Recruiter.com Magazine — Issue 6

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ISSUE 6 July 2019

Magazine

Cannabis Goes Legit A tech entrepreneur explores what it takes to succed in the industry

Good Bad Role Models What two corporate disasters can teach us about leadership

THE BOOGEYMEN OF PAY TRANSPARENCY Companies fear backlash — but it may be the only path to pay equity

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Editor's Note Dear Readers, What's it gonna take to get to 100 percent pay equity? In response, most of us would simply throw our hands up and shout, "Who knows!?" Maria Colacurcio is not most of us. She and her organization Syndio believe they've cracked the code — and you can learn that secret for yourself in this month's issue of Recruiter.com Magazine.

We've also got an inside look at talent management in the cannabis industry. In some ways, it's a whole different ball game from standard HR and recruiting — but in other ways, the challenges of staffing a successful cannabis business are the same as staffing even the dullest of corporate offices. And, no, everyone is not high all the time.

Speaking of bad business practices: CultureIQ's Scott Young salvages the disastrous declines of Enron and Theranos for powerful leadership lessons, while A-player expert Rick Crossland urges hiring managers to move it or lose it.

Elsewhere, Suzy CPO Anthony Onesto talks comic books (we promise, it's relevant), while Wrike's Megan Barbier takes the optimist's view of digital transformation.

Happy reading!

Matthew Kosinski Managing Editor

Recruiter.com Magazine is published quarterly by Recruiter.com.

For media and editorial inquiries, contact Matthew Kosinski (matthew@recruiter.com).

For advertising inquiries, visit our website.

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Table of Contents Executive Spotlight: Anthony Onesto ... Pg. 5 Recruiter.com

Mind on My Money: Talent Management in Cannabis ... Pg. 22 Matthew Kosinski

In Defense of Generalist Recruiters: Why You Don't Always Need a Specialist ... Pg. 8 Jeffrey Audette

Learning to Lead From Enron and Theranos: Great Lessons From Bad Leaders ... Pg. 26 Scott Young

'Damn Right You Have to Do It Every Year': A New Approach to Pay Equity ... Pg. 10 Matthew Kosinski

Keyword Searches vs. AI Matching: How AI Drives Results ... Pg. 29 Martin Matula

A Surefire Way to Lose Candidates: Going Slow When You Should Go Fast ... Pg. 13 Rick Crossland

The Key to Staying Relevant in a Fast-Paced Talent Market ... Pg. 32 Recruiter.com

When Recruiter Priorities Compete: Fill Speed, Req Loads, and Diversity ... Pg. 17 BountyJobs

Obstacles and Opportunities: Digital Transformation for HR ... Pg. 34 Megan Barbier

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Recruiter.com Magazine

Executive Spotlight: Anthony Onesto Recruiter.com Magazine's Executive Spotlight features top executives, HR professionals, recruiters, and business leaders sharing their insights on hiring, management, and best recruiting practices.

This Issue's Spotlight: Anthony Onesto, Chief People Officer of Suzy, Founder of The Ella Project, and Creator of Ella the Engineer According to a survey from market research software firm Suzy, 76 percent of millennial women think we need more women in STEM, and 27 percent of millennial women wish they had pursued a career in STEM but did not because they were not exposed to STEM early on.

To Anthony Onesto, Suzy's chief people officer and a committed advocate for diversity, this is an unacceptable state of affairs. In fact, Onesto is so invested in closing the gender gap in STEM that he created a comic book series to tackle it head-on. In Ella the Engineer, readers can follow the adventures of the eponymous heroine as she uses her tech know-how and coding skills to solve problems and avert disaster. Meanwhile, the comic book's concurrent Ella Project showcases the stories of real-life women in STEM to inspire young girls further.

Below, Onesto chats with us about his career so far, his best hiring advice, and the (only slightly) selfish origins of Ella.

What do you love most about your job?

At Suzy, I love making the connection of people to the business. I am given the autonomy by our founder/CEO, Matt Britton, who understands the power of culture on the business's bottom line, to extract and use data to inform those decisions. We test new programs using more of a designthinking approach by talking to people, rolling out programs, and then iterating on them as we get feedback and see the impact. We also look at the data, which is what I call combining "HeART and Science."

At The Ella Project, what is not to love? I create comic books with some of the most talented producers, writers, and artists on the planet. Those books have a great purpose: to entertain young kids and, specifically, to encourage young girls to pursue interests and careers in STEM. I also get to meet so many awesome women who have STEM backgrounds or are entrepreneurs with their own companies. I get to meet all kinds of folks, from those who have created mechanic shops run by women for women to CEOs of global consulting organizations.

What is your proudest professional moment?

Great question. I think most folks who have the number of years I do wouldn't be able to point to one moment, but a series of smaller events that ladder up into a larger career narrative. As you look at the journey that brought you to a specific moment, you can see it was a whole bunch of different moments and impacts that you had with various people.

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I will say, in general, when I see the eyes of an executive or team member light up when I am coaching them and asking questions to help them solve a problem, that is the most fun I have in my work. I also love cheerleading the underdog and the contrarian.

Describe your ideal team.

What kind of people are on it?

Diversity. Not just in background, color, or economic status, but also in thinking and skill set. I always look to [design and consulting firm] IDEO when someone asks me this question: a cross section of various backgrounds, skill sets, and experiences brought together to solve problems. I mean, that's what we do in HR, right?

Think of the Avengers, a team of people with great powers, different backgrounds, and flaws who are all brought together for a mission and greater purpose. This might include an innovator, a creative designer, a data scientist, an HR professional, a marketer, a community manager, a neuroscientist, etc. — a team that looks very different from the HR and people departments of today.

The purpose, at the end of the day, is to drive innovation, new ideas, and a bit of contrarian thinking across recruiting and people operations.

What is your must-follow hiring rule?

Coachability sprinkled with humility. You must be able to understand the things you know and the things you don't know, and you must want to learn and grow. I have been in HR for a long time, and I am still learning new things and bringing them into my role every day. No matter how much experience or knowledge you have, you must always be 6

willing to learn something new and be open to contrarian ideas and viewpoints.

Can you tell us a little more about The Ella Project?

The Ella Project was spawned out of the creation of Ella the Engineer. The project profiles some of the most awesome women in STEM and entrepreneurship.

I was creating a fictional hero in Ella the Engineer for girls so they would have someone they could look up to who solves techie-type problems. When I was creating this comic book, I started talking to all these real women in STEM and entrepreneurs to get their thoughts, and I realized how cool it would be to tell their stories — the real stories of these awesome women.

We also said that we would bring their stories into the comic book and even draw them into the issue. We continue to profile and interview more and more women and add at least one new profile daily. There are so many awesome women out there who have such great stories and perspectives.

This project is important because, truthfully, I was being selfish about it as a dad. I have two girls and a boy at home, and I wanted my girls (and all my kids) to be inspired by these awesome women and understand that STEM or entrepreneurship was an option they had in their lives. I also wanted my son to understand the impact women were having in this space.

Can you tell us a little about Ella the Engineer? Why did you create a comic book? Did you run into any challenges along the way?

Ella the Engineer is a comic book series meant to encourage young girls to pursue careers in STEM and entrepreneurship. It is a series of stories where Recruiter.com Magazine

our hero, Ella, who hold a comic book as "Think of the Avengers, a team of people is a techie/coder, a differentiator in a with great powers and different backgrounds battles against her very digital world. nemesis, Glitch. all brought together for a greater purpose."

