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Mastering Talent Acquisition in a Digital Landscape: How To Improve The Quality Of Hire While Staying Compliant

In 2021, workplace misconduct caused a staggering $20 billion loss to U.S. businesses, which leaves companies with no choice but to spend substantial time and resources replacing employees engaged in misconduct, such as fraud, violence, and theft. The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) reports that replacing an employee can cost a company nearly nine months of the position’s salary.

As the market landscape continues to evolve, selecting the right candidates has become crucial, especially with the rise of remote work. According to a Career Builder survey, 70% of employers are turning to online screening as a method for assessing misconduct risk, especially as in-person interviews are becoming less common. Consequently, companies are tasked with determining how to screen candidates while adhering to compliance standards. This proves to be a difficult feat. After all, there are approximately one billion new pieces of content created online each day. Above all else, the process has serious legal ramifications if done incorrectly – and if they are doing online searches  themselves, they are already breaking the law. Worse, 54% of employers surveyed reported that content they found illegally caused them not to hire a candidate.

With that said, organizations can no longer reasonably afford to forego candidate screening in today’s digital landscape. Hiring horror stories – including some recent high-profile C-suite misconduct cases – cost companies millions, as well as diminish employee trust and overall brand reputation. It’s important that candidates not only look good on paper but that they are a good fit – and an online screening helps ensure there aren’t surprises, leading to quality hires who perform well and contribute to overall company culture. Employers, however, must do this in a way that is legally compliant, reduces bias and builds trust both within the company and with potential hires.

How to Improve the Quality of Hire and Stay Compliant

  • Internal Alignment: Before posting a job or interviewing candidates, it’s important to make sure your team is on the same page. What should that look like? First, define the role and responsibilities, including specific qualifying criteria. Discuss the hiring process and expectations, including who will be the final hiring decision-maker, who will take part in interviews, the structure of interviews for consistency and what questions are being asked (not only to make apples-to-apples comparisons with your team but also to avoid any illegal questions!). Diversify your panel to evaluate how a candidate interacts with different people and evaluate additional relevant behaviors, including their attitude, timely responses, whether they send thank you notes and anything else of significance.
  • Ensure Compliance When Screening: Familiarize yourself with legal mandates, such as the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), to ensure you are not infringing upon the privacy rights of candidates and exposing yourself to potential legal action.  The importance of exercising caution when screening candidates online cannot be overstated; there is a fine line between compliance and going down the slippery slope of invading someone’s privacy. Using a reputable third party to screen candidates is the best way to ensure you protect yourself and potential candidates because they blind you from protected class information, including race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, pregnancy status and/or disability, which are illegal to consider as part of the hiring decision. According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), you can’t ‘unring the bell’ and will knowingly or unknowingly use protected information when making a hiring decision.
  • Quality Hire vs. Qualified Hire: There’s a difference between being qualified – meeting job requirements, having the requisite knowledge and skill set, and the experience needed – and being a good cultural fit. But what does that mean in practice? It means hiring employees who follow the company code of conduct, and are ethical, engaged and productive. Reference checks of yesterday don’t always give a complete picture of candidates, so in today’s world, it’s important to go a step further. Why? Because it paints a picture of who they are and what problems might potentially arise for your company. After all, hiring a new candidate always carries some risk, at the very least, make it a calculated one. Especially in today’s online climate, everyone has the potential to access – or virally reach – a global audience.
  • Beyond the Surface of a Quality Hire: It’s easy to present a stellar resume, provide glowing references, and interview well. But hiring managers need to look deeper at candidates’ backgrounds to make sure there aren’t red flags that could negatively impact your bottom line, your reputation, or have legal repercussions. Candidates whose online activities would be considered in violation of your company’s code of conduct are likely not the right fit because those behaviors could very well bleed into the workplace. Additionally, potential hires who will be involved in any way with your company’s finances should have a clean financial background – the last thing you want is for your company to be at risk for fraud, tax violations or embezzlement claims.
  • Quantifying Qualities: While quantifying the quality of potential new hires isn’t always easy, defining data points (and tailoring them for each job position) is important to help your team stay aligned. Checking off skills and experience against the job’s responsibilities is an important first step, but the potential for misconduct should be considered, too. Candidate quality “data points” will certainly look different across industries, job roles and individual needs, but as a starting point, consider your company’s mission, vision and current code of conduct. Having a benchmark for your expectations will save you time and, ultimately, help you from hiring the wrong people from the outset. Pair these with an online screening to go a step further to ensure compatibility.
  • AI and Hiring: With the emergence of ChatGPT, deep fakes and other easily-accessible AI tools, companies need to be more diligent than ever with backgrounding their candidates. In addition to the strategic hiring processes HR teams build, integrating hiring technology can create a robust hiring procedure, but the process should never rely on it. As AI technology advances and becomes more accessible it will be easier for candidates to use tools like ChatGPT to pass initial assessments such as behavioral screenings. Using a collection of tech stacks to conduct things like video interviews, pre-hire assessments, background checks and online screening will help safeguard your hiring process. On a narrower scope, adding online screening will help identify potential instances of workplace misconduct through compliance filters and protect you from potential AI-enabled hiring pain points.

As the practice of online screening continues to evolve and individuals’ online presence expands, employers must be knowledgeable about the ethics, logistics and legality of such tools. By respecting the privacy of candidates, focusing on job-relevant data and using comprehensive and reputable screening tools, employers take a significant step towards ensuring that they are hiring the right people and avoiding workplace misconduct. Further, employers must also be aware of the potential pitfalls of online screening and avoid the common yet highly detrimental mistakes listed above.

By improving hiring processes and committing to compliance, employers can confidently navigate the complexities of online screening, making more comprehensive decisions that help them hire the right people the first time. By taking a prudent approach to online screening, businesses can minimize risks associated with workplace misconduct and assemble exceptional teams, helping their organizations grow.

How to Successfully Build Your Employer Brand

To provide you with the most effective employer branding initiatives, we’ve gathered insights from professionals, including employer branding partners, CEOs and founders. From taking the “Teams Way” approach to implementing virtual mentorship for professional development, these leaders share the successful initiatives they’ve implemented at their companies. Dive in to discover strategies that could transform your company’s employer branding.

Take the “Teams Way” Approach

Four years ago, together with NFQ Technologies, we started a recruitment marketing campaign called “Teams Way.” We all know that people want to join people. Each of us is special, thus together with our colleagues, we create unique teams. So at NFQ, we branded most of the tech teams and put them into the spotlight of social media for a couple of weeks by presenting them from different angles and topics.

First of all, “Teams Way” aimed to engage an internal audience by having entertaining outdoor workshops and photoshoots, each team member voting for their team logo, etc. And secondly, it was an incredibly valuable tool for the recruitment team to receive more applications from talented tech people and to increase head-hunting campaigns’ success rate. I think that the key strength of the campaign was its continuity; it lasted for three years or longer.

Jurgita Juškienė
Employer Branding Partner

Try the “Great Place to Work” Initiative

During and post the Covid pandemic and the Great Resignation, we were losing employees at a high of about 52% at one point, employee morale was low, so we needed to not only turn around the culture but figure out a way to recruit employees.

I implemented a Great Place to Work initiative (at every company I worked at) to transform the organization and focused on winning the Great Place to Work Certification/Award, which lists the company as the Best 100 Companies to Work.  Within six months, we went from a 46% approval rate to 85% within 6 months, won the Certification Award and reduced turnover from 52% to 18%.

It improved our recruiting power, morale, employee satisfaction and engagement and diverse hires including two top women C-roles.  By achieving this Award/Certification, we were able to show, externally and internally, that we are a Great Place to Work which everyone wants to work for.  The better your hires, the better your products and service and improved revenue in the end.

Kay Ozaki
HR Executive

Integrate Core Values into Operations

One of the most successful employer branding initiatives of our digital marketing agency is the truthful integration of our core values in operations.

And our top company core value would be GRATITUDE. It is embedded in our way of work and living. When you put the words up on your wall, it is motivating, but when the practice reaches the entire depth and breadth of the organization, it becomes transformative.

In our case, we do not just feel grateful when we receive a favor. We have honestly been shown to walk in gratitude so in every moment in each opportunity, we breathe with thanks.

Tristan Harris
Demand Generation Senior Marketing Manager, Thrive Digital Marketing Agency

Spotlight Excellence with an “Author of the Month” Program

One successful employer branding initiative at Authors On Mission is our “Author of the Month” program. Every month, we spotlight one team member who has gone above and beyond in helping our clients tell their stories. We showcase their work on our social media platforms, company website and internal newsletter.

