Talent identification and development is a key priority for organisations. Yet despite best intentions, companies often fall prey to cognitive biases that can derail even the most well-planned talent management strategies.

A research project led by Professor Bruno Staffelbach and funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation sought to shed light on the hidden biases leading to sub-optimal decisions. As part of the project, researchers at the University of Lucerne’s Center for Human Resource Management surveyed almost 600 employees at the International Committee of the Red Cross in Europe, North and South America, and Asia over a period of three years. The project investigated whether managers' decisions to identify employees as talented are influenced by factors that are not supposed to matter, and how these decisions affect the employees concerned.

Here are some of the factors they identified:

• Age Discrimination: Younger employees are more likely to be identified as talents, with the likelihood decreasing by 5-6% with each additional year of age.
   
• First Impressions: Initial judgments significantly influence future evaluations and the assessment of employees’ potential.
   
• Similarity Preference: Employees perceived as similar to their superiors are more likely to be identified as talents.
   
• Unique Skills: Possessing skills that managers lack can lead to higher perceived competence, even if those skills are not directly relevant.
   
• Talent Status Effects: While intended to motivate, talent status can sometimes lead to dissatisfaction and increased turnover intentions due to unclear expectations.

The study shows that even well-structured decision-making processes in organisations can be influenced by unconscious bias. Such flawed decisions can foster inequality, poison the work atmosphere and drive highly skilled employees to competitors. Careful evaluation of personnel decisions and a commitment to objectivity are therefore essential. Through the uncovering of unconscious bias and the development of objective, transparent tools, organisations can avoid biased decisions and promote fairer HR management practices.

This contribution is based on an article written by Naemi Jacob and Marina Pletscher published in the latest issue of the University Magazine «cogito».