Diversity and Inclusion, Unconscious and Conscious Bias
If you hire employees based on your “gut feeling”, you might be deciding on the basis of your unconscious bias. One way to avoid unconscious biases is to accept them as preconceived notions that can affect hiring decisions. Employers can only prevent unconscious bias if they’re aware of it and use proven strategies to avoid it when hiring employees.
Doing so can help hiring managers, and employers build a diverse and inclusive team. Know that diversity and inclusion is much more than just developing programs and policies. Equitable managers build a workplace culture that respects the unique perspectives, needs, and potential of all the employees. Whether you’re a start-up or an established organization, understanding how diversity, inclusion, conscious and unconscious impact the hiring decision is crucial.
Understanding Diversity and Inclusion, Unconscious and Conscious Bias
Workplace diversity is a broad term and refers to not only understanding but also valuing differences of people. Typically, people hold implicit biases subconsciously that affect the way they think or feel about others. These unconscious biases are the major reason why organizations lack inclusion and diversity in their culture.
Unconscious biases may have different forms such as;
· Affinity bias
· Attribution bias
· Confirmation bias
· The halo effect
· Conformity bias
· Ageism
· Gender bias
· Beauty bias
· Name bias
· Anchor bias
· Height bias
· Authority bias
· Nonverbal bias
Typically, diversity incorporates the components that make individuals different and unique. Diversity includes different ethnicities, religions, races, sexual orientations, and disabilities. Differences in personalities, education, experiences, skill sets, and knowledge also are elements of diversity. A diverse and inclusive workplace is more committed to its employees and earns deeper trust.
Inclusion, on the other hand, refers to a workplace environment that is supportive, respectful, and collaborative. An inclusive workplace tends to increase employees' contribution and participation. It not only removes intolerance but also eliminates discrimination. When a workplace is inclusive, all employees naturally feel supported.
Diversity and inclusion in the workplace are embedded in the culture. The phenomenon reflects the mission, objectives, strategies, and culture of a company. A diverse and inclusive workplace doesn’t let unconscious and conscious biases affect their hiring process. It focuses on creating an environment that is collaborative and adaptable to attract and retain top talent.
Importance of Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace
Many firms make significant strides to transform into a diverse and inclusive workplace. As mentioned above, diversity and inclusion in the workplace are much more than moral issues. In fact, it is more about being committed to offering open opportunities to all employees, regardless of their race, color, gender, age, or background.
When it comes to advancing professional careers and embracing different dimensions of diversity, eliminating unconscious biases is pivotal. According to a recent study, a diverse and inclusive workplace offers;
· Readiness to build and innovate
· Increased ability to hire a diverse pool of talent
When organizations recruit without unconscious bias, their employer retention rate is 5.4 times higher compared to other companies. It shows that inclusion in organizations is the most important key to retaining employees.
Another research on organizational culture found that when workers know they will receive fair treatment regardless of their race, age, sexual orientation, or age, they
· Are more motivated to work harder
· Take pride in their job
· Want to stay work with the company for a long period
That means an inclusive workplace helps attract more diverse talent and retain potential employees.
Role of Hiring Managers in Cultivating Diversity and Inclusion and Reducing Unconscious and Conscious Biases
A human resource manager is a representative of the workforce. He/she hones in on different factors that identify new talent, motivate employees, and increase productivity by creating a diverse and inclusive environment.
Keep on reading to find what role hiring managers play to reduce unconscious biases, cultivate and empower a workplace. A hiring manager can;
Modernize Approach to Recruiting
To ensure that unconscious and conscious bias doesn’t impact the hiring decision, managers need to make some changes in the recruiting approach. From reworking job descriptions to giving every candidate the same treatment, it requires a complete overhaul of the recruiting process. It is also important to use a standardized interview process to eliminate unconscious biases.
Widen the Talent Pool
A diverse workforce can lead an organization to success. That is why HR professionals or hiring managers can focus on hiring people from different backgrounds and cultures. For instance, many HR professionals approach local youth groups to hire new talent. It helps with fostering young talent early and ensures that more diverse people know about the opportunities.
Monitor Diversity and Inclusiveness
Hiring managers need to monitor diversity and inclusiveness by implementing fair recruitment practices and audits. It allows them to measure progress effectively.
Mentor Employees
As the recruitment process, mentoring employees is also one of the responsibilities of hiring manager managers. They can design and develop a variety of workshops or mentorship programs to help employees learn and embrace diversity and promote inclusion in the workplace.
What Else?
Hiring managers need to work with a strong commitment to determine the factors that can help achieve diversity.
· Incorporation of qualitative measures is a must to track employees' working experience and perception of inclusion — for example, sense of fairness, belonging, and fairness.
· Managers and leaders must support an open environment that seeks out diverse opinions, perspectives, voices, and collective intelligence.
· Use of designed thinking to offer supportive platforms to attract and retain diverse talent from top to bottom — for example, sponsorship and mentoring platforms with a discussion guide.
· Adoptions of agile approaches to develop action-based tools that help managers make better decisions. For example, de-bias cards for recruitment processes to hire talent, evaluate performance, review promotion, and plan succession to mitigate biased decisions.
Summing Up
Fostering a supportive and inclusive culture is hard to accomplish, but not impossible. Remember that diversity and inclusion are the vital components of success. The smarter workplaces embrace both the components to attract potential talent and provide high job satisfaction, revenue, and employee retention.
Links
https://lattice.com/library/how-to-reduce-unconscious-bias-at-work