Is Blind Recruitment an Effective Recruitment Method?

Abstract

Recruitment is a major activity of human resources management that decides the performance of the organization. One of the major drawbacks is that the selection of the candidate can be dependent on the demographics, appearance, and cultural differences of candidates. According to the literature review analysis, blind recruitment is linked to only a few studies, and a gap has been identified in knowledge areas. Thus, through this study, the researcher has reviewed the concept of blind recruitment. Then, the objectives of the study were to identify new themes in blind recruitment and to explore the blind recruitment concepts and to provide a critical review of blind recruitment. The author adopts the desk research approach by conducting an extensive literature review. The author, using systematic review, conducts the conduct of two or more research sources, each conducted rigorously and complete in itself, into one project. In the current study, desk research has been used, and the researcher has collected data from past research articles relevant to the topic. According to the results of the study, blind recruitment is a proper solution to minimize bias in the recruitment and selection process. Blind recruitment enables companies to guarantee they are selecting the best candidates for available vacant positions because they remove characteristics that may lead to bias. Furthermore, hidden demographic data, skill-based selection, avoidance of social media pre-screening, and anonymization of initial interviews are some of the key initial themes of blind recruitment identified, as well as criticism in the practical context of blind recruitment.

Full text

Is Blind Recruitment an Effective Recruitment Method?
IJARBM – International Journal of Applied Research in Business and Management
Vol. 03 / Issue 03, pp. 56-72, December 2022
ISSN: 2700-8983 | an Open Access Journal by Wohllebe & Ross Publishing
This paper is available online
at
www.ijarbm.org
Is Blind Recruitment an Effective Recruitment
Method?
Critical Literature Review
Ramakrishnan Vivek
arvivek@gmail.com
Sri Lanka Technological University, Paduke, Sri Lanka
https://doi.org/10.51137/ijarbm.2022.3.3.4
Abstract – Recruitment is a major activity of human resources
management that decides the performance of the organization. One of
the major drawbacks is that the selection of the candidate can be de-
pendent on the demographics, appearance, and cultural differences of
candidates. According to the literature review analysis, blind recruit-
ment is linked to only a few studies, and a gap has been identified in
knowledge areas. Thus, through this study, the researcher has re-
viewed the concept of blind recruitment. Then, the objectives of the
study were to identify new themes in blind recruitment and to explore
the blind recruitment concepts and to provide a critical review of blind
recruitment. The author adopts the desk research approach by con-
ducting an extensive literature review. The author, using systematic re-
view, conducts the conduct of two or more research sources, each
conducted rigorously and complete in itself, into one project. In the cur-
rent study, desk research has been used, and the researcher has col-
lected data from past research articles relevant to the topic. According
to the results of the study, blind recruitment is a proper solution to min-
imize bias in the recruitment and selection process. Blind recruitment
enables companies to guarantee they are selecting the best candi-
dates for available vacant positions because they remove characteris-
tics that may lead to bias. Furthermore, hidden demographic data, skill-
based selection, avoidance of social media pre-screening, and anony-
mization of initial interviews are some of the key initial themes of blind
recruitment identified, as well as criticism in the practical context of
blind recruitment.
Keywords – Blind Recruitment, Bias, Skill-Based Selection, Re-
cruitment Method, Diversity

