Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) have never been talked about often in the personal and professional realm until the most recent years. In fact, these three elements serve a purpose in today’s workforce:
Diversity: refers to acknowledging various differences in people.
Equity: is ensuring that programs, protocols and approaches are fair and impartial for all.
Inclusion: ensures that everyone feels included in a workplace and that they respect each other.
When all three elements are acknowledged, companies and organizations can showcase a more diverse and modern workforce.
With that in mind, here are 5 trends to expect in 2022 concerning diversity, equity and inclusion:
Continuous Recovery From COVID-19 Pandemic
With COVID-19 being the major topic of 2020, it’s evident that people will need all the time they need to recover from the physical, emotional and financial tragedies that came with the pandemic. Although vaccinations are now widely available, the return to normalcy may or may not come anytime soon.
So, with the idea of a ‘new normal’ in the minds of consumers and the workforce, there’s the trend of there being in continuous recovery from the COVID-19 crisis.
With that in mind, human resource personnel—no matter the company or organization—will need to keep in mind the following tips:
Practice having a nurturing and compassionate workplace culture.
Communicate with employees with regular check-ins and collaborations.
Offer paid time-off for when employees have caregiving duties, or have mental and physical needs.
Expanding And Evolving Remote Work
The pandemic had most people working from home as a means to stop the spread of COVID-19. Despite the closures and shutdowns of many businesses, some companies and organizations have managed to use remote work to keep business going.
Though, it’s when you dive deeper that you see the emotional and mental aspects of working from home. In fact, remote work has become a relief for the following:
Stay-at-home mothers
Caregivers
Job seekers
Freelancers (any industry), etc.
So, when looking at the workforce in your company or organization, remember to be diverse, equitable, and inclusive by asking yourself these important questions:
Who can work in-house? And who needs to work from home?
How many days a week can your employees work?
How can you make sure that everyone in your workforce has adequate access to time, technology, workspace, etc.?
Hiring With AI
Artificial intelligence (AI) has already taken technology by storm with things like:
Virtual assistants (i.e. Alexa)
Deep data
Social media postings
Search engine recommendations, etc.
Now, hiring departments in companies and organizations can take advantage of AI and AI-solutions in their operations. AI allows hiring managers to hire based on diversity, equity and inclusion. That means that they can hire people from different backgrounds, rather than just look at resumes. This allows for your talent pool to be more diverse and inclusive, which is a plus for job seekers.
More Inclusive Communications
Nowadays, it’s no longer the norm to use default terms for people. In terms of diversity, equity, and inclusion, it’s now normal to have more representation for marginalized groups such as people of color, non-binaries and so on. Rather than assume a person’s identity or know only stereotypes, inclusive communication allows people to appreciate and celebrate people’s differences.
With that said, here are some ways to make communications more inclusive:
Showcase people of a various races, genders, and abilities on your website, social media, etc.
Avoid stereotypical or hurtful terminology (e.g. “normal,” “non-white,” “gay,” etc.).
Ask employees how they wish to identify (i.e. pronouns, race).
Learning To Listen
Finally, it’s important to learn to listen to your employees. No matter their concerns, listen with intent and empathy. This is especially crucial, since things like the pandemic have shaped the world with concern and sympathy towards one another.
There is now a need for more compassion in the world. When employees feel that they can go to their employers about any concerns, that strengthen the bond between employer and employee. That ultimately spells diversity, equity, and inclusion.
So, be sure to listen to your employees in the following ways:
Regular check-ins
Offering mental health resources
Offering paid time-off for any medical or mental emergencies… and so on.
Conclusion
As one can imagine, diversity, equity and inclusion are just as important today as ever before. With the major changes and upheavals that have happened over the recent years, there will be more trends to come in the year 2022. Therefore, it’s important to build a stronger culture and a well-running workforce as the world moves into 2022.
To get the ball rolling, it’s important to keep in mind the 5 trends that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in your company or organization when doing the following:
There are lots of ways to ask a candidate for referrals. Specifically, what verbiage do you like to use or find is most effective? And when do you inject that verbiage/request into your conversations with candidates?
Is it during your 1st Introduction Call with a candidate?
During your 2nd call?
After a candidate gets an interview?
After a candidate accepts a job offer?
During the time period between offer acceptance and their start date?
Just after their start date?
Ongoing requests while they are an active employee?
After they reject a job offer and feel indebted to you for investing time in them?
After they reject an interview or moving forward because your opportunity is not the right fit for
them?
All of the above?
What verbiage and timing tactics do you find are most effective?
Here is a simple idea on how to ask for more referrals without asking. It goes back to the very first opening statements during the introduction call with a new candidate. Add this kind of verbiage to your opening lines and plant seeds for magic to happen:
“Hey John, thanks for scheduling a call today. Just so you know, I work almost exclusively with ________________ Industry/Region Professionals/Operators/etc. like yourself such as (INSERT JOB TITLE) but I also work with (INSERT RELATED INDUSTRY TITLE OR JOB TITLE OF ANOTHER ONE OF YOUR ACTIVE JOB OPENINGS). I help those in the industry find great jobs while also advising and coaching them through interview processes and even provide job search tips.
I want to help you and those in the __________ industry in any way I can.”
This kind of verbiage establishes relevancy, trust and credibility
Pause after the intro and wait for the candidate to reply
The candidate may reply: “Wow, that’s great. I really appreciate the call and I’m excited to talk to you.”
What just happened?
You not only established yourself as a caring career advisor in their mind, but you also asked for referrals without asking.
When you listed off 4 or 5 other types of professionals you also recruit for in the industry (or even job titles of your other active openings), the candidate indexes and makes a mental note that you’ve helped others in the industry, so maybe can help other people they may know.
By listing off other job titles you recruit, you are planting a seed in the candidate’s mind.
Each job title listed/mentioned will trigger a connection in their mind of someone in their life who may be job seeking or unhappy at their current job.
So what do you do next?
Nothing! (nothing related to asking referrals that is)
Next, you serve the candidate in front of you with the most excellent service possible. Listen to their needs, empathize, advise, help, coach, do everything to serve that candidate well during their experience and be an exceptional Talent Acquisition professional.
Give them the best experience they’ve ever had with a Recruiter. Treat them like family, treat them with respect and courtesy. Bring your “A” game and do your very best to serve them well.
Then what?
Keep serving them well throughout the process. Even if they don’t land the job or accept a different position, they should walk away feeling their experience with you was satisfying and different. This way, they know you are a true professional. They will respect your high level of service and attention to them, and will instinctively desire to refer their friends to you.
So is that it?
Yes and no.
Your great service and kindness has established a mutual level of respect and rapport that you can now ask for referrals and the candidate will be ensured you are not trying to manipulate them or use them.
Here is one option for verbiage to actually ask for referrals:
“Hey John, one more thing, do you remember when I mentioned to you during our first call I help other professionals in the ____________ Industry/Region get jobs, (INSERT ACTIVE JOB SEARCH TITLE #1), (INSERT #2), (INSERT #3), ETC. You wouldn’t happen to know, just one friend you think I could help or who just might want to hear about a new job?”
Candidate: “Actually, yes, I was talking to my friend joe the other day, he’s a _________ professional, let me connect you with him.”
Or the Candidate could respond: “No, I can’t think of anyone.”
Your response: “Well, I would appreciate you keeping me in mind if you learn any of your friends or family is looking to change positions or job seeking. I will do my very best to serve them as well as I hopefully did for you.”
Candidate: “Oh, you were great. I really appreciated your help through this process and I will send people your way.”
When do you ask?
You can make the ask at nearly any time throughout the recruiting process. As long as you are proving them with great service (attention, courtesy, responsiveness, counsel, time, etc.), then at any point you can refer to that first conversation when you listed off other professionals for whom you recruit and ask for referrals.
The main idea here is: Serve them well first! Really really well, and you may not ever even have to ask.
What verbiage and timing tactics do you find are most effective when asking for referrals?
Recruitment is really very similar to marketing and sales in terms of workflow. Marketing delivers qualified leads then sales follows up on them.
