Minimise Unconscious Bias with our Blind Hiring Feature

Updated by Amy Thomas

Promoting diversity in the workplace is a principal concern for a lot of companies, and sometimes unconscious bias can get in the way of achieving that goal. Unconscious bias is a well-documented phenomenon referring to the mental shortcuts and stereotypes we use when judging situations and making decisions. One way to reduce the impact of unconscious bias is through blind hiring, which makes it easier for employers to evaluate a candidate’s abilities without being influenced by factors such as gender or ethnicity.

Our blind hiring feature in Criteria reduces the effect of unconscious bias by hiding the names and email addresses of your candidates. The blind hiring feature is an option that you can select and de-select at any time. This means that you can turn the option on when you want to take an initial look at your candidates' test results. Then once you’ve selected who you want to reach out to for next steps, you can uncheck the option to see their name and email.

You can find the feature in your Criteria account within your User Preferences.

Please note that this feature does not hide personal details included in any of the following areas:

  • any documents uploaded to the platform (for example, resumes).
  • application form responses.
  • responses to questions in TestMaker tests.

This feature is best used for reviewing your candidates' assessment results.

Articles on Blind Hiring:

Is Blind Hiring the Best Hiring? — New York Times

The Boss Doesn't Want Your Résumé — The Wall Street Journal

Why companies are using 'blind auditions' to hire top talent — Business Insider

Blind Hiring: A New Trend in the Quest for Fair Hiring Practices — Criteria Corp Blog


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