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      Attracting Talent to a Tech Company with French Roots

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      This tech company with French roots has a unique way of framing its EVP—or, as Talend says, its JNSQ, or “je ne sais quoi.”“
      Talend was on a mission to put words to what were necessarily undefinable qualities of its brand and culture. What its people marketing team, led by Global People Marketing Manager Jonathan Hehir, uncovered was the importance of culture, diversity, and company-wide EVP stewardship.
      Why Culture Is Key
      “It’s tough for candidates to truly understand what their next business looks like and the type of culture they’re interested in,” Hehir says. “I can understand why candidates when they’re looking at their job search, are behaving more like consumers. Everyone’s edging for that little bit of attention.”
      According to Hehir, the people of Talend are close collaborators and united by love for their field. To succeed, Hehir’s team has to demonstrate that supportive culture to the rest of the tech world.
      What Makes a Unique Workplace
      Like many companies, the pandemic spurred the company to revisit its commitment to diversity and its employer brand. Led by its new CEO Christal Bemont, Talend sought out new ways to own its core values (agility, integrity, passion, and team spirit) and reexamined its “je ne sais quoi” (or JNSQ, as the team says).
      Among the many positive results of this self-reflection was a recommitment to making Talend an inclusive workplace: “An environment where people feel safe and feel a sense of belonging; a place where they can be themselves, even if they may not be visiting offices or their coworkers,” in Hehir’s words. Public reception was positive as well. According to Hehir, “People enjoyed the idea that we were celebrating people’s differences from the outset.”
      Revisit Your Culture’s Roots
      This sense of shared stewardship of the EVP, or JNSQ, has had a major impact on the success of Talend’s employer brand activation efforts.
      “Remember where your culture stems from,” Hehir advises fellow employer brand leaders. Remembering the people behind the brand, he says, is what gets him excited to tell Talend’s story—and welcome new faces into it.

      To follow Jonathan Hehir’s work in employer brand, connect with him on LinkedIn. For help with your own EVP, get in touch. We help you identify the values and culture you want to create in your company.
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      Is Your Employer Brand Helping or Hindering Your Hiring Objectives?

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      Most employers agree that great employees are at the heart of every business. To secure the best candidates, hiring managers typically put significant efforts into two key facets of the hiring process: producing an attractive job advert and properly screening the applicant’s CVs.
      The interviews and onboarding that follow must be conducted with the utmost care, managed by members of staff with the knowledge and time to ensure they do not miss out on the opportunity to secure the right candidates.
      However, with 72% of recruiting leaders worldwide agreeing that employer brand significantly impacts hiring, the key to enticing top talent could lie within how attractive your business seems to potential employees.
      So, if you want to meet your recruitment objectives, it might be time to think about the meaning of business branding and how you can use it to gain a competitive edge in the market…
      The ins and outs of company brands
      In short, business branding is a way of identifying your business. It encapsulates what sets it apart, what makes its offering different, and, perhaps most importantly, reflects the company’s values.
      A company develops a positive (or negative) impression of its brand through the quality and competitiveness of what it can offer its employees, including its salary and benefits, management style, culture, and commitments. As such, branding and recruitment go hand in hand — particularly in the digital world, where so much business and hiring activity happens online.
      Organizations around the world are working on nailing their branding — but why? What benefits are employees looking for, and why is it vital to get it right?
      Firstly, it generates cost savings. According to LinkedIn, companies with positive employer brands or favorable reputations within the market can get up to 50% more applications than companies with negative brands. And that is not all; successful employer branding has multiple proven benefits for hiring businesses, including:

      Conversely, companies that fail to focus on branding stand to lose out significantly — financially and reputationally. One study revealed that 82% of prospective employees consider brand and reputation before applying for a job, which could prove disastrous for business growth and bottom lines in organizations that fail to meet expectations.
      So, can you afford to fall short of the mark in the current recruitment landscape?
      Establishing a brand for your business
      A strong employer brand is crucial for securing skilled, engaged, and leadership-bound workers.
      When done well, a branding strategy can deliver multiple functions simultaneously — from defining products and services to showcasing a unique approach to company culture. Consistent, first-rate employer branding should speak for itself, helping to communicate all a candidate needs to know through every interaction with your company.
      Though defining and developing your business brand is a long-term commitment, there are a few key areas you can focus on to improve how your business appears to prospective candidates…
      Refining your employer value proposition
      Branding works alongside employer value propositions (EVPs): an employer’s marketing message and promise to its employees regarding its core values.
      Every company’s EVP is different. It is the sum of everything you offer as an employer — an employee-centric approach that tells the story of your business and why someone should consider joining your team.
      An EVP can be conveyed through consistent corporate messaging and recruitment marketing that helps communicate key messages to the employees you are trying to reach. However, whilst talking a good game is great, you must also walk the walk to ensure your branding comes across as genuine — a key facet to succeeding in your goals.
      Bringing your online reputation up to scratch
      One of the trickiest parts of navigating the job hunt for candidates is working out which companies they would enjoy working for. So, ensuring your business’ reputation reflects well across the board is crucial — from online reviews and staff testimonials to official accreditations.
      Many employers throw out attractive perks and salary offers, but a growing number of workers look for something more. According to research by CareerBuilder, 83% of candidates are willing to accept a lower salary from an employer with an excellent reputation. So, building and maintaining your brand as a business can lead to lower salary responsibilities and attract more interest from serious job seekers.
      In today’s world, social media plays a starring role in business branding, with many candidates basing their employment decisions on the quality of a company’s online presence. Monitoring and updating social media pages and websites are critical to ensuring you put your best foot forward.
      Optimizing your onboarding process
      Candidates often gain their first impression of your business brand during recruitment. As a result, every onboarding stage should be carefully considered to ensure talent is not dissuaded from pursuing an opportunity within your company.
      For employers, this means issuing timely, thorough feedback, remaining organized, and staying up to date with the latest trends — from virtual recruitment and remote working to HR management.
      Of course, this can quickly become an overwhelming task — especially in the current candidate-driven market. So, experts recommend enlisting the support of a specialist recruitment agency to support a successful business branding strategy.
      After all, if you are going to invest time and money in your business brand, you want to do it right.
      By Julie Mott, Managing Director, Howett Thorpe.
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      How to Produce Engaging Social Media for Gen Z Candidates

