In attempt to eliminate bias against individuals from ethnic minorities, the Prime Minister, the civil service and many leading UK companies have agreed to implement blind recruiting. The BBC, one of Tribepad’s valued clients, is amongst the companies supporting the change, where recruiters are unaware of a candidate’s name throughout the recruitment process. Tribepad who provide the Applicant Tracking System for the BBC, have been in talks and are looking at implementing this. Tribepad already have this functionality available in Canada as part of OFCCP legislation.
The Prime Minister, David Cameron, has already expressed his disgust how people with ‘white sounding’ names were twice as likely to be short-listed for jobs. This change has become apparent after a black female did not receive invitations for interviews until she changed her name on applications to Elizabeth.
Blind recruiting, which is being adapted by many leading UK businesses including the BBC, aims to remove unconscious bias from the recruitment process. The Applicant Tracking Software that Tribepad currently provides for the BBC, allows recruiters to search for candidates based on their skills, qualifications, past experience amongst other positive attributes.
A recruitment system removes the ability for an unconscious bias, however still provides the human touch. In addition to this, candidates have a better chance of receiving multiple invitations for interviews based on their skill sets. Each candidate profile is tagged and added to specific talent pools, meaning when relevant job opportunities become available, invitations to apply for roles will be sent directly to the candidate. Candidates are regularly engaged with throughout the recruitment process, and never left not knowing what has happened with their application.
Tribepad will be offering the blind candidate functionality of the recruitment system to all its clients, and will continue to support the battle against discrimination.
