| | September 2023MANAGEHRMAGAZINE.COM9the accuracy of first impressions except regarding conscientiousness. This finding begs the question: what does this mean for a recruiter?Conscientiousness as a personality trait is an indicator of self-discipline. It is a good proficiency predictor for complex skill behaviours that improve through practice, like playing the piano or performing work-related tasks. Researchers have determined that a quarter of the behaviour-related performance in these complex skills is attributable to the personality trait. But is this predictive validity free of bias?To answer this question, we need to understand what bias is. Behavioural economics has identified over a hundred types of bias ranging from heuristics to my all-time favourite, the Dunning-Krueger Effect. In essence, biases are beliefs, judgements and assumptions that skew an observer's perceptions of ideas, things, or people in positive or negative ways. Observers mediate biases through lenses of identity and culture. Thus, the inter-rater reliability of the independent observers' assessment of these will remain consistent if they look at the world through similar lenses of culture and identity. Furthermore, unless the candidate and the observer share those identity and cultural lenses, the meaning of the gesture will be different for both. The notion of intersectionality adds an extra layer of complexity to this analysis when we consider that markers of identity such as gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, ability, religion, socioeconomic status and culture, whether this be high or low touch, monochronic or polychronic, can significantly affect a candidate's performance of shaking hands and further amplify how they perceive discrimination.As an LGBTQ+ person of South American origin with a handicap, I am very much aware of how intersectionality plays a role in the dynamics of privilege and oppression. This awareness is one of the reasons why I like to champion diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging in my professional practice and with my talent acquisition team. It is the same reason I encourage other talent acquisition professionals to train themselves to become aware of those differences and how these impact hiring decisions. Being unaware creates systemic discrimination in recruitment practices. Choosing the right person is crucial for business success, and doing so should be done to minimize potential selection errors
< Page 8 | Page 10 >