by Raghu Nandhan | Apr 8, 2019 | Blog, Industry Trends, Recruitment Technology
Eliminate Bias in Hiring :
The staffing industry thrives on finding the perfect fit: matching a candidate’s skills and experience with an employer’s specific needs. But unconscious bias, a persistent challenge in traditional hiring, can skew this process, leading to the exclusion of talented individuals. This is where Artificial Intelligence (AI) steps in as a game-changer, offering the potential to revolutionize hiring by eliminating bias and creating a more equitable playing field. Here you can find few steps to how AI Eliminate Bias in Hiring.
The Pervasiveness of Bias in Hiring
Unconscious bias, also known as implicit bias, refers to stereotypes and assumptions that unconsciously influence our judgments. These biases can creep into every stage of the hiring process, from resume screening to interviewing. Here’s a glimpse into how bias manifests:
- Resume Screening: Recruiters, bombarded with applications, may make snap judgments based on names, schools, or previous employers, unintentionally passing over qualified candidates.
- Language in Job Descriptions: Words like “aggressive” or “dominant” might deter female applicants, while phrases like “rockstar” or “ninja” skew towards younger generations.
- Interviewing: Interviewers might unconsciously gravitate towards candidates who resemble themselves or share similar backgrounds, leading to a homogenous workforce.
The consequences of bias are far-reaching. It leads to the exclusion of diverse talent pools, hindering innovation and creativity within organizations. Studies show that companies with a more diverse workforce outperform their less diverse counterparts. A report by McKinsey & Company found that companies in the top quartile for racial and ethnic diversity are 35% more likely to have financial returns above their national industry medians.
AI as the Antidote to Bias will AI Eliminate Bias in Hiring?
AI offers a glimmer of hope by introducing objectivity and data-driven analysis into the hiring process. Here are some ways AI can combat bias:
- Skills-Based Screening: AI algorithms can scan resumes and applications for keywords and experiences relevant to the job description, filtering candidates based on objective criteria rather than subjective impressions.
- Blind Screening: AI can anonymize resumes by removing names, genders, and universities, ensuring recruiters focus solely on skills and experience.
- Language Analysis: AI can identify potentially biased language in job descriptions, prompting employers to rewrite them using more inclusive and neutral terms.
- Standardized Interviewing: AI-powered chatbots can conduct initial interviews, asking standardized questions and evaluating responses based on pre-defined criteria. This removes the influence of personal biases interviewers might have.
- Predictive Analytics: AI can analyze past hiring data to identify patterns of bias and suggest ways to mitigate them.
AI in Action: Proven Results
The potential of AI in reducing bias isn’t just theoretical. Here are some real-world examples:
- Atlassian: This software company used AI to remove gendered language from job descriptions and implemented blind screening. As a result, they increased the percentage of female applicants from 10% to 57%.
- PwC: PricewaterhouseCoopers used an AI-powered platform to assess candidates’ written communication skills. This approach ensured a more objective evaluation and reduced unconscious bias based on writing style.
- Sodexo: The food services and facilities management company leveraged AI to analyze resumes for skills and experience, leading to a more diverse pool of qualified candidates for open positions.
These success stories demonstrate that AI can be a powerful tool for promoting fairness and inclusivity in hiring. However, it’s important to remember that AI is not a silver bullet.
The Human Factor: Collaboration is Key
Here’s why a human-in-the-loop approach is crucial:
- Data Quality: AI algorithms are only as good as the data they are trained on. Biased data sets can lead to biased results. Human oversight is essential to ensure data quality and identify potential biases within the AI system.
- Ethical Considerations: AI developers and users must be mindful of ethical considerations. Ensuring transparency and fairness in the development and deployment of AI hiring tools is paramount.
- Final Decisions: AI should be used to enhance the hiring process, not replace human judgment entirely. Hiring managers should leverage AI insights while utilizing their expertise and experience to make the final hiring decisions.
