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Texas Public Universities revoking DEI initiatives in hiring practices

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick named “banning discriminatory ‘DEI’ policies in higher education” a top priority

In a series of memos sent by Chief of Staff Gardner Pate in February, Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s administration announced its intention to ban “diversity, equity and inclusion” initiatives in state agencies and public universities. In response, the University of Houston (UH) announced that it would not use DEI statements or factors in its hiring or promotion practices in order to comply with state and federal laws.

UH Chancellor Renu Khator stated in a March 3 email to HR Dive: “We have no offices, departments or programs promoting discrimination in the guise of diversity, equity and inclusion.” Shawn Lindsey, Associate Vice Chancellor and Associate VP of Media Relations, emphasized that the memo was a reminder of UH policy and that using DEI statements has become a disfavored practice.

Similarly, Texas A&M University (TAMU) announced that it would revoke its diverse hiring practices.

Chancellor John Sharp issued a statement on March 2, saying: “No university or agency in the A&M System will admit any student, nor hire any employee based on any factor other than merit.” Sharp then ordered all A&M System institutions to review their employment and admission practices to ensure compliance with Abbott’s Feb. 6 memo.

University of Texas System Board of Regents Chair Kevin Eltife confirmed at a Feb. 22 board meeting that the system would also be recanting its DEI commitments in compliance with the state. “Certain DEI efforts have strayed from the original intent to now imposing requirements and actions that, rightfully so, raised the concerns of our policymakers,” Eltife said.

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick named “banning discriminatory ‘DEI’ policies in higher education” one of his top 30 priorities for 2023. This comes alongside his priorities of banning children’s exposure to drag shows and critical race theory in higher education.

The double layer of compliance regarding DEI bans is worth noting. Patrick’s other priority is removing judges and district attorneys who refuse to follow Texas law.

It is clear that Texas public institutions are coming down hard on DEI initiatives, in compliance with state and federal laws. Employers in Texas should take note of these changes and ensure compliance with these new mandates.

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Modest employment growth, according to ONS latest figures

  • UK

Average regular pay growth for the private sector was 7%

UK employment rates continue to show modest growth, with the employment rate rising 0.1% to 75.7% between November 2022 and January 2023. The increase in employment was mainly driven by part-time employees and self-employed workers, according to the latest report from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The timeliest estimate of payrolled employees also showed an increase of 98,000 in February 2023 compared to January 2023, bringing the total to 30.0 million. However, the unemployment rate remained largely unchanged at 3.7% during the same period. The number of people who have been unemployed for over 12 months saw a slight increase in the latest three-month period.

Economic inactivity, on the other hand, decreased by 0.2% to 21.3% in November 2022 to January 2023. This was driven by people aged 16 to 24 years, and by people who are inactive because they are students or retired.

However, the estimated number of vacancies fell by 51,000 on the quarter to 1,124,000 in December 2022 to February 2023. This marks the eighth consecutive period of declining vacancies and reflects uncertainty across industries, as respondents continue to cite economic pressures as a factor in holding back recruitment.

The report also showed growth in average total pay (including bonuses) of 5.7%, while growth in regular pay (excluding bonuses) was 6.5% among employees in November 2022 to January 2023. Average regular pay growth for the private sector was 7.0%, compared to 4.8% for the public sector. However, in real terms, growth in total and regular pay fell by 3.2% and 2.4%, respectively, after adjusting for inflation.

Labour disputes also saw a decline, with only 220,000 working days lost in January 2023, compared to 822,000 in December 2022. Meanwhile, workforce jobs rose by 211,000 on the quarter to a new record high of 36.4 million, with six of the 20 industry sectors reaching record high levels in December 2022.

Overall, the latest report from the ONS indicates a mixed picture of the UK’s labour market, with modest employment growth and declining vacancies but still some uncertainty across industries.

Lauren Thomas, Glassdoor Economist commented: “Wage growth may be hitting record highs but this is not being felt in workers’ pockets. Glassdoor’s data shows discussion around inflation and the cost of living is up 171% year-on-year. Employers need to consider how they can help their workforce through this difficult period – whether that’s through pay rises, other benefits, or improving working conditions.

Kate Shoesmith, Deputy Chief Executive of REC, said: “Our analysis shows that labour and skills shortages could cost the UK economy up to £39 billion per year from 2024 – around the same as two Elizabeth lines. Government and business must reach out and help those furthest away from the labour market into work if we are to fill new job vacancies – which our own data shows hit a 14-month high in February.

