Written by Nathan Hewitt
Tackling bias with blind screening, blind interviewing and blind hiring
To find out how to interpret bias in recruitment, we also have a great eBook on inclusive hiring.
Blind Hiring.
In the late 1970s, as the world was changing around them, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra realised they had a problem. Specifically, a white male problem; the profile of nearly every musician.
In what is largely seen as the genesis of the blind interview, in 1980 the orchestra changed their audition process completely. Musicians were placed behind a screen so the auditioning panel couldn’t know the gender, race or age of the musician they were listening to. It’s said they even put down the carpet so the sound of high heels on the stage could not be heard.
All the panel could hear was the music.
Of course, the result of this blind screening was profound. Hiring decisions were made on the quality of the performance only. In just a few short years, the ‘white male’ orchestra was transformed to more equal gender representation with musicians further diversified by their cultural backgrounds.
Not only has the Toronto Symphony Orchestra continued to use blind screening ever since, but it was also quickly adopted by most major orchestras around the world.
Beyond the concert stage, blind screening and blind recruitment practices are used by government, academic and business organisations globally. Because when it comes to identifying the best qualified or best-fit candidates, all you need to hear is their ‘music’.
It’s hard to admit our biases play a role in our decisions. That’s why Blind Hiring works.
Are tall people more likely to get higher paid roles? Do the best looking candidates always get the job? Will Michael or Mohamed be the best fit for your team?
While it’s easy to recognise bias in other people, it’s usually harder to admit that we are biased ourselves. That’s why it’s called unconscious bias. It’s something we all have and something we can all be affected by.
Unconscious bias is about making assumptions, stereotyping or a fear of the unknown in how we assess other people. It can be innate or it can be learned and it’s created and reinforced through our personal experiences, our cultural background and environment.
Think of gender bias, ageism, racism or name bias – these are some common biases that need no explanation. However, psychologists and researchers have identified over 150 types of bias that impact the way we form opinions and make judgements about people, often instantly.
The science is in. People are biased. And, again, that’s why Blind Hiring works.
In a two year study titled Whitened Résumés: Race and Self-Presentation in the Labor Market published in the Administrative Science Quarterly in 2016, academics from the University of Toronto and Stanford University looked at racial and gender bias during resume screening.
In one US study, they created and sent out resumes for black and Asian candidates for 1,600 advertised entry-level jobs. While some of the resumes included information such as names, colleges, towns and cities that clearly pointed out the applicants’ race or status, others were ‘whitened’, or scrubbed of racial clues.
Amongst many insights, they found that white-sounding names were 75% more likely to get an interview request than identical resumes with Asian names and 50% more likely than black-sounding names. Males were 40% more likely to get an interview request than women.
Still need convincing?
Another 2016 study by The Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) in Bonn, Germany examined how ethnicity and religion influenced a candidate’s chances of landing an interview. 1500 real employers received otherwise identical applications, complete with a photo, from Sandra Bauer, Meryem Ӧztürk, or Meryem Ӧztürk wearing a headscarf.
- German-sounding Sandra received interview invitations 19% of the time.
- The identical application from Meryem recieved a call back 14% of the time while Meryem with a headscarf got called just 4% of the time.
These are just two of many research studies that suggest bias and discrimination are rife in the hiring process. In a 2017 UK study, only a third of hiring managers felt confident they were not biased or prejudiced when hiring new staff, while nearly half of those surveyed admitted that bias did affect their hiring choice. 20% couldn’t be sure.
Tackling bias in hiring & recruitment
When it comes to hiring, we all have our own thoughts about what an ideal candidate is supposed to look like. The problem is that our own bias can get in the way of the right decision.
If you’ve already pre-determined a candidate’s suitability by their age, gender or the school they attended, then you could be missing out on employing the candidate with the best qualifications. Or while you’re thinking about the best ‘cultural fit’ for your team, you’re actually missing the opportunity for the best ‘cultural add’.
But what if you could take bias out of candidate screening and hiring process? Is that even possible?
A closer look at blind hiring
Just as the Toronto Symphony Orchestra hid the identities of auditioning musicians behind a screen, there are several ways to bring blind hiring to your recruitment process:
Blind Screening
Nearly all hiring decisions will involve a human to human interview. But take a step back in the process and blind screenings can ensure that all candidates are competing on a level playing field. With the opportunity to be assessed only on qualifications or skills, the best candidates for a role can be identified.
