Re-imagine the Hiring Process

"Diverse inclusive teams matter. Maintaining and growing your team is a key challenge. Learn to develop a better hiring process and policies to help produce better teams."

This talk was delivered at the Full Stack Conf Leadership Summit in Toronto, Ontario.

Transcript

1. Re-imagining the hiring process Elle Meredith @aemeredith Lachlan Hardy @lachlanhardy blackmill.co @blackmillco
2. Where we come from
3. Terminology is hard
4. Some definitions
5. Diversity
6. Inclusion Image credit: http://www.inclusionworks.com.au
7. Culture
8. Unconscious bias
9. Privilege Ref: Valerie Aurora https://frameshiftconsulting.com/ally-skills-workshop/
10. Oppression Ref: Valerie Aurora https://frameshiftconsulting.com/ally-skills-workshop/
11. “ – Mark S. Luckie Without a variety of voices contributing ideas, the workplace becomes a homogenized environment where potential brilliance may never be achieved. Diversity should rightly be seen as a benefit to growth, not an obstruction to avoid.
12. Benefits of diverse teams
13. Increased profitability Ref: Why Diversity Matters, by Vivian Hunt, Dennis Layton, and Sara Prince, 2015, http://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our-insights/why-diversity-matters
14. “Racial diversity: companies in top 25% for racial and ethnic diversity perform 35% be er, financially!
15. “Gender diversity: companies in top 25% for gender diversity have 15% be er financial returns! “
16. Competitive advantage Ref: Why Diversity Matters, by Vivian Hunt, Dennis Layton, and Sara Prince, 2015, http://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our-insights/why-diversity-matters
17. Be er performance Ref: Diverse Teams Feel Less Comfortable — and That’s Why They Perform Better by David Rock, Heidi Grant, Jacqui Grey, 2016, https:// hbr.org/2016/09/diverse-teams-feel-less-comfortable-and-thats-why-they-perform-better
18. Fluency heuristic vs collaborative friction
19. More? • Enhancing innovative and creative thinking • Preventing discrimination saves time and money and reduces legal risk • Promoting health and wellbeing of staff How cultural diversity can be good for business, Victoria Health, 2013, https://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/media-and-resources/publications/how-cultural-diversity-can-be-good-for-business
20. State of affairs
21. “ There are more CEOs of large U.S. companies who are named David (4.5%) than there are CEOs who are women (4.1%) — and David isn’t even the most common first name among CEOs. (That would be John, at 5.3%.) Ref: If There’s Only One Woman in Your Candidate Pool, There’s Statistically No Chance She’ll Be Hired, https:// hbr.org/2016/04/if-theres-only-one-woman-in-your-candidate-pool-theres-statistically-no-chance-shell-be-hired
22. 21.4% of technology staff 25.5% of leadership Women make up and
23. In Canada…
24. “ In only 3.3% of companies is the CEO a woman and only 3.5% of boards have a female board chair. Ref: https://www.osler.com/en/resources/governance/2018/report-diversity-disclosure-practices-2018- women-in-leadership-roles-at-tsx-listed-companies
25. Ref: https://www.osler.com/en/resources/governance/2018/report-diversity-disclosure- practices-2018-women-in-leadership-roles-at-tsx-listed-companies 28.4% Women on board seats for S&P/TSX 60 companies 16.4% among all companies disclosing the number of women directors on their boards 53.6% have adopted a written board diversity policy 31.3% of all boards are all-male
26. 21% product and development roles held by women 25% of leadership positions are held by women and Ref https://www.hrmonline.ca/hr-news/diversity-and-inclusion/what-this-companys- diversity-survey-revealed-230432.aspx 13% identify as gay, bisexual, asexual or questioning
27. “ Full-time annual earnings for women in Canada in 2014 were 74.2% of what men earned. Women from visible minorities earn 70.1% of what all men earn. Ref: Women’s Earnings: The Wage Gap?, Catalyst, 2018, https://www.catalyst.org/knowledge/womens-earnings-wage-gap#footnoteref15_51cou1h “
28. 39% 42% and at community events The percentage of LGBTI who conceal their sexuality or gender identity at work: Ref: Face the Facts, Australian Human Rights Commission, 2015, https://www.humanrights.gov.au/face-facts-cultural-diversity ⚧
