Sometimes a strategic view doesn’t mean high-level, it means seeing what’s happening on the ground…

Lars Schmidt, founder of Amplify, joins SmartRecruiters for the fourth annual Hiring Success 19 – Americas, February 26-27 in San Francisco where he will be leading the session “Inside the Mind of Today’s Chief People Officer”. Full agenda here!

As a tech recruiter in the late 90s, Lars had a “front row seat” to the manic growth, and painful demise, of the first internet economy. Despite this trial by fire introduction to Talent Acquisition (TA), Lars continued in the industry, taking his talents in-house.

In the proceeding decade, he went on to run global recruiting for household names like Ticketmaster and NPR. Now, as the principal of Amplify, this people strategy chameleon helps companies build progressive talent functions for 21st century HR.

After so many years in TA, Lars’ view of the industry might be described as ‘high-level’. Yet, we prefer the descriptor ‘in-touch’ as much of his success has been his special attention to the ground-level of practitioners’ day-to-day.

For Lars, a big part of staying in-touch means continuous and open communication with the people in the field. That’s where HR Open Source (HROS.co) comes in, a not-for-profit he founded in 2015 along with fellow recruiting enthusiast Ambrosia Vertesi, VP of People at Duo Security. This global community aims to democratize access to modern HR practices through connecting practitioners who collaborate and share learnings to prepare themselves, and their organizations, for the future of work.

Speaking of the future of work, HROS.co recently put out a report on the near-future of TA, surveying over 500 HR/TA practitioners to understand what is happening on their teams now, and in the next three years!

Today, we speak Lars to learn about some of the surprising results, including how people-teams are investing in tech, and why TA is still wary of automation.

Why create another future of work report?

There’s so much content about the future of work, anywhere there’s another blog/podcast/report! The thing is, most of this content is developed by analysts, consultants, and pundits – entities that are a couple of layers removed from the actual work. We wanted to create a report that captured the perspective of practitioners on the ground: How do they view the future? What things are impacting them right now?

HR Open Source Future of Work Report found HR has concerns about job automation, and believe their organizations will be impacted in the next three years, what do you make of this finding?

The automation piece was certainly interesting. Our community tends to be on the innovative side of the practitioner spectrum and closely attuned to the technology impacting their work.

I don’t think automation will replace the majority of recruiting positions, but certainly, some roles will be impacted. Sourcing for instance: with everyone having such a large digital footprint it’s easier to find people, but harder to get their attention. Going into the future, sourcing will be more and more about personalized outreach sequences and tailored messaging.

Going into the future, recruiters will have to focus more on the human side of recruiting TA. Tech tools will automate tasks that don’t require empathy and human engineering. For the foreseeable future, humans are still the best equipped to understand what motivates candidates, and how to design the message to get them on board.

CRM is the top investment for the coming year, why is candidate experience coming to the forefront?

The reality is that most TA functions use their ATS as more of a transactional engine, than a talent database. Organizations have this dormant candidate database, of thousands – maybe more – who have already raised their hand and said, ‘yes, I’m interested in your company!’ Yet, recruiters approach every job as a ‘one off’ when they don’t have the means to leverage this talent pool.

With the means of a candidate relationship management (CRM) tool, recruiters are able to mirror the marketing function and replicate some of the more sophisticated branding exercises like audience segmentation and personalized nurture sequences.

Do you think tech in diversity and inclusion (D&I) initiatives will impact those programs’ efficacy?

Technology alone won’t solve a lack of diversity. Organizations need to have some non-tech foundational pieces in place, before these tech tools can be used to their full power. Pieces including interview design, closing the wage gap, internal mobility, continued learning, etc. – which come together under the umbrella of a general philosophical buy-in. Technology can then help you really accelerate those efforts, whether it’s software to scan job descriptions for gender bias, or bots to anonymize candidate details to prevent unconscious discrimination.

Was there anything in the report that surprised you personally?

One point, which I had experienced anecdotally to be true, that was interesting to see born out in the numbers, is that 70 percent of respondents previously worked outside of HR and recruiting. It’s a big shift from 10 years ago when HR was a very insular field, that people would enter and move through in a strictly linear fashion. This shift is important because it means the field of HR and recruiting is being infused with new skill sets and perspectives, and I view it as  extremely healthy for the function as a whole.

