Curated Intel from the Talent Tech Industry
October 28-November 3, 2024:
• Going to court: Judge says a jury may decide whether SHRM conducted sham bias investigation;
• Gagging on crumbs: As workers get laid off, CEOs & shareholders gobble up billions in profits;
• Lending recruiters a hand: LinkedIn introduces Hiring Assistant to help recruiters do good work;
• Clouding up the crystal ball: September 2024 JOLTS Report is a slightly worrisome mixed bag;
• Feeling sorry for Hal: Research finds that people sympathize with bullied AI bots.
PLUS
• The TAtech Leadership Summit on Recruitment Marketing, February 26-27, 2025 in Tampa, Florida. For senior execs at enterprise employers and TA solution providers.
• TAtech North America & The World Job Board Forum, June 3-5, 2025 in Oceanside just north of San Diego, California. For job board and talent technology company CEOs, senior execs and rising stars.
• TAtech Europe & The EMEA Job Board Forum, November 11-12, 2025 in London, England. For job board and talent technology company CEOs, senior execs and rising stars.
Seating is limited at both events, so register today!
Judge says a jury may decide whether SHRM conducted sham bias investigation
A jury should decide whether the Society for Human Resource Management maliciously engaged in race discrimination, a federal judge ruled Oct. 8. Based on the facts alleged, a reasonable jury could conclude that the HR organization discriminated and retaliated against a former employee, the court said, denying SHRM’s request to dismiss the claims (Mohamed v. Society for Human Resource Management). SHRM told HR Dive it is prepared to vigorously defend the claims. The plaintiff, a former employee, sued the association in 2022. She said she first complained internally that her supervisor “systematically favored” White employees over non-White employees.
‘We are essentially in a new Gilded Age’: As workers get laid off, CEOs and shareholders gobble up hundreds of billions in profits
Taking a modern-century spin on “Let them eat cake,” shareholders are having the whole cake, and eating it too. It’s no shock the boardroom is able to stay above the fray as wealthy members are more equipped to weather economic downturns. But it turns out CEOs and shareholders are walking away with an even greater slice of profits than one might think. So finds a recent report from Oxfam, a British nonprofit focused on eradicating poverty, which analyzed more than 200 U.S. corporations to assess their “inequality footprint.” Most money ends up funneling into the mouths of those at the top, as 90% (or $1.1 trillion) of the combined $1.25 trillion in net profits for those companies analyzed went to paying wealthy shareholders. Executives are doing quite all right as well. CEO pay has ballooned since the pandemic hit, increasing by 31% from 2018 to 2022. “Shareholders and CEO pay have risen to record levels in the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis,” according to the report.
LinkedIn Introduces Hiring Assistant to Help Recruiters Spend More Time On Their Most Impactful Work
Professionals across industries are seeing how technology powered by AI is starting to play a bigger role in their day-to-day work. It’s an exciting moment of change, where these new AI technologies create an incredible opportunity to use these tools to work for us, so we can get more done and feel more fulfilled in our daily tasks. Recruiters are a great example of this. They got into recruiting to help people get jobs. But so much of their time is filled with administrative tasks. And we know the job of recruiters is getting harder. Over half (55%) of HR professionals globally say expectations of them at work are higher than ever before, and 42% feel overwhelmed by how many decisions they have to make each day. With new technologies we can change that. That's why today we’re excited to launch our first AI agent, Hiring Assistant, designed to take on a recruiter’s most repetitive tasks so they can spend more time on their most impactful work — like advising hiring managers, connecting with candidates, and creating exceptional candidate experiences.
September 2024 JOLTS Report: A Slightly Worrisome Mixed Bag
September’s JOLTS report gave mixed signals, painting a picture of a market that looks markedly weaker than previously thought, but one that also shows more signs of movement than it has for most of the year. The drop in job openings and the slight pickup in layoff activity (which remains low by historic standards) are concerning, especially after months of muted layoff activity. However, both are difficult to interpret alongside the uptick in the hires rate, which suggests a potential rise in employer confidence. Additionally, job openings data may have been impacted by Hurricane Helene. Job openings fell much further than expected to 7.4 million, the lowest level since January 2021, and were down 5.3% from August, the sharpest decline since the spring.
New Research finds people sympathize with bullied AI bots
In an Imperial College London study, humans displayed sympathy towards and protected AI bots who were excluded from playtime. The researchers say the study, which used a virtual ball game, highlights humans' tendency to treat AI agents as social beings -- an inclination that should be considered when designing AI bots. The study is published in Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies. Lead author Jianan Zhou, from Imperial's Dyson School of Design Engineering, said: "This is a unique insight into how humans interact with AI, with exciting implications for their design and our psychology." People are increasingly required to interact with AI virtual agents when accessing services, and many also use them as companions for social interaction. However, these findings suggest that developers should avoid designing agents as overly human-like.
One-of-a-Kind Conferences for TA Solutions Business Success
• The TAtech Leadership Summit on Recruitment Marketing, February 26-27, 2025 in Tampa, Florida. For senior execs at enterprise employers and TA solution providers.
• TAtech North America & The World Job Board Forum, June 3-5, 2025 in Oceanside just north of San Diego, California. For job board and talent technology company CEOs, senior execs and rising stars.
• TAtech Europe & The EMEA Job Board Forum, November 11-12, 2025 in London, England. For job board and talent technology company CEOs, senior execs and rising stars.
Seating is limited at both events, so register today!