Twenty-third International Conference on Diversity in Organizations, Communities & Nations

Abstract

A large body of empirical research shows how prejudice and cognitive biases affect the hiring decisions of recruiters. People who are likewise and match certain norms are favored. Laws, regulations, and cooperate policies have limited success in preventing these biases. We propose a phase-gate recruiting process as a way to reduce or overcome the recruiting trap. A foundational principle of this framework is that there is not a single-best candidate that need to be identified and recruited, but that there are many candidates that will perform great depending on the situational circumstances. The resulting recruiting process comprises of three gates: the qualification gate, the motivation and integrity gate, and the diversity gate. This enables corporations to overcome biases and foster organizational diversity leading to a more talented, engaged, and diverse workforce.