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slinkywhat · 1 year

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Well, that’s one way to end an 11.5-year career at Darden.

“Our call offs are occurring at a staggering rate.”

I bet that wouldn’t be the case if you paid your employees well, treated them well, or—get this—both.

“From now on, if you call off, you might as well go out and look for another job. We are no longer tolerating ANY excuse for calling off.”

Olive Garden: Now seeking mindless drones with zero chance for illness, familial emergencies, or extraneous circumstances. Must have no other responsibilities outside of working for Olive Garden, whatsoever.

“Do you know in my 11.5 years at Darden how many days I called off? Zero. I came in sick.”

Bitch, you work in a RESTAURANT. That’s admission of major health code violations, right there.

“I got in a wreck literally on my to work one time, airbags went off and my car was totaled, but you know what, I made it to work, ON TIME!”

This is not the brag that you think it is. It’s really sad.

“If you don't want to work here, don't. It's as simple as that.”

Sure, capitalism has always made it so easy—that people passionately want to work every grueling job out there, where customers treat you like dirt, not that they need it to support themselves.

“You're in the restaurant business. Do you think I want to be here until midnight on Friday and Saturday? No. I'd much rather be at home with my husband and dog, going to the movies or seeing family. But I don't, I'm dedicated to being here. As should you.”

Really? Because not even you are making a good case for this here. You just switched from insisting people want to be there and want to work—because it is an honor and a privilege—to admitting outright that you don’t want to be there either, but you’ve committed 11.5 years to sacrificing your family to be dedicated to this job (you know, the one that just fired you instantly for sending out this mass email, because you’re a replaceable commodity… was it worth it?).

If you need to implement stricter policies and penalize or fire employees who are consistently calling out, then do it—but skip putting a toddler temper tantrum in writing (because it’s not anywhere close to communicating what you think it is), and when you’re still consistently turning over employees after you crack down, try some introspection as to why that might be.

Then, actually try to solve it, with some empathy, instead of simply blaming hundreds or thousands of people who must just be “lazy.” Because, sure—that MUST be it. Couldn’t possibly find any other commonalities amongst that many people who are dissatisfied enough to risk being fired rather than come work for you.

#quiet quitting #antiwork #work #corporate #minimum wage #restaurant industry #service industry #bad boss #company culture #jobs #fired

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goteamphilippines · 1 year

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jcmarchi · 2 days

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Kamal Ahluwalia, Ikigai Labs: How to take your business to the next level with generative AI - AI News

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/kamal-ahluwalia-ikigai-labs-how-to-take-your-business-to-the-next-level-with-generative-ai-ai-news/

Kamal Ahluwalia, Ikigai Labs: How to take your business to the next level with generative AI - AI News

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AI News caught up with president of Ikigai Labs, Kamal Ahluwalia, to discuss all things gen AI, including top tips on how to adopt and utilise the tech, and the importance of embedding ethics into AI design.

Could you tell us a little bit about Ikigai Labs and how it can help companies?

Ikigai is helping organisations transform sparse, siloed enterprise data into predictive and actionable insights with a generative AI platform specifically designed for structured, tabular data.

A significant portion of enterprise data is structured, tabular data, residing in systems like SAP and Salesforce. This data drives the planning and forecasting for an entire business. While there is a lot of excitement around Large Language Models (LLMs), which are great for unstructured data like text, Ikigai’s patented Large Graphical Models (LGMs), developed out of MIT, are focused on solving problems using structured data.

Ikigai’s solution focuses particularly on time-series datasets, as enterprises run on four key time series: sales, products, employees, and capital/cash. Understanding how these time series come together in critical moments, such as launching a new product or entering a new geography, is crucial for making better decisions that drive optimal outcomes.

How would you describe the current generative AI landscape, and how do you envision it developing in the future?

The technologies that have captured the imagination, such as LLMs from OpenAI, Anthropic, and others, come from a consumer background. They were trained on internet-scale data, and the training datasets are only getting larger, which requires significant computing power and storage. It took $100m to train GPT4, and GP5 is expected to cost $2.5bn.

This reality works in a consumer setting, where costs can be shared across a very large user set, and some mistakes are just part of the training process. But in the enterprise, mistakes cannot be tolerated, hallucinations are not an option, and accuracy is paramount. Additionally, the cost of training a model on internet-scale data is just not affordable, and companies that leverage a foundational model risk exposure of their IP and other sensitive data.

While some companies have gone the route of building their own tech stack so LLMs can be used in a safe environment, most organisations lack the talent and resources to build it themselves.

In spite of the challenges, enterprises want the kind of experience that LLMs provide. But the results need to be accurate – even when the data is sparse – and there must be a way to keep confidential data out of a foundational model. It’s also critical to find ways to lower the total cost of ownership, including the cost to train and upgrade the models, reliance on GPUs, and other issues related to governance and data retention. All of this leads to a very different set of solutions than what we currently have.

How can companies create a strategy to maximise the benefits of generative AI?

While much has been written about Large Language Models (LLMs) and their potential applications, many customers are asking “how do I build differentiation?”

With LLMs, nearly everyone will have access to the same capabilities, such as chatbot experiences or generating marketing emails and content – if everyone has the same use cases, it’s not a differentiator.

The key is to shift the focus from generic use cases to finding areas of optimisation and understanding specific to your business and circumstances. For example, if you’re in manufacturing and need to move operations out of China, how do you plan for uncertainty in logistics, labour, and other factors? Or, if you want to build more eco-friendly products, materials, vendors, and cost structures will change. How do you model this?

These use cases are some of the ways companies are attempting to use AI to run their business and plan in an uncertain world. Finding specificity and tailoring the technology to your unique needs is probably the best way to use AI to find true competitive advantage.

What are the main challenges companies face when deploying generative AI and how can these be overcome?

Listening to customers, we’ve learned that while many have experimented with generative AI, only a fraction have pushed things through to production due to prohibitive costs and security concerns. But what if your models could be trained just on your own data, running on CPUs rather than requiring GPUs, with accurate results and transparency around how you’re getting those results? What if all the regulatory and compliance issues were addressed, leaving no questions about where the data came from or how much data is being retrained? This is what Ikigai is bringing to the table with Large Graphical Models.

One challenge we’ve helped businesses address is the data problem. Nearly 100% of organisations are working with limited or imperfect data, and in many cases, this is a barrier to doing anything with AI. Companies often talk about data clean-up, but in reality, waiting for perfect data can hinder progress. AI solutions that can work with limited, sparse data are essential, as they allow companies to learn from what they have and account for change management.

The other challenge is how internal teams can partner with the technology for better outcomes. Especially in regulated industries, human oversight, validation, and reinforcement learning are necessary. Adding an expert in the loop ensures that AI is not making decisions in a vacuum, so finding solutions that incorporate human expertise is key.

To what extent do you think adopting generative AI successfully requires a shift in company culture and mindset?

Successfully adopting generative AI requires a significant shift in company culture and mindset, with strong commitment from executive and continuous education. I saw this firsthand at Eightfold when we were bringing our AI platform to companies in over 140 countries. I always recommend that teams first educate executives on what’s possible, how to do it, and how to get there. They need to have the commitment to see it through, which involves some experimentation and some committed course of action. They must also understand the expectations placed on colleagues, so they can be prepared for AI becoming a part of daily life.

Top-down commitment, and communication from executives goes a long way, as there’s a lot of fear-mongering suggesting that AI will take jobs, and executives need to set the tone that, while AI won’t eliminate jobs outright, everyone’s job is going to change in the next couple of years, not just for people at the bottom or middle levels, but for everyone. Ongoing education throughout the deployment is key for teams learning how to get value from the tools, and adapt the way they work to incorporate the new skillsets.

It’s also important to adopt technologies that play to the reality of the enterprise. For example, you have to let go of the idea that you need to get all your data in order to take action. In time-series forecasting, by the time you’ve taken four quarters to clean up data, there’s more data available, and it’s probably a mess. If you keep waiting for perfect data, you won’t be able to use your data at all. So AI solutions that can work with limited, sparse data are crucial, as you have to be able to learn from what you have.

Another important aspect is adding an expert in the loop. It would be a mistake to assume AI is magic. There are a lot of decisions, especially in regulated industries, where you can’t have AI just make the decision. You need oversight, validation, and reinforcement learning – this is exactly how consumer solutions became so good.