After the whirlwind that was our first European Hiring Success Conference, let’s take some time to smell the proverbial roses.

When you left your hotel to join us for the second day of #HIRE18 EU did you think that in a few hours you would be part of a band of 300 people, playing maracas? Likely, not. Yet, at 2 p.m. there you were – holding a shaker that looked like an apple, holding down the rhythm you’d learned only moments before, and killing it!

When an industry comes together in person, amazing things can happen. We learn, solve problems, push our comfort zones, and maybe even discover hidden musical talents, but it’s kind of a blur by the end. That’s why today, as we all journey back to our day-to-day grind we wanted to remind you of four moments, that challenged, surprised, delighted, and inspired!

When we learned two strategies for defeating our unconscious biases.

Diversity and inclusion specialists Natalie Mellin and Joanne Lockwood turned a figurative mirror on the audience in a session entitled “A Path to Gender Parity,” asking everyone to think about how our inherent prejudice affects how we approach people and situations at work.

“If you think about it, 99.96 percent of our decision-making process is unconscious,” says Mellin. “Yes,” Lockwood agrees. “It’s a very reptilian part of our brain.”

But we aren’t without hope, two strategies these experts recommend can help you bring your unconscious decision-making process into the light. The first is to flip the situation. If you are having a negative reaction to someone, ask yourself: “Would I feel this way if this person was a different gender, or a different age etc?”. The second is to move slow. Take the time to write down three reasons every time you make a personal decision (good or bad), if you can’t think of three, that choice is probably a result of unconscious bias.

Equality isn’t treating everyone the same. It’s giving everyone the tools they need to succeed. Amazing stuff #hire18 pic.twitter.com/aCZyr16sQW

— Kasia Borowicz (@kmborowicz) September 20, 2018

When recruiters hacked Tinder to find programmers.

In Germany they like to call it “convincing existing algorithms,” but for the rest of the world, it’s known simply as hacking. Recruiting maverick, Robindro Ullah recounts how his team banded together to reverse engineer the algorithm of tinder to fill programming positions. What they found was that the dating app connected to Facebook to glean interests and surface dating matches, so they began building the perfect profile to find the candidates they were after. The cherry? A picture of Ada Lovelace, the mother of programming, as the profile pic. The one question this author has about the experiment is, was the search confined to men seeking women?

Painiting of Ada Lovelace as a recruiting tool? This and other crazy ideas presented by @Robindro #HIRE18 pic.twitter.com/5c66BG7gyU

— Piotr Podolski (@pyortp) September 19, 2018

When we discovered what it means to listen by making music.

M. Baha, a professional percussionist and founder of Solution Folder lead the entire contingency of the Hiring Success Conference in an unexpected journey to inclusion and empathy through music. This instrumental jam session began with the dissemination of shakers, bells, rhythm sticks, and drums until everyone in the audience had a noisemaker of some kind. Instruments in hand, Baha lead the group in layered rhythms that helped each person actively listen. The result? A bonding experience and a lesson in vulnerability.

Explain this without context! #hire18 pic.twitter.com/fSMotlMvjN

— Falko Pleß (@f_pless) September 20, 2018

When we heard first-hand the struggle to find employment as a refugee.

When Nebras Khiata was forced to flee his home and job in Aleppo, he struggled to find a job in Germany despite his advanced degree in finance, years of experience, and command of English. Even international companies required German applications and cover letters, and government job placement programs pushed him towards employment outside his sector – as a postman or security guard.

Khiata eventually found work in his field, as an analyst for Deutsche Bank, but it took years. Now his employer, and other major companies are initiating programs to help refugees, like him, find a place in the labor market – faster – through mentorship that demystifies the unique employment culture of Germany.

Through copious data collection and analysis from experts at Humboldt University a surprising fact emerges: opportunities do exist for refugees, but they are often hard to find. One of the best things an employer can do is to make their applications mobile-friendly, and do away with cover letters and/or accept cover letters in English.

Personal, #HiringSuccess story of the syrian refugee. Great insight into struggles of refugees #HIRE18 pic.twitter.com/iPyB6q0XWr

— Piotr Podolski (@pyortp) September 19, 2018

When Enboarder took the trophy for the Recruiting Startup Awards

One-hundred companies joined the recruiting startup award in hopes of taking home the grand prize of 9,000 euros in media-spend, including a gold sponsorship to the next Hiring Success Conference and an article from Business Insider. From the many, five emerged as the top finalists who, propelled by the voting support of their networks, came to pitch it out live at Hiring Success 18 EU – Berlin Edition.

Enboarder distinguished itself as the only onboarding solution among the pack. This workflow management tool helps companies introduce new employees into their work culture and practices, and alerts department heads to potential flight risks. The user-friendly UX, and customized notification system, where you get to choose the medium of message delivery text/email/slack, make enboarder a true delight.

Check out Enboarder in the SmartRecruiters marketplace.

We were at @SmartRecruiters #HIRE18 and pitched as a finalist for the Recruiting Startup Award…and we won! Awesome work, Steve!
Watch our pitch here: https://t.co/CN9uAnBGVU (it starts at the 31:04 mark). pic.twitter.com/S8DFFYPdin

— Enboarder (@Enboarder) September 21, 2018

Virtual reality, instrumental jam sessions, live chat-bot battles, and everything else you would – and wouldn’t – expect from an HR conference.

Hiring Success 18 EU is here! 250 Talent Acquisition leaders from around the globe – including yourself, perhaps – have landed in Berlin for 48-hours of thought-provoking interactive sessions and live demos on three main tracks, #Innovation, #Inclusion, and #HiringSuccess, that will delve into the most important topical issues in recruiting today.

With over 30 sessions to choose from in only two days, we thought it wouldn’t hurt to recommend a few!

Have you hired a refugee?

#Inclusion

Is your company interested in starting a program to hire refugees? The first step is empathy and understanding. Hear from actual displaced persons about what it means to leave behind the life you know and rebuild everything from the ground up. The second half of the session invites informational Scientists from Humboldt University to participate in a panel discussion to deep dive into the programs available to refugees now, and how your company could start building its own.

Unlock potential with augmented and virtual reality

#Innovation

Explore the burgeoning fields of Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality, first through art, then though recruiting. Josephine Ackerman COO & Deputy Global Head Art, Culture & Sports at Deutsche Bank gives a live demonstration of how her company uses AR and VR to bring artworks to life in contemporary art exhibitions they support. These new technologies allow an artist’s intention and historical context to come to the forefront of the museum experience without dense wall text. Using only a smartphone, a static image or text can turn into a rotating font of information. Learn how Deutsche Bank and others have begun to apply the same principles to job advertising, onboarding, and training.

Battle of the Bots

#Innovation

Watch the leading chat bots battle it out in a live face-off. Leading recruiting chatbots will have a face-off in a live battle. Ask these virtual helpers questions to test the limits of their natural-language processing, get to know their unique personalities, and see how gracefully they fail. Your vote determines the winner at the end!

Accelerate revenue with TA

#HiringSuccess

Stop looking at TA as a cost center. Learn how the recruiting team at Microsoft were able to accelerate revenue for Azure Cloud during their digital transformation with heir Director of TA for EMEA, Elke Jorens. This workshop shows how infusing data from market and funnel-analysis contributes to the bottom line, so you can apply that same expert methodology to a project of your choice.

Synchronicity

#Inclusion

Whether you are a practicing musician or haven’t picked up an instrument since the recorder, this session is for you. Join the MIT grad and leadership expert, M Baha in an interactive jam session that uses the principles of music to promote the tenets of diversity and inclusion in a business setting.

Inspire your Remote Workforce

#Inclusion

While the draw of global talent is great, managing remote teams is still largely unexplored territory. Which is why we brought in Beat Buhlmann, one of the few people in the world who have a doctorate related to managing virtual teams, and the current GM for Evernote.  

Buhlmann lays out the benefits of employing a remote workforce and then shows how to address the challenges these offsite teams pose,  from both a culture and a tech standpoint. Walk away with the tools to sell your board on remotes hires, and the know-how of how to engage them throughout their tenure.