This not only recognizes and appreciates their hard work but also reinforces our company culture of excellence and collaboration. The initiative has significantly enhanced our employer branding, increasing team morale, fostering a culture of recognition and attracting talented professionals who align with our mission.

Vikrant Shaurya
CEO, Authors On Mission

Enhance Employees’ Personal Brands for Growth

Our employer brand strategy is uniquely focused on enhancing our employees’ personal brands. We assist in optimizing their online profiles, encouraging them to write expert blogs and facilitating interviews with top publications.

This strengthens their professional growth while promoting our organizational visibility. Boosting employees’ confidence, these efforts help to attract potential talent by showcasing our culture, values and the caliber of professionals we nurture.

Steve Dinelli
Founder, MarketerInterview.com

Highlight Career Growth Opportunities through Media

An organization can effectively highlight career growth opportunities through mediums such as videos, blog posts and interviews.

At Vantage Circle, we showcase employee testimonials and experiences on social platforms and media publications. Employee testimonials in the form of video representation not only build trust, giving potential candidates insights into employee experiences but also capture emotions and provide a visual representation of the work environment. Similarly, blog posts offer detailed accounts of individual journeys, reflecting the company’s support for development. Interviews, in written or video format, provide an interactive and personal touch.

By leveraging these mediums, Vantage Circle humanizes the organization, demonstrates employee satisfaction and attracts top talent seeking a positive work environment. Vantage Circle maintains a transparent sharing of employee feedback through its employee survey platform as well.

Anjan Pathak
CTO and Co-Founder, Vantage Circle

Foster Employee Advocacy for Brand Impact

As a CEO, one successful employer branding initiative we have implemented at our company is creating a strong employee advocacy program. We recognize that our employees are our best brand ambassadors and their positive experiences can significantly impact our employer brand.

To foster employee advocacy, we have developed a comprehensive program that encourages employees to share their experiences, achievements and insights about working at our company on various platforms, including social media and industry events. We provide training and resources to help them effectively communicate our company’s values, culture and opportunities for professional growth.

Additionally, we celebrate and recognize employee achievements through internal communication channels and external recognition programs.

Sai Blackbyrn
CEO, Coach Foundation

Implement Virtual Mentorship for Professional Development

One successful employer branding initiative we’ve implemented involves our Virtual Mentorship Program. It’s designed to offer our team members an array of learning opportunities, professional development resources and growth pathways—all while working from the comfort of their own homes!

Loren Howard
Founder, Prime Plus Mortgages

Empower Brand Ambassadors for Enhanced Engagement

One of the most successful employer branding initiatives we have implemented at our company is in the area of employee engagement. Here, being a high-level executive, I speak about potential employees, and empower them as Brand Ambassadors.

We love that we’re able to speak to potential hires about their career path and the opportunities available at our company—and then work with them to make sure that they’re excited about those opportunities. Brand ambassadors are empowered to share their experiences with others, both inside our company and out.

We believe that this approach makes it easy for everyone involved: potential hires know exactly where they fit into our organization, current employees feel like they have more ownership over their work, and customers get an inside look at how great our employee culture is!

Ilan Nass
Chief Revenue Officer, Taktical

Promote Values through Appreciation Week 

One unique way to promote the company’s culture and values among employees was the introduction of celebrating appreciation week. During this, we distributed special appreciation cards that highlighted our organizational values. Employees were encouraged to identify and present these cards to their colleagues who exemplified a particular value in their daily job activities. This initiative not only increased awareness of our desired values among employees but also recognized and celebrated their embodiment of these values.

By implementing this, we fostered a positive work environment, enhanced employee engagement and cultivated a stronger sense of purpose and belonging. Additionally, we utilized other employer branding techniques, such as encouraging employees to wear company logo shirts during engagement activities both inside and outside the company and providing branded stationery and bags.

Divvya Desai
HR, Naman HR

Navigating Job Fairs: Strategies to Optimize Recruitment Efforts

In-person job fairs are still alive and well, and if you’re an HR leader or recruiter looking for top-tier talent, you need to be there and be prepared to make the best impression. Yes, impressing potential talent is as essential as being impressed by the talent, so you need to get your ducks in a row.

Preparation Is Key

If you’re not making job fairs a part of your recruitment strategy, make that your top priority. Job fairs provide many benefits for your company, including the fact that you’ll save a lot of time and money you would spend posting on social media and paying to post your ads online. Plus, you’ll go to where the hungry potential employees are, and you can speak to them face-to-face and take some of the guesswork out of the interview process.

You need to take several steps before the fair, including gathering your materials and getting your talking points in order. You’ll want to start by preparing the right questions for candidates approaching your booth. You may want to ask about specific skills, ask about their experience level and inquire about their ambitions. Have many of these questions ready so you aren’t drawing blanks when you find that dream employee.

You’ll also want to consider your recruitment goals before the big day. As a member of the HR team, you must know which positions are open and which departments have the biggest need for new talent. Then, it’s important to put together several job descriptions on paper, so employees can better understand the position when they’re at your booth, and they can take the paperwork home to think about it later.

Finally, you need to get the word out that your company will have a presence at the fair. Once you know where the fair will be held, advertise it on your company website. You could even email past candidates that applied but didn’t make the cut and encourage them to see you there.

During The Fair

During the day of the job fair, you’ll want to be on your toes and ready to engage the candidates when they approach your booth. Welcome them, and if they seem like a good fit, then ask the questions you prepared beforehand and go from there.

Once you find a potential candidate you feel may be a good fit for your organization, you’ll want to provide a great sales pitch. A big part of attracting the best and brightest will be showcasing the benefits your company provides. Before the fair, take some time to survey your current benefits and think about the perks many job seekers are looking for today.

There are likely many other companies that do the same work as your organization, so when you’re trying to find talent, talking about your competitive benefits is excellent, but a good wage and medical insurance are only half of the equation. Many people are looking for a flexible work environment. Many will desire to work from home or dictate their schedule. If you offer that type of perk, then be sure to bring it up during your conversation.

Also, many employees may be looking for a way to dip their toe in the water with an internship or apprenticeship. If you offer that alternative when someone asks, be sure to make it a major talking point. Many workers are also looking for a company that provides opportunities to grow and thrive within the company, so talk about those programs as well. Finally, they want to know that, if hired, they’ll be motivated and recognized for good work, which can be accomplished with employee recognition software. Many potential employers will ask about these things, so you’ll want pre-prepared answers.

You may have a lot of people passing by and introducing themselves, so you must collect a lot of data during the event. You’ll want to focus on their demographics, including their physical proximity to the office, their experience, previous job titles and the fields they’re interested in, just in case a position matching their desires opens up. You can collect this information with a form they can complete at the fair or by providing a link to an online survey or job application.

After The Fair

Once the fair has concluded, sit down and look at all your data. Then start reaching out to qualified candidates. Try to do this in the days following the event so you don’t lose your chance to get that perfect interview. You don’t know how many other companies they spoke to that day, so don’t hesitate. Bring up any discussion you had during the fair, and then talk about the next steps.

As an HR leader analyzing the data, it’s essential to realize that it’s not only about how many candidates you were able to attract this time around but also about the future. Take a closer look at your data. Determine how many resumes you gathered and the number of interviews that were scheduled. Was it enough to meet your needs? You may find that you’ll need to do more during the next job fair to attract more interest to your company or work on communication. Get to work on learning how you can improve.

In conclusion, you must put your best foot forward and make the proper preparations if you’re hoping to recruit the best folks at your next job fair. Don’t just wing it. Instead, know what you want in advance, and you’ll have a better chance of getting the candidates you need.

Protecting Candidate Well-Being During Recruitment

From rejection emails and uncomfortable interview questions to long and drawn-out recruitment processes, many job seekers experience anxiety while on the hunt for a job. And even after securing a dream position, starting out in an unfamiliar workplace often proves very challenging and stressful.

In today’s fast-paced world, it’s essential to highlight the importance of protecting one’s well-being during the recruitment as well as onboarding process. Recruiters in any industry need to be aware of how common mental health issues are among today’s workforce and know how to look after candidates’ well-being regardless of whether they eventually hire them or not.

As 83% of employees believe their well-being is just as important as their pay at work, it’s in a company’s best interest to ensure a positive experience for all candidates and create a strong foundation for their potential tenure with the organization.

