All companies are looking to hire the best talent available out there. But many times, some unconscious bias gets in their way. Everybody has their own set of biases as it is human nature. But when you are looking to recruit candidates that will be best suited for your requirements, this can become a hindrance. To avoid this, many organizations around the world are switching to technology for boosting the workforce diversity and making sure that they are recruiting the best candidates for their company. Let’s take a closer look at some of the technologies and tools that will help in removing bias from the HR process.

1. Bring in blind skills challenges: Although resumes of candidates remain the best way of introducing the hiring managers to the prospective candidates, there may be some information in the CVs that could lead to this unconscious bias in the minds of recruiters. You can avoid this by using blind applications that will remove biasing details such as nationality, race, age, and gender. All these factors lead to the making of biased decisions. There are tools available online that remove the resumes from the application process completely. These tools can create bespoke tests mimicking the challenges involved in a job.

2. Get rid of gender-oriented wordings: When you are creating a perfect job description, there are gender implications in the words we use and it has a profound effect on the recruitment process. Surveys have indicated that women are not likely to apply for jobs that use masculine language such as driven, confident, and active. A similar effect can be observed on the male clients by the use of words such as honest, support, and interpersonal. There are tools available that can flag this gender bias from the adverts and it can be completely removed later.

3. Use data-driven decisions: Another good method for reducing the influence of this unconscious bias in the selection process is by having intelligent data insights in the recruitment process. There are tools available that help in unearthing the newer and diverse talent having the requisite skills fast. Big data, predictive analytics, and social signals are used by hiring managers to engage with the talent. This also allows the hiring managers and recruiters to rank the candidates suitably against open vacancies. They can include many filters including the diversity filter with other ones that assess the chances of a candidate moving a job. This is also possible while using international PEOs for the recruitment process.

4. Advertise various roles via newer channels: The future of recruitment on the internet involves mobile phones. Most candidates search for jobs by using mobile phones. It is anticipated that most of this traffic will use videos and other visual content collections. Using job descriptions has been a starting point for recruiters for several years but it has been observed that written content does not cut through on mobile devices. The conventional job descriptions may soon make way for visual things.

5. Have a structured interview process: When it is time for interviews, there is a great temptation for the recruiters to have unstructured sessions for achieving a better feel about a candidate. However, it is hard for the hiring managers to benchmark the candidates by using unstructured interviews. This also means there is more possibility of unconscious bias creeping in. Having a structured process that will test the applicants similarly ensures that they are assessed by using the same markers. The easiest way of doing this is by sticking to specific queries for all applicants. The interview process is important before you hire someone and it can be streamlined through an Employer of Record.

6. Use an interview panel: It might sound as if removing the unconscious bias will be difficult without using the latest hiring technology, in reality, you can look for a more human-oriented approach. Consider using interview panels for the hiring process. You can establish a panel including a diverse range of employees in terms of ethnicity, gender, age, and socio-economic background to ensure the mitigation of personal biases.

Conclusion

Keep in mind that unconscious bias is difficult to escape but arming the business with proper tools and procedures allows you to decrease its impact on the hiring process. The new technology provides a great insight to help you in making data-driven decisions. But the key lies in using regular diversity training together with technology for aiding the hiring managers in recognizing the blind spots.