Are there any case studies you could share with us regarding companies successfully utilising generative AI?

One interesting example is a Marketplace customer that is using us to rationalise their product catalogue. They’re looking to understand the optimal number of SKUs to carry, so they can reduce their inventory carrying costs while still meeting customer needs. Another partner does workforce planning, forecasting, and scheduling, using us for labour balancing in hospitals, retail, and hospitality companies. In their case, all their data is sitting in different systems, and they must bring it into one view so they can balance employee wellness with operational excellence. But because we can support a wide variety of use cases, we work with clients doing everything from forecasting product usage as part of a move to a consumption-based model, to fraud detection.

You recently launched an AI Ethics Council. What kind of people are on this council and what is its purpose?

Our AI Ethics Council is all about making sure that the AI technology we’re building is grounded in ethics and responsible design. It’s a core part of who we are as a company, and I’m humbled and honoured to be a part of it alongside such an impressive group of individuals. Our council includes luminaries like Dr. Munther Dahleh, the Founding Director of the Institute for Data Systems and Society (IDSS) and a Professor at MIT; Aram A. Gavoor, Associate Dean at George Washington University and a recognised scholar in administrative law and national security; Dr. Michael Kearns, the National Center Chair for Computer and Information Science at the University of Pennsylvania; and Dr. Michael I. Jordan, a Distinguished Professor at UC Berkeley in the Departments of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and Statistics. I am also honoured to serve on this council alongside these esteemed individuals.

The purpose of our AI Ethics Council is to tackle pressing ethical and security issues impacting AI development and usage. As AI rapidly becomes central to consumers and businesses across nearly every industry, we believe it is crucial to prioritise responsible development and cannot ignore the need for ethical considerations. The council will convene quarterly to discuss important topics such as AI governance, data minimisation, confidentiality, lawfulness, accuracy and more. Following each meeting, the council will publish recommendations for actions and next steps that organisations should consider moving forward. As part of Ikigai Labs’ commitment to ethical AI deployment and innovation, we will implement the action items recommended by the council.

Ikigai Labs raised $25m funding in August last year. How will this help develop the company, its offerings and, ultimately, your customers?

We have a strong foundation of research and innovation coming out of our core team with MIT, so the funding this time is focused on making the solution more robust, as well as bringing on the team that works with the clients and partners.

We can solve a lot of problems but are staying focused on solving just a few meaningful ones through time-series super apps. We know that every company runs on four time series, so the goal is covering these in depth and with speed: things like sales forecasting, consumption forecasting, discount forecasting, how to sunset products, catalogue optimisation, etc. We’re excited and looking forward to putting GenAI for tabular data into the hands of as many customers as possible.

Want to learn more about AI and big data from industry leaders? Check out AI & Big Data Expo taking place in Amsterdam, California, and London. The comprehensive event is co-located with other leading events including BlockX, Digital Transformation Week, and Cyber Security & Cloud Expo.

Explore other upcoming enterprise technology events and webinars powered by TechForge here.

Tags: data, ethics, generative ai, Ikigai Labs, llm

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s89neha · 3 days

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Unleash Innovation: Transform Your Culture

Unlocking a World-Class Innovation Culture: Insights from Google, Spotify, and Salesforce

Innovation culture is vital for tech companies striving for leadership in their fields. Drawing insights from top firms like Google, Spotify, and Salesforce, it's clear that fostering a culture of learning, experimentation, and purpose drives success. Prioritizing autonomy, mastery, and psychological safety, as advocated by Daniel Pink, enhances motivation and creativity.

Despite economic uncertainties, around 80% of companies prioritize innovation, recognizing its pivotal role. Successful innovators invest strategically during downturns, focusing on breakthroughs and effective portfolio management. In disruptive times, a commitment to innovation culture, strategic investment, and precise measurement is essential for driving growth and achieving results.

The Essence of Innovation Culture

An innovation culture is best described as an environment that zealously supports and nurtures creativity, forward-thinking, and continuous advancements. It embodies a mindset that encourages pushing the envelope, exploring new horizons, and transforming innovative concepts into real-world solutions. Key characteristics of such a culture include psychological safety—empowering team members to express their ideas and embrace risks without fear; a collaborative ethos that thrives on diverse viewpoints; streamlined processes that ensure nimbleness and quick decision-making; and a solid commitment to fostering growth and learning across the organization.

