Biases often lead to people being mistreated. But what if these biases were unconscious?
When your brain makes unintentional judgments about people based on their age, race, accent, or even socio-economic status, it leads them to be looked upon less favourably.
There are several ways to promote equality and tackle unconscious bias in a workplace. Let’s walk you through some of them.
1. Blind Hiring
Blind recruitments are undertaken by removing all information of identification associated with candidates so that the focus is only on their skills and experience. This is perfect if you do not want unconscious biases shaping your hiring decisions.
Blind screening makes hiring decisions fair. This eliminates age, gender, race, educational background, hobbies, and links to social media, all of which can lead to the creation of a first impression. Additionally, it
promotes workplace diversity.
This is followed by blind pre-employment tests to test the candidate’s talent. This could range from cognitive aptitude tests, language tests, to coding assignments.
To conclude a fair hiring process, you can conduct a blind interview as well!
2. Anti-Bias Training
Anti-bias training has become essential in eliminating unconscious biases and
workplace bullying.
Such training seeks to teach the employees to identify as well as manage biases. Otherwise, it could negatively impact fair decision-making and devalue diversity.
Through anti-bias training, workers will gain an understanding of the unconscious biases that exist in their minds that propagate stereotypes and prejudices. This typically involves workshops, discussions, and other tailored exercises aimed at equipping the employees to recognise and challenge biased behaviours.
Once they have identified the biases, they can work towards reducing those that hamper the smooth functioning of the business.
3. Leverage Technology
Did you know that some of the common workplace biases can be rooted out with the help of technology?
Tech provides innovative solutions to detect and minimise unconscious biases. For example, an AI-powered talent assessment can go through candidate materials and flag prejudiced content. Automated tools can also highlight problematic language usage.
Moreover, data analytics helps identify workplace decisions that are driven by biases. This is done by examining changes in performance reviews, promotion, or compensation based on gender, age, and other factors.
So, do not forget to leverage technology to combat unconscious biases!
4. Equitable Pay and Incentives
Unconscious favoritism can lead to unequal pay and demotivate deserving employees.
To create a more equitable and inclusive work environment, it is mandatory to get rid of unconscious biases that lead to unfair pay practices. For this, organizations can conduct regular pay audits and concentrate on standardizing compensation.
Foster a workplace culture where bonuses are objectively determined by skills and performance. Also, do not forget to document the decisions taken so that evidence in support of fair pay exists in the records.
Companies often keep their incentive systems transparent so that biases don’t creep in. This is probably why most opt for
payroll outsourcing to manage their payroll tasks.
5. Implement Bias-Free Policies
Addressing biases is not an easy task. This is why firms draft policies that forbid bias to enable a better quality of interaction among the workforce.
First, document formal rules and regulations. Then, make them accessible to everyone working in the organization.
Every possible bias must be discussed in detail and with clarity so that there is no hitch in its enforcement. The bias-free policies must be strictly followed. Make sure to review the policies at set intervals to maintain their usefulness.
Conclusion
While biases exist in everyone, a conscious effort must be made to reduce them. Only changes facilitated by awareness can help build an inclusive work environment.
From blind hiring to bias-free policies, there is so much organizations can do to bid adieu to toxic work culture!
