There’s little doubt that technology has made the world smaller. From the invention of email to the popularization of smartphones, contacting people worlds away in a matter of seconds is not only possible, it’s common place. Interestingly enough, the increased connection largely influences the advancement of technology. It’s a cyclical process that has lead to some of the greatest tools, softwares and advancements we now use today and will use tomorrow. These trends are just the topics we like to keep our eye on, and luckily so do employers.
The Buzz Around Diversity
When it comes to Talent Acquisition, the benefits of a more diverse workplace are plenty. One survey found that 85% of multinational corporations believe diversity is crucial to innovation in the workplace and if you’ve ever had the opportunity to step into a region or country different than your own, it’s hard to disagree with them.
85% of multinational corps believe #diversity is crucial to innovation: Click To TweetOne group of researchers: Sylvia Ann Hewlett, Melinda Marshall and Laura Sherbin, studied organizations with “two-dimensional diversity.” To have 2D diversity, leadership has to be diverse in at least three inherent traits and three experiential traits (those acquired from their career/life).
“By correlating diversity in leadership with market outcomes as reported by respondents, we learned that companies with 2-D diversity out-innovate and out-perform others.” Sylvia Ann Hewlett (@SAHewlett), Center for Talent Innovation
While we love innovation, we can understand why some might be leaning more to the “show me the money” realm of business. It’s not easy to invest in something without seeing ROI plainly laid out and “out-perform” is a little ambiguous. Crunch these numbers:
- Companies with gender diversity outperform less diverse companies by 15%
- Companies with ethnic diversity outperform less diverse companies by 35%
- For every 10% increase in racial and ethnic diversity on the senior executive team, company earnings in the US rise 0.8%
Unfortunately, Deloitte found that “diversity and inclusion” was consistently reported (2014) as one of the least important issues on leaders’ minds when compared to other HR matters. Why? As it turns out, 41% of respondents working within the Fortune 1000 claimed a busy schedule was the culprit behind stalled diversity initiatives. It can be hard to find the budget and manpower to push these diversity initiatives forward, and it’s even harder when leaders don’t consider an important HR issue.
Thankfully, Talent Acquisition Technology can bring big company diversity efforts to any budget. Diversity Recruiting Technology allow corporations to hire diverse talent by using various new approaches to sourcing, screening and assessing candidates.
Get a better understanding of the Talent Acquisition Technology landscape by downloading this Mercer report:
Skill Assessment & Blind Screening
While the resume can provide skills and experience information, it can be difficult to retain applicant anonymity while simultaneously ensuring the documents’ integrity and accuracy.
GapJumpers, for example, requires job seekers to solve skills-based challenges to evaluate performance and knowledge. Considered a “blind audition,” the results focus on performance and don’t give any insight into who the individual is. Similarly, Blendoor, a mobile job matching app, hides candidates’ names, photo, age, and dates to avoid unconscious bias. Additionally, the app capitalizes on data to help companies continue to make better hiring decisions.
Employer Branding
Diversity barriers don’t start at the application. Simply attracting more diverse candidates is a challenge organizations face. In a Glassdoor survey, 61% of users reported reading company reviews and ratings before making a decision to apply. Candidates are setting their sights beyond benefits packages and pay. 76% of job seekers are looking for the details on what makes the company an attractive place to work and 69% passing up an offer from a company with a bad reputation, even while unemployed.
Employer branding is something many Talent Acquisition and HR teams have been turning their attention to, and social media is becoming the medium of choice to share company culture. The Muse allows companies to create profiles that explore the work environment of their employees. The site also facilitates the connection by allowing job seekers to see details of open positions.
Sites like InHerSight and FairyGodboss are female-focused review sites that allow job seekers to see how a company’s previous and current employees rank them for issues pertaining to gender equality in the workplace.
It’s important to note: 62% of users in the Glassdoor report say their perception of a company improves when they see the employer respond to reviews.
Job Advertisements
Navigating job placements is no easy task when considering the candidates you want to attract. Add in the need for diversity and the process teeters on becoming overwhelming. Textio gives employers an edge in creating effective job descriptions by analyzing the existing text and pointing out biased language.
Unitive helps attract a broader range of candidates by focusing on the structure of job postings. The service also helps the employer focus on specific qualifications to structure a job interview to avoid interview bias. Of course, the “show don’t tell” rule applies for candidates as well. Sparc allows organizations to showcase their diverse workforce and environment by using short videos.
Matching Systems
Another innovative technology with a lot of recent momentum in the Talent Acquisition space is matching systems. The technology allows companies to fill jobs by considering the traits of the individual who suits the role and the company culture. Many have proprietary algorithms and unique processes of connecting candidates and employers. Entelo, on the other hand, focuses attention on matching companies to candidates from underrepresented groups. Jopwell helps foster relationships between top companies and Black, Hispanic, and Native American students and professionals.
In 2015, 67% of active and passive job seekers admitted a diverse workforce was important to them when evaluating companies and job offers. Building a diversity and inclusion program within your organization isn’t something that can happen overnight, but the diversity hiring tools chosen to facilitate the development may give your business a head start.
Check out these stats on candidate experience!
