotypical judgement of a person based on superficial characteristics e.g. associating overweight as lacking of self-control, associating tattoos with rebels, etc.
• Beauty bias — assuming beautiful candidates are more successful.  
• Similarity attraction bias — attracted to people having the same traits or background e.g. a working mum interviewer may favour female candidates with kids.   
• Halo effect — letting one positive attribute overshadowing other shortcomings, e.g. hiring or paying more for candidates who went to elite schools regardless of their knowledge, interview performance and skillsets.
• Horn effect — an opposite of Halo effect, one can focus too heavily on one negative aspect of a candidate, e.g. considering candidates graduated with low GPAs as incompetent without assessing their knowledge, interview performance and skillsets.  

The famous field experiment ‘Are Emily and Greg more employable than Lakisha and Jamal?’ shows that unconscious bias affects minority groups disproportionately. In the experiment, researcher randomly assigned African-American or White-sounding names to resumes and found that White names received 50 percent more callbacks for interviews. A similar situation exists in Hong Kong, resulting in higher unemployment rates and lower wages among ethnic minorities when compared to their local counterparts, as well as 30% of minorities not getting an interview despite meeting all job requirements. These findings underscore the urgent need for organisations to address unconscious bias and create fairer recruitment practices.

Avoiding unconscious bias in recruitment

To mitigate the influence of unconscious bias in the recruitment process, HR professionals and recruiters can implement the following strategies:

• Standardise interview process: Establishing standardised interview questions and evaluation criteria helps ensure a fair and consistent assessment of candidates. This minimises the potential for biases to influence decision-making.

• Blind resume review: Remove identifying information, such as names, gender, and age, from resumes before reviewing them. This approach allows evaluators to focus solely on candidates' qualifications and skills and hence, reducing bias.

• Diverse interview panels: Assembling interview panels that represent diverse perspectives can counterbalance individual biases. By including individuals from different backgrounds, experiences, and genders and seeking opinions with an open mind, a more holistic evaluation of candidates can be achieved.

• Training and education: Conduct unconscious bias training for all employees involved in the recruitment process. This training should raise awareness of biases, promote self-reflection, and provide strategies for checking their influence.

• Data-driven approaches: Utilising applicant tracking systems and collecting objective performance metrics can help reduce subjective biases. Among them, AI-powered platforms are increasingly in demand. For example, companies are using Checkr to perform background checks and using MyInterview to assess candidates against different validating criteria. 

Unconscious bias poses a significant challenge to organisations seeking to attract and retain top talent. The influence of biases in the recruitment process perpetuates inequality, leading to missed opportunities and financial losses for companies. By understanding the formation of unconscious bias and adopting strategies to minimise its impact, HR professionals and recruiters can create fairer and more inclusive hiring practices. 

As Molière famously said, “It is not only what we do, but also what we do not do, for which we are accountable.”