Category: D&I

Compliance Corner: Natural Hairstyle Discrimination

Posted on by nfuqua

Earlier this year, New York became the second state in the U.S. to ban discrimination based on natural hairstyles.

The law amends both the state’s Human Right’s Law and the Dignity for All Students Act to update the definition of race to include “traits historically associated with race, including, but not limited to, hair texture and protective hairstyles.”

The law is intended to prohibit dress codes or appearance policies that target people of color, particularly black people, by banning traditional styles like cornrows, braids, Bantu knots, twists, fades, afros and dreadlocks or locs.

Earlier this year, the NYC Commission on Human Rights issued a legal enforcement guidance on discrimination of natural hairstyles that states, “while an employer can impose requirements around maintaining a work-appropriate appearance, they cannot enforce such policies in a discriminatory manner and/or target specific hair textures or hairstyles. Therefore, a grooming policy to maintain a ‘neat and orderly’ appearance that prohibits locs or cornrows is discriminatory against black people because it presumes that these hairstyles, which are commonly associated with Black people, are inherently messy or disorderly.”

California was the first state to ban discrimination of natural hairstyles. The CROWN – Creating a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural Hair – Act was signed into law in July.  A similar measure has also been introduced in New Jersey.

Employers, especially those in New York in California, should review their dress and appearance policies to ensure they are in compliance.
 

Compliance Corner is a feature from PeopleScout. Once a month, we’ll be featuring a compliance issue that’s in the news or on our minds. Understanding the patchwork of labor laws across the world is complicated, but it’s part of what we do best. If you have questions on the compliance issue discussed in this post, please reach out to your PeopleScout account team or contact us at marketing@peoplescout.com.

Openreach: Recruiting for Hard-to-Fill Engineer Roles at Scale

Posted on by skatz
Openreach: Recruiting for Hard-to-Fill Engineer Roles at Scale

Microtitle

Openreach: Recruiting for Hard-to-Fill Engineer Roles at Scale

Openreach approached PeopleScout to help recruit for hard-to-fill trainee engineer positions. Our postal code-by-postal code attraction and simplified recruitment process enabled Openreach to fill all roles and to increase applications from diverse candidates.

413 trainee engineer hires
70 percent of applications were from diverse candidates
3 months to fill all vacancies

Situation

Openreach recruits 3,500 trainee engineers on an annual basis, with a large proportion of hires made in areas with strong candidate pipelines. However, hiring in Southern England and London proved challenging. So, they approached PeopleScout to support the delivery of 413 trainee engineer hires in these hard-to-fill locations in just three months.

Solution

SOLUTION HIGHLIGHTS

  • Microsite hub
  • Bespoke, postal code-tailored attraction program
  • Simplified application process
  • All roles filled with increased diversity interest

At a Glance

  • COMPANY: Openreach
  • INDUSTRY: Telecommunications
  • PEOPLESCOUT SOLUTIONS: Recruitment Process Outsourcing
  • ANNUAL HIRES: 413 trainee engineers
  • LOCATIONS: Multiple areas across Southern England and London
  • ABOUT OPENREACH: Openreach is a subsidiary of BT Group providing phone, broadband and Ethernet services to homes and businesses across the UK.
Let’s Connect

MICROSITE HUB

We worked with Openreach to scope and build a microsite to act as the hub for trainee engineer hiring. 

TAILORING BY POSTAL CODE

Deploying a bespoke attraction program by specific postal codes allowed us to be highly targeted in driving candidate pipelines. All attraction materials drove candidates to the microsite. 

LIGHT-TOUCH PROCESS

In addition, we developed a light-touch simplified recruitment process, which included video interviews and a one-page online application. 

Results

FILLED IN THREE MONTHS

From sign-off to implementation, the service was set up, configured and ready to go live in six weeks—and all 413 roles were filled within three months. 

DIVERSITY BOOST 

Nearly 70% of applications in London postal codes were from diverse candidates, translating into a 53% offer rate. 

TRANSFORMATIONAL

Openreach has said that collaborating with us has been “transformational,” and we’re now working with them on 150 additional hires.

Delivering Diverse Early Careers Applicants in Financial Services

Posted on by akessler
Delivering Diverse Early Careers Applicants in Financial Services

Delivering Diverse Early Careers Applicants in Financial Services

A leading UK financial services group partnered with PeopleScout to improve the candidate experience in their early careers program, resulting in improved candidate diversity.

36 % Increased in Total Applications
39 % of Candidates Identified as Female
47 % Identified as Coming from an Underrepresented Group

Situation

PeopleScout is the long-time RPO partner for this client, supporting candidate management within their emerging talent program to attract more graduates and interns into the their workforce. As recognized leaders of employer brand and candidate experience, our client delivery team presented some recommendations to the organization to improve their hiring journey based on ad-hoc feedback received while interacting with early careers candidates.