If there are not enough qualified leads, sales complains about marketing. If insufficient leads are converted into sales, sales can (really) only blame themselves, but sometimes they’ll chide marketing for poor lead quality.
It is a never-ending game, but the rules are clear. People know their responsibilities, expected activity levels and goals.
It’s Not as Clear for Recruiters
At times, dedicated sourcers do the prospecting (like marketing), and recruiters do the interviewing (like sales). Other times, recruiters do both. But what are the expectations?
If a job is filled quickly and the cost is reasonable, everyone is happy. But if the job takes too long to fill or the company needs to resort to agencies and cost skyrockets, who is to blame?
In my experience talent sourcing is far from being run like sales and marketing operations, although the concept is very similar.
If salespeople are not calling enough prospects, sending enough LinkedIn or e-mail messages, they will surely be summoned to their supervisors for questioning. Sales calls and message numbers are closely monitored, and salespeople are held accountable for them.
But recruiters? How many recruiters are held accountable for the number of messages they send to potential candidates? The number of calls they make? In my experience, very few.
Unfortunately, recruiters are measured primarily by the results of their work, not by their practices. If results are the only measure for success, it is hard to help them improve and be successful.
Sales and marketing departments have another advantage. They have process automation tools. Marketing has marketing automation tools like Marketo and productivity tools like Auto Dialers. Salespeople have sales automation tools like Salesforce and a bunch of productivity tools like Gong.
What do recruiters have? LinkedIn and perhaps a few other search engines for talent.
Recruitment is the last standing industry where people sit by computers, enter keywords, sift through listings and then spend hours trying to engage with potential candidates. If they are lucky, people respond to their LinkedIn messages. If not, they need to look for e-mail addresses and telephone numbers. All is manual. Even messages are crafted manually with the hope that a personal message will prompt the candidate to respond. This is not scalable.
It Is Also a Numbers Game
Let’s assume the recruiters get a 10% positive response rate on LinkedIn. If they send messages to say 20 candidates, they may get two interested candidates and hope that they will pass the initial screening interview.
If they send 40 messages, they may get four interviews. This may not be enough to fill the job with qualified candidates.
If the company is interested in diverse candidates, the mission is even harder. Let’s say there are 20% diverse candidates on the list. With a total of 20 candidates and 10% response, we are unlikely to get any interviews with diverse candidates.
Talent Acquisition Departments Need a Mind Shift
It’s time to explore automated sourcing tools that can send messages to hundreds of candidates per job. Not just one message but multiple messages through an optimized drip campaign.
Yes, the quality of the candidates contacted will not be as high as selecting them manually, one by one, but it is scalable and the trade-off between 100% control and a campaign that generates a mix of higher and lower quality candidates is worth it. At the end of the day, with such tools, recruiters will have more candidates to choose from and less work to put into sourcing.
Ultimately, recruiters can be elevated to the quality and sophistication that sales and marketing people enjoy.
Evaluating candidates according to their skills and not their CVs is the new consensus.
Everyone agrees that skill-based assessments are the best way to guarantee a qualified and skilled candidate that is more likely to have a better retention rate and suitability for the work environment. That will ultimately become a valuable asset for the company. This type of approach guarantees long-term success for both parties– the employer and the employee and results in tremendous time and cost savings translated into a beneficial relationship with the concept of recruiting. Therefore, those processes should be performed in a well-thought-out and clever manner.
With the enormous progress in innovation, how can we move forward from asking people about their needs to assessing them even before applying for the job?
Where can a candidate display their skills and show what they truly are worth in today’s recruiting platform?
So what are those elusive skills that we fail to identify through hundreds of thousands of CVs? How can we differentiate between the candidates that seem good on paper and those that can do the job? In a world that is used to seeing new hires through their CVs and cover letters alone, constantly mounting with irrelevant information, inevitably building discriminative stereotypes and misconceptions, it is easy to miss out on the right person. The existing sourcing tools are old school, and accordingly, HR teams realize that skills-based screening is the way to go.
The high-tech world learned asking about skills is not enough and developed performance evaluations tests to help identify the right candidate. They have much higher salaries and greater resources when sorting through new candidates, and can afford performance-based evaluations in various areas. While it sounds promising, these evaluations are performed only after the candidate sends over their CV and interviews, which means they didn’t rectify the current sourcing method. They use the old ways and add more tests along the road, eventually selecting from the same tall pile of candidates.
Another platform we recently started seeing many skills questionnaires appearing on is the various social media channels. It might seem like a way to address larger audiences, but it doesn’t reflect any qualifications because people can list anything they want about themselves. It makes those questionnaires more a test about a candidate’s judgment rather than their abilities. They think about what their potential employers want to hear and act the part. To get that specific job, there is still a long way to go.
To shift the perspective from CVs to skills, an employer looks at a list of a candidate’s skills and still learns very little. It goes without saying that a candidate’s background and advantages will help them do their job, but those attributes can shine during an interview. The bottom line, is all of those skills sourcing solutions are just too little, too late. HR teams know that the current process is not enough, but they don’t have the proper solution yet. And the issues begin from the get-go. When the initial screening process is far from objective or efficient, all those add-ons will never be good enough.
Rethinking the whole process makes you realize one vital thing– altering the current funnel is inevitable. If you want to hire someone for a job, let them try and do the job first. There is no clearer picture than the complete picture when a candidate tries out the job, feels the environment, and can function and perform their skills in the most objective manner. Both the candidate and employer will quickly know if the job is theirs to have or not. And, of course, the candidate’s chances of sticking with the company are increasing significantly.
When introducing cutting-edge AI tools to the process, the advantages of skills sourcing will not get lost into another pile. AI, incorporated with accumulated HR knowledge and advanced technology, gives us the chance to deliver a performance-based evaluation for a specific job. And that is what matters. Since every job requires a different set of various skills, the crucial thing to know before hiring someone is how they perform within desired skills. It is not only if they hold those particular skills but realizing how those skills manifest. And that is the latest message in sourcing: Instead of being only skills-based, it is about performance-based sourcing.
HR industry with AI technology
Think of the countless opportunities created when combining years of professional experience in the HR industry with AI technology. The novel solution born out of this combination takes skills and performance assessment to the next level. Tailoring performance evaluations for specific jobs using the technology is easier, faster and more fitting to each company’s needs. The skills evaluated with AI can immediately affect a candidate’s performance and abilities, reflecting multiple virtues of their expertise.
Another considerable advantage of AI-based skills assessment is its objectivity. When the technology is structured to look for particular features, it is blind to others. It ignores color, race, gender, age, experience and any disability or irrelevant limitation. This blindness ultimately creates a much more diverse and inclusive workplace. It can also help in one of the most common phenomena of Covid-19: job mobility. Using an intelligent skills-based test, candidates can realize that they fit into positions they think they cannot do because of a lack of experience. A performance assessment could open a window in new hiring options for those individuals according to their vetted qualifications.
The story of screening is the story of hiring.
The approach towards screening is shifting from the information a candidate testifies about themselves to their actual performance. The new strategy calls for new solutions that will help HR move forward to the next step, creating an efficient win-win platform where candidates and employers take control over the process. Harnessing AI technology brings the advantages of performance testing to the front seat with every single candidate, every position and every company out there.
Is the Driver Shortage About to Ease as Transport & Logistics Applications Rise?
We’ve all seen the headlines proclaiming that Christmas will be ruined yet again this year — but this time not because we’re in the middle of a pandemic. The fate of Christmas 2021 apparently lies in the hands of HGV (Heavy Goods Vehicle) drivers, of which the Road Haulage Association estimates there is a shortage of up to 100,000.
Because of this shortage, supermarkets and retail stores are experiencing supply issues. Physicians, too, are reporting delays to flu vaccines and blood test tubes vials arriving at their surgeries.
However, WaveTrackR data has shown that in August, applications within the Transport & Logistics sector increased for the first time since April. Could the rise in jobs, widely publicized increased salaries and sign-on bonuses be taking affect?
