Welcome to our new blog!
Here we will be analyzing HR topics, sharing our opinions and thereby creating a place for vivid discussion.
If you have any ideas or comments, do not hesitate to let the rest of us know right here.
Suggestions for new topics are always more than welcome, so if you read, heard or watched anything that you deem interesting, this is the place to share.
Thanks to evereyone in advance and happy Human resources.
Hi all, and thank you Tanita for creating this blog! I am really very much looking forward to interesting discussions!
AntwortenLöschenHave a great time!
Hello everybody,
AntwortenLöschenmy first contribution to "get this blog going" is a short video sequence from April 10th, 2013 (I know, it's already a little old but I whatched it back then and thought it was quite interesting) braodcasted on Economist.com, discussing special software supporting the HR recruitment process.
Here two links to the sequence:
Audio + Video
http://www.economist.com/blogs/schumpeter/2013/04/big-data-and-hiring
Audio
https://soundcloud.com/theeconomist/big-data-dehumanising-human
When I read through the comments section below the video, one thought posted by an Economist.com reader caught my attention since it addresses an idea that we also considered and discussed during yesterday's lecture:
"This is one of the reasons I closed my Facebook account. We are coming to a future where HR matters will be resolved by software, based on algorithms dehumanized decisions no-one really understands. You will get or lose a job because you downloaded certain music or did not read certain books or visit certain sites. No-one will ask anything, not even contact you, as this is the cheapest way of doing this." (trisul27Apr 12th, 10:18)
What do you think about this statement in particular, and the utilisation of sophisticated technology and software to support the recruiting process, in general? Or even better: which browser do you use? ;)
Have fun watching/listening
I think there is surely some truth in there, but (I am a believer ;) there still is more out there in the recruitment world than just algorithms etc.
AntwortenLöschenBelow a link to an article:
How I hire: Focus on personality (Richard Branson):
http://www.linkedin.com/influencers/20130923230007-204068115-how-i-hire-focus-on-personality?goback=%2Enmp_*1_*1_*1_*1_*1_*1_*1_*1_*1_*1&trk=nmp_rec_act_article_detail
Great, if you have the opportunity to focus on personality. In tourism business for example, it's not quite that easy. Finding a chef (cook) with a great personality? Impossible!! Cooks are moody, arrogant, egoistic ... so you have to focus on their abilities/practice.
LöschenSo in my opinion, focusing on personality is not possible in every sector!
Dear Ulrike,
AntwortenLöschenThe video you posted was very interesting to me as I haven’t been aware of such factors influencing decision making when it comes to recruitment. Hearing that the use of a certain browser or the ZIP code might impact whether someone is recruited or not left me quite surprised. What is more, I was astonished about the declaration that in some jobs people perform better if they have had a record. In fact, I do believe that sophisticated technology might in certain cases help improve the recruitment process and indicate which person might be more or less suitable for a certain position. It may give you the chance to make more objective decisions that are more fact-based and less emotional as well as speed up the process of recruitment.
However, in my opinion, details such as the use of a certain browser or ZIP code should rather be considered with caution when selecting the right person for a certain job. I personally think that the exclusion of selected groups such as Internet Explorer users or a selected ZIP code group might actually not lead to the desired result. Even more, it might exclude people that could be actually appropriate for a job but are not taken into consideration due to the only fact that they use the wrong browser or live in the wrong place. This might also happen with other data.
And, by the way: I use Internet Explorer ;)
Dear Anita,
LöschenThank you for your comment. I absolutely go along with you on the fact that such sophisticated technology can definitely improve and - most importantly - accelerate the recruitment process. However, it is also true that, just like you pointed out, such recruitment methods might "unintentionally" exclude appropriate candidates for a vacancy from the very beginning due to the fact that they do not have those special characteristics/attributes (e.g. using a certain browser etc.) such algorythms are searching for. We are all unique individuals, therefore there is no guarantee that our special characters will fit into the "standrads" set by the recruitment system.
Still, we have to keep in mind, that even though the pre-selection is done automatically, a manager is taking the final hiring decision. Since managers have to be able to work with, rely on and trust their team, this is the only right way, I suppose.
I use Google Chrome because IE and Firefox do not work properly on my PC ;)
As the name "Human Resources" already says, it should be about people, their personalities and interaction with them. In an ideal case this is what recruiters consider when hiring new people. But think of big enterprises, who get hundreds of applications every day. It is simply not possible to have an HR Manager look at all of them. In such a situation algorithms can be a useful tool to narrow down the number of applicants. I think, however, that it should include reasonable things (which does not include browser usage for example), maybe years of experience or education. When it comes down to the final selection of applicants it is important to get to know them as good as possible. I would not look at profiles here anymore, but mainly concentrate on the question whether they fit into the team/working atmosphere/corporate culture etc. I completely agree with the last statement of the article (the one with the holes ;) )
AntwortenLöschenExactly, that's absolutely right.