Solution

Crafting a Better Candidate Experience

We started by creating a candidate experience audit to measure the informal comments we’d heard. Through a series of internal and external focus groups with graduates and interns who had recently been through the recruitment process, we identified gaps in the candidate communication schedule. Candidates revealed that they were often unsure of where they were in the process, what was coming next and how they should prepare.

With our client first, not process first philosophy, we created a customized plan to address these concerns. We produced a candidate journey guide to help the candidates understand each step of the process. To go along with this, we developed a content plan to provide candidates with the right information at the right time, keeping them informed about next steps.

Supporting the DE&I Directive

We also took the opportunity to boost candidate engagement by personalising email communications and adding visual content which promoted organizational program that would appeal to this young audience, like their well-being initiatives. In addition, to support the client’s DE&I directive, we chose to highlight stories about women and employees from minority backgrounds—especially those in finance and technology focused roles—to decrease the likelihood of these candidates dropping out of the funnel. 

Implementing Candidate NPS

Since we’re always focused on delivery, we implemented a new candidate Net Promoter Score® (NPS) survey to measure the candidate experience and uncover more opportunities for improvements going forward. All candidates, whether hired or not, are asked how likely they are to recommend the bank as a potential employer based on their recent experience with the early careers recruitment program.

Results

Since taking on the management of the Emerging Talent program for this client, we generated a 36% increase in total applications from the previous year, with 39% from female candidates and 47% from candidates from a underrepresented background.

The new candidate survey provided a candidate NPS of 57, which is considered excellent.

“The PeopleScout team are proactive in talking to us about new ideas and at the same time are brilliant at being reactive to business hiring needs. PeopleScout are a true trusted partner and have been fundamental to our hiring delivery and service over the last 20+ years.”

– Senior Resourcing Manager

At a Glance

  • COMPANY: Leading UK financial services group
  • INDUSTRY: Financial Services
  • PEOPLESCOUT SOLUTIONS: Recruitment Process Outsourcing, Talent Advisory
  • ANNUAL HIRES: 1,500
  • ABOUT THE CLIENT: A leading UK financial services group has been partnering with PeopleScout for over 20 years, making it one of our longest-standing client relationships. What started as a Talent Advisory engagement has now expanded to include end-to-end volume Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) services, with over 1,500 hires annually across 16 sites, 50 shift patterns and multiple banking brands.
Let’s Connect

Virgin Media: Hiring More Women Technicians

Posted on by akessler
Virgin Media: Hiring More Women Technicians

Virgin Media: Hiring More Women Technicians

Virgin Media asked their RPO partner PeopleScout to improve diversity for their field technician roles.

2 x More Women Hired to Engineering Roles
20 % Early Attrition Reduction
20 % Reduction in Candidate Attraction Budget
376 Hours of Hiring Manager Time Saved

Situation

After publishing their gender parity report, Virgin Media set PeopleScout, their RPO partner, the challenge of recruiting more women technicians or Field Sales Advisors—a role which has 99% male incumbents.

The previous year we successfully hired 275 Field Sales Advisors. This year, Virgin Media increased that number to 450, but has less budget available for candidate attraction.

With requisitions up, budget down and a remit to hire more women, we met the challenge head on.

Solution

PeopleScout collaborated with Virgin Media to set up a “Women in Field” working group. We listened to existing female employees and involved them in the recruitment process, making sure they were present for female candidates attending assessments.

We wanted to be bold and disruptive in our approach, particularly around how the role was advertised and positioned. By exploring new avenues to tap into a demographic which previously wasn’t engaged with this opportunity including developing new channels. The PeopleScout social media team helped the client post across social channels such as Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Our Field Sales recruiters were then able to engage those interested and convert them into applicants. We streamlined the application process and introduced the option to register interest.

To improve the vetting experience, we used our existing partnership with Security Watchdog to identify ways to dramatically reduce the three-week clearance period. With better signposting and a clearer process, we reduced the clearance period to just 11 days.

“We’ve made more than 30% more hires this year, with a 20% smaller attraction budget.”

Results

The “Women in Field” campaign was launched in four key locations. In just two months, we received triple the number of applications from women that we received in the previous year. The client is now using a similar approach in order to increase their gender diversity in more regions across the UK.

We made more than 30% more hires Field Sales Advisors with a 20% smaller attraction budget compared to the previous year. Plus, we more than doubled the number of female employees.

The new vetting process has helped to reduce early attrition by up to 20% across sales channels.

Overall, we’ve dramatically improved our application to hire ratios across all of the UK, saving 376 hours in interview time for hiring managers.

