Want to hire, evaluate, and collaborate more effectively? The same design principles that are changing how we think about products and services can improve our talent management. Iris Bohnet, author of What Works and Professor of Behavioral Economics at Harvard University, tells us how.

In this interview, Bohnet shares fast and inexpensive ways we can de-bias our organizations. She pinpoints how simple improvements can provide big gains for managers and employees.

In our conversation, we talk about:

How behavioral design can help us hire and retain the best talent
Why interviews are a poor predictor of future performance
How work sample tests ensure better hiring
How blind employee screening widens opportunities for job candidates
What we can learn from how orchestras hire musicians
Why we need to stop holding group interviews
The challenges of employee self-evaluation
Why we need gender-neutral language in job descriptions
Why diverse groups are more effective and less enjoyable
What critical mass does for groups and organizations
How tokenism can overshadow expertise
The important role political correctness plays in resetting norms
How acting differently - or watching others act differently - can change behavior

Episode Links

Iris Bohnet

Heidi Roizen

Competence but disliked dilemma

Implicit association bias

Hannah Riley Bowles

Work Rules by Laszlo Bock

@ThereseHuston

How Women Decide by Therese Huston

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CM 043: Iris Bohnet on Finding and Keeping Great Talent

Curious Minds at Work

CM 043: Iris Bohnet on Finding and Keeping Great Talent