Common types of biases in human resource management

Some common types of bias in HR include:

• Affinity Bias: This type of bias occurs when someone in a senior position shows preference towards employees they can easily connect with or relate to due to similar backgrounds.

• Attribution bias: Attribution bias involves stereotyping people from specific demographic groups or attributing their actions to certain causes based on your own assumptions, without fact-checking whether those assumptions are true.

• Confirmation Bias: An employer or HR manager may already have a bias against someone and will selectively seek out or interpret information to confirm those beliefs, strengthening their bias.

• Conformity Bias: Conformity bias is a common workplace bias where management or HR teams may prioritize hiring candidates who seem like a good fit for the existing workplace culture, even if that culture isn't necessarily ideal.

• Name Bias: Name bias is a common workplace bias where hiring managers may favour or disfavour candidates based on their names or surnames.