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How virtual reality is used in hiring

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How virtual reality is used in hiring

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When you think about virtual reality, chances are gaming and entertainment come to mind first. But the technology has actually been in use for decades as a training tool for pilots, astronauts, military personnel, and surgeons. Now, as the cost of VR headsets and 360 degree cameras declines, innovative uses for the tech are proliferating — including in the realm of talent acquisition. Here are some ways companies are leveraging VR technology to recruit, hire, and retain top candidates:

Workplace tours for candidates

Helping candidates imagine themselves in a particular workplace is an important element of the recruiting and hiring process. It’s particularly meaningful for highly competitive roles, for example in the tech sector, where most candidates are already employed or fielding offers from other companies in addition to yours. With VR technology, candidates can take an immersive tour of a workplace, as well as peek into the company culture. Online ecommerce company Jet.com, for example, uses VR to let candidates sit in on a meeting with their CEO, tour their busy offices, and check out the vibe at the happy hour for employees.1

Many companies are bringing VR headsets with them to career events and college job fairs to increase traffic to their booths, as well as to give candidates an authentic inside look at their organizations. After a VR introduction, candidates who take the next steps in the application process are more likely a good fit for your company.

Introducing the job

Similar to the virtual workplace tour, VR can give candidates an immersive experience with specific roles. This is especially helpful in positions with a higher-than-average turnover rate. Misunderstanding the day-to-day realities of a particular job contributes to employee churn, and VR can help clarify the position better than any job description.

German railway company, Deutsche Bahn, was an early adopter of VR tech to help attract Millennial and Gen Z workers when it was preparing for a wave of retirements in 2015.2 With VR, prospective candidates could closely follow employees doing different jobs within the company. While the realities of the job were off-putting to some, the talent who continued tended to be more promising and were more likely to stick with the hiring process.

Virtual reality skills assessments

Skills assessments are not new, but VR takes them up a level. Jaguar Land Rover uses the technology to find talented software engineers and mathematicians by asking them to solve puzzles in a virtual garage. The puzzles are designed to test the key skills needed for specific positions, and engage with tech talent who may not have considered working for a car company. Candidates who perform well on the puzzles are immediately invited to jump ahead a few steps in the hiring process.

One day soon, virtual reality is expected to put a valuable spin on the interview question, “What would you do when faced with this situation?” Within a virtual environment, candidates for specific roles will be asked to solve problems common to the position. A company can also ask talent to demonstrate important soft skills, such as communication with co-workers and customer relations.

In LinkedIn’s 2018 Global Recruiting Trends report, 28 percent of 9,000 hiring managers surveyed said VR skills assessments were among the most useful candidate recruitment innovations.

Reality check

While VR technology is becoming more widespread, the percentage of people who own headsets of their own is still small. This isn’t an issue when companies provide VR headsets at career fairs, but requiring candidates to supply their own for interviews or skills assessments can keep promising talent from continuing with an application.

Like all valuable recruiting technology, VR is only one piece of the puzzle. There is no substitute for in-person interviews, an actual workplace walk-through, and real handshakes. But VR is an early hiring touch point that shows promise in attracting candidates who are suited to the job, and enjoy your company culture.

Need assistance sourcing and hiring candidates? Contact us.

Sources

1 Crook, Jordan. “Jet Uses Samsung Gear VR To Recruit New Candidates.” TechCrunch. Web. 27 Oct. 2015.
2 Dixon, Lauren. “This Firm Uses Virtual Reality to Recruit. Should Others Follow?” Talent Economy. Web. 13 March 2017.

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The Hudson RPO Content Team is made up of experts within the Talent Acquisition industry across the Americas, EMEA and APAC regions. They provide educational and critical business insights in the form of research reports, articles, news, videos, podcasts, and more. The team ensures high-quality content that helps all readers make talent decisions with confidence.

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Virtual workforce trends: taking work out of office

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Virtual workforce trends: taking work out of office

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In any given coffee shop on any given day, it is easy to spot the virtual workforce with their laptops open and headphones on to help minimize distractions. Telecommuters. Remote or virtual workers. Work-from-home employees. Digital nomads.

