Blind Hiring: Is It the New Recruitment Trend?

Recruitment of the best candidate can be a draining process in such a vast talent pool. It is time-consuming and pretty daunting at the same time. The choices which you make will determine the long-term success of the organization. But how are you going to scrutinize the hiring process and onboard candidates that are the right fit for the company?

Blind hiring front desk might just be the thing that a recruiter needs to unlock the endless possibilities of recruiting skilled individuals and helping the organization grow eventually.

But what is blind hiring, and how is it helping organizations to grab the top candidates? Let us have a brief look into it.

What is Blind Hiring?

The roots of blind hiring can be traced back to the 1970s when only white men consisted in symphony orchestras. To improve their diversity, they started holding auditions behind curtains so that judges could only make decisions based on the musicians’ performance. As a result, 25%-45% more women were employed.

The term blind hiring is practically a new thing in the corporate world. The primary purpose of blind hiring is to eliminate biases based on race, gender, ethnicity and promote workplace diversity. During blind hiring, the recruitment is done on an individual’s skill, abilities, experience, and expertise. In the long term, it will help an organization to improve productivity and increase employee engagement by building an inclusive work culture.

How will it help in reducing unconscious bias?

The important aspect for any organization is the employees’ productivity, the ability to produce, perform, bring better creativity and inventions, and create a company culture that flourishes. It is only possible if the company promotes diversity that is only possible if your organization practices blind hiring.

How is it related to unconscious bias, though?

Unconscious bias can pose a significant problem during the recruitment process as the hiring managers often give in to their biased thought processes and beliefs. This is often due to social conditioning, perceptions, and stereotypical thinking. Thus, influencing the decisions and overall outcome during the selection of candidates. Here, the eye-opening factor is that the hiring managers themselves have very little to no clue about their own biases.

Blind hiring plays a pivotal part in eliminating the rising issue of unconscious bias. When a hiring manager plans the process of hiring according to the needs and requirements of the organization, it automatically changes the way recruitment is done. The selection of candidates is done on their skillset, capabilities, experience, and in-depth knowledge about the work they are being hired for. It ultimately diminishes the chances of any sort of nepotism and favoritism.

Thus, helping the organization onboard some of the best talents that will boost the organization’s bottom line in this ever-changing corporate world.

5 Advantages of Bling Hiring

1. Promotes Diversity

Statistics have shown that a whopping 57% of employees want organizations to promote diversity. Other eye-opening statistics show that 70% of companies that believe in diversity are better positioned to do well in the market. A diverse workforce improves the bottom line and promotes a healthy work culture.

Organizations are now focusing on the shift to make their workforce more diverse. A workforce that has a perfect gender, ethnicity, and race balance performs better and achieves the strategic goals. Furthermore, there is a significant growth in the overall revenue and gives the organization a competitive edge in the ever-growing market.

2. Recruitment of Skilled Candidates

Resumes with names, photographs, and geographical information create bias, affecting the final decision-making of a recruiter. There is a high probability that a recruiting manager will select a candidate that they fit best depending on their background and not on their skills. It causes a rift in their minds and allows for prejudice that is counterproductive to companies’ development and employers’ branding.

However, blind hiring does the total opposite from your traditional hiring. It allows candidates to remove their names, addresses, photographs, etc., while adding only their education and experience. This enables recruiters to shortlist applicants based on their talents and abilities and onboard the best candidates available in the corporate world.

3. Fosters Innovation and Creativity

Blind hiring fosters and encourages managers to promote a diverse work culture consisting of people with different backgrounds, races, and ethnicities. They will have a unique set of working styles, personalities, and varying outlooks. When people of various backgrounds come together, they bring ideas, thoughts, and varied perspectives on the table. It opens up endless possibilities to try and experiment with new concepts and collectively solve problems to stay ahead in the competition. It showcases that people are willing to collaborate and think outside the box for greater success.

When there is mutual interest and respect for each other’s opinions between employees, it improves team cohesiveness, which is a good thing because it elevates employee engagement and productivity.

4. Reduces Expense and Saves Time

We all know how recruitment is an expensive affair with the focus being driven towards advertisements and arrangements to attract the best talents. Organizations often resort to mass recruiting or campus recruitment to fill up the vacant positions. However, companies and managers don’t know that blind hiring is a much effective way to hire candidates who can make a difference.

It selectively targets those candidates that possess the required abilities and experience to bring efficiency and improved performance. These candidates will have quick grasping power about their responsibilities and will require minimal training. Eventually leading to a reduction in expenses and saving up a tremendous amount of time.

5. Increases Engagement

Employees are always on the lookout for a work environment that empowers them and provides growth opportunities. However, when the chances are limited, ideas get stagnant, and growth becomes negligible. Without a diverse workforce, learning becomes monotonous and stressful, which prompts employees to quit.

On the contrary, with the help of blind hiring, organizations can promote a diverse workforce that employees seek. The learning curve increases with time, and employees have endless possibilities to learn and develop themselves to become better in their field of work. 83% of millennials are more engaged in a workforce that has a diverse work culture. It shows how psychologically beneficial blind hiring can be that can impact the mindset of the candidates.

Why is it a Growing Trend?

In the present decade, blind hiring is the process and a system implemented by major corporate players like Deloitte, Google, HSBC, and BBC. Organizations are becoming more aware and open about it and trying to remove any kind of roadblocks during the hiring process.  The main focus has always been on improving diversity in the organization, promoting a work culture that does not discriminate, and making the recruitment process purely based on skills. And it is not limited to big organizations, blind hiring can be done by small and upcoming startups as well. It allows companies to make a crucial shift towards hiring candidates from different backgrounds that show potential and help a company move forward with their capabilities.

Summing it Up!

Although new, blind hiring has significantly improved diversity and inclusion in the workplace. It should be your first step to remove any kind of bias or discrimination while recruiting talents of your choice. But before you implement it, heed the needs of the organization and shift your system that will align best with blind hiring.

Anjan Pathak Anjan Pathak is the Co-Founder & CTO of Vantage Circle, a cloud-based employee engagement platform, and Vantage Fit, an all-in-one corporate wellness platform. He is an HR technology enthusiast, very passionate about employee wellness, and actively participates in corporate culture growth. He is an avid reader and likes to be updated on the latest know-how of Human Resources.