Is Blind Recruitment an Effective Recruitment Method?
IJARBM – International Journal of Applied Research in Business and Management
Vol. 03 / Issue 03, pp. 56-72, December 2022
ISSN: 2700-8983 | an Open Access Journal by Wohllebe & Ross Publishing
This paper is available online
at
www.ijarbm.org
1 Introduction
Blind recruitment is the act of eradicating certain characteristics from a re-
sume that may cause pre-disposition from managers. Individual data, for
example, name, age, sex, instruction, and even long periods of experience,
are struck from an applicant’s resumes, with the emphasis put on employ-
ment-related, transferable, and versatile aptitudes (Vivek,2019). Recruitment
of employees is an important activity for organizations, which can increase
their performance. If an organization can select the best employees in re-
cruitment, good individual performance can be expected from employees,
and when employee performance is high, it can lead to the organization's
having increased performance within the industry they operate in (Foley &
Williamson, 2018). Organizations' traditional recruitment process has some
drawbacks that may prevent them from recruiting the best candidate for the
job. One such major drawback is the selection of the candidate depending
on their demographics, appearance, and cultural differences, which could be
categorized as the recruiter's having a bias, and these biases could be con-
scious or unconscious biases. Bias towards certain individuals can be identi-
fied as an inherent weakness of people and, as a solution to this, "blind re-
cruitment" has been introduced (Beattie & Johnson, 2012).
Blind recruitment enables companies to guarantee they are selecting the
best possible candidate depending on their merit (Egeberg, Gornitzka, &
Trondal, 2017) for the available vacancy within the organization because the
blind recruitment process removes characteristics of traditional recruitment
that could lead to biases. Thus, blind recruitment will be able to spread di-
versity in the organization and help organizations select the right candidates
for their open positions (Krause et al., 2012). In this paper, the concept of
blind recruitment and its elements have been discussed using literature and
other online information sources. Blind recruitment is followed by several
organizations as a universal method of implementing a fair recruitment sys-
tem and of recruiting the most talented employees (Krause et al., 2012).
Rationale and Problem Statement
According to the literature review analysis, blind recruitment has a signifi-
cant positive impact on organizational performance. Blind recruitment can
enhance workplace diversity and, in return, can enhance the organization's
performance by utilizing the skills and suggestions of diverse employees
(Vivek, 2018). In blind recruitment, the organization focuses on the candi-
date's skills and merits rather than the candidate's demographic variables.
The ultimate result of this recruitment and selection process is to build a
workforce with a higher level of skills that can enhance the performance of
organizations (Åslund & Skans, 2012; Banerjee & Gupta, 2019). In addition
to the increment in organizational performance, several other benefits can
be seen in blind recruitment. It creates more choices for both employers and
employees, and the blind recruitment method greatly emphasizes an em-
ployee’s skills, and there is no discrimination. As a result, we can select the
best candidates, and candidates can join organizations without any informal
bias. Further, its diverse workforce gives the message of inclusivity both
inside and outside the company and creates a competitive advantage in a

Is Blind Recruitment an Effective Recruitment Method?
IJARBM – International Journal of Applied Research in Business and Management
Vol. 03 / Issue 03, pp. 56-72, December 2022
ISSN: 2700-8983 | an Open Access Journal by Wohllebe & Ross Publishing
This paper is available online
at
www.ijarbm.org
diverse world, while blind recruitment is viewed as a more scientific method
because it uses the same assessment for every candidate. Moreover, blind
recruitment eliminates unconscious bias (Derous & Decoster, 2017).
However, some disadvantages of the blind recruitment system can hurt
organizational performance, rendering the cost of blind recruitment ineffec-
tive. Because the organization’s team operates with biases, blind recruitment
will be ineffective. Blind recruitment is simply a method for removing uncon-
scious bias from the recruitment process; it is not a magical solution for re-
solving all diversity and inclusion issues, and it is thus not a realistic method.
Although blind recruitment is recognized as an effective solution to the re-
cruitment of the right people and it leads to improved diversity in the organi-
zation, there is a sentiment that blind recruitment might reduce the recruit-
ment staff’s morale. Because most people may think that the method of blind
recruitment was chosen due to the lower trust in the recruitment staff
(Banerjee & Gupta, 2019; Foley & Williamson, 2018). According to the facts
presented above, there is inconsistency in the existing sources concerning
blind recruitment and its benefits and drawbacks. In this study, researchers
will investigate the concept of blind recruitment and its benefits and draw-
backs. The main objective of this paper is to determine the major elements
of blind recruitment and to present criticism of this approach based on a
systematic review.
2 Literature Review
Blind recruitment is an effective method for reducing bias in the recruiting
and selection process. Due to the removal of traits that may contribute to
bias, blind recruitment allows firms to ensure they are selecting the best
applicants for available unfilled positions. Thus, blind recruitment will be able
to increase diversity in business while also assisting companies in selecting
the best applicants for available jobs. Blind recruitment may help to increase
workplace diversity. Workplace diversity may improve organizational perfor-
mance by employing various workers' abilities and talents. The company will
be able to perform successfully with varied personnel while offering a solu-
tion to an opportunity discovered in the external environment. Blind recruit-
ment is one of the most successful methods for eliminating unconscious bias
from the corporate recruitment process, but it must be done properly (Caers
& Castelyns, 2011). Through blind recruitment, you may generate four ad-
vantages for your organization: diversity, applicant experience, time, and
money. Blind recruitment reduces recruiting prejudices while increasing
workplace diversity. Management makes an effort to eliminate both con-
scious and unconscious bias. Blind recruitment is concerned with race, eth-
nicity, gender, and age. Based on this, the researcher proposes the study's
purpose, which is to explore the concepts of blind recruitment (Foley & Wil-
liamson, 2018; Krause et al., 2012).

