Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (D.E.I.) has been topical over the last few years and many employers have introduced initiatives to embrace their commitment to D.E.I. Are these initiatives really making a difference or in some cases doing more harm than good particularly in the digital tech sector.
The digital tech sector has suffered more than many in the great resignation according to recent reports in the media so it is now more important than ever to get DEI initiatives right for potential hires. A survey* last year revealed that 60 percent of employees say they actively seek out information about the diversity of an organisation when looking for a job. It has also been suggested that digital tech talent still experiences bias in the workplace particularly within technology organisations. The same survey* showed 73 percent of all tech employees surveyed said they’ve experienced discrimination or been treated unfairly in the workplace because of their race, gender, sexual orientation, religion or some other aspect of their identity.
DEI Initiatives Gone Wrong.
Have a look at any ‘careers’ page on an employer’s website and they will include copy on their policy regarding D.E.I. along with steps they have taken to implement this in the workplace and in their recruitment and selection processes. The copy is usually accompanied by pictures and videos that show employees working together in teams who are clearly made up from a variety of ethnic groups. They may even throw in a wheelchair bound worker too and a split of male and female workers for good measure. These videos and images are just not believable because they are often created by agencies who always use ‘good looking’ young models. Absent from this promotional content will be workers representing all age groups and it is unlikely they can convey LGBTQ+ groups visually. Feedback posted on Glassdoor from talent that have either worked at that organisation or been through their recruitment process will often provide a more accurate picture of the effectiveness of their D.E.I. policies. Many tech companies complain that they cannot find diverse talent claiming that there is a talent shortage where roles are defined by technical capabilities. This talent shortage is perhaps a false premise, and may be due to a lack of vision on the hiring process.
Hiring Without Bias
With the right vision and a real understanding of what D.E.I. is recruiters can find the right talent from a diverse pool. Rather than focussing on visual content that mostly portrays stereotypical images and videos organisations should concentrate on training and education of recruiters and human resources teams. Having testimonials from real talent in diverse groups can be much more believable on a ‘careers page. One of the biggest challenges for any organisation is overcoming unconscious bias in their existing teams even with the best training. Using an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) can assist in the recruitment and selection process by eliminating any bias. An ATS system can also make the hiring process more efficient and faster.
One such company who are game changing the face of recruitment by providing a robust process to deliver more efficient recruitment without bias is Hire Digital. A start-up recruitment company with a global presence that has invested heavily in Artificial Intelligence (AI) to manage the digital tech recruitment process. Their ATS software platforms give digital talent recruiters a strict criterion for posting job adverts and descriptions and their AI works in such a way that it generates a much smaller more targeted candidate list by using up to 40,000 attributes. They key to this is efficiency, recruiters spend less time generating job advertisements and trawling through hundreds of CV’s to get their shortlist, Hire Digital tech can rapidly access up to 1bn talent globally.
Hire Digital is an AI technology with a human touch that is completely revolutionising the recruitment and selection process. It’s two times faster, 50 % cheaper and ten times more accurate than traditional hiring tech. To find out more speak to Robin Brohl at Hire Digital he is a real person and would love to engage with you and help you streamline your recruitment processes.
*Source ‘Built In’ article, “We Surveyed The State of DEI in Tech” from March 2021.