Supply Chain Worries
IKEA has become the latest retail giant — joining Tesco, Morrisons, Iceland and toy retailer The Entertainer (alongside many more) — to warn driver shortages are causing product shortages and could increase prices.
Morrisons has said that it expects prices to rise over the course of the rest of the year as a result of the shortage.Most consumers have seen gaps on supermarket shelves or a series of substitutions on their shopping delivery.
In August, Logistics UK and the British Retail Consortium jointly wrote to Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng, warning that action needs to be taken or the impact on supply chains will only worsen. Especially as Christmas — the busiest period in the retail and logistics year — approaches.
From September onwards, retailers will be stock building in preparation for the Christmas period, so a strong supply chain is essential.
Historic Driver Shortages
Some in the industry have been warning of driver shortages for years, given the majority of the workforce is made up of older workers (the average age of HGV drivers in the UK is 55) and there has been a lack of younger workers wanting to join the industry.
The estimated shortage pre-COVID was around 60,000 drivers. Then came the double whammy of a pandemic, which paused HGV driver training and testing for 12 months, and Brexit, which led to thousands of EU drivers leaving the UK (an estimated 25,000 EU drivers returned home during the pandemic and following the end of the Brexit transition period; the ONS Labour Force Survey found that only approximately 600 EU lorry drivers had returned to the UK by July 2021).
It’s unsurprising we are left with a driver shortage. High training costs have been a deterrent and a change to IR35 tax, meaning that agency workers have had to pay more tax and agencies need to pay National Insurance contributions, haven’t helped. Rod McKenzie, managing director of policy and public affairs at the Road Haulage Association, has said the industry is losing more lorry drivers weekly.
Could the Tide be Turning for Applications?
WaveTrackR data has been confirming the shortages trend through a downwards trajectory for job applications in the sector. The data reveals that the average applications per job in Transport & Logistics fell each month from March to June. That led to the sector experiencing among the lowest applications per job across all industries.
However, the tide finally seems to be turning as that number has been rising since July, concurrent with the general rise in applications for roles in the industry over July and August.
This has culminated in the highest level of applications being received all year in August. Why? Perhaps salary increases, which WaveTrackR has logged as solidly increasing between Quarter 2 and Quarter 3, and golden hellos have impacted the rise in applications.
Alternatively, maybe the backlog of driver training, tests and licenses being issued starting to clear means that a drip feed of new candidates are now entering the market. Whatever the reasons, the data is encouraging.
How the Shortage can Continue to be Tackled
Both retail and transport lobby groups have called on the government to take action in a number of ways to address the current driver shortage. Streamlining the HGV driving test system to increase the number of tests available is seen as crucial, and the government has responded by announcing the test for both an articulated and a rigid lorry will now be combined.
This should result in a faster testing system, increasing the availability of tests. The groups have also suggested that funding for driver training be made more accessible by adding it to the National Skills Fund and allowing trainee drivers on the Apprenticeship Levy to drive as soon as possible into the program.
What industry bodies really want — but what the government is so far resisting — is for HGV drivers to be added to the Home Office Shortage Occupation list, which would allow European drivers short-term visas.
The latter would be a sensible short-term solution while license backlogs are cleared and new drivers are trained. It has also been suggested that HGV drivers should be added as a standard occupational code for the skilled worker visa.
There aren’t many that would deny HGV drivers aren’t highly skilled. What does seem to be a common consensus is that the rules limiting driving hours being relaxed are a hastily made, unsafe measure.
How Can We Encourage Younger Workers into the Industry?
Part of the reason for a shortage of drivers is the stigma of unsociable hours, poor standards when parking overnight and average pay. The latter is being rectified, with big names such as Tesco and John Lewis offering substantial financial incentives to new drivers, though this is unlikely to be sustained in the long term.
What is really needed is funding for training (which is in the thousands of pounds) to increase the number of available drivers that can be hired.
In terms of poor working conditions, the government has pledged to work alongside the industry to improve lorry park standards by ensuring basics such as access to a toilet, hand washing facilities, a hot shower and food are available, as well as increasing official parking spaces for lorry drivers.
There have also been recent moves by the industry to pay attention to the mental health of drivers who are on the road by themselves for days at a time.
A rise in applications within the Logistics & Transport industry in August is good news but a shortage of 100,000 drivers will take time to resolve. The government sticking to its word about speeding up the testing process will certainly help.
Allowing temporary visas to EU drivers would be an ideal solution in the short term as the backlog begins to clear — we wait to see whether the government U-turns on that.
Long term, there needs to be a drive to encourage a greater number of younger workers to join the profession. HGV drivers were part of the backbone that held up the UK during the pandemic and the current fallout from the shortages proves just how much we all rely on them to keep the nation going.
It’s a skilled profession that should be recognized as such — something that would go a long way to boosting the recruitment drive.
A Comprehensive Rundown of the Remote Future of Work – and How to Retain Your Talent
It’s no secret that the workforce is changing quickly. The traditional office space has been replaced by a mix of remote work and on-site collaboration with more companies moving towards this remote model every day. The trend isn’t just about saving money — it’s about attracting talent in an increasingly competitive global market for top performers.
To fully attract and retain talent effectively, it’s important to examine the remote workplace trends that happen today and adjust your HR team accordingly.
Remote and Hybrid Working Environments — The New Norm
All-remote and hybrid working environments are becoming the new normal for businesses. It’s no longer a question of whether you should allow your employees to work remotely, but how to implement it successfully. For organizations still adjusting to the pandemic, sustaining an all-remote workforce continues to pose challenges that can impact the structure and performance of your company.
The ultimate goal for most businesses is to enable employees to get their work done without jeopardizing the business’s success, no matter where they are or what time zone they’re in. However, several vital challenges can arise when establishing an effective remote working environment.
This includes productivity loss due to lack of communication tools, poor management, and burnout with little flexibility. For all-remote companies to survive and thrive, it takes dedicated commitment from team members across all departments.
Video conferencing allows employees to communicate in a more personal and productive way. It also allows companies to connect with talent across the country, or to potential employees who may otherwise be unavailable due to their geographic location. As part of the remote work package, companies are increasingly offering video conferencing equipment and software licenses so that workers can stay connected from wherever they choose to work.
From now on, video conferencing technology will continue to play a significant role in enabling companies and workers alike.
New Initiatives to Drive Employee Engagement and Retention
As modern workplaces adapt their strategies to building better-performing teams while reducing turnover, new initiatives are being implemented to keep remote workers engaged and happy. Below we’ll address a few of these initiatives:
Offering company-wide support for wellness programs and services
Offering a company-wide support program can be a way to show employees that you care about their wellbeing. By providing both physical and mental support, companies create an environment where remote workers feel supported in all areas of life. Another way to support wellness is offering gym memberships, fitness classes, or catering healthy food delivery options.
Offering incentives for employees who want more flexible hours
Remote working arrangements give organizations the ability to offer additional flexibility to their employees. One way to take advantage of this flexibility is by providing incentives. This could be in the form of more vacation time, a flexible office location, or a cash bonus for working from home and managing employee work expenses.
Encouraging remote workers to attend company events and meet-ups
Even if your employees work remotely, it can be beneficial to join in on company meetings or conferences. These virtual opportunities allow employees the chance to connect with their colleagues on a deeper level. To facilitate these connections, companies are now offering programs to cover travel costs so that all employees have an equal opportunity to participate in group activities together.
Offering training and professional development opportunities
Remote work makes it easier to hire people with niche skillsets who may not have been available locally. This allows companies to cultivate these unique skills further by offering additional learning resources such as online courses, seminars, tutorials, etc.
These initiatives can help employees feel like their organization cares enough to assist in their growth while also adding value to the business. When employees are supported emotionally and professionally, they tend to stay much longer because they care deeply about being part of your team’s success.
In Summary
The future of work will likely be increasingly remote. To prepare for this, companies need to invest in digital tools and technology to have a flexible workforce. They also should look for opportunities to provide professional and mental health support to all employees as they can continue to work in isolated settings. By doing this, companies can retain their talent while also positioning their company for scale.
