Bias has been a key issue in recruitment for many years. We can argue that things are improving, but we still have a long way to go. Even though different laws have been put into place to fight discrimination, sadly, it still exists within recruitment today.
The Initial Stage
The only way we can resolve this issue is to get to the root of the problem and this can often be due to the unconscious bias of a recruiter. Without knowing it, we are all biased in some way and trying to avoid this can be somewhat impossible.
The problem lies at the beginning of the recruitment process, the screening and shortlisting of candidates. Sometimes we can miss out on the perfect candidates due to some unknown bias in our brain. We make preconceptions based on people’s names and other factors without even knowing them. This is where technology can be adopted to help us resolve these underlying issues. We should be shortlisting candidates based on skills, experience and work history rather than name, age, gender, ethnicity etc.
The Benefits of Technology
Technology can screen and shortlist candidates almost instantly. Using your live vacancy, technology platforms can match relevant, high-quality candidates to the requirements of your job role. Technology with no opinion and no bias. What’s more, technology can work for hours and hours without getting tired. Humans, unfortunately, have a limit and our concentration and energy levels can massively affect our work performance and decision-making.
By utilising a screening tool you can rely on this impartial intelligence to provide you with an accurate shortlist of relevant skilled candidates in seconds. These candidates may be a selection of people who you would have never considered hiring before due to a number of different reasons.
What Candidates Want
The candidate can assess your company just as much as you assess their CV. They can source reviews about your company and investigate your company culture through social media and other channels. This is why it’s so important to encourage diversity within the workplace, not only to attract candidates but to keep your existing employees happy too.
When it comes to choosing where to work, it’s likely most candidates would much rather work in a diverse work environment. So in order to win and retain the best talent, you need to alter your hiring approach accordingly.
We are very passionate about adding an augmented approach to the recruitment process and by introducing some new recruitment tools you could be on your way to a more diverse workplace.