The influence of organizational culture on creating such an environment is profound. It molds how team members interact, collaborate, and innovate—directly impacting the company's capability to stay ahead of the curve. In environments rich in innovation culture, employees are propelled to challenge conventional wisdom, propose inventive solutions, and collaborate on initiatives that drive progress. This is not just about facilitating innovation but embedding a philosophy that views innovation as essential and ongoing.

The benefits of nurturing an innovative culture stretch far beyond internal efficiencies and morale. They directly correlate with a company's competitive edge, enabling it to swiftly adapt to market changes and launch products that resonate with evolving consumer needs.

In the highly competitive corridors of the tech industry, the relentless pursuit of innovation is a critical necessity. Leading tech organizations recognize this and have strategically woven innovation into the fabric of their corporate culture—resulting in significant gains in creativity, productivity, and market positioning.

Diving deeper into the dynamics of fostering an innovation-centric environment reveals that it's less about individual moments of inspiration and more about cultivating a collective spirit that prioritizes innovation consistently. Within these cultures, the tech powerhouses of tomorrow will emerge, driven by an ethos that doesn't just value innovation but embodies it every day.

Core Strategy for Cultivating Innovation

Cultivating an innovation culture within tech companies involves several strategic approaches, each aimed at fostering an environment where creativity and innovation thrive and drive the organization forward. Here's how companies can integrate these core strategies into their culture.

Promoting Psychological Safety and Encouragement for Experimentation

Creating a workplace where employees feel secure in voicing their ideas and embracing trial and error fosters innovation. Psychological safety ensures team members won't face punishment for speaking up or proposing unconventional ideas, ultimately encouraging experimentation and leading to breakthrough innovations.

Empowering Cross-functional Collaboration and Diversity

Encouraging cross-functional collaboration taps into various perspectives, skills, and experiences, fueling creativity and innovation. Diversity in thought, expertise, and background challenges the status quo and sparks innovative solutions.

Minimizing Bureaucracy for Agility

Reducing bureaucratic hurdles fosters a nimbler and more responsive environment, essential for innovation. Streamlining decision-making processes enables quicker iteration and adaptation to change, helping companies seize innovation opportunities more effectively.

Investing in Growth and Development

Investing in employees' growth and development demonstrates a commitment to innovation. Providing resources for learning, supporting professional development, and encouraging personal projects cultivates a skilled workforce passionate about pushing boundaries.

Integrating these strategies into the organizational culture is a continuous process that evolves alongside the company and its employees. Prioritizing psychological safety, encouraging diverse collaboration, streamlining processes for agility, and investing in employee growth build a strong foundation for a culture of innovation.

Companies leading the change

In the realm of tech innovation, leading companies like Google have set a high standard for fostering a culture that champions psychological safety, encourages diversity and cross-functional collaboration, minimizes bureaucracy for enhanced agility, and profoundly invests in the growth and development of its employees.

Promoting Psychological Safety and Encouragement for Experimentation

Google prioritizes psychological safety, evident in initiatives like Project Aristotle, which emphasizes team dynamics and risk-taking without fear of retribution. Practical tools and norms, such as starting meetings with discussions on risks taken, significantly enhance teams' psychological safety and clarity.

Empowering Cross-functional Collaboration and Diversity

Empowering employees to dedicate 20% of their time to personal projects fosters a culture where experimentation is valued and learning from failures is encouraged. This approach underscores the importance of diversity in thought and expertise, contributing to the company's collective learning and innovative capacity.

Minimizing Bureaucracy for Agility

Google reduces bureaucracy to enhance agility and responsiveness, embracing failure as part of the learning process. Leaders and employees are encouraged to recover from setbacks through resilience-building strategies, fostering an adaptable and quick-to-innovate workplace.

Investing in Growth and Development

Investing in employees' growth and development is central to Google's innovation strategy. Abundant resources and opportunities for personal and professional development, such as Google University and emotional intelligence programs, nurture talent and foster a culture of continuous learning and innovation.