“Firms can also step up on how they employ and engage. The government can help business by taking the big opportunity in the Budget tomorrow to provide clarity and stability on its growth plans. It is a big test for the Chancellor on skills, transport and tax. We need to see creative and revitalised policies on tackling economic inactivity, from rethinking low-skilled immigration policy to support for the over 50s.”

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TALiNT Partners has announced entries for TIARA Talent Acquisition Awards are open

  • UK

This year’s campaign has 13 award categories

TALiNT Partners’ TIARAs are the biggest global awards series across the talent ecosystem and have become the byword for excellence and innovation.

Ken Brotherston, Chief Executive at TALiNT Partners commented: “The 2022 TIARA Talent Acquisition Awards saw some incredible entries from a wide range of different organisations, demonstrating very clearly that there is no monopoly on creativity, agility, ingenuity, engagement and innovation.”

This year’s campaign has 13 award categories which offer recognition of excellence across all areas of talent acquisition and have a focus on critical resourcing activities that have driven transformation and organisational effectiveness.

Last year’s winners included FrieslandCampina, Direct Line Group, Assurant, Essex County Council, Abcam, Vodafone, Wren Kitchens and Specsavers. View last year’s winners and highly commended finalists here.

All TALiNT Partners’ TIARA Award campaigns are synonymous for the quality, rigour and independence brought by the judging panel of industry experts and Talent Leaders, who use their incredible breadth of experience and insight to recognise great work. According to TALiNT Partners, a unique aspect of the TIARAs is that all finalists receive detailed, confidential feedback from the judging panel, something which the entrants find a valuable part of their TIARA experience.

Declan Slattery, Head of Employer Programme and Chair of Global Advisory Board at TALiNT Partners said: “Having been a judge for the first-time last year, two things really struck me. Firstly, the level of integrity and consideration applied to the process in helping the entrants shape the best possible entry and just how the awards cover the whole spectrum of TA providing a unique learning journey with incredible insight to what is regarded as best in class. I can’t wait to see this year’s entries.”

Winners from the Awards will be profiled in a standalone winners’ supplement of TALiNT International, which will be published soon after the Awards.

The Awards Platform utilised by TALiNT Partners makes the entry process straightforward so that entrants can easily showcase their achievements through the tailored entry questions in each category.

Talent Acquisition teams can enter here.

Winners will be revealed at the Awards Ceremony on Thursday 5th October, taking place at the beautiful 5-star Montcalm Hotel, Marble Arch.

TALiNT Partners thanks supporting sponsors: Lorien, Unifrog, WeLove9am and Stratigens.

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Employers want to hire, but workers want more

  • UK

Employers advised to revisit their skills requirements and train people on the job

The UK labour market is looking buoyant with the Net Employment Outlook rising to +21%. The latest number is up two 2% since last quarter but down 10% on Q2 2022. This is according to the latest ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey.

With record low unemployment and a historically tight labour market, employers are still struggling to attract skilled talent. In response, workers can’t find employers that fit their pay and skills needs. ManpowerGroup suggests that employers revisit their essential skills requirements and consider what can be learned on the job.

In the ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey, 2,020 UK employers were questioned about whether they intend to hire additional workers, maintain their current headcount, or reduce the size of their workforce in the next quarter (April to June 2023). The survey is a key economic indicator by the Bank of England and the UK Government.

The report revealed that employers across all sectors are planning to increase headcount. The IT sector tops the list, with a Net Employment Outlook of +48%, an increase of 14% from last quarter and 8% up on Q2 2022. The figures for the IT industry are more than twice the national average Net Employment Outlook.

Next on the list are:

  • Communication Services (+36%)
  • Transport, Logistics, and Automotive (+27%)
  • Financials & Real Estate (+27%)

Regionally, East Midlands is in the lead with a Net Employment Outlook of +29%, up 23% from last quarter, followed by the South West (+26%) and London (+24%).

Chris Gray, Director at ManpowerGroup UK, commented: “Our survey continues to show strong hiring intentions despite the economic climate, but hiring intentions are not translating into filled vacancies.”

 “There is a mismatch between what workers want and what employers are offering. Employers across the country are still keen to take on new talent, and workers want to take on higher paying roles with greater development opportunities. However, they aren’t seeing these jobs advertised. Job descriptions are going unread because they aren’t offering the skills growth workers want. Employers need to be clear about the progression opportunities and the training they are providing.”

“In a time of economic uncertainty and a cost-of-living crisis, we’re seeing that existing employees are reticent to move to new jobs and would rather take on more over-time or a second or third job to make ends meet and continue to develop. We have to be looking to bring those inactive back into the workplace and this requires structural changes to make this a realistic option. Government has an opportunity in this week’s Budget to help make this happen – an improved childcare offer and support for over 50s and long term sick could make a real difference.”

