CFC Big Ideas Successfully Hires Candidate From the World’s First Fully Blind Hiring Experiment

• Global Inclusion Online Forum (GIOF) recently announced successful recruitment through a fully blind hiring process.
• The subsidiary of CFC Big Ideas claimed that this was the world’s first hire through the innovative approach and its process was different from the blind hiring procedures followed by other companies worldwide.
• Learn about the blind hiring process here.

Global Inclusion Online Forum (GIOF), a subsidiary project of CFC Big Ideas and a global platform promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I), recently announced the first successful hire using a “fully blind” process. Maria Bezhuashvili was hired as the new HR Manager at CFC Big Ideas using the fully blind hiring process.

GIOF claimed this is the world’s first hire through the innovative process. GIOF conducted the experiment in association with Jobecam, a Brazilian company and a blind hiring platform.

The company also claimed the hiring method different from the blind hiring procedures implemented by many companies worldwide in that the hiring decision was made before revealing the job hire’s identity to the potential employer in a fully blind hiring process.

See more: How Can Fair Chance Hiring Solve the Labor Shortage

What the World’s First Fully Blind Hiring Experiment Is About

Blind hiring is a method where a candidate’s identifying information is completely removed from the hiring funnel, from the job application to the final interview and hiring decisions. The information being hidden includes name, age, gender, and ethnicity. This is done to prevent both conscious and unconscious biases that may affect hiring decisions. 

Discussions about this method have been making rounds among the DE&I community for a long time. However, when many organizations use the blind hiring process, most of it is restricted to the earlier stages of the recruitment process, such as resume screenings. Most DEI advocates and activists still think that the last stage, i.e., the final interview, should be conducted in person. However, CFC Big Ideas and GIOF felt that biases can still creep into hiring decisions. Hence, the organization may lose a well-suited candidate.

Hence, GIOF and CFC Big Ideas conducted the World’s First Fully Blind Hiring ExperimentOpens a new window . The hiring process had blind resume pre-screenings, blind interviews, and the final decision. Interviews were also conducted using special voice-masking technology and other tasks by the employers to ensure no candidate identity was disclosed.

Talking about the blind hiring process, Kostiantyn Gridin, partner at CFC Big Ideas and founder of Global Inclusion Online Forum, said, “The Supreme Court of Justice decision on affirmative action has sparked a broader conversation about diversity. No matter which position one supports, we all can agree that once race and gender are known to a decision-maker, they cannot help but affect their evaluation. The only way to assess the demographics in a rational way is to keep them hidden until the assessment is finished. After that, companies that wish to do so can apply the affirmative action  rule in a measured and predictable way.”

Organizations can partner with CFC Big Ideas or conduct their own fully blind hiring processes to give the movement wings.

 Have you ever conducted a blind recruitment drive? What advantages and disadvantages have you seen? Let us know on LinkedInOpens a new window , TwitterOpens a new window , or FacebookOpens a new window . We’d love to hear from you!

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