Banish bias in favour of behaviour

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This article was published 20/01/2024 (955 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Many hiring managers are confident they can have a friendly conversation with a candidate when interviewing potential new employees. But they understand, and rightly so, these interactions ultimately must remain formal and free from bias (or perceptions of bias) to ensure effective and fair hiring practices.

The first thing to worry about when recruiting is human rights legislation. All candidates should be given a similar platform to showcase their knowledge, skills, and abilities. Bias in recruiting may be unintentional, but it can still have a significant impact on the underlying principles of the process.

The second thing to be mindful of is the perception of bias. Headway has been made in the area of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB), with a lot of emphasis placed on the recruiting and selection of under-represented groups.

These evolutions have put a spotlight on how hiring managers make decisions.

Types of bias

Broadly, bias is defined as ‘prejudice in favour of or against one thing, person, or group compared with another, usually in a way considered to be unfair.’ Here are a few examples of bias to be aware of while recruiting:

● Unconscious bias: Unintentional preferences based on race, age, gender, or other personal characteristics that may influence hiring decisions.

TIP: Provide training to recruiters and hiring managers to recognize and mitigate unconscious bias. Implement structured interviews with standardized questions to focus on job-related skills and qualifications.

● Affinity bias: Favouring candidates who share similar backgrounds, interests, or experiences with the hiring team.

TIP: Encourage diversity by creating standardized evaluation criteria to assess candidates objectively. Emphasize the importance of focusing on job-related skills and qualifications during the hiring process.

● Confirmation bias: Seeking information that confirms pre-existing beliefs about a candidate and overlooking contradictory evidence.

TIP: Use objective assessment tools and encourage a collaborative hiring approach where multiple perspectives are considered. Ensure decision makers are open to feedback and actively challenge their own assumptions.

● Educational bias: Placing too much emphasis on the prestige of a candidate’s alma mater, rather than evaluating their relevant skills and personal history.

TIP: Focus on specific qualifications required for the job. Consider a diverse range of educational backgrounds and lived experiences. Implement blind resume screening to remove information about a candidate’s educational background during initial stages of the recruitment process.

Structured interviews

A structured interview is a method of conducting job interviews in a systematic and standardized way.

The interviewer asks a pre-determined set of questions to all participants in a consistent and uniform manner. These questions are carefully designed to relate to specific job requirements and assess skills, competencies, and qualities relevant to the position.

Structured interviews often involve a standardized scoring system to objectively evaluate responses and compare candidates. Structured interviews are considered more reliable because they offer a consistent and replicable approach, leading to more accurate comparisons between participants.

Behavioural questions

The most common questions asked in a structural interview are behavioural.

Readers may be familiar with these questions because they usually start with, “Tell us about a time when…” They are intended to inspire real examples from a candidate’s life experience and illustrate what they have already achieved.

Behavioural interview questions are designed to elicit specific instances of past behaviour to predict future performance in a particular role. When creating behavioural interview questions, consider the following:

● Focus on relevant competencies: Identify key competencies or skills required and tailor questions to assess these competencies.

● Relate to the job: Ensure questions are directly related to the responsibilities and challenges of the specific role. This helps you assess if the candidate’s past aligns with the requirements of the position.

● Use the STAR method: Structure questions using the STAR method (situation, task, action, result). This format encourages candidates to provide detailed responses about specific situations and their actions.

● Be specific: Frame questions in a way that requires candidates to provide concrete examples. Avoid vague or hypothetical scenarios. Instead, ask about real experiences. Avoid questions that can be answered with a simple “yes” or “no.”

● Probe for details: If a candidate’s initial response is brief, ask followup questions to gather more information. Explore their thought process, decision-making, and impact of their actions.

● Incorporate diversity and inclusion: Include questions to assess a candidate’s ability to work in diverse teams and demonstrate inclusive behaviour. Examples might focus on collaboration, communication, or handling differing opinions.

● Consider the company culture: Be sure to convey the company culture to the candidate in the interview. Craft questions that assess whether candidates align with your organization’s values and culture. This ensures a good cultural fit, which is crucial for long-term success in the role.

● Evaluate problem-solving skills: Include questions to highlight a candidate’s problem-solving abilities. Ask about challenging situations they’ve faced and how they approached and resolved them.

● Avoid leading questions: Ensure your questions are neutral and do not guide a candidate toward a particular response. The goal is to make space for them to share their experiences authentically.

● Collaborate with others: If possible, involve other team members to create and refine behavioral interview questions. Multiple perspectives can help establish a comprehensive and fair assessment.

Mastering the interview evolution

Mastering behavioural interviews is essential for effective and fair hiring practices.

By focusing on relevant competencies, being specific, and incorporating diversity and inclusion considerations, hiring managers can gain valuable insights into a candidate’s potential performance. Ultimately, the goal is to make well-informed decisions to complement not only the specific job requirements, but also the organization’s values and culture.

As the hiring landscape continues to evolve, adapting and refining these strategies will contribute to a more equitable and successful recruitment process.

Tory McNally, CPHR, B.Sc., vice-president HR Consulting is a human resource professional, radio personality, speaker, and problem solver. She can be reached at tory@legacybowes.com.