How to interview to reduce bias AND get the best hire

Even at the interview stage, research has found that judgments about candidates made in the first 10 seconds can predict the interview’s outcome. These gut instincts, often based on unconscious bias, occur when an interviewer unconsciously tries to confirm an initial judgment rather than truly assessing the candidate. This has been shown to be true even at companies that are actively looking for diversity.

The most effective way to discourage interviewers from focusing on gut instinct impressions is to implement a well-designed, structured interview process. This significantly increases the likelihood of hiring diverse candidates, doubles the chances that you will hire the best person for the job, and can save you time and money because your hiring team will know exactly what to look for.

AcuityWorks offers an interactive workshop on this topic to assist your team with developing a structured interview. Below are tips to get you started.

3 steps to creating an effective interview:

  1. Create a structured interview.
  2. Standardize your evaluations.
  3. Train and calibrate interviewers.

#1. Create a structured interview.
Step 1: Identify and define the criteria needed for the role.

  • List the hard and the soft skills needed for the role. Soft skills (sometimes referred to as ‘values’) are things such as collaboration or resourcefulness. Identify the skills that are essential to being successful in the job position.
  • ​Clearly define your criteria. For each skill write out (1) why this hard or soft skill is important for your team or company, and (2) what this skill requires/what it looks like (how would you know it if you saw it?).

Step 2: Rank your criteria.
  • Identify the criteria without which a candidate will not be hired for this role.
  • Rank the others.
  • Alternatively, divide into a ‘required’ list and a ‘nice to have’ list.

Step 3: Develop high-quality questions and prompts.
  • Develop questions and follow-up prompts for each of your criteria.
  • Focus each question on one skill.
  • Design follow-up prompts to elicit a high level of detail.
  • Consider both behavioral questions (those that ask about past performance) and situational questions (those that ask about hypothetical future job situations). The data is mixed on which is best at predicting future performance and both types have their own drawbacks. In many situations, it makes sense to use both behavioral and situational questions but consider the job you are filling.
  • For further information on behavioral and situational questions, see the following:

Step 4: Develop targeted (unbiased) work samples (if applicable).
  • Ask for a sample of work or develop a simulated work task.
  • Align the task as closely as possible with the requirements of the job.

Step 5: Follow a consistent, thoughtful interview format.
  • Provide the same experience to all interviewers.
  • Be respectful, supportive, and friendly to all candidates.
  • Leave enough time for candidates’ questions — it’s a two-way assessment.
             
Example interview format:
Introductions (5 min)
  • Be on time.
  • Introduce yourself. Have a couple ice breakers you say to all candidates – (e.g., “How was the parking?”). If the candidate just came from another interview, ask if the candidate needs a drink or restroom break. Build in breaks for the candidate if there are multiple interviews in a row.
  • Set the tone. Be warm and friendly to all interviewees. Your job is to put the interviewee at ease. No one performs well when they are uncomfortable.
  • Seating. Sit 90° from the candidate. This feels more welcoming than sitting across from the candidate. Make sure the seats are even heights and both are comfortable.
  • Tell the interviewee you will be taking notes.
  • Note that a panel interview format can make many candidates uncomfortable, especially diverse candidates. Many believe that two interviewers with one candidate feels most comfortable because it decreases the intensity of a one-on-one format. Ultimately, it depends on the quality of the interviewer.
Questions (40 min)
  • Start with an easy question to help the interviewee relax.
  • Progress from broader, ‘easier’ questions to more detail-oriented questions.
  • Good storytellers can answer broad questions well, but only those who know their stuff can get down to the nitty gritty.
  • Follow the predetermined questions and prompts.
Persuade and take candidate questions (13 min)
  • Sell your company. Give an overview of the role and how their skills would fit well and what you like about working at your company.
  • Proactively ask, “What are the top factors that you’ll use to assess a job offer?”  Provide compelling information to address these factors.
  • Leave plenty of time for interviewee questions. Answer honestly.
Conclusion (2 min)
  • Thank them for their time.
  • Tell them what they can expect following the interview (estimated time to hear back, etc.).
  • Walk them out, or escort them to their next interview.

Thoughtful approaches with big payoff
  • Prepare candidates in advance. Your evaluation will be more accurate.
  • Provide candidates with the interview details. Provide candidates with the interview schedule, place and format of the interview, dress code, and names of interviewers, as well as contact information, travel arrangements, and reimbursable items.
  • Provide information on how to prepare for the interview.
  • Build in time around interviews to show candidates your office and to meet team members.
  • Provide prompt, respectful, communication with candidates. Personalize the communication.
  • Make the experience comfortable. E.g., buy candidates flight tickets — many cannot upfront the funds. Don’t buy a red eye flight to save on costs, get them a decent hotel.

