How do cognitive biases impact on human resource decisions?

Spoiler: we are not rational beings. We are not able to process information in a neutral way and therefore always make the best decisions (personal and professional life): we are biased!

🔍 What is a cognitive bias?
A cognitive bias is a distortion in the cognitive processing of information.

The term bias refers to a systematic deviation of logical and rational thinking from reality.

This is why it is important to :
> Identify them
> Understand how they affect HR
> Find ways to reduce them

For example, do you know about the Dunning-Kruger effect?
They say it makes you hire incompetent people 😯

Also known as the 'overconfidence effect', this cognitive bias means that:
👉🏽 less qualified people tend to overestimate themselves
👉🏽 more qualified people tend to underestimate themselves

🔍 Why? Because the less I master a subject, the less I realise how much I don't know. On the other hand, the more I master a subject, the more I become aware of its complexity.

💥 What does this mean for HR?
Whether you are a candidate or in a position to recruit, your overconfidence can play tricks on you. For example, self-confidence can give the recruiter confidence, especially if the latter is himself a victim of this bias ;-). Someone who says he or she knows what he or she is talking about will often be preferred to someone who is (too) modest: WRONG!

The result is that incompetent and immodest people are not able to recognise the competence of those who really have it. They therefore tend to recruit other incompetents: RINGS A BELL?

💪🏽 To remedy this, the recruitment stage is important:
> Placing too much weight on the candidate's self-confidence is a trap not to fall into

> Structuring the assessment with knowledge tests and role plays to partially address this bias

> Conducting interviews with people who have worked with this person in the past, and seeing the difference between what the candidate says and what former colleagues say

Note: A corporate culture that values questioning and the expression of ignorance ("I don't know") allows us to develop more skills and to become aware of our own limitations.

At @mutualbenefits we work daily to reduce our cognitive biases in order to promote diversity (gender, origin, education) and therefore performance.

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