What Do You See?

Post date: May 18, 2018 3:6:7 PM

Arknesh Goldstein, Laura Williams, Mario Filipilito, De'Andre Taylor, and Taylor McHenry. All of these are fictitious names I just created but very well could have been the names on the top of resumes a member of your recruitment team received for your open job posting. The reality is some employers have found themselves on the wrong side of a lawsuit because an employee made a biased decision which adversely affected a group of people based solely on their own implicit biases. What is implicit bias? It is the subconscious linking of attributes and behaviors linked to a specific group based on stereotypes. Several studies have concluded these involuntary and often unintentional biases are more common and in fact pervasive than acknowledged.  For example, all adolescent males must like football. How does this manifest itself in the workplace? In recruiting, there have been documented cases with the EEOC in where qualified candidates were excluded during the hiring practice because a person looked at their name and made a biased decision because they had a more ethnic or a female name. In fact, these biases happen every day in our professional environments and lead to complicated HR issues. Dreadlocks, beards, tattoos are all easy examples of instances where a person can have a pre-conceived notion about a person based strictly on stereotypes. Is it impossible to ignore these behaviors if they're socially programmed into our subconscious? What steps can you take to mitigate potential risks of implicit bias when it comes to hiring and firing decisions with your staff as well as promotional advancement opportunities? Our team is ready to assist you in tackling these issues and more. Contact us today!