Cappfinity provide a unique set of accessibility and diversity features that can be deployed across our technology and assessment stack as appropriate for client requirements.
Accessibility Standards and External Audit
Diverse Delivery Teams
Our assessment, data science, design and engineering teams are all diverse by reference to gender, ethnicity, disability and neurodiversity. Our own first-hand experiences ensure we have empathy.
Award-winning Diversity and Inclusion
We are proud to have won numerous awards with our clients for diversity and inclusion, from Race for Opportunity, the Institute of Student Employers, Target Jobs and the CIPD.
Disability: Independent, External Audit
We have worked with disability specialists, the Digital Accessibility Centre, to provide independent, external audits of our assessments and solutions – audited by people with disabilities to deliver their first-hand experience, feedback and recommendations.
Neurodiversity: Independent, External Audit
We have worked with neurodiversity experts, Lexxic, to provide independent, external audits of our assessments and solutions – audited by people with neurodiverse conditions to deliver their first-hand experience, feedback and recommendations.
Accessibility by Design – VPAT and WCAG 2.2 AA / AAA
Cappfinity assessments are accessible by design, supported by external independent audits from partners including Lexxic and the Digital Accessibility Centre. We have independent, external VPAT (Voluntary Product Accessibility Template) completion, and work extensively with clients to meet their needs for WCAG 2.2 AA / AAA compliance.
DEI Technology and Design
Continuous Accessibility Testing
We use Playwright for continuous accessibility testing, to ensure that our products meet web accessibility standards and guidelines wherever appropriate.
Item Type Variety
By intentional design, we use a variety of item response types, to recognize, reward and celebrate the diversity of learning styles that exists in the world. This ensures that every user has the opportunity to resonate with the content being presented to them, and to respond in the best way.
Assessment UI Variation
Employing a range of different UIs and user interactions throughout the assessment, to ensure candidates need to remain focused and engaged, and so are unable to access an AI assistant. This has the added benefit of supporting accessibility through being a significant positive for diverse learning styles.
Closed Captions Text for Video and Auditory Resources
We provide closed captions text and subtitles for video and auditory resources, allowing people to access the content they need to in whatever way is right for them.
Clear and Distinct Information Presentation
We use high contrast colours, clear differentiation and strong borders, to ensure that people can easily and naturally distinguish between information types, whether they have a visual impairment, or any variant of colour-blindness, or not.
Visible Clarity of Font and Labelling
We use clear and consistent labelling for buttons and navigation elements, with minimum font sizes and accessible font styles.
Visual Design for Usability and Legibility
We design for enhanced layouts to provide clear information hierarchies, improved proximity of related actions, and progressive information disclosure as people move through the user experience.
We design for compatibility with assistive technologies wherever possible, including screen readers, keyboard navigation and dictation software.
Candidate Preparation, Inclusion and Assistive Technologies
Accommodating Reasonable Adjustments
We offer a variety of alternative assessment formats and solutions to accommodate the range of reasonable adjustments that candidates may need, depending on their specific circumstances and requirements. Working with our clients, there is always a solution.
User-led Navigation
We design assessment and development experiences that enable the user to choose their own individualized path to completion, rather than forcing a one-size-fits-all, step-by-step linear approach. This diversity of navigation supports the diversity of candidates and users.
Progression in User Experience
We use progressive disclosure of rules and examples, to help people build their confidence and expand their knowledge as they progress through the user experience.
Warm-up Items
Cappfinity assessments can include warm-up items to help candidates get comfortable with the assessment format, before they start being scored on their responses.
Candidate Preparation Outcomes
Client results show that candidates who used the Preparation Plus site achieved consistently higher assessment scores. This is especially the case for female candidates, candidates with a disability, and Black heritage candidates – delivering significantly positive diversity outcomes.
Candidate Preparation
To reduce anxiety, especially in candidates with disabilities or who are neurodiverse, we advise they visit our free-access Preparation Hub. We also offer employers a customised Preparation Plus site to reflect their unique assessment process.
Assessment Design for Diversity and Accessibility
Time Adjustment in Timed Assessments
We have the flexibility to adjust the time allocation for timed assessments, whether they are time-recorded or time-limited, and whether time is used in scoring or not. This ensures that time to completion is never a barrier to accessibility for any user.
Time-recorded Assessment
We use time-recorded, as distinct from time-limited, assessment where time is a factor. We give people the time they need, and reflect this in their scoring, rather than restricting the time they can have.
Time-free Assessment
We use time-free assessment wherever possible, giving candidates as long as they need to complete the assessment at their own pace and on their own terms.
Cognitive Assessment at the Correct Stage
Recognizing from the academic literature that cognitive assessment is where group differences are more likely to be found, we introduce this later in the process to minimize differences.
Modular Assessment Design
Our modular assessment design enables candidates with requirements for reasonable adjustments to complete the process online where appropriate for them, and by using alternative assessment forms where they need to.
Multi-Modal Assessment
Assessment design using different modes and formats of content presentation, to vary the user experience and improve user engagement. Also supports accessibility by design, with different modalities of assessment being a significant positive for diverse learning styles.
Assessment Design and Development
The design and development of our assessments have accessibility, diversity and inclusion at their core. We conduct extensive user research, data collection and item validation to ensure that the final product is accessible to and inclusive of all users.
Legal Compliance
Effect Sizes and the 4/5 Rule
We use the established metrics of effect sizes and the 4/5 (or four-fifths) rule to benchmark group differences against. Effect sizes are the more reliable statistical metric, but the 4/5 rule has become widely used through its legal provenance in the United States.
Evidence-based, Rules-based Decisions
We make evidence-based and rules-based decisions to ensure that all candidates are treated equally, without fear or favour. Combine this with our inclusive design, and we offer the most level playing field that can be achieved.
Job Analysis for Explicit Job Relevance
We use our proprietary Futuremark methodology to conduct job analysis, focusing on what is truly required and job-relevant for the role, to avoid rejecting candidates for criteria that don’t matter.
Experienced with Legal Counsel
We are well-experienced in working with your Legal Counsel, to input to the legal parameters in the design of your selection process, and to advise on what we see happening in best practice for diversity and inclusion.
Compliance across Multiple International Jurisdictions
With client delivery across Europe, North America, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific, we are well-versed in working with client to ensure compliance with local diversity laws and requirements.
DEI Data Benchmarking
Peer-reviewed Diversity Publications
Cappfinity teams have published peer-reviewed publications on diversity benchmarking in the context of assessment and selection, including Assessment and Development Matters, published by the British Psychological Society.
Group Differences Analyses
Throughout selection campaigns, we support clients with group differences analyses to track the performance of different groups through the assessment process. This helps ensure we meet client needs that balance diversity, predictive validity and efficiency.
Diversity Dashboard
Our Diversity Dashboard allows you to compare scores and progression by gender, ethnicity, disability, neurodiversity and social background.
Student Outcomes Diversity Benchmarking
Using data sources from HESA (Higher Education Statistics Agency) and the Office for Students, our proprietary data analyses show the ‘inbound’ state of diversity and inclusion for graduates entering into the graduate recruitment process. This gives the diversity starting point from which we show the improvements delivered by our selection processes.
General Population Skills Data Comparisons
Through our Strengths Profile skills data, we have unique and proprietary skills data comparisons with the general population – by sector, by country and by employment level, including students.