By combining the power of AI with human expertise, staffing professionals can create a more objective and inclusive hiring process, leading to a more diverse and successful workforce.
The Future of AI-Powered Hiring
As AI technology continues to evolve, we can expect even more sophisticated tools to emerge, further reducing bias and streamlining the hiring process. Here are some exciting possibilities on the horizon:
- AI-powered skills assessments: AI can go beyond resumes and cover letters, evaluating candidates’ skills through simulations, coding challenges, or other interactive assessments.
- Virtual Reality (VR) Interviews (continued): VR simulations can create standardized interview environments, minimizing the influence of personal biases during in-person interactions.
- Neurodiversity Recognition: AI could potentially analyze speech patterns and behavioral data to identify candidates with neurodiversity, like autism, who might possess valuable skills and perspectives often overlooked in traditional hiring.
The Staffing Industry’s Role in Leading the Change
The staffing industry has a critical role to play in championing the use of AI for bias-free hiring. Here’s how staffing agencies can take the lead:
- Partnering with AI Developers: Staffing agencies can collaborate with AI developers to create and implement fair and unbiased hiring tools specifically tailored to the needs of the industries they serve.
- Educating Clients: Staffing professionals can educate clients about the benefits of AI-powered hiring and address any concerns they might have regarding technology replacing human judgment.
- Building Diverse Talent Pools: By leveraging AI for skills-based screening and outreach, staffing agencies can expand their talent pools and connect employers with a wider range of qualified candidates.
Conclusion: Embracing the Future of Hiring
The potential of AI to eliminate bias in hiring is undeniable. By embracing AI and using it responsibly, the staffing industry can usher in a new era of fair and equitable hiring practices. This will not only benefit diverse talent seeking opportunities, but also empower businesses to build stronger, more innovative workforces.
Remember, AI is a tool, and like any tool, its effectiveness depends on how we use it. By fostering a culture of collaboration, continuous learning, and ethical considerations, the staffing industry can leverage the power of AI to create a more inclusive and successful future of work.
For more about Recruitment updates follow our Insights for more info Contact Pragna Solutions for your all RPO Recruiting and Offshore Recruiting Solutions.
by Raghu Nandhan | Apr 1, 2019 | Blog, Industry Trends, Recruitment Technology
What is Analytics in Staffing
Today, most of the organizations are leveraging the power of new technologies to streamline the hiring process to identify the best fit for a company. No doubt that big data represents a challenge and an opportunity for recruitment teams and staffing companies, and power analytics is turning into a key part to make a successful talent management process.
At Pragna, we look at the exciting opportunity to determine big data and use effectively. We look forward to working with our clients to leverage the ability of staffing and big data intelligence technology to improvise their talent pipeline and resource investments.
What Power Analytics Means to the Staffing Industry
Here are the primary impact areas of Power Analytics in Staffing
Traditionally, predictive analytics has helped the staffing firm to deal with the essential business queries of “who, when and why.” However, once applied to the staffing firm, predictive analytics helps to anticipate and optimize
Talent acquisition: helps to identify who is the top best? When should they be contacted? Why is this requisition/ job change opportunity attractive to this top talent?
Talent planning: Predictive analytics will optimize a talent pipeline by investing talent information to establish key factors that may result in higher resource allocation. For instance, identifying the simplest locations to speculate on recruitment campaigns for certain skills.
Job-response optimization: Throughout the recruitment process, power predictive analytics helps organizations optimize their job-postings response. Data analysis will give staffing firms with custom recommendations and tailored best practices to assist firms to overcome with higher responses to their job postings based upon primary factors such as period duration, location, occupation, and industry.
Client acquisition: A staffing firm’s talent database is its proprietary competitive advantage and sales tool. Therefore, with the facility of power analytics to harness a staffing firm’s massive knowledge and provide valuable insight into the talent existing on hand, a firm is empowered to drive future sales conversations directly aligned to the talent they need.
