How AI Technology Can Solve the DE&I Talent Equation

The following is an excerpt from my FREE Workplace Intelligence Insider Newsletter. You can access the full article in the Newsletter Archives. And don't forget to subscribe so you receive the new edition every Monday morning. 

For this week’s Workplace Intelligence Newsletter, I interviewed Sameer Penakalapati, Founder and CEO of CEIPAL, an AI-powered SaaS platform that provides full-lifecycle management of the talent acquisition process. CEIPAL’s system leverages advanced technology to analyze vast amounts of candidate and employee data, providing actionable insights for meeting hiring goals and executing talent strategies.

Sameer is a serial entrepreneur who is dedicated to advising and investing in technology startups, specifically in the HR & AI space. His key interests include talent acquisition, talent engagement, and total talent management. As a regular contributor of thought leadership pieces to HR publications, Sameer was recently inducted into the Forbes HR Council and sits on Fast Company’s Executive Board.

In our conversation, we discussed how technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) and natural language processing (NLP) can be immensely beneficial for employers seeking to boost their company’s diversity levels. We also discussed why organizations need to put more emphasis on improving diversity levels among their contingent workforce, and how DE&I technology can help them achieve this.

Below is a sneak peek of our conversation — subscribe to my FREE Workplace Intelligence Insider newsletter and you’ll immediately receive the full Q&A.

And be sure to join us during our live audio event TODAY (August 29) at 12:00pm EDT, where Sameer and I will continue our discussion.

1.    The significance of DE&I is well-established. In fact, researchers first uncovered the connection between a diverse workforce and financial performance over two decades ago! So, why haven’t we seen major improvements in this space? 

As organizations seek to diversify their workforces, it’s also critical to ensure that the best talent available is being engaged throughout this process. There has been progress made in the last two decades in terms of education, training, and awareness programs within organizations, but despite that, contingent worker data tends to be scarce. This limits organization-wide visibility, particularly when it comes to evaluating talent sources.

In fact, one of the biggest obstacles to meaningful improvements in workforce diversity is a lack of such visibility. If you can’t accurately measure the demographic makeup of your own workforce and your talent sources, you’ll never see measurable improvements. While the EEO regulations have helped push things forward in terms of diversifying workforces in the U.S. over the last fifty years, some would argue that these rules have not evolved enough to keep pace with our changing times. Meanwhile, innovative technology has continuously evolved, and businesses are just now beginning to understand how this can move us closer to our diversity goals.  

2.    How can technologies like AI algorithms and natural language processing (NLP) technology help employers boost their diversity numbers? Can you give us an example to bring this to life?

In broad terms, AI and NLP can remove human bias from the hiring equation, as long as you have a clear view of where those biases exist in the process. For example, you have to know which words in a job description might create new biases and/or reinforce existing ones. Likewise, once you discover these potential liabilities, you must align these considerations with your algorithms to ensure you’re accurately removing them from the equation and adjusting your processes accordingly.

So, as you automate a task as seemingly simple as a job posting, it’s critical to have technology in place that’s capable of recognizing and remediating any language that runs the risk of perpetuating age discrimination or cultural biases, for example. At CEIPAL, we’ve managed to implement advanced AI-powered technology into the talent acquisition process by providing complete visibility into any workforce or talent pool.

Want to read the full article? You can access it in the Workplace Intelligence Insider Archives. To receive the new edition every Monday morning, subscribe for free.

And be sure to tune in for our live audio event TODAY (August 29) at 12:00 pm EDT, where Sameer and I will continue our discussion on this important topic.