Hiring for Effective Content Moderation
Hiring the right candidates is essential in Trust and Safety content moderation. The role of a Content Moderator is both technically and psychologically challenging.
Human moderators employ several higher cognitive functions, including concept acquisition, evaluative thinking, systematic decision–making, and rule usage. They also operate technical systems and moderation tools to manage their responsibilities successfully.
Ensuring high performance among moderation teams starts at the hiring stage. We need to deeply consider how we can ensure we find the right candidates and set them up for future success from the start of their careers.
How to Create Comprehensive Job Specifications
Sourcing the right candidates for a role in content moderation relies on job specifications that are sufficiently detailed.
It helps applicants to make an informed decision about entering a role that places them at higher risk of psychological harm.
Advertisements should be equally transparent about the nature of the role and exposure to potentially harmful online content while remaining attractive to potential applicants.
Essential Skills for Content Moderators
An ideal Content Moderator should possess the following:
- Strong language skills
- Knowledge of a specific region or market
- Ability to cope with viewing potentially harmful content
- Team-working and independent working skills
- Higher cognitive abilities
Many of these skills are often missed in job specifications.
Addressing Moderator Wellbeing
Many job descriptions overlook the need for regular engagement with wellbeing services.
While many companies highlight that there are wellbeing supports available as part of the role, they often fail to clarify that exposure to distressing content necessitates consistent use of these resources. A well-crafted job specification should:
- Set clear expectations for psychological health and wellbeing
- Emphasize the company’s commitment to employee wellbeing
- Attract candidates who value mental health support
Job ads should also stress the real-world impact of the role. Keeping online communities safe is key to finding candidates with the right motivations for entering this career and retaining them longer-term.
The Impact of Recruiters
A strong moderation team will drive the success of the business, but, more importantly, it is a necessary job to keep online platforms safe and friendly for users globally.
Your recruiters are your best asset at this stage. They can have a conversation with potential candidates to determine if they have the right language skills, technical knowledge, or motivation for the role, especially since they are exposed to reviewing different types of content.
They can also reiterate the need to engage in wellbeing supports as part of the role and screen out any applicants who clearly dismiss these supports as unnecessary.
Resiliency Skills and Higher Cognitive Abilities
In the Trust and Safety industry, candidate screening can be more complex than just assessing technical skills. We are also looking for candidates who are less susceptible to psychological harm.
No company is seeking candidates for Content Moderator roles without considering how the job will impact their psychological health and wellbeing.
Screening for resiliency is standard nowadays—however, whether we are screening for the right ability and asking the right screening questions is the real question.
How to Evaluate Resilience in Content Moderators
One can argue that since a large part of Content Moderators’ success depends on their ability to cope with viewing harmful or inappropriate content, it would be logical to screen for resilience – or the ability to adapt and bounce back after stressful events.
Resilience skills can be learned. Instead of focusing on current resiliency levels, it’s more effective to screen for candidates’ potential and willingness to develop these skills over time.
As previously discussed, strong profiles of Content Moderators also possess higher cognitive functions. These are skills that can be tested through an automated system or by outsourcing to an external organization. Ensuring potential candidates have these skills at their disposal will ensure their success and performance.
How to Conduct Candidate Interviews
When interviewing candidates for a Trust and Safety role, asking the right questions is imperative.
Hiring managers should be equipped with a question set that covers all competencies required for the role. They should also be prepared to respond to questions about the specific responsibilities of the job and the wellbeing support available.
Identifying Key Attributes
Just as a job specification should be transparent, clear, and attractive, the interview process should echo the same sentiments.
Questions should allow potential candidates to understand what skillsets they can bring to the table that will benefit the organization. A candidate’s response can reveal certain attributes. Consider asking questions that assess the following:
- Are potential candidates sufficiently self-aware?
This is a good indicator of their ability to adapt and learn resiliency skills.
- Are potential candidates excited about the opportunity to contribute to a global effort to make the internet a safer place?
This would indicate a strong motivational fit.
- Have they worked in a similar role? Can they explain how they used cognitive skills, such as concept acquisition and rule usage, in decision-making?
From a technical standpoint, these will be necessary when reviewing content violations against platform policies. If not, what other transferable skills can they highlight in their responses?
Emphasizing the Importance of Wellbeing Support
The interview stage is also a great time to reiterate the importance of engaging in wellbeing support as part of the Content Moderator role. Ask questions to determine if they are likely to:
- Engage in support-seeking behaviors
- Understand the complex and ambiguous nature of the job
- Recognize the value of wellbeing support in helping them succeed in the role.
Critical Aspects of the Recruitment Process
The recruitment and screening process for Content Moderators requires careful consideration, starting with the job specification. Each Trust and Safety team will naturally be sourcing candidates with certain strengths and skills that match the specific role they are hiring for.
In general, though, the content moderation process is complex and often ambiguous, which requires the use of higher cognitive functions to succeed.
Optimize Your Hiring with Zevo Health
If your organization needs assistance with its recruitment process, contact Zevo Health to schedule a call with our Trust and Safety team.
We offer recruitment consultancy services that include an assessment of your current strategy, tailored recommendations based on your organization’s needs, workshops with hiring teams, and resource booklets that can be reviewed time and again.