Here are 5 tips on how to achieve this by protecting candidate well-being throughout the recruitment process.

 Educate Your Team on Mental Health and Well-Being

To begin with, make sure that everyone involved in the recruitment process is educated and well aware of the mental health issues that both candidates and later employees may experience. Provide them with appropriate training and ensure they are familiar with the company’s mental health and well-being policies. Build a safe space where such concerns are widely discussed and not stigmatized.

Once equipped with this knowledge, HR teams and recruiting managers will be able to respond to people’s needs promptly and sensitively. They will also know how to reduce stress for new starters and introduce them smoothly to a new team.

Be Transparent and Keep Candidates Well Informed

There is nothing worse than waiting to hear from a recruiter and getting no response. Candidates spend a great deal of time searching for suitable positions, preparing for interviews and completing recruitment tasks. The best thing you can do is to ensure the recruitment process is fully visible to them and its progress clearly communicated.

Include as much information as possible in the job advert, and when contacting the candidate for the first time, make it clear how many stages the recruitment involves. Don’t leave them hanging for the final decision, even if you end up hiring someone else. Knowing that you respect their time, are transparent and keep them informed, will ensure that your candidates will not only be in a better frame of mind but will also feel reassured about working with you.

Review and Simplify Your Processes

Regularly review the company’s processes to see if there is room for improvement. Take the time to evaluate your recruitment process to find ways of simplifying it. Lengthy and complex procedures can cause unnecessary stress. Multiple stages, demanding non-feedback-based tasks, too many people involved in the whole process – all of this adds to the candidate’s anxiety.

Optimize your processes by structuring, digitalizing and eliminating all redundant steps. Avoid requesting excessive documents and repetitive information, reduce the amount of paperwork required and create an easily accessible repository of materials. What also helps with smooth onboarding is having orientation programs in place and assigning a buddy to new hires to help them navigate their way into the company.

Foster a Culture of Wellness by Providing Support

Do you check in on your applicants and employees? This is a good first step towards protecting their well-being, but fostering a culture of wellness calls for greater efforts.

Offer access to resources and support systems that promote mental health. This may include sharing information about best self-care practices and the company’s values and policies, as well as providing access to employee assistance programs or wellness initiatives available within the organization. Showing that people’s well-being is a priority from the start will reinforce a sense of care and trust.

Gather Feedback and Make Continuous Improvements

Actively seek feedback from people on their hiring experiences. When providing feedback to applicants, ask them to fill in a simple survey about their perception of the process in return.

Use this information to identify areas that require changes to enhance the candidates’ experience and protect their well-being. Demonstrating a commitment to continuous improvement shows people that their opinions are valued and can help you build positive brand awareness.

Final Words

Prioritizing candidate well-being not only helps attract the best talent but also contributes to a healthy working environment. Follow these tips to keep your candidates and teams happy and benefit from their increased productivity and satisfaction. By employers putting people’s mental health first, any company will thrive.

ChatGPT Extension Update: Your Go-To Sidekick for Quick Answers

In this article, we’re bringing you an exciting update on the ChatGPT for Chrome extension. It’s like having your very own chat-based superpower for getting answers lightning-fast! And guess what? This update is here to save you time and make you smile.

Drumroll, please! The new update unleashes the power of the “Always There” feature. No more fumbling around to activate the extension when you need it most. It’s now a permanent resident in your Chrome browser, ready to assist you whenever you crave knowledge.

Effortless Company Listing

Need a comprehensive list of all the companies in a particular industry, like SaaS? Easy peasy! Just ask our extension to work its magic, and voila! It instantly compiles the results for you. No more wasted time manually searching or copy-pasting. We’ve got your back!

Simply type “list all companies in the SaaS space.” The extension creates a genius OR string for your query. Feel free to tweak the query if you’re feeling adventurous and keep it for future reference. Time-Saving Benefits That Rock

With the “Always There” feature, say goodbye to repetitive activation. Our extension stays put, right where you need it. No more hunting for that elusive icon. It’s a productivity booster that streamlines your workflow, letting you access information in a flash.

Persistent Chat History: Your Conversational Time Machine

Remember that amazing conversation you had last week? No problemo! ChatGPT for Chrome keeps a record of all your chats and queries. Never again will you have to retype a question. Simply revisit your previous conversations, retrieve information, and bask in the glory of your time-saving prowess.

Embrace the Chat GPT Extension and Unleash Your Superpowers

The updated ChatGPT for Chrome, with its “Always There” extension, is the ultimate sidekick for quick answers. It’s like having a knowledgeable friend right in your browser, available at all times. The automatic query generation saves you precious time, whether you’re listing companies or satisfying your curiosity. So go ahead, give it a whirl, and let the source be with you on your quest for knowledge! Get the ChatGPT Extension Update now!

Other Dean Da Costa Content:

Dean has a free page of sourcing tools, links, and other recruiting resources that we highly recommend you check out! That page has an overwhelming amount of stuff, so you gotta really love sourcing to appreciate the infinite hours of work Dean has put into it. For all of the Dean Da Costa resources on RecruitingDaily, click here!

Cybersecurity Best Practices for Recruiters

The recruiting industry has changed drastically over the past several decades. Organizations are hiring remote workers from all over the world, and recruiters are relying on digital networking platforms to find and interview candidates.

The internet has made recruiting a faster, more efficient process, but it also poses unique cybersecurity risks that just weren’t present in the past. Here are some of the biggest security challenges that recruiters face, as well as best practices to help you connect with job candidates safely.

Common Cybersecurity Risks for Recruiters

Hackers often target recruiting agencies because of the large volume of secure data they collect from their clients. There are a variety of ways that data breaches and cyber attacks can happen.

Malware is a form of software that is designed to infiltrate or damage your computer, and it poses a serious threat to recruiting agencies. There are many different types of malware, but one of the most destructive types is ransomware. Ransomware collects your secure data and holds it for ‘ransom’, charging exorbitant amounts of money to safely return your data.

Recruiters are also vulnerable to social engineering tactics like phishing and spoofing scams. These happen when a hacker pretends to be a trusted contact in order to gain access to information. Some hackers will use brute force attacks to crack passwords as well.

Cybersecurity Best Practices for Recruiters

Although these cybersecurity risks can be daunting, there are things you can do to protect yourself and your business as a recruiter. Here are some best practices to implement into your operations.

Secure Candidate Data Management

Since recruiters collect a large volume of secure data from job candidates, having a data management policy in place is essential. Make sure you’re only collecting data that’s absolutely necessary for the recruitment process and properly disposing of it when it is no longer necessary.

Additionally, it’s important to make sure you’re getting consent from each candidate before collecting data. Depending on what type of data you’re collecting, you may even be legally required to make a disclosure to your candidates and put certain security measures in place.

Strong Password Practices

The last thing you want as a recruiter is for any of your online accounts to be hacked. If your login information falls into the wrong hands, cybercriminals could access any sensitive information your job candidates have shared or even misrepresent your company online.

To keep both your applicants and your company safe from hackers, it’s important for recruiters to use strong password practices. This should apply to every digital platform you use, whether it’s your email, project management platform, a job board, or something else.

Your passwords should be complex and use a combination of letters, numbers, and symbols. They should also be changed periodically, so if you realize you’ve had the same password for years or find out that it’s been compromised, make sure to change it.

Employee Training and Awareness

Cybersecurity is complex, and best practices change frequently as new threats emerge. Because of this, it is recommended that organizations offer training on cybersecurity trends and physical security measures every six-months for their entire team.

Include basic cybersecurity training as part of your onboarding process, and make sure to provide periodic updates if new cybersecurity threats emerge. If you don’t have in-house security experts who can provide training, work with your IT provider to bring in a third-party expert instead.

Two-Factor Authentication

One of the best ways to protect your data is to use two-factor authentication wherever you can. Two-factor authentication requires you to enter two pieces of information to access an account – a password and a code sent to your phone or email. This means that even if your password is compromised, cybercriminals still won’t have access to your accounts.

Regular Software Updates and Patching

Recruiting agencies use a variety of different software programs in the course of their operations. To keep your systems safe, it’s important to update all of the software you use in a timely manner.

Developers release software updates and patches to address vulnerabilities in their programs. If you fail to install updates and patches in a timely manner, your system will be an easier target for cybercriminals.

