8 Steps to Diversity and Inclusion in Assessment
8 Best Practice steps to ensure fairness and equality of opportunity for all candidates.
67% of job seekers consider workplace diversity an important factor when considering employment opportunities, and more than 50% of current employees want their workplace to do more to increase diversity.1
Workplaces that have a strong diversity and inclusion (D&I) policies are likely to promote better employee wellbeing, performance, staff retention and development and creativity. “Diversity unequivocally improves the likelihood of your team performing well.” Vivian Hunt, Managing Partner, McKinsey in Britain and Ireland.
But how can businesses ensure every candidate has an equal opportunity?
“We need to look at people as individuals…individuals bring diversity into the workplace.” Angus McDonald, Director of Realise Potential
Including psychometric tests like the Watson Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal is a great way to give every candidate an equal chance. Psychometric tests help to reduce bias because they are standardised and objective unlike other methods such as interviews. Taking into account variations in personality, values, learning styles, for example, is very important “though often a ‘hidden’ and so overlooked, form of diversity”, highlights Angus McDonald in our recent Q&A. And it’s management that plays a key role in creating a culture that supports and encourages D&I – one should not exist without the other.
In order to maximise the effectiveness of psychometric and mechanical comprehension tests, there are several best practice steps that organisations should incorporate over time.
- Job analysis
- Validation study
- Evaluate adverse impact
- Combine assessments
- Re-examine cut scores
- Differential validity
- Reasonable adjustments
- Practice tests
In any assessment process, it’s important to consider issues of fairness and equality of opportunity to give every candidate an equal chance to do their best, and for legal and ethical reasons. To learn more: Download our whitepaper Diversity and Inclusion in Assessment.
1. https://blog.bonus.ly/diversity-inclusion-statistics