Active job openings in UK continue meteoric rise; now up to 2.68 million

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As 2021 comes to a close, it will end on the back of one of the most historic active job opening runs Europe has ever seen. Despite COVID-19 infection rates still surging throughout the continent, it is not stopping organisations from attempting to hire. The only thing stopping them? A lack of willing and suitable candidates.

While talent shortages will be a large part of the conversation as the total number of people, and therefore workforces, in the entire continent will slowly start to decline, the United Kingdom’s decision to leave the European Union has led to an immediate full-blown labour shortage.

2.68 million active job openings

Since the beginning of 2020, the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) began tracking weekly figures with the Jobs Recovery Tracker. The first week of November marked the fourth-highest weekly figure since data collection began. In total, 221,000 new job openings were posted. The REC tracked an average of roughly 70,000 new job openings at the beginning of the pandemic in March, April and May.

As more jobs have been added, less have seemingly been filled. Leading to a total of a record-breaking 2.68 million active job openings in the UK. ‘Active’ job postings are regarded to be those which were live online during the specified time period. ‘New’ job postings are those which were added to the active stock during the specified time period, as per the REC.

Source: REC

‘The worst staffing crisis in 40 years’

While the British government cites the ‘stresses and strains’ of a post-Covid recovery, believing ‘supply will meet demand’, it is clearly not the truth for those doing the recruiting. “Brexit has, in my opinion, made things much harder”, says Paul Murphy, who has 40 years of experience in the industry. “Because government immigration policy does not recognise the positive contribution that workers from other countries make to the economy.”

“Brexit has, in my opinion, made things much harder.”

For years, the United Kingdom has depended mightily on its migrant workforce. Between 1996 and 2019, migrant workers were responsible for approximately 60% of the net employment growth in the UK, according to a study conducted by the Resolution Foundation. And when a majority of UK residents voted to leave the European Union, they likely had no idea that they would be at the start of what recruiters call ‘the worst staffing crisis in 40 years’.

London’s calling

While supermarkets regularly display empty shelves, slowly the UK is facing more and more issues. And its capital seems to be hit hardest, according to the REC’s latest report. “London has been affected more than other areas by the rise of hybrid working”, says Neil Carberry, Chief Executive of the REC.

With 32.2%, London’s growth in job postings number is the lowest of any region in the UK.

“Its jobs market continues to grow at a slower pace than the rest of the UK. And while roles in logistics and care are in high demand, the construction sector saw a drop-off last week as supply issues constrained the industry’s ability to work to capacity”, Carberry says. With 32.2%, London’s growth in job postings number is the lowest of any region in the UK. Wales is leading in that category, with a total of 185.3% more active job postings than at the beginning of the pandemic in March, 2020.

‘Britain now faces a two-year shortage of workers’

As vacancies are expected to keep rising, a U-turn on immigration policies that dictate that only skilled workers may enter from the EU to work in the UK could only solve some short-term job-related issues the country as. According to Keith Rosser, chair of the Better Hiring Institute, it is part of a much larger problem of the UK labour market.

“Many business groups in the UK are already stating the case for more migrant visas and changes to the current rules.”

“Britain now faces a two-year shortage of workers”, he says. “And although various sectors are scrambling for under-utilised resources, such as prisoners, the numbers of vacancies continue to rise — and are expected to rise for a little while longer. Many business groups in the UK are already stating the case for more migrant visas and changes to the current rules. Saying a U-turn is the only way out is potentially accurate, but more likely to be one of the ways out. Alongside upskilling and recruiting from under-utilised groups.”

‘There is much structurally that needs resolving’

Keith Rosser

Rosser sees an opportunity and a need for UK companies and recruiters to really change their ways. “One of the pressing challenges directed at the future of work is the future skills agenda”, he says. “Careers education is very dated, as is the way young people, professionals, and their advisors choose career paths and skills. How people choose future skills, how this is trained, and how we bring this fragmented picture together is crucial.”

“Much is needed to help usher in a new, future labour market for the United Kingdom.”

“There is much structurally that needs resolving”, he continued. “We need better protection for work seekers, Digital Hiring, a real type of transformation in the temporary and flexible worker market especially relating to umbrella companies, ethical hiring, and much more. But much is needed to help usher in a new, future labour market for the United Kingdom.”

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Why this bogus resume experiment shows that big-name work experience still rules all in recruiting

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Much has been read and written about a skills-driven market. A market wherein recruitment practices look further than work experience or degrees, and focuses on potential. And where organisations aim to recruit diversely. Based on a recent experiment conducted by software engineer who goes by the fake name of ‘Angelina Lee’, it may be further than the truth than we’d all like.

Never gonna give you up

Lee’s experiment started somewhat lightheartedly. After filling her resume up with ‘fluff and buzzwords’ that all sounded real, the only alteration she made was substituting every hyperlink with a direct link to YouTube superstar Rick Astley’s Never Gonna Give You Up. Also known as Rickrolling. With that resume, Lee got a 90% callback rate, including from the likes of AirBnB and Blend.

Vodka shots, potato sack races and herpes

Thinking companies would just read the bullets and not click any links, Lee took it one step further. She changed some bullets and adjusted her summary with remarkable details. After graduating magna cum laude at the University of California Berkeley, she set a fraternity record for most vodka shots in one night. During her internship at Microsoft, she ‘spearheaded a Microsofters 4 Trump company rally’ and also ‘spread herpes STD to 60% of the intern team’.

“No way I get calls back with this right? Wrong.”

It gets worse. A few years later during her time at Zillow, she ‘organised team bonding through company potato sack race’, and at Instagram, she led a team of 6 engineers to mine Ethereum on company servers. “No way I get calls back with this right? Wrong”, she said in a Reddit post detailing her experiment.

A 90% callback rate

Lee again didn’t just get callbacks. She received replies from 90% of organisations where she applied. Some organisations even replied within the hour, inviting her for a scheduled call. She even asked recruiters which parts of her resume stood out — to which her prior work experience was pointed out as a key factor. In the e-mails she shares, it’s clear that she gave recruiters that invited her for a chat multiple opportunities to have a real read through her resume and come back from their decision — but none did.

‘The truth always comes out’

Resume parsing through an Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) has been widely dubbed the future of HR tech. Built on the notion that recruiters have too little time to really read resumes, organisations everywhere have taken to technology to solve that very issue. 99% of Fortune 500 companies used an ATS in 2019 — and it wouldn’t be all too surprising if that number has now reached the full 100%.

“A fake resume may make it through an ATS, but you’d have a hard time faking it through an interview and validating the experiences and references.”