At a Glance

  • COMPANY: Virgin Media
  • INDUSTRY: Telecommunications
  • PEOPLESCOUT SOLUTIONS: Recruitment Process Outsourcing
  • ABOUT VIRGIN MEDIA: Virgin Media is a telecommunications, providing telephone, television and internet services in the United Kingdom. It is owned by Virgin Media O2.
Let’s Connect

Improving Retention and Diversity for Leading North American Tire Brand

Posted on by Kate
Improving Retention and Diversity for Leading North American Tire Brand

High-Volume RPO

Improving Retention and Diversity for Leading North American Tire Brand

A leading North American tire brand partnered with PeopleScout to facilitate more than 10,000 annual hires for automotive technician, management and sales positions and standardize its retail recruitment processes company-wide.

10,000 annual hires
40 percent improvement in hiring diverse employees
5 percent improvement in technician turnover

A leading North American tire brand was experiencing an alarming rate of attrition in key retail positions, making it difficult to provide the level of service excellence the brand’s customers have come to expect. To help solve its unsustainable employee attrition issue, the client partnered with PeopleScout to efficiently facilitate more than 10,000 annual hires of automotive technicians, management and sales positions and standardize its retail recruitment processes company-wide.

Scope and Scale

Full-life cycle recruiting services needed for 10,000 U.S. hires annually. Skills and positions included: technicians, customer service, sales and management.

Situation

The client was facing a 50% turnover rate at retail locations and lacked a uniform hiring procedure, resulting in a disjointed process and poor quality of hire. Without the appropriate staffing of technicians, customer care suffered, causing a reduction in the client’s revenue in their retail operations. 

Solution

SOLUTION HIGHLIGHTS

  • Screening & block interview scheduling efficiencies
  • 10,000 hires in the first year of the engagement
  • Reduced employee turnover
  • Hiring diversity
  • Transparent Reporting

A STANDARD HIRING MODEL

The partnership was designed to improve turnover rates for technician and retail positions, create a standardized retail recruitment model and provide consistent OFCCP compliance and standardization.

AN EFFICIENT PROCESS

PeopleScout deployed a time-efficient screening process focused on the quality of the candidate, with a guaranteed response from recruiting teams within 48 hours of application.

HIRING DIVERSITY

To help source and engage more diverse candidates for the client, PeopleScout developed a comprehensive network of community organizations for partnered recruitment. 

IN-REGION RECRUITERS

Collaborative relationships between our retail recruiters and the client’s area managers were fostered by in-region placement of PeopleScout recruiters.  

TRANSPARENT REPORTING

Continuous improvement was driven through transparent reporting and analysis for the client’s executive and field leadership.

Results

REDUCED EMPLOYEE TURNOVER

The client’s technician turnover rate has improved by 5% and retail turnover by 6%. 

10,000 HIRES IN FIRST YEAR

PeopleScout hired 10,000 employees in the first year of the engagement.

HIRING DIVERSITY

Hiring diversity improved by 40%, including an increase of 2% for veterans and 6% for female hires.

At a Glance

  • COMPANY: Leading North American tire brand
  • INDUSTRY: Consumer Goods
  • PEOPLESCOUT SOLUTIONS: Recruitment Process Outsourcing
Let’s Connect

Bombardier: Moving the World’s Engineering Talent with a Global Employer Brand

Posted on by akessler
Bombardier: Moving the World's Engineering Talent with a Global Employer Brand

Bombardier: Moving the World’s Engineering Talent with a Global Employer Brand

PeopleScout helped Bombardier Transportation with a global employer brand and toolkit to help them recruit hard-to-fill roles and meet diversity objectives.

Situation

A worldwide leader in rail technology, Bombardier Transportation had no global employer brand presence. They approached PeopleScout and our in-house creative to develop a employer value proposition (EVP), not only to be used to push out the overall brand message, but also to underpin specific propositions for, and support recruitment activity in, each of their territories around the world. Launched initially in the UK, and now rolling out to other territories,

The new employer brand needed to tackle a negative market misperceptions of redundancies and lost orders. The truth was that they had a full order book and some new and exciting contracts to deliver in the future. With this positive story to share, they realized they had a great opportunity to enhance their position within the market.

Solution

Research & Discovery

We began with extensive research in all key Bombardier Transportation global territories. We conducted interviews with a mixture of senior stakeholders and employees from the main talent groups they needed to recruit from and also carried out external sessions with relevant talent groups.

Foundation & Framework

Using the insights we’d gained, we developed a set of EVP pillars capturing the key themes from the research. This provided the framework for creating our global messaging platform and design.

Guidelines & Toolkit

Working closely with Bombardier Transportation’s Branding and Communications teams, we produced a set of guidelines and a toolkit of materials that could be used globally and tweaked for each individual territory.