#2 Standardize your evaluations.
Step 1: Create rating rubrics in advance of your first interview.
  • For each question/criterion, decide in advance what a poor, average, and excellent response entails.
  • Focus on whether the candidate responds in ways that demonstrate the criteria, not whether the candidate took one approach to get there.

Step 2: Use the rating rubric when evaluating candidates’ responses. Provide a justification for each rating.
  • Don’t write vague statements, summarize the resume, or reiterate the qualifications listed in the rating rubric.  Statements like "seems on the ball" won't help the hiring committees.
  • Provide specific examples.

Step 3: Stay focused on the predetermined criteria.
  • Don’t get distracted by personal characteristics that are not job-relevant, or evaluations that are not supported by evidence.
  • Do not allow evaluations based on new issues that weren’t part of the original criteria.

Step 4:  Submit your feedback and ratings before talking with others about the candidate.1
  • If you are interviewing, record feedback as soon as possible after the interview. Real-time feedback reduces bias because our memory is fresh and we are less likely to unconsciously “fill in the blanks” with stereotypes or be influenced by other people's’ views.
  • If you are on the hiring committee, write down your preferences before discussing the candidate. This reduces groupthink and other biases. and brings everyone’s perspective to the table.  

Step 5:  Share all interviewer ratings and justifications with the hiring committee.
  • This reduces bias and provides data on how interviewees differ in their evaluations and on the validity of interview questions.2

Step 6: Reduce the halo effect.
  • Compare candidates’ answers to the first question, then their answers to the second and so on, rather than assessing one candidate’s complete set of responses and then moving on to the next candidate..3

Step 7: Ask yourself targeted questions to help you become aware of your biases.
  • Does this person remind you of yourself?
  • Imagine the candidate is of a different gender or race. Does your perception change?
  • Does the person remind you of somebody you know? Is that association positive or negative?
  • What aspects of the candidate’s application particularly influence your impression (good or bad), and are they relevant to the position?
  • What assessments have you already made about the person? Are your perceptions grounded in solid information?
  • How likable do you find this person?

#3. Train and calibrate interviewers.
Interviewers are incredibly important. They determine the quality of the interview and evaluation, the candidate’s decision whether to accept an offer or not, and whether they would recommend your company to others.

A good interviewer:
  • Possesses interpersonal skills that leaves the candidate feeling great about the company.
  • Focuses on keeping interviewees relaxed, not on impressing or intimidating them.
  • Keeps the tone relaxed, friendly, and positive with normal reactions (e.g., eye contact, head nods).
  • Comes prepared.
  • Understands how to ask questions and prompts to pull for the right information.
  • Does not probe for prohibited information.
  • Provide meaningful feedback to the hiring committee.
  • Understands how bias can impact evaluations.

3 steps to training and calibrating interviewers
  • Step 1: Practice with other interviewers
  • Step 2: Shadow interview
  • Step 3: Reverse shadow

Step 1: Practice with other interviewers
The goal is to ensure everyone is conducting quality interviews and evaluating similarly to each other.
  • Get interviewers together and review the job criteria, questions, and rating rubric.
  • Have everyone play the ‘interviewer’ and the ‘interviewee.
  • Observers provide the ‘interviewer’ with feedback.
Practice evaluating.
  • Have everyone rate each candidate on each criterion independently before discussing and comparing discrepancies with the group. Use the rating rubrics and provide justifications.
  • Take notes and rate the “candidate” using the rating rubric.
  • Review and rate previous anonymous candidate packets (of those not working at your company).
  • Review examples of good and bad examples.

Step 2: Shadow interview
New interviewers shadow more experienced interviewers for at least 2-3 interviews. During the interview, shadowers:
  • Sit quietly and observe.
  • Take notes and practice filling out a rating rubric for each criteria being assessed. Include justifications.
  • After the interview, the interviewer and shadower debrief and compare and discuss ratings.
  • Do not submit the shadower’s ratings to the hiring committee.

Step 3: Reverse shadow
Before the interview: the new and experienced interviewer go over the interview. During the interview:
  • The new interviewer leads.
  • The experienced interviewer sits quietly and observes (but should jump in if the interview goes off track).
After the interview:
  • Both interviewers independently fill in rating rubrics to submit to the hiring committee.
  • The experienced interviewer provides feedback to the new interviewer regarding the quality of the interview.
  • They compare rating rubric scores and justifications and discuss discrepancies.

Tips for the interviewer
  • If the interviewee doesn’t understand the question. Kindly let them know and reframe the question. If this doesn’t help, probe further or move on.
  • If the interviewee is not doing well. Gently give a hint to get them on track or guide the conversation to a different question.  Be consistent across all candidates.
  • Keep the experience positive. Don’t let them know if they are not doing well.  
  • If the candidate is taking too long on a question. Gently switch topics by saying, “To ensure we have time for the remaining questions, why don’t we move on to a different topic? We can revisit this if you would like at the end.”



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