Humanizing Tech: Talent Algorithms

Human Resources (HR) leaders are focused on organizational business goals, enhancing recruiting results, and employee engagement. In parallel (HR) technologies designed to attract, engage, assess, hire, and retain talent have evolved over the years.  Social and economic uncertainty have accelerated innovations in virtual candidate engagement, new forms of assessment, and job simulations. Many of these solutions helped HR leaders achieve business continuity and adopt timely and innovative solutions throughout the pandemic. Cappfinity’s Virtual Experience and Engagement platform is just one example.

HR leaders have also had to figure out ways to respond to the social justice and racial inequity as these national issues made their way into the workplace.  As a result, now more than ever organizations are using HR tech to expand their reach and recruiting efforts to include candidates who have traditionally been overlooked. The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) reported that over 85% of employers now have formal diversity recruiting programs. The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) also concluded that many new recruiting initiatives are focused on targeting diverse talent pools.

However, in the absence of evidence-based recruiting and assessment methods, algorithms can perpetuate the status quo in recruiting, hiring, and development. In fact, an over reliance on HR technology can all but eliminate innovation, creativity, and screen out talented candidates. According to a ground-breaking resource from Deloitte “some algorithms are just based on prior knowledge and organizational in nature”.  So how do HR leaders attract high performing talent and foster a more diverse and inclusive workforce? Can HR tech solution providers humanize technology in a scalable way? The resounding answer to both questions is YES!  Here are three strategies to consider:

• Place an organizational value on authenticity: Strategic HR leaders that are plugged into labor market trends and social discourse are beginning to recognize that some traditional recruiting and processes unintentionally disenfranchises or excludes qualified candidates. To address this issue many HR leaders are initiating process and policy changes, including guiding their teams to rebalance the overall impact of resumes which often favor candidates with specific experiences and or homogeneous backgrounds. A number of talent leaders are also re-evaluating grades, degrees, prior experience and skills more thoughtfully. Talent leaders with a vision for the future of recruiting, hiring, and employee engagement are successfully transitioning to strengths-based methods to assess talent. This is critical because organizational culture and authenticity are increasingly important to Gen Y, Z, and millennials, essentially the workforce of the future. According to a survey from Glassdoor, “3 in 4 employees and job seekers (76%) report a diverse workforce is an important factor when evaluating companies and job offers.” These incremental changes and early career research were covered in Recalculating: Your Career, Recruiting, AND Hiring, an interactive workshop for recruiters.

• Automation and Candidate Engagement: Many candidates still value human interaction and personalized experiences, even in today’s digital first world. Recruiters can leverage assessment and analysis solutions while integrating or increasing human touch points to improve engagement. According to research from the Rockefeller Foundation “bias plays often plays out during the recruitment process; when recruiters ‘trust their gut’ – and or make hiring decisions based on intuition. More importantly, interviews are where biases most easily show up, because interviewers can decide on the fly what to ask of whom and how to interpret the answer. Interviews are most important for assessing fit with culture, which is the number one hiring criterion employers report using”. Simply put, it is time rebalance this approach.

• Use talent efficiently: Overtime new hires that receive objective feedback and ongoing development deliver unmatched ROI in terms of employee engagement, internal mobility, and retention. Employers that offer enterprise-wide training and development can also establish coaching and mentoring within their current talent pool. Retaining great talent ultimately supports profitability and long-term growth. Hence using HR tech and talent is a winning combination that supports short- and long-term business goals.

In summary, this is a pivotal time for talent leaders. As HR professionals are evaluating existing processes and new technological solutions. HR professionals can achieve recruiting, DEI, and retention goals at the same time. HR tech such as virtual candidate engagement, new forms of assessment, and work simulations can help leaders leverage their talent more effectively, measure what matters, and ultimately humanize tech.

Sources:

• Diversity Recruiting: Formal Programs, Target Groups, and Sources (naceweb.org)

• Glassdoor Diversity-inclusion-workplace-survey

• Recalculating: Your Career, Recruiting, AND Hiring

• Your Approach to Hiring is All Wrong