Secure Communication Channels

A big part of the recruiting process is sharing information with job candidates. Some of this information can be sensitive, especially as the candidate moves further into the hiring process. Additionally, recruiters need to communicate closely with the organizations they’re hiring for.

This communication is necessary for recruiters to do their jobs, but it’s important to use secure channels to do so. The easiest way to do this is to use platforms that have built-in encryption for messages and calls. You can also manually encrypt emails that contain secure data.

Data Backup and Disaster Recovery

There are a variety of ways that your data could be lost or compromised, whether it’s through ransomware or just as the result of an equipment failure. This is why it’s so important to back up your data on a regular basis.

There are many ways to do this. For example, if you’re using cloud storage for your data, you could periodically back up your data to an on-premise server or hard drive, or vice versa. For protecting on-premise servers and other key data that is held at a physical location, an access control system is a vital investment for any company. If you’re unsure of how to back up your data, consider working with a third-party IT firm to do so.

However, data loss can happen to any organization, even if you’re extremely prepared. This is why it’s so important to have a disaster recovery plan, just in case. When putting together a disaster recovery plan, think about how you’ll get your operations back up and running, as well as how you’ll communicate with your clients.

In order for your recruiting business to succeed, you’ll need to have a cybersecurity policy in place. If you neglect to implement a cybersecurity strategy, your valuable data could potentially be compromised, hurting your business financially and damaging your reputation. If you’re struggling to implement these cybersecurity strategies, consider working with a third-party IT or security firm.

Beware of Ransomware in Job Applications

HR departments and talent acquisition teams house copious amounts of data from current and prospective employees. Some include fake job applications that target HR departments, known as HR ransomware. With attacks on the rise, relevant teams should raise their cybersecurity awareness and stay in touch with the latest ransomware trends in the industry to keep other applicants, the company and its clients safe.

What Are Job Application Cybersecurity Risks?

Threat actors can submit fake job applications with ransomware embedded into email attachments. Applications submitted through the employer’s website or a third-party program are also vulnerable, especially if the parent company doesn’t verify the outside source’s security measures.

There are a few specific HR ransomware strains that are popular. Petya is a prevalent one that makes machines unbootable. Alongside fake job applications, Petya can attach a convincing cover letter too. Hackers are taking advantage of how hiring teams operate on autopilot — they frequently open attachments in emails or from submitted documents without a second thought because they request so many during the application process.

The emails are usually inconsequential — a standard applicant email with secretive ransomware as an unfortunate bonus. It tricks people who open it to enable an executable to begin the attack, and because it’s a job application, specific applications for high-profile roles might move throughout an organization to management and stakeholder inboxes, expanding the problem rapidly.

Hackers are also getting on job websites like CareerBuilder and LinkedIn and creating fake accounts to submit ransomware-laden applications — attacking from all angles. HR ransomware is becoming a problem worldwide for all employers, so everyone must train themselves on detection and prevention tactics.

How to Detect Malicious Applications

When infamous examples like Petya exist, recruiters can learn the calling cards. For example, these emails generally come through spam and include a Dropbox link to the fake photo and resume — when in reality, the ransomware is working in the background. HR departments could avoid all emails with these links and instead create a standardized application system and file format to identify red flags.

Other ransomware installations — Petya included — may generate a prompt with a checkbox or button once the worker downloads the application. People should remain skeptical of agreeing to download from an unknown source or a request to run macros. Usually, this is the person providing consent for the ransomware to install. Be aware of suspicious pop-ups at all times.

Ultimately, every team should work with cybersecurity analysts and IT professionals to receive ransomware training and instruction on best cybersecurity hygiene. They can learn to navigate malware and ransomware detection software to identify threats better. Most incidents occur through human error, and training is one of the most comprehensive ransomware prevention methods.

Workers can also learn about social engineering and how internal staff can cause holes in defenses. Keeping watch for suspicious activity within the department sounds counterintuitive, but it’s possible.

If HR staff learns to trust their intuition and remain cautious when dealing with attachments and links — especially from generic emails that resemble spam — they could halt many potential breaches.

How to Respond to an Application Ransomware Attack

Few companies are perfect — in fact, every HR department should suspect some data breach in the future with the rise of frequent and creative ransomware attacks. Fake job applications are just a new variant, with many more to come. If someone unintentionally ignites a ransomware attack with valuable employee data at stake, how should they respond?

Collaborate to Notify and Isolate Systems

Reach out to the experts. Hackers want to target HR departments because they have less expertise. HR and talent acquisitions teams can communicate with analysts to describe how, where and when the ransomware was installed so they can isolate and power down the network to protect data and business-critical operations as fast as possible.

Contain the Threat and Begin the Restoration

Cybersecurity triage includes detection, remediation and recovery. Companies will have to determine how to deal with the ransom price if they don’t have sufficient data backups to replace what hackers compromised. Every year, cybercrimes will cost 15% more, reaching around $10.5 trillion by 2025 — provoking companies to take proactive rather than reactive measures to protect organizational information.

Additionally, they can report suspicious activity to relevant regulatory bodies for higher degrees of investigation.

Spread the Word and Continue Learning

Employees that catalyzed the attack can take action by spreading the word about their experience. Hearing about these events firsthand within the HR sector can make awareness more impactful and relevant, especially when cyber threats give off the illusion that they are unlikely to occur in most places.

Hopefully, every attack is an inspiration to continue education on best ransomware detection and prevention practices so it keeps employees and businesses safe from hackers.

When Cybersecurity and Talent Acquisition Team Up

HR ransomware and fake job applications are running amok in previously legitimate spaces. Teams should remain cognizant of sketchy emails and attachments that might contain malicious programs.

Once analysts find ways to combat emerging threats, cybercriminals get more inventive. Fortunately, there are ways to control and deal with ransomware, but this strange trend signals that more talent acquisition scams might be coming.

The ChatGPT Prompt Generator: Your Sidekick for Prompt Creation

Welcome to the world of the ChatGPT Prompt Generator! This little gem is here to rescue developers struggling with prompt creation. Say goodbye to awkward prompts and hello to natural language magic! What’s the ChatGPT Prompt Generator? Picture this: you’re a developer, staring at a blank screen, wondering how on earth to formulate the perfect prompt. Fear not! The ChatGPT Prompt Generator is your trusty companion, ready to generate prompts that will make your coding dreams come true.

How Does it Work?

Using this genius tool is as easy as pie. Just tell it what you need to do, like “develop” or “program,” choose your preferred language, and watch the magic happen. For example, if you want ChatGPT to perform a programming task in Java, simply type, “Hey ChatGPT, as a super cool developer, please work your magic and ‘program’ in Java!”

Advantages of the ChatGPT Prompt Generator Prompt Creation Made Fun: Even if you’re a ChatGPT newbie, this generator has your back. It makes creating prompts a breeze, even for the less experienced among us. Time-Saving Genius: No more wasting precious hours scratching your head over prompts. The ChatGPT Prompt Generator swoops in to save the day, leaving you with more time for cat videos.

Examples: To give you a taste of its brilliance, here are some prompts the ChatGPT Prompt Generator can conjure up:

“Hey ChatGPT, as a genius developer, write a Python script to solve a sorting algorithm.” “Develop the most epic web application using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.” “Create a mind-blowing database schema for an e-commerce website using SQL.”

Limitations

Just a heads-up, ChatGPT’s knowledge might be stuck in the past, usually up to 2019. So, don’t expect it to be up to date on all the latest developments. It’s a time traveler with limitations! In a world of coding conundrums, the ChatGPT Prompt Generator is your superhero sidekick. With its natural language prompts and simplified process, it’s a game-changer for developers. So, next time you’re stuck, let the ChatGPT Prompt Generator do its thing and watch your coding journey become a comedy-filled adventure.

May your coding endeavors be filled with laughter and epic interactions with ChatGPT! Get ready to rock those prompts!

Other Dean Da Costa Content:

Dean has a free page of sourcing tools, links, and other recruiting resources that we highly recommend you check out! That page has an overwhelming amount of stuff, so you gotta really love sourcing to appreciate the infinite hours of work Dean has put into it. For all of the Dean Da Costa resources on RecruitingDaily, click here!

How To Promote Diversity and Inclusion in Your Hiring Process

In the quest for a more diverse and inclusive workforce, we’ve asked seven professionals from various fields, from Senior Talent Acquisition Leads to AGM-BD and Ops, to share the actions they’ve taken in their hiring process. From leveraging VR for inclusive hiring to diversifying recruitment channels, this article presents their insightful and practical strategies for promoting diversity and inclusion.