Glitch is a computer In terms of virus whose one goal in life is to mess with all challenges, yes. Try to convince the head of HR the tech in Ella's world. In fact, he was once a or CEO to create a comic book to recruit women boy Ella beat in a maker fair contest, and he got in tech. It's not a conventional idea, but it gets to so mad he was sucked into his computer and the fact that I love thinking a bit differently. became the Glitch.

Imagine you walk into a women in tech Each story entertains kids with a traditional hero conference, hand out your business card, and and antagonist struggle, but that is underlined say, "I would love to recruit you for my company. by tech concepts that teach readers Please join us." I am sure it's a fine how technology is intertwined conversation and very conventional, with the very fabric of our lives, but now think about handing that from GPS systems to delivery same woman a comic book and companies. We believe in this telling her the story of how your concept of "edutainment." company sponsored this comic book that encourages young In terms of why it is a comic girls to pursue STEM, and then book — well, I was born in you ask her to hand it to a girl 1970. Yes, some of the best (or boy) she knows. Isn't that comic books and cartoons a better conversation and a were created in the decades very memorable encounter? that followed. I grew up The candidate would likely be watching cartoons and reading more interested to work for a comic books, so I knew I wanted company that did something to create a cartoon of some unique and powerful like that sort. In fact, our big dream is than for one that printed out to create a movie, as we know business cards. that would have a more farreaching impact.

I was blessed to be surrounded by folks who supported the The comic book was more of a fortunate timing idea, and we were able to get the first issue issue. I had met our producer, Ron Perrazza, for published. That led to other great things and, coffee to help him build his resume and coach eventually, our current partnership with Deloitte him on finding a role in advertising. I am a big Consulting. believer in connecting with folks and helping others out without any need for reciprocation.

If you had to sum up your entire career to this point In this case, Ron asked me about what I was in one quote, what would it be? doing, and I told him my idea for this cartoon.

He was just leaving Marvel, and he suggested "The more I help out, the more successful I we do a comic book. He showed me that comic become. But I measure success in what it has books were a medium whose readership was done for the people around me. That is the real increasing 20-30 percent per year with young accolade." - Adam Grant, Give and Take: Why girls. I also loved the idea of having the reader Helping Others Drives Our Success.

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In Defense of Generalist Recruiters

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Why you may not need to hire a specialist recruiter — even for highly specialized roles.

hen you have niche or highly skilled positions in your organization that need filling, you might think it's common sense to seek out a specialist recruiter. After all, if you're placing candidates in specialized roles, shouldn't you work with a recruiter who specializes in filling those kinds of roles?

in the field are, they may not be able to send any of those candidates your way because of preexisting commitments.

Now, maybe there are some shady specialist outfits out there willing to poach candidates from their clients.

You can bet that if they'd poach from your competition, they'll do the same thing to your organization when the time comes.

Maybe not. We'll get into the specifics in just a minute, but for now let's focus Jeffrey Audette on a relatively basic question: What's the point of hiring a recruiter in the first place?

While it might sound counterintuitive, the best way to solve this problem might be to bring in You might say it's to fill your vacant positions a nonspecialist. An all-around recruiter may not with the right candidates. If that's what hiring a have the same kind of preexisting network in your recruiter is really all about, then there are times industry, but that also means they don't have burwhen a more broadly focused recruiter might be densome preexisting commitments. When you better at fulfilling that function than an industry go with the all-around recruiter, you have a better specialist. Specialist recruiters seem like a great shot at attracting the best talent, no matter where deal — and sometimes they are — but the special- they happen to work. ist recruiting model also has some problems you might not expect.

A Good Recruiter Is a Good Recruiter Specialists May Be Bound

by Prior Commitments

You might think the reason you need a specialist is because only a specialist will be able to recognize the right candidates. Maybe your industry is One of the biggest challenges when working with so specialized that you feel a recruiter needs exa specialist recruiter can sound like a major ad- tensive industry experience to be able to evaluate vantage at first: A specialist recruiter already has candidates with reasonable accuracy. a network of connections in your industry.

On the surface, this thinking makes sense, but A wider pool of qualified talent right off the bat let's consider the matter from another angle. Isn't sounds great, right? Not always. See, the special- recruiting itself a specialized industry? Wouldn't ist recruiter's vast network means they are likely an excellent recruiter specialize in finding the to have client relationships with many (compet- right candidates, no matter their industry specialing) businesses in your industry. If you're working ty? with an ethical recruiter — and you should be — that means the recruiter won't be able to go after Recruiting is recruiting. The most important skills candidates who work for those clients. While a in the field — like interviewing skills, communicaspecialist may know who all the best candidates tion skills, critical thinking, and the ability to find 8

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the right candidates — will be held by any top-tier recruiter, no matter what their specialty. An allaround recruiter who is good at what they do will be worth more to you than an industry specialist whose skills aren't up to snuff.

er's success depends on delivering excellent customer service. That's the only way a nonspecialist recruiter can stay competitive and keep their business alive.

In my experience, an all-around recruiter will alNot Every Hire Is a Specialist Hire most always be more dedicated than the specialist recruiter to ensuring you get exactly the right For the sake of argument, let's assume there are candidate. Why is that? some positions for which you always need a specialist recruiter, like placing a PhD in some hy- A specialist recruiter can always lean on their inper-specialized branch of physics or chemistry. dustry specialty to bring in more business, but an all-around recruiter has more to prove from the Even if such positions exist at your company, start. The nonspecialist knows their business will you're going to need many more nonspecialist be judged by the quality of the candidates they employees over the course of your organization's bring in, so they will focus on finding the perfect existence, no matter how specialized your indus- fit. They can't afford to burn any bridges if they try is. Every organization needs administrators, want to keep winning new business. managers, receptionists, clerical workers, accountants, and many other kinds of employees This is not to say that a specialist recruiter is nevwho don't necessarily need to be industry special- er the right call. Sometimes, they may be exactly ists. When you're hiring for these positions, the what you need. However, specialists are not albest candidate for you might not even currently ways better than generalists, and there are plenty work in your industry. In that case, choosing a of situations in which an all-around recruiter may specialist recruiter only ties your hands. be capable of bringing in better candidates, faster.

Even if some positions always require a specialist, there are many more positions for which an So the next time you have hiring to do, consider all-around recruiter will give you stronger service. whether an all-around recruiter might be the best choice.

Generalists Specialize in Customer Service Jeffrey Audette is president of VMG Recruiting. ConPerhaps most importantly, an all-around recruit- tact Jeff at jeff@vmgt.com.

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'Damn Right You Have to Do It More Than Once a Year'

With a New Set of Standards, Syndio Points Toward a Pay-Gap-Free Future

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y now you know the statistics like the back of your hand. According to Pew Research Center, women make 85 percent of what men make, black people make 75 percent of what white people make, and Hispanic people make about 70 percent of what white people make.

It's not from lack of trying, according to Maria Colacurcio, CEO of Syndio, a software company that produces tools designed to help organizations understand and address the underlying behaviors and policies that contribute to their pay gaps.

"We take the approach of assuming Racial and gender pay gaps are best intent, and we've seen so many widely acknowledged and roundly of our clients really struggling with condemned, but little progress has Matthew Kosinski how to address pay inequality," Cobeen made in closing them over the lacurcio says. "We've never come past few years. For example, a March 2019 analy- across a client company that was really rubbing sis from Pew notes the gender pay gap "has nar- their hands together and saying, 'How can I game rowed since 1980, but it has remained relatively the system?' The fact is there is not a lot of edustable over the past 15 years or so." cation out there right now about the right way to do a pay analysis."

