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When the Hiring Boss Is an Algorithm

Posted by Soulskill on from the doesn't-care-why-manhole-covers-are-round dept.

Hugh Pickens writes "Joseph Walker writes at the WSJ that although personality tests have a long history in hiring, sophisticated software has now made it possible to evaluate more candidates, amass more data and peer more deeply into applicants' personal lives and interests. This allows employers to predict specific outcomes, such as whether a prospective hire will quit too soon, file disability claims, or steal. For example after a half-year trial that cut attrition by a fifth, Xerox now leaves all hiring for its 48,700 call-center jobs to software. Xerox used to pay lots of attention to applicants who had done the job before. Then, an algorithm told the company that experience doesn't matter. It determined what does matter in a good call-center worker — one who won't quit before the company recoups its $5,000 investment in training. By putting applicants through a battery of tests and then tracking their job performance, Evolv has developed a model for the ideal call-center worker (PDF). The data recommend a person who lives near the job, has reliable transportation and uses one or more social networks, but not more than four. He or she tends not to be overly inquisitive or empathetic, but is creative. 'Some of the assumptions we had weren't valid,' says Connie Harvey, Xerox's chief operating officer of commercial services. However, data-based hiring can expose companies to legal risk. Practices that even unintentionally filter out older or minority applicants can be illegal under federal equal opportunity laws. If a hiring practice is challenged in court as discriminatory, a company must show the criteria it is using are proven to predict success in the job."

3 of 245 comments (clear)

  1. Tell me about it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I had a hell of a time landing a federal position in the department that I had been working for years as a contractor because the automated system at OPM kept kicking my resume out of the candidate pool. If you fail to get past that, then local hiring managers aren't even aware you have applied, and have no recourse. A co-worker finally gave me pointers on "faking out" the word filters, and I went from "unqualified" to "highly qualified" overnight.

    1. Re:Tell me about it by jittles · · Score: 5, Interesting

      I actually just recently applied for a part time state position teaching computer science to high school students online. The requirement was that you have a BS in CS and have a teaching credential. I was automatically rejected immediately, for not having a temporary credential. The requirement for a temporary credential? Having been offered a teaching position inside of the state. So, a req that has been open for almost a year remains unfilled because they can't hire someone with a computer science degree who doesn't have a teaching credential already. How many people are there that have a CS degree that want to teach high school? Probably not many. I thought it would be a great way to give back to the community (the pay is terrible), but I guess not. I can't even get past the computer, unless I lie about having a temporary credential. If I lie about having a temporary credential, then the law says that (upon discovering the lie), the state is barred from hiring me. What a messed up and useless system. They will probably never fill that position.

      It's too bad, too. I was willing to give up 5-10 hours a week to help out kids who want to learn. Anyone who is already teaching probably doens't want to spend that extra time with kids.

  2. Re:Reason is simple: U.S. Workers are stupid by boristdog · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I have worked in Japan, this is VERY true. During much of the work day, and especially the late afternoon/early evening was almost official goof-off time. Then everyone buckled down and got to work in the overtime hours. And if you left before 9pm you were supposed to apologize to everyone. It was weird.

    Also, many Japanese Engineers are still paid hourly instead of being salaried, so it is to their advantage to work long hours. Plus, white collar workers wore "uniforms" of some sort everywhere. Often it was just the same color pants and shirt for everyone. And it was a different color for females.

    And then there was always the morning "chant" meeting where everyone gathered and did the weird company chant. Of course when I asked my co-workers about any of these things I was always told "It's a Japanese thing."