Creating inclusive hiring systems:

A look at how Textio interviews

October
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 Introducing our speakers

Gordon Louie Josh Potter Alissa Ramberg

DEIB Program Manager II Recruiter Senior Strategy & Enablement Manager
 Your top goal: Build a diverse team
The three essential keys to success

Your language tool Your sourcing tool Your interview system

Your recruiting content is You can’t hire people who You may attract people,
free of racist, sexist, ageist don’t know who you are. but can you hire them?
verbiage and represents
your culture appropriately.
 What is one interview practice you’ve
experienced that gave you a negative outlook on
the organization?
“Acquiring the right talent is the most important key to growth.
Hiring was – and still is – the most important thing we do.”

—Marc Benio , co-CEO of Salesforce

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 Agenda

Textio’s philosophy and principals

Bias free interviewing

Elevating hiring practices

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Our interviewing philosophy
Our interview philosophy is based off 3 core principles:

1 2 3
Standardized for Behavior-based for Appreciative for exceptional
effectiveness mitigating bias candidate experience
 1
Standardized for effectiveness
Think like scientists
 2
Behavior-based for mitigating bias
Assess candidate knowledge, skills, and behavior patterns
 3
Appreciative for exceptional candidate experience
Humanize the interviewing system
Bias, diversity and inclusion
 What is a bias?

Inclination or preference that influences judgement from being

balanced or even-handed.
 Forms of bias

Stereotypes Prejudice Discrimination

affect how we think affect how we feel affect how we act

How to be a great interviewer
 3 key elements

1 2 3
Be prepared Share the process Fairness
 1
Be prepared
Know the job description, job goals, interview
script/questions/assessments
 Key Parts

Interview focus

Take home problem context

Values centered interview questions

Standard interview questions

Different, defined focus areas

 2
Share the process
Increase the candidate’s certainty and con dence

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 Communicate the process

1 2 3
Recruiter screen Interview with hiring Interview look with
manager the team
What we share

Standardized introductions

Interview agenda and timeline

What’s next after a loop

 Example

• Before we start, let me give you some idea of our standard structure for this interview. I’d love to
start with some deeper introductions. We’ll talk about your background, role and experience or
anything else you’d like to share.

• After that, I have standard questions I ask all candidates that typically takes - minutes. I’ll
be taking notes throughout if you hear me clacking in the background.

• This should leave us minutes at the end of any questions you have for me. After this you’ll
have a break before meeting with Nicole at pm.
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 3
Fairness
Interviewers’ ask similar questions, in the same order
Principles of bias-free hiring
 Merit based

Candidates demonstrate and be judged on their job-related

skills and qualifications rather than assumptions of what’s there
 Role focused

Using the listed requirements on the job description as our

guide for assessments
 Structured interviews

All candidates are assessed in the same manner and against

the same criteria
 Inclusive

Free from barriers that adversely affect qualified candidates

from diverse communities, backgrounds and identities
 Principles of bias free hiring

Merit based Role Focused Structured Interviews Inclusive

 Take ownership

Acknowledging our role in the system and also how our

assumptions, beliefs, and experiences influence that system
 Everyone is biased

Self-awareness is the first step in minimizing the negative

impact your biases may have on others
Quick poll: which of these interview questions
should you avoid?
Questions to avoid
Unrelated to the duties of the job
Tell me about your dream job.

What motivates you?

 Culturally biased
Why do you think you’re the best candidate for the role?

Tell me about yourself?

Why should I hire you?

Seasoned candidate can easily answer
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

How would you describe yourself?

What are your weaknesses?

 Personal t
What types of people do you like to work with?

How would you describe your working style?

What management style supports you in doing your best work?

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Things you should be telling them
What do you think this role should pay?

What core responsibilities would you expect this role to own?

What would you focus on in your first 6 months?

 Trick Questions

Do you think there is intelligent life in outer space?

Why do people climb mountains?
If you were an animal, which animal would you be?
Common biases
Beware of the I’m not biased, Bias.
 A nity bias

Favoritism for people who share similarities with ourselves

Avoid: “culture fit” trap or gut feelings not related to the role or
scorecard.

Catching bias: recruiters moderate feedback sessions to catch and

correct feedback that is biased
ffi
 Illusory correlation

Associate two variables, events, or actions together even though they’re

unrelated

Avoid by: Leaning into areas we are not as familiar with to prevent
assumptions from creeping in or asking follow up questions to clarify
 Conformity bias

We all want to be able to fit in to the group(s) around us

Avoid by: Surveys, votes or hidden feedback

ATS systems to elevate inclusive hiring
practices
In what way(s) are you using your ATS to make
hiring more inclusive?
 Prepping for interviews in your ATS

Centralized place for all things related to the open position

Greenhouse

• Job description
• Scorecard
• Candidates information
• Feedback (not visible
until submitted)
Facilitating inclusively: check for subjectivity

Blur words are words that are subjective interpretations and can
often hide unconscious or conscious bias.
Key takeaways
1 Hiring outcomes are only as
good as the systems and
processes we have in place
2
Focus on the candidates skills,
abilities, experiences listed on
the job post

3 Be mindful of common biases

and problematic questions
 Textio can support

• All your recruiting is inclusive

All your content, not just job posts. Sourcing mail, career site copy, LinkedIn
posts, employer brand content. All of it.

• Get consistent content, efficiently

Your whole team shares your values and brand voice, with no manual oversight

• Enablement and up-skilling for the whole team

Your team learns as they write, and gets free ongoing training from Textio U.
 Next steps

• Do you have the 3 tools you need to hire an inclusive team?

• Use Textio’s recruiting checklist to see how inclusive your systems/process are

• Share Textio’s key learnings with your hiring leaders and recruiting team!

• Take the Textio U course, Interrupting bias in hiring

Thank you!
To learn more, go to:
www.hello.textio.com/inclusive-hiring-systems
or scan this QR code