All of these terms refer to talent who accomplish some — or all — of their work at a location that is not a company office, such as a home or at a café with a WiFi connection.

Virtual work isn’t new, but the number of people working out of the office has increased dramatically in recent years.

Workers sitting around a table
The virtual workforce take flight in all kinds of environments. Collaborative tools help drive engagement across time zones.

The number of US employees working remotely increased 115 percent between 2005 and 2015, going from 1.8 million in 2005 to 3.9 million in 2015. That’s according to research by Global Workplace Analytics and FlexJobs.1

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 22 percent of the US workforce did part or all of their work at home in 2016, up from 19 percent in 2003. Among workers with advanced degrees aged 25 and older, full or partial remote work reached 43 percent in 2016.2

Exploring the pros and cons of remote working

Now that it’s no longer an option for a lucky few, the pros and cons of full- or part-time remote work are under scrutiny.

On one side are those who contend it has a positive impact on productivity, employee engagement, and the bottom line.

Employees who spent some time working virtually were slightly more engaged than those who worked remote or in-office 100 percent of the time, according to a 2017 Gallup survey. Partial remote workers were also more likely to feel their job offered learning and growth opportunities.

On the flip side, however, are those who contend remote work negatively impacts collaboration.

In the past few years, several high-profile companies began scaling back their virtual workforce. In 2017, IBM rescinded the remote option for thousands of employees, and before that, Bank of America and Yahoo called their workers back to the office.

But the virtual work option isn’t going away anytime soon, with experts predicting an expansion of the remote workforce over the next few years. Companies should consider carefully whether and how they’ll leverage virtual employees, and then develop virtual work policies unique to their organization.

Some businesses struggling to draw highly skilled talent may attract better candidates with a remote option. Others may improve employee satisfaction with a partial work-from-home option.

Whether you’re considering adding telecommuters to your staff for the first time, or refining your existing remote work offerings, these are some of the top virtual workforce trends to understand.

Trend 1: Virtual collaboration driven by tech hubs

Increased remote work coincides with the rise of smartphones and other mobile tech that allow people to take the office with them wherever they go. Additionally, collaboration and messaging tools — think Trello and Slack — have become so sophisticated, virtual work can happen in real time.

In virtual hubs and incubators, employees work from where they are with teams across the globe. These hubs, which can exist exclusively online or within shared work spaces, are proliferating around the country.

No longer must tech companies establish a footprint in Silicon Valley to draw top talent. The talent market is tight across industries, but it’s fiercely competitive within the tech sector. For many startups, a brick-and-mortar office in a city with a deep tech talent pool isn’t in the budget.

With a virtual hub, they can access exceptional candidates anywhere in the world, and a team of developers can work seamlessly within web-based hosting services, such as GitHub and Bitbucket. Similarly, tech giants can cast a larger net for developers and software engineers who aren’t willing to relocate. Employers large and small also save money on salaries when their remote workers live outside of expensive tech hubs, such as San Jose and New York City.

Trend 2: Remote work spreading across industries

According to a 2017 study by IT solutions company Softchoice, 74 percent of 1,000 office workers surveyed said they would leave their job for another that offered the option of more remote work.

According to Gallup’s State of the American Workplace — in-depth polling into what matters to employees — “flexible scheduling and work-from-home opportunities play a major role in an employee’s decision to take or leave a job.” To draw top candidates in a tight talent market, employers are taking note.

Tech companies embrace the remote work model, and other industries are finding that telecommuting and flexible work options improve candidate attraction and employee engagement. According to Gallup’s research, the finance, insurance, and real estate industries significantly increased their virtual workforce from 39 percent to 47 percent between 2012 and 2016. During the same time period, the computer, IT, manufacturing, science, engineering, and retail sectors also increased their remote workforce.

Trend 3: A greater proliferation of flexible remote policies

The most effective telecommuting policies aren’t all or nothing.