Internal Career Pathing

#HiringSuccess

Companies unanimously recognize the value of employees who have experience in more than one department, yet these high performers remain an anomaly rather than a matter of course. The abstract promise of great return on investment (ROI) in hiring, never seems to be enough to push internal mobility initiatives to the top of the to-do list. So we bring you the director of people for Native Instruments, Laura Moreno Salinas, and the Director and Program Lead Accelerate One HR at Coca-Cola European Partners, Sanam Moayedi-Stummer to demonstrate the success of their internal career pathing programs and help you get started on your own.

Recruiting Startup Awards

#Innovation

Step into the future of TA technology with our Recruiting Startup of the Year Competition, where the newest and most daring startups in HR pitch it out on our main stage. The winner will receive €9,000 in sponsorship and an article about them written by a leading TA influencer. The contest began July 1st, when these fledgling startups leveraged the strength of their social network to be voted into the top five, who will now convince the expert panel at Hiring Success 18 they have what it takes.

After a decade in the industry, SmartRecruiters’ Head of People, Sarah Wilson, shares why she still never misses a conference.

Sometimes I walk away from an event and think, “That was pretty good, I am glad I went,” and sometimes I skip out of the room thinking, “Holy shit I love my industry!” Our Toronto Hiring Success breakfast definitely fell into the “holy shit” camp. It was an early morning, a time of day that pairs poorly with jet lag and Toronto humidity. The struggle was real getting out of bed. Though the hotel was moments away from the venue, by the time I reached the slightly muggy room, I was already thinking, “This is going to be a long one.”

“HR is the coolest job, you get to impact everyone in the company.” Sarah Wilson @SmartRecruiters #RecruitingAutomation pic.twitter.com/ObMc8rKgmu

— RAS (@RAS_SF) June 14, 2018

Moments later, a few of my favorite Torontonians walked in – equally blurry-eyed – and that amazing thing happened when you remember why you love something. HR has always been about the people for me. The people we serve, but also our peers, our exhausted fellow practitioners who can make an early morning conference session fly by with insight and enthusiasm, and I wanted to share some of the top takeaways that sent me back to San Francisco still skipping, even after 10 years of doing this whole HR thing – and in ascending order:

5. Think of marketing and recruiting like peanut butter and jelly.

We’ve been talking about Marketing and Recruiting intersecting for several years, but now it’s really happening. The consensus from the room was that marketing (for now anyway) belongs inside the Talent function (ask us again in a year or two and see whether we change our minds), but we have a lot to learn from our marketing counterparts. At the top of the list is how to be data driven when we think about reach, response, and investment. The key to having a business case for marketing spend is built upon solid data. If you aren’t sure how to do that, don’t be shy about asking your friends in marketing.

4. Just tell the truth.

Not every candidate is going to get hired. In reality, 99 percent of the candidates you meet may never work for your company.  What’s important to them is that you keep them in the loop. Let them know if you aren’t going to hire them – gently of course – because all they really want is the truth from you. One of our panelists talked about rejecting a candidate over the phone because there wasn’t an open opportunity, but offering to chat casually with a few colleagues so the candidate would be top-of-mind when a position comes up. Taking accountability:   Making the candidate feel special:

3. Help hiring managers more.

Listen to their needs, learn from them, and lend them your expertise so they can pick the best candidates.

2. Never feel alone!

Every story prompted a chorus of nods. When we opened to questions from the floor, there was continuity in the flow of ideas. My a-ha moment that morning wasn’t so much a tactic I could take away and implement tomorrow,  it was that I felt a sense of community. Which leads me to my final takeaway…

1. Get together more often.

Talent Acquisition is a team sport. It’s an industry that gets better by sharing. Yes, the war for talent is real, but that doesn’t mean we can’t work together to win it for the industry as a whole. Of course we are a competitive bunch, but we are also a group of “people people” who gather energy from everyone around us. The people I meet at conferences inspire me, and push me to be better – and I know I can do the same for them. Who’s with me?

Join SmartRecruiters for Hiring Success 18: European Edition, being hosted September 19-20th in Berlin!