Is Blind Recruitment an Effective Recruitment Method?
IJARBM – International Journal of Applied Research in Business and Management
Vol. 03 / Issue 03, pp. 56-72, December 2022
ISSN: 2700-8983 | an Open Access Journal by Wohllebe & Ross Publishing
This paper is available online
at
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2.1 Blind Recruitment for Removing Bias Factors.
Blind Recruitment minimizes the biases in the skills acquisition process by
eliminating information such as name, gender, religion, or a candidate’s so-
cioeconomic background. It also eliminates things such as candidates’ aca-
demic qualifications or professional experience, which means that candi-
dates are judged based on their merits rather than where they came from
(Vivek, 2019). Practically, blind recruitment enables companies to guarantee
they are selecting the best candidates for available vacant positions because
it removes characteristics that may lead to bias. Thus, blind recruitment will
be able to spread diversity in the organization and help organizations select
the right candidates for their open positions (Behaghel, Crepon, & Le
Barbanchon, 2015; Krause, Rinne & Zimmermann, 2012). To maximize the
team's diversity, you need to start the recruitment process right at the start.
Create inclusive job descriptions that encourage applications from various
applicants. Stop using your job descriptions for gender or other differences.
While using "he/she" may seem inclusive, it is better to use more generic
terms such as "ideal candidate." Phrases like "guys" or "chairman" job titles
may not seem gender-based, which may also give the wrong impression.
Hence, avoiding them as much as possible is safe for organizations (Erica,
2019).
Words related to ethnicity and age may also appear in job descriptions in-
advertently and may deter candidates from applying. To avoid this, organiza-
tions can begin by highlighting the skills required for the job rather than set-
ting limitations for candidates based on years of experience, age, and mari-
tal status. Also, organizations need to focus on being gender-neutral in their
job postings because specifying gender requirements and the factors men-
tioned above could be categorized as discrimination under certain juridical
areas, mainly in developed countries (Collier & Zhang, 2016). Taking too
much risk and eventually turning away exceptional prospects for work and
industry as a whole, it is always safer to be overly cautious. Organizations
need to make certain that the job ads are as inclusive as possible and
should consider using a method/methods like Gender Decoder that will ena-
ble organizations to keep their job descriptions free from gendered language
and gender bias (Erica, 2019).
In some cases, demographic information is essential for the recruitment
process. The name, zip code, headshots, and other information may appear
on the resume, which may provide some identity tips that the blind service
cannot. Thus, it is important to understand what type of demographic infor-
mation can go with your recruitment process. It is better to be aware of the
bias than to introduce it into the recruitment process (Foley & Williamson,
2018; Krause et al., 2011). Names, zip codes, headshots, and other evi-
dence that appears on resumes provide sure signs of identification that ren-
der blind recruitment impossible. Nonetheless, demographic information is
sometimes helpful for the recruitment process if, for instance, you are look-
ing to see the initial results of the diversity recruitment program (Erica,
2019). Note what demographic information can go without the recruitment
process and delete it from the applicants ' resumes. Look for traditional
things in the past. Identify unique information about your application process