LöschenYou stress that such algorithms should rather include "reasonable things" (other than broweser preference) in order to group and filter prospective candidates for a vacant position properly. Here I am asking myself if we (non-high-tech-geeks ;) ) are even able to really grasp and understand how such technologies work to be able to judge whether required characteristics are appropriate or not for the purpose of employee (pre-)selection. (I mean, they would not use it if they hadn't proof that it actually is effective)
Dear colleagues,
LöschenI found this discussion very interesting because from my point of view in near future this issue will touch all of us as long as after graduation we are all job seekers.
As always in every new theory there are good and bad sides.
Let's start with company's perspective. On one hand tools like that are very useful for big corporations with thousands of applications per one place, it reduces dramatically amount of time HR managers need to spend on identifying the right candidate. Company achieves their goal to find new talent in comparably little time and I believe in nowadays fast paced environment it is a huge benefit that brings competitive advantage to an organization.
But what about job-seekers, is it fair for them? There are thousands of talented people around the globe who are unemployed and what if the reason for that is mentioned above technology. Is it fair for them that they have been studying hard, receiving special training, learning languages and then all of a sudden just because of one picture in FB or wrong ZIP code their dream job is going to person with lower educational level but "proper" browser?
It is a dilemma
P.S.
Is there a possibility to change setting of the blog and make it in English, my German is in a developing stage :)
thank you in advance
Video was very interesting, thank you for starting the conversation.
AntwortenLöschenHow I understood the video the discussion about your zip code or internet browser is irrelevant. It was just an example how this so called big data can be interpreted.
Personally I don't see anything wrong in this development and I am sure that it will be much more efficient and fair compared to old-fashioned recruitment process. The big next step what needs to be figured is how to use this big data and what kind of algorithms we want to make.
At the moment we have more information than we even need but we are lacking the right tools to approach and process the big data. It is paradoxical that e.g. Google has so much storaged information but does not know how to make the best of it. Concerning Big Data I read a great article from HBR last year (http://hbr.org/2012/10/big-data-the-management-revolution). If you are interested in the topic I strongly recommend you to read it. It really inspires to consider the future of management.
In the end I want to say that do not be scared of computers. :) Oh, and I use Firefox or PirateBrowser...
I hope it is ok to give some new input?
AntwortenLöschenhttp://www.workforce.com/articles/is-hr-at-its-breaking-point
(will comment on it later)
Take care!
Lisa
Just a small question: what happens, if we keep on posting this way the whole semester? Couldn't we all be administrators in some way? To start a new entry for each article, video, etc. ? That would make it easier to comment on the single inputs instead of throwing it all together and at each other :o)
AntwortenLöschenI would like to give a statement concerning the usage of technology in a recruitment process. In my opinion, nowadays it is important when using for example “Facebook” or any other social network, that you really think about what you´re going to post on the internet. As we all know, once it is there, it will also stay there forever and if I were a HR Manager I would definitely try to get a first impression on the internet of the applicant in order to select who I invite for a job interview. Of course, you can always get a wrong impression when only judging about the appearance of an applicant on the internet, nevertheless I think it is a good way to start a selection process. Do you have the same opinion or would you as a HR Manager not take any usage of social networks when starting a recruitment process?
AntwortenLöschenTake care!
Tanja
Dieser Kommentar wurde vom Autor entfernt.
AntwortenLöschenAs an HR manager, I would definitely take a look at the social media profiles of applicants. But a "good" (whatever that is) HR manager has also to keep in mind, that a FB profile is not a 100% exact reflection of the person in real life. If someone doesn't post at all, does that mean that person doesn't talk a lot and if someone plays Farmville, does that mean that person is childish? One for sure cannot draw a picture that comes very close to reality from an online profile. HR managers have to bear in mind that they are hiring people, not working machines, and that people also have a private life. It's the same as 20 years ago, but today, your boss may be able to see what you do in your free time. Concerning the big data: I think it is necessary for global companies to start somewhere with to time-comsuming selection process and this might be a good opportunity, but as Sonja mentioned, this filtering process should be based on comparable things like education, and not on ZIP codes.
AntwortenLöschenI fully agree with Tanja, that you have to be aware that everything you put onto the internet, stays in the internet.
AntwortenLöschenNot only pictures on Facebook but also all kind of comments; like in this blog. I can understand the approch that people who change or customize their computers with extra software like different browser´s, can also be more "creative" in their jobs. But in my opinion, this approach is hardly related to certain industries with high attrition rates and cannot be used in general.
And yes, I would also start searching the internet when starting the recriuting process.
For example, when looking for a new marketing person I would rather accept some "crazy or fancy" pictures or comments on the web than when I am looking for a PR position to represent a multi-national company. So always depending on the different factors of a position, different tools and aspects should be used during a recruting process.
I am using Firefox for many years, so I am a good potential candidate......for what?