29. Are you representative? • Was a quarter of your team born overseas? • Does a fi h of your team have a mother tongue that is neither English nor French? • Does 5% of your organisation identify as Aboriginal? • Is a fi h of your team from a visible minority? !" Ref: Canadian Census 2016, Statistics Canada https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm? Lang=E&Geo1=PR&Code1=01&Geo2=&Code2=&Data=Count&SearchText=Canada&SearchType=B egins&SearchPR=01&B1=All&TABID=1
30. Are you inclusive? • Is there a gender disparity in pay? • What is your parental leave policy? • What about work-life balance? • Do you accommodate parents and people with special needs? • Do you have comfortable QUILTBAGs? • Do your colleagues bring their whole selves to work? $% Ref: Face the Facts, Australian Human Rights Commission, 2015, https://www.humanrights.gov.au/face-facts-cultural-diversity
31. Problems we see
32. Diversity debt
33. Hiring for culture fit
34. Hiring is not part of the work
35. Hiring is adhoc
36. Language of job postings (
37. Whiteboard coding considered harmful ⏱
38. Before you start…
39. Stop believing your company is a meritocracy Ref: The Paradox of Meritocracy in Organizations, Castilla, Emilio J.; Benard, Stephen, 2010, https://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/65884
40. “ Organizations that call themselves meritocratic are actually more likely to discriminate Ref: The Paradox of Meritocracy in Organizations, Castilla, Emilio J.; Benard, Stephen, 2010, https://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/65884
41. Have a supportive environment for diversity and beginners
42. “80% of companies allow culture to grow organically. “ Image credit: http://sproutagency.com.au
43. Healthy culture How cultural diversity can be good for business, Victoria Health, 2013, https://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/media-and-resources/publications/how-cultural-diversity-can-be-good-for-business
44. Psychological safety • An emotionally secure work environment where people bring their whole selves to work • People trust each other • Don’t blame people for mistakes How cultural diversity can be good for business, Victoria Health, 2013, https://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/media-and-resources/publications/how-cultural-diversity-can-be-good-for-business ⛑
45. Gradual iterative improvement • Processes are improved to deliver long term benefits rather than focus on short term results • Change is expected. As are mistakes • "Learn fast, learn o en" How cultural diversity can be good for business, Victoria Health, 2013, https://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/media-and-resources/publications/how-cultural-diversity-can-be-good-for-business
46. Good communication • Discussions are be er than assumptions • Clear expectations are defined then adjusted as necessary • Feedback is not just welcomed, but sought out • Diverse perspectives are actively engaged with How cultural diversity can be good for business, Victoria Health, 2013, https://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/media-and-resources/publications/how-cultural-diversity-can-be-good-for-business
47. Life is larger than work • Flexibility in when and where work is done • Engagement and support for employee and customer communities How cultural diversity can be good for business, Victoria Health, 2013, https://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/media-and-resources/publications/how-cultural-diversity-can-be-good-for-business
48. Shared values • Clearly stated goals and values that all staff share • Common sense requires commonality • Efforts are targeted at meaningful goals How cultural diversity can be good for business, Victoria Health, 2013, https://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/media-and-resources/publications/how-cultural-diversity-can-be-good-for-business
49. Learning and progression • Clear career paths and role definitions • Constant learning is integral to how work is done How cultural diversity can be good for business, Victoria Health, 2013, https://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/media-and-resources/publications/how-cultural-diversity-can-be-good-for-business
50. Hiring process
51. Preparation
52. Diversify your inputs Ref: Atlassian boosted its female technical hires by 80 percent, here's how, First Round Review, 2017, http://firstround.com/review/atlassian-boosted-its-female-technical-hires-by-80-percent-heres-how/
53. How is your marketing stacking up? Ref: Atlassian boosted its female technical hires by 80 percent, here's how, First Round Review, 2017, http://firstround.com/review/atlassian-boosted-its-female-technical-hires-by-80-percent-heres-how/
