4 keys to unbiased recruiting
Have you done a quick inclusion audit lately? On the recruiting side, your sourcing and hiring should be close as possible to bias-free.
That may not require resorting to blind recruitment – removing personally identifiable info from job applications. But it might. Being inclusive also involves accessibility, adhering to human rights standards, and hiring more for merit than fit.
To give a diversity of candidates equal consideration, practice these four keys to unbiased recruiting.
1. Inclusion-friendly recruiting material
The words and images you use to attract talent should be unbiased. Consequently, they affect the depth of your candidate pool. What do your job ads, emails, texts, career site, and other candidate material communicate?
The language used ought to be gender-neutral, for instance. Make it clear as well that applicants who are mature, not native to Canada, or who are differently-abled should apply.
Images and videos you choose for recruitment should reflect diversity. Gendered job titles should be made neutral (e.g. salesman becomes a salesperson or business developer).
2. Non-discriminatory recruiting process
First and foremost, when sourcing and considering which candidates to consider, follow our country’s anti-discrimination laws. The Canadian Human Rights Act prohibits inequity on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, sex, gender identity and other grounds. There’s our Employment Equity Act and Canada Labour Code as well.
Have you considered using a “blind recruitment” approach, as mentioned above? Strip an applicant’s resume of name, gender, age, education, and even sometimes the number of years of experience.
Doing so can cut down drastically on internal bias in the screening phase. Until the interview, that is, where stealthy prejudice could cancel good intentions.
3. Unbiased interviewing
Unless you’ve been trained in neutral interviewing techniques, you could easily fall prey to many unconscious biases.
Avoid these by doing the following:
- ask everyone the same set of questions
- focus on work history and achievement not shared alma matters or perceived similarities
- offer to reasonably accommodate applicants who require special aids
It can also help to have more than one interviewer present, in order to minimize individual tunnel vision.
4. A welcoming workplace
No amount of inclusive job wording and neutral interviewing will matter unless your workplace demonstrates a commitment to diversity. Candidates that stroll through your facilities will notice.
Are your premises wheelchair accessible? Do the employees appear alike, or mostly different? Do you provide all employees and managers with diversity training?
Fly your colours
Once your devotion to diversity is firmed up, you’ll attract and retain a broader range of talent. Celebrate this bias-free environment by talking it up in your employment branding.
Monster can assist you with telling your positive story right now. For instance, you can contact Monster’s employer branding agency, The Foundry. They create employer value propositions, effective career websites, engaging social presence and far-reaching online recruiting campaigns. Think of it as all-inclusive.