Gallup’s research found that fully remote and fully in-office workers report the same low level of engagement, with only 30 percent of these employees actively engaged at work. A mix of time spent collaborating with colleagues in the office and working remotely seems to make the most positive impact on hiring. All employees with some remote work flexibility were more engaged than those without the option. But those who worked remotely three to four days a week had the highest engagement levels — from 60 to 80 percent engagement.

Ideally, a company’s remote work policy includes wiggle room to allow for individual preferences. Some employees are likely to feel isolated or out of the loop when they work from home, while others will be adept at navigating collaboration tools so they feel connected and in the mix.

Working remotely is fast shifting from a nice-to-have perk to a non-negotiable option for employees deciding where they’d like to work next. Even if your company isn’t prepared to offer a remote option, it’s important to consider how it might fit with your organization in the near future.

Sources

1 Vasel, Kathryn. “Working From Home is Really Having a Moment.” CNN. Web. 21 June 2017.
2 “On Days They Worked, 22 Percent of Employed Did Some or All of Their Work at Home in 2016.” TED: The Economics Daily. Bureau of Labor Statistics. United States Department of Labor.

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Is total talent acquisition right for your company?

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Is total talent acquisition right for your company?

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Hiring is changing at a dizzying pace and gathering the necessary pieces of the recruiting puzzle is a challenge. Would a blend of contingent and permanent employees offer the best ROI for your business? Which job boards and social networks most effectively attract talent in your industry? How do you leverage emerging technologies, such as recruiting chatbots and analytics, for improved hiring? Depending on your organization, total talent acquisition can put the pieces of the talent puzzle together.

What Is Total Talent Acquisition?

Total talent acquisition is a hiring and employee management approach that aligns workforce and business strategies to improve outcomes now and in the future. Total talent acquisition zooms out for a big picture view of an organization’s hiring needs and processes, and then zooms in to address geographic talent shortages, increases in product demand that are likely temporary, or employer branding needs.

How Does Total Talent Acquisition Work?

The traditional approach to talent management remains highly siloed, with permanent hiring, contingent hiring, sourcing, employer branding, and analytics often managed separately. Total talent acquisition takes a holistic approach where the need for contingent workers is considered in tandem with permanent workforce needs and industry projections. It also factors in the rising use of robots and artificial intelligence in industries, with an understanding that these technologies are shifting the roles critical to achieving business goals.

With this approach, cycles of hiring and layoffs are replaced by the expansion and reduction of contingent worker contracts. Folding in contingent workers is helpful to cope with market fluctuations, but also for specific expertise that isn’t permanently required. For instance, a logistics company may bring on temporary data specialists to pinpoint emerging markets only when the business is heading into an expansion phase.

The Benefits of Total Talent Acquisition

The workforce is changing, with the number of people filling contingent roles rising fast. By 2020, the number of U.S. workers freelancing part time or full time is expected to top 50 percent. The traditional approach no longer aligns with this fast-evolving hiring landscape, leaving gaps and inefficiencies that total talent tactics can correct. Some of the benefits of total talent acquisition include:

  • Lower hiring and recruitment costs through centralized management of sourcing, interviewing, applicant tracking systems, candidate management, onboarding, and employee engagement and retention.
  • Optimizing the balance between permanent and contingent hires in your workforce.
    Increased internal hiring by shifting proven contingent hires to open permanent roles.
    Improved productivity because this strategy takes a more qualitative approach to contingent hires.
  • Placing accountability on service providers for permanent and contingent roles, recruiting technology, employer branding, as well as for regulatory compliance issues.
  • Providing flexibility for shifting forces within your industry and the broader economy.

In the new business landscape, it isn’t just workers who must be agile and adaptive to stay competitive. Companies must also adapt to the new and still evolving hiring environment so their workforce composition spurs business in boom times and helps them weather downturns.

The shift to a total talent acquisition model is challenging but in no way insurmountable. It requires understanding and buy-in from decision makers from the CEO to human resources leaders to procurement managers. Step one? Getting the topic on the conference table.

