We know that a diverse workplace is more effective, and a diverse organization performs better! But unconscious bias, even at the recruitment level, can hinder a company’s attempt at achieving diversity. To survive in a candidate-driven market, the need for data-driven interview tools that ensures a process without discrimination, is rapidly increasing.
Recruitment is all about human connection. So how can we say that human interviews suck? Well, until today interviews have been the mysterious “black box” of the recruitment process. Where no one can explain how they are making well-informed hiring decisions. Or what the best process is. But today we know that the traditional interview is both inefficient and unfair to job seekers.
Throughout every step of the recruitment process, recruiters can discriminate against job seekers, without intentionally doing so. And according to the 2019 TNG Talent report, 92% of job seekers are frustrated and 74% say that they have been discriminated against due to age, gender, looks, or ethnicity. Today, it is scientifically proven that gender diversity is correlated with both profitability and increased value creation. This really highlights how important it is to have an objective process that continuously promotes diversity.
Humans make complex decisions based on many different subjective reasons. Yet, to have a fair interview experience, all candidates should be asked the exact same questions in the exact same way. But recruiters can’t agree on the best interview method and they all take their own approach. So discrimination and bias in the interview stage can easily slip in and affect the whole organization’s growth.
The first interview is a crucial part of the recruitment process but it also leaves room for unconscious bias and discrimination. Because it only takes 7 seconds for a recruiter to make a first impression and this can be completely detrimental to a nervous job seeker. So is it even possible for a hiring manager to make an objective decision when they already made up their mind during the first 7 seconds?
Compared to 10 years ago, recruiters and hiring managers are now spending 100 % more time on the interview stage. This is inefficient both from a cost and time perspective and organizations really need to rethink if they want to survive in today’s extremely competitive job market.
Humans make recruitment decisions based on gut feeling, which is the opposite of data-driven hiring. The traditional interview is a subjective way to assess candidates and has low validity because it can’t be objectively measured. This means that each recruiter or hiring manager will implement their own interview method and candidates can just hope that they are paired with someone who genuinely is trying to make fair assessments. Today, the robot interview has been validated to accurately score candidates based on their general work performance.
There are several implicit biases that can affect recruitment at the interview level. Confirmation, conformity, and personality similarity bias are some of the most obvious ones. During an interview, these biases can be triggered by the smallest actions. In reality, this means that a candidate can be rejected based on their handshake, eye contact, or if they have tattoos.
It’s not easy to break through the barriers of bias and discrimination. But by pinpointing the interview stage as a weak link in the process, you can eliminate a lot of subjectivity, which will lead to more diverse hires and together create a more equal work market.
Related: Why hiring for diversity is better for business.
Do you need an HR-tech tool to mitigate unconscious bias from your recruitment interview process while also assessing and measuring personality traits linked to work performance? Tengai is creating a more unbiased and fair candidate experience. As well as, enabling hiring managers and HR to perform data-driven and compliant hiring decisions.
Book a demo today and learn how Tengai's AI interview can help recruit your next talent.