Overview- Identifying biases is the first step toward addressing them. In this blog, we talk about some of the well-known unconscious bias examples along with thoughtful ways to mitigate them. Let’s dive in!

In part-1 of this blog series, we talked about how unconscious bias is impacting workplace culture, limiting job opportunities, and getting in the way of productive team dynamics. Besides, we also listed the 5 most common unconscious bias examples experienced at work. As a continuation to part-1, this piece puts together a short list of the remaining 5 unconscious bias examples that hinder organizational diversity when left unattended.

Unconscious Bias examples that hinder employee well-being and how to combat them-

• Anchoring Bias
• Conformity Bias
• Confirmation Bias
• Attribution Bias
• Overconfidence Bias

Anchoring Bias

Also known as “expectation anchor bias”, this example of unconscious bias is quite similar to the halo/horn effect (discussed in Part-1). Most HR leaders fall victim to this bias unknowingly which, in turn, results in the hiring of unfit candidates for a certain role. 

Anchoring bias happens when decisions are formed based on the first impressions that we encounter. This could be having an ideal or pre-set image of a candidate which may have nothing to do with evaluating their skill sets. Since the first perceptions are given way more weightage than skills, experience, and other attributes, anchoring bias can impede organizations from hiring some really talented employees. 

To root out anchoring bias, HR leaders must incorporate a standardized interview process that is consistent and fair for all candidates, regardless of age, religious affiliation, or gender identity. The reason why setting clear, standardized objectives for a role is important is because it ensures that potential candidates are considered for their unique strengths and not because they give hiring leaders a “good feeling or vibe”.

Anchoring bias puts both diversity and competence at risk. This underscores the importance of eliminating anchoring bias at an organization-wide spectrum. 

Conformity Bias

Imagine having a team with similar thinking abilities, personalities, experiences and perceptions, and backgrounds? What can happen? Overlapping opinions, unnecessary debate, flawed decision making, and the list can go on. Conformity bias prompts individuals to conform to the behavior of those around them, irrespective of one’s independent beliefs and actions. It is one of the unconscious bias examples where individuals feel forced to conform to the majority because they believe “fitting in” is the only way to thrive in a workplace. 

The consequences of conformity bias can be troublesome both for the organization and its workforce.

As far as employees are concerned, conformity bias makes them lose their identity, uniqueness, and personality. Employees start believing that voicing out their opinions or sharing a contrary perspective might land them in trouble because they don’t want to be slammed or defended. 

For organizations, conformity bias makes them miss out on realizing the true potential of a diverse team. When employees are hesitant to be their authentic selves, flaws are inevitable, creativity is limited, and hence employee engagement is diminished.

To mitigate the repercussions of conformity bias, leaders need to ensure that everyone in the meeting room has a voice and that all opinions are considered before arriving at conclusions or decisions. By doing so, leaders not only give individual co-workers a chance to put themselves forward but also make employees believe that their opinions count. And, it is key to ensuring psychological safety at work. Leaders who ask for feedback without forcing an agreement – consciously or unconsciously are most successful in creating an inclusive workplace. 

Confirmation Bias 

There are many different types of confirmation bias starting at the front line and progressing up to senior leaders, CLOs, CXOs, and CEOs. Confirmation bias is one’s inexplicit inclination toward their preexisting beliefs. Instead of looking at a broader picture, individuals tend to focus on things that align with their viewpoint. The circle of validation makes it impossible for them to think critically. 

In a workplace setting, confirmation bias can be a matter of contention if HR leaders start forming initial perceptions of a candidate by only considering responses that affirm their beliefs instead of paying close attention to what they’re actually saying. This translates to selective hiring where hiring leaders only evaluate responses that confirm their bias.

Other unconscious bias examples include designing an interview questionnaire so as to make one candidate look preferable to another, and gender-based confirmation bias – leaning toward one gender over another, etc. 

Understanding confirmation bias and how it impacts decision-making can be a good start. Leaders should come to the forefront and commit to awareness and training around confirmation biases.

Attribution Bias

Attribution bias refers to forming a narrative about people (in our heads) we surround ourselves with based on their behavior, personality, and actions, without knowing what they are actually dealing with. 

For instance, assuming a team member is hesitant just because they rarely speak up in team meetings. 

How to fight attribution bias?

• Develop meaningful connections with team members – Effective leaders know when to check in, provide support, celebrate success, and delegate or lighten workload to keep their teams forging ahead. 

