Curated Intel from the Talent Tech Industry
November 7-13, 2022:
• Being made irrelevant: Leaked Amazon memo reveals program to replace recruiters with tech;
• Streamlining contingent work: AllWork raises $4.9M as more employers rely on flexible staffing;
• Working in the dark: Despite a lack of detail, Beamery conducts AI audit to comply with NYC law;
• Making do with machines: Majority of UK employers are using technology to plug talent gaps;
• Opening a new channel: Talroo’s new Publisher Optimization Platform adds job search services.
PLUS
• Early Bird Discounts are now available for TAtech North America & The World Job Board Forum, which will be held in Austin, Texas USA on May 22-24, 2023. Unlike the conferences that treat talent technology companies as a subset of HR tech, this event is totally focused on the providers of talent technology and their bottom-line success. Its core theme is as simple as it is powerful: A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats!
A leaked Amazon memo may help explain why the tech giant is pushing out so many recruiters
Last week, Amazon extended buyout offers to hundreds of its recruiters as part of what is expected to be a months-long cycle of layoffs that has left corporate employees across the company angered and on edge. Now, Recode has viewed a confidential internal document that raises the question of whether a new artificial intelligence technology that the company began experimenting with last year will one day replace some of these employees. According to an October 2021 internal paper labeled as “Amazon confidential,” the tech giant has been working for at least the last year to hand over some of its recruiters’ tasks to an AI technology that aims to predict which job applicants across certain corporate and warehouse jobs will be successful in a given role and fast-track them to an interview — without a human recruiter’s involvement. The technology works in part by finding similarities between the resumes of current, well-performing Amazon employees and those of job applicants applying for similar jobs. The technology, known internally as Automated Applicant Evaluation, or AAE, was built by a group in Amazon’s HR division known as the Artificial Intelligence Recruitment team and was first tested last year. Amazon first built AI hiring technology in the mid-2010s but discontinued use of its system after it demonstrated a bias against women.
AllWork Announces $4.9 Million Series A Funding Round
AllWork, the end-to-end platform that helps companies more efficiently and compliantly onboard, manage and pay their freelancer and contingent workforces, today announced the completion of a $4.9 million Series A funding round. AllWork will use the funds to expand its software, payment services and team to meet the increasing need by companies and freelancers for an easier way to work together. The funding round was led by FINTOP Capital based in Nashville, Tennessee who completed the whole round. Chris Haley and Rick Holton from FINTOP will be joining AllWork's Board of Directors. COVID-19 has accelerated the shift that was already taking place where by 2030 many studies predict that 50% of the workforce will be working flexibly as freelancers, contractors, consultants, and in other types of flexible work arrangements. Today, companies are struggling to manage this higher volume of flexible workers because they are using antiquated manual payment processes that don't scale, and they lack any kind of software solution to handle all of the workflows, administration, data collection and reporting tasks needed to work with freelancers. In addition, regular payroll or PEO payment solutions were simply not designed to handle this new type of work and new type of legal or compliance talent relationship. AllWork's solution is unique in that it combines software, compliance and payments into one complete, easy-to-use, integrated solution that customers love because it can be implemented in just two weeks and requires no other integrations.
Anticipating NYC’s anti-bias law, Beamery conducts an internal AI audit
In the lead-up to the New York City law that compels organizations to test their AI-based HR solutions for bias, talent acquisition solution provider Beamery recently conducted two audits to gauge the compliance of its recruitment tools being used by clients in the city. London-based Beamery wanted to get ahead of the Automated Employment Decision Tools law—which goes into effect Jan. 13—and potential new laws that are expected to be enacted in the coming months, says Sultan Saidov, co-founder and president at Beamery. No red flags with Beamery’s tools were detected, he says, but the audits did provide an opportunity to prepare for future audits, once lawmakers offer more guidance. They also highlighted the lack of detail in the New York City law. For example, Saidov says, the regulations do not spell out if an audit must take place every time an AI solution provider updates its algorithms. (Beamery says it updates its formulas once or twice a year.) “I think the surprises have come more from how far we are into the year and how little clarity there still is from a regulatory standpoint,” he says. “We are so close to these regulations coming into effect and nobody still knows kind of what’s expected.”
Majority of firms currently using technology to plug talent gaps
In the face of hiring and skills issues, 77 percent of UK organisations say they are finding ways for technology to do jobs formerly performed by people, according to a new poll from Rackspace Technology. According to the survey, two thirds (64 percent) of UK companies are downsizing their staff, facilitated by technology, out of a necessity, with roles in customer service the most likely to be automated, as identified by 70 percent of business decision makers – followed by IT operations (62 percent), sales and marketing (57 percent), business operations (56 percent), and HR and admin (56 percent). Half of UK companies (47 percent) have increased their IT investment due to the current economic climate, because of the role they think technology will play in improving performance and plugging skills gaps. Almost two thirds (63 percent) are looking for technology to drive greater efficiencies, but the motivation for increased investment also extends to talent issues, with UK companies now investing 1.5 times more money in roles performed by technology than those performed by people. The report claims that two thirds (65 percent) of companies are finding it difficult to fill technical vacancies and a similar proportion (62 percent) struggling to retain IT staff. This commitment to technology to combat talent shortages, and the consequent trend for an increase in IT investment, is also being driven by growing confidence in return on investment among senior leaders. Three in five (58 percent) organisations acknowledge established ROI on technology is encouraging further financial commitments.
Talroo Launches Publisher Optimization Platform Enabling Its Partners to Build Audience Loyalty Through More Engaging Experiences
Talroo, the leading provider of technology to power the recruitment of essential workers, today announced the availability of its Publisher Optimization Platform (POP). The new feature empowers community news sites, career sites, blogs, and job sites with the ability to integrate machine learning driven job search services within site experiences, articles, content, job listings and job alerts. An estimated 65% of the U.S. workforce is always looking for their next job opportunity, according to PricewaterhouseCooper’s recent US Pulse Survey. More workers than ever before are now seeking higher paying jobs and gigs, as inflation and the cost-of-living increases. As a result, it has become crucial for companies to connect their available job openings to visitors through all channels. In addition, there are multiple motivators for workers now actively, not passively seeking new jobs. Other drivers include workers now requiring empowerment, personal satisfaction and growth; better company culture that aligns with their own ideals and values; and the “You Only Live Once” mindset among Millennials and Gen Z with their expectations that they will have multiple careers over their lifetimes.
Get Early Bird Discounts for TAtech North America
• Early Bird Discounts are now available for TAtech North America & The World Job Board Forum, which will be held in Austin, Texas USA on May 22-24, 2023. This is the only conference totally focused on the providers of talent technology and their bottom-line success. Unlike the conferences that treat talent technology companies as a subset of HR tech, this event is specifically designed to advance the success of job boards, aggregators, talent marketplaces and the enterprises that offer programmatic solutions, conversational AI products, recruitment marketing solutions, recruitment advertising services, candidate management platforms, and interviewing and assessment systems. If that’s you, don’t miss this opportunity to meet and interact with your industry peers. Its core theme is as simple as it is powerful: A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats!