It’s a natural thing for us humans to be biased. It’s all fine and good to be biased about your college football team being the best ever, or state your kids are angels. But when it comes to hiring and interviewing, being biased is not a good thing for the company.

I recently saw an article that stated some companies might also be inadvertently using gender biased job descriptions when they post open positions. So what can you do to make sure you are not posting biased job descriptions and unconsciously being biased in your interview process?

I recommend implementing the objective hiring and interviewing process.

First start with the job class or position you want to fill and create a job benchmark for that role. By having the subject matter experts of the role help create the job benchmark, you’ll cover all your bases from competencies, motivators, behaviors and acumen needed for the role. NOW you are ready to re-write those job postings. What’s interesting about using this approach to job postings is that they attract the people you want to apply for your specific position. If someone doesn’t possess a certain behavioral style or competencies they are unlikely to apply because the job is ‘not speaking to them’

Once you’ve received some applicant interest, the next step; if they have met the years of experience and degrees you need is to have them take a validated pre-hire assessment. We recommend the TriMetrixHD which is DOL Employer Guide to Testing and Assessments and can be used for hiring because it does not create adverse impact on any protected class. (Read: unbiased)

Next match your applicant against the job benchmark, you’ll know where they meet, exceed or fall short of your benchmark which allows you to make an unbiased decision to continue the process with them. Once you know where someone falls against the job benchmark, you now have some additional information to discuss with them during the interview process. Also if you know which competencies someone might need additional training or development in, if you choose to hire them you can add it to their development plan and share it with them during their on-boarding process.

All companies want the right person for the right roles. By using the objective hiring and interview process, you’ll be ahead of the game for getting the right person for the right roles from the beginning.

Not sure where to start? Sign up for our free strategy session and we’ll set a time to discuss your specific situation.