Should The Voice Model Be Used by HR?

As marketers put pressure on agencies to diversify, shops like fcb and ddb worldwide are testing new programs that seek to take the bias out of hiring. 

- 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.