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If you read my last post on this blog, you will understand why this is labeled part 2. It’s not a sequel or a prequel. This is the second part of a trilogy of blogs outlining how to tell data stories to get favorable outcomes. How do you use numbers to convince the chiefs to do what you want in a credible way and, if necessary, get the money you need to do it?
I was asked to meet a friend who is a talent acquisition leader for “coffee” recently. These requests have been coming back fast since the lifting of restrictions, and I have to admit that I have really missed meeting folks reasonably randomly for “coffee”, in and about town.
If you follow the talk around tech hiring, it is easy to form the view that things are going gangbusters at the moment, and that demand for tech talent has never been higher. The competition has never been more fierce in this theoretical war for talent, with companies battling it out from a scarce talent pool.
How serious are companies really about diversity, equity, and inclusion?
Like everyone, I have been following the talk and proclamations about the need to get serious about Equality, Diversity & Inclusion. During the last year, I have got a real sense that there is a lot more intent to actually try to tackle some of the challenges in this area in the quest to create a working world that is basically “fair.”
It doesn’t seem possible that anyone can make a comment in any of the recruiting Facebook groups without being asked for the source and validity of the data. This is understandable, given that so much data is shared in a debate, often without reference to where that number has come from. Recruiting, in particular, has also suffered from urban myth syndrome. Popular truths, that said enough times by enough people become accepted law, even though they don’t necessarily stand up to a data sniff test. I often find myself asking: “Do you think that, or do you know that?”
As part of the work I’m doing with Horsefly Analytics, I get to ask for labor market reports that provide background data for some of the questions I have. Just recently, I have been digging into the job market as we exit lockdowns across the globe. I understand that each nation will have a different pace to this, but at some point soon, we will be able to pick up trends, and link job openings to exit from lockdown restrictions, in order to forecast what might be coming down the road.
I have been working with data companies like Horsefly's CEO, Will Crandle, over the last three months to try to properly understand labor market insights, and what is actually useful to recruiters when it comes to filling roles. I know that there continues to be a lot of talk about how recruiters are, or could use data to perform better, beyond adopting a rinse and repeat approach to hiring. We understand and acknowledge that data in decision making is important, as we try to move from reliance on “gut feel” based on experience, to something a bit more provable.