Is Blind Recruitment an Effective Recruitment Method?
IJARBM – International Journal of Applied Research in Business and Management
Vol. 03 / Issue 03, pp. 56-72, December 2022
ISSN: 2700-8983 | an Open Access Journal by Wohllebe & Ross Publishing
This paper is available online
at
www.ijarbm.org
that, during the recruitment process, can result in unfair bias. There are even
lexical, syntactic, and semantic variations in the summaries of male and
female job applicants. While this data is challenging to hide, it is good to be
aware of the bias that can emerge from the recruitment procedure (Erica,
2019).
Academic information cannot be predicted as the individual’s success in a
job. Some candidates may have the highest academic credits from the best
universities, while some may have lower academic credits at less-than-
prestigious universities. But all the time, academic credits won’t be able to
measure the individual’s success within the workplace. Because all the
world’s top billionaires are not even degree holders. Thus, as an organiza-
tion/recruitment staff, the most important thing is to look at the skills that the
candidates have. Therefore, hide academic information from the resume
(Åslund & Skans, 2012; Jones & Urban, 2013). Returning to high school
might seem like a resume booster but getting a 4.0 at the best college
doesn't automatically guarantee job success. Likewise, a poor GPA at a
university that is less than prestigious is not an indication that the student is
unable to take up a job (Erica, 2019). Instead of looking at academic rec-
ords, consider the skills that the applicant has. Remove the academic info
from the curriculum vitae. You can still hold specific information, like what
the candidate has learned, but cover any names or dates they have attend-
ed (the graduation year can tell you about the candidate's age).
Removing bias factors in the recruitment process is highly debatable, and
this review raised more questions about its practical application in the real
world. What kinds of factors need to be hidden? What kind of organization
can use this approach? At what stage of organization can use this ap-
proach? Is it worthwhile to hide basic information from the CV? Based on the
review, this element is applicable based on an organization's requirements
only and not to all organizations.
2.2 Blind Recruitment for Skill-Based Selection and Diversity
Workforce
Blind recruitment is a widely used method during the screening stage.
Here, a firm evaluates applicants’ skills and characteristics through a series
of assessments, and then the results are compared with the pre-set bench-
marks. Although blind recruitment creates some sort of advantage for com-
panies, there are some limitations too. Although names have been removed
from restarts and tests, some identity codes can still be implemented. Can-
didates’ hobbies, sports, and volunteering experience may give an idea
about the candidates and their surroundings. Also, applying some principles
during the screening and interviewing stages is somewhat complicated (Fo-
ley & Williamson, 2018). If organizations need to increase the diversity of
their staff, they must make efforts at the beginning of the recruitment pro-
cess. Companies can benefit from inclusive job descriptions that push di-
verse candidates to apply. Avoid describing your job in terms of gender or
other bias. Although it appears to involve the use of "he/she," it is preferable
to use more general terms such as "the ideal candidate”. Racial and age-

Is Blind Recruitment an Effective Recruitment Method?
IJARBM – International Journal of Applied Research in Business and Management
Vol. 03 / Issue 03, pp. 56-72, December 2022
ISSN: 2700-8983 | an Open Access Journal by Wohllebe & Ross Publishing
This paper is available online
at
www.ijarbm.org
related terms in the job description will also discourage candidates from ap-
plying for the jobs. Thus, it is ideal if you can highlight the skills that you
need rather than such areas. It is not only that applying gender-neutral
words will attract more responses than using masculine or feminine words
(Åslund & Skans, 2012).
Pre-employment assessments can be used to collect data about a candi-
date’s softer skills and abilities, as well as about their personality character-
istics, collaboration, and integrity. By completing these assessments at the
earliest stages of the recruiting process, an organization can gain more ac-
curate information on which to base its decisions. Also, organizations can
conduct these assessments anonymously. Test assignments are also a
popular method of assessing a candidate’s skills. Here, completed assign-
ments can be anonymized, and then they can be used for review by the or-
ganization (Jones & Urban, 2013; Krause et al., 2011; Rinne, 2018). You
might wonder at this stage what you're going to base recruitment decisions
around. All right, the knowledge you need to gather. Pre-employment tests
help organizations gather information on the strengths of the candidates,
such as on softer skills such as teamwork and competence, their personality
characteristics, or even their interests in company culture. During the early
phases of the recruitment process, getting the applicants to complete these
tests can provide you with more accurate information on which to base your
decisions (Erica, 2019). You can take these tests anonymously too. Failing
to link each assessment result to the applicant's profile immediately helps to
remove any residual prejudices that may persist. Test assignments, which
are usually taken home, are another common way of assessing the skills of
candidates. Anonymize the tasks that have been completed and check them
only afterward (Erica, 2019).
When organizations are ready to incorporate new processes into their tal-
ent acquisition strategy, they must first determine how well they work. Thus,
tracking the before and after states will help to measure their effectiveness.
Looking at the standard demographics of candidates and hires before im-
plementing the blind Recruitment practices as well as after. If organizations
frequently hire employees, they require a little time to collect data on wheth-
er blind processes have improved organizational diversity or not. However, if
the recruitment process is repeated every few months, organizations may
have to wait a long time to review the data. According to the gathered data,
an organization can decide whether it requires additional steps to remove
bias or not (Rinne, 2018). When you take the time in your talent acquisition
program to implement new processes, you want to know how well they work.
Tracking the conditions "before" and "after" will help you assess your effec-
tiveness. Take a look at candidates' standard profiles and employ them be-
fore and after the blind recruitment methods are introduced. Have you found
many more diverse candidates and interviewed them? Will this result in
more racial recruitment? You’ll need to take some time to collect this infor-
mation. If your agency recruits regularly, it should be fine for only a few
months. If you're only recruiting every few months, though, you might have
to wait around a year before looking back at the results (Erica, 2019).