Need assistance with your hiring? Contact us.

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Content Team

The Hudson RPO Content Team is made up of experts within the Talent Acquisition industry across the Americas, EMEA and APAC regions. They provide educational and critical business insights in the form of research reports, articles, news, videos, podcasts, and more. The team ensures high-quality content that helps all readers make talent decisions with confidence.

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The best non-monetary perks and benefits for candidates

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The best non-monetary perks and benefits for candidates

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To entice candidates to say yes to the job, many companies focus on compensation—the salary, the bonus structure, stock options, and retirement [401(k) Plan or RRSP, for example]—and big benefits such as health insurance and paid vacation. These are important and are weighted heavily by prospective employees. But all other things being equal, non-monetary perks and benefits can make the difference when candidates are on the fence about taking a job at your company.

What are non-monetary perks?

Non-monetary perks are the nice-to-have benefits companies offer, though ‘non-monetary’ is a bit of a misnomer. Often these perks cost companies money, and they save workers time and money. Tech companies draw a lot of attention for their flashy perks, such as on-site chefs cooking free meals for employees, or concierge service to help employees manage personal errands. But non-monetary perks need not be expensive—or envy-inducing—to be valuable to employees and companies. A 2015 Employment Confidence Survey by Glassdoor found that 79 percent of workers prefer increases in perks and benefits to a salary increase, and many of their preferences focused on work/life balance rather than money.

Here are some non-monetary perks to consider adding to your benefits package:

Flexible Schedules and Working Arrangements

The days where all workers were expected to be in-office five days a week are fast disappearing in many industries. Online collaboration tools, such as Slack, and video conferencing apps keep employees up to speed at home, the coffee shop, or in shared workspaces. This approach alleviates employee stress because workers don’t have to cope with a daily commute, or worry how they will manage when a child is home sick from school.

Clear parameters and trust are critical in these arrangements. For example, clarify if the work-from-home option is available only two days per week and set your expectations for timely email responses. Then convey your trust that the employee will be available and get the job done.

Health and Wellness Programs

Busy workers often let fitness, health, and stress-reduction activities slip through the cracks when they have to squeeze them in at end of day or on the weekends. Many companies now offer wellness programs at the office such as yoga and exercise classes, meditation workshops, chair massages, and nutrition counseling. This helps workers de-stress and can lower future healthcare costs for the company.

Career Development

Employees are keenly aware that staying competitive in today’s changing economy means learning new things and adding to their skills. But it’s difficult for them to find time for that when they are busy working long hours. Offer training and workshops in the office that help build your employees’ soft and hard skills. Send them to conferences to keep up to date on the industry, and give them opportunities to network with peers. Offer tuition reimbursement and time for leadership programs and continuing education. This shows employees you are invested in their career growth, which is particularly important to younger workers.

Concierge Services

Let your employees truly refresh over the weekend by taking tedious and time-consuming personal errands off their plate during the week. It doesn’t cost much to hire a concierge company to manage laundry pick-ups, oil changes, and car washes for your employees. Workers usually pick up the cost of the price of the service itself, but the scheduling is managed for them and the service happens while they are working.

Affordable Perks, Big Dividends

The following are a few perks that improve employee satisfaction at little to no cost:

  • Bring Your Dog to Work Days
  • Celebrating the birthdays of employees and their spouses
  • Casual dress policy
  • Providing healthy snacks
  • Break room games and activities

How perks benefit companies

These added perks—even simply ensuring workers have fresh, high-quality coffee available through the day—are not insignificant. They make employees feel valued for their contributions to the workplace, and understood as individuals with interests and concerns beyond the office walls, which improves employee engagement and retention rates. Finally, these non-monetary benefits improve your company’s appeal to candidates by showing you are attentive to office culture and care about having happy employees.

Need hiring assistance? Contact us.

Hudson RPO

Content Team

The Hudson RPO Content Team is made up of experts within the Talent Acquisition industry across the Americas, EMEA and APAC regions. They provide educational and critical business insights in the form of research reports, articles, news, videos, podcasts, and more. The team ensures high-quality content that helps all readers make talent decisions with confidence.