Results

Initially launched within the UK, the EVP was rolled out to other territories around the world.

Bombardier Transportation launched its first-ever media campaign using the EVP, using a combination of digital and outdoor media in key hiring locations in the UK. Across the whole campaign, they received over 500 applications and made hires into critical roles that they had struggled to recruit for previously. They were also able to recruit several women into these positions addressing their global diversity objectives.

At a Glance

  • COMPANY: Bombardier Transportation
  • INDUSTRY: Manufacturing
  • PEOPLESCOUT SOLUTIONS: Talent Advisory
  • ABOUT BOMBARDIER: Bombardier Transportation is a global leader in rail technology, with headquarters in Berlin, Germany. They specialize in rail vehicle and equipment manufacturing and servicing.
Let’s Connect

Reducing Unconscious Bias with AI

Posted on by epadmin

Last winter during a bitterly cold rush hour, a father and son were in a terrible car accident off the Kennedy Expressway in Chicago. Tragically, the man died before help arrived. Paramedics were able to successfully transport the child to the nearest hospital where he was brought into an operating room for surgery. The surgeon entered the room but immediately stopped saying, “I can’t operate on this boy, he is my son.”

Who was the surgeon? His mother. This slight variation of the surgeon’s dilemma story helps illustrate how unconscious bias works. Every day people unknowingly form opinions about others based on minimal input; this is known as unconscious bias. These thoughts are usually based on deeply held beliefs. No one wants to be biased, but it is part of being human. Unconscious bias can be related to race, gender, age, religion, sexual preference, veteran status, disability status, socio-economic status, college attended and many other attributes. In fact, at least 150 different unconscious bias types have been identified and studied.

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In this article, we’ll explore ways that unconscious bias appears in talent acquisition, review how AI can be used to reduce bias in the recruiting process and share tips for how to select an AI partner that can help employers reduce bias.

Unconscious Bias in Talent Acquisition


While employers strive to uphold legal standards for equal employment opportunities, unconscious bias issues in talent acquisition still exist.


Unconscious bias can occur at many stages throughout the recruiting process. For example, a recruiter may unconsciously write job descriptions that appeal more to a certain group of people. A recruiter looking for an IT developer might advertise a role as a Java Ninja, which could discourage women from applying because the title uses more masculine language.


During the candidate screening process individuals might also experience affinity bias, a specific type of unconscious bias that occurs when someone with a certain background is favored. An instance of this might include a hiring manager seeking candidates with an MBA from a particular school. At a company level, bias can even extend to citing a company’s culture fit as a reason to hire a certain type of person, i.e., hiring only younger workers.


When unconscious bias spreads across a candidate pool, bigger risks, such as a lack of organizational diversity, may emerge. A Deloitte study found that a diverse workforce is twice as likely to meet or exceed a company’s overall financial goals. Another study by Catalyst cited a 34 percent higher return to shareholders for companies with more women in executive positions.


Without a diverse workforce, organizations run the risk of possible legal action. A recent age discrimination lawsuit against three large technology employers claimed millions of older workers were allegedly blocked from seeing Facebook job ads because of their age.


Outside of legal action, companies also face the possibility of accidentally harming their own recruiting efforts. Silicon Valley has long been accused of having a less than diverse workforce. However, 47 percent of millennials say they prefer working for a diverse company.

How AI Can Reduce Bias in the Hiring Process


Artificial intelligence can decrease unconscious bias in recruiting practices in two key ways.

  • First, as a sophisticated pattern detector, AI can find bias across millions of data points.
  • Second, when potential candidates are identified, AI can catalogue profiles based only on certain skill sets. AI can also be programmed to ignore all demographic information, like zip codes, race or gender.

While many vendors today offer AI-enabled capabilities for tasks such as interview scheduling or candidate communications, using AI specifically to reduce the challenges of unconscious bias is still emerging. Montage recently launched Unbiased Candidate Review that helps companies reduce discrimination during the selection and interview process. Unbiased Candidate Review, part of Montage’s on-demand voice and video interviewing solution suite, includes hiding the candidate’s identity and voice until a hiring manager enters feedback on the candidate.


Another example of fighting bias through AI includes the story of entrepreneur Iba Masood. As a native of Pakistan that graduated from college in the United Arab Emirates, Masood had a difficult time finding a tech job after graduating. She was not from the traditional pool of young, male, Ivy League candidates that seek developer roles. So she created her own AI solution, TARA, to combat bias in the tech recruiting process. Today, candidates that use TARA’s online freelancer marketplace are judged only by the code they produce. Companies looking to find project-based developers bid based on the current skills needed for a project with no knowledge of the candidate’s socio-economic or previous professional background.

