Transcript 0:00 Finding the right talent means finding the talent that understands the solutions and is meeting the needs of what you're hiring them for. And sometimes it's asking the really important questions. 0:14 But at the same time, that employee that you hire has to feel like they're a part of the team and what they're working for meets their personal objectives. Because if they're not satisfied, guess what? 0:27 In a year from now, they're hopping off to the next job. 0:30 [upbeat music] Welcome to The Peggy Smedley Show, the podcasting voice of IoT and digital transformation with your host, Peggy Smedley. 0:51 Hello, listeners, and welcome to today's edition of The Peggy Smedley Show. I'm your host, Peggy Smedley. I've been in the middle of a miniseries addressing if there is a talent crunch. 1:03 Last week I said, technically, there is no such thing as a talent crunch in the technology space. Rather, I suggested employers are experience a disconnect with how they source and select their talent. 1:19 The issue isn't that there is no talent available. The real issue is that we aren't finding the right talent for our jobs, and we aren't re-skilling and even upskilling. 1:32 Last week, I highlighted why a diverse and inclusive workforce is so crucial for innovation within 5G, sustainability, cloud, circularity, resiliency, artificial intelligence, the Internet of things, health and wellness, work-life balance, and so many other emerging technologies that we talked about. 1:55 And I even talked about the trends and why this is so important. Today, I'll give my thoughts on how we can actually create a diverse workforce. Later on in the show, I'll be interview some amazing guests as always. 2:09 I'll be talking to Tony Uphoff, CEO of Thomas. And then I'll wrap up the show with Geoff Butler, CEO of LifeSimple. So let's get started. How do we create a diverse workforce? 2:22 Companies need to think differently about how they recruit. It's not about money. Today's employees are looking to change the world. To do that, they need to be innovative. They need to innovate. 2:38 They need the tools to do that. They need the leadership that has a vision about sustainability, resiliency, circularity, all those things. They need a team to work and build and co-create. 2:53 They need the freedom to work within what inspires them, but they also need to meet deadlines. I would also argue we need to be focusing on the technology to help us find the people. 3:07 This is especially true if we want diversity, inclusion, and the best talent. So sure, there are traditional methods for doing this: online job boards, specialized recruiters. We all know about LinkedIn. 3:22 But these, but these are just some of the tools. But there are other methods as well, like anchor hires and networking. 3:31 Senior leaders with credibility and the ability to attract technology can use their reputation and networks to help. Consider, for an example, what McKinsey is saying. 3:43 One industrial company was looking to embark on a tech-enabled transformation, so it brought in a chief digital officer who was credible with other technologists. 3:56 This individual had led businesses at major technology companies and was able to attract three leading product managers and designers. 4:06 At this point, the company was then able to direct its recruitment efforts to people from large technology companies and design agencies. 4:15 Using this approach, it built its product and design team from zero to thirty people in less than a year. And I would bet with this method it found some pretty good talent along the way. 4:28 And that is an important point I want to touch on just for a minute here. Finding people is easy. Finding actual talent is something else altogether. We don't just need warm bodies. 4:44 We need someone who we can shape, mold to serve our company well and the needs of our company, the needs of future generations. 4:54 We need the right talent, and these people might still need to be skilled and re-skilled and even upskilled. But it is all about finding the right person, the right people in the right position. 5:09 Cities have used this form of hiring for some time. For instance, some of the smartest cities have been able to see a resurgence in helping generate jobs. 5:20 When city jobs go to city residents, rates of poverty and joblessness decline and a sense of pride is created and community is created for everyone. Now, that to me just seems like a lot of common sense. 5:36 So how do we find the right talent? Roughly fifty-two percent of talent acquisition leaders say the hardest part of recruitment is screening candidates from a large application pool. 5:49 I think technology can play a big role here, but let's talk about the elephant in the room for a couple of minutes. Artificial intelligence. The AI technology can help weed out unqualified candidates pretty quickly. 6:03 We all get that. 6:04 And it can also save time and money by automating tasks.Ideally, it suggests that many things can happen, but an organization called Ideal suggests that technology can save twenty-three hours per hire and reduce costs by seventy-five percent per screening. 6:26 When used at its best, it can improve quality of candidates through job matching. Quite simply, machine learning algorithms can bring new efficiencies to finding the right talent. 6:40 But it also brings with it greater scrutiny. There are some ethical considerations for using AI to find the right talent, or it's been said it's eliminating some good ones, too. 6:54 Chiefly, do the potential hires know the technology is being used? Have you shared that? 7:01 Illinois, for instance, has signed into law a legislation rec- regulating the use of artificial intelligence in video job interviews. 