Reduce Bias in Selection & Hiring
The diversity validity dilemma says that some of the best predictors in hiring have the greatest adverse impact. Here's a review of 16 strategies to reduce bias in selection rates and how well they work based on Holz et al. Implement these in your hiring.
1. Use alternatives like SJTs: Works.
2. Use educational achievement instead of cognitive ability: Not effective.
3. Use specific abilities (e.g. verbal) instead of overall ability: Works, but not by much.
4. Assess more skills, not just ability (e.g. personality): Effective method.
5. Treat similar scores as the same: Best if there is minority preference within bands.
6. Downweight ability scores, upweight others: Works.
7. Emphasise predictors of contextual performance in decisions: Works.
8. Lower the requirements on reasoning, e.g. use video assessments: Works.
9. Use items no more or less familiar to any group: Ineffective.
10. Differential item functioning checks: Ineffective.
11. Sensitivity review panels: Depends on the process.
12. Remove time limits: Unclear.
13. Retesting: Does not work well.
14. Practice tests: Small improvements.
15 Increase minority applicants: On its own leads to small improvements.
16. Efforts to increase minority group motivation: Small reductions.