And while an ATS can bring upon tons of benefits, after Lee’s story went viral, it once again came under scrutiny. Though Sue Harbour, interim executive director at Lee’s supposed University of California Berkeley, argues that the truth will always come up, despite bogus CV’s. “A fake resume may make it through an ATS, but you’d have a hard time faking it through an interview and validating the experiences and references”, she told DailyCal. “The truth always comes out.”

The golden ticket: FAANG

And while the truth may hopefully always come out, Lee’s experiment shows a real disconnect between what organisations say and what their recruiting does. Despite a number of ridiculous CV claims, Lee’s supposed experience at big tech companies got her through the first test. “I think everyone knew FAANG  (Facebook, Amazon Apple, Netflix and Google) is a golden ticket, but I literally did not think it would give you diplomatic immunity with recruiters”, she wrote.

“My actual resume only gets 3% response rate. I kind of wish I was actually Angelina.”

In short: supposed work experience at big names still pays off. And while those claims of experiences at Facebook or Amazon may be debunked during a later stage in the recruitment process when references are actually checked, some of the recruiting behaviour is alarming, Lee adds. “My actual resume only gets 3% response rate or something super low. I kind of wish I was actually Angelina”, she concludes.

Historic October for HR tech: 3 blockbuster venture rounds in just 10 days

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Organisations have clearly now put an emphasis on optimising the world of their current workforce. According to Pitchbook data, HR tech is scorching hot. To give you an idea: in 2012, HR tech companies were on the receiving end of roughly $0.6 billion of venture capital. In 2021, that number is expected to surpass $10 billion.

Within the space of just 10 days, HR tech raised close to $1 billion across three separate venture rounds.

While much of 2021 proved to be historic for both the amount of money raised for those active in the world of human resources technology, October proved to be even bigger than the prior months. Within the space of just 10 days, ranging from October 11th until October 21st, HR tech raised close to $1 billion across three separate venture rounds.

Source: Pitchcount

October 11: $270M for Personio

’All-in-one’ HR software provider Personio kickstarted the surge, announcing a $270m Series E round. The Munich-based company technically only became a unicorn at the beginning of the year, but has now reportedly surged to a $6.4 billion valuation after its Series E round. “While I consider this funding a major milestone, we are still at the very beginning of our journey”, said Hanno Renner, Personio’s Co-founder and CEO.

“Now we want to help HR teams go beyond HR”, he continued. “This investment highlights the continued fast growth of the business and the immense market potential, but also the belief in our vision for the future of HR tech.”

October 18: $425M for Deel

Remote hiring company Deel became a unicorn on the back of a Series C round in April. Its global payroll solution for employees and contractors serves over 4,500 companies worldwide. With its Series D round, raising a stunning $425M, that number is expected to grow by, well, a lot. “Just in the past year, we’ve helped numerous businesses hire in countries all over and made managing employee expenses seamless and straightforward”, said Alex Bouaziz, Deel’s Co-founder and CEO.

“We founded Deel because we didn’t want hiring or payments to prevent businesses from building the best global teams.”

“The way people work is fundamentally changing — and it’s never going back”, he continued. “We founded Deel because we didn’t want hiring or payments to prevent businesses from building the best global teams and finding the best global talent. We’re going to keep challenging the norms of how companies operate and continue building tools that shape the future of work.”

October 21: $250M for Rippling

Employee management platform Rippling was founded by successful Silicon Valley entrepreneur Parker Conrad. Rippling prides itself on bringing ‘all employee operations’ into one place. With its Series B round in August, 2020, the company officially became a unicorn. Similarly to Personio’s incredible growth, the company is now valued at $6.5 billion merely a year later.

“Rippling’s core thesis is that employee data is critical to a surprisingly large number of business systems, including the ones well outside of HR.”

That valuation is based on its $250M Series C round. “Fundraising is of course a means to an end, but it’s also a gratifying signal that we’re on the right track”, Conrad wrote. “ Rippling’s core thesis is that employee data is critical to a surprisingly large number of business systems, including the ones well outside of HR. Maintaining the fidelity of the same employee data across all these disconnected systems — effectively, across multiple separate databases — is the reason it’s a lot of work for companies to have many different business systems in the first place.”

Recruiters are more stressed; job experience and cultural fit less important in evaluation of candidates

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There are a multitude of things that can illustrate a similar problem in the European labour market. If we look at the total number of vacancies within Europe, it illustrates a clear need and desire for more applicable applicants. While much has been written about the impending European labour market shortage — it also paints a picture wherein recruiters face a tough job: they need to find, persuade and hire more people.

In many ways, the recruitment climate in Northern America may differ from that in Europe. But as the two continents grapple with similar talent shortage issues, they may have more in common than some think. Every year, Jobvite surveys hundreds of US-based recruiters and HR professionals for its annual Recruiter Nation Report. All to determine where the industry’s priorities lie and current hiring trends. As uncovered in this year’s report, recruiters are confronting a dramatic shift from one year prior, when the world was facing job losses, lay-offs, and staffing reductions. 

Shifted priorities and increased stress levels

Now recruiters face a reality where more talent is needed. And when more talent is needed, it automatically increases the need for recruiters to perform. That in itself has resulted in another key research finding: recruiters widely report increased stress levels. According to the report, 65% of recruiters report at least somewhat increased stress levels since the onset of the pandemic. Meanwhile, 21% say their stress levels have ‘drastically increased’.

‘Recruiters may be more open-minded about candidates’

The report also delves into what it is recruiters use in their evaluation of candidates. The key takeaway in that aspect of recruitment is that they may be more open-minded than in 2017. Among the factors rising in importances: online education or certificates (up by 31% compared to 2017), cover letters (up by 22% compared to 2017), resume format (up by 19% compared to 2017), and online social presence (up by 11% compared to 2017).

Source: Jobvite

82% of recruiters viewed cultural fit as an important factor in 2017, it now only gets a 28% score.

On the other side, multiple things seem to be less important to recruiters. Previous job experience ranked extraordinarily high in 2017 (92%), but is now down 30% in the ranking of important factors when evaluating candidates. The most notable factor is cultural fit. While it ranked relatively high with 82% of recruiters viewing it as an important factor in 2017, it now only gets a 28% score.

TikTok on the rise among recruiters

We previously wrote about the inevitability to use TikTok in recruitment practices when it comes to reaching a younger audience. According to the Recruiter Nation Report, TikTok continues to surge among recruiters. Now, 16% of recruiters use the platform for recruiting efforts — more than doubling the results from the previous year. TikTok is mainly incorporated by younger recruiter, the report finds, with ages 25-34 leading the charge.