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      While it may be difficult to imagine the generation Z cohort succeeding millennials having a major impact on the workforce – with the majority still working their way through higher education and some having barely even left primary school – the reality is, that Gen Zs will make up 27% of teams by 2025.
      That’s why tapping into this talent pool, sooner rather than later, will be a key driver of cultural and commercial success for organizations of all shapes and sizes over the coming years. The question is, how?
      As digital natives who can’t recall a time on Earth without the internet, Gen Zs are undeniably tech-savvy, which is why social media will be a holy grail to help attract and recruit top-tier talent.
      Gone are the days of dry and colorless Indeed listings. Today, it’s all about injecting brand personality into every aspect of your comms, being omnipresent, and tapping into pain points with clear solutions.
      The reality is, that Gen Zs know what they want – and are willing to walk away if they don’t get it.
      Money-hungry recruitment rogues will tell you that the more you spend on your content, the more value you can drive – but that’s simply not the case.
      Gen Zs wants to feel valued
      It’s no secret that we’re operating in an employee-driven market. And with such fierce competition fuelling the race to get in front of jobseekers, demonstrating that you understand their needs and desires from the offset is crucial.
      In any workplace, Gen Zs want to be seen – both figuratively and literally – and the rising use of social media is only enhancing this expectation of employers. From team-building exercises and company events to shout-outs for individual achievements within your organization, consistently showcasing your people online will be a key driver to help pique the interest of prospective candidates.
      When it comes to recruitment ads, this element of value becomes increasingly important. Think of the listing itself as an opportunity to provide practical job information and hammer home on the prerequisites – think holiday allowances, retirement packages, flexible working policies, cultural initiatives, and more – but remember that the follow-up is equally, if not more, important.
      The reality is, that 17% of Gen Z applicants will want a job within a week of application. Let them know you want them, and do it fast.
      Omnipresence is key
      Don’t shy away from using a multi-channel approach. We already know that the threshold of communication requirements for this demographic is higher, so leveraging different platforms to make sure your brand is front-and-center is a must.
      But more importantly, make sure content is tailored appropriately to suit the style of each channel, so it doesn’t look like a lackluster copy-and-paste job.
      Not every person that stumbles across your comms will be actively looking for a new opportunity – and applying for a new role requires thought and consideration – but by increasing the exposure of your brand you have an opportunity to make a lasting impression on passive candidates too.
      If someone feels compelled enough by your content and your values truly resonate with them over a prolonged period of time, they might be inclined to seek out a position at your organization directly.
      Make it meaningful
      One of the most sought-after focuses for Gen Z jobseekers is an explicit focus on mental wellbeing – according to a recent survey by Employment 4 Students, 68% of 16-24-year-olds see this as a priority in the workplace.
      With this in mind, do you have the right support systems, resources, and initiatives available to meet these needs?
      We’re not talking about subtle nods to awareness days here, or half-hearted fundraising initiatives to help complete the charity champion tick-box exercise. Instead, efforts need to be focused, and they need to be consistently at the top of the agenda.
      One of the most effective and impactful things you can do as an employee to engage Gen Z jobseekers – and to have a positive impact on the world overall – is to promote a culture of acceptance. Create compelling content that not only celebrates open and honest conversations around mental health, but that shows you, as a company, see mental illness as no different from ailments such as cold and flu, sickness, or diabetes.
      Adopt a low-pressure approach through referrals
      When using social media to market your brand to Gen Z job seekers, it’s not just about public content, but more personal and private content too.
      According to data from talent acquisition experts, Yello, almost 62% of Gen Z job applications prefer to explore opportunities based on referrals. Let’s not forget that this cohort has always had access to the world’s information at their fingertips – they’re rightfully cynical and know not everything is always what it seems.
      By encouraging existing employees to share company content on their own profiles, and reaching out to prospective candidates via direct message, you’re able to make more trusted hires based on networks of people your teams already know, but slash budgets in the process.
      With a collective effort from individuals across the entire scope of your team, your current talent pool could be your company’s best asset when it comes to recruitment.
      Don’t forget that Gen Z jobseekers are big on feeling valued, too – and what says, ‘we want YOU!’ more than a direct outreach?
      It’s not Earth-shattering, this demographic is just more vocal about their needs. And that honesty is a real tonic in a recruitment landscape that’s uncertain in every sense of the word.
      By James Urquhart, Managing Director and Co-founder of Let’s Run Marketing.
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      How to Onboard Remote Employees Really Well: Free Checklist Template

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      What You’ll Learn

      Things you should do before a new employee’s first day (beyond shipping equipment)Ways to create alignment across time zones from the top downWhich tool we discourage for remote employees, as it damages your employer brand

      About this eBook

      To stay competitive for top candidates and to advance DEI goals, tech companies continue to embrace remote working environments. Hired survey data indicated nearly 90% of candidates wanted a remote-first or fully remote job. However, as companies evaluate the employee experience, it presents a suite of new challenges. Onboarding is chief among them.  More

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      10 Things You Can Do to Reach DEI Goals

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      What You’ll Learn

      The first thing you must do to make meaningful progress on DEI goalsWhich talent pools many companies continue to overlookWhy culture “fit” is outdated and what’s important nowYou can make progress in many areas by testing a new tool, changing a policy, or saying “yes,” to a new idea

      About this eBook:

      After the #MeToo, #FoundersForChange, and #BLM movements, more companies prioritized diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Executives and hiring managers took a closer look at their current hiring models and recruitment practices. Employers created new positions and KPIs focused on DEI.And yet undertaking changes to improve DEI within your company can feel like an uphill task. Many of these issues are systemic, and not a quick fix. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed and not know where to begin. It’s especially tough for one person or a single team to push against a long-standing system and cultural norms.This eBook gives DEI officers, tech leaders, hiring managers, and talent acquisition teams insights into small but mighty tactics and strategies to improve the diversity of their teams and level up DEI hiring across organizations. More

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      What Happens When TA & Hiring Managers Unite? Best Practices from Walmart, One Medical & More

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      Strategies for SMB, MM & Enterprise

      Key Takeaways

      Traditional hiring practices of SMBs, MM, and Enterprise level employersHired’s recommendations for each business sizeSpecific examples of tactics and strategies from talent leaders

      About the eBook:

      A common thread we’ve seen with some of our top employers on Hired is engagement with candidates from both TA and hiring management teams. In this piece, we’ll show how some companies are achieving new heights by inviting both groups to collaborate on the platform and in the process.

      In this robust ebook, we’ll also take a detailed look at how enterprise, mid-market, and SMB employers approach hiring talent, share our best practices for each, and how companies such as Walmart Global Tech, Smartsheet, One Medical, Tanium, NBCUniversal, Gem, Mercari, and more increased acceptance rates and sped up time to hire. In some cases, 11 days faster than the benchmark! More

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      How to Support Internal Candidates When They Don’t Get the Job

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      Internal Mobility and Professional Growth are Key Retention Tools

      Good companies strive to support internal candidates and employee growth. But when push comes to shove, many organizations fall short in seeing this mission through. 

      In a recent Deloitte survey, almost 60% of employees polled said it’s easier to find a new role at another company than it is to change roles at their current employer. 

      According to Randstad’s 2021 career mobility report, “Employees aren’t optimistic about getting promoted within their company, with 43.2% saying they don’t have enough opportunities for internal mobility.” 

      Even when there are opportunities for internal mobility, talent teams still face inevitable challenges. A few of the hardest questions for HR leaders to grapple with are: 

      How should we respond when internal candidates are turned down for another role within our organization? Is there any chance of retaining them after that—and if so, what does that process look like?What’s the experience like for employees? Do they feel they’ve broadcast their desire to leave their current role? 

      To answer these questions, Hired’s Rob Stevenson sat down with Comcast’s Director of Talent Acquisition, Keith Friant, on the Talk Talent to Me podcast. Read on to learn the top insights from their conversation. Finally, we’ll explore an innovative approach to retention and internal mobility that went viral on LinkedIn.

      How Comcast Supports Engagement in Internal Candidates

      Expert: Comcast Director of Talent Acquisition, Keith Friant

      Focus on providing clear feedback

      A cookie-cutter rejection email is the last thing internal candidates want to see after applying for an open role. 

      Rather, they want clear and actionable feedback that sets them on a path of continuous improvement.

      “What’s the next step in your process, outside of candidates just getting a standard disposition email?” asked Friant. “It can really feel a little deflating if that’s the only type of communication they’re getting after investing time into the interview process.” 

      That’s why Comcast prioritizes providing internal candidates with personalized feedback when they aren’t chosen for a job. 

      “Feedback is really valuable,” said Friant. “That population is looking to grow and move into something different. We all clearly want to care for them, which is why it’s so important that they get timely and meaningful feedback.”

      Offer learning and development opportunities

      As a next step, Friant suggests asking questions like:

      What were the candidate’s skill gaps?How can we help them grow in these key areas? Can we put them on any stretch assignments?

      Stretch assignments have been especially instrumental to driving employee growth and engagement at Comcast. 

      “We’ve adopted this gig concept where employees participate in short-term or longer-term projects when another team needs help, someone is going out on paternity leave, or anything along those lines,” explained Friant. 