Leverage VR for Inclusive Hiring

As a DEI consultant, I know VR tech can improve diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in hiring. Immersive experiences can create shared understanding and combat implicit biases among hiring managers.

I integrated a VR-based program into a client’s recruitment process. This allowed hiring managers to experience interviews from the perspective of candidates with diverse backgrounds. They could even better understand the challenges of those with disabilities or cultural barriers.

By immersing themselves in these scenarios, hiring managers gained valuable insights into job seekers’ struggles. This helped them identify and address their own unconscious biases

Using VR technology, we were able to level the playing field for all candidates and ensured an equitable and inclusive hiring process. The client saw concrete improvements in workforce diversity and overall company culture, demonstrating VR’s transformative potential as a tool for creating a more inclusive workplace.

Vivian Acquah CDE®
Certified Diversity Executive, Amplify DEI

Implement Diversity Sprints 

There are plenty of small tweaks you can make to your hiring process to significantly impact the volume of diverse candidates in your talent pool.

One approach we’ve taken at Knak is diversity sprints. Before going through our inbound candidate pipelines, I take time to actively source for the role, focusing only on outreach to diverse talent.

Outbound pipelines generally take longer to move from outreach to recruiter screens, so focusing on outreach first allows us to broaden our candidate diversity for our first wave of talent.

Zak Michalyshyn
Senior Talent Acquisition Lead,  Knak.

Adopt the Inclusive Interview Rule

The “Inclusive Interview Rule” is one of the major actions Indeed has taken to remove bias and barriers from our sourcing and interviewing processes.

Designed to improve visible representation in candidate pipelines and interview slates, the Inclusive Interview Rule now applies to all roles globally, including roles that are promoted or sourced internally only. It forms part of a shift in our overall approach to equitable recruitment and hiring — which also includes how we train hiring managers and interviewers and how we debrief candidacies.

We believe that every candidate, whether internal or external, at every stage of their employment lifecycle, should feel like they belong at Indeed and be given equitable consideration, support and access.

Jessica Hardeman
Director, Employee Lifecycle, Indeed

Embrace a Global Hiring Strategy

At Ingredient Brothers, we prioritize diversity and inclusion in our hiring process. Being a fully remote company, we naturally embrace a global hiring strategy. With team members spanning four continents, our talent pool expands, providing us access to diverse skills and expertise. This enables us to nurture a dynamic, inclusive work environment that promotes success.

Eran Mizrahi
CEO and Founder, Ingredient Brothers

Offer Internships to Underrepresented Groups

One action I’ve taken to improve diversity and inclusion in my hiring process is offering internships and mentorship programs to underrepresented groups. By providing these opportunities, we not only address the lack of diversity in the industry but also build a pipeline of diverse talent for future hiring needs.

We also ensure that these programs provide the necessary experience and connections. For example, we partnered with a local organization that focuses on increasing diversity in the tech industry and provided internships to college students from underrepresented groups. The program was successful, and we hired several interns as full-time employees.

Ben Lau
Founder, Featured SEO Company

Include Bias Training

Make sure the job descriptions are inclusive and welcoming. Using gender-neutral language and explicitly stating your commitment to diversity and inclusion can attract a broader range of applicants.

Train your hiring team to recognize and counteract unconscious biases. Everyone has biases, and being aware of them is the first step to minimizing their impact on hiring decisions.

Nidhi Thakur
Co-Founder and Editor, Earthtech

Diversify Recruitment Channels

At Authors On Mission, we’ve consciously taken steps to improve diversity and inclusion in our hiring process. One key action was implementing “blind hiring” practices, which involved removing identifiable information from applications during the initial review process. This strategy reduces unconscious bias and promotes equal opportunity.

Our job descriptions were also reviewed and rewritten to ensure neutral language that encourages applications from all qualified individuals, irrespective of their gender, race, age or background.

Additionally, we partnered with diverse job boards and universities to attract a wide pool of candidates.

We understand that diversity brings innovation, creativity and progress. Hence, these efforts are just the beginning. We’re committed to continuous evaluation and improvement of our hiring processes to ensure inclusivity at all levels of our organization.

Vikrant Shaurya
CEO, Authors On Mission

How Can AI Change the Recruiting Process and Decrease Turnover?

Artificial intelligence is taking the world by storm and affecting almost every industry. One area where the changes hit hardest is the recruiting and human resources industry. As AI evolves and develops, recruiters need to stay up to date on the latest trends and create flexible processes that allow for adaptation and innovation.

We know that AI can affect the recruiting process in terms of tedious tasks like screening candidates, providing more affordable and productive reviewing of applicant documents, and matching potential hires to job descriptions. But are there deeper ways that AI can entrench itself into the recruiting process. Do they improve the process or disrupt it? We’ll look at that here.

Company culture and morale are extremely important to talent. Many employees will take a pay cut to work somewhere they are valued. Armed with that information, recruiters can use AI to not only find talent that fits the company’s values, but also make the process of bringing them on more enjoyable to limit turnover.

Remote Interviews and AI

We are currently living in a remote world. More employees than ever work from home, and companies are no longer limited to candidates who are geographically close. The problem this presents is remote interviews that are often impersonal or cold, and candidates that are hard to assess through a screen.

AI can help with this. Some AI interview tools analyze facial expressions, body language, emotional state and voice. The programs take this introductory information and combines it with the candidate’s answers to interview questions to provide a comprehensive understanding of the company culture fit.

During an interview, AI can also assess measures of productivity, such as how long it takes a candidate to answer a question, or how engaged they are during the interview. This highlights again how important it is to combine the power and intelligence of AI with the warmth and the emotion of the human touch.

AI’s Ability to Assess Talent

As applicants mount and it becomes harder to locate the perfect one for the job, AI steps in to help with talent assessment, assessing personality traits and measuring competency. AI uses skill testing, behavioral assessments and gamification to identify strengths and weaknesses. Recruiters and human resource managers create social skills assessments, culture fit evaluations and skill tests to create an algorithm that identifies candidates with the transferable skills needed to seamlessly fit into the company or organization.

Increase Diversity and Inclusion

A big part of recruiting is choosing the employees that are most likely to stay with you long-term and making sure they are happy. In other words, reducing turnover. The best recruiters and HR managers know how to use AI to do just that. Employees value diversity and inclusion, and when used correctly, AI can aid any company in improving in those areas.

With the right information, AI can identify candidates that have the skills you want, rather than just focusing on the education needed. Companies can also use AI to create programs and certifications that allow disadvantaged workers to increase proficiency and move up within the company, ensuring they don’t see their job as a means to an end, but rather a career path.

Using AI to create career pathways and changes within your company lessens the burden on recruiting and HR groups, ensures you keep loyal employees and increases the overall atmosphere of the workplace. Employees and consumers value companies with morals and an acceptance of social responsibility – using AI to increase diversity and inclusion within your company boosts that image.

A Focus on Candidates

Humans have an inherent bias that is impossible to pinpoint. Whether recruiters realize it or not, that bias plays into the candidate selection process. AI blocks that bias by looking strictly at a candidate’s resume or CV for things like keywords, specific certifications or certain educational degrees.

AI can also be used to screen a candidate’s web presence or social media accounts. This gives a more complete picture of the skills and background the candidate possesses that aren’t listed on the resume. From their LinkedIn profile to their Twitter account, AI can pinpoint problematic candidates or troublesome situations that you’d rather avoid.

Because the required data is fed by humans, over time AI can develop its own bias that matches the recruiter’s. It’s a good idea to update data and reset expectations at regular intervals to avoid this.

Is There a Perfect Balance?

AI is not a new concept, but it’s recently exploded into the world with tools like ChatGPT and bots, forcing companies to address it before they are ready. Perhaps the best approach to AI is an open-minded, collaborative one.

While it may seem counterintuitive to work with what is essentially a software program, the truth is that the right combination of human and code can create the perfect environment for recruiting, retaining talent and improving processes within a company. Those who embrace AI with curiosity rather than trepidation may receive a pleasant surprise.

For years, technology has aided in the recruiting process. Candidates rely on resume builders, Zoom interviews and hiring platforms to find the right jobs. Recruiters use applicant screening programs, candidate matching software and online platforms to find talent. Historically, humans and technology have worked together to improve the workplace.