Job vacancies are higher than they have been in decades, and people are changing jobs at an unprecedented rate. It turns out it’s the tip of the iceberg: in addition to losing good people, businesses are now losing the people responsible for recruiting and hiring people.
This includes senior talent-focused roles including Heads of Talent, Employer Brand leaders and CHROs — we’ve seen them turning down roles at tier-one global companies because they are being offered more money and better benefits elsewhere — faster!
Many are also moving on because their teams are quitting, and they don’t feel they have the support they need.
The talent acquisition retention problem is real: if you can’t retain the people who source your talent, how can your business continue to recruit?
1. Make Time for Talent Mapping
Planning for future hires so that talent acquisition teams do not become overwhelmed is key. Let’s face it: it’s easy for talent acquisition teams to become overwhelmed. Advertising vacancies, sourcing candidates, taking the time out to screen or interview and even negotiating salaries — recruitment (done right) can be incredibly time-consuming.
Not to mention the ongoing issue of candidates ghosting recruiters or not even showing up after they have accepted an offer.
This is where talent mapping may help.
Many businesses use talent mapping to plan for short, medium and long-term hiring goals. In advance of live vacancies, by talent mapping, recruiters scour the market to identify the top talent in a given field.
Talent mapping helps to ensure that emergency hiring situations don’t leave companies powerless, waiting and hoping for the right candidates to apply. Chances are, when a company utilizes talent mapping, it has already identified a pool of candidates ready to go straight to interview.
The process also creates a reference for the internal talent you have, and the talent you are likely to need. By mapping the company structure, you can then identify the talent gaps you will eventually need to fill.
Talent mapping can also help support internal mobility with the current workforce. This research can highlight the areas companies can invest in training the team members who could eventually fill open roles and help support your TA team and drive retention. Identifying potential in the workplace and investing in career development, in turn, promotes employee engagement and positive company culture.
2. Reputation is Everything: Employer Brands Must Reflect a Good Candidate and Employee Experience
A good employer brand will attract the right candidates, but gaining a reputation for providing a poor candidate experience is likely to make life extremely difficult for your talent team.
When it comes to their experiences of applying for roles, people are likely to share freely, and this also includes online reviews. If talent finds your application process too long, complex or you don’t communicate well with candidates, then your employer brand reputation could be on the line. The same goes for your employees: they will also share their experiences, especially when the reality of working for a company is entirely different to the employer brand it presents to the outside world.
All of this together can impact the day-to-day success of your talent team, and over time could contribute to talent team career fatigue and retention problems.
A last note on employer planning and your talent team: all too often, employer branding doesn’t take into account all roles, including HR and talent acquisition functions. It’s important to look at what is important to these roles and to segment your messaging in favor of this. For example, in a fast-moving technology startup, talent acquisition specialists may get a unique opportunity to set up a one-of-a-kind tech team that disrupts the industry quickly.
If you want to build a business growth machine, you need to ensure the employer brand also appeals to the talent team. In the past, marketing teams have had the bandwidth to support EVP work, but they are stretched to the brink as well right now.
3. Consider Alternative Sourcing Models
When I speak to talent acquisition leaders, one of the top issues that come up is the lack of clarity surrounding resources. Overpromising resources only to have them never materialize is unfortunately quite commonplace, and all too soon talent leaders can feel isolated and overworked because they’re being spread too thin. Even the best-intended organizations are struggling with hiring recruiters and keeping the teams to support TA leaders.
There are tech leaders who’ve been told they can’t use agencies but need to get hundreds of people hired in complex roles before their Employer Value Proposition even exists. There are talent managers trying to source highly technical roles without enough information surrounding the skill set, all the while fighting for budget to meet their targets. There are HR teams that simply don’t have the time and expertise to get into sourcing, but often feel they don’t have the choice. There are also HR teams that want to build a relevant EVP, but don’t have marketing partner bandwidth.
Resources are often lacking, and outsourcing may be a big help.
Some organizations have been nervous about outsourcing and have been sitting on budget, waiting for the new year to spend it. It’s safe to say that the time is here to spend that budget to address attrition and compete in today’s truly complex hiring landscape.
An experienced Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) provider can offer expertise in recruiting highly sought-after roles, giving your in-house team assistance and support when they most need it. Today, RPO providers work in strategic, flexible partnerships with companies, becoming a seamless and flexible extension of your hiring team which can ebb and flow with demand.
Taking on a little support is not admitting defeat: it’s simply recognizing that today, talent acquisition has become much more difficult and much more time-consuming than ever before. In the race to become more strategic and more efficient with your resources, a bit of RPO may be just what is needed to make in-house teams feel supported and to master talent team retention.
Your leaders will appreciate your business acumen and your in-house teams will welcome the help.
Whether you’re recruiting for 1,000 positions or just for 10, there are some great lessons to be learned from the world of “high volume” hiring that can be applied to a search for any number of candidates.
High volume hiring—defined as needing 1,000 hires or receiving more than 1,000 applications per position—is most common in the restaurant, retail, delivery, and manufacturing industries. However, even the “traditional” recruiter, focused on knowledge worker roles, are facing unique challenges. Recruiters of all kinds can feel the frustration of too few candidates or losing out on the best candidates.
Is There a Labor Shortage—or a Speed Shortage?
According to a recent report from human capital management research and advisory firm Aptitude Research, which surveyed 420 recruiting employees at the talent acquisition director level and above, if the application process takes longer than 30 minutes, nearly half the job candidates give up, leaving recruiters without enough candidates to fill the jobs.
You can improve the drop-off rate by first understanding why candidates are not moving forward. Think of your application as a “shopping cart” and take steps to guide candidates toward a successful “check-out.”
Is Your Application Mobile-Friendly?
Evaluate the mobile-friendliness of your current hiring process, and if it can’t be done on a mobile phone, consider making some changes. Are you asking candidates to sit at a computer or laptop to fill out the application? A mobile-friendly strategy meets candidates where they are, whether that’s on the bus on their way to work, on the couch after completing a late-night shift, or in their car during their lunch break.
Be Quick To Follow Up!
When asked about the most annoying part of the application process, many job seekers complain about a lack of follow-up. Remember that most applicants are applying for multiple jobs so if they’re left wondering if they’ll make it to the next step, there’s a good chance they’ll quickly move on to something else.
Make Sms Your Primary Form of Communication
While email adds a sense of formality to the interview process, SMS is quickly becoming a more effective way to interact with candidates.
The average office worker gets over 100 emails a day with about a 20% open rate. Text messages, however, have an average open rate of 98%. Recruiters should strive for at least five candidate touchpoints within the first 48 hours in order to keep candidates fully engaged. It’s unlikely that you’ll be able to fully capture candidates’ attention unless you are communicating with them via text.
Lights, Camera…Action!
One-way video interviews (or on-demand video interviews) can be a great way to shorten the time-to-hire. You set pre-selected interview questions, then candidates record their responses and send them back for the hiring team to review. This reduces the amount of travel involved with face-to-face interviews and, in the race to secure candidates, saves you a lot of time.
Remember, “Speed Defines Success”
The pressure recruiters face to secure talent is enormous and will most likely stay that way for a long time to come. Simplify, optimize, and automate as much of the candidate journey as possible to decrease time-to-hire and you’ll speed your company toward success.
Before the Great Resignation became the most repeated phrase of 2021, PandoLogic sought to understand what was happening with today’s candidates. Partnering with Parsons Strategic Consulting, we developed the first-ever Voice of the Candidate study to find what the candidate experience looks like from the job seeker’s point of view.
Conducted via social listening, our initial research examined more than 68 billion public conversations about the recruiting process, including optimized searches around working, applying, interviewing and onboarding, then analyzed for top-mentioned emotions and sentiment.
Call us clairvoyant, but we had a feeling there was more going on than most employers realized – and it turns out, we were right. The first iteration was published in Q2, 2021, and found that employers weren’t listening to candidates, and as a result, both sides were speaking entirely different languages. Recognizing that this wasn’t a one-and-done type of study, we repeated the research in Q3, 2021, and frankly put, the situation has gone from bad to worse.