For more about Recruitment updates follow our Insights for more info Contact Pragna Solutions for your all RPO Recruiting and Offshore Recruiting Solutions.
by Raghu Nandhan | Mar 27, 2019 | Blog, Recruitment Technology
The world is changing due to the induction of new technologies. Manual jobs are taken by automation, the technologies, or machines which were of great use until yesterday are being replaced by newer and better versions of it. As the whole era is changing, so is the Big Data Recruitment.
Recruitment and Staffing Industry. Finding the right candidates was never easy. Few decades before there was lack of recruitment channels, hence there was a time constraint to find good fits in short span of time.
After some years there was an abundance of recruitment channels, thousands of candidates were available just a click away. But again, it had its own complexities, not every person who applied for the job was a right fit. Filtering and identifying the right candidates was a heck of a job for recruiters, and obviously not forgetting the time consumed to find the right talent. So, the search for newer ways and technologies to overcome these challenges was always on.
ATS (applicant tracking software) has been and will continue to be highly useful to manage the candidates but it isn’t efficient enough to discover the right fit from a massive pool of applicants and it becomes even more impossible when the greatest fits don’t lie in the database.
So again, the search began and big data as a technology was discovered. It was successfully being used in different fields. So, leaders thought to incorporate big data into recruitment as well. Before we start discussing everything in detail about big data and how it’s being used to recruit top talent, we need to have a solid understanding of what big data is.
Big data is a terminology used for vast, unstructured, complex and huge data which is readily available to us and where traditional database management tools fails to manage it. This huge amount of data is analyzed to reveal patterns and insights which helps to make important decisions in various aspects. Big data analysis is used for everything from education, government, banking or financial services, to analyze someone’s productivity, or even monitoring the weather.
How Does Big Data help in Recruitment?
Big data helps to recruit companies to sort a wealth of information to see a larger and more complete picture of candidates. It evaluates a candidate’s profile by using five V’s:
Volume
- Variety
- Velocity
- Variability
- Veracity
Big data recruiting doesn’t analyze a candidate just by taking a look at the resume, but it collects every bit of information available on the internet about the candidate. Thus, helping a recruiter to evaluate the candidate from several angles. A candidate’s social media profile can help a recruiter to screen not only on the basis of his skill set but also help analyze his personality and find whether he is a cultural fit or not.
It’s always been a challenge to find candidates with niche skills over job boards. Big data puts special emphasis on candidates who are active on social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter etc and demonstrate their expertise by sharing advice, thoughts, and interesting industry insights. It creates a 360-degree picture of a candidate both professionally and personally even before their first interview.
How big data has changed the traditional recruitment process:
- Big data recruiting is not biased as it is not based on subjective factors.
- It makes it easy to screen or manager hundreds of applications in a short period of time thus reducing the cost per hire and the average time needed to fill open positions.
- It predicts the future recruitment trends.
- It also predicts about the candidate’s likely tenure with the firm and reveals whether he/ she might be a good fit for the culture of the firm.
If you wish to be a successful recruiter, then you have to learn to analyze data to provide the best possible fit for a position. Big data should be augmented with current recruiting practices and not replace it entirely.
Summary:
Big data recruiting can help you identify great candidates faster and in a more cost-efficient. However, you can’t solely rely on the information it provides, it can only guide you. Recruitment experts still need to correctly interpret the results to make better decisions.
Recruit smarter, not harder.
We as RPO leaders always thrive to implement new technologies; by leveraging such modern technology, we were able to deliver our customers more effectively.
If you have not yet leveraged the benefits of HR Data Analytics for your business, it’s time to look out for someone who does. Big data analytics in recruitment has transformed the way of recruitment process, saving you time and money as well as ensuring better hire quality.
At Pragna, our vision, is to deliver a good number of benefits to our Customers, when compared to traditional managed service
For more about Recruitment updates follow our Insights for more info Contact Pragna Solutions for your all RPO Recruiting and Offshore Recruiting Solutions.
by Raghu Nandhan | Mar 15, 2019 | Blog, Recruitment Technology, Talent Acquisition
Vendor Management System
Can you answer these questions?
