Defy Ventures is an entrepreneurship, employment, and character development training program for currently and formerly incarcerated men, women, and youth. I learned about the program while at SmartRecruiters’ Hiring Success conference in April 2017. I was getting drinks with some colleagues and met a panelist from the conference who had just returned from a weekend in California’s only maximum security prison volunteering with Defy Ventures.

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Images courtesy of Christopher Michel Photography.

He spoke with so much passion about the life-changing impact of the program that one drink with him turned into a 4-hour conversation. By the end, we knew each other a lot better and one thing was certain, I could not miss the next opportunity to be part of Defy Ventures. So a few months later I found myself on a bus making the 8-hour journey from San Francisco to Southern Oregon and the Pelican Bay State Prison to spend the weekend with 77 incarcerated men. I knew already the experience would affect me but I didn’t yet know to what extent these men and their stories would stay in my heart.

“Kunlyna, who has been incarcerated for over 15 years donated to Defy Ventures the wages he’s earned in the prison at a rate of a $0.37 an hour.”

One moment I’d like to share is when Kunlyna, who has been incarcerated for over 15 years donated to Defy Ventures the wages he’s earned in the prison at a rate of a $0.37 an hour. In fact, when the payment to the program took too long to process –he put the cash in an envelope, looked up their address on a brochure, and mailed it in.

At Pelican Bay, like most prisons, there isn’t much association between individuals of different races. It’s dangerous to even try. These division dissolved within the 77 volunteers enrolled in Defy Venture’s 6-month full-time immersive class. These men make strategies for entering the workforce after their release whether that’s finding a job or starting their own business. They also make emotional strategies for expressing their feelings. Participants graduate this program with a sense of excitement at the prospect of the ways they’ll be able to contribute to their families and communities.

“The participants feel acknowledged as people instead of another number in the prison system.”

The program creates a space where racial division is no longer a survival strategy. The participants feel acknowledged as people instead of just another number in the prison system. Exercises of recognition like giving each other bear hugs or words of encouragement may seem uncomfortable at first but have a profound effect on how these men see themselves because, in the end, they leave with a renewed sense of self-worth. 

Participants of the program are called Entrepreneurs-in-Training (EITs). At the end of the 6 months, the EITs pitch their startup ideas to the volunteers and one idea is chosen and that EIT receives, upon his release, a stipend to pursue his business idea. As one of those volunteers, I was able to provide feedback and allocate points to determine who would win.

The winning pitch came from Troy. His idea was to start an organic garden service. He asked for $5k for seeds, tools, and gardening materials. His pitch was that people don’t possess the knowledge or time to plant their own gardens but they still want a patch of their own. His business would be to consult these people, helping them plan and cultivate their own garden. These edible gardens would provide produce and promote healthy living.  In order to spread the word, he would advertise at farmer’s markets in conjunction with a simple website on which he could display a growing portfolio of work from offering his services to family and friends. His goal is to earn a profit of $2.5k per month and offer a free garden to the elderly community. 

His pitch was perfect. He even did the research to find out there was no competition in his area. I thought this idea addressed a real need and ended up awarding him all my points. If his business ever extends to San Francisco he will have a loyal customer in me. The niche he found spoke to his interests and experience. I was blown away. 

“Jolly Jonathan is a 25-year-old who has spent 16 of those years in prison. Prison has been his life since he was 9 years old. Imagine that. “

Someone else I want to introduce is Jolly Jonathan. A 25-year-old who has spent 16 of those years in prison. Prison has been his life since he was 9 years old. Imagine that.  The reason: A scene that involves his parents, drugs, and a bad decision. What could he possibly know at the age of 9?

I learned this when we did an exercise called Step to the Line. EITs form one line, volunteers form another. The lines face each other about 10 feet apart. Each EIT faced a volunteer. The organizer would then state a sentence. If it were true for any individual, they’d step forward. Volunteers and EITs were confronted by their similarities as they stepped toe to toe for many statements. For one statement – “I lost my innocence before the age of 10” – both Jonathan and I stepped up to the line.
As the exercise progressed, questions got deeper, and both EITs and volunteers realized how much more they had in common than either had imagined. Tears, hugs, and empathy, poured from both rows.

