Hiring at Macquarie
Ensuring Objectivity
Purpose
An objective or unbias hiring process ensures that all candidates receive a ‘fair go’ and are evaluated on a level playing field.
Ways to overcome biases
Be aware of them:
- Recognise that even the most experienced of interviewers can be susceptible to biases and the first, most critical step is to be aware of this.
- Familiarise yourself with the types of biases listed below.
- When you come to rate a candidate’s performance, do a brief check to ensure you’re not falling into these traps.
Cross check your ratings:
- The biggest advantage of selection committees is the opportunity to ‘sense check’ your ratings of interview responses with other members of the committee.
- After each interview and series of interviews, talk through your ratings of interview responses and candidate performance as a committee.
- Where there are discrepancies, ask each other to provide a rationale for your ratings.
Structure the interview:
- Take the time to prepare an interview guide using the Interview Guide Template and the Interview Question Bank.
- Develop or select a set of questions that are directly linked to the selection criteria.
- Ensure that all committee members have and use the same questions for each interview.
Take notes:
- A crucial mistake often made during interviews is that committee members don’t take sufficient notes.
- Don’t rely on your memory.
- Record the candidate’s responses verbatim and in as much detail as possible. This will enable a clearer, less biased and more objective review process.
Remember that all notes that you take during the interview are an official part of the documentation for the selection process, may be stored within Taleo and can be discoverable under some circumstances. Keep them factual. Note - the Selection Committee Report must be stored in Taleo.
Use reference checks:
- Conduct verbal reference checks after the interview.
- This is a great way of verifying the information you have collected during the interview and addressing any gaps or areas of concern.
Take into account all information:
- When reviewing each candidate, consider all of the information you have collected.
- Go back to the resume and responses to selection criteria.
- Review your interview notes. Read through the reference check notes.
- Use all of this information to help you form an overall picture of the candidate’s level of match to the selection criteria and suitability for the role.
types of biases
Some of the main types of biases that can impact our effectiveness in a selection process include:
- Central tendency: rating all of the candidate’s responses as being mid range or average.
- Horn effect: generalising one negative aspect of the candidate to all areas.
- Halo effect: generalising one positive aspect of the candidate to all areas.
- Primacy/initial impression: sticking to your initial impression of the candidate despite contrary evidence.
- Recency/latest behaviour: placing greater weight on the most recently collected examples and observations.
- Harshness/strict rating: generally viewing the candidate's behaviour in a negative light or consistently rating the candidate's responses lower than other selection committee members.
- Leniency: generally viewing the candidate's behaviour in a positive light or consistently rating the candidate’s responses higher than other selection committee members.
- Projection/same as me: rating candidates who are similar to you as higher than candidates who are different to you.
- Stereotyping/different to me: allowing personal biases arising from stereotyped views of various types of people to distort your view of the behaviour you see.