- How many contractors do you use? How many suppliers?
- Are your labor rates at true market price or better?
- What percentages of your contract spend goes through preferred suppliers?
Drawing a blank? If you are not sure what the answers are, that’s OK. It’s likely that you are either new to using a vendor management system or you are currently researching VMS solutions for possible implementation. If you’re not familiar with Vendor Management System solutions at all, you’re in for a treat.
Today, more than 45 percent of the world’s total workforce has become contingent workers. That includes temporary workers, independent contractors, SOW-based labor, and freelancers.
Most organizations report that they expect their need for non-employee workers to grow more in the near future. The problem is that every other organization is looking for non-employee workers to grow their businesses. So, how can you source and manage your extended workforce effectively and efficiently so that you don’t lose the war for talent?
The short answer: Vendor Management System.
The way organizations employ workers has shifted away from the full-time employees of yesteryear to a workforce of contingent workers that offer their specialties on a project-by-project basis.
The contingent workforce has significant benefits for the plethora of companies adopting this modern way of hiring. However, those who are hiring contingent workers but are still using manual processes and outdated automation tools to manage their workforce, will not be realizing those benefits, and could in fact be losing out.
This is why a vendor management system (VMS) is fundamental to the success of your contingent workforce management strategy.
The first step is to understand the five core benefits of a VMS—for both procurement and HR. Those benefits include:
- Cost Effective: Contingent workforce expenditures rank among the top spend categories in most organizations. Perhaps more troubling is the fact that most contingent labor is not taken into account when conducting financial planning, forecasting, and budgeting. That means that you may be spending more than you should. In fact, VMS user’s report 80 percent higher year-over-year cost savings compared to non-VMS organizations.
- Clarity: Lack of clarity is one of the key reasons organizations do not know what they are spending on contingent workers. Ardent Partners research indicates that organizations only maintain visibility into 45 percent of their total contingent workforce.
- Compliance:When it comes to contingent workers, if you do not know “who” is doing “what,” “where” they’re doing it, and “how” it is being done, you are setting yourself up for failure. Two important examples that come to mind are misclassification of non-employees and allowing unauthorized individuals access to systems or facilities.
- Quality Matters: The entire goal of leveraging the contingent workforce is to attract, retain, and utilize the best possible talent. A VMS can reduce time to fill and expand your access to quality talent. Some vendor management systems even allow you to source talent directly from the VMS!
- Efficiency: A VMS also drives efficiency by allowing you to automate procurement cycles, consolidate billing, and ensure invoice accuracy. It also makes it easier to measure and monitor your supplier performance. That will help ensure process and performance consistency.
Remodeling Vendor Management System Requirements
Today’s organizations increasingly need VMS software to manage both contingent workers hired as individuals and external companies doing project-related work. Many also have a greater need to stay compliant with international labor and tax laws surrounding global use of contingent staff.
HR and procurement leaders should use some key criteria if deciding to switch VMS providers or invest in a new system
- Support for Statement-of-Work Contracting
One of the keys buying considerations today is whether the VMS will be able to support you as you move from using it for the selection and tracking of contingent workers, to the selection and tracking of project consultants
Managing project work is more complex, largely because of the different pricing mechanisms involved. Payment in these arrangements is not only time-based, it might also be milestones-based, deliverable’s — based or tied into performance on service level agreements. You’d like to be able to use the same software tool when you have the need for an individual contractor as well as a consulting company.
- Ease of Integration with Existing Systems
A VMS should integrate well with your existing technology platforms or processes for managing contingent staff. Many companies have reaped benefits from integrating its VMS with a core human resource information system, purchase order request system, supplier relationship management system and a security system for contract workers.
The integration reduces multiple steps from multiple systems and put them all into one easy-to-use, one-stop platform.
- Robustness of Analytics Tools, Bench-marking Data
The quality of reporting tools also separates VMS providers. One key metric is a time-and-tenure report that ensures contingent workers don’t work beyond the specified limit for co-employment.