Two questions stood out to me: “I had 50 or more books at home growing up”. Almost all volunteers stepped to the line but this was the opposite for EITs. They stayed back. The second question was “At least one of my parents told me ‘I love you’ frequently while growing up.” Again almost all volunteers stepped to the line and EITs stayed back.

“That’s when I broke down. The earlier question about losing our innocence before the age of 10 took a deeper meaning.”

That’s when I broke down. The earlier question about losing our innocence before the age of 10 took a deeper meaning. When I was 9, I was in a situation as grave and provoking as  Jonathan’s. The difference was that he acted whereas I stood back immobile and frightened. I had felt this way because I never grew up in a rough neighborhood like Jonathan had. I had more than 50 books at home and had read them all. My dad kissed my brother, my sister, and me goodnight every day. I was a secure child and could count on love whereas Jonathan could not. Because of that, he reacted and I did not and he ended up where he is now. Both incidents stemmed from circumstances that were out of our control.

EITs ended the course with a graduation. For many of these men, this was the first time they were experiencing a graduation. Families in attendance gleamed with pride and cheered on their loved ones. What caught my eye was how EITs were sitting and interacting with one another. The racial divide was obliterated. A once segregated group was now simply a group of friends. 

“I thought that being a man meant being physically strong and holding my ground. Defy Ventures made me realize that I can have a productive future, a career that will make my family and community proud. That’s what matters to me now.”

One EIT stated after the graduation “I thought that being a man meant being physically strong and holding my ground. Defy Ventures made me realize that I can have a productive future, a career that will make my family and community proud. That’s what matters to me now.”

Defy Ventures graduates totaled 197 in 2017, that’s almost 10% of the entire incarcerated population of Pelican Bay. According to those who work within the prison, there is a palpable change in the attitude of the participants of Defy Ventures and it has a positive influence on the entire Pelican Bay culture. Defy Ventures hopes to initiate 30% of all prisoners into the program within the next 2 years which could be a major tipping point that changes the culture within the walls of California’s only maximum security prison.

“Defy Ventures is in 30 prisons to date and plans to be active in every prison in America in the next 13 years.”

Defy Ventures is in 30 prisons to date and plans to be active in every prison in America in the next 13 years. The stats speak for themselves Defy Ventures’ graduates have a 95% employment rate once they leave prison whereas 89% of them were unemployed when they entered. 72% of people who leave prison  find themselves back behind bars but only 3% of Defy Ventures graduates re-enter the prison system

Defy Ventures is changing the nature of mass incarceration in America. Its impact is long-lasting and undeniable. I’m a volunteer, a donor, and a mentor and I welcome you to join me in creating a new future for these deserving participants.

In a white paper I just wrote, “Having Fun with Compliance,” I explained that you usually don’t see the word “fun” anywhere near “compliance.”

With dozens of jurisdictions in the Americas, Europe, Africa, and APAC — each constantly changing — the compliance landscape creates an intricate, complex, and even mystifying puzzle.

Then that “aha!” moment came.

That puzzle became far less perplexing, making it easier to build a simplified and streamlined Global Compliance module into SmartRecruiters.

So, yeah, that was fun! And even more fun writing a white paper that explains how just four basic questions helped us view that complex compliance quagmire from a new perspective to create this new module that’s both powerful and easy to use. Here’s a quick overview. It’s a fun read, I promise.

Well, perhaps I spoke too soon…

One aspect of compliance isn’t all that fun – the need to remind you that in no way are we offering legal advice, but rather explaining how we simplified building a global compliance product integrated into our talent acquisition suite.

One resource. One elegantly designed interface.

If you’re not compliant, penalties can range from just a slap on the wrist to an enormous fine, so it’s important to get it right. For the most part, general principles are similar, but nuances of rules vary — so we created an elegantly designed compliance module that:

• Makes it easy for customers to configure compliance rules for all countries from one single page.
• Assures candidates visiting your site understand their rights and gives them control over information they provide
• Scales easily so recruiters can meet global needs

Since we introduced the SmartRecruiters Global Compliance module, it’s been used by recruiting teams in over 80 countries for over one million job applicants.

80 countries — but only 4 key aspects to consider

At first glance, it’s tempting to approach compliance on a country-by-country basis — start with Australia and work your way to Zambia.

What a waste of time! Instead of working through jurisdictions, we considered major themes. As it turns out, narrowing our focus to just four basic questions sped up the process of designing a product that addresses compliance issues worldwide. Here they are:

1. What government entities are responsible for compliance?

Answering this question narrows the focus on specific agencies that are most essential and influential. For example, in the United States, that would be the U.S. Department of Labor. In Europe, those entities would be the European Commission which includes European Parliament and the Council of European Union. Knowing the “who” of compliance helps understand multitudes of rules far more easily.

2. What data needs to be reported to administrators and made available to candidates?

There are many legally mandated requirements for collecting and reporting data. Whatever is required, however, I encourage Chief Compliance and Diversity Officers to create reports that include more than simple statistics on applicants from specific groups. Tracking groups (gender, for example) through the hiring process can help identify potential bias throughout that entire process, not just at the application level.

3. What and where should personal data be stored?

Privacy is rapidly becoming a more significant concern as companies collect more and more data. Where that data is stored can be an issue. For example, one emerging issue is the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) set of laws passed by the EU Parliament, scheduled to take force on May 25 2018. These laws address how candidates can control data and learn specifically where it’s stored.

4. How long can personal data be stored?

These rules differ widely between the US and Europe, and even more complex for the EU in that each member state may differ in standards for how long data can be stored on candidates who have been rejected. Yet that information is easily accessed at a glance within SmartRecruiters.

Being smart. Saving time and having fun!

So there you have it — four basic questions that helped us create a global compliance module that helps organizations cope with intricate compliance issues.

By being smart about framing these issues, we solved that puzzle a lot more quickly — through a perspective based on four global themes outlined in our white paper.

With access to our Global Compliance module, compliance offers can easily select appropriate data retention periods, create specific diversity-related questions, easily revise privacy policies candidates agree to when they apply, publish candidate portals that comply with local rules, and more.

Yes, I had fun. We all had fun. Most importantly, our clients have a lot more time for fun because they aren’t nearly as bogged down dealing with compliance complexity.

If you weren’t at our #WeAreHiring MeetUp in March, you missed a great meeting about candidate experience – but a frustrating one because it’s an issue that at first glance seems way too confusing.

As a panel member, I enjoyed our frank discussion, but it boggles my mind seeing so much dismal data on how candidates view their experience, yet little progress made — especially when turning this big liability into a huge asset isn’t all that complex.

All you have to do is answer one simple question: Why does the candidate experience fall apart? That answer becomes clear if you strip away all the intricate analysis and buzzwords and get back to basics.

It’s really just a matter of changing your perspective. Yes, our technology makes it a whole lot easier to deliver a more impressive candidate experience, which we all know is rapidly becoming essential to hiring an A-list team.

But although technology solves problems, it’s useless until you can specifically define your problem. Everyone talks about candidate experience, but nobody really seems to know what it actually means. Here are some clues.

Focus more on “candidate” and less on “experience.”

Think about the customer experience in a retail environment. When issues surface, who do you ask for feedback? Customers, of course.

But I see too many recruitment organizations that don’t seem to consider needs from the candidate’s perspective. Meeting those needs is not only expected but greatly appreciated.

We received an email here at SmartRecruiters from a candidate we rejected, yet thanked us profusely for the great experience throughout the application and evaluation process. If you’re not getting feedback like this at least occasionally, your candidate experience is lousy — even worse if you’re seeing one and two-star reviews on sites like Glassdoor.

Just put yourself in the candidate’s shoes? What do they want? What do they need?

The stakes are enormous. Nearly half of candidates rate their experience as average at best and about 3 in 10 say they’d never reapply at a company that delivers such an experience. These are companies that are shooting themselves in the foot by making it nearly impossible to hire superstars.

Why?

What’s really frustrating is that candidates aren’t all that demanding. They just want common courtesy, acknowledgment, recognition, and help in deciding if they’ll be a good fit in your organization.

Yet nearly half of candidates receive no reply at all two months after applying. What kind of experience is that? For crying out loud, any application should be acknowledged within two minutes, not two months!

Start getting thanked for rejections

Look, I know that recruiters are under a lot of pressure and that most don’t want to create a poor experience – but just a slight change in perspective, seeing things from the candidate’s perspective, and using automated tools such as SmartRecruiters makes an enormous difference.

How will you see the difference? You’ll start getting thank you notes from candidates you reject. Until you do, you’ve still got some improvements to make.

I’m looking forward to being a panelist at next week’s #WeAreHiring MeetUp because our topic, “Can Technology Improve Candidate Experience?” embodies the very essence of what I focus on every day.

But what really excites me about this MeetUp is that we’re not just going to talk about technology, but discuss the very nature of the candidate experience itself. After all, how can you create elegant technology to improve something when you don’t even know what it is?

For example, ask a dozen people what “candidate experience” means and you’ll get 12 different answers. Who knows the real answer?

It’s pretty simple — the candidate.

Is that so hard to figure out? Not to me. What’s boggles my mind is that so many organizations seem so keenly focused on this concept, but nobody ever thinks to ask candidates what it means to them.

Think outside the buzzword box

All too often organizations begin initiatives, perhaps based on an executive mandate, “improve the candidate experience.” Seems logical, but that’s the problem because the phrase becomes a cold-sounding buzzword that should embrace what candidates feel.

I’ve done a lot of research into how candidates express these feelings about their journey in finding a job. As it turns out — buzzwords aside — what you might think is the candidate experience has absolutely nothing to do with what candidates feel. And what you’re not seeing is directly relevant.

What’s more, “experience” isn’t a thing, but an intricate nuanced process along an extended journey where the beginning and end can’t always be clearly defined.

So can technology improve the candidate experience? Sure it can. And you’ll learn a lot about new strategies and tactics at this MeetUp.

But first you have to understand the problem you’re solving.

If you’re solving the wrong problem, technology will be useless. If you’re solving the right problem, you’ll be well on your way to significant improvements.

There’s a lot at stake, so don’t waste more time and energy on issues that don’t matter. Just be sure to attend our MeetUp here at SmartRecruiters HQ:

#WeAreHiring MeetUp

When: Wednesday, March 8, 2017 – 5:30 PM to 8:30 PM

Where: SmartRecruiters, 56 Tehama Street, San Francisco

Be there. Be prepared for a few surprises. Just leave the buzzwords at the door.

It’s difficult not to have an opinion about this topic given how much empathy each of us can feel towards this subject. We all have bosses and therefore only need to think about our own jobs. I’ve personally worked at Merrill Lynch, Boeing, Genworth Financial (G.E. spinoff), Citi, as well as startups in LearnVest, SmartRecruiters, and one I founded in FreshGrad. I’ve pondered this question from a multitude of angles. Here’s my perspective:

Respect and be respected by your boss
Studies show that a dispute with a boss accounts for 50% of why people leave jobs. I find a good boss to be more important than a good job. It’s similar to being in school. I’d rather choose my classes based on the quality of the teacher than the topic of the class (within reason). You stand to learn so much more when communication flows smoothly between you and your boss because after all, what’s a job or a class if not a series of conversations targeted towards one goal?

Have a clear objective
Bosses are often guilty of not making up their minds on a clear goal. They give unclear direction that sends their employees off on tangents trying to figure out what they mean and end up producing useless work. That’s a frustrating waste of time. It’s ok for management to change their mind from time to time because making decisions based on a set of evolving facts is a big part of their job. But an ability to filter noise from signal, the guts to stick to a plan, and clear communication to their team is the only way the team can reach the finish line.

Autonomy!
I often catch myself thinking: trust me with this, and I’ll build a work of art for you. Productivity, just like everything on this earth, comes in cycles. We are oscillatory beings in an oscillatory universe. It’s unrealistic to think I’ll only be productive from 8 to 5 on weekdays. I often do my best work on Friday nights or on Saturday at 8am (which is the time I’m writing this article). That’s not an excuse for bad work ethic because the only way you can take your productivity to the next level is to have an established routine. However, taking two hours off work to go for a tennis game is not something an employee should feel guilty about, because if trusted, these two hours will be returned 5 fold in time and happiness.

