The Management Tip of the Day

Decreasing the Bias in Your Hiring Decisions.‌ Human beings are hardwired to prefer people who are like us, which is one reason bias creeps into hiring decisions. Diversity initiatives and process audits can help, but for hiring to improve meaningfully, individual managers have to recognize and address their personal biases. The first step is to accept that you have biases. Think about why you might feel drawn to some job candidates more than others, and what biases or preferences might be involved. Consider how factors such as race, gender, education, socioeconomic background, and even height might influence you. Aim to go into hiring decisions with an awareness of how they might go astray. Then, when you're actually evaluating a candidate, keep asking yourself: "Where could bias show up in this decision?" You should also form your own opinion of the candidate before comparing notes with your colleagues, so you aren't influenced by others' views. Today’s Tip  Decreasing the Bias in Your Hiring Decisions Human beings are hardwired to prefer people who are like us, which is one reason bias creeps into hiring decisions. Diversity initiatives and process audits can help, but for hiring to improve meaningfully, individual managers have to recognize and address their personal biases. The first step is to accept that you have biases. Think about why you might feel drawn to some job candidates more than others, and what biases or preferences might be involved. Consider how factors such as race, gender, education, socioeconomic background, and even height might influence you. Aim to go into hiring decisions with an awareness of how they might go astray. Then, when you're actually evaluating a candidate, keep asking yourself: "Where could bias show up in this decision?" You should also form your own opinion of the candidate before comparing notes with your colleagues, so you aren't influenced by others' views. This tip is adapted from “How to Reduce Personal Bias When Hiring,” by Ruchika Tulshyan Access the very best. With a HBR subscription, you'll get access to 50 of our best-selling articles and a wealth of content and resources, written by the world's leading business minds. View our subscription options Article What Makes a Leader by Daniel Goleman Skills and smarts matter, but emotional intelligence matters more. Subscribers have exclusive access to this and other leadership classics in our 50 best-selling articles collection. Become a better leader Book Good Charts Workbook: Tips Tools, and Exercises for Making Better Data Visualizations by Scott Berinato $35 Learn more Don’t forget you’re entitled to 20% off your first purchase* *Use promo code HBRORGREG3 View in browser Contact us Privacy policy Unsubscribe

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