Is Blind Recruitment an Effective Recruitment Method?
IJARBM – International Journal of Applied Research in Business and Management
Vol. 03 / Issue 03, pp. 56-72, December 2022
ISSN: 2700-8983 | an Open Access Journal by Wohllebe & Ross Publishing
This paper is available online
at
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2.3 Blind Recruitment for Removing Unconscious Bias
Blind recruitment eliminates recruitment biases by increasing workplace
diversity. Management tries to eliminate conscious and unconscious bias.
Blind recruitment relates to race, ethnicity, gender, and age. Based on that,
the researchers say the objective of the study is to investigate the factors
affecting blind recruitment (Foley & Williamson, 2018; Krause et al., 2012).
You and your colleagues may think that you are open-minded and would
never disqualify a candidate for a lack of skills or experience. Furthermore,
even the most recognizable individuals can be affected by thoughts and
feelings they are not aware of (Dave Anderson, 2019). "Unconscious bias" is
a widely accepted theory that a person's life experiences influence his or her
mind without his or her awareness. All of the things we witness, see, and
feel in our lives, whether we consciously remember them or not, influence
how we deal with different circumstances. Malcolm Gladwell, (2006) dis-
cusses this theory in his book Blink, arguing that our minds move so fast and
process so much knowledge that we don't notice every little thing that affects
our thinking and decisions (Dave Anderson, 2019). Today, scanning candi-
dates’ profiles through social media has become a common thing in the pro-
cess. However, the information obtained from scanning candidates’ social
media profiles will create a bias towards the individuals. Thus, organizations
should be smart when screening candidates from social media. However,
keeping the right balance is important. Some information has proven that
social media may create an unconscious bias that will help or harm the can-
didate’s chances. Thus, screening via social media is ideal when the organi-
zation has completed the first round of interviews. That will ensure you have
screened candidates by knowing each candidate’s skills and bias (Banerjee
& Gupta, 2019; Rinne, 2018).
During the recruitment process, testing candidates’ social media profiles
has become commonplace. Unfortunately, if you're looking for their online
presence, you're going to get a lot of prejudice-generating information about
the person. Furthermore, you don't have to exclude social media monitoring
from your recruitment process entirely, but in the meantime, it may be pru-
dent to push it further (Erica, 2019). Nonetheless, finding the right balance is
essential. While some of the information found on social media creates an
unconscious bias that boosts or harms the chances of a nominee, before
extending the bid, you still want to be aware of any possible red flags. After
the first round of interviews, it's a good time to start checking social media
profiles. It's a good sign that you have looked at each candidate's skills with-
out bias, but it also gives you the chance to keep someone out of the run-
ning if their social media presence doesn't fit the business model.
2.4 Anonymization of Initial Interviews
Although anonymized interviews are ideal for blind recruitment, conduct-
ing an anonymized interview can be very challenging. Even phone inter-
views might create biases. Although anonymizing the initial interview is
completely questionable, organizations can ensure that they have chosen
the right candidates, barring bias. An anonymous interview can be conduct-