Potential AI Risks


While promising as a solution, AI algorithms need to be built appropriately and monitored frequently to make sure AI does not perpetuate the bias it was programmed to erase. As AI emerges to help reduce unconscious bias, several groups, including federal agencies, are observing AI’s impact to make sure risks are appropriately addressed.


Some of these groups include the following:

  • OpenAI, a nonprofit that creates AI systems via open source for the broader AI community to analyze.
  • The AI Institute, which reviews AI’s ongoing impact on society.
  • Explainable AI, which focuses on tracing the reasoning of AI algorithms back to its human creators so links are not lost.

In addition to these formal groups monitoring AI, organizations can take steps to make sure the correct AI processes are in place. Because AI is constantly evolving, errors in an AI platform’s logic can quickly grow, making problems hard to trace. This is especially true if errors are made at the beginning of the process causing the common problem of garbage in, garbage out. However, there are strategies teams can put in place to reduce risk:

  • Recruiting teams can combine their expertise with data gathered from AI to produce more inclusive job descriptions and candidate pools in the future.
  • Bias can also be reduced by setting strategies internally to identify and eliminate bias through training and other programs.
  • Organizations should assign diverse teams to build AI algorithms so a wider set of ideas is represented in the AI’s output.
  • Finally, companies should conduct ongoing audits of AI algorithms to test that efforts related to AI are progressing appropriately.

How to Select and Evaluate an AI Provider


When assessing enterprise AI partners for your organization, make sure to review the following:

  1. Ask questions. If a potential partner isn’t willing to explain how its algorithms work, walk away. A good partner is prepared to support your business and will be able to articulate how the solutions work in terms you understand.
  2. Understand the vision. Not all partners will be experts in your industry. However, from a technical perspective, ask to see a long-term product roadmap to understand plans for the company’s product evolution and what kind of influence you may have into the roadmap features.
  3. Agree on the support model. Make sure the partner has a thorough understanding of how you operate and how AI folds into that process. Share what is critical to you and ensure they’re ready to commit to supporting those items for you. Without this, your support of your own clients could be affected.

Healthcare Workforce and Recruiting Trends to Watch

Posted on by epadmin

The healthcare workforce is highly specialized. As a result, the healthcare workforce and labor market are uniquely competitive. To gain a competitive edge, healthcare organizations are looking for innovative recruiting solutions to find top-quality candidates who provide world-class care for patients.

In this post, we examine the trends in the healthcare workforce that will influence the future of healthcare recruitment.

Employer Branding for Healthcare Workforce

Top healthcare candidates have many options when it comes to employers and can easily research the experiences of employees in your organization on career sites such as Indeed and Glassdoor.

In fact, a survey conducted by LinkedIn found that 75 percent of job seekers consider an employer’s brand before applying for a job. What’s more, a study conducted by Healthcare Recruiters International found that over 90 percent of candidates think employer branding is an essential recruiting resource. So, how can you ensure you have an impactful employer brand?

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Conduct an Employer Brand Audit

Before developing your employer brand, you should conduct an employer brand audit. Your employer brand audit will help you understand how your brand distinguishes itself from competitors and provide a starting point from which you can build your strategy. Below are key questions to ask yourself during the audit:

  • Why would someone want to work for you?
  • What is the perception employees and candidates have about your organization?
  • What percentage of your employees would recommend your company as a great place to work?

Set your Employer Brand Strategy

Prospective healthcare employees are similar to patients in that both select the healthcare provider they feel most comfortable with. Your employer brand strategy should help make a candidate’s choice easier and provide assurance that he or she has chosen the right employer. Your employer brand strategy should contain the following three components:

  • Differentiators: A list of the benefits and unique qualities that are different or better about working at your healthcare facility.
  • Employee Value Proposition: Using your list of differentiators, craft a brief paragraph that positions your organization against other healthcare employers and demonstrates why candidates view you as an employer of choice.
  • Employer Brand Promotional Plan: Develop a plan to share your employee value proportion with candidates, including the tactics you will use, the tools you need and the schedule you will follow to attract potential new hires and retain current employees.

Promote Your Employer Brand to the Healthcare Workforce 

Once you have established your employer brand, it is time to promote it. You can promote your employer brand by highlighting your workplace benefits and culture in recruiting materials, on your website and social media channels and in your job postings and candidate outreach emails. Some examples of ways to promote your employer brand include:

  • Sharing videos and pictures of your workplace to show what working for your healthcare organization is like.
  • Leveraging your social channels to show off your workplace and company perks so that a candidate can assess what you have to offer.
  • Building a career site that makes visitors feel welcome and gives applicants the information they are looking for, such as details about employment opportunities, company culture and work environment.
  • Telling engaging stories from current and former employees to better attract the type of healthcare candidates who could see themselves in those stories.

