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    Navigating Market Uncertainty: The State of Tech Hiring (VIDEO)

    Watch this webinar-on-demand to hear in-depth analyses of the hiring market today, based on the 2022 State of Tech Salaries data report. Listen to meaningful conversations regarding hiring strategies, including the structure of compensation packages, flexible working models, and other talent initiatives.

    Hear from:

    Hired CEO Josh BrennerVP & GM, Employer Solutions for General Assembly Catie BrandHead of People, Virtru, Conley (Henderson) McIntyre and Director, Talent Acquisition, Markforged, Bryan Robinson.

    Download this collaborative panel discussion to discover: 

    Salary trends by role and years of experienceChanges in industry benchmarks such as average time-to-hireKey opportunities to win over top tech talent efficientlyImpact of global remote on tech talent hiring More

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    How Smart Companies are Solving Post-Lockdown Working (4 New Trends)

    From ‘swarm teams’ to the metaverse, innovative ideas take on the challenges of the new world of work…

    In late 2021, Professor Lynda Gratton of the London Business School asked 150 executives from companies around the world for their take on the biggest challenge currently facing businesses. The answer came back loud and clear: “retaining people,” closely followed by “recruiting people.”

    It picked up on a problem destined to grow. The Great Resignation, the result of lockdown-fuelled dissatisfaction with our jobs was first. Then it was followed by the Great Reshuffle, as workers leapt from job to job in search of fulfillment. As we entered post-lockdown working, how would companies evolve?

    In May this year, the UK’s Office for National Statistics revealed that there were more job vacancies than unemployed people in the country for the first time since records began. The marketplace has since begun to settle, but a July survey of 1,100 US professionals showed that 31 percent were planning to quit within the next 12 months. In other words, employers still need to focus hard on hiring and keeping the best talent.

    Post-Lockdown Working at Home vs In-office

    According to Josh Brenner, CEO of Hired, the largest AI-driven recruitment marketplace for tech workers, what is most likely to attract and retain employees is the offer of flexible working. In a recent Hired survey, less than two percent of respondents wanted a full, five-day return to the office.

    “We’ve seen really high rates of attrition when companies have forced people back to the office for a full five-day schedule,” he says.

    With that comes the need to make the best of hybrid work, potentially across disparate geographies. In order to retain employees, companies also need to work harder to engage them. They need to help them feel aligned with the organization’s values, Brenner believes.

    “When we hear about companies losing high numbers of staff, a lot of it is because employees feel disconnected. They lack a solid understanding of where the company’s going, and how their work  bubbles up and contributes to goals.”

    Throw in the need to prepare for a fast-changing world – technologically, geo-politically – and you have a cluster of problems for companies to solve in post-lockdown working. Those that do so most effectively stand to gain a competitive advantage – so what are the most innovative trending ideas? 

    In WIRED’s report, readers learn about the:

    AI company that has done away with managers marketing company making a four-day week pay dividends professional services company using the metaverse to engage its workforcerise of a new C-suite role that’s re-shaping business… More

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    2022 Survey Results: Top 3 Benefits Ranked by Engineers (Besides Salary)

    Last year was largely characterized by the Great Resignation but this year, in 2022, both employers and employees face uncertainty in the hiring market. This challenges employers to be more efficient when attracting, hiring, and onboarding new tech employees. To help you be more competitive when sourcing top talent, Hired’s 2022 State of Tech Salaries report reveals the three benefits ranked highest by engineers.

    Analyzing data from more than 907,000 interview requests across over 47,750 active positions, the process revealed insights from top tech talent and what they want in potential employers. 

    Potential candidates strongly factor benefits into their decision so this is important to your retention efforts with current employees. 

    Incorporate The Top Three Benefits in Your Recruiting Strategy 

    Hired’s 2022 State of Tech Salaries Report revealed engineers rank three benefits as most important to their job search outside of base compensation: flexible schedule, PTO, and physical health benefits. Are you an employer, recruiter, or hiring manager? Prioritize these benefits for robust recruiting and talent retention strategies and efforts. 

    1. Flexible Work Schedule 

    The pandemic forced companies to jump into remote work head first. However, as we adapt to the future of work, Hired found employees aren’t interested in fully returning to the office. Take a look at the response to our WFH questions. We found only 2% considered an in-office workplace most ideal. While over half (54.2%) would be willing to go back to the office if it came with more job security, they also reported they would search for other jobs with flexible remote work options right away.

    Note the flexible option to work from home is now the bare minimum. You need a comprehensive flexible work schedule. Here are a few trending best practices to consider implementing and promoting: 

    Shortened Work Week 

    Many companies are testing adaptable schedules, such as shortened work weeks. This model makes sense, especially for tech roles unnecessarily tied to the traditional, Monday-Friday, 9-5 work week. Companies adapting to a 4-day model see increased productivity and better work-life balance. 

    Family-Friendly Workplace 

    The pandemic also shined a light on the specific challenges faced by caregivers. For working parents or those caring for aging adults, it was overdue. It humanized a lot of working relationships and often provided a bit of levity. How many kids and dogs have you seen on video calls?