According to Colacurcio, most companies rely on an outdated, inapt, and prohibitively expensive approach to addressing their pay gaps. "The way most companies do it today — the only option they're often given — is that they go to their outside counsel, who contracts an economist, who goes through a lengthy and expensive process to produce a huge, 150-page crosstab report that gets dropped on the company's desk," Colacurcio explains.

This inefficient and costly process is not in a company's best financial or operational interests. It also fundamentally misunderstands the nature of pay gap analysis: It's not a onetime thing, but an ongoing process that must be repeated regularly to ensure the company is maintaining pay equity as it evolves.

"We want people to know there is a right way and a wrong way to do pay equity analysis," Colacurcio says. That's why Syndio worked with the National Women's Law Center (NWLC), a nonprofit dedicated to gender justice, to draft a set of pay equity standards any company can follow.

The 3 Keys to Pay Equity: Transparency, Methodology, and Continuous Commitment Already adopted by Syndio clients and leading organizations like Slack, NerdWallet, and Match Group, Syndio's standards outline a three-pronged approach to achieving pay equity.

1. Recognize the Obligation to Commit to Ongoing Pay Analyses • Companies have a responsibility to ensure fair pay for their employees.

• Commit to a cadence of ongoing analyses that are appropriate based on the size of the employer.

• Evaluate starting pay to ensure pay equity from day one.

• Identify underlying policies, practices, and behaviors that need to be changed to ensure pay equity.

Pay analysis can't be a one and done initiative. As companies change over time — and all lasting organizations do — they must continuously check in to ensure that pay gaps are still narrowing. Even if a company manages to vanquish its pay gaps, executives need to stay vigilant. Something like acquiring a new organization could make those gaps reappear.

"If your company is always buying other companies, you probably should be doing [pay analysis] a lot," Colacurcio notes.

For example, much has been written about the recent lawsuit brought against Oracle by former employees alleging significant gender pay disparities at the company. Three of the six named plaintiffs in the lawsuit joined Oracle when the organization acquired PeopleSoft in 2004. Central to the litigation is Oracle’s practice of using new hires’ prior salaries to determine compensation (a practice since outlawed in California). Colacurcio wonders if Oracle may have been able to get out ahead of the issue and address it much earlier — with much less public backlash and employee anger — if it had performed a pay analysis when it first acquired PeopleSoft.

One very common mistake organizations make in pay analysis is looking only at base pay. In reality, they need to account for the total compensation package, which includes a variety of elements beyond simple salary. Perhaps even more problematic is the tendency to exclude certain groups from a pay analysis because they are too small to be analyzed.

2. Use Valid Methodology to Analyze Pay the Right Way • Set appropriate groups. No gerrymandering.

• Identify any population excluded from the analysis or populations that are not analyzed due to small group size or very few / no gender or race comparators.

• Use parametric and non-parametric tests.

• Analyze all elements of compensation (bonuses, stock options, etc.).

"It's usually not done with ill intent but ignorance," Colacurcio says. "When we worked with Fatima [Graves, president and CEO of the NWLC], she said there are methodologies you should be applying to these small groups. You should always be using multivariate regression in your analysis as a whole, and if the group is too small, you should do cohort analysis."

If, during a pay analysis, an organization sees it is excluding a significant number of people because certain groupings are too small, Colacurcio says that's a red flag. Disaggregating your way to 100 percent pay equity is unfortunately not entirely unheard of.

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"Maybe you should go back and look again and try to do it in a different way," she says. "Maybe aggregate to make [the groups] a bit bigger. If you can't do it, you should explain it. If the group is too small, then you should disclose how many people were left out."

Another methodological issue is that many organizations only discuss mean and median earnings.

While pay gaps in mean and median earnings do suggest the existence of a problem, it's actually a different problem than statistically significant pay disparities between people who work in similar roles.

"Mean and median pay is an advancement-of-women or 'distribution' issue," Colacurcio says. "[These gaps mean] you don't have enough women in the higher ranks. That's a different issue from looking at statistically significant pay disparities. Make sure you differentiate the 'gender pay gap' from the 'pay equity' gap. The former is about distribution and advancement, while the latter measures whether those doing similar work receive equal pay."

3. Hold Yourself Accountable and Ensure Transparency • Set an aspirational goal of 100 percent pay equity and measure against that goal.

• Resolve unexplained pay disparities.

• Consider sharing a topline summary of results internally with leadership, the board of directors, and/or employees.

Transparency is absolutely key to any effort to close the pay gap. It's also the biggest hurdle when it comes to getting companies to adopt Syndio's standards. While Syndio's clients that have signed on were already practicing transparency, many organizations that might otherwise endorse the standards hesitate to embrace this particular component.

"We hear two things all the time: 'We can't commit to being transparent until we know whether we have a good story to tell,' and, 'If we announce [our pay analysis results] this year, we have to announce it every year.' You're damn right you do!" Colacurcio says. "That's the great part about it: You announce it once, and now you're accountable."

A lot of companies worry that going public about their pay gaps may make them easy targets, but Colacurcio says the opposite usually happens: Employees like to see that the company is aware of the problem and taking steps to address it. "They just want to know you're working on it, you're paying attention to it, you're actually doing analyses, and you're willing to talk about it," she says.

Colacurcio points to Payscale's recent "2019 Compensation Best Practices Report," which notes that pay transparency can be a strong driver of recruitment and retention: "Because most employers are not yet sharing much pay-related information with employees or job candidates, you can distinguish your organization as an employer of choice by being more open about pay than others in your market."

Colacurcio also uses the example of Citigroup’s recent decision to share its median pay gap at a global level, becoming the first US company to do so. "Everyone thought they would get hammered, but the sentiment was actually neutral to positive," she says. "People were like, 'Great. They have a 29 percent gap, but they are committed to working on it. I'm glad they were open and honest about it.'"

Colacurcio encourages organizations to stop focusing on the “boogeymen” of pay transparency and start thinking about the positives.

“It's going to engender trust, it's going to retain your talent, and it's going to improve your brand, quite frankly," she says.

A Surefire Way to Lose the Candidates You Want: Go Slow When You Should Go Fast

In recruiting, speed wins every time. Unfortunately, a lot of hiring managers have unconsciously adopted a 'hurry up and wait' mindset.

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t's a situation that plays out thousands of times each day in the corporate world. It goes something like this: Hiring Manager: Hi, Rick. It's Debra Jones. I'm calling to say I'm disappointed we have not seen any new candidates from you in a while. We need to get somebody ASAP!

detailed level at which we are interviewing these candidates is taking far too long.

Recruiter: Funny you should mention that. I just put together a little time study on the last 10 candidates we proposed, showing where we wasted time and where we invested time. Can I take you through it? I think you will find it insightful as to how we can get offers to qualified candidates faster.

Recruiter: Hi, Debra. I'm glad you Rick Crossland called. I've been wanting to follow up from the call I placed to you last week on the two candidates, Thomas Smith and Cynthia Hiring Manager: I don't have time for that. Just Lee, whose assessments both came back very send me more candidates! strong. I was hoping to get some feedback from you on how their interviews went.

The cognitive dissonance between what hiring managers want and how they behave hits the Hiring Manager (incredulously): Well, I've been corporate recruiting universe like a tsunami. swamped. I've not had time to think about them. In this ultra-tight labor market, ghosting candiYou know I think these assessments and the dates and their recruiters simply does not cut it.

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Are Hiring Managers Acting Against Their Own Interests?

Employers are in a rush to find candidates, but hiring managers delay the process unnecessarily once those candidates have been identified. This is quintessential "go fast to go slow" behavior.

