When Designing Solutions, Details Matter

When the government of Singapore conducted a simple experiment to collect money owed from employers of foreign workers, it understood that humans don't evaluate anything in absolute terms. In a field experiment, it sent half of the defaulting employers a tax payment reminder on white paper and the other half of employers received a reminder letter printed on pink paper. What happened? A far greater percentage of the employers receiving the pink letter paid up. Why? Human judgments are comparative. The white paper is undifferentiated and piles up with other white paper received, while the pink paper recalls comparisons. How does this insight into human behavior impact the ability of organizations to access 100% of the talent pool and attract the best candidates? Perhaps a review of the recruitment and hiring processes would be a good start.