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Blind Hiring
Can it truly eliminate bias in the hiring process? Luca Murai explores the concept of blind hiring, its effectiveness, and its limitations in reducing bias.
by Luca Murai
Amidst our human nature we find our need to make sense of our everyday complexities. We compartmentalise our minds to form attitudes, affiliations and generalizations with our beliefs and values embedded within. Biases are a natural phenomenon. Yet if left unchecked, the effects can be detrimental: especially in the workplace.
Biases
The field of recruitment is particularly prone to biases, whether talking of unconscious, affinity or confirmation bias. Let’s take a closer look:
Unconscious Bias
It is based on our foregoing experiences that we make judgements and decisions. Our deep-rooted thought patterns, assumptions and interpretations subconsciously influence these processes.
Affinity Bias
People with backgrounds and experiences akin to ourselves, tend to feel more familiar to us. Thus, we have a tendency to favour them, and unconsciously reject those we perceive to be different.
Confirmation Bias
As humans we look to process information by looking for information that aligns with our pre-established beliefs. Although unintended, it results in disregarding information that is conflicting with our beliefs.
Blind hiring
One way to tackle the obstacle of biases is a technique known as ‘Blind hiring’. This refers to the active removal of all personal and demographic information from candidate applications throughout the hiring process. Primarily, the aim is to ensure that recruiters assess candidates solely based on their ability.
An often cited example of blind hiring is the switch to blind auditions for major symphony orchestras in the second half of the 20th century. Following a revision to the hiring process, musicians were asked to play behind a screen when auditioning, hiding their identity. As a result, there was an increase in the selection of females.
Blind hiring can lead to increased diversity and inclusion, greater self-awareness of our biases and ability based assessments. However, it is crucial to recognize the drawbacks. Besides failing to ensure that candidates are a ‘cultural fit’, withholding personal information can be harmful – hindering diverse hires.
Final thoughts
In our efforts to eliminate our natural biases, we must ensure that we do not lose sight of the ‘human’ aspects of hiring. Roles dominantly dependent on relationships could particularly suffer from such shortcoming.
Perhaps the focus should not be on rejecting part of ourselves by fully eliminating something natural, but on understanding and shaping our established ways. So, whether you are considering blind hiring or not, self-awareness should ALWAYS lead the way.
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