      Actions like this go a long way in making employees feel seen and supported. By offering learning and development opportunities, companies can encourage ongoing employee growth—and keep engagement high even after someone isn’t selected for the job they wanted. 

      Related: Survey data from the 2022 State of Software Engineers report revealed the number one reason software developers enter the field is for the opportunity to continuously learn and tackle new challenges. More than half said it’s important to them that their employer provide professional development opportunities. 

      In the 2021 State of Tech Salaries, tech talent listed benefits such as tuition reimbursement in their top 10 of compelling company benefits. Younger, more junior employees ranked this higher than senior talent. 

      Manage employee expectations

      Picture this: your company posts an open marketing manager role. Someone on the sales team sees the job post and submits an application, excited by the prospect of pursuing horizontal growth within your organization. 

      However, the job post disappears only days later—and the role goes to a marketing associate who had already been on a promotion track. The interested internal candidate never even got a chance to interview for the role, and got their hopes up for nothing.

      Disappointing, right?

      To avoid scenarios like this, Comcast takes a careful approach to sharing job posts. “We really only try to post jobs that are viable and open,” said Friant. 

      “If someone left the team and we know we just want to inline promote another team member into that role, we can do that without having to post the job and put everyone else through a process that wastes a lot of people’s time and energy.” 

      Listen to the full episode

      Why Transparency is Important to Support Internal Candidates

      Does your process call for roles to be posted internally or externally for a certain period of time? If a manager intends to hire or promote a specific candidate, is the rule still applied? 

      If candidates see a non-viable role, or worse, go through the interview process for the sake of checkboxes, it often leads to distrust in the organization. This ultimately damages the employer brand. 

      What If We Did Something Completely Off the Wall?

      It’s often jarring to lose employees with only the standard two weeks notice. It can take weeks or months to fill the role and onboard new hires. According to SHRM, the cost of a vacancy is reportedly three to four times the position’s salary.

      In the spring of 2022, a member of the recruiting team at Zapier had an epiphany after losing several teammates. Her LinkedIn post about it drew more than 16K reactions. 

      Bonnie Dilber asked the question, what if “we normalized letting our managers know we wanted to explore new roles? What if managers helped team members with resumes and interview prep, beside them, helping land the next role? It’s a win-win,” Dilber wrote. “The employee has a better experience, is more set up for success, and the manager and company have a better opportunity to prepare for departures.”

      Dilber originally posed her question internally in a Slack group. Then a few weeks later, she commented in a public forum that she wanted the recruiting team to provide this support for anyone needing it for internal or external opportunities. 

      What Happened Next to Support Internal Candidates

      A few people stepped forward. 

      Employee A was considering leaving, but the recruiting team identified roles opening in a few months that would be perfect. Instead of working on a resume for an external search, Employee A and the recruiting team collaborated on colleagues to speak to and experiences to gain to be competitive for the role when it opened. 

      Dissatisfied, Employee B worked with the recruiting team to identify why and map out a strategy to resolve their issues. Employee B is now on a path to greater contentment with their current role.

      Employee C worked with the team to upgrade their resume with clear metrics displaying their impact. “I don’t know if or when they’ll start looking,” said Dilber. “But I’m glad they felt supported even though it might take them away in the future.”

      Dilber goes on to extol the virtues of retention and professional growth. “Recruiting teams shouldn’t be used solely to fill roles. We can and should be true partners in retaining and growing our talent.” 

      After formally launching the program, Dilber admits, this may mean they help people plan an exit strategy but is okay with that.

      “I think it:

      makes our recruiting team better partners to the departments we support. will help us to retain our people in the long-run. opens the door to more honest conversations across teams to plan for attrition and support our people to go farther faster. makes Zapier a better place to work.” 

      Historically, dissatisfied employees lived a “double life,” working on resumes at night, checking personal emails or LinkedIn messages on the sly. What would it mean to retention efforts to have the psychologically safe environment to explore new roles – internally or externally? 