    As a result, reports found 57% of senior leaders plan to prioritize care benefits. When promoting flexible scheduling options, emphasize families may work around their responsibilities. Remember to be inclusive. Flexible scheduling isn’t only for working parents. Think of those who are in the “sandwich generation” or taking care of partners/parents. 

    2. Clear PTO Policies 

    First, it’s best to define your PTO policy. You won’t get far with candidates with vague mentions of “generous PTO.” What does that mean? Generous to whom? It’s all relative. Instead, clearly outline policies in your job postings. 

    Remember, asking employees to categorize their paid time off requests is passé. A solid and robust PTO strategy combines days for vacation, sick time, bereavement, and personal time in a single bank for employee use — no explanations for their use needed.

    Another hot-button topic for benefits is the debate over unlimited PTO. There are pros and cons to its implementation:

    Cons of Unlimited PTO

    Ambiguity actually makes employees take less time off. Branka Vuleta, founder of LegalJobs.io, explains: “In reality, people who have an opportunity to take as many vacations as they can end up taking fewer days off than those with a limited amount of days off in a year.

    In a nutshell, the unlimited PTO policy is a marketing trick supposed to lure people into applying for the job.” Employees new to unlimited PTO may not understand it’s not accrued, and therefore, isn’t paid out if they leave.

    Pros of Unlimited PTO

    Allows employees to take time off at their discretion and puts no caps on the number of days or hours used. This respects employees as adults instead of kids with a hall pass. This empowerment can be an attractive recruiting tool in a competitive marketplace.

    Employee Communication Guidance

    No matter what you decide, the key is to disclose as much insight into your PTO policy as possible. The last two decades of the tech revolution coupled with the pandemic created a more fluid and open-minded environment. 

    Prospective and current employees still want to understand, however, how and when they can take time off, and what the policy will mean to them. Consider mentioning:

    Required PTO minimums: Explain how your company requires workers to take time off to avoid burnout. Assistance with PTO coverage: This is often an issue with the unlimited PTO policies. People can take off as much time as they want, but covering ongoing projects, deliverables, and duties is cumbersome. Have company leadership take this burden off employees’ shoulders and be sure to communicate this in your job posting. People-first strategy: Showcase your first priority is employee morale, mental wellness, and as much work-life balance as possible. 

    3. Physical Health Benefits

    Healthcare in the U.S. is more expensive than ever. Combined with the painful lessons of the pandemic, employees are more aware of the importance of physical health and wellness.

    So, health benefits play an integral role in recruiting and retaining employees. In addition, study after study proves healthier employees are happier and more productive — benefiting employers and their bottom line.

    Physical health benefits include medical, dental, mental wellness, vision, and other benefits relating to healthcare. But it doesn’t stop there. While it’s imperative to list your complete health benefits offerings, be creative when it comes to wellness coverage and perks. Use these innovative companies and ideas as inspiration:

    Platforms like Modern Health allow employees to enjoy a full spectrum of mental and physical health benefits via one app. Companies like Accenture provide confidential employee assistance programs with training and resources to help with stress, mental health, or substance abuse.A fitness reimbursement program can offer financial assistance for gym memberships, virtual exercise classes, or even personal trainers. For instance, Microsoft offers “$1,200 per year for employee-only wellness-related expenses that help you get and stay fit physically, emotionally, and financially.”  

    Refer to this exhaustive list of perks and stipends for more examples.  

    Want to Attract and Retain Tech Talent? Promote the Right Benefits 

    Competing for tech talent in this current hiring climate and job market may feel like a herculean task, but it doesn’t have to be. Just adapt your strategies to meet evolving expectations surrounding work-life balance, remote work, and other benefits. The good news is the work to make these shifts benefits your current team members and retention efforts, too.

    Remember to emphasize your attractive benefits (specifically flexible schedules, PTO, and health benefits) on your careers page, job postings, and even social media. Shout about them everywhere. Quantify and qualify them to put it into context for prospective candidates. Consider asking current team members to participate in testimonials, quotes, or case studies. 

    This is a difficult time, but you don’t have to go through it alone. Hired’s platform allows you to highlight benefits in your company profile and helps ensure they’re communicated to candidates (i.e., in email requests to interview).

    Hired also gives you access to ongoing real-time market data to tailor your outreach and optimize response rates. This ultimately saves HR teams time to focus on higher-level tasks like retention via employee experience.  

    Top Benefits Ranked by Survey Respondents

    Get even more details about what tech professionals like engineers want regarding salaries, benefits, remote work flexibility, and more.

    Related 

    Tracy Ring is a freelance writer and content marketer. She brings a real-life perspective to her writing from 10+ years of diverse experience, including HR, project management, customer and client relations, and admin roles. Connect with her on LinkedIn or Twitter. More

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    10 Things You Can Do to Reach DEI Goals

    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

    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

    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

    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

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    Want to Boost Response Rates? Use Your UVP in Strategic Recruitment Messaging

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