• Provide a welcoming environment – In volatile times, it is crucial for organizations to offer their employees a safe space where they can openly talk about their feelings, ask for help, and experience a high level of compassion. Secondly, establishing peer-to-peer bonding that enables employees to support each other in highs and lows can make a world of difference. When employees understand each other, they are less likely to make inaccurate judgments.

• Generate awareness – Even if organizations educate their leaders on how to avoid attribution bias, there isn’t any certainty it won’t happen again. Leaders, at times, are unaware that their perspectives are influenced by their backgrounds, experiences, and beliefs. This blind spot makes it difficult for even well-intentioned professionals to act without biases.

‘The UnBias’ simulation by KNOLSKAPE makes it possible to counter the biases with a rational approach. This simulation-powered course helps leaders identify biases that creep into their thought processes and establish a structured approach that they can rely on to make more mindful and objective decisions at work.

Click to know more about the sim! 

Overconfidence Bias

As the name suggests, Overconfidence Bias reflects one’s tendency to overrate their skills, talents, and potential. It is one of the biggest causes of conflicts within cross-functional teams. Employees with this type of bias dislike being disapproved of and are reluctant to any kind of feedback/improvements without actually realizing it.

Overconfidence bias can be commonly seen among leaders who are convinced that their way of doing things is absolutely the best, but in reality, it may or may not be true. This kind of bias can even be experienced in personal relationships. 

Overconfidence can show up in 3 unique ways:

• Over Praising- When someone rates their own performance much higher than normal because they display and live a “know it all” attitude. 
• Overprecision- When someone is highly confident that they can predict the outcome.
• Overplacement- The belief that one has a much higher position than the others around him or her. 

Overconfident leaders are underprepared for any kind of adversity because they overestimate their predictions. And this approach often leads them to faulty business decisions, more risk, and unproductive team members.  

Some ways to avoid instances of unconscious bias in the workplace

There are several practices that one can follow to confine the ways biases can affect our decisions. 

Acknowledge that having biases is normal – The dilemma with unconscious bias is the fact that a lot of us don’t realize that it’s real or bothering us. It’s unconscious, eventually! 

Everyone falls into bias traps – even the wisest people. Whether we’re aware of it or not, biases are natural. If our biases go unnoticed, we miss out on opportunities to unlearn, improve and get better. Thus, it is imperative for employees at all levels to dig into their own biases and push to counteract them. Acknowledgment is a great start and must be followed with action and accountability to keep employees distant from workplace harassment, abuse, or racism.

Figure out how often you make judgments based on unconscious bias – Leaders need to adopt an inquisitive approach to understand their behavior patterns, decision-making abilities, and the kind of people they surround themselves with. Jotting down these pointers can help them comprehend where they stand and formulate a roadmap to confront their biases.

Besides, leaders must be intentional about not letting their prejudicial shortcomings inform their decisions at places where they hold authority. If leaders commit to walk away from their respective bubbles and spend time knowing people who are different from them in any way, the process of eliminating biases will be much easier.  

Invest in training programs – While it’s the responsibility of leaders to come to speed with the right policies, procedures, and processes to eliminate unconscious biases from their systems, specialized courses or training can help leaders recognize the biases, their impact on work, and the different ways to eliminate these biases.

KNOLSKAPE’s ‘UnBias’ Simulation relies on a structured experiential learning approach and enables learners to be extremely mindful of their decisions at work. Besides, it creates an environment that promotes rational thinking and decision-making. On the business front, overcoming Unconscious Biases enables rational and effective people-management, builds a diverse workforce, and fosters an environment of inclusion and innovation within teams.

The simulation is of great importance to:

• First-time managers for their leadership journey
• Middle managers and leaders for their leadership upskilling needs
• Fresh hires and individual contributors for their onboarding
• The entire organization in building a harmonious environment for professional relationships across teams.

Interested to learn more about how ‘UnBias’ can help you develop an organizational culture that is less susceptible to biases? Do reach out to us!

Establish thoughtful connections at work – Just establishing bonding with co-workers, and learning more about them can help neutralize your bias. Keeping track of how and when you check in with your team members and identify disparities will transform the way you look at teams with different perspectives and worldviews. 

Instead of meeting with employees on annual or quarterly performance reviews, conduct frequent, weekly, or bi-weekly one-on-one meetings. This will eliminate any scope for recency bias and give a comprehensive view of employee performance. Besides, it’s also a great way to ensure a trustworthy relationship. When leaders get updates on an employee’s consistent performance, blockers, successes, and point of view, they’re likely to assess them accurately. 