While I won't even attempt to describe the psychology behind this, I will outline some common excuses I've heard from hiring managers, along with the associated cognitive dissonance for each: Excuse (ego)

Associated Cognitive Dissonance (Alter Ego)

“I am too busy to get back to you!”

Isn’t being too busy the reason you need the person? Also, it may have been good to know you were going to have no time to pursue candidates before beginning the search!

“I was waiting to see more candidates!”

How did you rate the candidates that were provided? Did you see that they met the experience, results, tenure, and compensation requirements in your job spec? Also, as an analogy, when you met your perfect significant other, did you date more people, or did you make a swift decision?

“The candidate was good, but...”

Perhaps if you took the time to craft a detailed position specification, you would know exactly who you were looking for. A wise person once said, "A manager who aims at nothing hits it with amazing accuracy."

“The candidate can just sit back and wait for us if they want to work here!”

Did you know the candidate is evaluating three other companies and is expecting offers? Also, are the position and compensation you are offering so exceptional? Finally, don't expect the candidate to jump through hoops when we have moved so slowly. Karma is funny about that.

“We are rethinking the strategy on this position.”

It would have been great to have thought it through before we got started. When you build something it is best to "measure twice and cut once!"

“Well, at least we got the search started!

My boss is pressuring me to get this filled!”

Ah, so you can pass the buck on to us! So you must be the same person who asks your landscaper to hurry up with their proposal, so you can sit on it for a month! Perhaps you don’t really know what you want in a candidate?

Lest anyone think this is a bash session on hiring managers ... ... my clients read this column, too! I am simply pointing out incongruent behavior that happens way too often. It prevents hiring managers from interviewing and hiring the best candidates by simply wasting time. Keep in mind that candidates are perishable assets! The goal of this article is to help you evaluate where you are currently wasting time and where that time can be better invested in the hiring process.

My recruiting contract with my clients stipulates they give me initial feedback on each candidate within 24 hours. In spite of having this in writing and getting a sworn agreement to do so, I am still disappointed with the poor responsiveness of my clients' hiring managers in providing timely feedback on candidates. Many recruiters have had this exact same experience.

Think of it this way: In hiring, like in most sports, speed wins! Moreover, if a recruiter is not serving up the types of candidates you are looking for, then your fast feedback will serve as a calibration mechanism that allows the recruiter to dial in on the qualifications and experience you are looking for.

The adage "'No' is great, 'yes' is best, and 'maybe' does not work" applies well to this situation.

'Have You Heard Back From the Hiring Manager?'

That is the cry of the interested candidate! When time is wasted in the recruiting process, it frustrates the candidates. They have no idea where they stand. After the initial interview — usually conducted by phone — hiring managers often wait days before giving feedback to either the candidate or the recruiter about what the next steps, if any, may be.

The fundamental principle here is to get back to the candidate quickly with some feedback, even if that feedback is simply to let the candidate know you need a few more days to think it through. Have integrity in your commitments. If you say you are going to touch base in two days, then make sure you touch base in two days. No exceptions. In these early stages of the recruiting process, you are setting your candidate's expectations for what it will be like to work with you. Set your best example of accountability. Besides, you need to be sharper than the other companies to which your candidate may be talking.

There is another important point that needs to be made here: If a candidate is not chosen, you need to let them know and provide some feedback to help them in future hiring processes. Getting back to all of your candidates, whether selected or not, is a classy move, and it will instill goodwill toward both your company's brand and your own personal brand. The hiring manager should deliver the feedback here, as doing so will help build their feedback muscles, although your recruiter can help you out in a pinch. In Recruiter.com Magazine

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addition, some of these silver-medal candidates may become excellent choices for future openings, which is why fostering great candidate relationships is so important.

Done properly, the entire vetting process can be accomplished within a few days. For example, once the hiring manager does the initial phone screen interview, we send the candidate the career history and psychometric assessments on Finally, this must be said: If you jerk a good can- the same day. When we get these back, the candidate around, you will permanently sour them didate moves to a Topgrading interview with the on your company. It is much better to be decisive entire management team. Having the entire team and leave the door open for further discussion in interview the candidate at once and then make the future. Remember, the candidates are inter- an immediate "go or no-go" decision following the viewing you as well. They are watching how you interview actually speeds up the process versus conduct your business. having the candidate individually interview with each executive. As part of this process, we also 'It's HR's Fault; The Interview Process have the candidate provide their reference conIs Too Long and Difficult' tacts during the interview.

When a candidate accepts a job with another company or opts out of the process, the most common complaint I hear from hiring managers is that "the interview process is too long and difficult!" Keep in mind that in a tight talent market, most of the A players are happily employed, so the risk that you are talking to a B player or — worse — a C player grows greater. Vetting is critical!

When the candidate sees the management team interact with each other in the interview, they get a good idea of your culture and how they will fit in.

It may seem counterintuitive, but A players love the rigor of this process, while B and C players drop out, which is actually a good thing.

All told, we are often able to get a candidate an answer on their drive home from the interview.

The vetting process is one part of the recruiting Inevitably, our thoroughness, speed, and decisiveprocess where you don't want to skimp on invest- ness leave a positive impression. ing time. You only want to hire either a full-fledged A player or an A potential. A B player or worse will In one more critical step, you must conduct at be a bad hire that reflects negatively on your abil- least three reference interviews with your canities as a manager and leader. didate's prior direct managers. We ask the candidates to set these up, and it is amazing how Specifically, your vetting process should include: quickly A players get them scheduled. This is because there is no professional risk to a prior man1. A detailed behavioral-based interview with ager in validating an A player. On the other hand, your entire team. I highly recommend the Top- if prior managers are less than enthusiastic about grading process. a candidate or are guarded on your probing ques2. A validated and easy-to-understand psycho- tions about results, those are red flags that you metric assessment to analyze your candi- are looking at a B player or worse! dates' behaviors and motivations. I highly recommend something like the Caliper In recruiting, speed wins. Don't make the misassessment. takes so many other hiring managers make. The 3. Detailed 45-minute reference interviews with more time you waste, the more likely you are to three prior direct supervisors to confirm per- drive away all the best candidates. formance claims, behaviors, leadership development opportunities, and compensation Rick Crossland is author of the The A Player and a status. certified Scaling Up coach. More resources are available at www.aplayeradvantage.com.

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+ WHEN RECRUITER PRIORITIES COMPETE:

FILL SPEED, GROWING REQ LOADS & DIVERSITY

WORLD’S LEADING RECRUITER ENGAGEMENT PLATFORM BOUNTYJOBS.COM

W

P /1/

HOW MANY REQS IS TOO MANY? THE STATE OF REQ LOADS TODAY It’s a question as old as the recruiting profession itself: How many reqs should one recruiter handle at a time? Even in our data-driven age of hard metrics and objective assessments, the answer is: It depends.

?

In 2016, Jobvite’s “Recruiter Nation” survey clocked an increase in overall req loads: 33 percent of recruiters anticipated filling more

Each

than 100 roles in 2017, whereas only 27 percent of recruiters said

organization

the same thing in 2015. While subsequent “Recruiter Nation” surveys

can figure out its

don’t report explicitly on recruiters’ req loads, they do suggest req

ideal recruiter

loads may still be rising.

requisition load from its own data.

TIM SACKETT SHRM-SCP president of HRU Technical Resources

According to the 2018 survey, there are now more open roles than there are candidates to fill them, and 74 percent of recruiters said they expected recruiting to become more competitive in 2019.