Referrals are on the rise

For years, recruitment guru Dr. John Sullivan has preached the effectivity of well laid-out referral programs. In 2021, that sentiment seems to be shared by organisations. 79% of organisations now offer employee referral programs — an 8% increase compared to 2020. Moreover, 48% of organisations say they are seeing higher participation in its employee referral programs.

According to the report, 40% are making more hires from internal employees since the pandemic.

With employers often finding it difficult to find new talent, it has also brought upon more internal hires. According to the report, 40% are making more hires from internal employees since the pandemic. When an organisation does hire from outside its internal workforce, freelancers and gig workers seem to benefit. 35% of organisations are outsourcing more jobs, a 13% upward shift since 2020. That trend looks set to remain, the report notes, with 54% of organisations planning to outsource even more jobs moving forward.

What will happen to the regulation landscape of artificial intelligence in recruitment?

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Whether it’s the recruitment and selection of candidates or the re-skilling process towards a possible promotion, AI is now present in the entire employee lifecycle. As always, the proof lies in the numbers. According to a survey by the PwC, 86% of U.S. corporations say that AI will be a ‘mainstream technology’ at their company in 2021. Moreover, in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, 52% of PwC’s survey respondents say they have accelerated their AI adoption plans.

71% of the European companies consider AI an ‘important topic on the executive management level’

Meanwhile, similar sounds come out of Europe. According to a survey by EY and Microsoft, 71% of the European companies responded that AI is considered an ‘important topic on the executive management level’. While 57% of European companies expect AI to have a high or a very high impact on business areas that are “entirely unknown to the company today”.

AI has skyrocketed, but regulations remain grounded

As the implementation of AI has skyrocketed, the amount of laws or regulations have remained grounded. In 2020, Illinois became the first-ever state to regulate the increasing usage of artificial intelligence in recruitment practices. The Illinois Artificial Intelligence Video Interview Act (AIVI) cracked down on the use of AI in video interviews to determine if the applicant exhibited the characteristics of ‘successful’ candidates and may provide hiring recommendations.

The AIVI act itself was somewhat vague. It left several terms, including notably ‘artificial intelligence’, undefined.

Under the act, the employer would have to disclose, explain, ask for consent — while the video had to remain confidential and be destructed within 30 days. While Illinois set the bar in the US — the act itself was somewhat vague. It left several terms, including notably ‘artificial intelligence’, undefined.

Europe puts recruitment AI on the ‘high-risk’ list

For Europe, legislation may soon be on its way. In April 2021, the European Union proposed what was in essence a combination of the first-ever legal framework on AI and a coordinated plan that guarantees the safety and fundamental rights of people and businesses. “By setting the standards, we can pave the way to ethical technology worldwide and ensure that the EU remains competitive along the way”, said Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice-President for A Europe fit for the Digital Age.

Any software that is used in a European recruitment procedure will be subject to strict obligations before they can be put on the market.

Vestager described the plan as ‘future proof and innovation-friendly’, but warned that rules will intervene ‘where strictly needed’. AI systems that are used in the employment, workers management and access to self-employment were put on the EU’s high-risk list. That category entails that any software that is used in a recruitment procedure will be subject to strict obligations before they can be put on the market.

‘It’s happening and needs to be addressed now’

EEOC’s Keith Sonderling

One man keen on changing the AI regulation landscape is Keith Sonderling, commissioner of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). “Whether it’s pay equity, age or pregnancy discrimination or the #MeToo movement — the EEOC gets to the core of all of it”, Sonderling told Chad Sowash and Joel Cheesman on the Chad & Cheese Podcast.

“There are so many benefits to using technology in the workplace that I want to see it flourish.”

“It’s not uncommon for commissioners to pick a specific topic and really champion it”, he said. “And for me, that is artificial intelligence in the workplace. There are so many benefits to using technology in the workplace that I want to see it flourish. And not get subject to certain government regulations that are not going to make it work because we’re already too late. It’s happening and it needs to be addressed now.”

‘Technology generally gets very far ahead of the government’

AI has been subject to its fair share of incidents and scrutiny. Amazon’s well-documented mishap in 2018 led to their internally developed hiring tools being scrapped, because it actually discriminated against women. Its developers used the company’s 10 year history of resumes (which were predominantly male). That lead to the software effectively teaching itself that those (male) candidates were preferable. The tool was never used — but illustrated the clear and obvious errors an AI system could be subject to.

“[Part of it is to] not put on burdensome regulations that take it down or subject it to a massive federal investigations or class action lawsuits.”

The main pitfall, according to Sonderling, is that AI technologies are being developed so quickly, it may come back to bite them in butt. “Technology generally gets very far ahead of the government”, Sonderling said. “It’s a time where we can all really work together. Everyone from employee groups, to employers buying and using the software to developers. To create a standard that actually allows these products in this AI to help diversify the workforce. To help get the best candidates. But also not put on burdensome regulations that take it down. Or subject it to a massive federal investigations or class action lawsuits.”

Whose fault is it anyway?

Although Amazon didn’t design its model with misogynistic intent, it was the end result. It is part of a larger issue, according to Chad Sowash: a common misperception of what AI actually is. “Most people misunderstand that the decision AI is making doesn’t stem from AI itself”, he said. “Rather it stems from human decisions. Humans are biased, always have been, always will be.”

“The algorithm spits out: ‘Your ideal applicant is named Jared who played high school lacrosse.’ Whose fault is that?”

That sentiment was echoed by Sonderling, who gave another example of how AI endeavours can go wrong. “One firm said, go find me the ideal applicant. I want to diversify my workforce, here’s my top performer. And the algorithm spits out: ‘Your ideal applicant is named Jared who played high school lacrosse.’ Thank you. I mean what does that say? What does that do? But whose fault is that? That the inputs that gave you the bias, the bias inputs give you the biased outputs.”

“Whether they bought the AI to really diversify their workforce and eliminate bias, or help employees up-skill and re-skill, if it has that discriminatory output, the employer’s on the hook.”

Despite its set of uniform guidelines still stemming from 1960, Sonderling and the EEOC will continue to monitor these cases. But one thing is certain, according to Sonderling: the employers using these tools are liable. “Whether they bought the AI to really diversify their workforce and eliminate bias, or help employees up-skill and re-skill, if it has that discriminatory output, the employer’s on the hook.”

Could Europe become a hunting ground for thriving Indian tech companies?

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For years, India has been regarded as a cost centre for tech companies globally. Where Indian talent once came much cheaper than American and European talent — that is no longer the case. With 31 new unicorns (companies with a $1+ billion valuation) in just the first half of 2021, India is becoming the world’s fastest-growing start-up ecosystems. 

India is becoming the world’s fastest-growing start-up ecosystems.

