Bias can creep into your hiring process in many forms: ageism, sexism, racism, ableism… and the list goes on. In light of recent social movements, companies around the globe are starting to take a look at their hiring processes to examine potentially biased practices. Why should you care? Well, a fair and ethical hiring system can help companies become more inclusive and attract a diverse team. In fact, 2 out of 3 job candidates said they preferred to work with a diverse company according to a GlassDoor study. There’s also evidence that diversity can help your company achieve higher profits.
If you want to learn how to recruit and hire in a way that helps remove as much bias as possible, keep reading our guide and tips below.
Craft your job descriptions with care
A job description is often a candidate’s first glimpse into your company - so you need to make a good impression. It’s important that you pay attention to the type of language you use. Avoid gendered pronouns or any language that could be off-putting, like “ninja” or “rockstar”. This type of wording can alienate otherwise good candidates from applying.
You can also use software to help remove bias. For example, tools like Textio can check for biases in your business communications. It will even give you a score and recommendations for making your writing clear and unbiased. Another tool (that’s free!) is the Gender Decoder. The Gender Decoder will be able to identify masculine and feminine words you use in your job description so you can switch them out for gender-neutral alternatives.
Why is it so important to avoid gendered language? Because while women make up 47% of the workforce, they’re still underrepresented in a wide range of industries. Gender-neutral language can help attract women in male-dominated fields.
Use blind resume reviews
Once you start getting applications and resumes in, you’ll need to decide who will make it to the next round and who won’t. If you’re worried about the role that bias might play in this step, it’s a good idea to review resumes blindly. You can use software to remove contact information and address information, or you can use another person on your staff to manually remove this data.
This is a great way to focus on a candidate’s qualifications and employment history instead of worrying about their name, gender, and other irrelevant information.
Use assessments
Assessments are an excellent way to challenge a candidate and evaluate their skills. It’s important to use assessments that are structured to be unbiased, of course. Also - don’t waste their time! Make sure the test can be completed within a reasonable amount of time (two hours max). It’s not fair to demand a candidate to dedicate an entire day to complete a test for a job they aren’t guaranteed. Keep in mind that if you implement a skills test, you will need to administer the same test to all candidates for that position.
Don’t use freewheeling interview styles
Although you might be well-versed in interviewing, it’s still a process that needs to be continually refined. This is especially true if you tend to prefer free-flowing conversations over structured ones. As much as a natural conversation might feel nice to you, it’s not a good way to objectively evaluate a candidate. In fact, these types of interviews might lead you to lean more on biased ways of thinking, since you have no other way to assess the applicant.
Instead, use set criteria and unbiased questions. Need a place to start for good questions to ask during an interview? Check out some of the sample questions below.
- What would your first steps be if you got this job?
- What do you think is the most important skill to have to be successful in this role?
- Tell me about a time you took a big risk but failed. Then, tell me about a time when you took another risk but succeeded. What do you think the difference between those situations was?
- What are you most proud of in your career so far?
- Where do you see yourself in five years?
Use data to inform your decisions
Don’t want to let your unconscious biases get in the way of sound hiring decisions? That’s where data comes in. Ultimately, you need criteria to measure candidates, but you need to apply it to all candidates in the same way.
Incorporate bias training
Even the most diverse workplaces can be hiding different kinds of biases. Bias training can be an eye-opening experience for managers and regular workers alike. It’s a great way to open the discussion of diversity in a safe, structured manner.
Rely on an interview panel
Instead of relying on your own thoughts and processes, an interview panel can help you make better and fairer decisions. Make sure the panel represents a diverse group of colleagues that includes different races, ethnicities, and ages.
Look for new places to advertise roles
Besides looking for niche job posting sites like remote work listings, you may also want to get more creative with how you advertise roles. For example, can you make a video that explains a bit about the company and the role? Written job descriptions are still important, but videos and other channels can make a real splash while reaching a huge potential pool of candidates.
Consider offering paid internships
An internship with local schools is a great way to give young people a leg up in an increasingly competitive job environment. In order to give applicants the chance to learn and work, make sure that you’re offering a reasonable wage. Unpaid internships are a huge obstacle for candidates who simply can’t afford to gain experience at the expense of compensation. So, it’s a good idea to offer both class credit and fair pay to attract a diverse pool of applicants.
Wrapping it up: Creating a More Ethical Workplace
Removing all bias is near impossible, but you can do your best as a business owner or hiring manager to keep your company’s practices fair. Start small with things like auditing your job descriptions for gendered language and then move onto bigger initiatives like creating a company diversity panel. With these tips, you can take steps to make your business better and more diverse.
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