There’s no denying that diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) have become more important issues in our society in recent years, and rightfully so. Against the backdrop of global social justice movements such as Black Lives Matter and gender inequity, the demand on firms to set a good example and do the right thing by combating institutional racism and workplace discrimination has never been greater.
As a result, corporations are beginning to shed light on a slew of long-standing issues within industry recruitment procedures, particularly when it comes to acquiring and retaining talent from underrepresented backgrounds.
Employing individuals from underrepresented groups isn’t merely something that businesses are compelled to do for the sake of putting on a good show. Companies that prioritize DE&I in the workplace stand to reap a wide range of benefits, including greater productivity and profitability. In fact, according to a 2019 McKinsey study, ethnically and culturally diverse organizations outperformed those that lacked diversity in terms of profitability by 36%, which is certainly nothing to scoff at.
As a result, recruiters are challenged to improve the fairness of their hiring process and are sometimes even faced with quotas in order to demonstrate that they are working to cultivate a more diverse workforce.
However, this is a tough task for several reasons, including:
- Cognitive/unconscious bias
- A lack of access to top talent when using legacy recruitment channels
- Not having the time or resources to identify potential candidates manually
- A lip-service commitment to DE&I
- Scalability issues
With this in mind, Joonko has set out to revolutionize the manner in which organizations and hiring managers conduct their recruitment efforts.
Instead of relying on old-fashioned tools and a manual selection process, which is vulnerable to unconscious prejudice, Joonko uses sophisticated artificial intelligence to match talent to suitable job vacancies, saving firms time and money while assisting them in meeting their DE&I quotas.
The ‘Silver Medalist’ Concept
The cornerstone to Joonko’s innovative methodology to recruitment is the company’s “silver medalist” concept, in which algorithms assess current openings and discover individuals who have previously successfully passed multiple screening levels for relevant roles with similar skill and experience requirements.
The system then delivers these silver medalists – who are frequently women, military veterans, or ethnic minorities – directly into hiring organizations’ applicant tracking systems (ATS), allowing recruiters to more easily identify the talent they seek.
In other words, everyone who surfaces via the Joonko talent feed has had their expertise confirmed by one of Joonko’s partners, which means that recruiters and hiring managers don’t have to waste time filtering applicants to verify that they meet the basic requirements. Thus, companies may spend more time focusing on the desirable attributes that would best match the job vacancy, since Joonko will only feed recruiters, qualified candidates.
Furthermore, Joonko confirms that each applicant is actively seeking new opportunities and is eager to start to work, which decreases the likelihood of complications later on that could delay the recruiting process.
At present, Joonko says it can save companies 560 hours in TTF (time to fill), with 3920 open positions and a 2x increase in candidate NPS (net promoter score), indicating that the benefits of the silver medalist method are experienced by both the recruiter and the applicants.
Addressing The DE&I Scalability Challenge
Cherry-picking talent from underrepresented backgrounds may be a luxury afforded to smaller businesses, but larger companies quickly run into scalability issues. This is precisely where Joonko comes in.
Giving recruiters access to an automated diversity recruiting layer within their ATS means less time sourcing random potential candidates.
Rather than painstakingly reviewing each application by hand, which many in-house recruiters and third-party services do, Joonko enriches the top of the company’s recruitment funnel with a constant stream of qualified underrepresented candidates, immediately offering a scalable solution to their recruitment problems.
The Joonko Talent Pool
Currently, Joonko’s applicant pool consists of over 112,000 pre-qualified individuals, using 8-10 publicly available information points, plus information from public companies that have been collected for marketing purposes.
As mentioned, most of these applicants hail from underrepresented backgrounds, including seniors, females, veterans, and those belonging to ethnic minorities.
For this reason, Joonko’s solution has resulted in a 45% increase in diverse applications for companies that use the solution.
The Benefits Of A More Diverse Workplace
Now that you know how simple it can be, let’s take a quick look at some of the advantages of recruiting from a highly diversified, qualified, and competent talent pool.
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Draw From A Larger Talent Pool
“Diversity is good for business. Companies that only hire one type of employee will have a very difficult time attracting top talent looking for a more varied culture, ultimately limiting their potential for innovation and growth. Diverse companies, on the other hand, bring a broader range of experiences, viewpoints, and perspectives,” says Ilit Raz, co-founder, and CEO of Joonko.
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Increased Productivity And Creativity
Diversity is a knowledge-based asset with significant benefits for strategy and implementation. Diversity encourages people to explore multiple ideas and generate sophisticated, more complex approaches, resulting in higher productivity. According to one study, a 1% increase in racial diversity enhances business productivity by $729 to $1590 per employee each year.
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Reduced Employee Turnover
With a diverse workforce, your company is more likely to appeal to a broader customer base on the outside while also having a deeper source of creativity on the inside. As a result, employees who feel valued for their originality and distinctive contributions are more likely to stay with the company longer.
Recruiting Efficiency And DE&I At Scale
There are numerous advantages to incorporating a more diverse workplace. Not only is it the ethical thing to do, but boosting workplace diversity may significantly increase productivity, creativity, and job satisfaction, resulting in greater employee retention and the potential to attract top talent.
Companies of all sizes across every industry and sub-sector will gain access to individuals from underrepresented and diverse backgrounds thanks to Joonko’s innovative, scalable diversity recruitment solution. At the same time, Joonko’s silver medalist concept reduces TTF and candidate NPS, which means recruiters can uncover diverse talent, more effectively, which is a win for everyone involved.
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