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How to write an inclusive job description

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How to write an inclusive job description

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An inclusive workplace fosters a sense of belonging, encourages authenticity and open communication, and supports the career growth of all employees, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, age, education, or background. This is a tall order, but many companies are working hard to improve inclusivity through shifts in company culture, leadership development, and employee education.

All too often, however, these efforts bypass the job description and seriously undermine inclusion as a result. Job descriptions are the initial touchpoint for a large segment of your prospective talent and where candidates get a ‘gut feeling’ about whether they’ll feel valued and welcome to be themselves at work. It’s increasingly clear that this matters, and not just to minority groups. A 2017 Deloitte pulse survey found 80 percent of employees say they consider inclusion when choosing their employers, and 72 percent said they would leave, or consider leaving a company to work for one that was more inclusive.

Read on to learn how to write inclusive job descriptions, so candidates sense they’d be valued by your organization and are more likely to click ‘Apply.’

Make your inclusion and diversity goals clear

Simply sharing the fact that inclusion and diversity matter to your company goes a long way toward attracting a diverse group of applicants. You can convey this company value throughout the job description. For example, you may lead with a brief “What We Offer” or “Working With Us” section that states your commitment to diversity goals, career growth, and work-life balance. In the list of requirements for the role, you can also include the ability to work effectively with a diverse group of employees to further demonstrate that your organization takes inclusion seriously.

Avoid exclusionary language

Certain words used for job titles and descriptions can be off-putting to some people. Though it’s pretty common knowledge that including ‘ninja,’ ‘rockstar,’ ‘wizard,’ and ‘genius’ can make older candidates and women scroll right past your job posting, they still show up in job descriptions. These words hint at a youth-centered workplace and the so-called ‘bro culture’ that is known to make women feel unwelcome. Also, while it’s important to feel confident in what you bring to the table, ‘genius’ or ‘guru’ is not how many highly talented people would describe themselves.

Additionally, keep gendered language to a minimum in job descriptions. For example, words like ‘competitive’ and ‘hard-driving’ are generally associated with masculinity, while words like ‘supportive’ and ‘collaborative’ have more feminine connotations. This doesn’t mean these words should be thrown out entirely, but if you overuse either masculine or feminine words you will unwittingly narrow your applicant pool.

Make sure perks have broad appeal

Drawing attention to the pool tables and pinball machines in your brainstorming room is a mistake on a job description if that’s all you mention. The same goes for calling out nerf-gun battles used to get through the afternoon slump, or only offering beer at company gatherings. While these activities are not enjoyed by men exclusively, they are more associated with male than with female interests. Include games that appeal to a wider variety of people, and offer beer and wine at company socials.

Distinguish between requirements and nic-to-haves

A long bullet list of required skills and experience is known to minimize applicant diversity. That’s because women tend to apply for jobs only when they meet most requirements, while men apply even when they meet only some of them. Decide what the ‘must-haves’ are for the role and clarify them on the job description. Then, in a separate section, list the skills that would be great for candidates to have but are not vital.

Back it up

Finally, make sure the picture of an inclusive workplace you are painting in the job description accurately reflects your real office culture. When you foster an inclusive culture at every level of your organization, you’re more likely to retain the wider group of talent your improved job description attracts.

Need hiring assistance? Contact us.

Hudson RPO

Content Team

The Hudson RPO Content Team is made up of experts within the Talent Acquisition industry across the Americas, EMEA and APAC regions. They provide educational and critical business insights in the form of research reports, articles, news, videos, podcasts, and more. The team ensures high-quality content that helps all readers make talent decisions with confidence.