At its core, AI is controlled by humans. It relies on us to input data and create algorithms and can eventually even develop bias over time. AI is a tool that is designed to help humans improve the recruiting process and is not designed to replace them. With a little collaboration, all companies can benefit from turning some tasks over to AI and eliminating burnout on HR departments and recruiters.

Why the Labor Market’s Pull For DEI Will Blunt the Effect of the SCOTUS Decision on Affirmative Action

It’s not difficult to see how the recent Supreme Court (SCOTUS) decision on Affirmative Action in college admissions could embolden opponents of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in the workplace — not just for race, but for gender and other groups, as well. Although it’s too soon to tell what that impact will be, it would not be surprising to find companies treading more carefully in this area to avoid the possibility of litigation, putting negative pressure on diversity in the workplace. But there are other forces at work that are exerting pressure in the opposite direction. The current tight labor market is making it hard for companies to fill positions, creating fierce competition for talent. Although the labor market has eased a little, companies are still struggling to find talent, with millions fewer applicants than there are jobs to be filled. In this article we’ll explore trends and methods that affect the recruiting process by creating a larger pool of applicants to pull from and in doing so make DEI an irresistible force in the marketplace.

Before the SCOTUS decision, DEI initiatives were and remain a top priority in many organizations’ HR policies and plans, because by actively promoting DEI, companies can create a more equitable and inclusive workplace, foster innovation and gain a competitive edge. From our perspective as managers of job information, understanding the work that individuals do is critical. The building blocks of job information like skills, competencies and other key job elements can be manipulated and optimized for effective recruiting and meaningful impact on DEI. It’s through this lens that we’ll be examining this topic. We’ll explore the significance and business benefits of DEI in the hiring process as well as strategies to increase diversity and implement inclusive recruitment practices while also helping to fill your open positions.

Why DEI is important in Recruiting

Most would agree that bringing together individuals from different backgrounds results in diversity of thought and methodology which can lead to more creative problem-solving and innovative ideas. Diversity brings with it a wider range of skills, competencies and approaches to solving problems that make for broader, more well-reasoned solutions. Diversity can aid expansion into diverse markets and has been demonstrated to enhance financial performance. According to McKinsey, diversity correlates with better financial performance with a +15% for ethnic diversity and a +35% for gender diversity. Also, an inclusive workplace helps to foster an environment where all feel valued.  Inclusivity can positively impact your brand as well as result in improved employee engagement. All these factors create a positive impact on recruiting. According to Bonusly, 67% of job seekers consider workplace diversity an important factor.

Pay/Opportunity Equity

Pay and opportunity equity are at the core of how employees and applicants see your company. If your company is regarded as equitable, then it will enhance your brand and make attracting applicants a bit easier. Much of how your company is perceived relies on paying employees equitably. In many states this is not only important from a recruiting brand perspective, but it is the law. The legislation in most all states is written the same way, requiring equal pay for “substantially similar” work. The concept of substantially similar work requires a granular understanding of the work people do, including the essential functions of the job; the knowledge, skills and abilities required to do the job; and the effort needed to be successful. Accurate and up-to-date job descriptions are the record of truth from which to gather this information.

Often pay equity projects will use taxonomy or classification schemes to group jobs together for analysis. Taxonomy does not guarantee that there are no jobs in other categories that are “substantially similar” to the cohort of jobs you are analyzing. Taxonomy is simply not enough. Using job title is also risky. Many organizations use job titles like program manager or project manager which sound similar but can be quite different.  Automated tools that analyze similarity between jobs based on the language within them are your best bet here.

In addition to pay equity, opportunity equity should be considered.  Opportunity equity often depends on understanding the career paths open to employees in your organization and the progression of employees in different cohorts through them. Career pathing tools, if you have them, are useful in understanding progressions and promotion, and level reclassification history are the substrate for analysis.

Diversity and Inclusion

In the current labor market diversity and inclusion can provide significant advantages beyond just a positive brand perception in the market. Does your company, like many out there, have ongoing vacancies that you have trouble filling? An obvious solution is to expand the talent pool you recruit from. It is important to understand the process of self-elimination. This is where an applicant will read your job posting and decide that the job is not for them. Self-elimination is a major factor that can diminish the talent base you recruit from. We will describe methods that will help you keep applicants reading your postings and applying for your jobs while pulling in more diverse candidates as well.

Debiasing Job Descriptions

The broadest applicant pool is achieved by using unbiased language and writing postings that appeal to all qualified candidates regardless of gender, ethnicity, age or disability. Including language unfriendly or off-putting to any people in these categories will reduce your candidate pool and limit diversity. These can be overt like gendered job titles or pronouns, but also can be more subtle by using words that have connotative bias.

Examples:

  • Aggressive/assertive (skews male).
  • Nurturing/empathetic (skews female).
  • Youthful energy/dynamic (skews young).
  • Seasoned (skews older).
  • Walk/lift/carry (skews non-disabled).
  • Understanding of local traditions (skews toward member of dominant culture)

We’ve also found that incomprehensible jargon or acronyms or excessive superlatives can also have the same limiting effect on your talent pool as biased terms. Debiasing is a skill you can get better at with practice, but automated tools are often your best bet. Look for this capability in your ATS or Job Description management software.

Skills-based Recruiting

The effect of bias language in job postings is real but often subtle. In skills-based recruiting we’re trying to court people who are self-eliminating due to the requirements in the job posting itself. This involves restructuring the job posting to cast a wider net to help fill those hard to fill jobs and attract a more diverse set of applicants.  Before we get into the details, here are some statistics you should keep in mind:

  • 10.1 million job openings now (High)
  • Current unemployment rate is 3.7 (low)
  • Number of unemployed persons per job opening 0.6 (low)
  • 67% of the US populations does not have a 4-year degree.

The labor market is still very hot with lots of vacancies, and slightly more than half the number of applicants needed to fill them. So, applicants self-eliminating can drastically limit your ability to fill those vacancies.

Skills based recruiting is aimed at reducing the number of applicants that disqualify themselves due to requirements in your job postings. The goal is to attract those that have the skills to do the job and diminish other requirements that impede them from applying. The result will be a larger talent pool and as you eliminate barriers the talent you attract will be more diverse as well. There are several steps you need to take to accomplish this:

  • Remove education requirements from your job posting if possible. Eliminating this requirement will promote those without a college degree to apply.
  • Remove experience requirements from you job postings. Applicants will lose interest in your posting if they feel they don’t measure up to the experience requirements. Often experience gaps on a resume reflect life events that might be easily explained in an interview.
  • Include and focus on the skills needed to perform the job.
  • Add competencies to attract those that possess the innate capabilities to learn the skills needed to do the job.

Applicants scan through dozens or hundreds of job postings. So, applicants may spend only a few seconds reviewing your posting. The object of skills-based recruiting is to have skills right near the top of the posting and eliminate the barriers of education and experience requirements to pull applicants into your job posting and apply. Competencies usually follow skills, so the applicants that may not have all of the skills needed to do the job may see themselves reflected in these competencies and thus also be pulled in. Applicants with the underlying competencies can be trained in the skills needed to do the job and should also be considered for hard to fill spots. All these changes result in a more inclusive job posting and a more diverse candidate pool from which to recruit.

Despite the Supreme Court’s decision on Affirmative Action, prioritizing DEI in the hiring process is crucial for organizations aiming to build a competitive advantage. By implementing strategies to reduce bias, and adopting inclusive recruitment practices as we’ve discussed, businesses can unlock numerous benefits, including enhanced creativity, perspective, decision-making and innovation. And by applying some of the techniques described in this article, you can also reap the benefit of filling those open positions, ultimately positioning your company for long-term success.

The Double-Edged Sword: Demographic Challenges and Opportunities in the 2023 Labor Market

The year 2023 was off to a rough start with multiple industries facing major layoffs. The tech industry saw over 84,000 layoffs in January alone and has shown signs of more to come. With ten consecutive interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve, the worst may still not be over as businesses grapple with inflation and high interest rate loans. As more companies consider downsizing to save their bottom line, the corporate job market could soon become saturated. As hiring professionals prepare to navigate changing applicant pools, it is essential to be prepared ahead of time for your team to have an adaptive approach when it comes to recruiting talent.

