December 13th, 2020
In October, I (with a lot of help from our incredible team) wrote about tech being part of the solution to all our recruiting challenges.
Thank you to everyone that signed up so far - recruiters, talent and hiring organisations alike. I am forever grateful.
Given the numbers and make-up of the profiles and recruiters (in house and external) that signed up for our app, we thought it would be sensible to start in an area where we know the market intricately i.e. in the growth capital category in Europe, on a portfolio level - or ‘human level’ which may be more appropriate given a point I am about to get to.
Venture Capital in Europe is an area that is growing e.g. classic US funds have recently announced European office launches. I have also had US deals enquire about the availability of European capital. The talent at the nexus of this all are also increasingly purpose driven (I’ve noticed people are favouring deals that prioritise D&I and sustainability) - and consumer behaviours fundamentally lead us all.
We all, in this space, are aware of the numbers. In the positions of great capital influence globally in VC and tech we see c. 98% homogeneity at large (e.g. lack of female founders, management and GPs, racial diversity, etc.). Yet in a market so competitive and comp focused, changing the % numbers requires profound thinking about the underlying drivers, i.e. behaviours. We want to continue to actively pursue sustainable change in these areas, including through our new recruitment partners, DigiSpace - keep an eye out for our “Recruiter Spotlight” on DigiSpace coming soon!
Sometimes one can find it easier to define what inclusion is not, rather than what it is. We can define what we do not want, but not quite put our finger on nor articulate what would work on a profound level - instead resigning ourselves to things like budget, title, tools.
I have noticed that exclusion is a nuanced and subtle subject ranging from the explicitly, clearly intolerable to almost unnoticeable (and perhaps innocent) unconscious forms of exclusion - e.g. when you leave a meeting and two hours after have a feeling that something was just not right.
One subtle form of exclusion I have noticed is treating people differently due to the positions they hold in life. I have always wondered why candidates sometimes are so focused on job titles (which can matter for an array of reasons). An underlying theme (i.e. the thinking that drives the request and behaviour) here though is that talent simply wants to feel valued, respected and ultimately included by others - our title and position in life seems to support this endeavor.
Another form of exclusion I have noticed is that people single out certain professions as not invited. There are lots of platforms that say no recruiters please. I understand there are budget constraints, cost conflicts and biases associated with this. And the recruitment industry at large admittedly has not helped itself as regards managing its reputation and we do see malpractice. However, I still take issue with the exclusive language around recruiters for a few reasons.
(i) Signals a profound lack of compassion in an area where we need it the most right now
There are many types of unemployment such as cyclical, frictional and seasonal, but I will focus on structural given the context. Structural unemployment is where we have jobs but not the skills to fulfill those jobs - and this has led to a lot of the despondence which we have seen in the market lately. People apply and put themselves out there only for employers to have to turn them down, often with automated messages that lack compassion (and sometimes no message at all).
Recruiters have throughout history played a pivotal part as regards restoring the labour market’s confidence in pursuing work. Having someone on your side in the pursuit of finding work (which involves rejection, putting oneself out there and uncertainty etc.) can be of great value to the majority of job seekers.
(ii) Is counterproductive