As a small business owner, you may make hiring decisions alone, or have someone else manage the process for you. But if your organization grows past a certain size, it makes sense to form a selection committee to help prevent bias and ensure equal opportunity for all applicants. This can be done in a variety of ways, including asking peer leaders or managers from other departments to serve on the team. It is important to include as many different perspectives as possible on the committee, in order to make sure that all priorities are taken into account.
Selection committees are a common practice in many businesses, but they can also be a source of controversy. This is because they can often introduce unintentional bias in the form of “criteria-shifting,” where a decision maker will shift the criteria used to evaluate nominees to align with their own preferences and opinions. To avoid this, it is best to agree on the criteria before committee members review nominations and choose a winner.
In the case of the College Football Playoff Selection Committee, there are 13 members who produce rankings that are then used to determine which teams advance to the NCAA Championship Game on Selection Weekend. This number was chosen to allow for a diversity of viewpoints, geographical representation and active discussion.
The committee meets regularly, usually on Mondays and Tuesdays to rank teams. They do this through an extensive analysis of statistics, which is often very complex and involves a great deal of debate. For example, some committee members prioritize winning above all else while others may pay more attention to things like defense or strength of schedule. Ultimately, the committee is trying to leave no stone unturned, and they want to be as confident in their choices when they release them publicly.
It is common for a team to not receive as high of a ranking as it might expect, due to the fact that there are so many variables at play. This can create some tension for fans, but it is a reflection of the difficulty in creating a list that everyone will agree with. The final rankings are typically determined using a combination of head-to-head matchups, championships won, SEC and Big Ten rules, conference standing and results of shared matchups.
Another key piece of the process is avoiding rematches and making sure that each region has an equal number of top seeds. The committee also considers other factors, such as a school’s proximity to the site of the championship game, and how it is ranked by the S-curve system.
The committee does a thorough job of checking for conflicts of interest, and recusing themselves when necessary. This includes ensuring that committee members do not have any personal or professional relationships with the applicant, or that they are working at a company associated with the application. If there is any doubt, a member should report a conflict of interest, and the chair will make a determination about whether the conflict is serious enough to warrant recusal.