Eeny,Meeny,Miny,Moe: Hire Him and Let Her Go? Using Science to Reduce Hiring Bias

Abstract

Despite advances in behavioural economics, industrial and organisational psychology and other fields examining the impact of bias on hiring decisions and informing organisational practices to improve the quality and fairness of such decisions, not all human resources practitioners or managers know or implement such practices. There is, therefore, an opportunity to structure talent acquisition/hiring practices and systems in ways that change the default, convenient behaviour of these decision-makers (prone to bias) and shift them towards less biased decisions. From nudging decision-makers to be more accountable, to using automated tools that minimise the element of human error, from the language used in recruiting materials to signal inclusion, to the use of structure to promote fairness and accuracy—this article describes eight evidence-based ways to reduce the impact of bias (gender bias, as an illustration) in hiring decisions.