Diversity in the Healthcare Workforce

Healthcare is experiencing a shortage of workers, and professionals of diverse backgrounds are particularly underrepresented in many occupations and in the upper ranks of many healthcare organizations.

Minority Workers in the Healthcare Workforce

With demand in many healthcare professions at record levels, career opportunities abound for individuals of all backgrounds. However, Black, Hispanic and Indigenous Americans make up almost a quarter of the U.S. population, yet as a group, they account for only 6 percent of physicians, 9 percent of nurses and 5 percent of dentists according to the Sullivan Commission on Diversity.

Healthcare organizations can play a significant role in addressing this issue by:

  • Promoting healthcare careers to diverse populations via school programs and community organizations.
  • Encouraging students to shadow healthcare professionals and explore careers in healthcare.
  • Recruiting ethnically diverse individuals for every-level positions to increase current minority representation.
  • Offering internships, residencies and fellowships to ethnically diverse students. For example, the Institute for Diversity in Health Management in Chicago offers summer internships to college students.

Healthcare Workers with Disabilities

Individuals with disabilities can pursue successful careers in the healthcare field. Opportunities are available, but so are obstacles, from expensive equipment to accommodate workers to licensing requirements.

Some disabled healthcare workers take advantage of programs specifically designed to recruit those with disabilities. Project Search at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center gives high school students with disabilities the opportunity to learn about careers in healthcare. Healthcare organizations can also provide assistance to workers with disabilities by:

  • Creating formal policies and procedures on accommodations for staff with disabilities. Invite employees with disabilities to work with on these policies.
  • Making the online application process easier to use, with fonts that can be enlarged or a site that can be used with a screen reader.
  • Advertising your healthcare organization as an equal opportunity employer and including contact information for anyone having problems accessing your organization because of a disability.

Aging Healthcare Workforce

According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing the median age of a Registered Nurse (RN) is 46 years old. Plus, more than a quarter of RNs report they plan to retire or leave nursing over the next five years. These demographic trends portend significant employment challenges in the near future in the U.S.

Healthcare employers will need to rethink their current employment policies and practices to simultaneously retain talented older staff and create job opportunities for new workers of all ages. Many healthcare organizations are taking proactive steps to confront the problems that will occur as the healthcare workforce matures. Some of these strategies include:

  • Developing strong outreach mechanisms to attract promising senior candidates to healthcare management careers.
  • Publicizing career advancement opportunities, such as continuing education, professional development organizations, networking events and vacancies inside the organization, in a manner that appeals to everyone, especially older individuals.
  • Creating environments that encourage retention, development and promotion of qualified elderly or senior employees.

Greater Use of Technology

As technology continues to become more sophisticated, it will play an increasingly important role in finding and hiring talent in healthcare. In fact, according to Ideal, 96% of senior HR professionals believe AI has the potential to greatly enhance talent acquisition and retention.

AI can help reduce unconscious bias during the hiring process by anonymizing candidates and focusing on skills, not age, gender or race, auto. AI technology can also be used to improve the screening process and manage interview scheduling.

Drafting Better Job Posts

Finding the right candidate in the healthcare workforce begins with the right job posting. In fact, it is often the first thing candidates see from your organization, so it is important to make a good impression.

Today, AI technology can utilize algorithms to assess and analyze language patterns in job postings to determine why some fail and others succeed and suggest keywords to make job descriptions more appealing to candidates. As the AI technology analyzes more job posts, it becomes more accurate with its language suggestions, helping employers draft precise job descriptions.

While there may never be a perfect job posting, AI technology is getting us closer.

Advanced Candidate Screening

Traditionally, candidate screenings begin with reviewing an applicant’s resume followed by a brief phone call. This means that recruiters and hiring managers have only their judgment of a resume to assess whether a healthcare candidate would make a good hire.

Healthcare recruiters know that resumes are an incomplete picture of someone’s skills, achievements, capabilities and most importantly, personality and culture fit.

AI technology can also be used to cull data and metrics healthcare organizations have on their employees to build predictive models and personality profiles that help lead to candidates who fit the company culture and job requirements more accurately and can reduce time-to-fill metrics.

Automating Recruiting Tasks

In healthcare recruiting, administrative tasks such as resume screenings and scheduling interviews can be time-consuming. With the assistance of AI, recruiters and hiring managers can reduce their time spent conducting administrative work by using AI and Robotic Process Automation technology to automatically screen candidates’ resumes using keyword and qualification searches.

AI can also help schedule interviews with candidates through email or chatbot programs that bring more personalization to the communication process. Not only does this save time that recruiters can spend on more critical tasks, it also accelerates the interview process, helping reduce time-to-hire and ultimately providing healthcare organizations with an advantage when competing for talent.

