The Women in Tech & Business Expo is just around the corner, and we couldn’t be more excited about the opportunity to shed light on a pressing issue. By 2025, the gender gap in tech is projected to leave only one qualified female for every 128 tech roles globally. The challenge is undeniable, but so is the potential for positive change.
At our upcoming keynote session, Michelle Hainsworth will delve into how businesses can address this alarming gender gap. Inclusivity is not just a buzzword; it’s a powerful driver of innovation and success. We’ll explore how diverse teams, composed of individuals with varying backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives, lead to more creative solutions and better outcomes.
The future of gender equality in tech starts with nurturing young talent. We’ll discuss the importance of supporting STEM education for girls and initiatives that encourage them to pursue tech careers. We’ll also be talking to one of our Talent Lab Associates who has trained as a python developer and is now working with the ONS.
Join us at the Women in Tech & Business Expo.
We invite you to join us at the Women in Tech & Business Expo. Let’s explore how together we can break down the barriers, create opportunities, and foster an environment where everyone has an equal chance to shine in the tech world.
The gender gap in tech may seem daunting, but it’s a challenge that we can overcome with dedication and a commitment to change. See you at the expo, where we’ll take the first step towards a more inclusive future! #WomenInTechExpo #DiversityInTech #InclusiveFuture 🚀💼
AMS will be a speaking partner at the Resourcing Leaders (RL100) Summit on Friday 24 February. Pag Miles, Global Head of Alliances is facilitatinga roundtable discussion to Heads of Resourcing and Talent Acquisition Directors on where the HR Technology market is today, where it’s headed and how to navigate it.
HR processes that were once time-consuming and labor-intensive are now easier than ever, thanks to technological automation. However, with every new technology comes its own set of challenges. Having seen more than 1,000 HR Technology demos over his career, Pag’s session will take a deep dive into how HR Tech is evolving and some of the latest HR Tech trends – tech stack consolidation, the skills race, ChatGPT and AI Compliance.
My colleagues, Roxana Siebert, Robert Matthew and I will also be attending the summit. We’re looking forward to meeting RL100 members, and discussing our solutions to the most pressing TA issues faced in the industry today, from hiring technical talent, to evolving candidate engagement, managing internal mobility and uncertainty in workforce planning.
An exciting and insightful day and a half ahead!
AMS is sponsoring the next RL100 Summit. With a myriad of HR Technology available, Pag Miles, who leads AMS' Technology Alliances, will discuss the key trends and challenges across HR technology.
Despite current predictions that the U.S. is on the cusp of a recession, we remain in one of the tightest labor markets in history. Companies haven’t been able to fill their skills gaps in years, so while some sectors have slowed down, companies are still desperately seeking to acquire certain skill sets.
Tech skills such as AI, cybersecurity and digital marketing are highest in demand. While the technology industry has made layoffs, these workers are finding new opportunities in other sectors such as life sciences, healthcare, hospitality and travel. The airlines industry, for example, has promised more investment in tech this year to avoid technology failures.
Growth in these industries has yet to slow down, and companies are hungry for digital talent but they must be prepared to adapt their employer brand proposition in order to attract new, digital talent to their workforce.
A big talent strategy in 2023 will focus on emerging talent. We’ve seen a 30% increase year-over-year in this area with our clients in the Americas. Because the labor market is so tight, companies are laser-focused on interns converting to full-time hires. That means recruiting strategies for students will concentrate on the intern candidate experience; more in-person, intimate events to attract students; and heavy social media engagement campaigns.
This year companies will also be increasing their upskilling and reskilling programs and retention strategies to hold on to the talent they already have. The biggest issue remains workforce participation which has been reducing since 1995.
With 11 million job openings and 5.7 million unemployed and a large skills gap within the employed population, organizations must be very intentional about their talent acquisition strategies.
“Despite concerns of a recession, one of the tightest labor markets in history remains. Companies haven’t been able to fill skills gaps, so while some sectors have slowed down, others are still seeking to acquire certain skill sets.
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm
“Myth 2” of the AMS tech whitepaper explores a multitude of challenges that businesses face when trying to successfully implement “talent technologies” such as chatbots, video interview tech, automated onboarding software, available on today’s market. The latest AI technology has also introduced talent intelligence tools which match people to jobs. Businesses and organisations are no longer limited to one clunky, 20-year old, Applicant Tracking System (ATS).
But with an abundance of innovative solutions on the market, how should leaders choose which tech to invest in and how should they successfully implement it. The AMS whitepaper argues that focusing on a small number of solutions and making them a success is the best strategy.
Annie Hammer, Head of technology Advisory at AMS talks about the risk of introducing “swivel chair experiences” when implementing new technologies. This refers to an unsatisfactory work around which involves someone manually entering data into two different systems as they are unable to automatically interface with each other (swiveling their chair between each system!). Painful and we’ve all been there!
Tech challenges like this are not just limited to talent technology. When I think of our public sector customers, they are spending an increasing amount of time and money on technology interfacing with “interoperability” being a key digital strategy far and wide across government. There are huge efficiencies to be had in this space and having systems that can communicate and exchange information without creating time consuming duplicative tasks is paramount.
Once chosen and implemented the focus turns to adoption. User acceptance and adoption are key to the successful use of any tool or technology. On the PSR team, we periodically hold intensive IT training courses for our recruiters and sourcers, as well as having regular year-round coaching to make sure that we are making the most of the tools at our fingertips. We also review our teams tool usage, using data to help us pinpoint where we can improve most as well as to make cases for further investment.
Our approach to user adoption in PSR has also been to make sure our users have a voice so that suggestions for tech improvements can be made along the way. It’s this people centered approach to technology which can make the difference between success and failure. We have found that helping users to get actual real life success and efficiencies from using a new tool is the most organic way to encourage uptake for the long term.
Since the start of the pandemic, central government departments have accelerated the rate of digital transformation with many more face-to-face services moving online. As a result, we have seen a huge surge in user centered design vacancies where departments want to actively involve users early on in the design phase, as well as iteratively throughout the development process to ensure the system satisfies its user. The return on investment of this approach is clear when you think that a system will quickly be abandoned if the users feel it’s not fit for purpose. In the talent technology space this is of course also true, not only does this make sure that the tool is going to add value to the team, but it also helps with user adoption and maximises that all important return on investment.
Our approach to user adoption in PSR has also been to make sure our users have a voice so that suggestions for tech improvements can be made along the way. It’s this people centered approach to technology which can make the difference between success and failure. We have found that helping users to get actual real-life success and efficiencies from using a new tool is the most organic way to encourage uptake for the long term.
Since public release last month, ChatGPT has gained a lot of attention and for good reason. Upon opening up ChatGPT and typing into the chat box, its hard not to be impressed…amazed…at the depth, precision, and flexibility of the response generated by the AI. The tool is mesmerizing and took concerted effort to stop my fingers from typing the next random question into the chat box. Before me stood a disruptive technology in it’s infancy.
With this new tool being released into the world, practitioners will grow ChatGPT into service offerings and solutions. These solutions will undoubtedly shape, impact, transform business processes and ways of working across industries.
The genie is not going back into the bottle. The forward march of technology will continue, and we must harness the new capabilities to benefit society.
We are seeing businesses invest in tech to unprecedented levels but the question still remains about bringing the diverse views to the table to make the investments as brilliant as they could be. Further evidence in this interesting interview with Tim Cook on why diversity is not a “nice to have”, but a business imperative peaked my interest this morning.
We are seeing brilliant initiatives from the leading lights in business; Apples Founders Development programme for female founders is one great example alongside Google’s Black Founders Fund but more needs to be done. And more needs to be done at pace to keep up with the developments in technology and also in the skills deficit we are seeing in the marketplace.
Whilst progress is slowly being made, equalising the playing field requires interventions at grassroots.
"I think the essence of technology and its effect on humanity depends upon women being at the table," Mr Cook says.
"Technology's a great thing that will accomplish many things, but unless you have diverse views at the table that are working on it, you don't wind up with great solutions."
He said while companies including his own had made progress on diversity, there were "no good excuses" for the tech sector not to employ more women.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-63033078
I’ve written extensively about scarce skills within the Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences sector and digital skills are amongst the most scarce and in demand. For employers within the sector they are not just competing with their traditional competitors but with every other sector including the technology sector itself. If you have niche digital skills would you be more attracted to a job with Apple, Meta or Amazon or within the Pharmaceutical sector? All sectors can compete effectively for scarce digital skills but it is far from easy and there is no silver bullet.
Candidate Centricity – the need to tailor hiring processes and recruitment brand (think candidate value proposition) for specific candidate segments
Market Insight – no longer an advantage but a necessity, institutionalized market insight will empower recruiters and sourcers to understand where talent resides and how best to engage and convert that talent in to new hires
Specialist Sourcing Capabilities – recruiters today may be highly skilled at searching for passive talent, they may be brilliant advisers to your hiring managers, and they may be excellent interviewers, but they are unlikely to be all three. Specialist sourcers empowered with the latest SaaS tools will deliver huge value and a competitive advantage
The article below from McKinsey details ten realities companies need to face and what they can do to address them in order to compete for scarce digital skills. More recognition that there is no silver bullet and progressive companies will need to completely rethink their HR strategies to be successful.
Large incumbents can compete successfully for tech talent—but only if they’re ready to completely rethink their entire HR approach. Tech talent think and act differently.