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Job interview red flags

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Job interview red flags

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You’ve gotten your toe in the door for an interview with a company you’re excited about. You’ve done your research and visited their careers site, LinkedIn and Glassdoor pages. The job and the company seem like a great match for your skills and goals. But there’s one more important thing to remember—just before the interview, raise your antenna for warning signs this position or company is not right for you. It’s easy to forget amid the nerves and excitement, but it’s crucial to keep your eyes and ears open, and to ask questions, so you get a feel for how the business really runs. Here’s what to watch out for:

The interviewer is not prepared

You spent a lot of time getting ready to put your best foot forward in your interview only to find the people interviewing you seem to be scanning your resumé for the first time and don’t have questions at the ready. This is unprofessional and disrespectful of your time and energy. It’s possible it’s a one-off caused by an unexpected situation at the office, in which case you deserve an explanation and an apology. If these aren’t forthcoming, be wary of moving forward.

Interviewing candidates is an ongoing part of any successful business, no matter the size. How a company handles the process shows a lot about its day-to-day workings. You want to get a sense that your recruiter is engaged in the interview and truly interested in learning about you. If you feel as though they are only half paying attention, chances are this is how they will approach your work and your career.

They offer you a job during the interview

A quick offer may very well mean you are an obvious fit for the job and outshined the competition. However, it can also mean the company has a tendency for slapdash decisions or is desperate to fill the role. Thank them for the offer and tell them you need a day to think it over and you will let them know. Then go home and do a deep dive into Glassdoor to see if the negative reviews reveal any consistent complaints. Also, reach out to LinkedIn contacts who may have a connection with the company to see if they have any insights.

Don’t worry that you may lose the role because you took a day to decide. Any organization that is impatient with a person who takes time to think before they act is not worth working for.

The role doesn't match the job description

Be wary if the hiring manager starts mentioning job responsibilities that weren’t included in the job description. This means they are not completely clear on what your position looks like, which can be a difficult starting point. If this is a startup that’s in a period of rapid change, however, this could be an opportunity to help craft a dream role. If so, that should be clarified during the discussion. It’s reasonable to mention the discrepancy and discuss whether the added competencies are in your wheelhouse. It’s also a good idea to ask for an updated job description that includes all of the expectations for the role. This ensures everyone is on the same page.

Lack of growth opportunities

While an interview should focus primarily on what you bring to the table, it’s important also to tease out whether the company will support your career growth, and how they’ll do so. Ask if they have a formal career development strategy, and if they offer mentorships and training programs. You can also ask about where the people in your department were before, and if former team members moved on within the company. In smaller organizations without many opportunities for promotion, career development may involve upskilling employees who show initiative. That’s fair, and good to know. Vague answers to these questions indicate employee growth isn’t a priority, which is also good to know.

The office doesn't meet expectations

There shouldn’t be a glaring discrepancy between how the company describes itself on its careers page, or in employer brand videos, and what you see when you walk through the door. Of course, it won’t be a perfect match, but something’s off if a company draws attention to a collaborative, team culture and you observe everyone working quietly in their cubicles in the office. Or, an organization says they believe in transparency and open-door leadership, yet you have trouble getting thoughtful, straightforward answers from your would-be manager.

Frequent turnover of the position

High turnover in a role could indicate a dysfunctional or toxic workplace, a job that is not clearly defined within the company, or a lack of opportunities to grow. It could also simply mean the previous two people in the role loved the job but had to move on for personal reasons. It’s always wise to ask why the person you would replace left the role and how long they were in the position. If possible, ask about the tenure of other people in your department, including the person who would be your boss.

You get a bad vibe

Finally, check in with your gut when you walk through the office and meet people. Do they seem grim and put-upon when taken away from their work for introductions? Is everyone harried and skittish? Listen for laughter and conversation if that’s important to you. Pay attention to how people behave when the boss is in the department. It may be a quiet office due to the culture or the type of work, but even in such an environment, people should seem glad to be there and, above all, at ease.

Hudson RPO

Content Team

The Hudson RPO Content Team is made up of experts within the Talent Acquisition industry across the Americas, EMEA and APAC regions. They provide educational and critical business insights in the form of research reports, articles, news, videos, podcasts, and more. The team ensures high-quality content that helps all readers make talent decisions with confidence.

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