It can be hard to believe, especially considering media coverage of some of the most spectacular AI-related hiring failures, but organizations can use AI to drastically and permanently reduce bias in hiring.
How do we know? We’ve got the proof. The study results are in; Modern Hire’s AI-enabled Virtual Job Tryout assessment measurably increases diversity of new hires.
What Ethical AI in Hiring Looks Like
Before the big reveal of results, let’s take a quick step back to Modern Hire’s approach to AI in hiring. Back in the early days of AI being explored for recruitment and hiring, it was apparent to Modern Hire’s team of PhD-level I-O psychologists that the development of AI tools could easily outpace the development of organizational policies guiding their use. AI’s potential to improve hiring was (and still is) so exciting – could we wait for the validation studies to catch up?
Our answer to that question was the creation and commitment to Modern Hire’s Six Principles for Ethical AI and Algorithms in Hiring. These principles guide the development of software and assessments at Modern Hire. In addition, Moden Hire supports ethical hiring through:
- A unique Glass-Box Science™ approach that provides visibility into how data is collected and used
- Use of closed-loop design for continually monitoring and adjusting for adverse impact
- Our I-O team’s ongoing scientific investigation into the use of advanced applied AI technology and publication of these findings in peer-reviewed scientific outlets.
AI That Benefits Candidates and Organizations
Developing AI used for the benefit of candidates and organizations is one of the tenets that helps Modern Hire create tangible results, such as reducing bias to levels even lower than what’s possible with humans.
For candidates, this means a fairer hiring process and a greater likelihood that best-fit candidates based on predicted future job performance will consistently be selected. It also means asking for the candidates’ informed consent to use AI to evaluate their responses and ensuring candidates are not penalized if they opt-out of AI-assisted evaluation.
For enterprise clients, reducing bias creates legal and ethical defensibility, which reduces risk. It also ensures organizations are hiring their most productive, diverse workforce possible, and that fair hiring sets them apart from other employers seeking the same candidates.
Modern Hire AI Tools That Reduce Bias in Hiring
Our commitment to the ethical use of AI in hiring from day one translates into an intelligent hiring platform and tools supporting fair hiring processes and reducing bias in candidate selection. Here’s a look at two of these proven tools:
- Automated Interview Scoring is a game-changing advance that uses best-in-class models to understand language in the context of an interview. It is assistive AI that helps hiring teams make data-driven decisions by analyzing candidate interview responses and recommending scores based on job-relevant data and competencies linked to job success. Automated Interview Scoring reduces interview bias by more than three times that of a human, increasing the likelihood that only the best candidates are selected.
- The Virtual Job Tryout® is a pre-hire assessment that helps hiring teams evaluate candidates based on objective, job-relevant data, and demonstrated abilities. The Tryout creates engaging, personal hiring experiences for candidates that feel fair because it is fair. It has been validated through hundreds of scientific studies as predictive of future job success. Real-world results underscore that using the Modern Hire Virtual Job Tryout reduces hiring bias.
Virtual Job Tryout & Pharmacy Technician Hiring
Modern Hire developed a Virtual Job Tryout tailored to the pharmacy technician role for one of the nation’s largest healthcare organizations. Use of the Tryout helped this client measurably improve new-hire productivity: Technicians who scored in the top 30% on the assessment were more likely to be rated as a Top Performer by the organization and have an above-average rating on Applies Technical Knowledge.
This client can be sure it is hiring the candidates most likely to succeed in the role by using a quality, unbiased data source – the Virtual Job Tryout – as part of the hiring team’s candidate selection and job offer decision-making.
If you’d like to know more about the impact of ethical and fair hiring practices, read our latest white paper, How to Hire Right When You are Starved for Candidates.