Conclusion

Your healthcare organization’s success depends on your ability to adapt to changes in recruiting and healthcare talent management. Healthcare RPO is one way the sector is staying on top of a difficult hiring environment.

2017 in Review: PeopleScout Thought Leadership

Posted on by epadmin

Throughout 2017, we’ve covered the biggest technology trends impacting talent acquisition and we’ve seen the growing gig economy increase the need for Total Workforce Solutions programs. We’ve also seen a low unemployment rate and a large skills gap impact a variety of industries. As 2017 draws to a close, we’re looking back on our most important thought leadership from the past year.

Technology

To stay ahead in the constantly shifting talent landscape, it’s important to take advantage of the best technology solutions. In 2017, PeopleScout launched Affinix™, our propriety tech platform designed to help connect our clients with the best talent faster. These blogs and ebooks cover the technology you need to know to stay ahead.

Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Data Analytics: What Does it Mean for Recruiting

Defining the Terms of Data Analytics

New Ebook Download: Seven Tech Trends Shaping the Talent Landscape

Introducing Affinix – Empowering Faster Connection with the Best Talent

Does Your Candidate Experience Meet Candidate Expectations?

Four Applications of AI to Improve your Talent Acquisition Program

RPO, MSP and Total Workforce Solutions

RPO, MSP and Total Workforce Solutions are the core of what we do here at PeopleScout. As more people join the gig economy, Total Workforce Solutions are becoming even more important for employers who want a holistic view of their entire talent strategy

Lexicon for RPO, MSP and Total Workforce Solutions Terms

Whitepaper: Total Workforce Solutions: Optimizing Talent Acquisition by Blending RPO and MSP

The Outlook for Total Workforce Solutions: Why Now?

Designing a Total Workforce Solution

Ready, Set, RPO: What to Expect in a New RPO Partnership

Leave it to the Pros: Why Contingent Labor is Better Managed through an MSP

Gig Economy: Beyond the Buzzword

Recruiting in the Gig Economy

Five Key Drivers of MSP Programs

Diversity and Inclusion

Diversity and inclusion are important in every workplace. A diverse workforce increases business outcomes, but it can be difficult to attract diverse talent.

Getting it Right: Understanding and Managing Diversity in the Workplace

Creating an Effective Diversity and Inclusion Program

Workplace Diversity: Benefits of Hiring LGBTQ Individuals

Improving Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Workforce

Age Discrimination in the Workforce: What Employers Need to Know

Veteran Hiring

The veteran hiring landscape has transformed over the past several years, and it’s important for employers to understand the needs of veterans and military spouses so that they can build veteran hiring programs to meet their needs.

Exploring the Veteran Talent Landscape: Why it’s Time to Focus on Turning Veteran Jobs into Veteran Careers

13 Best Practices to Hire Veterans

Ebook Download: Best Practices for Hiring Veterans

Hiring Our Heroes: A PeopleScout Commitment to Veterans and Military Spouses

Recognizing Our Veterans

Industry Outlooks

Disruptive technology and talent shortages are impacting different industries in different ways. It’s important to understand the factors impacting an industry to build an effective talent acquisition program.

The Commercial Driver Talent Landscape – Candidates are in the Driver’s Seat

Healthcare Talent Shortage: A Generational Divide

Managing the Skills Shortage in Healthcare

HR Functions

There’s more to building an effective talent program than just making good hires, you need to attract and keep the best talent.

Three Ways to Increase Employee Engagement

Four Ways to Strengthen Your Employer Brand and Recruit Top Talent

The Economy

It’s important for all talent acquisition professionals to understand the job market and the economic factors that could impact hiring. Throughout 2017, we dug deep not only into the U.S. Jobs Reports, but also the international unemployment landscape.

Dissecting the March Jobs Report

Dissecting the April Jobs Report

Dissecting the May Jobs Report

Dissecting the June Jobs Report

Dissecting the July Jobs Report

Dissecting the August Jobs Report

Dissecting the September Jobs Report

Dissecting the October Jobs Report

Dissecting the November Jobs Report

PeopleScout Events

Throughout 2017, we’re proud to have attended several industry events and to have hosted our client forum on the changing world of work. Additionally, we were honored to be named the Skills For Chicagoland’s Future 2017 Corporate Champion for the Unemployed.