- Vendor Neutrality
Vendor-neutrality means the system isn’t provided by a VMS owner who will steer you to contingent resources, which may not always be the best or most cost-effective. This can be a concern if the VMS provider also has other contingent staffing services under its organizational umbrella.
Hopefully, we’ve covered all the basics of vendor management systems and you have a good idea of what to look for in a VMS.
At Pragna, we have the experienced team who understand the fast-paced VMS environment and can submit potential candidates within a few hours of receiving the job orders. We have a good track record of supporting many customers with VMS support services and understand the nuances of working with such a system.
We at Pragna expertise in providing Customized RPO, Offshore Recruiting Service pertaining to all the Industry verticals, We strive hard to apply best practices, proven methodologies, and additional levels of diligence to improve the quality of our services.
A blend of ground-breaking ideas, detailed approach, and quality-oriented delivery has positioned us as a leader in the Recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) industry.
by Raghu Nandhan | Jan 21, 2019 | Blog, Industry Trends
The startup journey is exhilarating, but fraught with challenges. In the fiercely competitive Staffing Startup Growth in industry, maintaining steady growth is paramount to success. Here, we’ll explore common pitfalls that can stall your progress and offer actionable strategies to keep your staffing agency thriving.
1. Prioritize Customer Needs: Your Formula for Success
In the Staffing Startup Growth world, your customers are twofold: talented candidates and businesses seeking top talent. Overlooking either group is a recipe for disaster. While profitability is crucial, prioritize strategies that deliver value to both parties.
- Exceptional Candidate Experience: Build a reputation as a champion for qualified candidates. Streamline your application process, provide clear communication, and offer valuable career resources. Positive candidate experiences translate into a steady stream of top talent and positive online reviews, a major trust factor for businesses.
- Unwavering Client Focus: Understand the unique needs of each client company. Conduct in-depth consultations to pinpoint their ideal candidate profile, company culture, and long-term hiring goals. Deliver high-quality placements that ensure a strong fit, fostering long-term client relationships.
2. Embrace Data-Driven Recruitment
Metrics are the lifeblood of any successful business. In Staffing Startup Growth, key data points provide invaluable insights to optimize your operations:
- Website Traffic & Conversion Rates: Track website visitors and measure how many convert into qualified applicants. Analyze which sources drive the most traffic and focus your marketing efforts accordingly. A/B test landing pages and application forms to identify the most user-friendly formats.
- Job Board Performance: Monitor the effectiveness of different job boards. Analyze which platforms generate the most qualified applicants and the best return on investment (ROI) for your client budgets.
- Candidate Funnel Analysis: Track candidate progress through the application process. Identify bottlenecks that cause drop-off and streamline your process to improve efficiency.
- Client Satisfaction Surveys: Regularly solicit feedback from clients regarding their satisfaction with the quality of placements and your overall communication. Analyze the data to identify areas for improvement and demonstrate your commitment to client success.
3. Leverage Technology to Streamline Operations
The Staffing Startup Growth in industry is rapidly evolving. Staying ahead of the curve requires embracing innovative technologies:
- Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS): An ATS simplifies your recruitment process by automating tasks like resume screening, interview scheduling, and candidate communication.
- Artificial Intelligence (AI): AI-powered tools can automate resume parsing, identify top talent based on skills and experience, and personalize the candidate journey.
- Video Interviewing: Offer remote video interviewing options to attract a wider talent pool and enhance candidate convenience.
- Social Media Recruiting: Actively engage with potential candidates on relevant social media platforms. Build relationships, showcase your company culture, and identify passive candidates who may be a perfect fit for your client’s needs.
4. Become a Competitive Intelligence Expert
Never operate in a vacuum. Stay informed about your competitors’ activities:
- Market Research: Conduct regular competitor analyzes to understand their service offerings, pricing strategies, and marketing tactics. Identify areas where you can differentiate your agency and deliver superior value.