Is Blind Recruitment an Effective Recruitment Method?
IJARBM – International Journal of Applied Research in Business and Management
Vol. 03 / Issue 03, pp. 56-72, December 2022
ISSN: 2700-8983 | an Open Access Journal by Wohllebe & Ross Publishing
This paper is available online
at
www.ijarbm.org
ed in different ways. For instance, organizations can use email or live chat to
get responses from their candidates. Recently, automated interviewing ro-
bots have become a popular method for anonymous interviews. This method
is completely free from bias. Because there is no human intervention in the
interview stage (Jones & Urban, 2013; Krause et al., 2011), it can be ex-
tremely challenging, as we mentioned briefly, to anonymize an interview.
Telephone interviews will give you key features, such as gender or age, that
can lead to prejudice (Erica, 2019). You'll need to meet your candidates
face-to-face sooner or later (after all, you need to know whom you're recruit-
ing), but anonymizing the initial interview can make sure you've selected the
right candidates without bias (Erica, 2019). You may conduct an anonymous
interview in several ways. Emailing candidates to fill out a Q & A form, for
example, is one way to get answers. You could also have a live chat option
to create a better interaction with your nominee. The increasingly popular
approach is automated robot interviewing. This Chabot is on the move and
reporting back to the original interview. This eliminates human bias from the
equation (Erica, 2019).
Based on a systematic review, the researcher developed four blind re-
cruitment thematic elements, which are shown in Table 1.
Table 1: Thematic Model Table
Theme 01
Blind Recruitment to Remove Bias Factors.
Theme 02
Blind recruitment for skill-based selection and diversity work-
force
Theme 03
Blind recruitment to remove unconscious bias
Theme 04
Anonymization of initial interviews
3 Criticisms of Research Studies in Blind Recruitment
Blind recruitment can succeed, but not all of the diversity and inclusion is-
sues will be solved. While it can ensure that strong candidates continue to
do so in the interview process, it is not possible to have a completely blind
recruitment process regardless of their background—essentially making sure
that unconscious bias makes its way into the interview. This means you'll go
above and beyond to eliminate bias from your recruitment process, especial-
ly if you want to get to the end of the process faster. Work on integrating
other methods as well as using blind recruiting, such as setting up a variety
of interview panels and using interview scorecards to assess applicants (Eri-
ca, 2019). However, no studies have addressed how this process works in
practice in an organization. Studies in the literature highlight only the initial
key definitions, with no real-world application mentioned in the review pa-
pers. There is no clear statement on where this blind recruitment process
begins and where we can apply to gain benefits from this application is still
questionable (Meena, 2016).

Is Blind Recruitment an Effective Recruitment Method?
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Vol. 03 / Issue 03, pp. 56-72, December 2022
ISSN: 2700-8983 | an Open Access Journal by Wohllebe & Ross Publishing
This paper is available online
at
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Techniques such as blind Recruitment can help remove unconscious bias
from your recruitment process, but it won't do the job completely. If your
team is working with prejudices, even if they are unconscious, you may miss
good candidates or fall through the cracks (Erica, 2019). You need to teach
the workers about unconscious bias and what kind of damage it can do to
the recruitment process and even to the entire business. Provide examples
of how bias can occur in many ways, especially if bias is involuntary—
exposure to various training courses, both within and among colleagues, on
how to recognize these biases (Erica, 2019). Encourage staff to use what is
perceived as a substitute. They'd ask themselves if they'd still feel the same
way when one person was replaced by another. Will they even respond the
same way? Eventually, show the team how they can all eliminate these bi-
ases during the recruitment and interview process (Erica, 2019).
3.1 Critical and Reliable Information
The first founded criticism is that there is a lack of critical and reliable in-
formation sources regarding the sub-topic topics under blind recruitment.
Some areas of blind recruitment have been poorly touched by previous re-
searchers. Best practices for blind recruitment have been addressed theoret-
ically by previous researchers. To maximize the team's diversity, you need to
start the recruitment process right at the start. (Erica, 2019). Choose demo-
graphic evidence to conceal (Erica, 2019). Remove academic information
from the curriculum vitae; obscure academic evidence. You can still get spe-
cific information and collect relevant data about the candidates’ skills (Erica,
2019). Avoid social media pre-screening. During the recruitment process,
testing candidates' social media profiles has become commonplace (Erica,
2019). Consider initial anonymizing interviews (Erica, 2019). Track the be-
fore and after states (Erica, 2019). Keep educating your team about uncon-
scious bias (Erica, 2019). Only some descriptive and significant evidence
regarding the best practices of blind recruitment has been discovered by
researchers. That is, there is a lack of literature evidence regarding best
practices. In conclusion, there is a lack of research studies on best practices
for blind recruitment and future researchers are motivated to focus more on
them.
Considering the definition of unconscious bias, it has been moderately
addressed, but still, comprehensive information is not available. It has been
revealed that you and your colleagues may think that you are open-minded
and would never disqualify a candidate for a lack of skills or experience
(Dave Anderson, 2019). "Unconscious bias" is a widely accepted theory that
a person's life experiences influence his or her mind without his or her
awareness (Dave Anderson, 2019). A UK study in 2017 found that only one-
third (32%) of HR managers felt confident when recruiting new workers, and
they were not affected (Cathryn Newbery, 2018). According to research pub-
lished in 2003, people with ethnic-sounding names had to submit 50% more
CVs than individuals with white-sounding names to get a call back from re-
cruiters. On this topic also, only two critical researchers were found. In con-
clusion, there is a lack of research studies on defining unconscious bias, and
future researchers are motivated to focus more on it.