But as more and more Indian companies storm to unicorn growth, it comes at a time in which they struggle to hire enough personnel, particularly in technology positions. Despite having one of the largest tech talent pools in the world (over 4.5 million engineers), most Indian companies are struggling to fill key positions as the demand for niche, new-age skills has multiplied in volume and value.

‘The talent gap in India is huge’

In just a year’s time, from June 2020 to June 2021, the hiring demand within the IT software and services sector has increased by a whopping 163%, according to data from India’s largest job search platform, Naukri JobSpeak. 

“The talent here in India is simply getting more and more expensive.”

“The talent gap in India is huge”, Mayur Mahajan, Talent Discovery Specialist at RPO company TalentRupt, tells ToTalent. “Given the increase in demand of technical (Indian) talent all over the world due to the pandemic, the talent here in India is simply getting more and more expensive.”

‘Thinking of offshoring some work to a lower cost centre in SF, Bay Area’

Perhaps no statement illustrates the current tech hiring climate in India as clearly as a recent tweet by Bhavish Aggarwal, co-founder of Indian ride-sharing unicorn Ola Cabs. Prior to launching a new electric scooter, Aggarwal took to Twitter to describe an increasingly desperate hiring market. “Engineering hiring situation in Bengaluru. Thinking of offshoring some work to a lower cost centre in SF, Bay Area”, he tweeted.

“The tweet was really meant to be a joke, with a sad underlying truth about the talent market in India”, Mahajan argues. “Recently, there have been talks by Tesla and other companies that the taxation structure in India leaves a less profitable margin for companies. What they meant was with ridiculous high tax brackets, mingled with costly talent, setting up shop is a very difficult and financially draining proposition.”

A matured market that has ‘exploded’

But the main problem revolves around talent, according to Mahajan. “The talent here is getting expensive because the existing talent is becoming more experienced, while the new talent seems to be half unemployable due to the lack of required skills”, he says.

Mayur Mahajan

“The current experience talent in Bangalore and everywhere else such as Pune and Ahmedabad is that they are so good at what they do, when they are approached by recruiters for a new job, their expectations are in the average bracket of 45 to 60 percent hike over and above other benefits and perks and incentives”, Mahajan says.

“There are so many opportunities for Indian talent, that it truly could be easier to find someone in San Francisco than in Bangalore.”

That sentiment was echoed by Sarang Brahme of Capgemini during the India-focused  episode of Hung Lee’s Recruiting Brainfood Live on Air. “Because of COVID, the Indian market has exploded. There are so many opportunities for Indian talent, that it truly could be easier to find someone in San Francisco than in Bangalore.”

The overshopping problem in India

Part of the problem is the tendency of Indian candidates and employees to overshop, according to Brahme. “When employees resign in India, there’s a three-month notice period”, he says. “Essentially, it gives candidates three months to shop around and see who’s giving them a better offer. And because of the current high demand, the amount of offers is increasing.”

“On the day they are supposed to join, it can truly be the case that that person has accepted a job elsewhere, and we need to start another search.”

“If I make a candidate an offer, they will typically be a good candidate”, Brahme continues. “Which tends to mean that they will have more offers in hand and have multiple options. Then, on the day they are supposed to join — I need to check if they are still interested in joining. It can come as a big shock to hiring managers because it can truly be the case that that person has simply accepted a job elsewhere, and we need to start another search.”

‘Candidates leave them high and dry’

Savita Hortikar, Head of TA at Thoughtworks, sees it as a real problem. “It makes for a market wherein you constantly have to keep the pipeline on. You have to keep engaging with candidates. You can’t just stop when you hire someone.”

“Home-trained talent leaves them high and dry the moment they are offered more money elsewhere.”

According to Mahajan, the current situation puts a lot of strain on Indian companies. “They hire less qualified or fresh talent”, he says. “They train them, build them for the job. But then this very same talent leaves them high and dry the moment they are offered more money elsewhere.”

Europe as a hunting ground?

It makes for an interesting dilemma. Do Indian companies continue their pursuit of India-based, candidates who are getting tougher and tougher to hire, or would they perhaps be better off pursuing remote candidates in countries where costs could potentially be lower? With wages on the up, Indian companies have already begun looking elsewhere, according to Joseph Devasia of Global Executive Recruitment firm Antal India.

“Large IT service companies have recently started looking at Eastern Europe, Latin America and some in Africa as well.”

“Many Indian start-ups are now looking at Indonesia, Vietnam and Singapore as lower-cost alternatives”, Devasia says. “Whereas the large IT service companies have recently started looking at Eastern Europe, Latin America and some in Africa as well.” Devasia, however, doesn’t expect Western Europe to be a target anytime soon, due to higher costs.

“Europe can be a hunting ground, but is it ready to work for peanuts?”

Mahajan is a bit more hesitant about the prospect of Indian companies recruiting in Europe, but admits they may be forced to try. “Several peers and academic friends tell me that if Indian companies are looking towards Europe as a hunting ground for cheap, technical labour — they’ll need to up their game as they will face stiff competition”, he says. “Europe can be a hunting ground, but is it ready to work for peanuts?”

The state of recruitment in Belgium: ‘Looking to fill vacancies, not pursuing tech’

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The latest numbers to come out of Belgium tell a tale of a nation that is struggling to keep up with the demand for new personnel. The total number of open vacancies reached an all-time high in July of 2021 — and that number is not expected to come down anytime soon. It is, therefore, no coincidence that Belgian recruitment professionals and agencies are currently prioritising one thing: filling vacancies.

The research sets out to create a clearer view of the current recruitment trends and priorities in Belgium.

It is just one of many findings to come out of a new report shedding light on the current state of recruiting in Belgium. Overall, a total of 166 recruitment professionals and 46 agencies were part of a wide-scale survey. Organised by the Academie voor Arbeidsmarktcommunicatie (Academy for Job Market Communication), Werf& and Intelligence Group — the research sets out to create a clearer view of the current recruitment trends and priorities in Belgium.

COVID and scarcity dictate the agenda

As far as priorities go, the research found that a tight labour market and scarcity intertwine with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic as the biggest influences on the Belgian recruitment scene. 53% of those surveyed named the pandemic as the biggest influencer, while scarcity scored just one percent less: 52%. Social media was widely regarded as the third biggest influence in the recruitment of talent, scoring 44%.

Filling vacancies: the number one priority

For both C-suites and recruitment teams, their respective priorities seem aligned quite well. Overall, both viewed filling vacancies as the number one priority. With the ongoing levels of scarcity throughout Europe, that in itself should come as no surprise. Priorities seem further aligned in the notion that both surveyed groups rank employee retention and employee training relatively high.