      Internal Mobility is a Smart Retention Tool

      More companies are exploring Web 3.0 initiatives but finding there are few engineers with specific Web 3.0 experience. Hired CTO Dave Walters offers this advice for companies planning these or any emerging technology projects: 

      “Rather than exclusively looking for candidates with Web 3.0 experience [for example], why not support internal candidates and potential new hires with the requisite foundational skills to make the transition.” 

      “Invest in a strong training and mentorship program. Find engineers with transferable skills such as security principles, peer-to-peer networks/distributed systems, and understanding of smart contracts. Source engineers with these Web 3.0 relevant skills for a significant competitive advantage.”

      Upskilling and new projects are great ways to retain talent, support internal candidates, inspire loyalty, and provide professional growth. 

      Related: Help current employees upskill with Hired partners like General Assembly, Educative, Blockchain Training Alliance, 2U, Sales Impact Academy, and more.

      What Would Greater Transparency Mean for Your Employer Brand?

      In Hired’s 2021 List of Top Employers Winning Tech Talent, takeaways included ‘strengthening the post-employee experience.’

      In summary, when an employee is ready to leave, or recently departed, don’t write them off. Invest in your employer brand and:

      Coach managers and teams to support them and respond positively. You helped them grow and they’re graduating to something new. They may even be taking a position of influence to use your product or service. Build and engage an active employee alumni network.Turn former employees into brand ambassadors by celebrating their wins and supporting them. They’ll tell others about their amazing experiences, share your open positions, and recommend your company as a great place to work. 

      Want More Talent Insights to Support Internal Candidates and other Topics?

      Tune into Hired’s podcast, Talk Talent to Me, to learn about the strategies, techniques, and trends shaping the recruitment industry—straight from top experts themselves.

      Need Help with Employer Branding? 

      We cover several examples of how to do this in recent eBooks for enterprise-level businesses and for SMBs and Mid-market companies. 

      One way is to host an event, virtual or in-person. Hired helps companies with a variety of events designed to help recruit talent with specific skills, like coding challenges. 

      Panel or “fireside chat” type events showcase members of your team discussing a certain industry topic or simply what it’s like to work for your company. These foster general brand awareness, of course, as well as boost recruitment marketing efforts.  More

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      Diversity Isn’t Optional: How 3 Talent Leaders Made DEI an Organizational Imperative

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      All too often, organizations treat DEI initiatives as optional—but this approach couldn’t be worse for business.  

      According to McKinsey, gender-diverse companies are 15% more likely to have financial returns above their national industry median and ethnically diverse companies typically experience a 35% increase in performance compared to homogenous competitors. Similarly, a Boston Consulting Group report found diverse management teams generate 19 times more revenue than non-diverse teams.

      The statistics speak for themselves: diversity is key to business success. But how many companies treat DEI initiatives as a true organizational imperative?

      The unfortunate answer: not enough. “Prominent tech companies have made little progress in their stated goal of hiring more minorities,” notes one CNBC article. 

      For example, many enterprises saw only “low single-digit increases in their percentage of Black employees” from 2014 to 2020. And while the gender and race wage gap is narrowing, access to opportunity and discrepancies in salaries persist for underrepresented tech talent. 

      DEI data

      For example, in our recent State of Wage Inequality in the Tech Industry report, our platform data showed: 

      36.7% of roles only sent interview requests to menThe percentage of positions only sending interview requests to white or asian men continue to drop, but is still a hefty 49%Black women continue to see the widest gap among the demographics analyzed.

      “There is still work to be done in ensuring equitable hiring processes to narrow wage and expectation gaps, and companies must prioritize this effort,” says Hired CEO Josh Brenner. 

      “Post-Great Resignation, companies successful in identifying non-traditional talent, while also ensuring diversity and representation in their candidate pipelines, will be better positioned to drive their businesses forward in a time of increased volatility.” 

