Adweek asked, “Could Blind Hiring Be the Solution to Increasing Diversity at Agencies?” Hey, why not? Until now, the industry has been deaf and dumb to diversity. But seriously, the story presented a few disturbing items. For example:
Um, if a hiring manager in the 21st century is influenced by “name, gender, ethnicity and even education” in their decisions, is that really unconscious bias?
Meanwhile, the consistently culturally clueless FCB Global Chief Talent Officer Cindy Augustine chirped, “For us, it’s all about how do you take out bias anywhere you can.” Would it ever occur to Augustine that taking out the bias could be as simple as removing the biased hiring managers? According to Adweek, “FCB has activated [a blind hiring program] in FCB Health’s offices [in] New York and Chicago for a select number of positions, including strategy and analytics…” Nice. Let’s test minorities in pharma shops for specific roles beyond receptionist, security, janitorial maintenance and mailroom attendants. But wait—it gets crazier:
Great. Have minorities jump through special hoops in order to prove their worth. 4As EVP Of Diversity & Inclusion Singleton Beato compared GapJumpers to The Voice on NBC. In the advertising industry, diversity has become a reality TV series. And ultimately, blind hiring will lead to an agency signing up Stevie Wonder to serve as a brand ambassador.Some have turned to a practice already used by technology companies like Google: blind hiring, which seeks to remove any identifying factors—name, gender, ethnicity and even education—from the initial round of interviews. The hope is that it will take away a hiring manager’s unconscious biases and keep them focused on the candidate’s talent and not be influenced by where they come from or went to school.
FCB tapped tech platform GapJumpers, which allows employers to ditch resumes and instead post challenges for potential new hires online. These challenges test the perspective [sic] employee’s skills through something similar to a brief, but more pointed at the position that person applied for.
Could Blind Hiring Be the Solution to Increasing Diversity at Agencies?
FCB and DDB weigh in
By Katie Richards
In September, HP sent a letter to its agencies asking for a detailed plan on how each would up its diversity quotient within 12 months. A month earlier, General Mills had mandated its agencies to have at least 50 percent women and 20 percent people of color working on its accounts. Other marketers such as Verizon have followed suit, and now agencies are scrambling to find a solution.
Some have turned to a practice already used by technology companies like Google: blind hiring, which seeks to remove any identifying factors—name, gender, ethnicity and even education—from the initial round of interviews. The hope is that it will take away a hiring manager’s unconscious biases and keep them focused on the candidate’s talent and not be influenced by where they come from or went to school.
“For us, it’s all about how do you take out bias anywhere you can,” said Cindy Augustine, global chief talent officer, FCB. FCB is one agency, alongside others including Dallas-based Levenson Group, to test blind hiring. To date, FCB has activated the program in FCB Health’s offices New York and Chicago for a select number of positions, including strategy and analytics, with plans to open the program up across the network in the next three to six months.
FCB tapped tech platform GapJumpers, which allows employers to ditch resumes and instead post challenges for potential new hires online. These challenges test the perspective employee’s skills through something similar to a brief, but more pointed at the position that person applied for. Levenson Group, for example, asked prospective creative content writers to attract young drinkers to vodka over whisky or tequila using Instagram.
To date, GapJumpers has conducted over 1,200 blind auditions and recorded, through working with companies including Google and Dolby, measurable results. Nearly 60 percent of the top performers have been women, proving the service can get a more diverse group through initial rounds of hiring.
Through working with GapJumpers, Levenson Group chief product officer Paul McEnany said the agency hired a female candidate with no agency experience or no marketing degree. “I’m not even certain we would have interviewed her in the first place,” said McEnany.
Singleton Beato, evp, diversity and inclusion for the 4A’s, praised platforms like GapJumpers, likening it to hit TV show The Voice where coaches evaluate contestants based on talent, not appearance.
“All the data that you have is whether or not you believe that person is talented. When you turn around, then you have committed to help that person on their journey and to progress,” said Beato.
Other agencies like DDB have yet to launch blind-hiring programs but are in the process of activating them through unconscious bias training. “If you can take the unconscious biases out of the hiring process, then it’s worth testing,” said Dawn Fitch-Mitchell, director of supplier diversity at DDB Worldwide.
While some agencies see the benefit of blind hiring as a means to increase diversity, others argue it’s just one piece of a much larger puzzle. “You can’t have it for a select group or one role you’re hiring for,” said Marie-Claire Barker, global chief talent officer, MEC. “What happens when that person walks in here for that interview and when they actually get the job and are in the building? Are they actually included in the culture and what we are trying to do?”
Beato argued that in order for blind hiring to help change the industry’s diversity problem, agencies must be willing to commit to more than simply changing their hiring practices.
Added Beato: “You’ve got to make sure your culture is ready, and everyone is trained to enable diverse talent throughout the talent journey.”
4 comments:
“If you can take the unconscious biases out of the hiring process, then it’s worth testing,” said Dawn Fitch-Mitchell, director of supplier diversity at DDB Worldwide."
If this quote came from the head of the agency, or the chief creative, then maybe it would actually be useful. Instead, as usual, it was punted.
Why is it that the designated Diversity Dodging Heatshield at any ad agency, the person most apt to be quoted and pushed forward in the press (and at diversity events), is always the person with the least hiring power (if any at all), least amount of pull, and least say in actually hiring people?
There is so much work to be done....and you are so right that CEOs need to take ownership of the problem and help fix it. But we also need people fighting every day on the global leadership teams to make sure we stay focused on attacking EVERY possible way of getting things right. And Cindy is one of those people. I have never worked with someone who fights harder to do the right thing, open the eyes of people who do not see the challenge and size of the task, and who does not use every single resource she has to incite change. It is sad that you so easily throw derision and malice at someone who is trying so hard to address the injustice that you rightly hold so dear. And please rest assured that Cindy is not the front end of the spear of trying to get things right, in our agency and as our voice to the press. I am. She is my business partner in making sure we change and change for the better. We have a ton of work to do to get things right. And we will work tirelessly to get it right. And try everything, including hiring the right people, blind resumes, building the right culture, and being open and honest that we can do better, to mention but a few. Sending you the best, Carter
If someone can ever point to the tangible hiring record, of creatives, of one of these "Chief Diversity Officers" or "VPs of Diversity" or "Chief Talent Officers", I'm happy to support them. Cindy or whoever else.
Until then, they are causing more harm than good.
They're speaking up in the press about their agency's supposed diversity (but not hiring anyone of color), showing up to talk about diversity on panels (but not hiring anyone of color), being quoted in annual reports as proof of the agency or holding company's diversity (but not hiring anyone of color), hosting matchmakers or portfolio reviews (but not hiring anyone of color), speaking to pre-teens of color barely out of the womb (but not hiring any adults of color), coordinating interns (but only white must-hires get jobs, not interns of color), hosting diversity events (but not hiring anyone of color), etc.
These roles are seat warmer positions that let agencies deflect deeper conversations about why agencies are continuously staffed with white friends, of white friends.
Speaking of useless diversity executives doing useless things that accomplish nothing:
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/13/nyregion/how-tiffany-warren-an-executive-at-omnicom-group-spends-her-sundays.html
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