Practical Bravery: BEN SLATER

ETHICAL RECRUITMENT!

In an age where AI algorithms can sort through resumes with lightning speed and precision, the opportunities are immense. We can potentially match candidates with jobs that align not just with their skills, but also their values and aspirations. Ethical recruitment means treating candidates with respect and fairness, no matter where they come from or what they look like.

But, of course, with great power comes great responsibility. The risks are apparent. As algorithms become more involved in hiring decisions, there’s a danger of bias creeping in. If the data used to train these algorithms carries historical biases, they could perpetuate discrimination, inadvertently or not.

So, how do we harness the incredible potential of AI in recruitment while ensuring that we remain ethical and unbiased? It’s a question that demands thoughtful consideration and practical bravery.

In this episode of The Possibility Club, we’ll unravel the extraordinary world of human-centric talent experiences. Of technology matching the right people with the right careers – and not just the obvious people, or the connected people. We’re asking if there are companies being brave enough to look well beyond the spheres of their competitors and think differently about where future talent comes from. And then even braver still to invest in and develop those people as they progress.

Our guest is a global adviser in recruitment marketing, a key figure on the EMEA Council of the Candidate Experience Awards and he is Senior Vice President of Marketing for Beamery, one of the world’s leading tech platforms for recruitment and professional development.

Meet BEN SLATER.

Key quotes:

“We think a lot about potential. Potential for organisations but also the potential of the humans who exist within those organisations.”

“Until recently the infrastructure rarely existed within businesses to help individuals create a career path that helped them realise their own ambitions.”

“Talent is not a fixed asset.”

“We’re in a fantastic time now, where career journeys are not seen in this totally linear format, they can be squiggly. It can be more of a jungle gym than a ladder.”

“There’s a lot of data out there about the skills that businesses are going to need in the future, we’ve all seen what’s happened in the last few months with ChatGPT, businesses changing quickly. Organisations are not going to be able to go to the market and recruit for the skills they need in the future, they have to build that talent internally.”

“When we look at the talent life cycle, it’s really easy for companies to think about someone in these really distinct phases — someone’s a candidate, a job applicant, an employee, an alumni. The reality is, they’re all people. There’s a lot of fluidity between these different stages and we’re trying to support that at Beamery.”

“AI allows business to put employees at the helm of their careers.”

“What we’re looking at here is a technological unlock, that will allow things that we’ve never done before and a new standard in terms of what we can enable for workers at each stage of their career journey.”

“We need to have standards around what is expected of AI”

“Two years after the start of Tik Tok I saw job adverts asking for 10 years of Tik Tok experience.”

“If we’re going to keep up with the changing business headwinds, we have to adopt these processes earlier. We’re not talking about optimisation here, we’re talking about survival.”

“So often with hiring, we look at everything up until the moment the employee starts. We optimise for how can it be faster, how can it cost less, versus optimising for employee lifetime value. How can I maximise my opportunity of bringing in a high performer?”

“We’re at a time now when talent and HR is top of the CEO priority list. Making sure that their organisation has the skills needed to shepherd the business forward is essential. Our goal as a partner is to make sure they’re moving in that direction.”

Useful links

This episode was recorded in June 2023

Interviewer: Richard Freeman for always possible

Editor: CJ Thorpe-Tracey for Lo Fi Arts

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