Are Biases Affecting Your Bottom Line?
Have you ever hired someone who was not the best candidate for the position to avoid any potential liability from an EEOC claim? There is nothing in the law that says you must hire an inferior candidate. The law simply states that you, and any of the systems you use, cannot discriminate against the protected group(s). Jobs can’t talk and tell us what kind of candidate they require, so as managers, we need a system for hiring that does not allow typical human biases to enter the process.
Neither right or wrong, nor good or bad, biases are simply a reflection of our viewpoint. Often this viewpoint is unknowingly injected into the hiring process, even when it is not relevant to a specific position or to the organization itself.
Today we have laws that keep us from acting on our biases as they relate to gender, age, and nationality, but there are still biases that affect selection such as experience, education, and intelligence. Candidates bring much more to the job, including their passions, beliefs, personal skills, and behaviors. For example, perhaps one of the most important personal skills a superior employee can have is personal accountability, yet most companies are not aware of its importance, nor do they have a way to measure it.
To effectively select superior performers and operate safely under the laws of the EEOC and OFCCP, we recommend a selection system that all hiring managers can easily follow. That system should contain the following:
– A view of the job – key accountabilities defined, analyzed, and prioritized to determine the knowledge, personal skills, motivational factors, hard skills, and behavior that would lead to superior performance
– A complete description of all factors required for the job. For example, we have benchmarked hundreds of outside sales positions & find they are all very similar, but not exact
– Job-related interview questions
– Superior performance research that supports benchmarking of the job, not people
– Gap Reports to indicate the gaps (if any) between the candidates and the job
– A complete system for onboarding all new hires, including a development plan that is personalized and completely job-related that leads to performance and retention solutions
– A performance management system modified to incorporate all the job-related activities discussed through the system for current or new employees
Now is the time for all companies to look objectively at their hiring practices and be honest by identifying any current practices that are keeping them from hiring superior performers. Superior performers can dramatically alter companies during both good and bad economic conditions, and every executive should be asking: “Do I have the right talent to take us to the next level?”
We would love to hear your comments. Please contact us today!
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Gary Brunson
gary@myclearfocus.com
Debra Rider
debra@myclearfocus.com
574.361.2674
Sustainable Growth & Profit Consultant, Coach, Mentor, and Counselor/Therapist for Business Owners and Professionals.