How do you handle feedback from colleagues who may not recognize their own biases in candidate evaluation?

Addressing biases in candidate evaluation involves empathetically discussing specific observations, highlighting areas for improvement, and encouraging open-mindedness to diverse perspectives. It's crucial to foster a collaborative environment where feedback is constructive, emphasizing the importance of fair and inclusive assessments for effective team growth.

When addressing feedback from colleagues unaware of their biases, start by fostering awareness through training on unconscious bias. Encourage open discussions about the impact of biases in evaluations. Implement structured evaluation criteria to focus on skills and experience relevant to the role. Additionally, anonymize candidate profiles during initial reviews to mitigate bias. Regularly review and discuss feedback processes to promote fairness and consistency in candidate evaluations.

Recognizing bias in the interview process is crucial for fair hiring. Start with Awareness: Education is the first step. Regular training on unconscious bias helps us see its impact on our decisions. Diverse Panels: Assemble interview panels with diverse members. Different perspectives help balance out individual biases. Blind Recruitment: Remove identifiable information from resumes to focus on skills and experience rather than names or backgrounds. Feedback Loop: Foster a culture of feedback where interviewers can discuss and learn from each other’s experiences. By staying aware and intentional, we can minimize bias and build a more inclusive, effective hiring process.

1. **Listen Actively:** Hear out their perspectives without judgment. 2. **Ask for Specifics:** Request concrete examples to understand their reasoning. 3. **Offer Different Criteria:** Suggest alternative evaluation criteria or perspectives. 4. **Encourage Self-Reflection:** Politely raise awareness of potential biases. 5. **Focus on Fairness:** Emphasize merit-based assessment and objective criteria.

I like to say that writing a resume is a completely different skill than what position the individual is interviewing to perform. The resume is not the end all, it is a narrow and brief snapshot. Recruiters try to read between the lines to discover someone’s skills and assets not included that are relevant for the position. Managers often just read the lines. They make assumption someone does not have what they need if it is not directly included in the resume. Bias comes from lack of information. Often the candidate themselves don’t provide the needed details. To curb bias, provide the answers to these unknows to the hiring manager so they can move past them and focus on the person and their ability to add value to the team.

I think promoting awareness is a very tactful tightrope to walk. You have to truly be content neutral (politics, religion, etc.) and bring the conversation back to "what are the requirements of this position" and can this person do the work successfully. Having this conversation with your colleagues has to be done from a place of support and care, you're challenging them here but you're doing it as an ally and someone who is genuinely on their side.

One thing that is helpful is to always bring the conversation back to the actual job description . Have a checklist and do some Role playing within the training

The best way to avoid bias is to not allow it to slip into your questions. By having a rigid interview structure of specific set questions it prevents any sort of bias or potential discrimination to slip into the interview. These questions should all be approved by HR, pertain to the open position, and still allow the hiring managers to properly select a candidate and understand their strengths and areas for growth.

I would suggest that anyone on interview panels have had interview skills training which would include Biases. Panel should have read the job description and candidate resume prior to meeting All candidates are asked same questions and rated against the job criteria. One Panel member to be accountable for feedback and need to understand that outcomes affect the organisation and their Brand

Creating an environment where teammates can politely and professional challenge each other is so important. When receiving potentially biased feedback, I think it's super beneficial to ask them relevant questions to understand where that thought process is coming from. Maybe it's a bias blindspot, maybe it's a specific prior employee that has tainted their perspective; regardless it's important to communicate respectfully that they may not be giving the candidate the most fair opportunity.

I find this method the most effective. It takes time for colleagues to observe and absorb your approach but it'll pay off. The most convincing is to show the previous successful hirings based on your methodology. People learn the most in the non-invasive environment, where they're not forced but they have an option to choose what's best. If your approach is proven, they will follow.

The world and culture continues to develop and what was acceptable 20 years ago is not okay now. And what may be appropriate today can drastically change in the future. Staying alert and aware is crucial here. You want candidates to feel welcomed, appreciated, and accepted for who they are.

If you think that someone's feedback is full of biases, the simplest way to address the issue is to 'tell them upfront' or simply 'ignore their feedback'.