Page 48 - ASCO Cultural Competency Toolkit

PRACTICAL STRATEGIES TO CHECK FOR BIAS DURING THE INTERVIEW PROCESS
● Consider whether the applicant mirrors the hiring manager in terms of race, gender, age, or ability. Do they represent a diverse applicant pool?
● Focus on evidence and facts, minimize optimism to avoid overestimating the chances of success.
● Include multiple people of diverse backgrounds in the decision making process to improve decision quality.
● Consider interviewing 1-2 additional candidates, before deciding whether to hire.
● Insert time delay between decisions, to minimize externally imposed time pressure.
● Assume the first decision is flawed, and introduce a second decision to discuss.
Adapted from: John Sample, Ph.D., Implicit Bias in the Workplace: What It Is, What It Impacts, and
What We Can Do About It - ManagedPAY
Team Development, Learning, and Retention
Critical to the success of recruitment efforts to diversify an organization is the retention and support of recruited individuals (Bhalla, 2019; Termini and Pang, 2020). To develop clinicians and staff in the areas of cultural humility, organizations should provide training opportunities in the workplace for employees to keep up to date with best practices as well as new cultural competency strategies and skills (Asai 2020). Inclusivity in meetings and amplifying the perspectives and work of underrepresented groups can be essential for retention. It is necessary to reflect on meeting dynamics, to consider who speaks up most often with ideas or concerns, what bias may be at play, and whose different perspectives could be sought after. Also, organizations should assess their employee handbook, engagement initiatives, and their “office culture,” to ensure transparency in processes, benefits, and development opportunities for employees (Green 2018, Grogan 2018, Betts 2009, Oseo-Assare 2018).
Performance and Compensation Management, Evaluation, and Promotion
Transparency in the mentoring and promotion process is one way to support individuals in their career advancement, taking into consideration that many historically excluded groups face bias in their evaluations as well as publication and funding success (Heggeness et al., 2016; Helmer et al., 2017, Kuehn, 2017 ; Fan et al., 2019 ; Peterson et al., 2019 ; Witteman et al., 2019). An organization’s review and promotion process must be transparent, standardized, and objective to minimize the negative effects of unconscious bias throughout these processes. Similarly, faculty members must be knowledgeable about these topics to ensure they engage students and evaluate them fairly ( Fan et al., 2019, Butkus 2018).
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