Every leader’s dream is to walk into performance reviews with a clear vision and an unbiased mind, eager to provide a fair and accurate evaluation of their team’s performance. The goal is to bestow ratings that reflect not just the organization’s standard but also the employee’s performance. However, the reality can sometimes be far from the ideal.

Unconscious biases have a sneaky way of worming into our performance appraisals, irrespective of our good intentions. Despite being oblivious to their existence, they sit lodged in our subconscious, ready to sway our judgement. To our surprise, extensive cognitive neuroscience research shows how these biases tend to distort our perception of fairness and consistency while delivering performance ratings.

Unconscious Bias: The Unseen Influencer

Unconscious bias, also known as implicit bias, is the instinctive bias, stereotypes, and attitudes we unknowingly form from our unique experiences, upbringing, and surroundings. These biases are subconsciously ingrained in us and are subtly different from explicit biases, which are conscious and intentionally discriminatory.

Organisations strive to shield their employees from explicit biases through legislation and policies. However, unconscious biases present a different challenge as they stem from unexamined beliefs and decisions, which feel right at the moment but are nonetheless problematic.

The Usual Suspects: Types of Biases in Performance Reviews

Performance reviews are no strangers to biases. Here are some of the usual suspects that often cloud the judgement of even the most well-intentioned leaders:

• Affinity Bias: Favouring those in our social group and overlooking achievements of those outside.
• The Halo Effect: A positive trait making us perceive an individual as good overall.
• The Horns Effect: The opposite of the halo effect, where a negative trait results in a poor overall assessment.
• Recency Bias: Our memories preferentially recalling the most recent events.
• Distance Bias: Favouring those who are physically closer to us.
• Central Tendency Bias: Placing everyone in the same performance category.
• Like-me Bias: Preferring those with similar interests, skills, and backgrounds.
• Confirmation Bias: Looking for information that confirms our preconceived beliefs.
• Gender Bias: Focussing on personality traits for women and accomplishments for men.

The Fallout of Bias in Performance Reviews

Unconscious bias is more common and damaging than conscious prejudice. It can cause leaders to unknowingly discriminate against certain employees. This can lead to unfair ratings, widening the gender gap, promoting certain groups over minorities, and much more.

Top 10 Strategies to Mitigate Bias in Performance Reviews

1. Implement unconscious bias training for all leaders.
2. Foster self-awareness among employees about their biases.
3. Establish ‘open answer’ requirements with supporting examples for ratings.
4. Encourage leaders to maintain year-round performance logs.
5. Seek feedback from other stakeholders and leaders.
6. Leverage performance analytics and data for objective evaluations.
7. Evaluate multiple performance areas to avoid the ‘halo/horn’ trap.
8. Broaden rating categories to sidestep central tendency bias.
9. Set clear expectations about reviews and check for inconsistencies.
10. Cultivate a culture of open feedback regarding performance reviews.

Navigating the Bias Minefield

The implications of unchecked unconscious bias in performance evaluations can be significant. However, with increased awareness, effective training, and appropriate checks and balances, organizations can significantly reduce this risk.

Remember, even unintentional discrimination can be discriminatory. Hence, employers are urged to take proactive measures to identify and curb unconscious bias in their workplaces. Transparent practices, such as the recent prohibition of pay secrecy under the Fair Work Act, have made it more challenging for employers to obscure unexplained pay differences among employees.

Shifting the gears on unconscious bias entails cultivating a leadership team willing to question their initial thoughts, seek evidence, gather feedback, and consider diverse perspectives. Proactive strategies like these not only foster a fair performance process but also help in retaining an engaged and diverse workforce.