Google's leadership practices set a standard for creating a thriving innovation culture in the tech industry. Emphasizing psychological safety, diversity, agility, and employee development, Google has achieved remarkable success and is a blueprint for others.

Spotify's agile structure accelerates innovation through cross-functional collaboration and autonomous teams.

Salesforce promotes psychological safety and employee well-being through its philanthropy model and comprehensive wellness program.

Adobe's Check-in model fosters continuous feedback and development, while the Kickbox program empowers employees to pursue innovation.

Concluding Thoughts

In the dynamic landscape of the tech industry, fostering innovation is an ongoing journey. Challenges like adapting organizational cultures, streamlining processes, and integrating remote work models urge continual innovation. Coditude, inspired by tech giants like Google, Spotify, and Salesforce, leads with a commitment to psychological safety, diversity, agility, and growth, creating an environment where innovation thrives. If you're driven by innovation and ready to shape the future of technology, join us at Coditude, where every idea has the potential to make a difference.

#organizational culture #corporate culture #innovation culture #company culture #workplace culture #creativity and innovation

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nerdjourney · 3 days

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Why would someone return to a company referred to as “the hurt locker” after a stressful first experience? After moving on from “the hurt locker” to decrease his stress level, Justin Kelly received a unique opportunity to work inside the special operations division of his former employer as an automation developer. In contrast to his first stint at this employer, the special operations role gave Justin the flexibility to begin what would later become his IT Services Provider business - Secure Bearing, LLC. And it began by first deciding to moonlight. We’ll share the story of Justin's journey into entrepreneurship and the perspective he’s gained from working in technology operations and becoming a business owner.

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skellydun · 6 months

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I don't think I'm meant to be employed. It really cuts into my goofy silly haha time. and it makes it nearly impossible to have any wow life is beautiful let me take it in time.

#guess what our employee appreciation gift was. a chair. 100+ dollars on a camping chair for each HQ employee? why not just...#i was just like gee. glad u appreciate me. u ever heard of how companies can shower u with free swag but it doesnt distract from the #horrible culture???#like yes dont give us that 100 dollars but give me an ugly chair with our company logo that i had to lug up a hill.#im just tired of this aspect of HR i think. need me some new scenery

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jobsbuster · 15 days

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#Career advice #Career growth #Commute Job security #Company culture #Company reputation #Compensation and benefits #Decision making #Growth opportunities #Job satisfaction #Job search #New job #Personal alignment #Work-life balance #Workload Team dynamics

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corevaluesquiz · 1 month

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Maximize Work Retention and Engagement: A Core Values Strategy

Unlock the Power of Core Values for Lasting Commitment and Engagement

Your core values are essential for engagement and retention at work. Here’s how you can use them to keep your team committed and caring about their work:

Harness Core Values: Use core values to make employees feel engaged and committed to their roles.

Boost Employee Engagement: Engaged employees care more and go beyond just working for a paycheck. They work towards the organization's goals.

Embrace Transparency: Being clear and transparent fosters trust, connection, and communication.

Prompt Email Responses: Timely and thoughtful email responses show respect and clear communication.

Involve Everyone in Decision-Making: This encourages feedback and buy-in, enhancing team engagement.

Value Time Off: Respecting breaks and vacations improves team morale and productivity.

Volunteer as a Team: Volunteering builds teamwork and impacts the community positively.

Focus on Team Building: Knowing your team beyond their roles increases investment and engagement.

Encourage Authenticity and Collaboration: Authentic interactions and collaborative efforts lead to innovative solutions.

Promote Mentorship: Genuine mentoring relationships enhance loyalty, engagement, and retention.

Link Work to the Bigger Picture: Help employees see how their work contributes to the organization’s goals.

Permission to Be Human: Have honest conversations with team members who may be disengaged or struggling.

Are you inspired to cultivate a more engaged and committed workforce by embracing core values? Dive deeper into creating a values-driven culture with MaryBeth Hyland's book, "Permission to Be Human: The Conscious Leader's Guide to Creating a Values-Driven Culture." Enhance your understanding and application of core values in your organization.