Is Blind Recruitment an Effective Recruitment Method?
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Vol. 03 / Issue 03, pp. 56-72, December 2022
ISSN: 2700-8983 | an Open Access Journal by Wohllebe & Ross Publishing
This paper is available online
at
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A moderate amount of research has been discovered, focusing on the
benefits of blind recruitment. More options are required for both business
and the underlying environment. Many applicants may be deterred from ap-
plying for certain job opportunities as a result of employer discrimination
(Foley and Williamson, 2018). It also aids in the diversification of the work-
force. In addition to the other advantages provided by a diverse workforce,
such as improved language skills, it was also stated that "the increase in
gender diversity by just one percent would increase the bottom line by three
percent." (Foley and Williamson, 2018). Emphasis on ability by focusing on
skills means that the best candidates are chosen to meet and eventually get
a job (Bendick and Nunes, 2011). Potential for improving organizational ex-
pertise, focusing on competence at the initial stage of the interview will have
a domino effect on the final workforce (Foley and Williamson, 2018). On this
topic also, only two critical researchers were found. In conclusion, there is a
lack of research studies on the advantages of blind recruitment, and future
researchers are motivated to focus more on it.
Focus on the disadvantages of blind recruitment. Some factors have been
identified. Prejudice stymies more honest workplace recruitment (Muoz,
2019) and may jeopardize diversity objectives. It extends the screening pro-
cess of the applicant (Muñoz, 2019). It prevents the nominee's personality
from shining through and allows the culture to fit (Muoz, 2019). Researchers
discovered only descriptive and significant evidence regarding the disad-
vantages of blind recruitment, implying that there is a lack of literature evi-
dence regarding the disadvantages of blind recruitment. In conclusion, there
is a lack of research studies on the disadvantages of blind recruitment, and
future researchers are motivated to focus more on it. However, the defini-
tions and nature of blind recruitment are well addressed (Bendick and
Nunes, 2011; Foley and Williamson, 2018; Muñoz, 2019). Blind recruitment
is the procedure of eliminating any/all identifying details from the resumes
and applications of applicants (Jonggu Lee, 2018).
3.2 Limited Context
Second founded Criticism is limited context and limited countries are
available in the existing literature on blind recruitment. For example, the fol-
lowing three pieces of literature were taken.
Table 2 - Existing literature on blind Recruitment
Research
Context
Country
Bendick, M. and Nunes, A. (2011)
‘Developing the Research Basis for
Controlling Bias in Recruitment
Literature-based
Global
Foley, M. and Williamson, S. (2018)
‘Does anonymizing job applications
reduce gender bias?
Services sector
Australia