Rising Temperatures
The temperature of the candidate experience conversation is rising – and with it, so is their dissatisfaction with the recruiting process. Candidates aren’t happy, and they’re talking about it. Noting an 18 percent increase in job search conversations, PandoLogic observed a 60 percent jump in candidate passion intensity and a 45 percent decrease in overall candidate sentiment. In addition, this audience is having more love-hate conversations, skewing negatively, indicating that anger is on the rise.
But why?
For one thing, the conversation is ongoing, ebbing and flowing along with hiring trends. In Q3 of this year, we saw the Great Resignation become part of an everyday narrative, as businesses across industries cited massive labor shortages. Additional discussion has led to more voices and opinions, influencing the sentiment and passion intensity metrics we captured. Drilling down into the data, it’s clear that the application and rejection stages play a big part in what we’re seeing. Even so, these are representative of more significant changes taking place.
Drivers and Drainers
So, what’s behind the shift? For starters, there is the prolonged impact of the pandemic, specifically on women. The Q3 findings show inequity in the conversation, with men accounting for 55 percent and women only 45 percent. However, when the word “quit” was included, the results evened out to 50-50.
That means men and women are talking about quitting their jobs in equal numbers, though fewer women are talking about searching for jobs. At the 2021 HR Technology Conference, keynote speaker Abby Wambach reminded the audience that if women were paid as much as men, they might not be forced to leave the workforce and never return. Validating Wambach’s thinking further is the 58 percent of men talking about starting their new jobs versus 42 percent of women.
Running alongside the gender disparity is rejection. Yes, rejection is part of life and part of the job search, but it’s rapidly become a huge part of the candidate experience conversation. In the Q2 report, we noted that rejection had a stronger than anticipated sentiment around it. The drop came in Q3, with that sentiment plummeting from 27 to -60. Possible factors include expiring unemployment benefits and various moratoriums coupled with rejection’s emotional toll on active candidates. As the study offers, “Never forget that 100 percent of the time, a job posting ends in rejection for 99 percent of the candidates.”
Changing the Conversation
By understanding the candidate conversation and the underlying factors influencing their attitudes and behaviors, employers have the ability to enter the chat and help educate job seekers. There are a few simple ways to do that, like including more details about compensation and benefits as well as shift information, regardless of industry or role.
For instance, while it’s well documented that remote work is on the rise, the impact remote work has on the length of the workweek is less known. Data from Microsoft suggests that since its move to company-wide remote work, its working week has extended by around 10 percent. Likewise, our Q3 report found a severe drop in conversations around the job offer, down 40 percent, and starting a new job, down 41 percent.
That decrease seems to reflect hesitation or ambivalence on the part of job seekers, who may feel uninspired or unexcited by their new opportunities – especially if it means going back to the office. Overall, employers need to explain what to expect and what’s expected upfront – and inject some joy into the process.
When we talk about the candidate experience, we tend to throw around the word “communication.” But communication isn’t a one-way street, and if we’re serious about improving recruiting outcomes, it’s time we start listening, too. Your candidates are talking.
Have you attended a meeting to discuss a workplace issue on a challenging topic? Perhaps you need to evaluate an employee’s poor performance? Or the company’s inability to give yearly bonuses?
Did everyone involved feel empowered to speak up and share their feelings and opinions Unfortunately, the answer to this is usually, yes, you’ve been to these meetings, but no, not everyone felt like they could speak up.
Typically these tough conversations arise when one party needs something from the other, such as the opportunity to share less than positive feedback or an employee to produce better results, etc.
Furthermore, when conflict arises, it can be difficult for the facilitator to consider all perspectives. When faced with these situations, ill-thought-out statements are often made, creating broken, distrustful relationships. In turn, we’re conditioned to avoid candid conversations.
Conversation Design
HR departments must encourage open, honest and inclusive conversations regularly, not only when an issue or sensitive topic arises. The goal is to achieve the best outcomes for all parties involved, not only those who called the meeting. Additionally, by changing the stigma away from being a “tough” conversation and instead focusing on the potential, mutually beneficial outcome, these discussions will become easier and more enjoyable experiences.
A newer design principle, conversation design, builds discussions based on natural, human conversations. It focuses on a logical flow while meeting the needs of the people involved.
In a workplace setting, we typically think an HR leader with sophisticated tools at their disposal must be present in all more challenging discussions. In reality, when armed with the right approach, anyone at any level can facilitate such a discussion. In this case, HR professionals, managers and team leaders design talk tracks to engage current and future employees.
Successful conversation maps draw on art, science and rounds of tests and practices. To foster a workplace encouraging critical conversations, consider these tips for engaging dialogue across your organization.
Understand the Reason for the Conversation
Studies show lack of open communication and support in a manager/employee relationship fosters a toxic culture, causing employees to seek new opportunities.
Before designing a conversation, establish the importance of having it in the first place. A primary reason is to remove awkwardness surrounding tough topics and encourage open dialogue, especially in settings where we want to be professional and never too emotional.
Chances are, if something requires this type of conversation, it may be uncomfortable. What central tension does the issue hold? What are the unavoidable topics? What shared truth do all parties need to take away from it? Address the discomfort head-on to make the conversation as productive as possible.
Conversations Are a Journey, Not a One-and-Done
We’re all guilty of exchanging feedback and thinking, ‘phew, glad that’s over.’ We need to do away with this mindset. Conversations must be a journey, not a one-time occurrence that we get over with and move on.
Success, a consensus, or a plan of action seldom comes from a single discussion. Instead, it is a journey requiring everyone’s involvement, personal reflection, and mutual respect. Staying on course and not giving up requires time and effort, the place where many of us get stuck.
Engagement platforms for in-person and virtual conversations empower participants in a journey of self-discovery through questions gauging current experiences. There are no right or wrong answers, only sharing feelings, thoughts and experiences. Such an approach leverages Marshal Ganz’s community organizing principles.
The story of self: Ask a question evoking a personal story. Establish shared empathy and a basis of trust before moving on to deeper challenges.
The story of us: This question identifies a shared struggle, pointing out the tension and connecting participants to the overarching challenge.
The story of now: These questions spark a sense of urgency and action. They shift participants away from the negative mindset and toward the cultivation of empowerment by encouraging personal responsibility.
This proven structure encourages managers and employees alike to look below the surface to find the root of an issue. It creates an environment where people feel heard, cared about and inclined to pursue positive change.
How to Design the Conversations
The possibilities appear endless when it comes to developing the meaningful discussions themselves. However, don’t view this as overwhelming, instead focus on the potential it allows. Look to influence the structure of the conversation with design rather than force of will. This design skill to create conversations isn’t reliant on interpersonal skills but on identifying an opportunity to shape the outcome and impact.
Don’t feel the need to develop an entire conversation, instead focus on building the right questions following the above three-step process. These questions set the stage for provocative, open discussions. The magic of an impactful conversation comes from releasing complete control over the direction.
When in doubt, three basic guidelines keep conversations more equitable without causing worry about the direction they may take.
Set the ground rules: What is off-limits? Hateful speech, “you” statements, etc.
Encourage all parties to participate: A fruitful discussion requires participants on both sides to engage.
Keep groups small enough to feel heard and large enough to gather diverse perspectives: Especially in conversations focused on feedback; the fewer voices in the room, the more comfortable others will be to share and not feel ganged upon.
What Else To Keep In Mind
At this point, you might think, “easier said than done,” but in actuality, the concept of conversation design is a culmination of skills that have been around for quite some time. And abilities most of us have, especially in an HR, manager or leader role. A couple of final tips for setting you up for success:
Know your audience: Who needs to be involved in the conversation? What assumptions will people have coming into this conversation? For example, if they’ve made a few mistakes recently, they may come with a hesitant or defensive attitude. What perspectives and voices must you include? In the same example, starting with an employee and a manager may be best — no need to further involve additional people, especially in an initial discussion.