“The idea of just pursuing new employees, but leaving the backdoor open would be a really poor business strategy. Belgian recruiters and agencies are aware of this.”

“For Talent Acquisition leaders worldwide, the retention and mobility of the current workforce has become more of a priority than recruiting new personnel”, says Geert-Jan Waasdorp, author and owner of labour market data pioneers Intelligence Group. “The idea of just pursuing new employees, but leaving the backdoor open would be a really poor business strategy. The notion that Belgian companies are aware of this — shows they are committed to the right ideas.”

Less focus on a ‘new type of recruitment’

Whether it be attempts to save time in its recruitment funnel, or ways to simply interact quicker with potential candidates, many companies looked to digitally transform and digitalise in lieu of the COVID-19 crisis. While Big Data, Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) and automation are all clearly on the up within the land of recruitment — Belgian recruiters and agencies widely regard a ‘new type of recruitment’ as a less important topic for the future.

Belgian recruiters and agencies widely regard a ‘new type of recruitment’ as a less important topic for the future.

The difference and similarities between two countries

With automation (14%) Big Data (11%) and RPO (11%) all ranking near the very bottom for Belgians, it is just one of many subjects where the country clearly differs from its neighbour, the Netherlands. In similar research among Dutch recruitment professionals and agencies, the very same subjects all ranked higher in the ranking of importance. 

In similar research among Dutch recruitment professionals and agencies, automation, Big Data and RPO all ranked higher.

Remarkably, the Brexit is deemed equally unimportant among the Belgian and Dutch world of recruitment. While the United Kingdom persistently struggles with all things related to talent acquisition in its post-Brexit reality, these Western European countries feel like they are not impacted at all in their recruitment efforts. Both countries, meanwhile, also scored similar results in its ranking of diversity and inclusivity on the list of priorities — it ranked seventh.

Both the Belgium 2021 and the Netherlands 2021 reports are available to download in full via the Academie voor Arbeidsmarktcommunicatie. Please note: they are both only available in Dutch.

Despite huge success in US, ‘LinkedIn for medical professionals’ Doximity has no plans to launch in Europe

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It took LinkedIn approximately five years before their European websites were gobbled up by keen European users. When the service was first rolled out across Spain, France and Germany in 2008 and 2009, millions of Europeans flocked towards the Californian business social network. And while LinkedIn proved to be particularly useful for those working in IT, marketing and advertising and finance sectors, a key sector remained contractually wary of social media.

Built on a similar premise as LinkedIn — networking, news curation, tools and case collaboration — Doximity was launched for American physicians in 2011.

With doctors prohibited to post anything about their any of their patient’s conditions on their respective social media channels, US-based Nate Gross, Jeff Tangney and Shari Buck sought to solve privacy law problem. Built on a similar premise as LinkedIn — networking,  news curation, tools and case collaboration — Doximity was launched for American healthcare professionals in 2011.

1.8 million members

After finding early-door collaborations with several hospitals and healthcare organisations, Doximity quickly excelled by giving physicians a private network they clearly longed for. In many ways, it became the first time high, real-time communication between healthcare providers, physicians and patients existed at scale. Within a year, roughly 5% of US-based physicians had signed up.

Doximity is used by approximately 80% of US physicians as well as 90% of American medical students.

And as digital became the norm, the number physicians that signed up continued to grow. The latest reports indicate that Doximity is used by approximately 80% of US physicians as well as 90% of American medical students. The total user count is said to be 1.8 million, largely made up out of doctors, nurse practitioners and physician assistants.

And a market value of $7+ billion

Doximity’s revenue, too, continued to grow. Doximity ‘went against the Silicon Valley norm’, as co-founder Nate Gross told Fierce Healthcare. It focused on brand recognition and its suite of compliant tools rather than fundraising. In 2019, the company brought in $116m of revenue. In 2020, it grew to $207m. And on June 24, the company ‘blew away’ its IPO goal with shares opening 58% above their initial offer price. As a result, the company was valued at over $7 billion.

Social recruiting with the Doximity Talent Finder

According to Doximity, only 11% of doctors seek new jobs. To solve the problem recruiters have to recruit medical talent, Doximity Talent Finder was launched in 2013. It serves as a fairly straightforward recruiting tool for healthcare professionals that can be particularly hard to find and recruit. 

Doximity Talent Finder. Copyright: Doximity.

Doximity Talent Finder serves as a fairly recruiting tool for healthcare professionals that can be particularly hard to find and recruit.

The biggest difference between Doximity and LinkedIn lies in the fact that recruiters are forced to include ‘a salary range’ as well as ‘ample information about the opportunity at the outset’. “Think of it this way: recruiting has always been an endeavour in networking”, the company says. “Social recruiting in today’s technology landscape adds another layer – and a convenient one at that.”

‘No plans to launch in Europe’

Despite Doximity’s extraordinary success in the United States, the company currently has no plans to launch in Europe, as Aubrey Webb, Doximity’s spokesperson, confirmed to ToTalent via e-mail. Sermo, Doximity’s only real competition in the healthcare social networking market, opened its doors to European users in 2015. Launched as a social network exclusively for doctors, the big difference is that Sermo, unlike Doximity, uses an anonymous environment. There is no available data available on its European users, however.

It remains to be seen whether we will ever see a clear market leader serve the continent as ‘the European LinkedIn for healthcare professionals’.

Europe does have several large healthcare communities under the Networks in Health umbrella, a global alliance of online healthcare communities. But as Europe’s medical and data protection laws (GDPR) differ from those in the US (HIPAA), it remains to be seen whether we will ever see a clear market leader serve the continent as ‘the European LinkedIn for healthcare professionals’. Meanwhile, the severe healthcare professional shortages across the continent will persist. 

France’s labour shortage could reach 3.9 million by 2050 amid European ageing crisis

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Europe’s labour market second quarter of 2021 was by all means historic. For various European countries, it marked the highest-ever recorded number of unfilled vacancies. Belgium, the Netherlands and Austria all broke their own respective open vacancy records in 2021. Meanwhile, the number of open vacancies within the United Kingdom topped 1 million for the first time ever.

In Q2 of 2021, France recorded a total of 263.000 open vacancies.

From the outside looking in, France’s seems to be coping reasonably well in the aftermath of COVID-19. Particularly compared to other European nations. In Q2 of 2021, the country recorded a total of 263.000 new, open vacancies according to figures by DARES, the nation’s Statistical Office for Labour and Employment. But there’s been some speculation in French media that this figure may have to be taken with a slight grain of salt.

While the official DARES polls are mandatory for employers to respond to — which, in turn, guarantees a certain theoretical exhaustiveness of the results — only companies with 10 or more employees are part of its results. The family-owned Parisian bakery that has been on the lookout for a saleswoman for months, therefore, won’t be part of the statistic.

