As part of their effort to plan 2020 content, the Higher Education Recruitment Consortium (HERC), a nonprofit consortium dedicated to equity and inclusion in the academic workforce, put out a simple open-ended survey question to over 2,000 job seekers: “To help you advance your higher ed career, what topics would you like HERC to address in its job seeker materials?" The second-most common response – requests for how to combat ageism. Appearing 68 times in the 762 responses,

June, the month of Pride. Vibrant colors decorate logos, marketing campaigns, and advertisements; the rainbow marking solidarity and support of the LBGT+ community. It is beautiful, it is emotional, it is temporary. Celebratory months like Pride, Black History, Mental Health Awareness, Women’s History, etc. are a perfect catalyst to spark interest, focus, and intentional inclusion. But, to be truly impactful in our efforts to engage, include, and celebrate, we must go well be

This week we were honored to contribute a piece to the JazzHR blog. Take a tour ... Talent Acquisition Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Metrics and how to use them to build a compelling and insightful DEI narrative. And a special thank you to the JazzHR team - great partners in the mission to create more equitable, impactful, and efficient hiring processes. Check it out here. #NoBias #diversityandinclusion #jazzhr

In addition to all the details leading up to and around the onsite and/or virtual interviews, there are plenty of opportunities to create welcoming or alienating environments within the interview. From the location, to the questions, to who’s asking them, the interview experience can make or break the candidate experience. Is your team showcasing inclusion and understanding with every detail? Are they asking the right questions in the right way without putting anyone in a dis

The latter stages of the hiring process, which include steps like virtual and/or onsite interviews, assessments, meet and greets, etc., can be daunting, especially for those who are not well versed in them. Candidates are under pressure to make a good impression. To answer questions correctly, show how they will fit in with every word, action, and expression, and do it all while navigating what’s often a complex multi-step process full of intricate logistical details. But, at

In the frenzied scramble for talent, ‘Time to Fill’ or equivalent speed-based hiring metrics, has taken center stage. Often understaffed and under pressure, we are racing to fill positions and refill positions just to keep our organizations from falling too far behind. And yet, to truly add value to our organization, we must meet this speedy challenge without sacrificing quality of hires (otherwise, they will just add to our refill count in a few months) or breaking the budge

“I don’t care what color you are or your gender or age. I just care that you are the right person for the job.” When it comes to hiring or promoting, this is a common opinion. It’s a good one. Except… Why is it, with such a common opinion, that a disproportionate number of promotions go to a specific color, gender etc.? Are people lying? Some are. But the problem is far bigger than a few people being disingenuous with their equitable intentions. Part of the challenge lurks in

What do you do if you’re not sure if your candidate interview questions are excellent or just ‘lemons’? Test drive!

How to create strong, empowering reports that feed strong HR programs.

How deep do biases go? Some, like gender norms, are so ingrained in our culture, we don't realize we are conforming. What can we do to stop?

With career.place, PCI realized a 50% reduction in its job board spend, 500% increase in candidates, 50% reduction in time to fill...

“How do I tell the person that what they said or did was offensive?" Here are tips for difficult DEI / Microaggression conversations.

There are many great candidates from a variety of backgrounds and experiences that are great for your job. The trick is to include them. Candidates from other industries or experiences that may have all the relevant skills, experiences, abilities, and knowledge, may still be excluded due to unrefined requirements. Requirements such as years of experience in a specific job or knowledge of a specific software (vs. the general type of software) could be weeding out great talent.

Not all DEI consultants are good for your organization. And some are just bad. A great consultant will empower your organization, helping to set and/or execute impactful DEI strategies that forever change your organization’s processes and behaviors to create more equitable, inclusive processes, culture, and infrastructure. A bad consultant can slide your organization backward, increasing tension, resistance, and negative reactions to DEI initiatives. Or they can spin the orga

We all need a little help sometimes. Whether it’s augmenting overburdened resources, or filling in a gap in expertise, or adding validity to an effort, there are times when we need to look beyond the organization and engage consultants. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) efforts are no exception. For many, DEI is relatively new with trailblazing efforts and aggressive goals, which is the perfect opportunity to augment with consultants. Luckily, there are many, many, many

“Yes, and …” This is one of the fundamental pillars of improv, the origin of so many of our greatest comedic personalities. Improv, short for improvisation, is when actors play out a scene without any scripts, practice, or foreknowledge of what the scene will be about. They have no idea what their fellow performers will say or do. They must react in the moment, ideally building to something clever and hilarious. The key to navigating this fluid ad-hoc art form is to keep the

For many, diversifying your workforce starts at the source. The more diversity in the candidate pool applying for your job, the more likely there will be diversity in the resulting hires. So, if you are not getting the range of diversity you want in your candidate pool, it may be time to change or expand where you are sourcing your candidates. “I’m already using the biggest job boards, what other options are out there?” A lot. There are hundreds, if not thousands of options a

Picking the right metrics to track is a skill with huge payoff. The right selection will prove the value of the initiative, align it to the organization’s needs, and enable Return on Investment (ROI) calculations. However, even the best selected metrics are only as valuable as the ability to measure and track them. There are three keys to measuring and tracking metrics: 1. Define what will be measured and by what standard of measurement For each metric, identify exactly what

This may come as a shock, but this initiative is probably not the first in your organization. This may be the first D&I initiative or the first initiative out of the Talent Acquisition department (or not), but it is certainly not the first project the organization has ever taken on. With past experience comes past wisdoms – both what works well for the organization and what falls flat. So, rather than rediscover all the pitfalls and tricks, learn from those that came before.

Imagine what it would have been like if the first math class you ever took introduced calculus or the first science class jumped into quantum mechanics or the first book you were ever handed was Shakespeare. That is absurd! No one can learn calculus without first learning numbers and how to add and subtract them. No one can learn quantum mechanics without first understanding the basics of particles and motion, and no one can understand Shakespeare without first learning the l