Bridge the expectation gap: As the facilitator, you’ll enter a conversation with different expectations than your participants. Don’t position topics where you’re the expert, and you’ll know the participants will feel ill-prepared to speak about them. Phrase questions in an encouraging tone, allowing people to speak from lived experiences. Develop prompts for each question to provide a little more context before jumping right in to answer. Avoid fact-based questions, as they’ll shift the vibe from heart to mind.
At the end of the day, employees, managers, leaders and recruits all want to feel heard. If you’ve made an open, honest and judgment-free zone for people to share their stories, you’ve created an impactful conversation. In turn, this establishes a more inclusive culture, something people constantly look for in the workplace.
Technology is supposed to make our lives simpler, but sometimes it does the opposite. In fact, when tech is confusing and complicates our work, it pretty much defeats its purpose.
This is especially true when it comes to things like business technology, HR and compensation. In these areas, simpler is always better and often saves time and money.
Making life simple — or simpler — is the point of software integration. This is what happens when you link separate subroutines or software packages to, in essence, join their capabilities or create new ones. For example, an integration might link several financial systems so that users can take advantage of their tools and data sets all in one place.
How Does it Work?
Integrations are meant to streamline the sharing or collection of data, simplify tasks and save time. Perhaps you want to draw data from different repositories into one workspace. Or, perhaps you want to link complementary applications to make life simpler for users (think Microsoft Office). Or perhaps you want different departments to share data, even when it’s in different formats and used in different ways.
For example, if you integrate an accounting tool with your payroll system, the data will be available from both the employee pay side and the accounting/expenditure side. That means it will save you from entering the same information in two different places. That saves your staff time when they gather data, simplifies the steps they must take to access the information they need and ensures that data is presented in a consistent way.
Bear in mind that third-party integration revolves around tools or applications that are separate from your initial solution or software. Often, they’re created by someone other than your original software vendor. In some cases, you can purchase integration solutions outright. In others, vendors charge a fee based on time period or the number of users.
Ideally, the integration of third-party applications with existing systems always dovetails and has them operate collaboratively. In the real world, unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way.
Problems You’re Likely to Face
Convincing others that an integration is necessary is just the first challenge you’ll face. Then, you may confront issues with your original system. Is it current? Is it flexible? Does it work well with others? If the answer’s “no,” some software companies may try to sell you a more extensive program or convince you to use their proprietary add-ons.
Other obstacles include cost, training, software glitches, access issues and the inevitably trying adjustment period. And even above and beyond those business and technical issues, integrating different departments brings its own set of challenges involving mission, procedures and priority.
How to Tackle the Challenges
When it comes to payroll and Human Resources, an integration may mean incorporating other applications that sync with your payroll system, adding additional capabilities and functionality (such as recording employees’ time), tracking vacation and sick time, and managing payroll taxes.
In any case, bear in mind these steps:
Learn everything you can about your existing software and third-party apps. Understand your company’s dynamics and its needs, and look for add-ons that cater to them.
Find out if your payroll software vendor offers any affordable integrations or customizations. If not, perhaps they can suggest a solution that will work for you, or offer recommendations on compatible options.
Make sure existing software and third-party applications are compatible and can talk to each other before attempting to implement an integration.
Test it out. Take advantage of trial periods if they’re available. Perform test runs so you know whether the program will work as advertised.
Ensure that you’ll retain the functionality and features you love in your original compensation system after integrating something new.
Once you’ve landed on the right program, learn how it works and get comfortable using it.
The key to making integrations work is to do your homework. It’s always easier to integrate apps and software that’s compatible out of the gate, instead of finding ways to force discordant technology to work together.
Benefits of Integration
If you think integration isn’t worth the hassle, or that your company won’t use or won’t need third-party applications, think again. Plug-ins can provide anything from built-in social media sharing to single sign-on, photo and document editors, quality control/quality assurance tools and time-tracking apps.
If you can integrate third-party applications successfully, the value they can add to your business is almost limitless. If you can integrate relevant capabilities that improve and simplify tasks for your employees, work will get done more quickly, more accurately and cause less stress.
Integrations also minimize the chance of mistakes, reduce costs, improve compliance, keep your data more current and accurate and eliminate paperwork.
Add-ons are supposed to, well, add functionality. If you take existing software and try to tie in a third-party add-on that isn’t designed to be integrated and doesn’t work with your solutions, you’re setting yourself and your employees up for mistakes, frustration and unnecessarily complicated and redundant tasks.
Remember, the best solution is often the simplest one. Understand the purpose of the integration, the needs of users and the business problems you’re trying to solve. That preparation will set your effort on the right path.
“Hence to fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting.”
I was fortunate to work for Nielsen for a few years, and I got to listen to David Kenny, the CEO, speak several times. He is someone I paid attention to. He’s progressive, he assumed responsibility for diversity as chief diversity officer.
He wears loafers and socks with printed pictures, he speaks inspirationally and he taught me something I didn’t like — something I probably couldn’t have heard from someone else. He taught me, “business is war.”
To be clear, I’m not a fan of war. I have an actual peace symbol tattoo. I also think what we do is as much like war as a street brawl is to an atomic detonation. However, for the sake of the point let’s talk about the part of the business war that is focused on talent. Let’s examine the lessons of war and apply them for peace.
If you are in a war for talent and you do not know where your enemy is, how strong they are and what type they are, any “disruptive strategy” is really just a dressed-up Leeroy Jenkins. You and your team know this.
The wording manifests differently because we typically don’t think of our job in those terms. We hear things like, our strategy is “post and pray,” or “It’s a numbers game” (spoiler alert, it’s only a numbers game for the house).
“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”
–Sun Tzu
Crossing the Delaware
When one pictures the American military, there is often an image of pristine order and cleanliness. Barracks with bunks perfectly made, boots polished, floor cleaned, uniforms perfectly uniform. But that was not always the case.
In January of 1778 Baron Von Stuben arrived from France to the campsite of the American Continental Army with the recommendation of Benjamin Franklin. George Washington put him in charge of training the army and organizing the camp. To say it was in ruins and disorder would be a grave disservice to the term “gift for understatement.”
Yelling in German and French with translation help from a handful of officers, Von Stuben began teaching the Americans how to march and shoot and fight. But more importantly, he taught the Americans how to set up camp, dig latrines, wash their hands, clean their clothes and keep the camp clean. He created the “Blue Book” for military organization. Parts of this manual are still in use by the American military today, over 200 years later.
His troops, at first, were hesitant to take his instructions in order seriously. They did not think that learning how to set up tents in a row and wash their hands was the way to win a war. Von Stuben knew that the greatest threat to an army was not the enemy or the weather, but disease.
He taught his troops what every great coach does: You play how you practice.
By December 1778, the army was ready. In less than a year Von Stuben turned 7,000 volunteers, living in abject squalor and disease, into a fighting force that successfully executed a sneak attack against a more experienced army. Washington may have commanded the army, but it was Baron Friedrich Vilhelm von Steuben who built it.
“Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.”
– Sun Tzu
With the army now trained and disciplined, on December 24, 1778 George Washington crossed the Delaware and into history.
The Lesson
How does this relate to our situation today? It’s simple. If we are going to continue to use the analogy of war, then we need to understand the different roles. To do otherwise would be to play chess without knowing how the pieces move.
Order of Battle
Sourcers = Special Forces
Recruiters = Infantry
Marketing = Artillery
Labor Market Analytics = Military Intelligence
Hiring Managers = Calvary
Social Media Team = Air Force
TA PM = Logistics
Once we know how many and what kind of resources we have, we can now understand what our army looks like.
How well trained and equipped are your forces?
Does your military intelligence provide you with a battlefield map, weather conditions and an update on enemy movements?
Does your infantry know how to march, move and fight together?
Can you call in the cavalry?
Do you know how and when you should?
Do you have close air support?
Sun Tzu would call this the knowing yourself part. If you do not know yourself, you have no chance of winning a battle. If you feel like you are never winning or only winning by luck, this is why.
The Battle of Midway: June 1942
“All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when we are able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must appear inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near.”
-Sun Tzu
In June 1942 The American Admiral Chester Nimitz faced off against the Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto in what was to be a turning point in World War II.
