Horizon Point Consulting

Category: Beyond Work

Beyond Work is our line of resources for people and community leaders looking for something new and innovative outside, be it a new job, career change, or personal development outside of work.

4 Tech Solutions that help you Hire for Fit AND Diversity

Most people live in an “or” world.   Whether we like it or not, we think in terms of always having to choose between two or more options or paths, rather than thinking in terms of “and”.
I was reminded of this when hearing the CFO of Eli Lilly, Derica Rice, speak to a group of college students who have received scholarships he and his wife fund. He told them that he always thought in terms of “or”. I can have this career “or” that, but not both. I can have this life “or” this one, but not both. But one day, he said, his wife told him that he had earned the right to live and think in an “and” world.

This is a powerful message to us all, particularly to the minority students he is seeking to help. I’ve found that it is also helpful to extend his point in inspiring diversity to the need to hire for both diversity AND fit.

And technology can actually help live in an “and” world when it comes to hiring for diversity and fit instead of relying on human, subjective judgments.

Here are four tech companies that are doing just this:

BLENDOOR Using technology, Blendoor hides data that’s not relevant (for example name, graduation year and photos) and highlights data that is in order to reduce unconscious bias.

You can view a video that explains their merit based hiring here.

TEXTIO– With a slogan that reads, “In hiring, every word counts,” Textio focuses on helping companies write the best job postings.   In doing this, better word choice leads to more applicants, and more diverse ones at that. In particular, the company touts a 23% increase in women applicants.

This graphic on their website says it all.

PYROMETRICS– Founded by a Harvard and MIT PhD in a Neuroscience team, the company uses gamification, machine learning & artificial intelligence and unbiased algorithms to match potential employees with employers.

You can request a whitepaper from them on gender equality related to the science they use at the bottom of this page.

HireVue. When I first heard about HireVue, I thought their key value proposition was to reduce recruiter time in hiring, in particular interviewing. Upon learning more, I realized they are also helping to reduce bias in hiring by using data (according to their speaker at HRTech, a 15 minute interview generates more than 25,000 data points) to identify best-fit for companies.

You can read more about how using their (and Pyrometric’s) artificial intelligence helped Unilever increase their diversity hires by 16% (among other positive outcomes) here.

Choose to live in an “and” world and the possibilities for solving problems are endless.

How do you kill two birds with one stone by thinking “and” instead of “or”?

Like this post, you may also like:

You can hire for fit AND diversity: How the most innovative companies hire right

Diversity and Inclusion in My Eyes and in the Eyes of My Children

What is Diversity and Why Does It Matter?

3 Ways to Embrace Diversity and Inclusion in Career Development

Creating Community in Your Organization

October 24, 2017
3 ways to embrace Diversity & Inclusion in Career Development
Working in career development, I’m fortunate to have the opportunity to work with individuals from all over the U.S., and I occasionally have clients that live or have lived abroad. It is eye opening to see how different cultures and areas of the country approach career planning. Embracing diversity and inclusion is important for job seekers, employers and career practitioners.

Here are 3 ways to embrace Diversity and Inclusion:
1. Job Seekers – Seek out companies that are searching for candidates based on culture fit. You can often recognize these organizations because their culture is evident in their marketing, mission statement and by their selection process. Look for companies who offer realistic job previews and/or have applicants complete a pre-screening assessment; these are often predictors of organizations who prioritize diversity and inclusion.
2. Employers – Employers should make diversity and inclusion a priority by ensuring employees and potential employees know they work to make sure the right people are in the right seats on the bus. They seek candidates who bring something to the table that others in the organization do not. This practice, in and of itself, will allow for diversity. In addition, companies who offer training in diversity and inclusion often prioritize the practice.
3. Career Practitioners – In our work to help others find employment or make employment changes, we should be abreast of diversity and inclusion efforts. And, we should work to be inclusive of the clients and students we work with. In the Facilitating Career Development course we offer with Horizon Point, we discuss helping skills and their importance in working with individuals who are different than we are. Having knowledge of cultural diversity is also important; this is also a key component in Horizon Point’s course (NCDA approved). For more information or if you would like to register for the course, click here.
For more information on Diversity and Inclusion in relation to Career Development, check out these articles:

Building a Culture of Diversity and Inclusion in Career Services

Creating a Culture of Diversity and Inclusion: Start with Small Wins
October 19, 2017
Laughter is the Best Gift You Can Give

Returning home from the HR Tech Conference proved to be a challenge when it came to weighing our bags. One bag weighed too much. How did this happen? It wasn’t that way coming.
It was all the swag from vendors!