More tension than the initial numbers indicate

The open vacancy statistics received its fair share of criticism in France in the past. Labour market experts Yannick Fondeur and Jean-Louis Zanda previously dubbed the statistic ‘illusory’, citing a lack of distinguishable insights into the jobs that aren’t filled within a ‘normal’ time period. In 2011 the DARES responded.

French companies still often face difficulties finding enough talent.

DARES concluded that 2019 had been the most tense year since the year it first started measuring the figure.

While the total number of open vacancies remained an element they measured, they came with another bit of research. A number that measured the tension of the labour market. The latest report dates back to 2020, wherein DARES concluded that 2019 had been the most tense year since the year it first started measuring the figure. The construction, transport, hospitality and home help services were all cited as ‘most worrisome’ sectors. 

A labour shortage of 3.9 million by 2050

While much of Europe will suffer from ageing in the forthcoming years, France looks set for an overall labour shortage of roughly 3.9 million by 2050 according to a 2021 study by the Center for Global Development. That number is calculated as the number of workers needed to maintain the same working-age proportion of the population as 2015, based on projected population growth and migration patterns.

France looks set for an overall labour shortage of roughly 3.9 million by 2050.

France’s working age population (20-64) is expected to decline by approximately 1.5 million by 2050, according to the United Nations. It should be noted, however, that France’s average retirement age is 60.8. According to that same study, Europe will have an estimated 95 million fewer working-age people (between 20 and 64) in 2050 than in 2015.

The total expected vacancy growth in Europe (2021-2030. Source: Cedefop.

Cedefop predicts France will have Europe’s second-highest total amount of job openings in 2021-2030.

Throughout the next nine years, France would have approximately 11.5 million job openings according to Cedefop data. Trailing only Germany within the continent. Those numbers include job openings to occur in the future due to expansion of employment. And the need to replace the existing workforce, with retirement being the most common denominator.

The lorry driving problem

As the United Kingdom struggles with its new, post-Brexit immigration policy, France has struggles of its own. In many ways, the lorry driver shortage is the clearest indicator of where the job shortages and ageing crisis meet. France’s National Federation of Road Transport estimates that the nation currently has a shortage of 40 to 50 thousand within freight transport industry.

The lorry driver shortage is the clearest indicator of where the job shortages and the European ageing crisis meet.

“We have a situation of shortage not only of truck drivers, but of personnel in general in France in this sector”, Florence Berthelot, of the National Federation of Road Transport, told FranceInfo. “It is a crisis that we saw before the [COVID-19] health crisis. It was somewhat masked by this crisis in the fact that some companies were running, but others were shut down. Today, there is a certain tension because there is also the ageing of the staff.”

The real labour shortage: migrants

France looks set to combat its impending labour shortage with an additional €1.4 billion that will be put towards training, qualifications for job seekers, upskilling and guaranteed employment schemes, as recently announced by Prime Minister Jean Castex. The authors of the 2021 study by the Center for Global Development see another option available to all European countries to solve the worker gap: African talent.

Migrants from African countries are expected to make up just a small percentage of Europe’s worker gap.

Projections have Africa than doubling its working-age population to 1.3 billion by 2050. Yet migrants from African countries are expected to make up just a small percentage of Europe’s worker gap, the researchers say. “Africa has an increasing number of young people with the drive and education to thrive in Europe, but too few opportunities at home”, says Charles Kenny, senior fellow at the CGDEV and one of the report’s head researchers.

“Brussels and London will need to wake up to the real migration crisis: that there aren’t enough migrants.”

“Europe has too few people to take the jobs that need doing”, Kenny continues. “It’s a natural fit. And the evidence is clear that migration can benefit everyone. Migrants, the countries they go to, and even the countries they come from. But to make that happen and avert a demographic disaster, Brussels and London will need to wake up to the real migration crisis: that there aren’t enough migrants.”

In a series of articles, we’re delving into labour shortage forecasts for Europe up to 2050. Subscribe to the ToTalent newsletter for updates and more precise analysis on Europe’s worker gaps. 

How The Mom Project aims to unlock the potential of mothers in the workforce

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While on maternity leave with her first child, former Procter & Gamble employee Allison Robinson pondered on the 43% of highly-skilled women who’d leave the workforce. “I started to imagine a future where women would not have to choose between parenthood and their careers”, she wrote. “I could not stop thinking about what a real solution might look like.”

“Women staying engaged in the workforce on their terms is good for all of us.”

Inspired by both her own journey becoming a first-time mother, and on behalf of mothers everywhere, she founded The Mom Project in 2016. Since then, the US-based company has excelled at serving both mothers looking for opportunities to thrive and companies looking to diversify, and retain talented employees. “Women staying engaged in the workforce on their terms is good for families. It’s good for business. It’s good for all of us”, Robinson wrote.

A worker and gender gap

According to a study conducted by the European Commission, increasing women’s participation in the labour force and raising their employment rate is paramount in the upcoming, global worker gap. Whenever a child is born, women are suddenly less attractive to prospective employers. While 89.1% of fathers with young children (less than six years old) were employed Europe, that percentage drops down to 62.7% for mothers. Meanwhile, 38.9% of mothers work part-time compared to 5.8% of fathers, the study showed.

Eurostat statistics showed that female unemployment increased by 20.4%, against 16.3% for men.

Then came the COVID-19 pandemic — and the subsequent, initial job crisis. While in previous crises, jobs held by both men and women were both hit hard. The pandemic shed a new light on the gender gap. Between March 2020 and February 2021, the total number of unemployed in the EU rose by around 2.4 million, of whom more than 1.3 million were women. Eurostat statistics showed that female unemployment increased by 20.4%, against 16.3% for men.

Suffering from a lack of flexibility

In lieu of the COVID-19 pandemic, many realities turned virtual. As the world took to virtual meetings and work done solely remotely, it opened the door for a part of the workforce that wasn’t able to take part before. You guessed it: mothers. The very problem cited by the European Commission as the common denominator in a lack of women at work — flexible working arrangements — was, just for a while, no longer a real problem.

When offices re-opened, and workers were asked to come back to the office, the flexibility problem re-entered.

Workforces operated remotely, allowing those who couldn’t leave their home for a variety of reasons — often the care of elders or children — to work. But when offices re-opened, and workers were asked to come back to the office either in a hybrid or full-time capacity, the flexibility problem re-entered. Moreover, organisations around the world struggle to formulate actionable DEI strategies as is.