Blind screening is about making candidates anonymous – removing details from applications or CVs that reveal details that may colour the recruiter or hirer’s assessment. It makes it easier to make objective decisions about a candidate based on skills, experience and suitability without the distraction (and the damage!) of bias.
Unconscious bias can be triggered by someone’s name, their gender, race or age, the town they grew up in or the schools they attended.
Blind Assessments
Before making a final decision, many employers like to test a candidate’s skills or knowledge by setting a task or challenge. Others undertake personality or other testing to assess a range of relevant qualities such as aptitude, teamwork, communication skills or critical thinking. Candidates can be assigned an identifying number or code to retain their anonymity through blind testing, though this is often best done through a third-party service provider.
Blind Interviewing
With face-to-face, phone or video interviews, it’s clearly impossible to keep candidates anonymous. Blind interviewing is possible, however, using a written QandA format or by using next-generation chatbots or text-driven interview software. Most recruiters and employers would agree, however, that there would be few if any, times it would be appropriate to make hiring decisions based solely on blind interviewing and without an in-person interview.
Read: The Ultimate Guide to Interview Automation
Blind interviewing, testing and screening in one – how Sapia has changed the game
Sapia is a leading innovator and advocate in using technology to enhance the recruitment process. Our AI-enabled, text chat interview platform has been designed to deliver the ultimate in blind testing at the most important stage of the recruitment process: candidate screening.
The ultimate in blind screening
Firstly, you will never have to read another CV again. Especially in bulk recruiting assignments, Sapia can help recruiters find the best candidates faster and more cost-effectively. CV’s are littered with bias-inducing aggravators. With Sapia, blind interviews are at the top of the recruiting funnel, not CV reviews.
By removing bias from the screening process, we’re helping employers to increase workplace diversity. It also delivers an outstanding candidate experience.
Reviewing and screening CVs is the most time-consuming part of any recruiter’s job and Sapia can put more hours back in your day.
Removing bias elements from the equation
Sapia evaluates candidates with a simple open, transparent interview via a text conversation. Candidates know mobile text and trust text.
Our platform removes all the elements that can bring unconscious bias into play – no CVs, video hook-ups, voice data or visual content. Nor do we extract data from social channels.
What candidates do discover is a non-threatening text interview that respects and recognises them for the individual they are, providing them with the space and time to tell their story in their words.
Algorithms see what humans can’t
As candidates complete and submit their interview, the platform uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to test, assess and rank candidates on values, traits, personality, communications skills and more. By bringing this blind interview into the upfront screening, recruiters can gain valuable personality insights and the confidence of a shortlist with the very best matched candidates to proceed to live interviews.
The platform has a 99% satisfaction rate from candidates and they report they are motivated by the personalised feedback, insights and coaching tips that the platform provides, along with the opportunity to provide their feedback on the process.
Blind hiring is better for business
Free from biases of the candidate’s race, gender, age or education level, Sapia’s platform delivers blind interviewing, testing and screening in one. Helping to build workplace diversity brings benefits for everyone – it can help lift employee satisfaction, boost engagement and productivity and enhance the reputation of your business as a great employer.
We believe there is a formula for trust when it comes to interviewing …
- Blind screening
- Using inclusive and engaging technology
- Apply a consistent assessment rubric
- Explainable and relatable process
- Relying only on data consensually given by the candidate
Final human decision supported by objective data. Or more simply:
Trust = (Inclusivity + Transparency + Explainability + Consistency) – Bias
Find out more about our AI-powered blind recruitment tool and how we can support your hiring needs today. You can try out Sapia’s Chat Interview right now – here. Else you can leave us your details to receive a personalised demo
Have you seen the New Inclusive e-Book?
It offers a pathway to fairer hiring. Get diversity and inclusion right whilst hiring on time and on budget.
In this Inclusivity e-Book, you’ll learn:
- How to design an inclusive recruitment path. From discovery to offer and validation of the process.
- The hidden inclusion challenges that are holding your organisation back.
- How to tell if Ai technology is ethical.