Yamamoto was moving to invade Midway island in the Pacific. He expected little resistance. He believed the Americans had two operational aircraft carriers, while he had four. Additionally, Midway was a minor outpost with only a handful of outdated planes. It had no reason to expect an attack.
Yamamoto had been educated at Harvard, traveled throughout the U.S., and spoke English fluently. He knew his enemy well and had made his plans accordingly. Finally, his intelligence reported the remaining American carriers to be several thousand miles away.
The truth was that the United States had broken the Japanese communications codes sometime earlier and had managed to keep that fact a secret.
In June 1942, before the first shot had been fired, Nimitz had a massive advantage. His intelligence officers were able to read enemy communication in near real-time. He knew what Yamamoto was planning. He had also read Sun Tzu.
He knew how many and what kinds of ships he had, he knew where he was coming from and about when he would arrive.
Nimitz sent orders and ships to make it look like he was sending his carrier fleet away from Midway. But this was a deception. Nimitz had an additional ace up his sleeve: the USS Yorktown. This aircraft carrier had been damaged in battle earlier in the war and was believed by the Japanese to be sunk. It was in fact, being repaired at the dock and would be ready for the coming battle.
“Appear weak when you are strong, and strong when you are weak.”
-Sun Tzu
The truth was, Nimitz was sending three aircraft carriers to intercept the advancing enemy fleet. For what it’s worth, even with his intelligence, he named the rally point for his carriers Point Luck. What he had done was use his intelligence to lay a trap.
By applying this knowledge with a smaller, less experienced, less technically advanced force he was able not only to win the battle but also destroy all of his opponent’s aircraft carriers and change the course of the war. This battle is studied around the world in military academies as an example of the importance of accurate and timely intelligence in war.
How Is This Like What We Do Today?
Well, for the most part we aren’t there yet. But people analytics should serve the same purpose for talent acquisition that military intelligence serves for a battlefield commander. They provide information on enemy talent, location, type, strength. They report on movement.
If they get really good, they start giving you an idea of the internal communication of your enemies, I mean, your competition.
The talent map is your battlefield map. The labor market reports are the weather conditions on the battlefield. Your sourcers giving you information about layoffs that haven’t been announced is your code-breaking team. Knowing this type of information is critical to correctly apply your limited resources for maximum effect.
Operation Neptune Spear (Seal Team Six) May 2, 2011: Abbottabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, Coordinates: 34°10′9″N 73°14′33″E
“Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.”
– Sun Tzu
According to Military.com, “On the night of the infiltration, two dozen SEALs flew in using two helicopters beneath the radar and varying routes to avoid detection.
“Using night-vision goggles (power on the street had been cut off), the SEALs infiltrated the compound, killing anyone who put up resistance, securing the women and children, clearing weapons stashes and barricades and taking anything that could contain secret information, including hard drives and cell phones.
“The SEALs quickly made their way up to the third floor, where they found the terrorist leader in his bedroom and killed him. …The entire operation lasted less than 45 minutes.”
That terrorist leader was Osama Bin Laden.
Special forces are employed by militaries around the world. They are designed to attack quickly, from behind and by surprise. When a sourcer reaches out to an employee at one of your competitors, it is the equivalent of a sneak attack.
In the ancient world, ninjas were the best of special forces. They were highly trained and well-equipped but largely autonomous. They were used to conduct short-duration strikes against high-value targets. Typically, sourcers act like Ninjas. They are given a target but no real instruction or support on how they are to achieve their objectives.
However, on the modern battlefield, special forces operate in teams. That’s given modern commanders additional ways to deploy their forces. Seal Team Six, the most widely known special forces team, and is tasked with “performing the most complex, classified and dangerous missions.” They conduct, “counterterrorism, hostage rescue, special reconnaissance, and direct action.”
Sourcers should be the special forces of talent acquisition. They can be deployed to find niche talent, a valid use for sourcing but not the only one. They can be deployed to “hot spots,” create pipelines, build relationships with communities, nourish employee referral programs as well as provide real-time feedback on market conditions on the ground. Sourcers are the tip of the spear; they should be made up of the elite of your talent acquisition function.
What has to change is that the people in the field need to be empowered with not just correct information, but the ability to organize. As we move past the Great Resignation into the Great Recovery, we need to become more organized and data-driven, but with a myopic focus on data hygiene. Data hygiene is to a talent acquisition what washing hands is to an army.
Peace In Our Time
“There is no instance of a nation benefitting from prolonged warfare.”
– Sun Tzu
The most successful outcome would be to find a Nash equilibrium as we move towards the commoditization of labor. I wrote about what that means in practical terms in a previous article. In the end, the bottom line may be the thing that drives peace. War, after all, is inefficient and not profitable in the long term.
After war, reality changes. Things that were once impossible now seem inevitable. Former enemies become close allies.
To move from the Great Resignation to the Great Recovery, talent acquisition must up its game. We must become organized, informed and methodical. We must move from the Continental army of January 1778 to the one of December of 1778. The objective of any just war must be peace.
On the topic of peace, I leave you with the words of John F Kennedy, who spoke on the topic at length.
“I have, therefore, chosen this time and this place to discuss a topic on which ignorance too often abounds and the truth is too rarely perceived — yet it is the most important topic on earth: world peace.
“What kind of peace do I mean? What kind of peace do we seek? Not a Pax Americana enforced on the world by American weapons of war. Not the peace of the grave or the security of the slave. I am talking about genuine peace, the kind of peace that makes life on earth worth living — not merely peace in our time but peace for all time.”
Perhaps a Sun Tsu of Talent Acquisition will lead us to a Nash Equilibrium — an optimal move — as the market moves toward the commoditization of labor. If you don’t know what that means, it is in your best interest to learn. After all, it was Sun Tsu who said in the end, “The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.”
There are widely differing opinions and research about the role compensation plays in employee engagement as opposed to non-monetary, intrinsic factors. Many believe the common mantra that “employees don’t leave jobs, they leave managers.” There’s much truth to that, but we know that, for the majority of workers, appropriate compensation is a significant element.
Still, many workers aren’t paid equitably or fairly. Pay disparity still impacts women and people of color. The gap lessens a bit each year, but movement is glacially slow. A 2021 report by Payscale confirms that women, on average, make as little as 82ȼ for every $1 that a man earns across all job types, and only 98ȼ in the same job category.
Compensation Transparency
So, at first glance, it would seem that compensation transparency could address a variety of issues as we’ve discussed on our blog:
Equity and fairness in pay for all employees.
Increased employee engagement and trust.
Increased visibility in job postings equals more candidates.
Additional reporting functionality.
Customized total reward statements.
It Only Sounded Like a Good Idea
For companies that are truly concerned about providing a culture of honesty and open communication, compensation transparency sounds like an easy fix. If everyone can see what everyone else is paid, there are no secrets and so, therefore, no issues. Right?
Not exactly. Unfortunately, complex issues usually don’t have simple solutions and compensation issues are highly complex.
Proponents of compensation transparency may not account for the fact that there are real people involved, not abstract numbers or widgets. And people generally feel pretty strongly about their pay and title.
Employees also frequently have a more favorable opinion about their value to the organization or their level of performance than management does. When they have access to their co-workers’ pay details, especially the co-workers they feel don’t contribute as much as they do, they often receive an unpleasant surprise.
7 Common Pitfalls to Compensation Transparency
It’s usually considered rude to ask someone how much money they make, even though employees frequently disclose their pay to coworkers. However, it’s a protected right for non-management employees under the National Labor Relations Act. So what could go wrong? Turns out – several things.
An article in the Harvard Business Review outlines a number of issues that employers may not consider when trying to solve compensation issues. It turns out that compensation transparency demoralizes some employees as much as it motivates others.
The issues start as early as the job-offer stage and continue throughout employment since both candidates and employees are prone to overestimating their contributions and relative value.
Candidate Expectations
Candidates frequently expect to be offered the highest advertised pay, regardless of their qualifications. In the current recruiting climate, which is difficult to say the least, candidates are highly selective in choosing the companies they want to work for and will reject offers that don’t meet their expectations. Or, they’ll accept an offer but resign during the onboarding phase.
