By now, most employers are in tune with the importance of a diverse and inclusive workplace. There’s evidence that teams with a broader range of experiences and perspectives perform better. Diverse businesses are more likely to understand the needs of a wider range of customers and clients.

But companies that are growing fast often haven’t been deliberate about their hiring structures, and frequently end up with a system that allows unconscious biases to flourish.

Benefits of eliminating bias in interviews

Interview bias can both cause a company to choose the wrong candidate, and it can also cause the working environment to split, or even discriminate against each other.

So, eliminating bias in interviews provides three main benefits:

• Diversity in the company makes candidates more excited. ⅔ Candidates when asked are very interested in working in an environment of diverse types of people; Therefore, the richer the company is in terms of employee types, the more candidates it attracts.
• Diversity in the company helps employees to be more creative. Creativity is expressed through the difference in the personality of employees when they work together in a group, thereby improving employee performance.
• Diversity in the company helps the company to be more efficient. Many studies have shown that diversified companies are 19% more profitable than the average company.

Here are ways that managers can apply to reduce bias in interviews, increase employee diversity and help the company operate more efficiently.

Check the wording in the job description

The easiest place to remove bias from the hiring process is in recruitment, says Iris Bohnet, a Harvard behavioral economist and author of What Works: Gender Equality by Design. Using multiple job descriptions to make them more “attractive” sometimes doesn’t attract as many applicants as the company expected, but on the contrary, also made them turn away from the company’s recruitment post. More specifically, just by using the word “salesman”, hiring managers can create gender discrimination since the job just appeared on the desk.

If it’s not a very specialized job, limit the use of words that are a “barrier” to the applicant. Jobs should be described as broad and inclusive as possible to attract more people interested in the company’s work.

Blind that resume

Resumes contain a lot of useful information for employers, but also are loaded with details that can signal race, class, and gender. Even the most self-aware hiring managers can turn away qualified candidates because the applicant didn’t fit expectations. But companies can also blind resumes internally, with HR removing names and identifying characteristics before forwarding candidates on to hiring managers.

To avoid bias, companies should test applicants on their skills, and offer employers a slate of candidates based on the results.

Ensure diversity in the interview panel and candidates

The diversity of the company will appeal to the diversity of candidates. The more people from different backgrounds and perspectives, the less bias the interviewing committee has in the interview process.

Candidates also should be considered by a diverse cross-section of managers. A number of companies, including Accenture and Procter & Gamble, require candidates to be considered and interviewed by a diverse group of employees. Evaluators with multiple perspectives can help check the unconscious bias of any individual.

Standardize interview questions

Hiring managers use interviews to get to know a candidate beyond what’s on a resume or skills test. Some recruiters have one go-to question they believe will unearth the candidate’s true nature.

But letting interviewers pick their questions can mean wildly different experiences for each candidate. Some may be interrogated, while others may end up in a friendly chat. If the candidate has something in common with the interviewer, the conversation may never leave their area of shared interest. In some cases, the candidate will be recommended based on the personal connection, and not their ability to do the job. To ensure all candidates are treated the same, make sure they’re all asked the same basic questions.

Plan ahead, use a checklist for questions, and evaluate candidates in real-time, as the interview progresses. If managers wait to evaluate candidates, they’ll remember the most vivid details instead of the most important ones.

If a candidate is being interviewed by several managers, wait until everyone is finished before comparing notes. And don’t use panel interviews, when multiple interviewers are in the room; the evaluator’s perspective will be shaped by their colleagues.

Consider your hiring goals

Being mindful of interviewing biases is an important part of avoiding them in your own hiring processes. It can help to consider your own hiring goals and specifically identify equitable hiring and interviewing practices.

Before starting the hiring process, HR managers need to define their hiring goals by answering this question.

Examples:

• I want more minority groups to participate in this work
• I want more women
• We would prefer younger or more experienced candidates
• Or all of the above?

Whatever goal your manager sets, make it clear to the HR team and share this view widely. Let candidates know that the company is very interested in diversity in activities and stories.