Related
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We need to talk about bias and the trouble with video interviews
To find out how to interpret bias in recruitment, we also have a great eBook on inclusive hiring.
And then suddenly the video interview went mainstream!
Whether it’s Google Meet, Facetime or Zoom, 2020 will always be remembered as the year that video meet-ups went mainstream. It’s how kids kept up their lessons. How their parents hooked up with their personal trainers. It’s where people met up for Friday drinks. And of course, it’s the technology that enabled millions to stay connected to colleagues and clients while working from home.
And just as video has impacted so many parts of our lives and businesses, it also accelerated the adoption of video tools in contemporary recruiting.
It might be considered the next-best-thing to ‘being there’, but could video interviewing actually be filled with traps that are working against the best interests of recruiters, candidates and employers?
What is a video interview?
There are two types of video interviews:
- one-way or asynchronous video interviews – where candidates record their responses to a set of job-relevant questions.
- two-way video interviews – using one of the platforms described above or bespoke tools that connect the interviewer (or interviewing panel) in conversation with candidates.
Can video interviews really reduce unconscious bias?
Within both types of video interviews, an ability to reduce unconscious bias is promoted as a key benefit.
Unconscious bias is the sum of the inherent beliefs, opinions, cultural background and life experiences that shape how we assess, engage and interact with others.
There are several ways that video interviewing might help reduce unconscious bias:
- A consistent experience – With a structured approach to interview questions and process that provides every candidate with the same parameters. A standardised experience for every candidate can be seen to reduce bias. When questions are set, there’s little or no room for distracting small talk (in two way interviews) that may reveal bias triggers.
- No geographic or travel barriers – By interviewing all candidates in a location of their choosing, the bias of distance and the effort and expense of travel to attend an interview in person is reduced.
- Open the opportunity to more candidates – With the ability to automate video interviews and applications, recruiters can connect with many more candidates, helping to reduce the bias that may see a CV or application ignored or put aside.
The bias problem that’s staring you in the face.
As much as proponents of video screening or interviewing claim it removes bias from the process, by its very nature, the opposite is in fact true.
As soon as an interviewer or hirer sees a candidate, the blindfolds of bias are removed. No matter how aware or trained in bias the reviewers may be, images and sound can trigger bias. Additionally, it can distract attention from the things that really matter. Here are just a few things that someone talking to the camera will reveal. All possible points of unconscious bias:
- gender
- age
- skin colour
- cultural background
- visible disabilities
- attractiveness or otherwise
- what people wear – headscarves, religious jewellery, or maybe you just don’t like stripes or the candidate’s personal style
- the background of the video – are you making judgements about candidates because of their home environment or choice of art on the walls
- accents might sound ‘funny’ or strange to your ear
- candidates may have unusual voices or speech impediments that would not impact their ability to perform in the role
- you may negatively associate candidates with other people you’ve worked with or met
- the candidate may be highly nervous about ‘performing’ for the camera, affecting their ability to speak normally and communicate clearly
No rule says you need to see someone to hire them
That’s just a bias (much like the bias pre-Covid) that you need to see someone at work to know that they are doing the work.
Blind hiring means you are interviewing a candidate without seeing them or knowing them. It’s fair for the candidate and also smart for your organisation.
If you are hanging your hat on the fact you just finished bias training- research has shown consistently unconscious bias training does not work.
While we have all been dutifully attending it for years, the truth is the change factor is zero.
Video interviews vs text interviews. Which delivers blind interviewing at its best?
Sapia’s Ai-enabled, text chat interview platform has been designed to deliver the ultimate in blind testing at the most important stage of the recruitment process: candidate screening.
Unlike video interviewing, Sapia removes all the elements that can bring unconscious bias into play – video, visual content such as candidate photos or data gathered from social channels such as LinkedIn. Sapia even takes CVs out of the process.
Read: The Ultimate Guide To Interview Automation With Text-Based Assessments
An enjoyable and empowering candidate experience
While being ‘camera shy’ works against many candidates in video interviews, Sapia evaluates candidates with a few simple open, transparent questions via a text conversation.
Candidates know text and are comfortable using it. A text interview is non-threatening and candidates tell us they feel respected and recognised as the individual they are. They are grateful for the space and time to tell their story in their words. It’s the only conversational interview platform with 99% candidate satisfaction feedback.