PeopleScout 2017 Client Forum Wrap Up

Skills for Chicagoland’s Future: A PeopleScout Partnership to Aid the Unemployed

PeopleScout at the 2017 CWS Summit North America

PeopleScout APAC 2017 Innovation Forum

Age Discrimination in the Workplace: What Employers Need to Know

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According to the Pew Research Council, 18.8 percent of people over 65 worked in 2016, while the National Council on Aging reports that, by 2019, over 40 percent of people over age 55 are expected to be working. With the increase of older employees in the workforce, age discrimination in the workplace will become a greater issue, necessitating strategic planning to avoid age-related issues. In this post, we outline the issues and offer concise solutions to combat age discrimination in the workplace.

What is Age Discrimination in the Workplace?

In the United States, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) is a federal law that protects individuals 40 years of age or older from age-based employment discrimination. According to the ADEA, the following are examples of age discrimination in the workplace:

  • Not hiring an individual because an employer wants a younger-looking person for the role.
  • If a person receives a negative performance review because they were too old or inflexible to taking on new projects.
  • Firing an individual because management wants to hire and retain younger less expensive workers.
  • Turning an individual down for promotion because they are “too old” for the position or they want “new blood” in a position.
  • When company layoffs are announced, most of the persons laid off are older, while younger workers with less seniority and less on-the-job experience are kept on.
  • Before termination, supervisors or management made age-related remarks about an individual such as the person being “over-the-hill,” “ancient,” or “an old man or woman.”

If any of these situations take place, employees may have a solid case against a company for age discrimination in the workplace.

Managing Age Diversity in the Workplace

A study by PricewaterhouseCoopers revealed that 64 percent of CEOs surveyed had adopted strategies promoting diversity and inclusiveness. However, only 8 percent included age as a factor in their diversity strategy. This means that many businesses may be ill-equipped to properly manage an age-diverse workplace.

Older employees bring with them years of experience, tried and true ideas and problem-solving approaches that can be of great benefit to a business. However, multi-generational workplaces also come with unique challenges, which if mismanaged, can lead to unsatisfied employees and hampered business efficiency. This means getting it right depends on smart management and an open-minded leadership approach. Here are some ways businesses can effectively manage and create a positive working environment free of age discrimination in the workplace:

Flexibility:

Older individuals may need more flexibility in the workplace dues to age-related illnesses, family obligations and physical ability. Providing flexibility to older employees allows them to participate in the workplace without feeling like they are a burden to the company they work for.

Foster Multi-Generational Team building:

Building age-diverse teams in the workplace allows employees to learn from one another. Older employees can impart knowledge gained through experience to younger employees while younger employees can teach them how to use new technology and techniques.

Both parties benefit from the chance to challenge and motivate one another. That is why businesses should look for opportunities for inter-generational teams to collaborate on projects whenever possible.

Job Requirements:

There are a few circumstances when it is lawful for an employer to treat people differently if it is a legal requirement that the employee must be of a particular age. When deciding if this applies, it is necessary to consider the nature of the work and the context in which it is carried out. Jobs may change over time and companies should review whether the requirement continues to apply, particularly when recruiting for certain positions.

Age Discrimination in the Workplace and Recruitment

According to Department of Labor data, the unemployment rate for those over age 55 stands at just 3.6 percent, compared with 5 percent for the total population. While older workers have found a place in the modern workforce, many individuals find themselves the victims of age-based discrimination when it comes to being recruited and hired. There are many ways businesses can avoid age-based discriminatory hiring practices. Below we have listed a couple of tips:

Job Applications

Businesses should remove the age and date of birth fields from job applications. In addition to removing these fields, businesses should also review their applications to ensure that they are not asking for unnecessary information about dates. Asking for age-related information on an application could project an air of discrimination, which could be a liability and dissuade older candidates from applying.

Job Descriptions:

Avoid references, however oblique, to age in the job description. For example, a job seeker could challenge any time requirement, and a business may have to justify it in objective terms, again leaving a business vulnerable to discrimination allegations.

Harassment and Age Discrimination

Harassment is unwanted conduct related to a relevant protected characteristic, such as age, which has the purpose or effect of violating an individual’s dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for that individual.

Harassment may be intentional bullying which is obvious or violent, but it can also be unintentional, subtle and insidious. It may involve nicknames, teasing, name calling or other behavior that does not have malicious intent but is upsetting. It may be about the individual’s age (real or perceived), or it may be about the age of those with whom the individual associates. It may not be targeted at an individual but consist of a general culture which, for instance, appears to tolerate the telling of age-related jokes.

Businesses may also be held responsible for the actions of employees. To ensure age-related harassment does not take place, businesses should clearly communicate an anti-harassment policy and make sure the policy is thoroughly enforced.

Conclusion:

Fairness at work and good job performance go hand in hand. Tackling discrimination helps to attract, motivate and retain staff and enhances a businesses’ reputation as an employer. Eliminating age discrimination in the workplace helps everyone to have an equal opportunity to work and develop their skills regardless of age.