How Unconscious Bias Limits Your Efforts to Attract Young Talent to Lubricants Industry
The lubricants industry struggles to attract and retain younger professionals.
In this article, we share FIVE actionable practices, that can help you to solve this problem. A recurring theme we often see in hiring is unconscious bias. This is a major hurdle to your hiring that you may not even know about.
What is unconscious bias?
Unconscious bias refers to a bias that happens automatically, is outside of our control and is triggered by our brain making quick, snap judgments and assessments of people and situations, based on our social background, cultural environment, values and personal experiences.
Unconscious bias – the biggest disabler of diversity within the lubricants industry?
No organisation’s success is assured without a long-term commitment to diversity. Research suggests that diverse teams experience stronger and more inclusive cultures. They can better understand and meet the needs of diverse clients, partners, and other important stakeholders.
In the era, where the lubricants industry is in a huge need for fresh talent, overcoming unconscious bias is critical to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace, which appeals to the younger generation.
Why is a diverse workplace so important for the lubricants industry? Listen to our latest podcast episode with Kline experts.
5 ways to reduce bias in your lubricant company
Although unconscious bias will always exist in the workplace, here are some steps that you can take to mitigate their effects.
1. Start with education
By reading this article and learning about unconscious bias, you have taken the first step to address some of your biases!
For lasting change, create training programs to educate your teams about the origins and consequences of biases and strategies to address them.
The overarching goal for unconscious bias training should be the creation of a shared culture of respect.
2. Take a close look at your job descriptions
You may not realize it, but your job description can discourage potential job applicants with its wording.
For the lubricants industry, which is usually perceived as a male-dominated field, it is especially important to be aware of the type of language you are using in your job descriptions.
Therefore, use neutral descriptions (great help can be online tools like Text Analyzer), think about involving a mix of genders and ethnicities while creating the talent acquisition strategy.
This will help you appeal to a more robust pool of candidates.
3. Utilize structured interview/review methods
Develop ground rules to ensure equity in the hiring and promotion process. For example, utilize concrete objective indicators and outcomes to reduce standard stereotypes. This includes structured interviews and evaluation criteria that promote objective questioning.
The well-structured hiring process is not only a critical component to eliminate hiring bias, but also to ensure the best candidate’s experience.
4. Use “blind” techniques
Level the playing field with redacted resumes.
Frustratingly, research shows that job applicants with ethnic minority sounding names are less likely to be called for an interview.
To help increase hiring diversity, exclude certain details like name, gender, hometown, school, or home address. It can also be invaluable to review “blinded” work samples to determine candidates’ core competencies in a fair, impartial way.
5. Expand your network
Use a variety of methods to increase the diversity of a candidate pool.
Look beyond personal networks, as internal teams tend to refer to people that are similar to themselves in terms of race, education, and background, which can contribute to a homogenous workforce.
Instead, proactively expand the candidate pipeline through LinkedIn, social media channels, cooperation with schools and universities, and other networks that will allow you to connect with the younger audience.
Finally
Unconscious bias can undermine your organization’s efforts to attract the younger generation of professionals. Incorporating these informed, equitable practices will lead to a more diverse, inclusive culture and better performing teams; and reap all of the associated benefits.
