Bias and Cultural Competence in Recruitment and Selection

S5-G | Thursday, 1:45 PM

Track: Employment Practices (EP)  |  Level: Advanced

Session Overview

You already know that cross-cultural competence is a useful tool to help take your diversity and inclusion work to the next level. This session will explore HOW this works in talent acquisition, by strategically applying the building blocks of cross-cultural competence to the important work of managing unconscious bias in hiring and selection.  How can you reframe your approach to D&I vis-à-vis talent acquisition in a way that helps reduce the resistance and defensiveness that often comes with the words “we need to hire diverse candidates?”

We will focus on the opportunities that are presented when we acquire top talent from all backgrounds, and we’ll apply the frame of cross-cultural competence for hiring managers, business leaders and HR leads to guard against bias. We’ll explore where individuals in these roles may need to grow and learn new skills to work smarter in recognizing the many ways in which top talent will present itself, and challenge what a “strong cultural fit” may look like in acquisition of top diverse talent.
Via small groupwork and discussion, you’ll explore the role of cultural competence in:

1. Recruiting for differences to help fill workforce gaps
2. Managing and overcoming bias in order to build the best qualified candidate pool
3. Navigating between a candidate’s “style points” compared to their potential value"

Prerequisites: Be versed or experienced in fundamentals of talent acquisition. Have experience analyzing or reviewing an organization’s diversity recruiting practices, interviewing systems, and candidate selection.