Fair Hiring Practices: Does Your Interview Process Reflect Your Employer Brand?

A strong employer brand helps organisations attract talent. However, employer branding is more than words on your careers page; it should reflect the actual experiences of employees and candidates. Fair hiring practices play a critical role in sharing these experiences, ensuring employer-brand promises translate into reality for candidates.

Every recruitment touchpoint, from the job advertisement and application form to the interview room, tells a story about your organisation’s values, culture, and commitment to fairness. Interviews are particularly important, as this is often the touchpoint where candidates interact most closely with representatives of your organisation.

But what happens when a candidate’s experience does not match the promise?

Imagine a careers page proudly declares:

"We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities and fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace. We do not discriminate based on factors such as race, religion, sex and age…"

Yet, in the interview room, a candidate is told: 

"This role requires frequent travel, and is therefore better suited to someone who is single and without family responsibilities."

With Singapore’s landmark Workplace Fairness Act (WFA), such contradictions are more than reputational concerns. If they lead to adverse employment decisions based on protected characteristics (e.g. age, disability), there may be legal consequences.

This article aims to help employers examine whether their shortlisting and interview processes and practices truly reflect the non-discriminatory and inclusive values they promote, so that actions match words and support readiness for compliance when the WFA comes into force.

Fair Hiring Practices: From Promise to Practice - Mirror Tests for Non-Discriminatory Shortlisting & Interviews

Use the mirror-test statements below to assess whether your organisation can say with confidence that…

Using Fair, Consistent and Objective Criteria 

• We use objective, job-related selection criteria. Our criteria are based on factors such as skills and experience that are aligned with the job requirements.
• We apply the same criteria to all candidates. Shortlisting criteria are applied fairly and consistently across all candidates for the same role, and at all times during the shortlisting process. 
• We consider protected characteristics only when strictly necessary. Protected characteristics are considered only when they are a genuine requirement of a job or necessary to support national objectives.
• We do not rely on assumptions for job requirements. If information cannot be found in the resumes, we make the effort to clarify and gather more information from candidates. We avoid assumptions as this could lead to exclusionary decisions. 

Conducting Fair Job Interviews

• We use competency-based interview questions. Our interview questions target a specific skill or competency required for the job. 
• We collect information with intent and care. We exercise diligence and sensitivity when collecting information from the candidate and avoid vague or redundant questions. Each interview question is asked with a clear purpose linked to assessing the candidate’s suitability for the role.
• We use a diverse interview panel. We bring together individuals from different demographics such as age, sex, job levels to ensure multiple perspectives and eliminate bias in the interview process.
• We are clear about the purpose of multiple rounds of interviews. Where there are multiple rounds of interviews, we have:
  • Clear criteria for when additional rounds are needed, e.g. based on seniority of role, type of skills required, etc.
  • Clear shortlisting criteria and outcomes for each round of interview, e.g. to assess suitability for leadership roles, etc. These criteria are applied consistently across all candidates and communicated to all interviewers. 
• We train interviewers in fair hiring and WFA obligations. Our interviewers are trained and competent in fair hiring practices, including awareness of biases, Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices and WFA obligations.
• We use a candidate evaluation form during interviews. Interviewers assess each candidate’s suitability against the established selection criteria, ensuring fair, consistent, and well-documented hiring decisions.
• We keep proper records. We maintain records of each interview, assessment process and job offers made, and retain these records for at least one year. 

Ensuring Fair and Job-Relevant Pre-Placement Tests

• We use tests only when they serve a clear purpose. Any tests used are related to the job requirements and are effective in ascertaining a good fit for the job and overall work environment.
• We review tests regularly for relevance and fairness. We ensure tests administered remain relevant and are not biased in content or scoring, e.g. unintentionally filtering out or penalising certain demographics such as females or older candidates.
• We follow a structured scoring guide. We use a structured and consistent scoring guide so that potential candidates are ranked and shortlisted objectively.

To “tell the same story”, organisations must ensure that the way candidates are treated and the signals they receive across the hiring process, from shortlisting to testing and interviews, match the values they stand for. When experience reflects the stated commitments to fairness and inclusion, organisations strengthen trust, protect their employer brand, and minimise WFA-related compliance risks. 

Closing the Gaps

If you answered "no" or "not sure" to any of the mirror-test statements, here are some resources that can help you start addressing gaps:

• TAFEP’s Fair Recruitment Checklist, which offers practical guidance for strengthening shortlisting and interviewing practices, and 
• The FPE Index Workplace Fairness Module, which helps you assess your organisation’s readiness for the WFA. 

Aligning your processes and practices with your promises is not just good branding, it is now a legal imperative.

If you are unsure of your organisation’s obligations under the WFA, you can attend TAFEP’s "Navigating Workplace Fairness" briefing or complete the upcoming e-learning courseware, "Workplace Fairness Act Module 1: Workplace Discrimination and Legislative Requirements", to gain a better understanding of the Act.