How are you managing your bias POST recruitment?

Hopefully we’re all aware by now that the one employment ritual that is most ridden with bias, assumptions, presumptions, judgement and anxiousness is the interview process.

The interviewer is putting on a show, selling the role and their business. They are keen to find the ‘right’ person for the role and to get the help they need at work. They want to be liked. They want to be successful.

The interviewee is putting themselves ‘up for sale’ – evaluating the offer, putting ‘their best foot forward’, desperately keen to hear what they want to hear and to believe that this job is their ideal next step.

But once the decision has been made, and the new team member starts in their dream job with their shiny new employer, all the bias goes away right?

Wrong…

This is actually the time when three really important biases kick in…

Confirmation bias – we look for and remember information that confirms our perceptions.

Status quo bias – We tend to prefer things to stay the same – any change from the baseline is considered to be a loss (and therefore to be avoided).

Optimism bias – We sometimes are over-optimistic about good outcomes.

Basically, once you have hired someone for a role, these biases kick-in to make us look for positive actions to prove our decision to hire this person was right (and to ignore the negatives).

Even if things aren’t going well, our brains want us to think they are. We believe that any lingering issues can be resolved and that we can get things back on track. We want confirmation that our original belief that the person was the right fit was right.

This means we need to work hard to overcome our bias…

Probation periods exist in employment contracts for a reason. They are really a two way street – where both the employee and the employer get time to evaluate their ‘purchase-decision’ and to make sure the reality is matching up to their expectations.

But with these biases, it can become very easy for all parties to let the probation period fly by without critically evaluating the situation. We want to believe things are ok, or that they will get better. But before you know it, probation is up and the employment contract is fixed.

Obviously once probation has passed, things get more complicated.

The disconnect between perception and reality is the factor that has a big impact on poor performance, disengagement, dissatisfaction, poor mental health – and of course quitting. Letting any disconnect go without being addressed is only kicking the can down the road.

Ok, so bias is having an impact. What can we do about it?

The most important take out is to be AWARE that you have these biases.

Biases are hard to change or fix. What matters most is to know you have them, to catch yourself when bias kicks in, and to manage them effectively.

During the probation period, you need to challenge yourself to take the time to critically evaluate the situation.

Here are some easy tips to manage the probation period effectively…

During the recruitment process, use independent data like a holistic, valid personality profiling tool. At TALY, we specifically provide insight into employees and things to keep an eye on during the probation period to make sure you feel comfortable as an employer.

Have open conversations with employees right from the start around expectations and areas that you will be specifically focusing on during the early days in their employment. Support this with regular, ongoing feedback.

Set up schedules around when you’re going to think through the fit – employees should do this as well. Make sure to stick to this timetable without letting time slip away. I recommend at least once a month.

Use a platform like TALY, which automatically reminds you at certain periods to review watch out areas to again make sure your confident before locking in the employment.

Bringing an outside voice to help you manage your bias and to get an independent perspective about how things are really going.

The TALY approach to personality profiling brings together a unique mix of Five Factor and Emotional Intelligence profiling to help organisations, hiring managers and teams to make better decisions about recruitment and teams.

Get in touch to find out more… we love talking about this stuff!