54. Learn about bias
55. • Gender • Skin colour • Age • Sexual orientation • Religion • Being a parent • Race and ethnic group • College graduate • Technical capabilities • Disability • Class • Caregiver role • Hair colour • Communication style • What we do in our free time Bias comes in many forms
56. We are all biased
57. When we understand how biases influence our behaviour, we can take action to create an inclusive culture
58. Assemble your hiring team
59. Define success
60. Determine clear job requirements
61. Judge on potential rather than existing knowledge -
62. Plan out your communications ☎
63. Be accommodating to people with constraints
64. Standardise interview questions
65. Employee’s performance • Unstructured interviews: 14% • Reference checks: 7% • Years of experience: 3% Ref: Here's Google's Secret to Hiring the Best People, https://www.wired.com/2015/04/hire-like-google/
66. Employee’s performance • Unstructured interviews: 14% • Reference checks: 7% • Years of experience: 3% • Work sample test: 29% • Structured interviews: 26% Ref: Here's Google's Secret to Hiring the Best People, https://www.wired.com/2015/04/hire-like-google/
67. “ – Hiring for the Innovation Economy, Nicole Rufuku Structured interviews are twice as effective at predicting job performance, but they also reduce bias by half
68. Question structure • Context • Question • Follow-up Ref: Hiring for the Innovation Economy, 2018, Nicole Rufuku
69. Implement a rubric ⏳
70. Implement anonymised components in the selection process
71. Train staff in the process
72. Check your job posting language 34
73. Writing a job description Ref: https://textio.ai/how-to-write-your-best-job-post-ever-part-1-6012badd28e
74. Suggestions • Optimal length: 610 words • On average, the best job posts today have 13 words per sentence • Avoid technology buzz words • Do not ask for rockstars, unicorns, 10x developers… • Keep requirement list short! • With about a third in bulleted content • Instead of "requirements", say: "You have many of the following" Ref: https://textio.ai/how-to-write-your-best-job-post-ever-part-1-6012badd28e
75. Suggestions • Use direct language, and • Speak directly to the potential employee • Include an equal opportunity statement • Try to strike a balance between: • Telling what they'll be doing in the role, and • Telling them how their work will fit to your company's goals • Showcase your company values Ref: https://textio.ai/how-to-write-your-best-job-post-ever-part-1-6012badd28e
76. Promote in a variety of channels
77. Interviews
78. Use a two-person interview format 67
79. Include people of diverse backgrounds in the hiring process 89
80. Don’t expect your engineers from under-represented groups to do this work
81. Create hiring cohorts with enough diversity Ref: If There’s Only One Woman in Your Candidate Pool, There’s Statistically No Chance She’ll Be Hired, https:// hbr.org/2016/04/if-theres-only-one-woman-in-your-candidate-pool-theres-statistically-no-chance-shell-be-hired :::::::::8::9:
82. Do not use white board challenges ✏
83. Coding skills assessments 1. Whiteboard coding challenges 2. Timed code challenge online 3. Un-timed code challenge online 4. Send in a code sample 5. Pairing sessions ⏱
84. Don’t go to the bar ☕
85. Ask what is important for them ?
86. After hiring
87. Warm welcome Ref: Software Smarter by Dan North
88. Seek feedback
89. Provide feedback
90. “ A recent study of performance evaluations in tech found that 71% of women's performance reviews contained negative personality criticism ("You come off as abrasive") whereas only 2% of men's reviews did Ref: The abrasiveness trap: High-achieving men and women are described differently in reviews, http:// fortune.com/2014/08/26/performance-review-gender-bias/
91. Review performance reviews
92. In summary
93. Conquer diversity debt by starting now
94. Consciously grow your culture, don’t hire to maintain the status quo
95. Hiring is part of everyone’s work
96. Hiring processes are best when predictable and consistent
97. Your job posting ma ers (
98. How you assess skills is important (
99. Thanks! Elle Meredith @aemeredith Lachlan Hardy @lachlanhardy blackmill.co @blackmillco
100. Further Reading • Google Re:Work Unconscious Bias @ Work • Ada Initiative: Ally Skills Workshop • Microso Unconscious Bias Training • Project Implicit