In the quest to improve diversity in hiring, companies are turning to “blind hiring” practices, which seeks to eliminate the unique characteristics of candidates before they are considered for employment. The goal of blind hiring is to bring people on board who have the skills to perform certain tasks, and not because of other protected factors such as gender, age, nationality, or region.
Why is blind hiring popular?
In the past, research has shown that managers tend to select candidates who have similar demographic backgrounds as their own. A Fast Company article highlights several university studies that showed that humans are nearly always biased towards their own kind, and this happens on a subconscious level most of the time. Even the mention of a similarity during an interview can elicit warm feelings towards a particular candidate, and the person is chosen even if they are not the best fit for the job.
In blind hiring, these factors are all stripped from candidates.
The following elements are removed or hidden during the initial application phase:
- The candidate’s full name and educational background are hidden
- The resume may be masked or certain elements of the work history
- The candidate’s face may be hidden and voice-altering technology is used in phone interviews
- Assessments and skills testing is reserved for hiring purposes
- Lower-performing candidates are never presented to decision makers
All of this may seem a bit extreme, but companies that are growing rapidly or expanding operations need to be able to comply with Equal Employment Opportunity and other laws that require fair and diverse hiring.
When determining if blind hiring may be right for your company, ask yourself the following things:
- Does your company have an EEOC hiring process in place to hire for diversity?
- Over the last six months, has your company tracked the hiring of women and minorities?
- Is your company active in closing the gender wage gap and improving hiring transparency?
- Are you hiring the same kinds of people or do you hire people based on their unique skills and qualities?
Working with a temporary staffing agency can help your company to get a better grip on hiring for diversity. It takes the responsibility off the company and places it on the staffing agency for securing workers from diverse demographics and backgrounds. If you’re looking for highly qualified candidates, click here to contact Advance Staffing Solutions today!
