Evaluating and Enhancing the Interviewing Process for Diversity

Building diverse and inclusive workplaces starts with developing diverse interviewing best practices. Traditional interviewing practices can by default, lack fairness and equity throughout the hiring process. While not an accusation of purposeful bias, inadvertent bias happens when candidates from underrepresented backgrounds are excluded. Through development of a structured and thoughtful approach to interviewing, companies can become more intentional about implementing interviewing practices, minimizing bias.

An important component of interviewing best practices is designing the interviews in a manner that focuses on skills, relevant experience, and fit for the position, as opposed to subjective factors that may create bias. Interviews tend to involve asking every candidate a standardized set of questions somehow leading to a fair evaluation of their ability to perform in the role. What’s lacking are questions related to their individual experiences and how that shapes their approach to work. This helps deliver fair assessments and minimizes unconscious biases.

Sensitivity to diversity is another major part of diverse interviewing best practices. Lacking knowledge of what unconscious bias is leads to it continuing. However, providing education and awareness helps eliminate it. Using inclusive language within interviews ensures they’re conducted fairly and respectfully. Training processes also benefit from exercises involving role-playing and practice identifying the bias that happens within interviews.

To make the hiring process more diverse, implementing practical tools and techniques is another important action to take. Equitable evaluation of candidates must be present to promote diversity in the hiring process. Avoiding bias takes a concerted effort from all decision maker.. Removing all identifying information like name, gender, and race maximizes the removal of implicit biases and focuses the interviewing process solely on skills and experience.

Adding these diverse interviewing best practices into organizations creates interview processes filled with inclusivity, promotion of diversity, and the selection of the right candidate based on merit alone. If corporations want to make serious changes that are more inclusive and for the betterment of their business, these are the ways to do it.

FAQ

How can organizations reduce bias in the selection process?

Organizations can reduce bias in the selection process by designing interviews focused on skills and experience.

How do companies help reduce the biases associated with in-person job interviews?

Companies help reduce biases associated with in-person job interviews by providing unconscious bias training to interviewers and encouraging the use of inclusive language during the interview process.

How to reduce bias in your hiring process?

To help reduce bias in the hiring process, you can first focus on objective qualifications, implement blind screening, while also ensuring equitable evaluation of candidates based on fair and impartial assessments of qualifications and experiences.

What strategies can be put in place to prevent discrimination and bias in the selection process?

A good strategy to start with is to establish structured interview questions for your hiring team to use. Training Interviewers and recruiting staff on unconscious bias cultural competency will also help them prevent discrimination throughout the selection process.