      To see what steps business leaders across the country are taking to drive impactful DEI efforts, we’ve compiled actionable insights from Hired’s Talk Talent to Me podcast. Read on to learn how Match Group, Capital One, and Tech Can [Do] Better work to enact positive change—and how your organization can do the same.

      How Match Group attracts underrepresented candidates

      Expert: Match Group Vice President of Talent Acquisition, Craig Campbell

      Examine your entire hiring process

      To build a pipeline of diverse talent, Campbell suggests baking DEI into every part of your hiring process: from branding to sourcing to interviewing. “Think about what you’re doing to attract the right talent,” he says. “Can you stand on your approach and say it’s end-to-end fair, objective, and inclusive?” 

      Revisit value propositions

      In a crowded marketplace, corporate branding can make or break your recruiting efforts. 

      As Campbell puts it, “Do you present an attractive value proposition to start with, and then are you ensuring that you’re not doing things to diminish your opportunity to convert as much talent as possible? 

      That’s something you can apply in general, and then even more specifically when you start to think about segments like Black or African-American, Latinx, women, and the LGBTQ community. 

      For each underrepresented segment in your organization, you have to take an inside-out approach to determine: Do I have the right value proposition to attract that audience?” 

      Many businesses already use market segmentation for customer acquisition—and the same strategies can be used to attract diverse candidates. “I don’t think it’s a far reach to apply some of that expertise to talent segmentation,” says Campbell.  

      Take a stance on social issues

      Candidates will notice what your company does—and doesn’t—say. 

      As Campbell puts it, “Another part of your value proposition is your position as it relates to social causes. I think that’s a new and emerging component of the value proposition, with candidates asking companies what they stand for and how that shows up in how they do business and support employees.” 

      According to Edelman’s 2022 Trust Barometer, 60% of respondents said they will choose a place to work based on their beliefs and values. 

      Organizations with clear answers and concrete evidence will stand out for their commitment to taking action. “Whether you have a story to tell—or more importantly, a track record—could be the difference between you being more or less competitive,” says Campbell.

      Listen to the whole episode

      How Capital One nurtures an inclusive culture

      Expert: Capital One Senior Director of Diversity Talent Acquisition, Kanika Raney

      Prioritize DEI initiatives in onboarding

      At Capital One, Raney is proud to have helped shape a successful onboarding program that sets the tone for company culture and employee experience. 

      “Everyone goes through a day-long training to learn more about our culture and values,” she says. “For us, it’s essential they feel included from day one.” 

      Part of that mission means emphasizing DEI initiatives through the onboarding process—and encouraging new employees to get involved with relevant business resource groups and activities. 

      Onboarding isn’t something that occurs only when someone starts a new job, though. Rather, it happens any time there is a transition—and DEI should be emphasized at each milestone. 

      “That can be when you transfer to a new role, when you get a new manager, if there’s a reorganization, or if you’re returning from an extended leave,” explains Raney. “And companies should have an onboarding strategy for each of these defining moments in an employee’s career.”

      Unburden minority employees

      Far too often, the burden falls on minority groups to cultivate inclusivity within an organization. “More often than not, if you’re the only female or the only Latinx employee at a senior level, you’re going to be tapped on the shoulder every single time,” says Raney. “And that becomes a lot for one person representing one demographic.” 

      Tokenism [to-ken-ism] /ˈtōkəˌnizəm/ noun

      “The practice of doing something, such as hiring a person from a minority group, just to appear to be treating people fairly and to avoid criticism.” 

      To prevent tokenism,  business leaders should own this responsibility themselves rather than relying exclusively on employee groups. 

      For example, Capital One hosted a speaker series to advance authentic dialogue, grow DEI awareness, and promote allyship. 

      “It’s about creating the space for open dialogue and allowing people to join in on a voluntary basis versus putting employees on the spot and making them feel like, ‘I’m the one that has to step up and answer this question,’” explains Raney. 

