Eploy, a leader in enterprise level cloud based recruitment software are to exhibit at the CIPD Recruitment Exhibition 2016. The event will take place on the 15th and 16th June at Olympia West, London. The Recruitment Exhibition is a well-established event, co-located with the HR Software Show, where you can find the right technology and services to improve your organisation’s recruitment processes and performance. The event is a great opportunity for Recruitment, IT and HR professionals to meet vendors and make informed decisions.
As well as the exhibition itself there are 18 free learning sessions for delegates to attend. Eploy will be presenting their learning session- Name Blind Applications: Recruit Anonymously- Drive Diversity – on June 16th at 13.30.
Name Blind Applications refer to candidate job applications where all identifying information hidden to recruiters until the candidate passes the first stage of the application process. Name Blind Applications received mainstream press coverage in October 2015 when David Cameron announced a scheme to end the “disgraceful discrimination”, whereby employers in the UK are “nearly twice as likely” to respond to applications from candidates with “white-sounding names.”
Since the Cameron announcement, discrimination in the work place has been a reoccurring theme in mainstream media- based primarily on issues of race and gender. Extensive research from a number of reputable sources shows that this discrimination in the recruitment process is not linked to a specific sector, region or country- but is a far reaching issue for recruitment departments.
Name Blind Applications could create a fairer recruiting process. By hiding identifying information in the initial stages of the applications, recruiters have to base a decision to progress a candidate on experience, qualifications and skills alone.
And what about job descriptions themselves? Linked to Name Blind Applications is the suggestion that job descriptions could be biased towards male or female candidates. The academic work of Gaucher, Frisen and Kay suggests job descriptions that use masculine words could deter female candidates from applying to your positions in the first place. Use this free Check My Job tool to see if your job descriptions are gender biased.
Could this be the gateway to a number of business benefits as well. If you can attract and recruit more diverse candidates, are there any additional benefits? Is a more diverse business a more profitable one? Can diverse groups actually solve problems faster than less diverse, but more skilled counterparts? Join us on June 16th at the CIPD Recruitment Exhibition to find out.