A grand slam advisor

Since giving birth to her first child in 2017, all-time tennis great Serena Williams has been a vocal advocate for issues facing women and mothers. It prompted her to join forces with The Mom Project in 2020, serving the company as a strategic advisor. “It doesn’t matter whether you’re a team of one or 100,000,” Williams said in a press release. “If you’re hiring, are you considering hiring moms?”.

In 2020, Serena Williams joined forces with The Mom Project, serving the company as a strategic advisor.

One of the companies taking the initiative is consulting company Accenture. In an attempt to become gender equal by 2025, Accenture partnered up with The Mom Project to hire a total of 150 mothers for positions in technology, strategy and consulting. The company said the roles will offer the new hires flexibility, support, training and mentorship.

‘The largest investment ever in female workforce technology’

In 2021, The Mom Project officially became part of the largest global investment ever in female workforce technology. As the platform continued to grow its talent community as well as its business partners — it announced it has raised a further $80 million in its Series C funding round.

“We’ve seen 20 times growth over the last three years and are eager to leverage this momentum”, CEO Allison Robinson said. “The trust and equity we’ve earned with moms and our customers and partners to continue building and expanding the reach of category-defining solutions that reshape how work evolves to meet the needs of modern families.”

How CXM & TXM platform Alida set the bar for diversity, career growth and retention

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As organisations around the world grapple to acquire, retain and engage talent, Alida (formerly Vision Critical) CEO Ross Wainwright sees a newfound urgency for organisations to change alongside the needs of their employees. “The needs and wants of employees have changed drastically throughout the past year, especially in these changing times”, he says. “Given the new virtual reality, the needs of our employees had changed. Learning to adapt to those new realities was imperative to our success through the pandemic.”

“When we moved to working 100% remote, it was a priority to ensure that all our employees felt supported and heard.”

While listening became harder, it became more of a priority for Alida, Wainwright says. “When we moved to working 100% remote in the beginning of the pandemic, it was a priority to ensure that all our employees felt supported and heard. Our HR team and managers conducted regular wellness checks to see how all our employees were doing. We launched new communication channels, increased the cadence of our employee surveys and all-hands calls. We also led some very vulnerable conversations about mental health, race relations and work/life balance.”

Vulnerable leadership

Vulnerability and empathy are common themes in Wainwright and Alida’s success. “As a CEO, I put myself in the shoes of other people and focus on having empathy. And encouraging authenticity from my teams”, Wainwright says. “At the end of the day, you need to really believe in the power of your people and empower them to bring their authentic selves to work everyday. If you celebrate your people, uplift them and cheer them on, their successes become the leadership’s and company’s success too.”

Alida CEO Ross Wainwright

“If you celebrate your people, their successes become the leadership’s and company’s success too.”

‘A commitment to employee authenticity’

As the career opportunities of those working for CXM & Insights platform Alida grew, so did the virtual trophy case located on its official website. Out of 60,000 North American companies, Alida recently ranked second by workplace culture monitor Comparably for ‘Best Company Outlook’. Moreover, the company ranked fifth for ‘Best Company Culture’ and seventh for ‘Best Company for Diversity’.

“Our employees have the room and support to pursue the things they are passionate about.”

Career growth and expansion is something Alida prides itself on. “Our commitment is to allow our employees to remain authentic, both personally and professionally”, Wainwright says. “Whether it be a professional development opportunity, a corporate social responsibility initiative, or an internal social activity. Our employees have the room and support to pursue the things they are passionate about.”

The three avenues to maximise career growth

For Alida, it’s a case of 99% employee happiness, according to Comparably data. Moreover, 97% of the workforce says the company’s goals are clear and they are invested in them. Overall, Alida has excelled at keeping employees happy — and when a company invests in its employees, good things tend to happen to retention rates. Wainwright sees a total of three avenues Alida follows to maximise career growth support and opportunities.

#1. Encourage curiosity

“Alida employees are encouraged to always be curious. They are given the opportunities to constantly learn new things in and outside their roles”, Wainwright says. “Alida invests about 30% of its revenue on R&D and has also increased the R&D headcount by over 40% to approximately 150 global employees who are part of our product and engineering teams.”

#2. Making mistakes

“For us, being authentic and empathetic are some of the most important values in building the right type of corporate culture”, Wainwright says. “Alida’s culture supports its people to stretch, experiment, make mistakes, get out of their comfort zone, do new things and achieve amazing results.”

#3. Creating career expansion programs and initiatives

“We place high priority on supporting its employees as they develop their skills and also celebrates them and their achievements”, Wainwright says. “Alida offers leadership training programs to support first-time managers. And we encourage continuous learning and professional growth in VP roles and above.

“In addition, we also have a variety of career development support programs such as LinkedIn Learning, Udemy, Alida’s mentoring program and finally our Unsung Heroes, which is Alida’s rewards and recognition program where Liders nominate others who go above and beyond.”

‘An intersectional DEIB approach’

Recently, the man at the helm of Alida was named as one of the best CEO’s for women and diversity. And in 2020, Wainwright was named as one of the top 50 SaaS CEO’s by The Software Report. “It’s about always placing the experiences of our employees at the centre of everything we do”, Wainwright says. “Instead of generalising the employee sentiment about DE&I, we place value on an intersectional approach, which takes into account all the interconnected experiences of employees.”

“It’s about always placing the experiences of our employees at the centre of everything we do.”

The approach for Alida is threefold. “We do it by learning to use an intersectional lens when applying DE&I initiatives to prevent the generalisation of employee experiences”, Wainwright says. “Secondly, we invest in listening to our employees and customers from diverse backgrounds and communities, through thoughtful and innovative tech solutions, including our own DE&I industry solution. Thirdly, we take action through our DE&I Council, Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), DE&I product integration, and more.”

State of Diversity Hiring Report: ‘Companies have made commitments, but lack follow-through’

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The grades are in, and they aren’t pretty. While diversity became an incredibly hot topic over the course of the past two years, SmartRecruiters’ latest edition of their Diversity Hiring Report indicates that it largely remained just that: a topic. While the desire for more diversity, inclusion and equity may be real, organisations continue to miss out on what SmartRecruiters describe as the most basic opportunities within the recruitment process.

“Nothing’s changed in the last decade. The reality is that companies are not doing the simple things.”

“People are well-intentioned”, said Jerome Ternynck, Founder and CEO of SmartRecruiters. “They really want diversity. But nothing’s changed in the last decade. Why? The reality is that companies are not doing the simple things.” The results of SmartRecruiters’ report are based on 401 self-assessments, completed through the first half of 2021. The pool of respondents was built up out of an intercontinental mix. 53% work in North America, 39% in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and 8% in Asia-Pacific. The technology sector took up the largest number, with participants typically representing small to midsize companies.

Diversity starts with content

An open vacancy generally goes paired with a neat video about the organisations, a job description and a couple of header images of smiling people. But when those overly white teeth pictured on career sites belong to, well, white folks — then something isn’t quite right. According to SmartRecruiters’ survey, only 15% reported that their company featured underrepresented groups on their company website, career channels and other recruiting collateral less than 10% of the time.

Only 15% reported that their company featured underrepresented groups on their company website, career channels and other recruiting collateral less than 10% of the time.

And in some industries — it’s even worse. “Energy, Food, Technology and Finance participants were far more likely than their peers in other industries to report featuring underrepresented groups less than 10% of the time”, the report reads. “Perhaps most surprisingly, so were Consumer Packaged Goods respondents — an industry that absolutely depends on diverse perspectives to serve its customers well.”

Bringing D&I, TA and marketing functions together

It’s part of what SmartRecruiters describe as a disconnect between the building of diversity brand equity: it requires the full effort of the D&I, talent acquisition and marketing teams. “It can’t be left to the D&I team alone”, they say. “Attracting diverse talent requires a deliberate, highly strategic partnership between them. Yet, we found that only about 25% reported that their organisations have these functions working closely together more than half of the time.”

“Adding statements of inclusion, highlighting channels to request accommodations on an application, or optimising the website for accessibility. The fixes are simple.”

SmartRecruiters points to Cielo Talent’s recent brand equity success as an example to take note of. Through constantly monitoring all the content output of their clients — careers website, diversity page and the language used in job descriptions — they constantly look for opportunities to improve, the report says. “Often, the fixes are simple. Adding statements of inclusion, highlighting channels to request accommodations on an application, or optimising the website for accessibility.”

Follow the link above to download the report in full.

Diversity efforts: consistently underfunded

Rocki Howard, SmartRecruiters’ Chief Diversity Officer

While it is one thing to speak about the intention to hire more diversely and create a fairer world for all — it’s a completely different thing to act on it. The report illustrates that funding is one area where companies haven’t aligned their promises with their acts. According to the research, only 32% of respondents believe their company have a budget for diversity sourcing that aligns with their diversity hiring objectives.

Organisations have made commitments, but are lacking the follow through.”

“Candidates are tired of seeing companies make empty promises to improve diversity and inclusion”, says Rocki Howard, SmartRecruiters’ Chief Diversity Officer. “Organisations have made commitments, but are lacking the follow through. By authorising adequate funding for diversity hiring initiatives, company leaders signal their commitment to diversity with capital — a much stronger (and more meaningful) action than public statements alone.”

Subpar internal mobility

The lack of funding is notable where companies ought to go to recruit more diverse talent, the report stats. Only 28% say their company invests in conferences, 39% say their company invests in community partnerships and 32% say their company invests in HBCU/diversity university events. Moreover, only 18% of those surveyed say their company has an internal posting process that makes all job opportunities available to all employees. “If supporting mobility for internal talent is so vital to achieving diversity hiring goals, why do so many organisations fail to engage the diverse employees they already have?”, the report asks.

If supporting mobility for internal talent is so vital to achieving diversity hiring goals, why do so many organisations fail to engage the diverse employees they already have?”

While only 14% of companies allow for the opportunity to blindly submit internal applicant qualifications to its hiring manager, SmartRecruiters has identified accommodating blind submissions as a simple, yet significant step toward giving diverse internal talent a shot. “The course of action is clear”, they say. “Increase opportunities for your existing diverse talent to access development and internal mobility. Take advantage of the talent you have before they feel under-appreciated — and move on.”

Implicit bias: the eternal enemy of DEI initiatives

Implicit bias has long served as the common denominator in unsuccessful DEI initiatives. While TA leaders, recruiters, hiring managers and others may long for a sense of objectivity in their work — implicit or unconscious biases are always around the corner. Adding structure, while governing and measuring that structure goes a long way toward creating a hiring process that can actually be considered fairer.

SmartRecruiters’ report illustrates that it may be the one area where organisations have progressed. “More companies are adopting standardised interview processes to reduce bias and support fair hiring practices”, they say. “Across the board, more than half of participants said their companies have made at least some progress toward developing processes for governing and assessing standardised interviews.”

‘Skills are better predictors of success’

The downfall lies in the fact that organisations still recruit based on criteria that by no means predicts success within a job, the report argues. Moreover: it’s usually criteria that hinders diverse talent. “Not everyone has an opportunity to attend a four-year college as a young adult. So basing decisions on legacy expectations (like degree requirements) could be introducing bias against candidates from disadvantaged communities.”

“Becoming clearer about what is actually required for success in the role is a vital step toward minimising bias in hiring decisions.”

Rather than focusing on college degrees or work experience, the report points to skills and competencies as much better success predictors. “Becoming clearer about what is actually required for success in the role is a vital step toward minimising bias in hiring decisions”, SmartRecruiters state. “Yet most participants (69%) said their companies haven’t benchmarked predictors of success in the role, and more than half (57%) haven’t developed scorecards for each role based on those predictors.”

‘Representation matters’

If those applying don’t see any person resembling their likeness on the career site, working at the company, or during the application process — there’s a pretty good chance that person will feel not feel any sense of belonging. “Diverse interview panels put additional checks and balances in place to mitigate the impact of bias”, the report states. “And yet, across industries, the majority of participants (61%) said their companies ensure underrepresented groups participate in interview panels less than half the time.”

“Pairing underrepresented candidates with underrepresented team members to help them prepare improves opportunities for underrepresented candidates to showcase their skills.”

Particularly the interview process can be a touchpoint for organisations to implement changes, the report says. “Pairing underrepresented candidates with underrepresented team members to help them prepare ahead of an interview improves opportunities for underrepresented candidates to showcase their skills. But only 17% of participants said their companies have begun instituting this best practice.”

It starts with leadership

Finally, SmartRecruiters ends its report with a note of encouragement, albeit a critical one at that. “For companies making a true commitment, our research reveals significant opportunities to move the needle”, they say. “Unfortunately, these opportunities are often not being properly utilised or even ignored altogether. Don’t be discouraged. The biggest gaps in your diversity hiring plan provide a focused road map for making gains. Set a realistic baseline. Then take action to close the gaps, and elevate your efforts to meet them.”

“Companies serious about moving the needle on diversity hiring must dedicate serious time and money toward achieving progress.”

But as is usually the case — change can only take place when leadership buys in. And in this case, it requires leadership at all levels of the organisation, SmartRecruiters say. “You need a robust strategic plan and an infrastructure to scale your efforts. And you need resources. Companies serious about moving the needle on diversity hiring must dedicate serious time and money toward achieving progress.”

Download the full State of Diversity Hiring Report 2021