      Related: Panel discussion: “Close the Gap with Advocacy & Allyship”

      Forget about “culture fits” 

      Rather than hiring candidates who are culture fits, Raney suggests rewriting the script and seeking culture adds. 

      “Why are we trying to force people into a fit?” she asks. “It should be less about, ‘Can you fit into this culture?’ and more about, ‘What are you adding to this culture?’” 

      To that end, Raney emphasizes the importance of training staff to think differently during the recruitment process. 

      For instance, hiring teams might ask: 

      Can this candidate bring an alternative perspective to the organization? In what ways will their original insights benefit our business? If someone is missing a credential, can they learn relevant skills on the job? Are they growth-minded? Do they offer something we didn’t even know we needed? 

      Listen to the whole episode

      How Tech Can [Do] Better leverages critical diversity data

      Expert: Tech Can [Do] Better founder & CEO, Lawrence Humphrey

      Partner with outside organizations 

      Humphrey’s nonprofit, Tech Can [Do] Better, was founded one week after the murder of George Floyd. “We’re all about driving racial equity, and equity more broadly, in and through the tech industry,” says Humphrey. 

      “This was a window of opportunity like none I’d ever seen before, so I thought: How can we turn this moment into a movement where all of the most influential companies in the world have an ear for systemic change? How can we actually make something out of it?” 

      Today, Tech Can [Do] Better partners with innovative organizations to provide data-driven perspectives on how to enact change. “You can’t improve what you don’t measure,” explains Humphrey, quoting a famous maxim. 

      In running reports for tech companies, he helps business leaders identify—and fill—critical representation gaps. A large part of that process is breaking down data by gender, role, tenure, and other variables. 

      “You need to be able to segment the data,” says Humphrey. “It’s not enough to say that 15% of your workforce is Black. Where are the Black folks in your workforce?” 

      By getting granular, you can identify opportunity areas that might have otherwise gone overlooked—whether that’s diversifying the C-suite or rolling out initiatives to improve retention in a certain department.

      Set realistic expectations for DEI initiatives

      “Systemic problems require systemic solutions,” says Humphrey, “and systemic solutions require a long time frame.” It’s important for talent companies to recognize meaningful change can’t occur overnight. 

      Instead, DEI initiatives are an ongoing commitment to building a better workforce. As Humphrey explains, “It’s a little bit of work done for a long time. You can’t expect to just burst through some sprints or an intense one-quarter cycle, and then achieve equity. 

      That’s not how this works. It’s a commitment—and I feel comfortable saying it’s a life-long commitment.”

      Listen to the whole episode

      Here’s What You Can Do to Make DEI a Priority 

      Embrace best practices

      List salary bands. Use technology to reduce bias. Drop requirements for traditional four-year degrees and avail roles to those with non-traditional educational backgrounds, like bootcamps. In our 2022 State of Software Engineers report research, we found in 2021: 

      46% of software engineers had a computer science degree24% were self taught18% have a relevant college degree (ex., mathematics, information technology, data science, etc.)11% participated in a bootcamp program.

      In each case, the percentage increased 1% from 2020, except for “relevant college degree,” which decreased 4%.

      We’ve also seen wonderful results of bootcamp graduates on Hired, such as Paula Muldoon, who transitioned careers. After earning multiple degrees in and enjoying a music career, she joined a program through our partner, Makers, in the UK. She’s now a software engineer for Zopa, a leading financial company. 

      We’ve already seen great examples of DEI on our platform. So much so that we scored employers on our core values of equity, efficiency, and transparency in our first List of Top Employers Winning Tech Talent. Want to make the next list? Draw on these top ranking companies inside for inspiration.

      If you’re ready to follow in these organizations’ footsteps, Hired is here to help. By leveraging our platform’s innovative DEI tools and transparent salary data, we help your company build diverse teams and close critical wage gaps—one hire at a time.  More