Companies should remove candidates’ names from applications as a means of creating a more dynamic and diverse workforce.
In a new report, the CBI has called for this action as a means of bypassing unconscious bias in the recruitment process.
CBI president, Paul Dreschler said: “Inclusive recruitment gives every firm the chance to recruit more people with the skills they need. And this needs to run through every part of a business from board level to entry level.
“Unconscious bias is another big challenge. The first time many come into contact with this is in the workplace during job applications. One of the ways of tackling this is name-blind applications, removing criteria that could unintentionally bias managers and give under-represented groups confidence that their application will be fairly considered.”
Out of the top 12 economies in the world, the UK currently ranks ninth in employee engagement. The CBI believes that by having a more inclusive workplace, engagement and productivity will increase.
As well as blind recruitment, they also suggest offering flexible working when advertising positions, appraising managers’ performance on how they develop staff as well as their commercial successes and setting voluntary targets to improve diversity to drive engagement.
Dreschler said: “Inclusive workplaces give firm the chances to get ahead of their competitors by making better decisions, through diverse teams which draw on a wider range of experiences.
“Inclusion isn’t a minority issue, it’s a majority issue that can benefit all people and all firms. Ultimately, every employee can benefit from more flexible working and better decision-making. This is the real business case for inclusion and making progress means asking fundamental questions about how we work.”