Employee Expectations
Since compensation is a necessity versus a benefit, employees want to earn as much as they can. Without the proper framework and planning to address employee concerns (and perhaps even with it), it’s inevitable that many will become dissatisfied and distrustful because of any perceived unfairness in pay.
Employee Engagement
A lack of engagement and trust equals lower productivity, teamwork and profits. In this period of “The Great Resignation” and unprecedented demand for workers, attrition is a problem to prevent at all costs.
Performance Assessment
Ensuring that each worker is paid appropriately compared to co-workers necessitates thorough assessments of individual performance. It can be a valuable tool in understanding a team’s or department’s efficiency. At the same time, it’s difficult to compare the relative worth of individuals in teams or larger companies. It’s time-intensive and can rely on subjective results if not measured carefully.
Unforeseen Results
Even though some employees may welcome transparency, its impact may be more far-reaching and problematic than a company anticipates. Depending on the information presented, internal and external stakeholders – including the public at large – may react negatively and question the company’s integrity, financial stability and commitment to equity.
Invasion of Privacy
Many employees and stakeholders will feel sharing their compensation data is an invasion of their privacy.
Legal Issues
The HBR acknowledges that some companies may use compensation transparency as a way to facilitate resignations and “right size” their workforce. However, doing so can open the company up to a variety of legal claims, such as constructive discharge (when employees resign because their working conditions have become intolerable) or discrimination in pay of a protected class (such as age, race, color or sex).
Easy Alternatives to Company-Wide Compensation Transparency
It’s understandable that companies want to rectify significant issues, like pay disparity, quickly and completely. However, they need to be cautious: The fix can sometimes be worse than the problem. Fortunately, there are simple alternatives that any business can implement to create a culture of honesty and open communication about pay.
Communicate pay ranges, grades or average compensation rates rather than individual pay.
Ensure that employees understand how their pay is determined by taking the mystery out of it.
Ensure that managers have been thoroughly trained on assessing and communicating performance management results.
Thoroughly involve employees in their own self-evaluations, job design and team and business objectives.
Educate employees about their right to discuss their pay and their responsibility regarding use of that information.
It’s natural that business leaders want to simplify issues in order to efficiently implement solutions. And, in many cases, that is the best way forward.
However, when faced with issues that are so deeply personal, and vital, to employees as compensation is, it’s crucial to involve your people teams. Elicit their input about potential obstacles and strategies that will be perceived as a win-win for management and employees alike.
At the start of last year, when reports of the lockdown impacting working women harder than men were at their peak, I couldn’t help but ask myself, “Are we really making moves towards gender equity in tech?” For all our talk about gender equality as a sector, I wondered, had it made a difference?
One day I decided to discuss it with my team and, as it happens, we all had the same questions: Are we seeing enough women in tech? Do women progress, on average, equally to men? What’s the gender ratio like at the top in our sector?
And furthermore, the average length of tenure for a female CIO is a full year and a half shorter than for their male counterparts.
The “Missing Middle” of Women in Tech
As the president of a talent creation company that has worked hard to create an equitable and diverse workforce (our senior management team is 50%+ female, 30% of our employees identify as female, and 63% of our employees are from a black, Asian or minority ethnic background), I know firsthand that there are fewer women in tech than men, at pretty much every level.
The data we looked at showed that, mostly, women simply don’t reach CIO level because they drop out of the industry before they have the chance. When you consider that the average age of a CIO is 55, and an alarming 50% of women drop out of their career in tech before they reach 35, it’s not all that surprising.
This “missing middle” in tech is a widely documented issue. Some say we’ve made progress, but the numbers we found suggest there’s a lot more work to be done, to level the playing field for women. Our research and other similar reports make that clear.
According to Accenture’s ‘Resetting Tech Culture’ report, if all companies championed diversity and inclusion just as well as the top 20% did, then we’d retain an extra 1.4 million women in tech by as early as 2030. Wouldn’t that be something to be proud of?
The Impact of a Lack of Diversity in Tech
There are genuine consequences to a lack of diversity in tech, too. Especially when you consider Artificial Intelligence (AI).
If the majority of IT leaders and their teams are men, the risk of the code behind AI being built in a way that biases against certain demographics rise sharply. For example, if a bank’s loan-approval AI is created by a primarily male team, it wouldn’t be hard for biases against females to become built into it. After all, men don’t have the lived experience of women.
We’ve seen it happen before, too. In 2019, Apple’s credit card was operating on algorithms that were inherently biased against women. Steve Wozniak (co-founder of Apple) was actually offered a credit limit almost ten times higher than his wife, in one example.
And it’s not just gender, either. People rightly criticized the AI used on Google phones, because it failed to recognize black males. Why? Because black communities were not involved in its creation.
There’s no doubt that diverse teams benefit companies greatly. They create better, more dynamic teams, packed with a kaleidoscope of perspectives and experiences. And it changes culture completely, for the better. So why aren’t more companies more diverse?
I believe a lot of this is down to company culture. Genuinely improving the diversity within an organization requires a huge culture shift, because you have to create an environment that is inclusive for people to come into, not just for women, but across all underrepresented groups.
How Can Our Sector Support More Women Into Tech?
The question is, of course, how do we get this in motion? How do we encourage more women to enter and stay in tech?
From huge, established businesses to enthusiastic start-ups, I think the answer lies in taking action and making sure historically marginalized groups have a safe space to voice their concerns, share their experiences, and reach positions where they can make a difference.
So what does that look like in action? Here are a few that, from my own experience, can do a lot to encourage more women into tech:
Review Existing Hiring and Onboarding Practices
Look at the language of your job descriptions, for example. And consider your talent advertising channels in the first place. Work with partners, suppliers that make D&I a focus and be principled. We’ve walked away from the business because we shared such different views on D&I in the past, as the partnership would never truly work if we don’t share core values. I’d also recommend businesses find a diversity hiring partner with the specialist skills you need to create a richer, fairer talent pipeline.
Increase Visibility For the Women in Tech
We need to show women that this is a career that can be for them and that they can excel. To do this, we should look to actively hire more women and increase the visibility of women in tech for young girls, even while they’re still at school. I’d also recommend combining these sorts of initiatives with in-house mentoring programs. Here, women can see other women succeed in the ecosystem, and where women can support each other through the rocky road of a senior role in tech.
Leadership Needs to Straight-Up Champion Gender Diversity
It’s not enough to have positive sentiments but no action. If we want to see more women in tech tomorrow, and the day after, and the day after that, as leaders we have to work hard at it. We must send the elevator back down to help others. We need to hold ourselves accountable and make it happen.
There’s still a lot of work to be done to make tech a more inclusive space for women. It won’t happen overnight. But if we work together as a sector, I truly believe we can start to make a real, lasting difference.
Dean Da Costa walks us through upgrades and new tools added to one of the most used and loved sourcing tools on the market: SeekOut. New and improved power filters, as well as the return of their Position Magnet, has Dean a little more exuberant than usual, so kick back and get ready to learn!
As you probably know, SeekOut is an AI-powered recruiting software that utilizes its advanced “Talent 360 Platform” to assist in diversifying the talent pipeline with deep analytics. This allows you to proactively source fitted candidates, reduce bias, increase engagement and accomplish your recruiting goals quicker.
What We’ll Cover
Advanced Power Filters
Improvements made to the existing power filters allow you to refine your searches to a much greater extent than before. The prebuilt options can be broad or very specific; you have the capability to whittle your contacts down with anything from company to club memberships.
AI-Powered Position Magnet
SeekOut launched the Position Magnet previously and pulled it. Alas, it has returned, now offering the user enhanced control. In essence, the Position Magnet will create a candidate persona from a role you provide, then perform an extensive search to pull leads who match. Dean shows some in-depth examples of how this works, so make sure to check out the video for full understanding.
Ready to grab it? Book yourself for a SeekOut demo here, and let us know your thoughts in the comments!
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