Unconscious Bias in Recruitment: The Halo & Horn Effect

How many choices have you made today? 2? 5? It's hard to pinpoint how often we are making decisions as without realising we make countless amounts on a daily basis. In fact, you are making the decision now to read this article, and making judgements about me, my choice of image and content. All of these decisions are made with ease and without hesitation due to our unconscious biases.

Also referred to as implicit bias, unconscious bias occurs when our brain makes snap judgements on situations or people without us realising. These biases can be influenced by a number of factors, including personal experiences, cultural environment and upbringing. It is extremely important that we begin to understand and learn how to manage these unconscious biases, with many of us completely unaware that they even exist, let alone knowing the impact that they can have.

One sector that is thought to be riddled with unconscious bias is Recruitment. If unchecked and uncontrolled this can affect the selection, interviewing and hiring of potential candidates. As we know, diverse workforces perform better, as shown in the McKinsey & Company report. However, under most current recruitment practises companies are hindered, leading to narrow pools of employees lacking in diversity, inclusivity and creativity.

Have you ever heard of the term 'love at first sight'? And probably thought it was just an elusive cliché? Well, psychologist Edward Thorndike delved into the social-psychological reasoning behind this phenomenon and coined it the 'Halo Effect'. This effect is a form of unconscious cognitive bias. It refers to the tendency that once we perceive someone in a positive light it is very hard to darken this light, with subsequent negative characteristics being ignored.

However, the Halo Effect is not limited to love stories. This bias is commonly found in the recruitment process, particularly when screening CV's. For example, when a recruiter reviews the CV of an Oxbridge graduate they may become overwhelmed by this factor, leading them to automatically assume that they meet all other job requirements. This can be damaging to the hiring process and lead to a well-qualified ideal candidate from a less prestigious university being ignored. In an extreme case it has been claimed that an unidentified US law firm published a job application for Oxbridge graduates only!

In contrast, the Horn Effect refers to the tendency to attribute negative characteristics to an individual due to perceiving one known negative or undesirable quality. This bias is also common in the recruitment process, especially in preliminary interviews where candidates give first impressions.

For example, we all have our own preferences in grooming and dress sense. However, is not liking someone's long hair or salmon shirt going to impact how that candidate would perform in a finance role? The answer is certainly not, yet these immaterial factors still contribute to hiring decisions.

There are several techniques that have been proposed to limit the Halo and Horn Effect in recruitment, including:

• Being Aware
  Simply acknowledging that unconscious bias exists and training employees on the effect of bias can cause immediate reduction to the resilience of our stereotypes and generalisations.
• Recognising Bias
  Knowing the types of bias that you are most likely to be affected by can help you to take reasonable steps to reduce them. For example, having a strict candidate requirement checklist.
• Modernising Your Recruitment Techniques
  Moving away from traditional screening and interviewing by incorporating candidate tasks and blind hiring platforms can help control human bias.

27 April 2020