Assessment of Cognitive Bias in Employee Selection at Five-star Hotels in Nairobi

Abstract

Today’s business environment demands that organizations are particularly keen in their operations due to the nature of its volatility. There is need for specific strategies that aim to minimize risks associated with production and continuity for the sustainability of these firms. The understanding that we are prone to cognitive bias highlights the potential for contorted decisions and judgments made by even the most experienced of employees. Therefore, to meet the main goal of employee selection being that the procured talent is ideal for the organization and only exits for a reason that is independent of the firm; objective and logical reasoning is required to avoid financial implications. The aim of this study was to assess cognitive bias in employee selection at five-star hotels in Nairobi. The study was anchored on two theories: the dual process accounts of reasoning theory and the person-environment fit theory. The descriptive cross-sectional survey design was used where hand delivered questionnaires were utilized for the acquisition of primary data. Data was gathered from managers in the five-star hotels in Nairobi and analyzed through content analysis, descriptive statistics; mean, standard deviation and a multiple linear regression analysis. With an 86% response rate, it was established from the findings that there was an insignificant relationship between cognitive bias and employee selection given the 22% R Square from the regression analysis. Hotels were found to fair moderately on the outcomes of employee selection particularly on individual performance and individual and organizational goal alignment. Contrary to this, the organizations struggled to maintain their employee retention rates with reports on high turnover rates. The employee selection process was also found to bear gaps that enabled cognitive biases as rating systems depended on the manager’s perspective of the candidate as some made personal recommendations for whomever they preferred hence the recommendations to streamline the selection process so as to mitigate against the biases.