HRD investigates how recruitment technology can help organisations achieve their gender diversity targets
Many of the job platforms currently available only offer a generic search, according to Andrew Joyce, co-founder of Found.
Joyce said that what tends to happen is that candidates don’t end up with roles that they are looking for because the same ad is shown to every single candidate regardless of what they are like.
“So my 15-year-old niece or my grandfather would both see the same version of an ad,” he told HRD.
However, Joyce said that when candidates sign up and create a profile with Found the company can then say to employers ‘we understand you are looking for different types of employees for different types of roles, let’s show different ads for different people’.
“If you’re an employer looking for trainee truck drivers and you really want to hire women into those roles you might customise the imagery so you have an image of a woman as a truck driver,” said Joyce.
“You would use very different language and you would highlight very different factors of the roles.
“So you might highlight working flexibility, as opposed to the version which you might show to men which is a much more traditional ad.”
Consequently, Joyce said that what this means is two things. One is that more women see these roles, and when they do see these roles they have been adapted in a way that actually speaks to them.
“It’s made relevant for them as opposed to seeing a very generic ad that appeals a little bit to everybody but nobody in particular,” he said.
Moreover, this recruitment platform means there is no need for CVs, covering letters or emails.
This year, companies like BHP and Holden recently announced wanting to promote more diversity by appointing more females, with BHP committing last year to a 50:50 split male and female.
Found is helping to support these enterprises across Australia with specifically designed technology to target women to fill male-dominated roles quickly.
“Our user interface on these types of candidates has a lot in common with Tinder, so if you as a candidate create a profile we will start displaying jobs for you,” said Joyce.
“So we will match you with what is nearby and suited to you. And then the question is: is it the job you want, yes or no?
“So we don’t actually have swiping but it’s actually tick, yes, I want to apply for it or cross, no I don’t want to apply for it.”