Is Blind Recruitment an Effective Recruitment Method?
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Muñoz, A. (2019) ‘Anonymized Com-
petency-Based Recruitment and Se-
lection Process for Public Sector
Public sector
Global
In terms of countries, only a small number of countries were studied, and
the context was also limited. Thus, future researchers should focus on en-
hancing the context of their research studies.
3.3 Topics Not Addressed by Researchers
Third, there has been some criticism that some topics were not addressed
by any researchers. The following are some topics on which the researchers
were unable to locate any related research articles.
The following blind recruitment topics have yet to be addressed by re-
searchers.
• Practical case studies on how the blind recruitment process can
be implemented in private organizations
• Practical case studies on how the blind recruitment process can
be implemented in public organizations.
• Practical case studies on how the blind recruitment process can
be implemented in not-for-profit organizations
• How is blind recruitment affected by the culture of the country?
• How is blind recruitment affected by the culture of the organiza-
tion?
• Developing theories and models on the impact of blind recruit-
ment on the profitability of the organization.
• Developing theories and models on the impact of blind recruit-
ment on the sustainability of the organization.
4 Conclusion, Implication and Recommendation
4.1 Conclusion
Blind recruitment is an effective method for reducing bias in the recruit-
ment and selection process. Blind recruitment enables companies to guaran-
tee they are selecting the best candidates for available vacancies because it
removes characteristics that may lead to bias. The ultimate result of this
blind recruitment and selection process is to build a workforce with a higher
level of skills and the ability to uplift the performance of the organization. In
addition to the increment in organizational performance, several other bene-
fits can be seen in blind recruitment. It creates more choices for both em-
ployers and employees, and the blind recruitment method greatly emphasiz-
es an employee’s skills, and there is no discrimination. According to the facts
presented above, there is inconsistency in the existing sources concerning
blind recruitment and its benefits and drawbacks. In this study, researchers
investigated the concept of blind recruitment and its benefits and drawbacks.

Is Blind Recruitment an Effective Recruitment Method?
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Vol. 03 / Issue 03, pp. 56-72, December 2022
ISSN: 2700-8983 | an Open Access Journal by Wohllebe & Ross Publishing
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The study's main themes, based on literature articles, are removing bias
and increasing diversity, complicated implementation, inclusive job descrip-
tions, hidden demographic data, and obscure academic information. Skill-
based selection, avoidance of social media pre-screening, anonymization of
initial interviews, and removal of unconscious bias are all part of the process.
Further, themes have been identified, such as blind recruitment for removing
bias factors, blind recruitment for skill-based selection and diversity work-
force, blind recruitment for removing unconscious bias, and anonymization
of initial interviews.
4.2 Implications
Business organizations should identify the importance of blind recruitment
and should understand that the image of a business can be enhanced
through blind recruitment. This study can provide an organization with an
initial idea for implementing blind recruitment. The themes identified in the
study can be considered the sub-elements and implementation steps of blind
recruitment. Moreover, the importance of blind recruitment can be identified
and the advantages that a business organization can obtain can be commu-
nicated using the information in this study. The implications of this study are
relevant to any type of organization, and even a small business can enhance
its business performance by recruiting employees with the most suitable
skills.
As stated earlier, there is a gap in existing research studies and this study
filled that gap. According to the information presented in the literature re-
view, there is inconsistency in the existing sources concerning blind recruit-
ment and its benefits and drawbacks. Thus, researchers studied the concept
of "blind recruitment," which is the main element of this research. Moreover,
this study could provide extended knowledge to academics and researchers
on blind recruitment. The study could present the significance of blind re-
cruitment and the method of conducting future studies, as well as compre-
hensive criticisms of this approach when implementing blind recruitment into
an organization's management.
4.3 Recommendations
Some of the key recommendations for blind recruitment are: hidden de-
mographic data, skill-based selection, avoidance of social media pre-
screening, and anonymization of initial interviews. When resumes and other
information are given to the management for selection, demographic data
should be avoided. Moreover, employees should be selected based on skills
rather than personal information. Employee performance can be highly en-
hanced through skills-based selection. Organizations should achieve diversi-
ty in the workplace through blind recruitment. Social media prescreening can
be avoided since social media cannot show the actual image of an employee
and some people have not updated their social media profiles for a long
time. The anonymization concept can be used in initial interviews to achieve
better results in blind recruitment. A business organization should not be

Is Blind Recruitment an Effective Recruitment Method?
IJARBM – International Journal of Applied Research in Business and Management
Vol. 03 / Issue 03, pp. 56-72, December 2022
ISSN: 2700-8983 | an Open Access Journal by Wohllebe & Ross Publishing
This paper is available online
at
www.ijarbm.org
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the latest information sources.
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