Welcome to “The Most Interesting Recruiting Stories of the Week,” a weekly post that features talent acquisition insights and information from around the web to kick off your weekend. Here’s what’s of interest this week:
Race-Based Affirmative Action Is Over. Corporate Diversity Could Be Next
This article was published before the Court struck down affirmative action in higher education yesterday. However, it provides great insight into potential ramifications for diversity hiring and practices in the workplace. Bloomberg reports that the consequence of the ruling could be a “concussive, though not fatal, blow to affirmative action’s corporate cousin: diversity, equity and inclusion.”
Job Posts That Feature Skills Attract More Applicants
From LinkedIn Talent Blog: “Here’s a dead-simple tip to make your next job posting more effective: Add plenty of relevant skills to the requirements section. Including skills in this way could boost your conversion rate by 11%, according to recent data from LinkedIn.”
San Francisco Is Understaffed By Thousands. It Takes 8 Months to Hire One Worker
“San Francisco City Hall’s open job rate has more than doubled since the pandemic. It takes the city eight months on average to hire someone,” according to The San Francisco Standard. “San Francisco is short more than 4,000 workers to run its Muni transit system, 911 call center, police department, hospitals and other critical agencies. But the city is taking an average of 255 days to fill each job, according to a San Francisco Civil Grand Jury report released Wednesday.”
Company Refuses to Hire Any Person Who “Engages [in] Homosexual or Transgender Conduct. Court Says OK
“A federal agency cannot force a Texas-based conservative Christian business to comply with policies barring discrimination against LGBTQ+ employees or job applicants, a federal appeals court has ruled,” the Associated Press reports.
Workers With Less Experience Gain the Most From Generative AI
“In the real world, enterprises face the age-old question of technology innovation: How will generative AI affect workers, particularly those with limited experience?” asks this MIT Sloan article. New research, for instance, found that “contact center agents with access to a conversational assistant saw a 14% boost in productivity, with the largest gains impacting new or low-skilled workers. In other words, the workers were upskilled, not replaced, thanks to the technology.”
Companies That Replace People With AI Will Get Left Behind
“Companies are integrating AI into their operations so quickly that job losses are likely to mount before the gains arrive,” according to this Harvard Business Review piece. “White-collar workers might be especially vulnerable in the short-term. The speed of this adoption presents an opportunity for companies to step up their pace of innovation, however — and if enough companies to go on offensive, then we won’t have to worry about AI unemployment. Adopting a bias for boldness and a startup mentality will help companies find the agility to make the most of this moment, and protect jobs as a result.”
Big Tech Layoffs Give Other Sectors an Opening
“For the thousands of workers who’d never experienced upheaval in the tech sector, the recent mass layoffs at companies like Google, Microsoft, Amazon and Meta came as a shock,” ABC News reports. “Now they are being courted by long-established employers whose names aren’t typically synonymous with tech work, including hotel chains, retailers, investment firms, railroad companies and even the Internal Revenue Service.”
The Credentialization of Skills-Based Hiring
Deprioritizing college degrees was a good start, but emphasizing credentials has its problems when hiring for skills. Read more in this ERE.net article.