Canadian HR Reporter

Credit: Dmitry Guzhanin (Shutterstock) By Paul Wolfe U nconscious biases aff ect many of the decisions we make in our lives. But, when it comes to hiring, an unconscious bias about education held by a hiring manager can aff ect an entire company. Managers who graduate from one of Cana- da's top universities overwhelmingly prefer to hire graduates of similar schools, accord- ing to a recent study by Indeed. By a factor of more than six to one, 86 per cent of managers who only hire graduates of top institutions went to a similar school themselves, as compared to 14 per cent of managers who did not graduate from a top institution, according to the survey of 500 senior-level and executive managers in Canada with a least four direct reports who have managed their team for a minimum of one year. Only managers who had a univer- sity degree for employment were included. e study reveals a worrisome trend. By limiting the fi eld of potential hires in this way, a manager's education bias can pre- vent a company from fi nding the diverse talent needed for an organization to grow and thrive. How bias blinds Like other types of bias, hiring bias is the result of the comfort level hiring managers have with their own experiences. It is hu- man nature: When we meet someone who is similar to us, dresses similarly or has a similar haircut or accent, we feel comfort- able with them. But if we fi ll our teams with people who are similar to us, we weed out those with diff erent perspectives and backgrounds — the very diversity that is essential for the success of an organization. While it is easy to understand why man- agers do this, they may be missing out. When it comes to higher education, for ex- ample, very few people attend top schools, so a whole other segment of the population is left behind. And, in practice, education is not the most important indicator of workplace per- formance, according to the Indeed study. Managers rank other attributes — includ- ing strategic thinking (65 per cent), working well with others (65 per cent) and self-di- rection (61 per cent) — much higher than a prestigious degree (17 per cent) as contrib- uting to top workplace performance. Yet, these skills are not learned in a classroom. is demonstrates how an emphasis on a brand-name university degree during the hiring process risks talent being over- looked. A school name may be an easy fall- back for someone hiring for an entry-level position — especially in the case of highly technical positions. However, a good inter- view process can help determine a potential employee's skills and identify qualities that defi ne a good performer. Why diversity matters Diversity is an important element of suc- cessful organizations. Research has dem- onstrated that when a company embraces diversity, it can become more innovative and competitive. In assessing the impact of diversity on corporate performance, great things hap- pen when teams consisting of unique back- grounds, experiences and cultures come to- gether, according to a 2016 study by Indeed of 1,000 U.S. tech workers. But this doesn't happen on its own. Work must be done to support and leverage diver- sity in an organization's workforce. In other words, diversity can't be just a talking point, it must be part of the corporate culture. To attract and maintain a diverse workforce, senior leadership must execute strategies and initiatives to promote inclusion and diversity from within the organization. To succeed, great talent with a diversity of skills, experiences, culture, background and abilities need to be hired to contribute to the success of the company. Employers should create programs to source a diverse slate of candidates. And, recruiters must also focus on creating an in- clusive and supportive work environment. A wide array of action plans are necessary to move the needle on diversity. ese can include partnering with academic institu- tions and organizations to create a diverse pipeline of talent, experimenting with how best to remove bias from job descriptions, and focusing on specifi c populations that are underrepresented at the company. Going beyond academic credentials Education is certainly important, but other factors are also strong indicators of perfor- mance. Digging deeper into an applicant's skill set can pay off . Here are some key steps to uncovering true talent: • Identify skills: Make sure the interview process highlights top-performer skills such as strategic thinking, self-direction and teamwork. • Train the hiring workforce on interview techniques and unconscious bias: is type of training is important to hiring a diverse workforce. • Aim for diversity: Consider hiring people of diff erent genders, races, ethnicities and religions. • Focus on how a candidate fi ts culturally with the existing team: Diff erent experi- ences can prove an asset and provide a new perspective. • Look for candidates with balance: Seek out candidates who demonstrate an abil- ity to successfully balance school with jobs. Translatable skills that make candidates successful also include internship experi- ence, demonstrated technical ability, and volunteerism. • Look beyond a degree: Depending on the role, consider candidates without univer- sity degrees. • Seek other ways to determine skill: For ex- ample, a computer science graduate who scores well in a coding contest is demon- strating an ability to do a job, even if she didn't graduate from a top school. Organizations need to become more comfortable with viewing the university a potential recruit attended as a second- ary or tertiary attribute alongside others that are more indicative of workplace performance. Paul Wolfe is the New York-based global senior vice-president of HR at job website Indeed.com. For more information, visit www.indeed.com. If we fi ll our teams with people who are similar to us, we weed out those with different perspectives and backgrounds — the very diversity that is essential to the success of an organization. Balancing Getting past manager preferences for top schools FEATURES RECRUITMENT

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