Better hiring outcomes with Sapia
Beyond a more empowering candidate experience, the platform helps recruiters and employers connect with the best candidates faster and cost-effectively. The platform uses Ai, machine learning and NLP to test, assess and rank candidates according to values, traits, personality, communications skills and more.
Recruiters can gain valuable personality insights and the confidence of a shortlist with the best matched candidates to proceed to live interviews. By removing bias from the screening process Sapia is helping employers increase workplace diversity.
Find out more about Sapia’s Ai-powered text interview platform. Also, see how we can support your best-practice recruitment needs today.
To keep up to date on all things “Hiring with Ai” subscribe to our blog!
Finally, you can try out Sapia’s Chat Interview right now HERE >
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Everybody lies
Everybody Lies is written by the person who had access to the largest text dataset ever, Google! In this book Seth Stephens-Davidowitz proves how good we are at lying even when we say we are telling the truth!
This is amplified when we are on the other end of a telephone polling survey or across from an interviewer for a job.
The most reliable way to really figure out what someone thinks believes and feels is to analyse what they write, or in the case of Google what they have searched.
An easy engaging read that has brilliant material for a dinner party and will change the way you think about assessment tools if you are in the recruitment business! Read it to learn which tools are much more gameable (games!) and which aren’t (text-based assessments).
“If you want the bias out, get the algorithms in.” Andrew McAfee, MIT
Do you see people around you falling victim to a new favourite bias … the “I’m-not-biased bias”. This is where people tend to believe they have fewer biases than the average person. It’s impossible to judge whether you’re biased because when it comes to yourself, you’re the most biased judge of all. And the more objective people think they are, the more they discriminate because they don’t realise how vulnerable they are to bias.
Just as no human driver will ever match the learning capability and velocity of a Tesla car, no assessor will ever be as good as a machine that’s done it 100,000 times. The same applies to AI in recruitment.
No human recruiter will ever match the power, smarts and anonymity presented by a machine learning assessment algorithm.
We would love to see you join the conversation on LinkedIn!
Suggested Reading:
https://sapia.ai/blog/cv-tells-you-nothing/
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Known biases can be removed with the right data and testing
As humans, we often don’t trust what we can’t see and we can’t trust what we don’t understand.
We believe that if an algorithm affects someone’s life you need to see how that algorithm works.
Transparency and explainability are fundamental ingredients of trust, and there is plenty of research to show that high trust relationships create the most productive relationships and cultures.
We are committed to building ethical and engaging assessments. This is why we have taken the path of a text chat with no time pressure. We allow candidates to take their own time, reflect and submit answers in text format. Apart from the apparent errors related to facial expressions, we believe that technologies such as voice to text can add an extra layer of errors. We also refrain from scraping publicly available data such as LinkedIn nor do we use behavioural data like how fast a candidate completes or how many corrections they make. Lastly, we strictly use the final submitted answers from the candidates and nothing else.
Our approach has led to candidates loving the text experience, as measured by the feedback they leave and NPS.
ChatInterview is a true blind assessment
No demographic details are collected from candidates nor used to influence their ranking. Only the candidates answer to relevant interview questions are analysed by our scientifically validated algorithm to assess their fit for the role.
Bias can be removed with the right data.
Biases can occur in many different forms. Algorithms and Ai learn according to the profile of the data we feed it. If the data it learns from is taken from a CV, it’s only going to amplify our existing biases. Only clean data, like the answers to specific job-related questions, can give us a true bias-free outcome. We continuously test the data that trains the machine for known biases such as between gender and race groups, so that if ever the slightest bias is found, it can be corrected. Potential biases in data can be tested for and measured. These include all assumed biases such as between gender and race groups that can be added to a suite of tests. These tests can be extended to include other groups of interest where those groupings are available like English As Second Language (EASL) users.
Here are a few examples:
- Proportional Parity Test “Is there an adverse impact on our recommendations?”
- Score Distribution Test “Are the assessment score distributions similar across groups of interest?”
- Fairness Test “Is the assessment making the same rate of errors across groups of interest?”
Sapia uses all of these tests and more.
Join the movement
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Finally, you can try out Sapia’s SmartInterview right now, or leave us your details here to get a personalised demo.