Hiring bias is one of the main reasons that companies are not able to find better talent. This bias practiced in the companies is also the reason why a lot of benefits such as strong organization, innovative ideas, and happiness which could otherwise be part of the company is being depleted. There are also a lot of reasons apart from just getting benefits from removing hiring bias completely, but is it actually possible to remove hiring bias from a particular organization? While it is something that cannot be solved in just two steps, TurboHire brings to you the importance of removing hiring bias from the recruitment process,
What Is Hiring Bias?
Hiring bias truly makes one not only feel biased but also tends to lower self-esteem and confidence. However, why is it that hiring bias is one of the most common issues seen in most companies these days? While some of the bias may be a bit intentional there are others that are due to unintentional conditions. Understanding what hiring bias is and how to avoid the same will not only help candidates get better opportunities but will also provide companies with a wider range of talents. Here is a definition of hiring bias as provided by Francesca Gino who is a professor at Harvard Business School: “Hiring bias is something that causes the recruiters to make decisions which will favor one person while the others are not treated equally”. It is not necessary that hiring bias is seen during the interviews only, they can be seen as early as during the stage of candidate sourcing. As candidate sourcing is the first stage where a lot of bias is observed, it is important to identify which sourcing practices are the ones that lead to hiring bias. This will eventually help you to prevent these practices which may lead to bias overall.
Reasons Why Hiring Bias Is Still Common
In a study conducted by Harvard Business Review, it is still seen that the hiring bias is often conducted under the following criteria:
- Racism
- Ageism
- Sexism
Apart from this, there are also other factors that are considered which may act as a major push for bias in hiring. Some of the reasons why hiring biases are still wide and far common can be provided as follows:
1. Use of connections while landing a job
If you are here to stay in a company, it is inevitable but to follow the orders from the high-ups is essential. The higher-ups tend to get orders from very rich or famous connections of the candidates which cannot be turned down. This leads to immediate hiring of the candidate while others with high potential are being rejected.
2. The feeling that a man can do better work than a woman
While talking about gender equality it is quite usually seen that men are highly preferred in office jobs than women. Does it mean it is intentional? Well, in some cases yes while in other cases it can be due to some of the other factors such as lesser knowledge about the work or maybe the skills are lacking. With such treatments, it is possible that the gender equality criteria are not being followed.
3. Not from a desirable background
According to the 2011-12 NSSO statistics it was seen that the Scheduled Caste candidates were major victims of hiring bias. It was seen that out of the total candidates 63% of Scheduled caste candidates did not get the equal treatment that was expected. It was hence seen that as the candidate was not from a higher caste, they faced bias while being hired for a particular role.
Why Should You Promote Diversity and Inclusion In Hiring And The Workplace?
When we talk about a diverse and inclusive workplace, it means that everyone who is in the company, regardless of their religion or background, or even position should be treated equally. While both diversity and inclusion have two different meanings, they still go hand-in-hand when talking about an organization. According to research, here are some of the benefits of how diversity and inclusion in the workplace will help the overall organization:
- Increases the overall revenue growth
- Greater ideas and minds that work together to make the expectations a reality
- Higher chances of getting a diverse talent pool that is not only focused on a single talent
- Increase in about 5.4 times employee retention
How Does TurboHire Remove Hiring Bias?
Recruiters are always looking at ways to remove hiring bias, but it can seem like a hard task, especially with all the traditional methods coming into the role. However, it won’t be much of a hard task anymore, when you have got TurboHire by your side! TurboHire aims at providing a seamless hiring experience while also keeping diversity and inclusion in hiring which does not contain any bias. Apart from discarding categories such as sex, race, and age, hence leading to a much easier selection with any prejudice. However, these features are completely based on what information the recruiters will be feeding into the system. It is hence essential that you choose the information to be added carefully. If you are still afraid that you may make some mistakes while entering the details or while checking the data, you have an option to completely blindfold the information of a candidate that indicates sex, race, or area. This means that you will solely be able to check only their skills and performance data.
Conclusion
Reports show that organizations will be able to increase their overall capital strength if there are employees from various diversity. However, this is possible only if the hiring bias concept is completely omitted. Want a faster rate of decision making, then it is important that you hire candidates not just based on their looks but also their skillset. Another study claims that there is about 60% improvement in decision making if the employees from various dimensions work together. To a better future and a better organization, let’s make bias during hiring a myth!