7:11 Companies basically have to provide notice that the technology will be used to analyze their video interviews, explain how the AI works, as well as to obtain s- consent for its use. 7:24 Still, there is a huge opportunity here to use the technology to find the right tech- technology and the right technology talent. We know that the ethical considerations that used to be made when using AI. 7:41 Now we just need to use it in a way that is transparent for all parties involved. We need the talent, and we need the technology that can help us find them. I've just kind of outlined a couple of things here in a few... 7:57 you know, in these last few minutes, but I only have a few minutes left. So I want to talk about one other way technology can help find the best talent pool, and that is through technical assessments. 8:09 These provide a fact-based understanding of the current level of product knowledge, technical maturity, and potential areas that need some work. 8:19 Your company may want to consider code tests, take-home tests, you know, unsupervised online testing, computer adaptive testing. You've heard all of these. Mobile assessments and live technical interviews. 8:32 These assessments just might prove to be one of the clearest indicators of talent. If you aren't using one to find the talent, perhaps now is even a time to, to start those. 8:44 There's a lot of opportunities and a lot of ways to assess talent. Okay, so here's my opinion for today. Companies need to think differently about how to find the best talent, the best people. 8:58 It's no longer just about compensation. We've already just, you know, evaluated that. It's only one part of the equation. Money is only one part. 9:08 Younger workers want an employer who is health-conscious, focused on, you know, the environment, circularity, sustainability, resiliency. We, we've outlined that. What are we doing for future generations? 9:21 It's very, very important. What are we doing for the ecosystem, the world? How are you setting goals to reach net zero? Those are things these younger generations are thinking about. 9:34 You know, what are you doing about making workers m-- a well-being for them? Have you focused on that? That's very important. A, a life balance kind of situation. 9:45 Leaders need to emulate that and create a culture around this, that well-being environment. And here's my tip to consider technology and to find the best talent. There's a lot of tools at your disposal. 10:00 The people are out there. Now we just need to find them. We need to consider that, and then we need to upskill and reskill them to innovate for our companies for the future. 10:14 It's very easy to just say, "Hey, let's just interview them and find out that that person's a great candidate." But we have extremely specific skills and needs for each individual company, and 10:29 every buyer of our product has a very specific need. So... And branding is very specific as well. 10:38 So if you're not trying to find the right talent who's going to help you develop the next best product, you could not be... You could find yourself not being competitive. 10:48 So we have to think about, are you hiring employees that are going to shape your solutions, whether it's from a marketing, whether it's from a new product development, whether it's from developing your supply chain, your logistics, your retail, whatever it might be. 11:05 You need the employees who understand what it takes, how to get product out the door, how to meet custer- customer demand. All of this is critical, so you need the right talent. 11:18 It's not just somebody who walks in the door, who smiles, and, and you like them personally. It's more than that. 11:24 Finding the right talent means finding the talent that understands the solutions and is meeting the needs of what you're hiring them for. And sometimes it's asking the really important questions. 11:39 But at the same time, that employee that you hire has to feel like they're a part of the team and what they're working for meets their personal objectives. Because if they're not satisfied, guess what? 11:51 In a year from now, they're hopping off to the next job. And guess what? All the investment you thought you made in that hiring was for what? For nothing, because they're going on to the next place. 12:02 So we really have to think about what are the tools you're providing those employees and what are you giving them for their disposal. 12:11 What are you doing to make that employee feel welcomed and helping them continue to grow? Because you have to continue to skill, upskill, make them feel they're learning as it goes on in their job. 12:23 Because if you're not doing that, they're gonna job hop. And that is this generation and future generations feel. They've got to feel like they're contributing in a way that changes. They're not gonna be lifers. 12:35 They, they just don't have that in them anymore. It's a little bit different. All right. Well, I'm out of time for this segment, but I want to hear what you have to say. 12:43 So as always, if you have thoughts on what I've been talking about today, please send me a tweet and continue this discussion on social media at ConnectedWMag. Again, ConnectedWMag. I want to hear your thoughts. 12:55 I'm always eager to hear your thoughts on this. And as I want to say, check out our website. We've put up a new article at connectedworld.com or our show website at thepeggySmedleyShow.com. 13:05 So we're going to take a quick commercial break, but we will be right back after the break. So this, as always, this is The Peggy Smedley Show, the podcasting voice of IoT and digital transformation. 13:16 And remember, with great technology comes great responsibility. We will be right back. Go get that quick cup of coffee. [outro music]
