Professional bias has become a bit of a hot topic recently with the federal government’s demands to auditors and auditing firms to show how they remove biases from their evaluations. The goal is to see how eliminating bias can lead to more accurate identification of inaccuracies and fraud. This subject though can apply to any part of the business world and is important to identify for continued business success.

First things first: no matter what profession you are in, realize that the easiest person to convince is always yourself. We rationalize everything including, and especially, the irrational. In order to truly understand customers, bosses, employees, etc. we must try to think as they do. Which means removing many of the biases we have that can cloud and sway our judgment. Obviously, this is easily said and very poorly done, partly because we do not know what those biases are. In order to move forward, the company and individual employees need to do self-evaluations and pinpoint what biases they possess. This can be done through quizzes, presentations, interviews, etc. Put the time and effort that is necessary to do it because any effort on your part, and the company’s part, is better than blindly going through not understanding why others are not agreeing with you.

Understanding professional bias is imperative in today’s business world with the rise of the millennial work generation and their fight for equality. Do not let your company be labeled as old fashioned or unapproachable because you do not understand your biases and how to appeal to the modern clientele. Customers and potential employees want to see the effort put into understanding biases and working through them instead of settling for less than acceptable work or conditions. Remember, these huge accounting firms the government-sanctioned struggle with it, you probably will as well, but try. This is what is going to allow your company to continue to grow and succeed in the current market.