For a personalized exploration of your core values, take our Core Values Quiz at corevaluesquiz.com. Discover how to integrate core values into your work life for better engagement, satisfaction, and performance. Buy the "Permission to Be Human" book and start transforming your workplace culture today!

#core values #employee engagement #company culture #organizational culture

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darrenwalleyconsultancy · 1 month

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Unwritten Rules at Work

Photo by Aaron Burden Since birth, we have been guided by a set of social norms. Which effectively are unwritten rules that we live by. These unwritten rules guide how we live and determine how people react to us. In times gone by, most of these rules were called “good manners”. These would guide the behaviour of a lady or a gentleman. Unfortunately, some of these rules are no longer…

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myguidetogrowth · 2 months

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Job Hopping and Salary

Hey there, fellow career voyagers! Let’s talk about a topic that often stirs up a mix of excitement and uncertainty: job hopping and the big ol’ paycheck discussion. First off, let’s normalize the idea of exploring different opportunities. In today’s dynamic job market, it’s not uncommon to hop from one job to another in search of the perfect fit. Each leap can bring valuable experiences and…

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#career advancement #career exploration #company culture #industry standards #job hopping #professional growth #salary negotiation #salary negotiation tips #salary research #work-life balance

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tntra · 2 months

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Embracing Transformation: A Journey of Growth and Gratitude with Tntra Culture

Embark on a profound journey of personal and professional growth with Tntra Culture, where transformation is embraced and gratitude is paramount. Delve into inspiring narratives of individuals navigating challenges, seizing opportunities, and evolving into their best selves. Experience the power of transformational leadership and cultural values that foster growth, innovation, and a deep sense of appreciation. Join us on this enlightening voyage of self-discovery and collective achievement.

#company culture #growth and gratitude

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marbleboxindia · 2 months

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Humility isn't about shrinking yourself or diminishing your abilities. It's about having a realistic understanding of your strengths and weaknesses and being open to learning and growing. It's about recognizing that the collective "we" is always stronger than the isolated "me."

Humility does not diminish ambition or drive. It simply allows you to achieve your goals in a way that is respectful and collaborative.

#workculture #workplaceculture #humble #just be respectful #company culture #lifeatMB #marblebox

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jcmarchi · 13 days

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Achieving Diversity in Technical Roles Through Equitable Interviews - Technology Org

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/achieving-diversity-in-technical-roles-through-equitable-interviews-technology-org/

Achieving Diversity in Technical Roles Through Equitable Interviews - Technology Org

In the technology industry, there is an increasing focus on improving diversity and inclusion. However, interview practices often unintentionally disadvantage underrepresented groups. Studies show women, people of color, older candidates, and others face implicit bias during the interview process.

“We believe that interviews should never be a barrier to recognizing talent, skill, and ability in candidates regardless of their background,” says Dr. D Sangeeta, CEO of Gotara, an online business leadership acceleration platform used by over 30,000 women across 176 countries. “Our platform is built on empowering women across a multitude of industries to advance, and equitable interview practices are a necessity to make that possible.”

By taking proactive steps to remove bias from interviews, companies can work towards building more diverse, creative, and innovative teams. This article provides practical tips and guidelines for making interviews as fair and gender-neutral as possible.

Use Structured Interview Techniques

Unstructured interviews that rely on the “gut feeling” of the interviewer often introduce unconscious bias. Structured techniques that assess all candidates on the same predefined criteria can help reduce this. Some examples include:

Ask the same core technical questions of all candidates for a given role. Avoid asking different questions based on irrelevant factors like educational background.

Use standardized rating scales when evaluating responses instead of general impressions. Train interviewers on how to apply the scales.

Limit discussions around previous experience to focus on concrete skills a candidate possesses rather than perceived pedigree of past companies.

Prioritize Skills Over Cultural Fit

Seeking candidates that “fit” with company culture can reinforce homogeneity if not approached carefully. Technical skills should be the priority evaluation criteria. Only assess cultural alignment based on how a candidate demonstrates inclusiveness, cooperation and values that align with diversity goals.

“Seeking candidates that “fit” with company culture can reinforce homogeneity if not approached carefully,” explains Dr. D. Sangeeta, CEO of Gotara. “Technical skills should be the priority evaluation criteria. One always benefits from having complementary skills rather than a clone of themselves. When interviews are structured around skills rather than subjective impressions of candidates, it opens doors for those facing systemic biases and works towards undoing historical barriers many have faced.”

