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How to Create Effective Hiring Rubrics

Cate MorrisonOctober 1, 2021

We just covered why to use rubrics. We’ve discussed how the impact of biases (cognitive or not) can be reduced by the strategic use of rubrics. So, now let’s talk about how to create rubrics.

Aspects of a Rubric

There are 3 important aspects of a rubric. These are:

Criteria: the traits and attributes that will be assessed
Descriptors: the characteristics associated with each trait and attribute
Performance Levels: a rating scale that identifies the applicant’s level of mastery within each criterion

Holistic and Analytic Rubrics

The second key piece that you’ll need to consider is the type of rubric you’d like to use. There are two major categories of rubrics:

Holistic:
- Common for group interview processes
- A single score is provided based on the evaluator’s overall perception of the quality of the performance
- Useful when only one attribute is being evaluated, as they detail different levels of performance within a single attribute
- Allows quick scoring
- Does not provide detailed feedback
Analytic:
- More common for interviews with intentionally designed questions
- Scores are provided for several different criteria that are being evaluated
- More detailed feedback/notes about the applicant and their interview answers/performance
- Scoring is usually more consistent

Steps to Creating an Strategic and Effective Rubrics

#1: Identify the skills and knowledge that your staff should demonstrate.

Consider these questions as your get started:

What knowledge and skills are required to do the job?
Of the list from question 1, what can be trained?
Of the list from question 1, what do candidates need as a base level of understanding/knowledge?
What behaviors are indicative of those skills?
How can you group the skills, knowledge, and attributes into distinct and meaningful categories?

#2: Choose 3-5 categories to evaluate.

Of the list you created in Step 1, decide what’s most important to your evaluation.

#3: Choose your evaluation criteria.

Some examples include:

Poor>>>>>>>Minimal>>>>>>>Sufficient>>>>>>>Above Average>>>>>>>Excellent

Novice>>>>>>>Intermediate>>>>>>>Proficient>>>>>>>Distinguished>>>>>>>Master

Unacceptable>>>>>>>Poor>>>>>>>Satisfactory>>>>>>>Good>>>>>>>Excellent

#4: Define each level.

Each level should be accompanied by a description of the ideals and provide examples for the evaluators. Your descriptions should be parallel, observable, and measurable.

#5: Test and revise.

You cannot do this alone and you need to iterate. Your first iteration will miss the mark on some evaluations, so it’s critical that you leave time to evaluate and revise before training your evaluators.

#6: Train your evaluators.

Do not skip this step. Even if you believe your rubric is air-tight and very clear, it’s important to teach your evaluators how to use it and ensure everyone interprets your rubric in the same way. Do a couple of test interviews and see how well the rubric holds up. This process is also critical in developing trust amongst your evaluators. Seeing the consistency of the rubrics assures people that no matter who conducts the interview, the candidate is receiving a fair and equitable evaluation.

#7: You’re golden!

Try it out and see how it goes. Take notes on how the questions and answers align with the interview and how the scoring has played into your decision-making. It’s important to review and revise the rubric after your process.

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