With the unemployment rate at 3.6% (a level not seen in nearly 50 years) and the volume of open jobs at a 17-year high, competition is rising; requiring recruiters to do more with less — and that often means individual recruiters must take on more reqs just to keep making placements. /2/

It may feel frustratingly vague but recruiting experts from Jim Stroud to Dr. John Sullivan to Tim Sackett have all gone on record to say there is no hard and fast rule to follow when it comes to assigning recruiters reqs. In fact, Sackett went so far as to tell SHRM that the idea of a universal “average” requisition load is “nonsensical.”

However, that doesn’t mean req loads are random. Rather, it means that “How many reqs is too many reqs?” is a question that can only be answered on a case by case basis. As Sackett put it, “Each organization can figure out its ideal recruiter requisition load from its own data.”

But what data should an organization consider? Here are the key factors:

THE POSITION & INDUSTRY As a general rule, the more specialized, highly skilled, or high-seniority a role is, the fewer reqs of that type a recruiter can handle at once. The more complex the role, the more footwork a recruiter has to do to source, vet, and place a candidate. In other words: filling high-volume sales associate roles for retail stores is a whole different ball game than headhunting the perfect COO for a Fortune 500 financial firm.

The industry in which the job operates also matters. Roles in industries facing massive skills gaps will obviously require a little more time and effort to fill, for example.

According to a 2018 Korn Ferry report, the financial and business services sector faces the biggest gaps, with an estimated deficit of 10.7 million workers by 2030. Close behind are the manufacturing sector (projected deficit of 7.9 million workers) and the technology, media, and telecommunications sector (projected deficit of 4.3 million workers). /3/

This is an excerpt from a joint report by BountyJobs and Recruiter.com.

To read the full report, visit https://www.bountyjobs.com/resources/when-recruiter-priorities-compete/.

GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION Filling a tech role in the San Francisco Bay Area? Your pipeline will be lousy with candidates. Filling that same tech role in rural Ohio? It might take a little more time. Both where the role is located and where your candidates are located can have huge impacts on req load.

THE RECRUITERS THEMSELVES Some recruiters are better than others and can handle more roles at a time.

As Stroud put it, “The best recruiters know how to get things done whereas newbies have a learning curve.” The more experienced and skilled a recruiter is, the easier time they’ll have filling multiple roles at once, even if those are highly specialized niche roles.

In addition to a recruiter’s experience and skill level, we have to consider the recruiter’s responsibilities outside of filling roles, if any. If a recruiter’s whole job is to source and submit candidates, they can take on more reqs.

If, on the other hand, a recruiter doesn’t have much administrative support and has to handle scheduling, offers, and onboarding, the req load has to drop.

Similarly, if the recruiter has other job duties outside recruiting — like managing a team, conducting trainings, leading tech implementation, etc. — then they simply have less room on their plate for reqs.

As dedicated recruiting specialists, third-party recruiters can often handle significant req loads with ease. The expertise and vast networks of talent they’ve accumulated over the years allow them to move quickly to identify, source, and match candidates to opportunities. Third-party recruiters rarely have other responsibilities to worry about beyond recruiting, which allows them to make clients’ reqs their top priorities. /4/

THE RESOURCES AVAILABLE In today’s high-tech, highly competitive recruiting world, resources — specifically in the form of tech tools — can make all the difference in a recruiter’s req load. Indeed, tech may be the single biggest factor in the equation: experts have found that recruiters who have access to cutting-edge technology can handle roughly twice as many req loads at once.

Do recruiters have advanced ATSs that can sort and screen resumes?

Do they have automated messaging tools and chatbots? Do they have online assessments that quickly vet candidates? Do they have access to referral platforms and robust social media tools? The more work a recruiter can offload to tech, the more reqs they can fill.

A BASIC BENCHMARK Req loads vary by nature, but some people really want a benchmark.

That’s understandable. Take it with a grain of salt, but here’s what SHRM says: The U.S. national average across all industries and employer sizes fluctuates between 30 and 40 reqs per recruiter. The national median is 15-20.

Remember: A recruiter can handle a lot more or a lot less than this depending on the factors outlined above. /5/

Mind on My Money Working, Recruiting, and Managing Talent in the Cannabis Industry

T

he cannabis industry offers an interesting case study for entrepreneurs, executives, HR pros, recruiters, and, really, anyone involved in talent acquisition and talent management.

As a brand new industry is built virtually from scratch before our very eyes, we get to see how a particular segment of the workforce comes together around a certain economic Matthew sector.

Perhaps the better representation of today's cannabis pros would be Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr., — a.k.a., Snoop Dogg.

Sure, Snoop may play up his public persona as a laid-back stoner living the good life, but he's also worth $124 million. He didn’t amass such a fortune by accident.

No, Snoop is a hardworking, talented musician and a canny businessman who built an entertainment empire spanning television shows, branded merch, and an unlikely friendship with Martha Stewart.

When it comes to a role model, cannabis pros could do worse.

Kosinski

Duffy has been working in cannabis since 2017, building his own company and watching other entrepreneurs build Who are the workers who have turned cannabis theirs. Along the way, he has seen just how dedfrom an illicit substance to a multibillion-dollar inicated, resourceful, and talented the cannabis dustry in just a few short years? One thing is for workforce really is. sure: They're not who you think.

"Cannabis evokes this idea of the lazy stoner who doesn't have good attention to detail or doesn't know how to add two plus two," says Andrew Duffy, CEO and cofounder of Best in Grow, a dispensary management software.

Pop culture is rife with such depictions. Think: Harold and Kumar craving White Castle, or the feckless protagonists of any pre-2010 Seth Rogen flick.

This common stereotype might make for good comedy, but it fails to capture the truth about the passionate professionals who are driving cannabis's success.

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"Cannabis is not only a really important product for people's livelihoods and the quality of their lives, but it's also a respectable business that is not populated exclusively by people whom you can stereotype," Duffy says.

"People who are cannabis users have been able to band together and create this massive industry that so many people want in on."

Prospective cannabis professionals — and organizations in need of those professionals — take note: In this industry, success is contingent on more than a penchant for pot.

Recruiter.com Magazine

From Budtenders to Food Scientists, Cannabis Pros Are a Talented Bunch As cannabis comes into its own as a legitimate industry, companies in the space need a wide range of talented candidates to fill roles at every stage of the game. There is a lot of opportunity for interested talent, and a lot of different roles for talent acquisition and talent management pros to get familiar with.

whatever the budtender recommends, according to Duffy. That makes budtenders the heart and soul of the industry in many ways.

"The budtender is this sort of really powerful point-of-sale employee who has to be very adaptable and quick to learn all the different challenges of compliance and oth"Perhaps the best representation er regulatory barriers while also having great attention of today's cannabis pros to detail and a lot of product would be Calvin Broadus, Jr., knowledge," Duffy says.

"You're starting from zero, actually growing the plant and producing it, and then you're going all the way to — a.k.a., Snoop Dogg." selling the plant and creating technologies to help you As for compliance officers, more effectively sell the plant," Duffy says. "It is you could say they're the brains of the operation. an extremely diverse industry in terms of what They make sure their dispensaries don't run afoul types of jobs you can fill." of the complicated laws governing the cannabis business. Everything from how trash is disposed In general, cannabis jobs fall into one of three do- of to how the doors are locked at night is tightly mains: circumscribed by regulation in the cannabis industry.

1. Retail

Cannabis reaches consumers through dispensaries, which need smart, adaptable, and detail-oriented staff members to keep customers happy — and the dispensary running on the right side of the law. Two kinds of professionals are particularly important: budtenders and compliance officers.

"The degree to which cannabis is so highly regulated is really unique, and as such, there are people whose entire job it is to manage the checklists of what they have to do on a day-to-day basis to make sure the store doesn't get shut down, or their owners don't get arrested, or a massive fine doesn't get levied," Duffy says.

