If your recruiting team is concentrating on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, you’re in good company. According to a new Aptitude Research report, more than half (58%) of organizations say improving DEI is a priority this year. They’re implementing training for hiring teams, using bias-free job descriptions, and including DEI statements on their career sites. However, though most companies (93%) recognize the need to reduce bias in their hiring process, few proactively do it. Using a talent analytics platform like Modern Hire is a proven, measurable strategy for reducing bias at every step in the hiring process.
Change hiring decision-making with technology and trust.
Bias in the context of hiring means prejudice against specific characteristics that are unrelated to job performance. Even when hiring decision-makers are aware of bias and work to avoid it, unconscious bias is influential. There are at least 100 identified types of cognitive biases and heuristics that affect human thinking and decision-making. However, advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and talent analytics make it possible to identify and reduce bias in hiring and generate bias-free hiring data. The following strategies enable hiring teams to make measurable progress on DEI initiatives by shifting to data-driven decision-making on candidate selection and hiring.
Move to a virtual hiring platform.
Modern Hire’s science-based hiring platform eliminates bias with AI and talent analytics. Modern Hire’s Virtual Job Tryouts™ deliver data that is predictive of candidates’ future job performance. These pre-hire assessments focus exclusively on the competencies that drive performance in a specific role and leave irrelevant factors outside of the process. When hiring teams use this data in their decisions, they have scientific validation that they are hiring the candidates most qualified for the role. Use of Modern Hire’s platform also drives consistency in hiring to create a fair process for all candidates. Every candidate walks through the same steps in hiring in the same way, from initial text interviews to on-demand interviews and pre-hire assessments. Even structure and unstructured interview responses can be evaluated consistently and accurately by Modern Hire’s platform using AI techniques.
Measure, track, adjust with talent analytics.
To reduce bias in their hiring process, teams need to put diversity metrics and tracking in place and utilize talent analytics to identify areas for improvement. Examine diversity within every recruiting metric by looking at the percentage of diverse candidates who:
- Applied for a job
- Dropped off the process
- Completed an assessment
- Were given a job offer
- Accepted the job offer
Also, track the percentage of campaigns directed toward diverse hires and diverse applicants’ candidate satisfaction rates.
Do the same for post-hire metrics, such as first-year performance and first-year retention. Modern Hire’s platform connects this pre-hire and post-hire data with the use of talent analytics. This analysis can be used to identify ongoing adjustments needed to remove bias and ensure that protected groups of candidates score similarly.
Build trust with transparency
Science-based AI tools and a talent analytics approach allow recruiting teams to transform hiring and advance DEI initiatives like never before. This work goes even more smoothly when recruiting teams make an intentional effort to build trust with their stakeholders in their AI use. For candidates, this means informing them when and how AI is being used in hiring. Modern Hire research into candidates’ attitudes about the use of AI in hiring indicates that when candidates receive a thorough explanation of how AI is used in evaluation, they are more likely to view AI as a fair, ethical, and bias-free approach for vetting job candidates. Being transparent about AI and educating candidates about its use could increase candidates’ consent to AI in hiring.
Building trust is also essential with hiring managers, and again, transparency can have a positive impact. The Aptitude Research study found that 50% of organizations currently do not trust their data sources. However, hiring managers, TA leaders, and senior leaders increased trust with data transparency. For hiring managers, transparency means their recruiting teams can explain clearly and in plain language how the AI they are using in hiring works. They should be able to demonstrate it is not repeating or introducing bias into the hiring process.
Bias prevents organizations from building the best workforce possible, and more organizations are now recognizing just how costly bias can be. However, 46% of organizations say that they’ve seen a significant improvement in their DEI initiatives with their use of science-based talent analytics. More than half of companies have also seen improvement in their quality of hire and overall decision-making.
To learn more about the advantages of a talent analytics approach in the post-pandemic business world, download Redefining Success: Talent Analytics for the Future.
If you’d like to talk about applying talent analytics in your organization, request a personal demonstration by Modern Hire today.