Is unconscious bias creating barriers in your hiring process?

As recruiters, it is part of our role to ensure that we educate employers on the importance of inclusive hiring practices. In finance, while it is very commonplace for businesses to actively strive for more gender-balanced workforces, what is often not considered, is the level of experience or even different ages within teams. Discrimination of a candidate based on age is illegal, and our job is to present the best candidate for the role, regardless of age or experience level. Although many businesses have placed diversity and inclusion at the centre of their recruitment strategies, we often find that individuals within businesses don’t receive the same level of support or monitoring throughout their inclusion journey.

There is a large variety of job types within finance departments. The more transactional roles that are hired, typically by our Page Personnel team, have an incredibly inclusive culture in regards to experience levels and age. At the qualified and first movers level, however, there does tend to be a focus on a younger demographic simply because the majority of qualified candidates sit in this age bracket. 

Unconscious bias in finance

If you are subconsciously deselecting candidates, then you are limiting the talent pool available to your business and are hindering your team from becoming more diverse. It is inflexible, it is uncreative, and it does not create an inclusive environment. Considering the importance of diversity and inclusion (D&I) in recruitment, this is not how we advise our clients to structure their departments in any business. 
The mindset that a candidate should have a certain number of years’ experience or should have reached a certain level of their career after a certain time period is outdated. This thinking could be the reason that you aren’t finding the right people to join your team. It can be challenging, but it is important to remove this barrier in your hiring process. 
Today, careers in finance are not as linear as they once were. Professionals take career breaks at different stages of their life, women leave and return as working mothers, and there is a higher portion of people entering the profession at later stages of their careers too. Every candidate in finance has a unique background and experience to bring to any role. This is why we encourage our clients to be more flexible with their approach to job descriptions as we want to appeal to everyone that is qualified and possesses the right mix of skills to excel in the role, not have those making hiring decisions subconsciously select the same mix of professionals.

The benefits of balance in business

When it comes to D&I, whether that be gender, ethnicity, or age, balance is always better. Not just from a moral perspective but also for the business bottom line. For a team to be truly successful it needs to have professionals collaborating at all levels of experience. This ensures that you are understanding and connecting with your society in the right way. 
There are many benefits of ensuring that your team is diverse, including fresh ideas and perspective, as well as varying knowledge which will enable information sharing across the team. Reverse mentoring is one tool that enables businesses to fully utilise a mix of experience.
It is no surprise that technology is evolving the finance landscape. Generational differences in terms of experience in working with new technology have meant that often, senior leaders are missing out on crucial information about their market. Many of our clients at the financial controller and CFO level have discussed how they have evolved their business by working with more junior members of the team to better understand how tech and AI can be integrated into processes, but also better engage their customer base.  

Removing biases from your processes

Pushing past biases is all about making sure that you have an open approach to recruitment. Ensure that you have a diverse mix of candidates in the interview stages. Then, make sure these professionals are meeting a selection of interviewers from your business from all backgrounds to highlight inclusiveness of difference in the organisation. 
Promote diverse role models in senior leadership positions, people with slightly different age profiles, whether that be younger or more experienced individuals than what might have been in the traditional meritocracy finance departments. This highlights that support and development are given to all.
At Michael Page, we place diversity and inclusion at the heart of our sourcing strategy. We can provide open and honest advice on the market including candidate feedback, and demonstrate how an inclusive environment and age profile will create a more successful and productive business.
To discuss how we can help improve your process and find the right talent for your business, call your local Michael Page office today. Alternatively, submit a job spec and one of our experts will be in touch.  
Lorraine Twist
Director, Professionals Services UK
Michael Page Finance
T: +44 20 7269 2244