2. Branding/Production

On a very basic level, a budtender is a cannabis salesperson, but that barely scratches the sur- Before a budtender ever sells a strain of cannabis, face of what they really do. Ninety-two percent of someone needs to produce that strain. For canconsumers who walk into a dispensary purchase nabis brands, the creation and marketing of new

products is a complicated and highstakes affair.

Cannabis brands need highly educated, strategically minded staff members who stay cool under pressure and deliver great products to consumers. tion era while still bringing the more sophisticat"The potential effect range of cannabis is mas- ed methodologies of traditional consumer-packsive," Duffy says. "It can make you lazy, it can aged goods to the industry. make you euphoric and feel like you want to go for a mile run, it can make you extremely happy and relaxed, or it can make you extremely anx- 3. Support Structures ious and uncomfortable."

Before cannabis brands can engineer their prodConsumers need to know exactly how a partic- ucts, someone needs to grow some actual canular product is going to affect them before they nabis. Strict laws govern the transport of cannatake it. However, throughout the previous 80+ bis across state lines, which means most brands years of cannabis prohibition, research into the have to depend on cannabis grown in their states various compounds that make cannabis func- of operation. However, not every state’s climate tion was tightly restricted. Brands have a lot of is friendly to the plant. catching up to do, and many need full-time researchers to study how cannabis works and how "You have to build out these massive feats of enthey can make products that do exactly what gineering for air management and temperature they want them to. management and water management, and you have to maximize the value of every single plant "Ultimately, you need PhDs in food science and you can get into a square foot of grow space,� organic chemistry, people who understand to a Duffy says. To accomplish this, the cannabis invery deep degree the way that these molecules dustry needs plenty of innovative engineers and will actually be effectively put into a product and agriculturalists. how they can be effectively consumed to make sure the effect of the product is exactly as they Of course, the industry also needs a whole host intend," Duffy says. of other support professionals, from technologists who can build the software tools dispensaSupporting these product researchers and devel- ries, brands, and growers need to cannabis-speopers is an infrastructure of marketers who have cific recruitment firms that know how to source to sell the resulting products to consumers. That and attract the right people for the business. can be harder than it sounds.

"That same ecosystem that exists around all othIt's a tricky dance, one that only a keen market- er verticals of business across the US is starting er can nail: Cannabis businesses must learn the to pop up around cannabis," Duffy says. "We're ins and outs of, and pay their respects to, the building those specific knowledge bases that cannabis culture that built up during the prohibi- are necessary to help the industry grow."

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Recruiter.com Magazine

portant," Duffy says. "There is very little room for error in cannabis. You have to be right on regulations, and you have to be documenting that really There are plenty of cannabis roles, and plenty of effectively. If you don't have the proper attention to people interested in those roles. If you want to detail, you are ultimately not going to be able to exjump into the industry — either as a direct employ- ist in what is fundamentally a very burdensomely ee or as a recruiter who specializes in cannabis — regulated industry." you need to know what makes for the best cannabis professionals. In Duffy's opinion, the two most Finally, as in all industries, it helps to have a pasimportant characteristics of a successful canna- sion for what you're doing. bis pro are adaptability and humility.

"I don't mean you have to be a cannabis consum"There are a lot of people who come in from tra- er," Duffy says. "What you have to care about is the ditional corporate environments thinking, 'Oh, I fact that you are building a totally new industry worked at McKinsey — I will dominate all of these pretty much from the ground up — although obvidumb stoners,'" Duffy says. "That is perhaps the ously we have to pay a lot of respect to the people worst attitude you can possibly come into the who carried it through prohibition and then through space with." the gray market and were able to make it the legal product it is today."

Cannabis is a young industry. A lot of the people joining it don't have much expeCannabis is unique not only in that it rience in the field. Every new cannais such a new industry, but also bebis professional, regardless of their cause of its history. It's a complirole, needs to realize that building cated field, and those people who a new industry is a team effort. can find something to care about Newcomers need to engage with will outlast those who are only in and learn from the people who it for a quick buck. have been in the trenches a little while longer. Otherwise, they'll only "You have to underset themselves up to fail. stand that you are a part of the journey," Duffy says.

"When you run into your first regulatory "You're bringing this product to peohurdle or some vendor doesn't fulfill ple for whom it could be medically its promise to you because it's a new necessary. You are helping to create industry and they actually went under a new economy that will help bring people last month, you'll realize you have to be extremely out of poverty, or you are helping to get rid of the adaptable and resourceful," Duffy says. "You can't stigma associated with cannabis that has kept so just rely on the corporate bona fides that you built many people in jail and taken so many people away up over time. You have to really be a doer." from their families. You have to find something in cannabis that you are really passionate about and Following close behind adaptability and humility is support it." attention to detail. As much as cannabis requires rolling with the punches, the industry also needs "Otherwise, you will become extremely frustrated people who can build and execute effective plans. by the degree to which this industry can be so volatile and can be so difficult to manage," he adds.

"It's obviously a challenge to make sure you can be both structured and flexible, but the ability to hold Matthew Kosinski is the managing editor of Recruiter. those two things at the same time is extremely im- com.

How to Make It in Cannabis

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Lessons in Great Leadership — From Enron and Theranos?

I

A multitude of red flags foretold the dramatic falls of these two giants.

As organizational leaders, it is our job to stay vigilant — and take action if we see the same warning signs in our own companies.

t's a tale of two company implosions, past and present. Enron, a Texasbased energy goliath went bankrupt in 2001 and wiped out $1.2 billion in shareholder equity, thousands of jobs, and much of its workers' retirement savings.

Theranos, once a Silicon Valley darling, fizzled out in 2018 after its leaders were indicted in a "massive fraud" scheme that raised $700 million from investors for blood-testing technology that flopped.

signs early and stop workplace shadiness before it is too late? Is there anything prospective and current employees can do to avoid problem workplaces or expose major issues when they arise?

Scott Young

What these firms had in common was plenty of warning flags waving in front of their leaders, employees, investors, and the media. In each case, only a few whistleblowers and a few reporters stepped up to uncover the truth. By the time the rest of the business world had decided to listen, the damage had been done.

How can leaders learn to spot these warning 26

For leaders, the key is to create a workplace culture in which people feel gratitude and recognition for speaking up about a problem.

For would-be or current employees, it's vital to ask the kind of questions that can reveal a compromised culture.

The cultures of Enron and Theranos were too far down the road of deception and denial for red flags to be properly remedied, but the rest of us can benefit from their mistakes. Here are a few red flags that could pop up in your organization — and some advice on how to act on them before disaster strikes.

Recruiter.com Magazine

4 Red Flags to Watch For Zero Tolerance for Challenging Assumptions Both Enron and Theranos discouraged workers, investors, and the press from questioning their wisdom. While Theranos's punishments were harsher (the company axed detractors quickly), Enron's leaders simply turned a blind eye, ignored the criticism, or condescended, saying critics just didn't understand Enron's sophisticated trading methods.

Remedy: Company-wide measures to gauge employee sentiment might have been able to get around the C-suite's intolerance for challenge and paint a clear picture of just how much (or how little) faith Theranos's workers had in the company's products. As Cerius Executives CEO Pamela Wasley points out in a Forbes article entitled "The Theranos Crisis: Where Was The Board?," an active, ethical board of directors that could have demanded answers from secretive company leaders may have also accomplished the same thing. Theranos had neither of these, but your firm should have both.

