In his closing remarks, Indeed CEO Chris Hyams rounded out the second annual Indeed FutureWorks conference by sharing his three pillars for the future of work:
- Breaking down barriers in the hiring process
- Using AI responsibly
- Focusing on work wellbeing
“Promoting access, equity and wellbeing is pivotal to successfully navigating current and future challenges,” Hyams said. He also made it clear that Indeed will continue on its relentless mission to make hiring simpler, faster and more human.
And though AI was the talk of the day at Indeed FutureWorks 2023, the event also made room for humanity with some delightfully unexpected moments. In the morning, mindfulness speaker Michael James Wong led the audience through an interactive meditation. In the afternoon, the Atlanta Drum Academy — as seen on “America’s Got Talent” — marched down the aisles leading to the main stage and treated conference goers to an energizing percussive performance. It ended with raucous applause and a standing ovation.
But Indeed FutureWorks 2023 was also filled with thought-provoking keynotes and engaging sessions. From an intimate conversation with Academy Award-winning actress Viola Davis to a deep dive into new AI product offerings, here are the top five “mic drop moments.”
Cutting-edge AI-driven Technology Will Propel Hiring
“Right now, there is no bigger question than whether AI will help or hurt the world of work,” Hyams said in his opening keynote. Still, Indeed believes that advancements in technology bring opportunity for positive change, especially in the world of recruiting.
Hyams shared how Indeed is building a more reliable — and more inclusive — hiring process with AI-driven technology. Indeed’s Job Description Generator not only increases connectivity with potential candidates, but it can help cut the time it takes to write a job description from two hours down to five minutes. In just six months of beta testing, users saw a 16% increase in applications. (“Okay, this is, like, awesome,” a woman in the crowd whispered to her colleague.)
There’s Still a Lack of Opportunities for People of Color
In her 2015 Emmy acceptance speech, actress Viola Davis said, “The only thing that separates women of color from anyone else is opportunity.” On the FutureWorks main stage, Indeed Chief Marketing Officer Jessica Jensen asked Davis if the situation has improved eight years later. Her response was direct: “No.”
Davis explained, “Black women are coming from a history where we were seen as chattel. It’s taken the culture a long time to come to grips with the fact that we are indeed equal, that we are indeed women, feminine, complicated.”
In Hollywood, Black stories simply “don’t get the budgets, the directors or the stars,” Davis said. “It’s not our imagination, it’s not our ability that’s standing in the way. It’s opportunity and access to opportunity.”
Recruiters Will “Screen In” for Skills, Not Out
“Sixty-two percent of all Americans don’t have a college degree,” said Indeed’s SVP of ESG LaFawn Davis in her morning keynote. This includes 72% of Black Americans, 75% of rural Americans and 79% of Latino Americans.
Currently, 70 million workers in the U.S. are screened out of the job search when an employer requires a four-year degree. These 70 million workers are skilled through alternative routes, meaning they are able to perform jobs that would typically require college-level education.
She continued, “This is why Indeed is a champion of screening in for skills. In the future, AI can be used to screen in candidates with relevant work experience, boot camps or certifications who may lack a college degree.” According to Indeed research, hiring for skills is five times more predictive of job performance than hiring for education, and more than two times more predictive than hiring for work experience.
Reframe Biases and Tired Thinking to Expand Your Talent Pool
Job seekers with some form of a criminal record face huge barriers to employment. “The biggest barrier is the way that we’re viewed,” said Vincent Bragg, co-founder and CEO of ConCreates, a creative agency that crowdsources ideas from the formerly incarcerated. Bragg joined LaFawn Davis for a conversation during her afternoon panel discussion. “You went to prison, you’re a bad person. You went to prison, you’re not a smart person. You went to prison, you’re not capable.”
Bragg urged employers to consider the skills a person has, not the stigma they may carry. “One of my guys successfully robbed 27 banks,” he said. “In my mind, I’m like, you’re not a bank robber, you’re a strategist. You literally created a plan, executed it 27 times successfully. I don’t care what industry we’re talking about — that’s impressive.”
He continued, “I think we should all take that to our respective businesses and change the way we think,” he said. “When we talk about folks with a criminal history, let’s start reading between the lines.”
The Future Is (Almost) Here: What’s on the Horizon for Indeed AI
Indeed EVP and General Manager for Job Seeker Maggie Hulce and Indeed EVP and General Manager for Employer Raj Mukherjee explained the company’s pending AI-powered features in their afternoon keynote following the Atlanta Drum Academy’s performance. Indeed AI’s ultimate offering: Smart Sourcing, which will be available in spring 2024. “We’re going to take the best of Resume Search and the best of Matched Candidates and bring them together into one cohesive experience,” Mukherjee said.
Indeed will soon offer an automatically generated job score that instantly gives employers metric-based feedback on how likely their job listing is to generate leads. By highlighting sections of the descriptions that may need improvement — like specifying benefits and pay — Indeed AI will help talent professionals make adjustments that will make their roles more competitive.
“You’ve told us, no one does hiring alone,” Hulce said. “Our future vision includes a reimagined employer app that helps you stay connected, no matter where or how you work. Everything in one place. Everyone you work with. Everywhere you work. AI can and will make hiring way simpler and faster, but together we can ensure the ‘human’ is always at the heart of hiring.”
Check out these other stories from Indeed FutureWorks 2023:
