In today’s rapidly evolving cultural and political landscape, the strategic importance of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) is clear. Our latest insights explore why businesses continue to invest in DEIB initiatives amidst ongoing global challenges and scrutiny.
Key Insights:
Business Performance: Diverse teams consistently outperform homogenous teams in areas such as innovation, decision-making, and market expansion. This underscores the importance of DEIB in driving business success.
Talent Acquisition: A strong DEIB reputation can attract and retain top talent, especially in a competitive job market. Inclusive recruitment strategies ensure that job adverts welcome all applicants and encourage individuals from underrepresented groups.
Meeting Customer Needs: Gaining a deep understanding of diverse customer bases allows businesses to better meet their needs, enhancing satisfaction and loyalty. This alignment with customer needs is essential for business growth.
Employee Engagement and Retention: Inclusive workplaces where employees feel valued, respected and a sense of belonging see higher engagement and lower attrition, reducing recruitment costs and fostering long-term loyalty.
Navigating Social and Political Changes: The shifting dialogue around DEIB initiatives has sparked debate about their role in the corporate world. Learn how to navigate these changes while maintaining compliance and commitment to DEIB.
Inclusive Recruitment Practices: Discover practical strategies for reaching diverse talent pools, such as partnering with community organizations and educational institutions, and clearly communicating your commitment to DEIB.
Client Success Stories: Explore real-world examples of how organizations have successfully implemented DEIB strategies, resulting in improved diversity metrics and overall business performance outcomes.
These insights provide valuable guidance for businesses looking to navigate the evolving DEIB landscape and leverage inclusive practices to drive innovation, enhance decision-making, and achieve sustainable growth.
Despite the increased focus and investment from businesses in programmes aimed at improving social mobility, recent research presents some worrying trends for under-resourced young people in the UK:
Data from the Education Policy Institute highlights that the gap between disadvantaged young people and their peers leaving school is the widest it has been since 2012.
According to the ONS, in April to June 2024, an estimated 872,000 young people in the UK were not in education, employment, or training (NEET), which is 12.2% of all 16-24 year olds. This is an increase from 798,000 in the same period in 2023.
Participating in work experience reduces the probability of young people becoming NEET from 11% to 7%, having controlled for socio-economic status. However, only a third of teenagers aged 16-18 have completed work experience, and half of 14–16-year-olds.
Research by the Sutton Trust identified top barriers to succeeding in life included a lack of job opportunities where they live (30%), access to good education (29%) and lack of self-belief (26%).
With inequalities in education and early careers, and a reported skills crisis across almost all industries in the UK, unfortunately for employers the skills required for the future are just not there. While some of these challenges are systemic and will take time to address, meaningful change can only occur through concerted and integrated efforts from businesses, government, and the third sector.
In this edition of the AMS Social Mobility Series, we explore ways to empower and inspire today’s young adults, showcasing AMS Talent Lab’s partnership with the King’s Trust, as well as some recent collaborations with leading organisations such as GoodWork, BelEve and Your Game Plan.
Creating opportunities through AMS Talent Lab and The King’s Trust
AMS shot up this year’s Social Mobility Foundation Employer Index, moving up 27 positions from 39th to 12th. Instrumental to this was the work of AMS Talent Lab, every element of which is designed to impact Social Value and provide opportunity to untapped and under-resourced talent. Talent Lab recently won the Highly Commended & Gold Award, for Recruitment Programme of the Year at the UK Social Mobility Awards (SOMOs).
This year AMS Talent Lab was part of the Million Makers scheme, which aims to raise £1 million for the King’s Trust. Each team is challenged with creating a fundraising initiative and to pitch to a panel of Dragons, who decide if and how much seed funding they will secure. Talent Lab wanted to do something sustainable that would have a lasting effect for young adults to improve social mobility. Their idea is to create a series of fully sponsored virtual client events across a network of clients in 5 key regions across the UK, targeting the most deprived towns and those who need the opportunity most. Initially they will be running one for 16-19 year olds and a smaller event for year 6 students, which will come under the banner Limitless Horizons. Through sponsorship and fundraising events, we are aiming to generate in excess of £15,000 for the Million Makers scheme to support the King’s Trust enterprise.
Through the work they have with Skills for Life, our team have an extensive network of clients, of all sizes, across these regions already, which gives us a great starting position and so we are very confident that this will make a difference. If you’d like to learn more or collaborate on this initiative, reach out to our Talent Lab team.
Creating a blueprint for meaningful work experience
Currently, work experience isn’t compulsory for schools to offer – only half of state schools offer to students, and in many cases this is not meaningful work. This coupled with a lack of career guidance means that those from poorest regions don’t have access to opportunities, or don’t know what career options are out there.
In Summer 2024, Melanie Barnett (PSR Managing Director), Anna Crowe (PSR Client Relationship Director and Social Value Lead) and Michael Caley-Cook (AMS Senior DEB Manager) joined a collaborative CSR session led by Your Game Plan with participation from leading public and private organisations. The purpose was to develop a blueprint for a comprehensive work experience programme that would impact young people from lower socioeconomic and under-resourced communities.
Your Game Plan works with state schools across the country, many in underprivileged areas, where pupils don’t have the necessary role models, mentors, or parental connections to provide support in the next stages of their life. The blueprint content captured from the day will be pulled into a proposal that will be taken forwards by APSCo Outsource’s Managing Director, Melanie Forbes and Your Game Plan Founder, Danny Heath.
We also look forward participating in National Interview Month in February 2025, helping school and sixth form leavers prepare for their first real interviews. 16,000 young people will benefit from the opportunity to engage directly with professionals in various industries, which is expected to generate over £1 million in Social Value for state-educated students.
Career Insight Days with GoodWork and BelEve
In autumn 2024, AMS collaborated with two fantastic organisations to inspire the next generation of future leaders through meaningful Career Insight Days.
GoodWork is a non-profit supporting young people facing systemic barriers to access the training and opportunities they need to transition successfully into work. We were proud to host a diverse cohort of talented young people at our new London office for a Career Insights Day. We discussed the importance of understanding each other’s social styles, influencing & negotiating and business writing, with members of our ExCo joining a panel to bring to life their career stories and the power of mentorship.
BelEveis an incredible charity that aims to equip girls and young women aged 8-22 with the skills, support and confidence to find their voice and make informed choices about their future – challenging gender, race and class stereotypes. This October we hosted a Career Insight Day in our London Office where we shared CV and interview tips, ran a panel to hear career stories from senior AMS women, delivered training on social and communication styles, and even challenged the girls to create a TikTok on life at AMS.
Conclusion
A recent report by Demos and The Co-operative Group estimates that the economic impact of all businesses investing significantly in social mobility could be up to £19 billion to GDP, generating around £6.8 billion in yearly tax revenues and boosting profits by over £1.8bn a year. As the research shows, we need to keep a continued focus to improve outcomes for young people and level the playing field, a collaborative effort between the commercial sector, government, and the third sector.
Please connect with us if you are passionate about driving change in this area and would like to learn more about how we can support your social mobility initiatives.
Supplier diversity programmes are proactive procurement strategies that encourage organisations to purchase goods or services from traditionally underrepresented communities and include minority-owned businesses in their supply chain.
Minority-owned (or ‘diverse-owned’) businesses are at least 51% owned and operated by an underrepresented group and can include ethnically diverse, women, disabled, neurodiverse and LGBTQ+ owned suppliers.
In 2023, we launched our own diversity supplier strategy to promote to promote inclusive practices across our supply chain, and creating more opportunity for minority-owned businesses, maximising spend with these where possible.
AMS focuses our efforts on creating diverse and SME supplier eco-systems specific to a client’s needs. Our current supply partners include a range of certified minority or women-owned businesses who deliver certain aspects of a client’s solution such as sourcing or tech enablement. We also have proactive programmes in place to drive DEIB and Social Value through our partners and suppliers, such as our DEI Alliance.
In this article we explore our learnings and some best practices we have learnt along the way to optimise societal, environmental and economic impacts.
The business case
The UK’s Social Value Act encourages public sector bodies to consider Social Value alongside cost and quality in any tender process, one of its five key themes includes Tackling Economic Inequality with increasing supply chain resilience as a policy outcome.
Outside this, and current US regulation on minority-owned suppliers, there is little legislation which stipulates that organisations must implement a supplier diversity strategy. So what’s the value in making it a strategic business priority?
Growth and Market Expansion – Improved diversity in the supply chain allows an organisation to easily tap into new markets and customer bases with diverse demographics, driving growth, expanding reach and encouraging new entrepreneurs. It also aligns with the growing consumer and employee demand for ethical business practices, and can enhance brand loyalty.
Economic Contributions and Community Impact – Through diversity supplier programmes, organisations can significantly boost local economies, create jobs, and enhance purchasing power in underrepresented communities. According to the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC), certified minority-owned businesses generate more than $400 billion in annual revenue and economic output that leads to the creation and preservation of 2.2 million jobs. In the UK, ethnic minority businesses (EMBs) contribute more than £25 billion annually to the economy, which could rise to £100 billion with the right support according to the Natwest Business Growth Report. This economic empowerment translates into a stronger, more resilient market for everyone.
Innovation and Competitive Advantage – Engaging diverse suppliers fosters innovation and enhances competition, bringing in different perspectives and leading to better products and services. Additionally, a diverse supplier base can reduce dependency on a limited number of suppliers, increasing business resilience and agility, and decreasing supply costs via supplier competition.
Promoting Equity and Fairness of Opportunity – In redirecting supplier spend to minority-owned businesses, supplier diversity programmes are a powerful tool to combat systemic racism and promote social justice. Adopting a fair and inclusive procurement process and including often overlooked suppliers who may have exceptional capability ensures that all businesses – regardless of size, location, background – have the same opportunities to compete for the supply of goods and services.
Suppler diversity isn’t about positive discrimination – but providing greater opportunities through our procurement processes, underpinned by the need to acquire goods and services that meet an organisation’s service, quality, cost, innovation, risk, sustainability and compliance standards.
From a supplier perspective, a report by Aston University found that improving practices in procurement could help tackle the multiple barriers faced by ethnically diverse owned businesses, particularly in accessing finance, markets and quality business support, increasing their Gross Valued Added (GVA) contribution from the current £25 billion a year to an estimated £100 billion. Top barriers for small business growth include access to skilled employees (15%), cash flow challenges (15%) and lack of confidence (14%).
Five steps to creating an impactful strategy
As AMS continue to develop our own strategy in this space, below are some steps we have learnt to create, embed and measure a successful diversity supplier strategy.
1 – Clearly define your objectives
According to Business In The Community (BITC), 52% of employees working in procurement in large businesses have objectives to increase diversity and inclusion in the supply chain, and 32% do not. We firstly established a Supplier Working Group formed with representatives from Supplier Management & Procurement, Compliance and the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging (DEIB) Centre of Excellence to drive activity, securing senior level buy-in. We established clear objectives and policy statements regarding our supplier diversity approach, agreed a governance framework and roles and responsibilities as a team to embed our strategy and continuously evolve.
2 – Track diverse suppliers and spend
Only 30% of large businesses track spend with diverse suppliers. Another key step early on is getting visibility of current supplier data. Technology makes this easier – Cloud-based spend analysis solutions offer ways to identify and categorise diverse suppliers. AMS tracks Supplier Diversity spend across the UK and the US, leveraging our partnership with Supplier.io. It’s then important to monitor and track spend in each diverse supplier category on an ongoing basis, with a clear reporting mechanism; many of our clients have contractual requirements on diverse supplier spend reporting.
Taking this a step further, our Public Sector Resourcing (PSR) business have invested in Thrive Social Value software, which coverts Social Value activity into indicative financial proxy values. PSR are proud to have built a diverse and resilient supply chain of approximately 350 suppliers, and over FY23-24 generated £57.1 million worth of Social Value through their diversity supplier strategy.
3 – Expand your network
You won’t reach new suppliers by communicating with the same or existing networks. Not only can intermediaries help you tackle the barriers mentioned above, but they can give you access to suppliers who might otherwise not come into contact with your organisation. We keep abreast of diverse suppliers leveraging our internal and external networks – engaging our colleagues, clients and professional contacts to build a comprehensive knowledge of supplier landscapes.
4 – Strategise with diverse suppliers
52% of large business procurement employees don’t actively make diverse suppliers aware of opportunities. It’s important to proactively involve your diverse suppliers in the procurement process, creating collaborative forums to strategise and co-create products and solutions. An innovative example of this is our AMS DEI Alliance (see case study below). Some organisations also offer mentoring programmes to help minority-owned business owners navigate the supplier qualification or procurement process.
This year, PSR launched the Social Value Supplier Connect, designed to maximise social impact by fostering collaboration between PSR and our suppliers. Led by the PSR Social Value and Supplier Management teams, the Connect forum brings together our key suppliers three times a year to discuss best practice, share success stories and identify partnership opportunities. The group comprises a mix of both large and small organisations, ensuring diverse experiences and perspectives that can be shared. Suppliers in the forum also benefit from a ‘resource catalogue’ developed by PSR providing additional materials such as Accessibility Training delivered by the AMS DEIB COE and our Disability Employee Resource Group (ERG).
5 – Share guidance for your colleagues
The next step on our journey is to provide practical and relevant guidance for our business on responsible, fair and inclusive procurement processes. This includes Bias & Conscious Inclusion training for colleagues with a focus on supplier outreach and selection to help maximise opportunities for diverse businesses, as well as an education programme on proactive supplier engagement and collaboration.
Case Study: AMS DEI Alliance
In 2022 AMS formed a Diversity & Inclusion Alliance, a market-leading collaboration hub of DEIB focused partners to improve diverse representation across our clients’ total workforces and bring market leading DEIB expertise and insight to inform talent strategies.
Many of our partners are voluntary, community and social enterprises (VCSEs) or minority-owned businesses, and include 55/ Redefined (female founded), Evenbreak (disabled owned and operated) BYP Network (Black owned and operated), Recruit for Spouses (female founded), myGwork (LGBTQ+ owned) and auticon (largest majority autistic company in the world).
We firstly developed a robust strategy for identifying diverse suppliers – continuously engaging our colleagues, clients and external contacts to build a deep knowledge of the DEIB supplier landscape – both suppliers currently partnered with AMS, or who we were not currently signed. The DEIB COE and Procurement teams developed an RFI process to onboard new Alliance partners against consistent criteria.
We’re proud to have developed a collaborative forum to share client opportunities, co-develop inclusive strategies, share learnings and best practices. We advocate for our Alliance partners with our clients; to introduce our partners to our clients across the UK, we held an ‘Alliance roadshow’ in autumn 2024, taking our Alliance on an in-person tour across the UK holding networking events across key locations of London, Birmingham, Manchester and Edinburgh with a total of nearly 150 attendees.
As a result, we have generated significant interest from public and private sector clients, facilitating introductions to customers such as the HM Land Registry who are working with myGwork to access LGBTQ+ talent.
Conclusion
Incorporating a diversity supplier programme into your business strategy is a win-win. It’s a meaningful strategy for sustainable procurement, driving innovation, enhancing competitiveness, and creating significant Social Value, while also increasing business resilience and agility.
By actively engaging with diverse suppliers, your organisation can build a resilient and agile supply chain, demonstrate commitment to Social Value to your stakeholders, and unlock new market opportunities.
If you’d like to learn more about maximising your work with diverse and minority-owned suppliers, do reach out.
Without a doubt, one of my favourite milestones during the year is bringing our leadership team together, in one room, for two days of thought-provoking discussions. Thanks to a combination of outstanding speakers and an extremely engaged and collaborative team, earlier this month we had a phenomenal time together.
So, which topics came up again and again and really left me thinking about their impact on the future of TA and what we need to focus on for the rest of this year and beyond?
Skills-based hiring is essential to business success
Skills shortages continue to be a significant challenge for organisations globally and a move to skills-based hiring and innovative approaches are essential to business success. Companies must put emphasis on skills and abilities over qualifications, in turn resulting in more efficient and inclusive hiring.
Bridging the green skills gap, in particular, is of critical importance as 82% of talent leaders feel that hiring talent with green skills is moderately or extremely challenging. We address these issues in detail in our recent whitepaper on tackling the skills crisis for a sustainable future.
Data, data, data
If you’ve read our Talent Climate Series, you’ll know that everything comes back to data. Being able to analyse and interpret data and translating our findings with our clients will allow us to elevate conversations and ensure our solutions are relevant to their specific needs and solving their pain points.
And this goes hand in hand with my next point..
Tech advancements are a key disruptor for how we do things
The buzzword of the moment – AI. It’s no surprise that generative AI is fundamentally revolutionising the talent acquisition world, from improving candidate experience to reducing time to hire.
We must stay ahead of the curve in every aspect of our talent acquisition lifecycle by continuing to implement more efficient and effective AI powered solutions for a competitive edge.
Incorporating a social value strategy is no longer a ‘nice to have’
We were delighted to be joined by our Crown Commercial Services client who brought to life how we’ve stayed ahead of the curve to stand out from our competitors, overcome challenges, and drive outcomes for our clients.
Not only did our client discuss the importance of technology in our framework, but they highlighted the significance of working together to create an impactful social value strategy and how this is essential to attract and hire diverse talent.
Our Diversity & Inclusion Alliance has been instrumental in supporting the social value agenda for our clients as we’ve tapped into the expertise and insights of our hub of DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging) focused partners to inform talent strategies, weave this into company culture, and in turn improve diverse representation across our clients’ workforces.
At the end of the two days, I asked the team to describe the offsite and these critical conversations in one word – inspired, insightful, excited and collaborative are just some of the words that stood out to me. I used the word ‘proud’ after something that our client said during the event really resonated with me: ‘it’s a real honour to be part of the AMS agreement, and that’s down to the people’.
With key market insights underpinning everythingwe do, our ‘One AMS’ mentality and the unrivalled expertise and passion of our people, I truly believe we are unstoppable.
With 60% of TA leaders now identifying skill shortages as their top issue it was interesting to read this article Traits trump skills from Ade McCormack, Founder, The Intelligent Leadership Hub who has an interesting view around the importance of traits v skills when it comes to hiring in a skills short market.
We have seen this as an approach used in the delivery of the Recruit, Train, Deploy (RTD) solution where cohorts are hired based on teachability and aptitude. Traits like a positive attitude, eagerness to learn, and adaptability are considered valuable for RTD hires as the skills required are being taught prior to and during the placement.
