One thing is certain: Building diversity in a company only has advantages.
- This is how diverse teams are with a probability of up to 36% profitable above average (McKinsey, 2015).
- Diverse companies are more attractive places to work and will preferred by applicants (Daugherty & Chowdhury, 2019).
- In addition, it 78% of employees are even more important works in a diverse environment than a higher salary available (Stepstone, 2020).
More diversity therefore significantly improves the relationship with employees. Retention (employee retention), Motivation and Loyalty are increased while fluctuation (job change) is actively counteracted (Chamberlain, 2016).
Recruiting determines company success
Recruiting (HR) is the key position for Building more diversity in the company. This is the cornerstone for sustainable corporate success laid.
Effective personnel selection therefore means identifying suitable candidates based on the factors that really lead to Job satisfaction and success lead (Kersting & Ott, 2016). Irrelevant characteristics, such as age, gender and social or ethnic origin, should be left out. This is the only way to create successful teams that represent the society for which they operate and that has an effect on various facets of the company's success, such as product performance, customer loyalty, reputation, etc.
One obstacle on this path is the so-called Unconscious Bias, in English: Unconscious Bias.
Definition: Unconscious Bias
“The unconscious cognitive distortions and other faulty tendencies in perception, memory, and assessment.” (Wondrak, 2014)
They lie dormant in the subconscious of all of us, because they are simply our brain's solution to our complex everyday lives (Tolstoy-Miller, 2017). Particularly known in HR, as the gut feeling that you are only too happy to rely on. This is based on information that is already known and mistakenly simply considers the current situation to be particularly convenient and desirable. This approach works in today's working world, in which agile companies are constantly facing new challenges stand and yourself adapt to changes quickly They simply don't have to anymore (Wondrak, 2014).
Successful HR managers therefore do not simply accept their gut feeling without reflection, but actively address cognitive distortions that can influence theirs. In short, you become aware of the unconscious and that is the first step in the right direction. Denn Awareness and reflection are the most important mechanisms that lie in our own hands. Knowing patterns means being able to unmask them and that is why we have broken down the 10 most common types of unconscious bias in recruiting below.
Checklist of the 10 most common unconscious biases in recruiting
To err is human — The limits of human judgment lead to cognitive distortions that are frequently repeated in their patterns. These are particularly common in the recruiting process and, in the worst case, lead to expensive incorrect adjustments. To avoid this, we've broken down the 10 most relevant unconscious bias types here.
1st Primacy Effect
Cognitive distortion starts with first impression. This can be positive or negative; in any case, it has a strong influence on the overall assessment. An opinion is formed that is difficult to change. Even contrary information often fails to change the image of candidates (Voss, 2014). The so-called”Primacy effect” So it means that you yourself Reminds more strongly of previous incoming information than of the following. The initial impression obtained is therefore difficult to turn over (Brüggen et al., 2016).
2nd Halo & Horns Effect
This bias is based on the Tendency to infer overall performance from one aspect of good or poor performance. The impression you get about a person then influences how you assess their overall character (Agarwal, 2018). So the name says it all here. A separate characteristic of a person influences the entire perception of their personality. Depending on how this property is subjectively assessed, outshines or overshadows This then gives the overall impression gained. That means, figuratively speaking, you let you Halo or devil horns float above the person's head and thus form a hasty verdict (Voss, 2014).
3. Affinity bias
Similar to the halo effect, a characteristic perceived as positive is indicative of a person's overall impression. The standard here is similarity to yourself, why also from”Mini-Me Effect“is spoken (Voss, 2014). People who are similar to you automatically appear more likeable and you tend towards them attributable to positive qualities (Agarwal, 2018). This mechanism is based on the fact that the Illusion is created, you already know yourself well and could therefore assess the other person well. You are therefore more attracted to people who, for example, are the same age, have the same nationality, a similar career path or the same sexual identity (Sans, 2020).
4. Status quo bias
This bias particularly influences selection decisions that are supposedly out of the ordinary. It is the tendency to prefer the current state of affairs over any change. This is based on the phenomenon that the Status Quo than felt good and desirable will — simply because it already exists (Eidelman & Crandall, 2012). The result is the famous Gut feeling and the power of habit hinders the will to create better conditions for everyone through change (Zeckhauser & Samuelson, 1988). You therefore subconsciously choose candidates who are similar to the current workforce and that in terms of criteria that are mostly irrelevant to performance, such as skin color or gender (Johnson et al., 2016).