Integrate data-driven decision-making into the company’s DNA – One of the interesting ways to combat the influence of unconscious bias is by letting real-time insights lead the decision-making. A data-driven process works wonders when it comes to hiring the best talent but it also lays more emphasis on objectivity. 

The practice of hiring based on bias or “gut feeling” has been a thing of the past. But, given the modern workplace, organizations can no longer lean on assumptions to build a future-proof organization. For a progressive organization, it is vital to adopt a data-driven mindset early on in the hiring process, employee retention, and customer acquisition procedures to ensure a bias-free workplace. 

Consider professional development for underrepresented groups – Be it people of color or women, we’ve seen these groups face barriers at work time and again. Despite the buzz around diversity, equity, and inclusion, several organizations today continue to undercount and underpay women. Women aren’t entering senior leadership roles at the same rate as men, and one reason to bring this into existence can be male-dominated workplaces. 

A 2021 study on Women conducted by Mckinsey analyzes that women make up only 28% of senior management positions. Likewise, people of color find it extremely challenging to be themselves at work. This workplace discrimination not only affects employees at an individual level but also impedes teamwork, innovation, and productivity.

If leaders want to create an equitable workplace, one of the first steps they need to take is employee wellness for everyone including women, women of color, people of color, and physically or mentally challenged employees because they’re most at risk of experiencing bias. Leaders must ensure that underrepresented groups are given equal opportunities to participate in important decision-making. 

To thrive in a hybrid setup successfully, leaders must understand the constraints and setbacks employees from underrepresented groups face day in and day out. Based on the feedback, leaders should craft a holistic plan that addresses skill gaps and provide underrepresented employees with the resources they need to put their best foot forward. 

A company-wide effort is needed to combat bias, but leaders can make an impact by advocating for underrepresented groups, serving as mentors when necessary, and helping them to feel recognized, accepted, and respected.

Importance of overcoming bias at work

1. Fostering a bias-free or diverse culture is no longer a good thing to have but a must-have because it ensures that employees from different walks of life are viewed through the same lens. When employees are given access to equal opportunities, they experience a sense of belonging at work, which, in turn, creates a safe and healthier work environment.
2. In psychologically safe workplaces, employees express themselves honestly, which means they’re likely to portray their real selves. Such a level of inclusivity is known to improve engagement and has a profound effect on an organization’s bottom line. 
3. In a workplace where team members are celebrated and encouraged for their diverse experiences, creativity and innovation will soar.
4. A fair work culture leads to happiness at work, thereby strengthening employee morale.
5. In an era where employees are quitting in droves, having a culture that offers employees the support, appreciation, and recognition they deserve can be extremely rewarding. Organizations can use the Great Resignation as a silver lining and hold on to talented employees by providing them with a positive workplace where they get better learning opportunities to scale further. As a result, employee retention would undergo a major transformation.

KNOLSKAPE’s Unconscious Bias simulation to help leaders combat biases!

Organizations are progressing towards diversity by hiring people from different backgrounds and experiences. But unfortunately, having a diverse workforce isn’t a lifesaver; bringing people together and creating an environment of respect and belongingness is even more important. In a global business environment, leaders need to create a space where employees feel respected and valued. 

An organization that fosters a bias-free culture can increase engagement and boost team performance.

Biased decisions can cost an organization heavily in terms of business, legal and social capital. Leaders at times are unaware that their perspectives are influenced by their backgrounds, experiences, and beliefs. This blind spot makes it difficult for even well-intentioned professionals to keep bias away from their decisions. Therefore, the need to counter biases with a rational approach can never be overstated.

KNOLSKAPE’s UnBias simulation offers learners a safe space to explore, experiment, and experience recognizing the presence of biases and managing them. While the learner’s role within the simulation is that of a leader, the UnBias simulation can be useful for all roles and senioritis within the organization – right from a freshly-onboarded individual contributor (IC) to senior leadership. After all, the problem of unconscious biases affecting relationships and decision-making is universally relevant at all levels in an organization.

A helpful, yet simplified scoring system gives the learner milestones to focus on. Each learner gets a personalized user report that can be downloaded at the end of the simulation and offers vital insights into their strengths and areas of improvement. 

To know more about how we can help you in developing an organizational culture that’s less susceptible to biases, contact us today!