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Unconscious Bias can enter the talent management process at any stage. One of the critical early stages are the candidate interviewing and selection processes. Recent research from MIT and The University of Chicago shows how unconscious bias substantially impacts the ability to get a diverse pool of candidates. The researchers found candidates with “white sounding names” were 50% more likely to receive a call back than individuals with the exact same resume and a “black sounding name.” However that is only the start. Additional research shows bias can show up in interviews due to “affinity bias” (we prefer people who are like us) or “confirmation bias” (when we look for confirmation of our conscious or unconscious stereotypes). At The Dagoba Group, we also work with “systemic bias”, which is unintentional bias that gets imbedded into talent management processes.

What is remarkable is how much of this bias is unconscious, unintentional, and coming from individuals and organizations that are trying to be inclusive. The first step in addressing this kind of bias is to acknowledge it is frequently not intentional and it just reflects the way our brains work as human beings. Creating guilt and defensiveness will not create change. Here are 3 ways to manage this kind of bias in the interviewing and selection processes:

  1. Utilize blind resume reviews.
  2. Create diverse interviewing panels and provide them with the tools and processes to objectively debrief candidate interviews.
  3. Provide unconscious bias interview training for all recruiters and hiring managers.

One path to getting a more diverse pool of candidates thru your front door is to unlock the unconscious bias barriers. Opportunities one and two above are helpful, but can still be roadblocked if recruiters and hiring managers do not have an awareness of their own personal biases. Once they are aware, they can then be developed to manage these unintentional perceptions and thus create a more inclusive candidate experience. If you would like to learn more about Unconscious Bias Interviewing and Selection development, please contact us.