Train a Diverse Panel of Interviewers

Ensure women, people of color and other underrepresented groups are well-represented among the panel of technical interviewers. This helps reduce the impact of any one interviewer’s unconscious biases. Require all members to complete unconscious bias training regularly and train them how to conduct unbiased interviews, training that Gotara offers.

Conduct Interviews Remotely When Possible

In-person interviews allow subconscious biases related to race, age and appearance to seep in. Remote video interviews place more focus on responses and technical abilities. However, take care that communication differences across cultures are not penalized. Provide options for interviewees to ask clarifying questions.

Institute Blind Review Procedures

During initial screening stages, remove all identifying candidate details from resumes/applications before review. Later stages can reveal this information, but initial assessment remains tied to skills. Automated tools can help facilitate blind screening at scale.

Additionally, when possible conduct technical code reviews in a blind manner, hiding any indication of the author’s identity or demographic background to reduce the chance of implicit bias creeping in.

Standardize Evaluation of Experience

Ask candidates to describe projects and impact rather than rely on the notoriety of previous companies. Discount work experience timelines when assessing older candidates. Focus on relevant skills vs. years of experience, which can be indirectly influenced by systemic biases. Provide clear guidance on how this expectation is applied evenly across candidates.

Highlight Company DEI Commitments

Ensure candidates see a visible demonstration of diversity, equity and inclusion commitments from leadership. Share actionable plans and metrics around improving representation.

Allow candidates space to ask questions and assess your commitment to DEI as a company. Be prepared to address concerns around previous diversity numbers or experiences at your organization.

Support Growth from Day One

In your offer to the candidate, once they pass the interview process, demonstrate that you care about their future growth by offering upskilling and coaching in the first six months, like one of Gotara’s programs. Not only does this show your commitment, but it will significantly decrease ramp-up time for that candidate to become productive and proficient in the new role, leading to increase engagement and future retention.

Guide Interviewers on Inclusive Communication

Provide tips for avoiding exclusionary language and establishing an inclusive tone during interviews. For example, using gender-neutral pronouns until indicated otherwise and avoiding assumptions about family status.

Interview panel training should cover nonverbal communication as well, such as making eye contact with all candidates equally and being aware of any differential body language responding to certain demographics.

Encourage Interview Feedback

Gather structured feedback from all interview candidates on their experience, including perceptions of unfair bias or discrimination. Track trends to detect issues. Ensure a transparent process for safely reporting any incidents without fear of retaliation, which would suppress reporting.

Monitor Outcomes and Iterate

Collect voluntary demographic data during hiring and track offer rates across gender, race and other factors. If disparities arise in offer rates, analyze results to detect where bias enters the process. Refine approach to address issues. Report metrics and progress regularly to leadership.

Set Goals for Representation

Leadership should define clear targets for diversity at all levels of technical roles. Measure effectiveness of updated interview practices on hitting goals. Link outcomes to executive accountability. Make plans incremental to give adequate ramp up time but maintain urgency through regular check-ins.

Inclusive Interviewing Drives Real Change

Removing subtle but substantial biases from technical interviews is a complex undertaking but pays dividends in building a more diverse workforce positioned for innovation success. The above steps require dedication but enable organizations to tap talent that may have otherwise been left behind.

Updating technical interview approaches needs to be part of a comprehensive strategy focused on achieving diversity, equity and inclusion milestones. Paired with adjustments in outreach, hiring manager expectations, onboarding and corporate culture, equitable interviews can serve as a key lever in transforming representation.

“Removing subtle but substantial biases from technical interviews is a complex undertaking, but pays dividends in building a more diverse workforce positioned for innovation success,” says Dr. D Sangeeta, CEO of business leadership acceleration platform Gotara. “The ripple effect in innovation is immeasurable when teams reflect diverse perspectives.”

The technology solutions we build are powered by the creativity of our teams. Ensuring people from all backgrounds can equitably demonstrate qualifications will drive innovation that represents the full diversity of our users and moves society positively forward. But we will only unlock the full potential of our talent through a systemic commitment to progress on representation.

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