I was impressed by the vendors’ creativity in designing their gifts. I didn’t even have to buy a souvenir for my kids. I snagged a backpack for my son, nail polish (bright purple and pink, no less) for my daughter and a coloring book and colored pencils for them both.

I got a monogrammed luggage tag for me, a personalized t-shirt that states “HR Llama Don’t Want No Drama” with a cool looking llama on it, two mini bottles of champagne, two cool water bottles and the customary hugger for my husband. Why he loves to collect those things, I don’t know.

But, by far, the best gift was at the Globoforce booth. I like their mission and mindset anyway, so I was planning to stop by their booth regardless. But their marketing took the cake.

Basically, the way their prize worked was that two young and lively staff members where there encouraging you to spin a large wheel. There was only one actual prize on the wheel which was a paid trip to the Work Human Conference. The rest were phrases that described things that could go on in a typical workplace. They asked me a series of engaging questions to get to know my workplace, then asked me to spin the wheel.

I missed the conference trip by one tick, but what I got was an improv skit from the two staffers based on the information they got from me and where the wheel landed. IT WAS HYSTERICAL!

It was more memorable and a lot lighter (pun intended) than anything I took away from other vendors. Which would lead me to use them before I used any other vendor in their space.

Laughter really is the best gift. Especially when it’s so on point with your mission to make the workplace more human.

Kudos Globoforce.

What do you do to make your workplace more human?

October 17, 2017
Women, Stay in the Room!
I was 24, interviewing for a job in economic development, of which I knew almost nothing about. Moving because of my husband’s job prompted me to start looking in my hometown, and an indirect connection had landed my résumé on the President’s desk.
Through conversations with the President, I felt like this interview was just the last step before they would hire me.

The board chair was there. I knew him, but not well. He was the mayor of our town when I was growing up.

I never will forget what he said to me. “You know, economic development has always been a man’s job.” I momentarily thought, am I in the wrong place? Or in the wrong century?

He went on to say, “Allison (the person who was in the Vice President role I was interviewing for and was leaving because she was moving) has shown me that women can do this job.”

Gee thanks. Was he trying to compliment her or me or was he trying to put me in my place? I wasn’t sure. I didn’t yet know how to read him, but I did for the first time stop to think twice if this was the job I wanted. Not because I thought I couldn’t do a “man’s job” but because I didn’t want to work in a place that thought certain jobs were for women and certain ones were for men, and that I would have a higher standard of proving myself because of my gender.

I took that job, and both the board chair and the President and CEO became an advocate for me. I am forever grateful to both of them.

As I now sit at the #HRTechConf listening to the pre-conference sessions on Women in HR Technology, I was reminded of this conversation that took place almost ten years ago.

Cecile Alper-Leroux, VP, HCM Innovation at Ultimate Software, told us after one panelist said she is typically the only woman in the room, to “Stay in the Room.” If women in the workplace want to gain relevance, they need to stay in the room. Even if a man, or a woman, tells them that the job they are in or applying for is a “man’s”.

To stay in the room you need to:
1. Accept the invitation. Don’t let comments, like the ones I heard, keep you from accepting the invitation to a career path, job or simply the next meeting. Show up.
2. Invite yourself. If you aren’t invited and you should be, invite yourself. If you had value to add, add it.
3. Invite others. Hopefully, if you’ve earned a seat at the table, you’re helping another woman find her seat. Invite her to come along with you, to the meeting, to the conference, to the career path. And don’t assign her the role of taking notes. As Trish McFarlane said in this panel, “Women often bring each other down.” Pave the way for the next person to stay in the room by realizing that doesn’t require you to exit the room. It isn’t a competition.
4. Invite your true self to the room. Be authentic – be you. You don’t have to act like a man to do this, or another woman, even if she is the one who invited you to the room. Know what makes you unique and bring that to the table to add value.
Are you prone to stay in the room, exit, or never show up in the first place?

Interested in learning more about diversity and inclusion? Join Mary Ila at SHRM’s Diversity and Inclusion Conference as she tackles the topic of hiring for fit AND diversity.

See session information here.
October 11, 2017
7 Ways to Make the Most Out of Your Next Conference
I’m in route to Las Vegas for the HR Technology Conference.   As I travel, I’m mindful of the tragic events of last weekend, and I am prayerful for all those who have experienced such senseless loss.
But not traveling to this conference, and any other act of ceasing to live life because of the terrible acts of another, seems tragic too.   So as I head out to this conference that I think could be an impetus for us to shift our business direction, I have prepared to maximize its benefit.

Here’s seven steps I’ve taken, and that anyone can take, to maximize the next conference on your agenda:

1. Know why are you are going.

There are multiple reasons I could be going to #HRTechConf that would be beneficial for me, our business and our clients.   My main reason for going, though, is to scope out the HR Tech scene firsthand with the end goal of deciding if we will pursue outside funding to build and launch an HR Tech solution.   With this in mind, it will shape all the decisions about how I spend my time there. Know your purpose.

2. Align your agenda to your purpose.

I could get lost in adult ADD if I don’t keep my eye on the mission for attending. Most large conferences with multiple breakout sessions and vendors are this way. Taking some time beforehand to align your agenda around three key areas is critical:
- - Sessions – I’m focusing my attention on sessions that relate to what is being funded now, sessions related to the sectors we are interested in pursuing, and of course around some key speakers I like. I’m really excited about the Women in HR Technology portion of the conference. To see what I’ve mapped out to attend, check out my agenda here.
  - Vendors – Based on your purpose, you may or may not need to spend a significant amount of time dedicated to vendors. I’m focusing my attention on vendors that are in the spaces we are interested in- talent acquisition, assessment and culture- as well as those that are focused on taking consumer driven technologies and applying them to HR. My marketing guru created a spreadsheet of all the vendors at HR Tech so that I can sort them by primary focus. She also made notes on interesting things to consider for some vendors that stood out. To access this resource, click here.
  - Contacts – Outside of speakers and vendors, you should have a list of contacts in the field to make sure you catch-up with.
3. Calibrate your agenda with someone who has been there done that.

I’ve never been to HR Tech, so I need a little insider information to make sure I’m on track to make the most of my time there.   Thanks to Ben Eubanks with Lighthouse Research and Advisory for chatting with me the week before the conference. The person you calibrate with can also most likely help connect you with important contacts if needed.

4. Prepare to catalogue your learning in an organized way.

Since I’m going to a tech conference, you would think I’m planning to organize my notes and takeaways using some kind of technology.   Initially though, I’ve got a trusty notebook, divided into sections with a couple of fun pens to get me started.   This will also help me have the chance to not only write but also draw anything that comes to mind. I’m finding that drawing helps stimulate my thinking.    The new notebook is also aptly labeled “The Next Chapter”. Maybe this will provide some motivation….

5. Schedule debrief time.

Conferences offer a lot of information condensed in a short timeframe. If we don’t have a plan to decompress on that information, learning can be lost.   I have time on my schedule each day to debrief before moving on to #6 below.   I plan to do this by looking back over my notes, scheduling things and people to follow-up with (and sending LinkedIn invites right then) and writing some blog posts before I lose the value of some of the information.   Debrief time should be scheduled during the conference and after you get home.

6. Schedule some fun.

A secondary purpose of our trip to Las Vegas (or maybe it’s the primary depending on who you ask J) is to celebrate my husband’s 35^th birthday. He likes to gamble and I don’t, so he is looking forward to doing that while I’m at conference events.   But we’ve got some great dinners planned and a trip to the Rascal Flatts concert. We are also getting in the day before the conference, so I plan to hit up some pool and shopping time then. If we focus too intensely on our conference purpose, we might burnout and lose some of its value.

7. Be flexible.

I’m obviously hyper-organized about this conference (I’m usually not this way about a conference) because the excitement of what could be has motivated me. However, I realize we all need to be flexible and open to where happenstance might lead us when we’re in a large venue with a lot of people to build relationships with a lot going on to learn from.    If I get derailed from my agenda, it will be okay. It may even lead to better things if I stay in tune with the purpose of my trip.

Where are you headed for your next conference? Do you have a plan to maximize your time there?

Like this post? You may also like the following posts about #HRTechConf

Globoforce Blog

Lighthouse Research and Advisory

Steve Boese’s HR Technology
October 10, 2017