A Lack of Transparency and Sharing From Leadership With Employees and Investors Remedy: When leadership isn't transparent, employees often have little recourse other than to be aware of the opacity and be on the lookout — because lack of transparency generally signals that something isn't right behind those closed doors. If a company is lucky enough, someone with an inside track blows the whistle early on, before the company crumbles.

Leaders Relied on External Actors to Justify and Hide Their Actions Enron had accounting firm Arthur Andersen vouching for it, and Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes crafted a Steve Jobs-inspired image that successfully wooed much of the business press. Both had the media trumpeting a message that was too good to be true.

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Where Is Your Company on the Calamity-Prevention Ladder?

The Enron and Theranos disasters show that failure to actively manage culture and respond to warning signs can lead to behavior and decisions that have devastating consequences for a firm's very survival. Companies can manage this risk by supporting employees who speak up when they see decisions, behaviors, or practices that are questionable. How good is your organization at doing this?

Dirt Level: Speaking up is clearly punished (and in the worst cases, for all to see). This was the Theranos strategy, and it failed spectacularly.

Lowest Rung: You tolerate internal whistleblowing but stop short of supporting it or encouraging it. This is how Enron treated company Vice President of Corporate Development Sherron Watkins, who warned leadership repeatedly about accounting irregularities.

Second Rung: Leaders verbally encourage coming forward, but they don't actually value it (a.k.a., lip service).

Third Rung: You encourage and actually value your employees' feedback on questionable activities. That means you use the information when it's brought to you.

Highest Rung: Your leadership team models, recognizes, and rewards this reporting behavior.

To create a culture where people speak up when they should, you really should be striving for the top rung on this ladder. More than simply not fearing negative consequences for speaking up, employees should know that doing so makes them trusted and valued members of the company.

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Remedy: Don't depend on people outside the company to mask your mistakes. If something is rotten, no amount of good PR will cover the stench forever. When a scandal is finally exposed, it will only become an even bigger story for the press. It's better to fix your mistakes early and transparently, if possible.

Putting a Premium on Raking in Revenue at the Expense of Quality and Integrity Enron's culture was obsessed with fostering competition to get ever-bigger results, but there was no value placed on the ways in which those results were achieved. As a result, employees fudged their way to better numbers, which eventually brought Enron down.

Theranos had a similar obsession — and, arguably, its fudging happened on a much grander scale, as the entire company was built and funded on a nonexistent technology.

Remedy: Making it rain is a core value of many successful companies, but the difference is sustainably successful firms don't make it the sole value. Your survival depends on having a culture of trust and transparency among all employees.

Firms that want to make it rain for the long haul will not only tolerate employees who point out errors and issues, but they will also encourage and reward such reporting.

Scott Young is managing director, client delivery, for CultureIQ.

Recruiter.com Magazine

Keyword Searches vs. AI Matching: Which Drives Results?

I

To understand why AI has captured so much attention, one must first understand what it actually brings to the table.

n recent years, talent acquisition professionals have been inundated with new technologies, all of which promise to deliver qualified candidates with unprecedented efficiency and ease. Most talkedabout among these game changers is artificial intelligence (AI).

To understand just why AI has captured so much attention, one must first understand what it actually Martin brings to the table. Let's take a look at how Genesys's purpose-built AI compares to those old recruiter standbys of resume keyword searches and Boolean search strings when it comes to finding the best-fit candidates for a job.

Words Have Meanings, Which AI Uncovers Traditional keyword searches simply identify the presence of certain words in a candidate's resume or profile. On the other hand, Genesys's AI-powered search and match functions can identify the context of a combination of words and phrases based on the proximity of certain words to other words.

Context matters in searches. The manner in which a given set of words are strung together makes a huge difference in the overall meaning of those words.

For example, say you are looking to fill a position for a "Microsoft certified network security specialist." A basic keyword search will certainly return profiles of candidates who fit Recruiter.com Magazine

the bill. However, that search might also return a "security" guard "certified" in CPR, proficient in "Microsoft" Word, and with previous experience working in the lobby of a national cable news "network."

Matula

The security guard would never make it through the screening process. A human recruiter would quickly identify that candidate as a bad match, but that identification process is a waste of precious time.

This is where AI comes in. Latent semantic analysis — a machine-learning model for extracting and representing the contextualusage meaning of words through statistical computations applied to a large body of resumes — would also quickly determine the candidate was not a match. The difference in this case is the technology filters the bad match out before it ever gets in front of a human.

Through latent semantic analysis, Genesys's technology greatly reduces the number of false positives returned by traditional Boolean and keyword searches. In doing so, it also minimizes the resources needed to qualify candidates and saves time by eliminating the need for multiple search queries.

AI Offers an Easier Input Finding the right talent to fill a job opening is a very re s u l t s - o r i e n t e d

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pursuit.

Whether you are a recruiter, HR pro, or hiring manager, your ultimate priority is to put the right candidate in the right position.

When comparing searching and matching technologies in the context of staffing, we typically focus on the results of the search. The quality of the matched candidates is the most important thing.

identify the skills and attributes that made him successful in his role. The AI then applies these skills and attributes to finding a suitable replacement. No other input is necessary.

Compared to old-fashioned Boolean keyword search — which often requires a lot of trial and error to refine the results — AI facilitates a much more intuitive and efficient approach to constructing inputs that produce the desired outputs.

However, the output itself is only part of the Matching People, Not Job Descriptions equation. To arrive at the desired output, one first needs to enter the right input. AI simplifies the When searching for talent, the goal is to find input process, which makes it a person, not another job easier to reach a high-quality description that matches the "Context matters in searches. output. one you've written. That's The manner in which words why Genesys's matching Keyword searches can be a algorithms are based on are strung together time-consuming and not very candidate profile data and makes a huge difference user-friendly way to achieve a resumes, not job descriptions. in the overall meaning desired output. In the past, the most successful recruiters Most staffing professionals of those words." had to master the art of writing agree that posted job extremely comprehensive search strings to descriptions and even job titles do not always uncover the perfect candidate. A typical search accurately represent the person required to fill string might have looked something like this: a role. There is often a disconnect between the talent acquisition specialists recruiting for the Title = "accountant" OR "CPA" OR "certified position and the hiring manager who needs the public accountant" OR ("cost accountant" OR talent. Hiring managers may not have a good "staff accountant" OR "financial analyst" grasp of what they really need in a new hire, OR "accounting manager") AND Profile nor will they necessarily understand the = ("clerk" OR "assistant") AND realities of the current labor market. ("accounts payable" OR "accounts As a result, job descriptions often receivable" OR "general ledger" lack necessary details or make OR "payables" OR "receivables" unrealistic demands. Similarly, job or "journal entry") "accounting titles do not necessarily translate manager" OR "division controller" across employers.

OR "company controller" Genesys considered the inherent But AI changes the way we ask shortcomings of job descriptions questions, making it possible to and built its AI around the concept imagine a search query as simple as, of finding people who closely match "Genesys, find me a replacement for Bob other people who have proven they in accounting. Here is his profile." can perform the job. Rather than trying to match people to inadequate job What the AI does is use Bob's profile to descriptions, Genesys simply passes a 30

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resume through its search algorithms to find the profiles of candidates who closely match your ideal.

Say you like Jennifer's skill set but prefer Mary's experience. Genesys can combine that skill set and experience to return matches based on a hybrid of ideal candidates.

— Genesys aspires to humanize the process of matching talented people with great jobs.

Advancements in AI make it possible to achieve this goal more efficiently and effectively than traditional searching techniques.

And that is why AI has sparked the most conversation — and excitement — of all the new technologies promising to streamline recruitment.

