A ground-breaking new recruitment website is being launched in Manchester this week, which aims to remove any recruiter bias by keeping candidates 100% anonymous.
Ohcul will work with clients, candidates and recruiters to provide a completely bias-free service, using a unique “Hidden Application” that completely eradicates any information revealing race, background, gender, age or physical ability; only submitting candidate information that is relevant to the position – namely experience, skills, training and education.
The site was created by Manchester-born Omar Javaid, who says: “Diversity and inclusion is so important but even the best-intentioned people are likely to have a level of unconscious bias, so a complete shake up is needed, to allow all candidates to have a completely fair route to interview. Blind hiring has become increasingly popular, being used by several big names such as HSBC, BBC and Google, but we are the first independent jobs site to offer it across the board. After 12 months of research, site creation and client liaison, we are delighted to be launching this week.”
Omar, 36, spent several years working in financial services in London, where he chaired one of the largest UK in-house diversity networks. “During this time, my team became increasingly aware of unconscious bias in the recruitment process,” he continues. “Further research showed that it was clear that certain demographic groups were not progressing to interview stage – and that this was not unique to the financial sector. I realised there was a real need to address this.”
Omar has already lined up several clients who will be working with the job site and he will be focusing on the northwest region at first, with businesses of all sizes, from SMEs to large corporates.
He concludes: “The launch in Manchester makes sense, not just because it is my home, but also because this is a hugely diverse city, with a very fair, forward-looking culture and a vibrant, can-do attitude. We look forward to working with employers who share our vision for universal quality of opportunity.”