5. Stereotypes, Gender, or Racial Bias
The classic: Unconscious prejudices influence the attitude towards people who have one or more marginalized group (s) belong. How strong their influence is depends on how deeply the stereotypes are anchored in the individual environment (Birkelund et al., 2020). For example, HR managers who want to fill a position in a male-dominated industry tend to be more skeptical of female candidates. In fact, they simply don't think of these when they think of the right cast (Madsen & Andrade, 2018). It is the same with the attitude towards people of color, i.e. people who are perceived as not white. For example, these are more likely to be perceived as less qualified or more inefficient (Bendick & Nunes, 2011). The influence of such stereotypes has been confirmed in some studies, in which, for example, at Name and photo changed to consistent CVs Were what a changed rating as a result (Gonzáez et al., 2019).
6. Confirmation bias
With this bias, you tend to Information more attention to give the confirm existing convictions. In doing so, characteristics that match the existing opinion are perceived more strongly. You even unconsciously search for it (Sans, 2020). So that means that ready-made settings Influence a person's assessment of a certain educational path, nationality or religious affiliation to the extent that the information that confirms it is unconsciously recorded and stored (Agarwal, 2018).
7. Conformity bias
This bias is due to the phenomenon of group pressure or simply to the need to be praised by one's environment for decisions made and to meet their expectations. This desired decisions are based on the attitude and behavior of direct environment, such as colleagues who are involved in the selection process (Sans, 2020). If you bear responsibility, you tend to seek their approval and suppress your own, perhaps contrary, opinion. As a result, decisions that are supposedly out of the ordinary become impossible, as is changing a person's own attitude towards a person (Padalia, 2014).
8. Illusory Correlation
In this case, it is assumed that one identified factor must be related to another. So it will be a illusory connection between a characteristic and a competence manufactured. Based on this assumption, the suitability for the respective vacancy is then assessed (Platts, 2020). In fact, such an approach appears supposedly rational and well-founded. Yet it is the complete opposite and a result of unconscious faulty connections in the thought processes. For example, there is a tendency to assign rare characteristics to minorities and more common traits to majorities (Costello & Watts, 2019).
9. Contrast Bias
A phenomenon that occurs especially on days full of job interviews or resume checks. A person's performance is assessed on the basis of the performance of the previous or subsequent person. The assessment criteria are no longer objective, but influenced by the impression of predecessor or successor (Voss, 2014). This means that the odds are better if the other person has performed negatively and vice versa. The stronger the contrast between a person's impression and that of their predecessors or successors, the stronger the contrast is rated. As a result, the standard is constantly being adjusted unconsciously. There is a risk that truly suitable candidates will not be identified, while fewer suitable candidates will make it through the resulting gap (Platts, 2020).
10. Overconfidence bias
As the name suggests, this is about the unconscious overestimation of one's own abilities. Even on a small scale, this can have significant consequences. Because, as is well known, you don't know what you don't know, and that results in decisions being made without sufficient information. After all, you think you already know everything you need to make a successful decision. This form of unconscious overconfidence is also known as Dunning—Kruger effect (Dunning, 2011). In personnel selection, this cognitive distortion means that HR managers, for example, are so convinced of their experience that they can only make the right selection decision based on a few, sometimes irrelevant, criteria. They rely on their instincts, the famous Gut feeling. As a result, the person who has the most potential is not selected and can even lead to expensive incorrect adjustments (Platts, 2020).
Aptitude diagnostics = overcoming the unconscious bias in recruiting
Being aware of the various unconscious biases that affect us all is the first step to overcoming them. This requires constant reflection and active change of one's own behavior and thought patterns. Of course, this is not always easy and remains susceptible to errors. That is why you can get away from intelligent algorithms and digital tools Get support.
Recruiting therefore relies on psychological aptitude diagnostics. Here will Focus on applicants' individual strengths and potential through objective criteria asked. This enables modern aptitude diagnostics by collecting information in a goal-oriented and strength-based manner. In this way, stereotypical assessment is counteracted and selection criteria are used that really lead to work success and satisfaction. As a result, the Recruitment success significantly increased And at the same time, a attractive employer brand (Kersting & Ott, 2016). In the form of Game-based assessments Does psychological aptitude diagnostics also ensure an appealing Candidate Experience and thus even generates more valid data for a well-founded selection decision.
This is how a structured selection process, in which candidates are assessed fairly and objectively. This is because the information generated is consistent and directly comparable with each other. In doing so, they are anonymous and therefore detached from irrelevant features, which often prevent objective comparisons. For an individual position, all candidates go through exactly the same procedures, which means that their results can be superimposed and Avoiding unconscious biases become.
conclusion
Unconscious biases lie dormant in all of us. In recruiting, they are an obstacle on the way to greater equal opportunities and diversity. Being able to name and identify cognitive distortions is an important step towards overcoming them.
Where human judgment reaches its limits, successful HR managers use modern aptitude diagnostics. This provides them with objective and comparable information about potential team growth. The candidate experience is getting stronger and therefore the employer brand is becoming more attractive. And the best part: We hire people who are truly successful and satisfied in their respective positions. That's how recruiting works today We would be happy to advise you on this.