Build something that matters
I can’t produce my best work unless I have a sense of purpose in what I’m doing. Work turns into love, and it quietly infiltrates my dreams, my thoughts in the shower, and in my jogs. The paycheck then becomes a basic security need, and it’s the challenge of what I’m building that takes over my thoughts and actions. I then join meetups, learn about the industry, become a better listener, a student of the game. This produces innovation that disrupts industries.

Trust your team
We are collaborative beings. Unless you’re Albert Einstein, your chances of success are much higher building something as a team. That’s not the same as being part of a team. The main differentiator is trust. You ought to do all your investigation before you hire someone, but the moment you do, don’t second guess them or debate their motives. That’s wasted time. Start each conversation with the the assumption that your colleague is doing her best. You will be surprised by how much more productive each conversation becomes with that in mind.

I count my lucky stars for the opportunity I’ve been given to be part of such a team at SmartRecuiters. What’s your take on the keys to happiness at work?

I asked 10,000 active job seekers for feedback on the habits, emotions, and needs they develop during the job search process. While their responses varied, one response stood far above the others. It wasn’t technology to help them find jobs or advice on how to improve their resume. It was far simpler. Stop reading for a moment and try to guess the answer.

Carson, a job applicant to Qbase, summed it best when he said: “Better feedback would make the entire process infinitely less depressing – I can handle rejection just fine, but not knowing why, or even if you’ve been turned down for a position can be very disheartening.” In all fairness to Qbase, Carson was a happy applicant. He continued by saying, “I really appreciate what you guys are doing – the jobs I have applied to through your website have been some of the easiest applications I have completed.”

Candidates give a lot when they apply to a job. It takes time to target and research who they want to work for, to write a message expressing their interest, and to complete the application and submit their resume. During that time, their emotions move from anxiety to determination to relief and finally to anticipation. What do most get in return? Just an automated message.

The truth is hiring teams often get too many candidates to go through them all in a timely manner. We can live with the fact that sometimes a job ad stays posted even after a candidate has accepted an offer. We may accept that candidates who apply during that time don’t get properly evaluated because they applied too late. It takes discipline to treat everyone fairly and frankly HR systems were not built for that. They never have been.

HR systems have been built predominantly with one user in mind: the recruiter. Not the candidate and not the hiring team. This is a costly mistake, not just from a karma standpoint vis-a-vis the candidate, but from a recruiting standpoint too. SmartRecruiters calculates that 1 in 12 candidates get invited for an interview. That’s 8%. 92% of candidates never get called back. Let me explain why not getting back to candidates inflates the recruiting budget 12 times!

Consider this example: A well known tech company told us recently that they needed to hire 700 Java developers in 2015. Can you estimate how much this will cost in job ads alone? Job board costs average $20 per candidate in IT, it takes 12 candidates per interview, and almost 6 interviews per hire. For 700 hires, the expected cost is $1 million. If you opted for a head hunter, then you’re looking at north of $14 million (700 developers * $100,000 salary * 20% of the 1st year’s salary). Either way, these millions are an avoidable expense.

What if the tech company had an HR system that told them: You have an ecosystem of 800,000 people who expressed interest in working for you in the past. Among them 40,000 are Java developers. Get a head start by reaching out to them, and post jobs in order to grow your ecosystem of applicants. Now’s that’s proactive recruiting.

The only way this would have been made possible was if the hiring team had established a relationship with their candidates. It’s insulting to the candidate to reach back when they’ve started a communication thread months ago that was left unanswered. This logic influenced SmartRecruiters to move beyond the traditional ATS and build the hiring success platform that goes way beyond giving feedback, it forges an honest dialogue between the candidate, the hiring team, the community manager, and smart notifications from the system. This doesn’t just bring back humanity to recruiting, it also creates a community of support and a thick pipeline of talent to the hiring team.