- Industry Benchmarks: Track industry trends and best practices. Utilize recruitment industry reports and publications to stay abreast of emerging technologies and talent acquisition strategies.
- Monitor Online Presence: Analyze your competitors’ websites, social media profiles, and online reviews to identify their strengths and weaknesses. Learn from their successes and adapt their winning strategies (while adhering to ethical practices) for your own business.
5. Embrace the Power of Online Reputation Management
In today’s digital age, online reviews are a critical trust factor for potential clients and candidates alike. Here’s how to leverage online reputation management:
- Actively Solicit Reviews: Encourage satisfied clients and placed candidates to leave positive reviews on your Google My Business listing, industry-specific platforms, and social media pages. Respond promptly and professionally to all reviews, both positive and negative.
- Address Negative Reviews: Don’t shy away from negative reviews. Take them as an opportunity to demonstrate your commitment to customer service. Acknowledge the feedback, apologize for any shortcomings, and outline the steps you are taking to address the issue.
- Showcase Success Stories: Publish success stories on your website and social media platforms. Highlight positive client experiences and testimonials from happy candidates you’ve placed.
6. Offer Diverse Payment Options
Today’s clients expect flexibility in payment options. Cater to their preferences by offering a variety of secure payment methods:
- Secure Payment Gateways: Partner with reputable payment processors to ensure secure and reliable transactions.
- Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT): Offer the option of EFT for clients who prefer this method.
- Subscription-Based Services: Consider offering subscription-based service packages for clients with high-volume hiring needs.
7. Invest in Your Team’s Growth
Your team is your most valuable asset. Investing in their professional development is an investment in your company’s future:
- Ongoing Training: Provide your recruiters with ongoing training on the latest industry trends, recruitment methodologies, and technological advancements.
- Mentorship Programs: Establish mentorship programs where experienced recruiters can guide and support newer team members.
- Performance Incentives: Implement performance-based incentives to motivate your team and reward top performers.
- Positive Work Culture: Foster a positive and collaborative work environment where your team feels valued, respected, and empowered to succeed.
8. Content Marketing: A Powerful Tool for Lead Generation
Content marketing is a strategic approach to attracting potential clients and candidates through valuable, informative content.
- Industry Blog: Establish yourself as a thought leader by publishing informative blog posts on industry trends, hiring best practices, and career advice for jobseekers.
- Targeted Social Media Content: Share engaging content on social media platforms like LinkedIn and Twitter. This could include industry insights, employee spotlights, and job postings.
- Case Studies and White Papers: Develop case studies that showcase your success stories and white papers that address common challenges faced by businesses in hiring top talent.
9. Network Like a Pro
Building strong industry relationships is crucial for long-term success. Actively participate in industry events, conferences, and online communities.
- Professional Associations: Join relevant professional associations to connect with industry peers and potential clients.
- Networking Events: Attend industry networking events to build relationships with potential clients, candidates, and referral partners.
- Strategic Partnerships: Explore strategic partnerships with complementary businesses that can expand your reach and generate referrals.
10. Embrace Continuous Improvement
The staffing and recruitment industry is dynamic. Staying ahead of the curve requires a culture of continuous improvement.
- Regular Team Meetings: Hold regular team meetings to discuss challenges, brainstorm solutions, and share best practices.
- Client Feedback Sessions: Schedule regular feedback sessions with clients to understand their evolving needs and satisfaction levels.
- Track Industry Trends: Stay up-to-date on industry trends by attending webinars, reading industry publications, and participating in online forums.
Conclusion
By implementing these strategies and fostering a culture of innovation and continuous improvement, your staffing, and recruitment startup can navigate the competitive landscape and achieve sustained growth. Remember, success in this industry hinges on delivering exceptional value to both talented candidates and the businesses seeking their expertise.
For more about Recruitment updates follow our Insights for more info Contact Pragna Solutions for your all RPO Recruiting and Offshore Recruiting Solutions.
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