Seemingly no demographic has been spared from the onslaught of layoffs. From older demographics, individuals with physical disabilities, caregivers, including women with young children, to Black professionals, diverse needs should be expected by any talent manager sorting through talent pools. The time spent by a recruitment team to search, investigate, and acquire new talent makes it an expensive process. Due to the costly consequence of hiring a poor performer, businesses are maximizing efforts to weed out bad candidates, often elongating the recruitment process. It is important to have organizational tools in place to help your recruitment team keep track of interviewed candidates, rejected candidates, and ongoing cases throughout the process.

Utilizing Management Tools to Streamline Your Hiring Processes

Businesses implement streamlining tools to run their operations efficiently within their departments. Human Resources should not be an exception. A management tool that can be shared between your talent acquisition team to track a candidate’s progress is a great first step to ensure time is not wasted repeating processes. Automate parts of the process that do not require a human’s touch, such as job postings and related announcements on social media. This can help save your talent acquisition team time and energy, which can be dedicated to connecting with potential hires. Consider using a tool that identifies keywords on submitted resumes that match requirements your job listing has deemed as essential to make sure only candidates with mandatory qualifications are reviewed.

When applicants and future employees feel like their time is respected during the recruitment phase, they are more likely to refer your business to their contacts. If your business’s existing talent is successful, it is likely their references would make great additions to your team, too. Never assume your team is aware of existing openings at your company. Announce those availabilities as soon as it becomes practical. People enjoy working with their friends and they are likely to know if their contacts would fit in with your business’s culture better than a hiring manager would.

Make Sure To Invest In Existing Talent To Attract New Talent

Part of incentivizing existing talent to recruit from their contacts involves making sure they have a great working experience within the company today. Layoffs are not the only thing contributing to a growing talent pool. Younger generations of workers are placing more value on being emotionally engaged with their work than before. Over 82% of workers say it is important that their employers see them as a person and invest in their success. That includes providing employees with opportunities to grow within your business. That can take shape in the form of training programs, mentorship groups, or consideration for internal promotions. With just 13% of employees communicating that they are engaged at work, incentivization is key to not only employee engagement but to retention.

A changing job market requires an adaptive approach to talent acquisition. To save time and resources, prioritize a management tool that maps out what steps need to be taken by your talent team in the recruitment process. The more collaborative a tool allows you to be, the better your team’s efficiency. When both your team’s time and a candidate’s time is valued, both parties report higher rates of satisfaction. A future employee’s experience with your business begins before their first full day of work. An efficient recruitment process can pay dividends when their positive experience leads them to recruit amongst their contacts on your business’s behalf!

Joveo is here to help companies rock their talent sourcing goals, around the world. Request a demo today and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn to see how Joveo can help you get the most out of your recruitment advertising.

What Happens When: Mergers and Acquisitions

I’ve worked in the HR/TA industry for over 20 years. I’ve worked with practitioners, service vendors and software vendors. I enjoy all these disparate groups. I love all my kids equally, and other lies we tell ourselves so we can sleep at night.

I quit marketing for the most part because I fell in love with HR/TA practitioners. I’ve said it many times before: I love how HR/TA practitioners have hope even when they know the darkest of the dark secrets of their company. I’m not built that way. I’m sarcastic, cynical, pessimistic, dark and, generally, don’t like people like me. That’s why I’m drawn to optimistic people.

Which brings me to why I’m writing this article. I’d like to open some dialogue about mergers and acquisitions (M&A). I’ve said before that M&A isn’t good for HR/TA practitioners, AND blending services with software is an inherent conflict of interest, even in the best of situations or with the best intentions. I’ll give you some scenarios to noodle on. Let’s start with M&A.

Firstly, M&A happens, always has and always will. That’s life in the big city. Big software companies acquire small software companies. Small software companies buy rivals, services firms buy software firms. The scenarios are endless. And, with the amount of funding poured into the HR/TA tech industry in the last few years, investors need to exit. Again, that’s life.

But, for a moment, view an acquisition from the seat of an average practitioner. We’ll use some hypothetical situations here as to not distract folks with brand names. Let’s say you’re using a payroll system, and you’ve been using it for seven years. You’re confident in your abilities with the software, you know how to make it do what you want, etc. Your favorite payroll system then gets acquired by a larger payroll company. As a software user, your life just got worse. You used to be confident. Now, you have to start over. Change is happening with or without you. One of the issues with M&A is that we normally don’t factor in how users respond to change. We implement a new system. We lightly train users and expect them to get on with life. Change is hard for everyone. Everyone!

Don’t get me wrong, in the scenario above; the acquiring software company is better; its software is newer, has more features, and has an ecosystem built around it. It’s an upgrade. It’s a total upgrade. But not to everyday users – and not initially. Their confidence has been rocked, and they need deep training to leverage all the cool new stuff. So, when you see M&A activity, congratulate both firms. Growing a software company isn’t easy, and exits are important to many people.

Simultaneous to your congratulations, please stop and think about the users of the acquired company. They don’t have a voice loud enough to reach the board or C-Suite, so it’s incumbent on the acquiring company to build a robust training and user adoption program. Close the gap for users and help them become confident with the new (and better) software.

So, M&A isn’t evil. Quite the contrary. M&A with HR/TA tech software companies just lacks an understanding of how hard change is and empathy for the users. It’s fixable. We just need to factor it into our due diligence process. What will it take (time, money, energy) to get OldCo’s users to become power users of NewCo’s fancy new system? I don’t think I’m asking that much, by the way.

Now, let’s examine what a conflict of interest looks like. Most people are familiar with Enron. If not, Google it. Enron had many problems — more than I care to talk about. But one issue they had is their consulting firm was also their accounting firm. Exhibit A: Arthur Andersen. I knew people that worked for Arthur Andersen: Good people, smart people, but they were in an impossible situation. The consulting arm of Arthur Andersen would advise Enron, and the tax arm of Arthur Andersen would have to figure out how to make it work. I’ve talked with the tax folks that worked at Arthur Andersen on the Enron account, and it was pure madness. Enron and the strategy consulting division put them in a position to try and fit a square peg into a round hole. Let’s not feel too sorry for anyone involved because everyone got rich. Enron, the strategy consultants and the tax consultants, too. No crying for any of the noted parties. But it highlights a potential conflict of interest I’d like to explore in our industry.

When you read about the acquisition of Bayard Advertising by Appcast, it looks great on paper. The industry fit of the two companies is spot on. Appcast and Bayard have been partners for years. Bringing the two firms together makes sense.

Or does it?

Bayard is a services firm. Appcast is a software company. And the client might not get the full value of the marriage between these two good companies. They might inherit a conflict of interest just waiting to happen.

I’ll simplify things. Bayard is a recruitment marketing agency that works with clients on various use cases, from employer brand to career sites, to help drive traffic to jobs. They’ve been in the industry for a long time, and I’ve never heard much negativity about them.

Appcast was founded by one of the smartest people in our industry. Again I’m simplifying. Appcast is thought of as programmatic advertising. Essentially they help practitioners with what budget to spend on a given job and where to place it (Indeed, LinkedIn, Accounting Jobs in Vermont, etc.). By all accounts, the software is top-notch, like with Bayard, and I’ve not heard many complaints about anything Appcast-related.

“So, William, what’s your problem, dude?”

Pre-acquisition, Bayard, as a partner of Appcast, could recommend the technology of Appcast, or they could recommend Joveo, PandoLogic, Recruitics – the list goes on. Essentially, they could do what was best for their clients because they were impartial, like a modern-day Switzerland. It was a beautiful thing.

Post-acquisition, my gut tells me they’ll only recommend Appcast even when Appcast isn’t the best solution for a particular client or situation. Therein lies a conflict of interest. The services firm “must” pimp out the software firm, AND the software firm “must” pimp out the services firm to maximize the deal. In some cases, that will be a good thing for clients. But what about those poor souls with a solution as useful as a screen door on a submarine? How will they ever know the truth?

Oh, the tangled webs we weave.

I have friends with all the firms mentioned, and I love them all more than a fat kid loves cake, but I wouldn’t be doing my job (as I see it) if I didn’t mention some of the negative trappings of M&A for HR/TA practitioners. Just my 50 cents. For the record, everything I’ve written is fixable, but I fear that this particular type of acquisition will scare other agencies and programmatic platforms away. For example, if you’re Joveo or PandoLogic, why would you ever recommend Bayard to a client now? Your client will eventually go to Appcast, and you’ll lose business to a competitor. The opposite is also true. If you’re Radancy (or Shaker, NAS, Hope Leigh, etc.), why would you recommend Appcast, as that client will eventually become Bayard’s client? You picking up what I’m laying down here?

The acquisition makes perfect sense, but it doesn’t make sense. In my humble opinion, both firms were better off as vendor-agnostic, so they could give their clients great advice without pressure to make an acquisition thrive.

In the scenarios above, thinking deeply about users, clients and practitioners and companies putting their interests above their own can make much of what I’ve written disappear or be diminished. But I’m a pragmatist and a capitalist. I think the interest of collecting the almighty dollar will trump empathy, common sense and truly understanding the inherent conflicts of interests that merging services and software firms create. Sometimes mixing chocolate and peanut butter isn’t a good thing.

So, buckle up and hold on tight. We’re about to witness the true test of loyalty and integrity in the face of corporate mergers. It’s a thrilling tale of conflicts of interest, where truth and honesty battle it out in the arena of client recommendations. The plot thickens, my friends. Stay tuned.

With a hint of skepticism,

William

P.S. As always, please let me know your thoughts privately or in the comments.

Matching Company Culture as an Outsourced Recruiter

Outsourced recruiters partner with businesses to get exceptional talent through the door. Likewise, they need a strong pool of candidates with the desired skill sets and personalities to fit the company culture.

Company culture is not easily defined but generally means a business’s values, standards and behaviors. A good cultural fit means employers’ and employees’ standards and values align. Some believe culture comes down to friendliness, flexible working environments, a gossip-free office and an open floor plan that sparks creativity. Ultimately, culture should improve job satisfaction and help attract and retain excellent talent.

Whatever the company culture, outsourced recruiters must use the right tools and methods to sort through candidates and find the best person for the job.

Company Culture Is a Two-Way Street

For as much as companies seek candidates who align with the company mission, purpose and norms, prospective employees also want to work somewhere they feel valued and have a sense of belonging. According to a 2019 Glassdoor survey, 77% of job candidates consider company culture before applying for a role at a particular organization. Culture is also more important than salary for 56% of respondents.

Many companies understand the importance of workplace culture, honing in on diversity and inclusion, professional development, employee recognition and mentorship. Positive company culture is also less toxic, with less turnover. A negative turnover rate of over 15% indicates trouble regarding culture and compensation.

Only 19% of companies agree they have developed the right workplace environment. Amid the Great Resignation, quiet quitting and a Gen Z workforce prone to job hopping, companies have the difficult task of enhancing their culture to align with their employees’ professional desires.

Losing employees is dire for business health and revenue. Therefore, investments in employee retention are the obvious choice and can entice new talent.

5 Ways to Evaluate Candidates for Company Culture

Outsourced recruiters must sift through job seekers to ensure optimal compatibility with company culture. Fortunately, these five methods can give outsourced recruiters insight into suitable candidates for the job and workplace.

  • Decide on Deal Breakers

Determining the deal breakers before interviewing potential candidates can save outsourced recruiters and companies time in the hiring process. There is no reason to conduct multiple interviews with someone unfit for the role or business culture.

It is a red flag when candidates bad-mouth former employers, complain about collaborating with co-workers and are disrespectful of authority. Likewise, someone who lies on their resume or checks their device during an interview is likely unreliable.

  • Ask the Right Questions

With proper screening, outsourced recruiters and hiring managers can gain valuable insight into whether potential candidates are compatible with company culture. Questions might include the following:

  • What motivates you at work?
  • What excites you about this position?
  • How do you deal with office conflicts?
  • In what ways might this role challenge you?
  • How would former colleagues describe you?
  • What do you feel are essential qualities in the workplace?
  • How do you handle criticism from your colleague or supervisor?
  • What is your ideal working environment to benefit your productivity?
  • Do you collaborate well with co-workers or prefer independent work?

Recruiters should also include company-specific questions, such as which company values candidates most and least agree with.

  • Use Advanced AI Tools

Although somewhat divisive, artificial intelligence (AI) has its role in recruiting. AI can sift through hundreds of candidates simultaneously, looking for specific skills and experience.

Additionally, nearly 70% of passive candidates are on LinkedIn and other job sites — a much broader candidate pool for outsourced recruiters to seek talent.

AI should never be the deciding factor for job candidates, though. AI recruiting systems may have human biases built into them, such as targeting gender or race for jobs. Likewise, job seekers may revoke their interest if AI replaces human connection.

  • Promote the Employee Value Proposition 

The employee value proposition (EVP) is crucial to candidates. What is everything the employer offers its employees? When a company ties EVP into its culture, candidates are more likely to get excited about the role

For instance, 87% of employees accept a position if it is flexible. Remote or hybrid work schedules demonstrate a company cares about its employees’ mental health and personal obligations.

For instance, candidates may care for an older relative or be responsible for picking up their kids from school. Recognizing employees’ need to care for loved ones showcases a company’s commitment to family values.

  • Convey Company Culture in the Job Posting

Companies that clearly define their company culture in the job description make finding the perfect candidates much more straightforward for an outsourced recruiter. Job ads should always reflect the company’s culture and values so candidates know what they are after.

There should be as much emphasis on traits as on experience and skills. For instance, companies seeking an excellent collaborator who is innovative and customer-focused should say so while also listing the job responsibilities and expectations.

Candidates will then know they must work well with others and come ready to brainstorm and share their ideas with the team.

Communicate Company Culture to Candidates

A skilled outsourced recruiter will use the available tools and resources to find ideal candidates to match their client’s company culture. Like anything else, there is always a perfect candidate to fit every role.

Introducing IRBIS: A Comprehensive Tool for Online Investigations

In this article, we will explore the capabilities of a new tool called IRBIS. This is a versatile platform that offers both free and paid services for conducting online investigations. Whether you need to perform a phone lookup, search for emails, or investigate social media profiles, IRBIS has got you covered. In this article, we will walk you through the various features of IRBIS and explain how to make the most of this powerful tool.

The Range of Features

IRBIS provides an array of features to assist you in your online investigations. Let’s take a closer look at some of its key functionalities:

  1. 360 Phone Lookup: You can perform phone lookups, allowing you to gather information about individuals based on their phone numbers.
  2. Email Searching: IRBIS enables you to search for email addresses, providing insights into any potential issues or suspicious activities associated with them.
  3. Lookup by Social: This feature allows you to search for individuals across various social media platforms, giving you a comprehensive overview of their online presence.
  4. Face Search: There is even a face search functionality, which can be used to identify individuals by analyzing their facial features.

Free vs. Paid Options

IRBIS provides both free and paid versions of its services. Please note that the free version of IRBIS currently doesn’t offer you any credits. We reached out to support as it seemed like an error, but they got back to us about it. Turns out people were making a plethora of free accounts to circumvent paying.  If you would like to try this software, reach out to their team about getting some free credits…it worked for us and support is almost immediate with their replies.

The paid version unfortunately does not have an unlimited credit system, so to use the platform you would need to be paying per search. This can add up, especially during those frustrating times when you mess up a search and waste a credit on something you didn’t mean to do. These models are a challenge to work with, but you can at least keep accruing credits if you intermittently use the software.

Exploring the Results

When using IRBIS, you will receive detailed results regarding the search you conducted. These results can include information such as:

  • Associated email applications and accounts
  • Potential account hijacking or security concerns
  • Similar email addresses linked to the one you searched

By analyzing these results, you can gain valuable insights into the email address you investigated.

Other Features and Considerations

Apart from email searches, IRBIS offers a range of other features worth exploring:

  • Social Media Lookup: By utilizing the “Lookup by Social” feature, you can discover an individual’s presence across different social media platforms.
  • Phone Lookup: IRBIS also provides a phone lookup functionality, allowing you to gather information based on phone numbers.

It’s important to note that while using IRBIS, you might come across individuals with similar email addresses or find email addresses associated with different countries. These occurrences are more prevalent with Hotmail addresses, as they can be used by multiple users from various locations.

Final Remarks

IRBIS is an exceptional tool for online investigations, providing a comprehensive set of features to delve into various aspects of an individual’s online presence. Whether you need to uncover information through email searches, social media investigations, or phone lookups, IRBIS delivers reliable and valuable results.

With this tool, the power of information is in your hands, so don’t let it go to your head!

Other Dean Da Costa Content:

Dean has a free page of sourcing tools, links, and other recruiting resources that we highly recommend you check out! That page has an overwhelming amount of stuff, so you gotta really love sourcing to appreciate the infinite hours of work Dean has put into it. For all of the Dean Da Costa resources on RecruitingDaily, click here!