Interviewees who experience sudden job candidate doubts within minutes of meeting them often spend the rest of the interview searching for supporting evidence to confirm their initial impressions.
You have likely encountered confirmation bias at some point.
The mental shortcut operates across all decision-making processes but produces significant effects in Human Resources because careers and the financial stability of people depend on its outcomes. The combination of incorrect hiring decisions and missed employee potential leads to the quiet failure of HR strategies, which were initially well-intentioned.
The article explains confirmation bias through a detailed breakdown of its definition and HR relevance together with essential avoidance methods.
What Is Confirmation Bias?
People exhibit confirmation bias when they actively look for information which supports their existing beliefs while dismissing information that challenges these beliefs.
In HR, it might look like:
- You tend to select candidates who attended the same university as you did
- You would typically judge someone who remains silent during meetings as lacking leadership abilities
- You accept a manager’s unfavorable assessment of an employee without verifying the facts
The assumptions which seem innocuous lead to damage to objectivity and fairness, and good judgment that HR needs to function effectively.
Why Is Confirmation Bias So Dangerous in HR?
HR professionals hold more responsibility than policy enforcement because they build company cultures and lead hiring processes, and affect employee career advancement.
This is what confirmation bias can do:
The following are a few hiring mistakes to avoid during the recruitment process:● Hiring the wrong candidates: Focusing on the wrong sort of applicants because they don’t have the right answer.
- Biased performance assessments: Allowing one early impression to overshadow all subsequent assessments.
- Passing on diversity and inclusion: Subconsciously favoring people who think or look or act like us.
- Poor retention: Talented individuals may quit if they feel judged or misunderstood due to biased perceptions.
So, how do we fix this?
Recognize It’s There (Yes, Even in You)
That may be an easy thing to say, but it’s the most difficult step. Who wants to own up to being biased, especially in H.R., where the name of the game is fairness? Be it hiring, promotion, or disciplinary action, seeking feedback from peers who other contexts to mitigate your impressions of the person. Someone might have strengths that won’t be apparent in one-on-one interactions but bloom in the context of teams.
Bias loves speed. When you are pressed to make a hire or resolve a conflict, you are more tend to rely on mental shortcuts. That’s precisely when confirmation bias sets in.
Instead, take your time. Review notes twice. But ask yourself why you’re leaning one way. If you’re about to pass on a candidate, actively search for what they did right.
This simple switch to make you question assumptions.
Rewire Your Response with Counter Questions
The people will practically get in the way — this is actually a good move for people who want to get their hands on the tool. Whenever you are wrapped up in — a candidate or employee, pose one of these questions:
- And what evidence do I have to the contrary?
- If this person were of a different background or used a different mode of communication, would I see them the same way?
- Do others view this situation differently?
These questions provide a “pattern interrupt” — a mental speed bump that makes you think before judging.
Anonymized Resume Screening Should Be Utilized
Just like any other resource, technology can be used to accent or reduce bias. Blind hiring systems that strip candidates of identifying characteristics like gender, name, photo, or educational institution mitigate early biases.
These systems certainly don’t eliminate the problems, but they help to a certain extent. More importantly, they serve as reminders that evaluations should be made based on competencies and abilities, not superficial judgments.
Self-Assess How Feedback is Provided
Confirmation bias emerges when feedback is offered. The label “difficult” or “brilliant” will guide every action taken thereafter. This shifts the narrative to be filtered through one lens only.
Be conscious of whom you give feedback to. Consider the following:
- Am I treating all participants equally?
- Do I have a double standard, overly focusing on one person’s minor blunders while letting another off easy?
Providing specific, balanced criticism requires a great deal of work but yields immense benefits.
Final Thoughts
Bias is Embedded Within Humans, but HR’s Efforts Can Improve
We should admit it – confirmation bias itself is not malevolent, but rather a default setting of our cognition.
In the case of people operations, we are tasked with looking through the gentle lenses of empathy and fairness, which requires enormous work on our assumptions.
Working to eliminate bias isn’t about achieving omniscience. It is designing structures, formulating better procedures, and changing one’s mindset to accept far wider peripheries. It is doing the hardest work of humanity: unfairness at its worst.
If you believe that people are resources every organization ought to welcome and utilize, do not get lost in the misleading mantle of objectivity. Glossing over the surface only gives a part of the truth, so strive to scratch the surface.
That makes the difference between HR jobs, top HR software, and real leadership.