Worried About Unconscious Biases? Here’s Why You Need an Executive Search Firm

Considering the looming financial crisis and the recent civil unrest that affected the world in late Spring of 2020, finding the right hire now could make a massive difference in your company’s operations—but the process is now more complex than ever.

As a company leader, you try to do the right thing at every opportunity, and your recruiting process may reflect that mind-set. But we’re all human, and you may be showing bias without even knowing it.

Let’s unpack how unconscious bias can negatively affect the recruiting process and how partnering with a top staffing firm can help you avoid its pitfalls.

How Does Unconscious Bias Work?

The basic definition of bias is an inclination to hold a particular view. The idea is that people possess preconceived notions of the world that impact their decisions. When a bias is unconscious, people aren’t able to change their behavior because they have no idea that the bias exists.

Research has shown that bias does exist in hiring practices, especially with hiring managers who don’t consider practices such as the Rooney Rule in their hiring process. The Rooney Rule was originally created in the NFL and named after Pittsburgh Steelers chairman Dan Rooney. It was designed to increase head coaching opportunities for minorities. The results were impressive, increasing the percentage of minorities holding NFL head coaching positions from 6% to 22%. Many private companies were urged by President Obama in 2015 to adopt the Rooney Rule in order to increase minority and women hires in technology companies.

How an Impartial Recruiting Firm Can Help

An external staffing agency can help you reduce unconscious bias in the hiring process by screening possible candidates based on the detailed briefs you outline. A third-party firm is neutral and is hired to find you the best candidates for the job—all while making sure you execute on the process in the fairest way possible.

Unconscious bias can also occur when only a narrow segment of the population applies for advertised vacancies. Top recruiting firms have access to a larger talent pool where they can analyze qualifications more efficiently and handpick suitable potential candidates.

The Brookwoods Way: A Comprehensive Recruiting Process

At Brookwoods, we've developed an extensive recruiting process to bring forward top-notch candidates who match our clients’ criteria. Our method reduces unconscious bias by boiling down the criteria to matches for talent, skills, knowledge and experience and soft skills.

Our executive recruiting process starts with a needs assessment and ends with our following up to ensure the employee is doing well in your office. By evaluating hard skills and soft skills, as well as attitude, we make sure our professional recruiting efforts hit the mark every time.

Unconscious bias is real, and at Brookwoods Group, we can help you streamline your hiring process while finding the right candidates who also reflect your company’s values. Call us at (800) 426-3900 for more information on how our bias-free method works.