Long-term Potential: Candidates with strong character traits such as reliability, integrity, and teamwork are often seen as having greater long-term potential. They can grow and adapt as the company evolves.
Hiring in this way, based on character traits over specific skills in the form of an RTD model has generated some great success and led to a *97% retention rate throughout the duration of the assignments and of the cohorts that have converted to permanent positions, *48% are elevated to a more senior positions within 2 years.
Plus the RTD Solution, when carried out well, can enhance and bolster social mobility and goodness knows, as an economy, we need to make our workforce more socially mobile.
This “take a chance on me” approach reflects my own personal journey. Having changed careers 10 years ago from Procurement to Recruitment.
I was hired as an Account Director role at AMS, moving roles from a Professional Services Senior Category Manager. Having demonstrated traits such as commercial awareness, emotional intelligence and adaptability I learned about recruitment whilst doing the job!
Creating new skills during the journey whilst embracing the ambiguity of the change in role and being confident in my ability to adapt. It was more like “take a chance on them” as AMS had identified I had the “traits” to make that change and grow in my new role, 10 years on it was definitely the right move!
In summary, while both traits and skills are important, many employers are leaning towards hiring for traits, especially for roles where cultural fit and long-term potential are critical. What are your thoughts on this approach?
*Statistics provided by PSR RTD supply chain 2023.
while both traits and skills are important, many employers are leaning towards hiring for traits, especially for roles where cultural fit and long-term potential are critical.
Imagine you’re browsing for a new streaming service. You expect personalised recommendations, seamless navigation, and instant gratification. Now, translate that experience to the job search. Candidates today expect the same frictionless journey when exploring career opportunities.
This shift is redefining the role of talent acquisition professionals, forcing them to rethink their strategies and borrow heavily from consumer marketing to create engaging, personalised candidate experiences.
The Rise of Consumer-Grade Expectations
Gone are the days when a candidate’s interaction with a company began and ended with a job advert. Today’s candidates, much like savvy consumers, expect a holistic, personalised journey from the moment they encounter your brand.
According to LinkedIn’s 2023 Global Talent Trends report, 81% of candidates say that their experience during the hiring process influences their decision to accept an offer. In a world where consumers abandon online shopping baskets due to frustrating experiences, candidates, too, disengage from complex or impersonal application processes.
This trend is being driven by the digital-first, on-demand culture that permeates every aspect of our lives. Companies that fail to meet these new consumer-grade expectations risk losing top talent to competitors who offer more streamlined and engaging experiences. SIA’s 2023 Workforce Solutions Buyer Survey found that 70% of talent acquisition leaders identified improving candidate experience as a top priority.
Moreover, companies that invest in enhancing candidate experience have seen a 20% increase in offer acceptance rates.
Parallels Between Marketing and Talent Acquisition
The lines between marketing and talent acquisition are increasingly blurring, with both disciplines focusing on engagement and experience. Just as marketers craft personalised campaigns to attract and retain customers, talent acquisition professionals must curate tailored experiences to attract and retain top talent.
This shift requires reimagining the candidate journey as a consumer journey, where every interaction—whether it’s a job ad, a recruitment email, or an interview—acts as a crucial touchpoint in a cohesive narrative.
Josh Bersin emphasises that organisations excelling in employee experience, starting from recruitment, tend to outperform their competitors by 2.8 times in terms of profitability. This connection underscores the business case for a consumer-grade candidate experience.
For those interested in exploring the importance of employer branding within the broader context of talent strategy, a related article discusses mid-year talent acquisition predictions and their implications for employer branding efforts. LinkedIn’s research supports the growing emphasis on branding, showing that 75% of job seekers research a company’s reputation before applying.
Companies with strong employer branding efforts are twice as likely to attract high-quality candidates, according to SIA’s 2023 Talent Attraction Report. Additionally, 58% of candidates say they would decline an offer from a company with a poor online reputation, regardless of salary.
Programmatic and Social Activation: The Game Changers
As talent acquisition evolves, programmatic advertising and social activation are revolutionising how companies attract talent.
Programmatic advertising has evolved beyond simple automation to become a highly intelligent system. Today’s platforms leverage AI and machine learning to continuously analyse and adapt to candidate behaviour in real-time. This allows for hyper-targeted adverts that resonate with specific candidate personas, optimising not just placement but also messaging as conditions change.
Companies using these advanced programmatic strategies have seen up to a 30% increase in candidate engagement and a significant reduction in cost-per-hire, according to SIA. The ability to predict and respond to candidate preferences makes programmatic a powerful tool in modern talent acquisition.
Social activation has evolved far beyond simple job postings. Today, it’s about crafting engaging, authentic content that connects with audiences on platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook. The focus has shifted to storytelling and creating a compelling brand narrative that resonates with potential candidates on a deeper level.
Companies leading in this space use data-driven insights to tailor their content, leveraging trends and platform-specific features like Instagram Stories or TikTok challenges to create more interactive and immersive experiences. This approach not only attracts candidates but also builds a lasting connection with your brand, transforming social media into a powerful tool for talent acquisition.
Predicting the Future: On-the-Spot Personalised Content Creation
The next frontier in talent acquisition is the ability to create personalised content on the spot that resonates with the candidate persona in real time. Imagine AI-driven tools that generate tailored job descriptions, emails, or even video content on demand, based on a candidate’s interactions with your brand.
This level of personalisation, powered by machine learning and real-time data analysis, will transform the candidate experience from a transactional process into a dynamic conversation.
Jonathan Kestenbaum, Managing Director – Tech Strategy & Partners at AMS, has highlighted the importance of this trend, noting that the future of talent acquisition lies in the ability to deliver hyper-personalised content at scale, creating a more engaging and tailored experience for candidates.
The Role of Emerging Technologies: AI, Blockchain, VR, and Beyond
Emerging technologies are driving this transformation, offering new ways to deliver consumer-grade candidate experiences.
Artificial Intelligence (AI): I know you’ve probably heard more than enough about AI, but in my opinion, it’s still underhyped. AI isn’t just a buzzword; it’s a game-changer in recruitment. It streamlines the entire process, offering real-time updates, personalised job alerts, and even AI-generated interview questions that adapt to a candidate’s responses.
According to the Everest Group, companies that integrate AI and automation into their talent acquisition processes are 35% more likely to fill positions faster than their competitors. Beyond efficiency, AI enhances predictive analytics, enabling companies to anticipate not just candidate success, but also cultural fit and long-term retention—critical elements in delivering a consumer-grade candidate experience.
Blockchain: Before you tune out, thinking this is all about cryptocurrency, let me clarify—this isn’t about Bitcoin or speculative investments. Blockchain in recruitment is about a secure, shared ledger that enhances transparency and trust. By securely storing candidate data and verifying credentials, blockchain technology can significantly reduce the time and cost of background checks, ensuring the authenticity of candidate qualifications.
This aligns perfectly with today’s consumer-grade expectations, where transparency and data privacy are more important than ever. As Jonathan Kestenbaum points out, blockchain, though still emerging, has the potential to revolutionise how we manage candidate data, making the hiring process more secure and trustworthy.
Virtual Reality (VR): VR is emerging as a powerful tool in the recruitment process, particularly for immersive job previews and virtual office tours. According to a PwC report, VR is four times faster than traditional methods at training employees and offers a more engaging experience. VR allows candidates to explore work environments and company culture before they even step through the door, making it a game-changer for remote or international candidates.
However, as explored in an article on navigating the metaverse, VR and the metaverse present both opportunities and challenges for talent acquisition, requiring careful consideration to avoid potential pitfalls.
Mobile-First Strategies
With over 90% of job seekers using their mobile devices to search for jobs (according to Glassdoor), adopting a mobile-first approach is no longer optional—it’s essential. Indeed research indicates that 65% of people would abandon a job application if it isn’t mobile-friendly.
Leading hotel chains and fast food brands have implemented mobile-first recruitment processes, allowing candidates to easily apply and track their application status on the go. This not only increases application rates but also enhances the overall candidate experience.
Remote and Accessible Candidate Processes
The pandemic has solidified remote hiring as a standard practice, with 70% of talent professionals agreeing that virtual recruiting is here to stay, according to LinkedIn. Ensuring that these processes are accessible to all candidates, including those with disabilities, is crucial.
Companies that prioritise accessibility by using platforms compatible with assistive technologies are broadening their talent pools and demonstrating a commitment to inclusivity.
Hiring as a Team Sport: Accountability and Collaboration
Delivering a consumer-grade candidate experience is not just the responsibility of recruiters—it requires a collaborative effort across the entire hiring community, from hiring managers to onboarding teams. This collective responsibility ensures that every touchpoint in the hiring process reflects the company’s values and provides a consistent, positive experience.
Technology plays a crucial role in this collaboration. Tools like AI-driven platforms and shared dashboards streamline communication, making it easier for teams to align on candidate evaluations and ensure a seamless experience from start to finish.
A unified approach, often outlined in a “hiring charter,” helps define roles, responsibilities, and expectations for everyone involved. When the hiring community operates as a cohesive unit, supported by the right tech, it enhances the candidate experience and strengthens the company’s ability to attract and retain top talent.
If you are interested in exploring how a collaborative approach can be applied to evaluating candidates based on skills rather than credentials, you might enjoy a previous post that discusses the shift towards skills-based hiring and its impact on the hiring process.
This method promotes fairness and ensures that the right people are involved at every stage, reinforcing the idea that hiring is a team sport.
The Risk of Over-Automation
While automation is often favoured for its efficiency, it’s important to recognise that a one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work in talent acquisition. Some candidates may appreciate a fully automated, streamlined process, finding it convenient and quick. However, others crave human interaction, valuing the personal touch that builds trust and connection.
The key is to tailor your approach, keeping the candidate experience (CX) at the heart of the process. Automation should enhance, not replace, the human elements that make the experience meaningful.
By understanding the diverse needs of your candidates and balancing technology with genuine human engagement, you ensure that every candidate feels valued and understood, leading to a more successful hiring process.
As Simon Sinek often says, “People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it.” In hiring, this means candidates are looking for a connection with the company’s mission and values—something that’s hard to convey through automation alone. Steven Bartlett reminds us that in the age of automation, authenticity is the true currency of trust.
Balancing tech-driven efficiency with a human touch can turn a good candidate experience into a great one.
Success Stories and Lessons Learned
Several companies are leading the way in applying consumer marketing strategies to talent acquisition. Some have pioneered virtual assessment centres where candidates participate in online simulations that mirror real job scenarios. This innovative approach not only engages candidates in a unique and interactive way but also provides valuable insights into their skills and potential fit within the organisation.
Others have transformed recruitment by focusing on storytelling and cultural alignment, using immersive experiences to allow candidates to deeply connect with the company’s mission and values. This strategy has been particularly effective in attracting talent who resonate with the brand’s ethos.
Another trend is the use of AI and machine learning to personalise and enhance the recruitment process. By predicting candidate success and tailoring the journey to individual preferences, companies can ensure that each candidate feels valued and understood. This data-driven approach not only improves engagement but also supports diversity and inclusion initiatives by reducing unconscious bias.
However, there are cautionary tales where over-reliance on algorithms has led to unintended consequences, such as a lack of diversity and unintentional bias in hiring decisions.
The key takeaway? While consumer-grade experiences can significantly enhance the candidate journey, they must be implemented thoughtfully, with a clear awareness of potential pitfalls.
The Future of Candidate Experience
As the consumerisation of candidate experience continues, we can expect even more innovative approaches to recruitment. Imagine job portals functioning like e-commerce sites, where candidates can “shop” for jobs, read reviews from current employees, watch workplace videos, and get personalised career recommendations.
Beyond this, the future will likely include interactive AI chatbots offering tailored career advice, VR-powered onboarding previews that immerse candidates in a “day in the life,” and gamified assessments that make skill evaluation engaging and insightful.
Additionally, AI-driven career pathways will provide candidates with a clear vision of their potential growth within the company, while peer-to-peer networks will allow them to connect with current employees for authentic insights. Real-time application tracking will further enhance transparency, keeping candidates informed every step of the way.
These innovations will collectively transform the recruitment process into a more personalised, interactive, and transparent experience, ensuring that candidates feel valued and engaged throughout their journey.
This future isn’t far off. According to Gartner, by 2025, 75% of the workforce will expect a consumer-grade experience during the recruitment process. Companies that succeed in this new landscape will be those that can seamlessly blend technology with a human touch, creating a candidate experience that’s both efficient and deeply personal.
A Call to Action for Talent Acquisition Professionals
If you’re not already, it’s time to start thinking of candidates as consumers. This means leveraging the same principles of customer experience management—personalisation, journey mapping, and data-driven insights—to attract and retain top talent. It’s not just about filling roles; it’s about creating a brand experience that resonates with candidates long before they ever hit “apply.”
In this new era of talent acquisition, the companies that thrive will be those that can deliver a candidate experience as engaging and personalised as the best consumer brands.
The future of talent acquisition isn’t just about finding the right people—it’s about creating an experience so compelling that the right people find you.
"In today's job market, attracting top talent requires more than just a job offer—it demands a candidate experience as seamless, personalised, and compelling as the best consumer brands. The future of talent acquisition lies in balancing cutting-edge technology with a deeply human touch."
Did you know that there is a significant gender divide when it comes to AI usage and adoption?
Forbes writes: “Artificial intelligence has a gender issue, and it’s not just about the images it creates or the biases that models may include”.
Overwhelming statistical research shows that women use generative artificial intelligence tools less than men do. Surprisingly the gap is biggest among the youngest workers, a new survey from Slack finds. It includes results from a survey of more than 10,000 “desk workers” and found that Gen Z men are 25% more likely to have tried AI tools compared to Gen Z women.
The Kenan Institute has established that nearly 80 per cent of today’s female workers are in jobs exposed to automation via generative AI, compared with 58 per cent of men. These jobs will not be replaced by artificial intelligence, but by people who have mastered AI. And in the current landscape, that means men.
Lack of diversity in AI development
Another factor gives cause for even greater concern. According to a training expert on the Coursera platform, women are underrepresented in the development of AI-related skills. In fact, three times as many men as women sign up for the most popular AI training courses on this platform.
This is not breaking news – a BBC article at the end of 2023 addressed this very issue. They interviewed AI expert Jodie Cook who says there are deeper, more ingrained reasons why women are not embracing the technology as much as men.
“Stem fields have traditionally been dominated by males,” says Ms Cook, who is the founder of Coachvox.ai, an app that allows business leaders to create AI clones of themselves.
“The current trend in the adoption of AI tools appears to mirror this disparity, as the skills required for AI are rooted in Stem disciplines.”
And then there’s the matter of the low representation of women in senior management positions in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, and consequently, in AI.
“This is something that we should be keeping an eye on,” says Christina Janzer, head of Slack’s Workforce Lab. “My hypothesis is that the people who are using it today are the people who are going to help shape the future of it. We want those people to be representative of our entire population. That’s not what we’re seeing today. This is a big opportunity for leaders to understand that and to course-correct.”
Psychologist Lee Chambers says that typically female thinking and behaviour may be holding some women back from embracing AI.
“It’s the confidence gap – women tend to want to have a high level of competence in something before they start using it, ” he says. “Whereas men tend to be happy to go into something without much competence.”
Mr Chambers also says that women may fear having their ability questioned, if they use AI tools.
“Women are already discredited, and have their ideas taken by men and passed off as their own, so having people knowing that you use an AI might also play into that narrative that you’re not qualified enough. It’s just another thing that’s debasing your skills, your competence, your value.”
I was interested to see what AI itself had to say on the matter. I asked Copilot “why are women less likely to use AI”? This was the response:
Trust and Reliability Concerns: Some women may find AI tools less reliable or trustworthy. For instance, errors in AI outputs can lead to skepticism about their accuracy.
Perception of Competence: Women often feel the need to emphasize their credentials more to demonstrate their expertise. Using AI might be perceived as undermining their qualifications.
Safety and Ethical Concerns: Women tend to be more concerned about the ethical implications and safety issues related to AI, such as biases in AI algorithms and the potential misuse of AI-generated content.
Personalization and Authenticity: Many women prefer to maintain a personal touch in their work, feeling that AI might strip away the authenticity and personalization they value.
Lack of Awareness or Training: There might be less exposure or training opportunities for women in AI, leading to lower adoption rates.
Then I asked, “What can be done to encourage more women to use AI”? Its response was:
Encouraging more women to use AI involves a multifaceted approach. Here are some effective strategies:
Early Education and Outreach: Introducing AI concepts and technology to girls at a young age through educational programs, workshops, and coding classes can ignite interest and build confidence.
Role Models and Mentorship: Highlighting successful women in AI and providing mentorship programs can inspire and guide aspiring female AI professionals. Seeing relatable role models can make a significant difference.
Inclusive Work Environments: Promoting inclusive and supportive work environments where women feel valued and respected is crucial. This includes addressing biases and ensuring equal opportunities for advancement.
Upskilling and Training Programs: Offering upskilling programs, internships, and gamified challenges can help women develop the necessary skills and confidence to succeed in AI.
Community and Networking: Creating communities and networks for women in AI can provide support, resources, and opportunities for collaboration and growth.
Addressing Stereotypes and Bias: Challenging stereotypes and biases that discourage women from pursuing AI is essential. This can be done through awareness campaigns and by promoting positive narratives about women in tech.
There are several successful initiatives aimed at promoting women in AI – AI4ALL; IBM’s Women Leaders in AI; Women in AI (WAI); Algorithmic Justice League; and Women in Machine Learning (WiML) but more must be done.
So why is it important?
Who develops AI, and what kind of data it is trained on, has gender implications for AI-powered solutions. It mirrors the biases that are present in our society and that manifest in AI training data. In a rapidly advancing AI industry, the lack of gender perspectives, data, and decision-making can perpetuate profound inequality for years to come.
Sola Mahfouz, a quantum computing researcher at Tufts University – “When technology is developed with just one perspective, it’s like looking at the world half-blind,”
As an opportunity, one of the most interesting aspects of the gen-Ai ‘revolution’ is the recognized requirement for a range of soft skills in employees within the field. These skills include critical thinking, problem-solving, and collaboration alongside the ability to communicate the strengths and weaknesses of using artificial intelligence, as well as when not to use it.
Qualities like creativity, persistence and decision-making will grow more and more important as AI and the very nature of the professional world continues to evolve. While technical skills will always prove important, intangibles like these can often make the difference between two equally skilled candidates.
In conclusion, the AI field needs more women, and that requires enabling and increasing girls’ and women’s access to and leadership in STEM and ICT education and careers. Understanding and bridging the AI gender gap is essential for ensuring equitable access and representation in the burgeoning AI landscape.
AI itself says “By implementing these strategies, we can create a more inclusive and diverse AI ecosystem”.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives have become a cornerstone of corporate strategies, aiming to create more equitable workplaces by promoting fair processes, leading to diverse representation, and fostering inclusive environments.
However, the term ‘DEI’ has accumulated significant cultural and political baggage.
New scrutiny has caused some organisations to cut back on DEI budgets, headcount and inclusive hiring efforts. Companies are walking on eggshells as the environment remains challenging, with many firms quietly transforming the way they refer to DEI, omitting mentions of ‘diversity goals’ in their annual reports, or dropping these goals altogether.
It’s a stark contrast to 2020, when the murder of George Floyd jolted organisations into vocal representation commitments and intentional positive action. Now, critics argue there has been an ‘overcorrection’ to historic underrepresentation, where organisations are dialling back their approaches at a time where powerful voices against DEI become louder (the title of this article ‘DEI = Didn’t Earn It’ has been used provocatively against the profession in internet memes, along with ‘DEI must DIE’).
As such we’re starting to see changes in the language used in the market; in July 2024, the world’s largest Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) announced it would be dropping ‘Equity’ from the way it refers to ‘Inclusion, Equity and Diversity’, citing the need to lead with inclusion, but attracting criticism from HR professionals who feel this shifts the focus away from addressing systemic inequalities and individual barriers.
What’s driving the DEI backlash?
Political polarisation:In my last blog I talked about how DEI has become a politically charged topic, particularly in a key election year across the Western world. This in part stems from the Affirmative Action Supreme Court ruling in the US, outlawing race-conscious admissions in higher education. This has created a knock-on effect to the corporate world despite diverse outreach and EEO reporting continuing to be a requirement in the US.
Measurement and perceived effectiveness: Many organisations responded to George Floyd’s murder in 2020 with investing significantly into DEI efforts, either into a sustainable strategy closely aligned to business goals, or slap-dash with a short-term, transitory view leading to ‘diversity fatigue’ with the effects already wearing off. Without clear outcome metrics, it’s hard to assess the impact and return on investment, leading some to question the value of these efforts.
Tokenism: There is a concern that DEI efforts can sometimes lead to tokenism, where the focus is on meeting diversity metrics and performative representation rather than fostering genuine inclusion. This can undermine the credibility and effectiveness of these initiatives.
Perceived exclusion: Ironically, some argue that DEI initiatives, meant to include, can feel exclusive to particular groups. Almost 70% of white men feel ‘forgotten’ by DEI initiatives, despite holding more than 40% of leadership positions globally, and two in five Britons reportedly feel championing women’s equality discriminates against men. This has given rise to the notion of ‘Oppression Olympics’, which suggests competition between marginalised groups, where one is perceived as ‘taking away from’ another.
Evolving DEI
Ultimately, however, experts are confident efforts will continue – even if they’re labelled as something else. SHRM argue through their intentional ‘rebrand’ that the principles of ‘equity’, i.e. promoting fairness based on individual needs recognising that not everyone starts from the same place, remains embedded in their work through practices and policies. So, should we change how we talk about ‘DEI’ and have a better chance of achieving the same goals through different means?
ESG and Social Value – Given these challenges, some organisations are positioning DEI under the broader umbrellas of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) or Social Value as a strategic move. Social Value refers to the meaningful impact an organisation has on society – beyond compliance and risk mitigation, to contribute to long-term development, impact and sustainability. The UK’s Social Value Act mandated Social Value as a procurement requirement for all government contracts to address the ‘Social’ pillar in ESG efforts. AMS’s Public Sector Resourcing (PSR) service, which provides more than 17,000 skilled, contingent workers across the UK government at any one time, has formed its own Social Value strategy; from a recruit, train deploy model to upskill trainees from underrepresented backgrounds, to embedding our D&I Alliance of DEIB partners including Bridge of Hope, auticon and Recruit for Spouses to improve representation in our clients’ workforces. By framing DEI within this context, organisations can present these efforts as part of a broader commitment to sustainable hiring and people strategies. Social Value can also be quantified in commercial impact; after implementing Thrive software, PSR generated over £57 million in Social Value impact in 2023-24 financial year.
Belonging – Between 2023 and 2024, mentions of ‘DEI’ and ‘diversity’ in reports from Fortune 100 companies fell 22%, while ‘belonging’ jumped 59%. Last year, we added the ‘B’ for Belonging into how we refer to DEI at AMS, bringing this into the core of how we operate and joining other industry leaders who use DEIB. A recent d&i Leaders webinar explored how belonging impacts wellbeing, reduces turnover and improves workplace productivity, while Forbes ranked belonging as a top 2024 strategy in an uncertain economic climate. Research in Harvard Business Review shows that when employees feel like they belong, they’re 3.5 times more likely to contribute to their fullest potential. And belonging is something most of us can relate to; according to the American Psychological Association 94% of workers feel it is very or somewhat important to them.
Business outcomes – It’s important not to lose sight of the ‘why’ in a DEI existential crisis. Beyond the moral imperative of promoting fairness of opportunity, practitioners often cite ‘the business case for DEI’, identifying correlations between a diverse workforce and innovation, as well as commercial success. Harvard Business Review found that diverse teams have been shown to be 70% more likely to capture new markets and 87% better at making decisions than homogenous teams. In June 2023, a study by the ratings agency Moody’s found that companies with higher ratings tended to have a greater racial diversity on their boards and in their executive ranks. Read more about harnessing DEI for business success here.
There’s a lot that DEI practitioners can learn from the backlash. Regardless of what we call it, this isn’t the time to abandon our principles; we now have a unique opportunity to refine how we approach DEI to bring everyone along the journey regardless of background, reduce unhelpful friction, and create more meaningful and lasting impact.
Earlier this year AMS asked talent leaders across the globe their opinions on the ‘green skills’ crisis. Shockingly, 84% of respondents said something needs to be done urgently to address the green skills gap, but only 7% think something will!
I was expecting this headline to be part of the new whitepaper around green skills we have developed on the basis of our outreach and research, but actually seeing it brought to life through real data was certainly a sobering thought.
We also asked our respondents what the barriers are to bridging this gap and what needs to be done, to get to where we need to be. The insights that followed were fascinating and revealed that whilst a lot of work is required, optimism still remains among those tasked with creating the strategies for global talent in their organizations.I would encourage anyone who has an interest in talent strategies to help us achieve our sustainability imperatives to download the whitepaper here.
HR and talent leaders are uniquely positioned to be a powerful force in closing the green skills gap and supporting sustainability efforts and our whitepaper shines a light on some of the areas that could make a real impact.
We conclude our whitepaper with the following recommendations;
Embrace a long term mindset
Champion collaboration
Apply green skills with a fresh lens
Let your green show
Prioritize specialized training and development
‘Green skills’ apply to every industry in the global economy and all organizations will have to adopt a green skills talent strategy at some point in the near future. Those looking to secure a strategic competitive advantage will act now!
If we want to address the green skills gap, we need to understand that all future job roles will require green skills.
Earlier this week, I was delighted to host a number of Human Resources and Talent Acquisition leaders to discuss insights from the latest report in our Talent Climate Series – Talent Acquisition at a Crossroads – alongside Josh Bersin, Global Industry Analyst and CEO of the Josh Bersin Company.
The Talent Climate Report
This report, for anyone who hasn’t yet read it, makes for fascinating and important reading, highlighting that the Talent Acquisition (TA) industry is at a critical pivot point with most TA Leaders not only identifying skills shortages as one of their top issues but also adding that they are under tremendous pressure to improve the efficiency of their recruitment processes. With many leaders feeling that they require more training, while also struggling with a lack of strategic direction and support from other leaders in the business; something has to give.
Talent and skills within an organisation, impacts everyone within that organisation. Regardless of role or level, we all need talent and skills to deliver, innovate, and drive high performance. So, whilst this report focuses on the perspective of TA and HR Leaders, this critical pivot point that the industry finds itself at, is most definitely not exclusive to TA or HR departments.
This, and much more, was discussed in what was a fantastic evening welcoming leaders with a diverse range of perspectives into AMS’s new 60 London Wall Office.
So, what were my key takeaways from the session?
1 | Positioning TA as a Strategic Business Partner
Having worked across various industries and observed talent and skills from a TA and wider business perspective, I wholeheartedly agree that businesses need to place emphasis on effective strategic partnering with their TA Leaders. The reports shows that only a third of TA Leaders surveyed said they were involved in any strategic planning. Even likening themselves to being “an Amazon fulfilment centre for humans”.
If TA do not have a seat at the table, then businesses are missing a critical opportunity to set themselves up for success. However, this works both ways and we cannot always wait quietly for an invitation, instead this is a wake-up call for TA Leaders – do we want to be a fulfilment centre or a strategic partner?
We must be bold, confident in our expertise, and ask the right, often challenging, questions of the business. Tell people what you do and how you can best support the organisation.
2| Culture is Key
On the topic of what makes a high performing company, over and above understanding your company’s financial or operational goals – do you fully understand and feel comfortable articulating the company mission, vision, purpose, and value proposition? A mixture of tangible and intangible things that when lived and breathed across an organisation create a strong culture of engaged, motivated, and passionate people all working towards a common purpose.
If companies don’t get this right then how can they retain talent, and importantly from a TA perspective, how can we understand in those early stages whether someone who wants to work with you will ultimately help to build or lower your talent density?
Interestingly, although unsurprising to me knowing the wealth of talent we have at AMS, one company did an analysis of what makes great performers within their organisation and found that the Recruiter was the common denominator. It is the Recruiter and their human touch of knowing all about the DNA of the company and what makes people successful there that made all the difference.
3| Internal Mobility and People Development
Related to culture and high performance is the subject of Internal Mobility, which was an interesting point of discussion, as when talking about TA it can be easy to focus on bringing new talent into organisations from the external market but it’s critical that we also place importance on strong internal mobility to recognise, develop, and retain the talent businesses already have.
It is shown that organisations with a strong focus on internal mobility, perform better. While it seems like this should be straightforward, in practice, many factors can challenge or hinder effective internal mobility that meets both business needs and the employee’s career aspirations, sense of value, and engagement.
Managers naturally want to keep their talent within their own team, Recruiters have a tendency to want to look externally, and if the cultural storytelling around how to grow and build your career within the organisation isn’t quite right then employees lack clarity and motivation.
We need to boldly make it clear to managers that it is their job to develop people, they aren’t just “looking after” employees for the organisation, they have a responsibility to contribute to the growth of talent and the shared success that will bring. This could include evaluating managers based on whether their team members receive promotions or make successful strategic lateral moves, whether they have development plans in place, and the increased value they provide to the organisation.
It’s all about taking the manager population on a journey, helping them see their own development potential and value, and crucially, help theming feel that they all work in the talent management business, every hire and every individual’s development is and should be strategic.
This is just a snapshot of the many relevant topics we discussed. The conversation concluded with thoughts on the future outlook: all businesses are experiencing change, transformation, or evolution, which naturally impacts hiring. The market remains challenging, and workforces will continue to be more demanding.
However, it was positively acknowledged that Talent Acquisition is one of the most important roles in the business and will become increasingly strategic, if we as a collective focus on what needs to be done to get there.
A huge thank you to Josh and everyone who attended, each bringing their own wealth of knowledge and expertise to our discussions. I can’t wait for the next opportunity to connect and continue these vital conversations.
In the meantime, we’ll be keeping a close eye on these themes and continuously improving our services across AMS to ensure we remain the best strategic partner to our clients.
In 2022 AMS formed a Diversity & Inclusion Alliance, a market-leading collaboration hub of DEIB focused partners to improve diverse representation across our clients’ total workforces and bring market leading DEIB expertise and insight to inform talent strategies. 