Martin Matula is vice president of product development at Genesys Talent.

Recruiter.com regularly features reviews, articles, and press releases from leading businesses. This featured article may include paid promotion or affiliate links. Please make every effort to perform due diligence when selecting products and services for your business or investment needs and compare information from a variety of sources. Use this article for general and informational purposes only.

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s a great poet once said, "The times, they are a-changin'."

Stay Sharp

stay on the cutting edge is stronger than ever.

Professional development is the key to keeping your recruitment skills up to date in a fast-paced world.

Today's talent market is characterized by intense flux. From chatbots to automated sourcing solutions, new technologies are changing the way recruitment gets done. Succeeding in this landscape requires a new kind of skill set, one that combines tech savvy with the best human-focused strategies of great recruiting.

The recruiters who will continue to win top talent for their companies and clients amid all this upheaval are those who take professional development seriously. Only by continuously investing in their own skills can recruiters avoid being left in the dust by competitors.

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Experts say the best candidates are off the market in as little as 10 At the same time, what days. Given how fast talent moves — it means to even have a job and how rapidly the recruitment landis transforming before our very eyes.

Rescape is changing — it's not like recruitcruiters are not the only ones called on to uti- ers can afford to put their talent searches on hold lize brand new skill sets at work. We are enter- for professional development opportunities. ing the age of what Burning Glass calls "hybrid jobs." Less automatable than traditional roles, What recruiters need is a comprehensive prohybrid jobs demand combinations of historically gram that is also flexible enough to allow them siloed skill sets, like marketing and data science to keep filling reqs while they sharpen their skills. or programming and design. To find candidates who hold these unique skill sets, recruiters will This is precisely the kind of experience delivered have to take new approaches to by the Recruiter.com Certificasourcing and engaging talent.

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Recruiters need As if that were not enough, resigned for both newcomers and cruiters must also contend with to keep moving with it." recruiting veterans. Drawing on the gig economy, in which more the expertise of Recruiter.com's than a third of US workers are active. Meanwhile, team of experienced recruiting professionals, the 61 million members of Generation Z are be- as well Recruiter.com's vast library of content ginning to enter the talent market. Like previous authored by industry thought leaders, the RCP generations, these candidates are bringing their offers participants a robust recruiting education own demands, expectations, and preferences. that covers everything from the basics to conRecruiters will need to adapt their tactics to meet temporary best practices that get results. the needs of gig workers and Gen. Z-ers alike.

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Designed with active professionals in mind, the RCP takes a flexible approach to career development. All courses are self-paced, and participants can access content from any device thanks to the mobile-friendly interface. In short, recruiters can complete their training whenever, wherever, without sacrificing valuable recruiting time.

with limited funds can afford to step up their games.

Additionally, recruiters who want to broaden their skill sets even further can purchase the "Business Development" package for $99. This series of eight courses covers everything you need to know about finding, engaging, and maintaining relationships with clients. Even corporate recruiters who only source talent for in-house placements can benefit from the key customer service and sales skills imparted by the "Business Development" package.

Keeping with the emphasis on accessibility, the RCP is also affordable. The "Recruiting 101" package offers 10 full courses on key recruiting strategies, tactics, trends, and concepts, as well as two courses that teach participants how to leverage the Recruiter.com Job Market Platform to find The talent market doesn't stand still. These days, more talent and make more placements. it moves even faster than ever. Recruiters need to keep moving with it.

While similar training programs from other providers carry price tags ranging from $800 to many For more information about the Recruiter.com Certhousands of dollars, "Recruiting 101" is available tification Program, visit https://www.recruiter.com/ for $299. That means even independent recruiters recruiter-training.html.

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Obstacles and Opportunities

For HR, Digital Transformation Is About Much More Than Job Automation

W

hen the terms "digital transformation" and "human resources" come up in the media, the focus is often on the possibility that automation will eliminate jobs, with negative consequences for workers and communities. While that is a serious issue, it is also a shiny headline that takes attention away from more pressing concerns that HR teams handle every day.

right tools in place to secure sensitive data. Given that this year is already off to a bad start with high-profile data breaches, now is a good time to address these types of vulnerabilities. Our survey shows that most companies still have a long way to go.

Megan Barbier

2. There Is a Huge Opportunity to Improve HR Productivity

The fact is, digital transformation's Nearly a third of HR professionals implications are much broader for HR, and these said they could increase their productivity by teams have a lot on their plates. around 30 percent if they had better technology to automate repetitive and administrative tasks.

HR is already dealing with change related to That represents a big opportunity for HR orgacritical functions like security, automation, and nizations, which often struggle to gain a seat at collaboration. In an effort to understand how HR the strategy table. pros feel about these changes, my team at "Only 37 percent of survey respondents This problem is illusWrike commissioned trated by the tedium of agree their organizations have Atomik Research to copying and pasting conduct a survey. The information between the tools to secure sensitive data." survey revealed three systems. A quarter of major obstacles and opportunities the current survey respondents said that consolidating state of digital transformation (or lack thereof) feedback and communication across multiple brings to the people management function. Here emails and spreadsheets is their biggest work are a few of the key findings: challenge. This result, paired with the first, suggests that companies looking for a quick way to 1. Data Security Is a Big Concern — improve HR productivity should consider techfor Good Reason nologies that streamline communication into a single source so that professionals don't need to HR teams handle some of the most sensitive spend their valuable time searching for the infordata in your company, including information on mation they need to do their jobs. compensation, performance, and employee discipline. It is no surprise that 40 percent of the 3. Communication Breakdowns professionals we surveyed expressed strong and Bottlenecks Are a Significant Challenge agreement that security is a major concern.

It probably won't surprise experienced HR proDespite the sensitivity of this data and the pro- fessionals that nearly a quarter of those surcesses you might assume are already in place to veyed reported communication difficulties or protect it, only 37 percent of survey respondents delays are their most significant challenge on strongly agreed their organizations have the the job. It is unsurprising because HR is unique34

Recruiter.com Magazine

ly dependent on organization-wide communica- tools they need to operate effectively in the modtion to resolve issues, since it handles employee ern business world. relations across business units.

The significant percentages of HR professionals When HR is unable to get answers in a timely reporting challenges in basic functions like secumanner, it results in frustration within the de- rity, automation, and collaboration suggest that partment and disgruntled employees across the digital transformation is lagging in too many HR whole company. That hurts HR performance met- departments. That is a problem for HR profesrics, since a sizable percentage of HR personnel sionals who need to ensure that sensitive infor(38 percent) say that customer satisfaction and mation isn't exposed, spend more time on straNet Promoter Score is how their success on the tegic tasks, and communicate with colleagues job is measured. This result again points to a seamlessly. need to streamline communication channels to improve productivity and performance.

However, these challenges also represent the potential for HR organizations to improve by Turning Obstacles Into Opportunities adopting tools and processes that lead to better data protection, greater efficiency, and expanded Digital transformation is accelerating, but the collaboration. new tools and processes aren't yet evenly distributed within organizations. One recent report As HR leaders contemplate the effects of digion the state of digital transformation suggests tal transformation on their organizations, they'll that may be changing. have a unique chance to turn these obstacles into opportunities.

According to Altimeter's "The State of Digital Transformation 2018-2019," IT is still If they succeed, not only will the HR organization driving digital transformation at be more effective, but the company as a whole most companies, but 85 will become more competitive as percent of organizations talent grows more satisfied with are working to expand the the employment experience. benefits across the organization. It is important Megan Barbier is vice presifor HR leaders to make dent of people operations at sure their departments Wrike. get the transformative Recruiter.com Magazine

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