Practical Tips to create a bias-free interview process, Part 2

Welcome back to the second part of our series on creating a bias-free interview process. For most organizations that we work with, ensuring fair and unbiased hiring practices is a critical component of promoting equity and inclusivity in the workplace. In the first part, we shared three key tips for promoting fairness and consistency in the interview process. Now, let's dive into four more practical tips for inclusive hiring:

1. Use phone interviews for the first round instead of video.

While video interviews can be helpful in getting a sense of a candidate's personality and demeanor, they can also introduce biases related to a candidate's appearance, race, or gender. To promote fairness and reduce bias in the interview process, consider using phone interviews for at least the first round. This approach can help you focus on a candidate's qualifications and experience without introducing other factors that can influence the evaluation.

2. Diversify your interview panels.

Having a diverse interview panel can help you avoid unconscious biases and create a more inclusive hiring process. By including individuals from different backgrounds and perspectives, you can reduce the impact of individual biases and promote a more well-rounded evaluation of each candidate. Additionally, having a diverse interview panel can signal to candidates that your organization values diversity and inclusivity.

3. Use a fixed interview scorecard at each stage of the process

To ensure consistency and fairness in the interview process, use a fixed interview scorecard that outlines the criteria you're evaluating each candidate on. You can have different scorecards for different stages of the process, but all candidates at each stage should be evaluated on the same scorecard. This approach can help you avoid subjective evaluations and ensure that all candidates are evaluated on the same criteria. Be sure to train your interview team on how to use the scorecard effectively and encourage them to ask follow-up questions based on the candidate's responses.

4. Train your interview team about bias in interviews.

Even with the best intentions, unconscious biases can still creep into the interview process. To help your interview team avoid these biases, provide training on how to identify and mitigate biases in interviews. This training should cover topics such as stereotype threat, affinity bias, and the impact of unconscious biases on decision-making. By providing your interview team with the tools and knowledge to reduce bias, you can promote a more inclusive hiring process.

In conclusion, creating a bias-free interview process is critical for promoting equity and inclusivity in the workplace. By following these seven practical tips I’ve given you over the last 2 weeks, you can help ensure that you're hiring process is fair, consistent, and focused on the qualifications and experience of each candidate.

About Us

Maneva Group is a woman and minority owned national executive search firm focusing on the social sector with expertise in completely managing the recruiting process, curating diverse and exceptionally qualified candidate pools, and advising C-suite executives and board members through crucial hiring decisions.

If you need assistance in hiring a leadership position for your organization, please reach out to me at sshah@ManevaGroup.com. We will schedule a no-cost, no obligation 30-minute consultation to discuss how to supercharge your recruitment efforts.