“Demand for highly-skilled tech talent continues to grow and we see this across all sectors. This growth is positive for workers, as businesses continue to deliver today while transforming for the workplace of tomorrow. This growth has a knock-on effect as new and different roles emerge, from project and change managers to newly skilled production workers. The opportunities are numerous as British industry works on future-proofing itself. To meet the demand, employers must re-evaluate what is essential and what is desirable in a candidate, and consider whether the role could be filled with a candidate who is 60 to 70 per cent fit for the role, and could be trained for the future.”

 “We are encouraged to see demand for workers the length and breadth of the UK – employers in all regions plan to expand headcounts. This is true especially of the East Midlands, which has seen hiring optimism surge since last quarter. Our insights tell us that a great deal of this demand stems from small and medium sized businesses which continue their optimistic streak in the region.”

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Meta announces another round of layoffs to achieve efficiency goals

The move is part of the company’s “Year of Efficiency” management theme 

 Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has announced that it will be conducting another round of layoffs as early as this week, with the aim of cutting thousands of employees, this according to various US news agencies.  

The move is part of the company’s “Year of Efficiency” management theme for 2023, according to a statement by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg during the company’s fourth-quarter earnings report on February 1. 

The technology firm has already been giving buyout packages to managers and cutting “nonessential” teams, with the largest round of layoffs to date occurring in November 2022 when 13% of the workforce, more than 11,000 employees, were cut. In addition, the company has reduced discretionary spending and extended its hiring freeze through the first quarter of 2023. 

The new round of layoffs was expected after Meta reportedly issued “subpar ratings” to thousands of employees in their recent performance reviews, with approximately 10% of workers receiving ratings indicating that they were underperforming. Furthermore, the social media giant cut a bonus metric to 85% of its target. 

“We’ve always had a goal-based culture of high performance, and our review process is intended to incentivize long-term thinking and high-quality work, while helping employees get actionable feedback,” said a Meta spokesperson in response to the performance review ratings. 

“In this new environment, we need to become more capital efficient,” Zuckerberg said in a letter to employees in November. “We’ve cut costs across our business, including scaling back budgets, reducing perks, and shrinking our real estate footprint. We’re restructuring teams to increase our efficiency. But these measures alone won’t bring our expenses in line with our revenue growth, so I’ve also made the hard decision to let people go.” 

Meta gave many of its employees a month to apply for different positions within the company in September, with re-organizing departments expected to be merely the first step toward larger staff reductions. In July, engineering managers at Meta were tasked with identifying anyone on their team who “needs support” and reporting them in an internal HR system. 

Maher Saba, the company’s Head of Engineering commented: “If a direct report is coasting or is a low performer, they are not who we need; they are failing this company. As a manager, you cannot allow someone to be net neutral or negative for Meta.” 

Meta’s upcoming round of layoffs will continue its efforts to become a more efficient organization and achieve its long-term goals. 

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Taming inflation won’t be quick, according to Richmond Federal Reserve President

Labor market remains historically tight

According to Reserve Bank of Richmond President Tom Barkin, inflation will fall back in line over time, but the process won’t be quick, he said in a speech Friday at the 2023 Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research Annual Economic Summit at Stanford University.

Barkin said: “Monetary policy plays an important role here. We have raised rates and reduced our balance sheet aggressively in the last year in an effort to bring demand and supply back into balance. Inflation is likely past peak. But I think it will take time to return to target, and as a consequence, believe we still have work to do.”

Additional rate increases have been forecast and the [Summary of Economic Predictions] has made clear it doesn’t anticipate rate cuts this year.

Returning prices to the stability of the last 30 years will likely take a lot more time and effort, and the Summary of Economic Projections shows inflation not returning to 2% until 2025. Barkin said he sees the fight against inflation lasting longer for several reasons “partly because some of the dislocations we saw in the pandemic are enduring. Over a trillion in excess savings are still funding consumption, as are continuing fiscal outlays like the infrastructure bill. New auto inventories and houses for sale remain near historic lows, supporting prices in those sectors. Supply chain challenges remain, for example, in switchgears and cabinets.”

China’s reopening and the war in Ukraine is also putting pressure on commodity prices.

In addition, Barkin noted the labor market remains historically tight and workers, whose real wages fell, are pressing to catch up.

Barkin continued: “The Fed’s objective isn’t to hurt the economy, it’s to reduce inflation. And if there is one thing we’ve relearned over the last two years, it is that everybody hates inflation. High inflation creates uncertainty. As prices rise unevenly, it becomes unclear when to spend, when to save or where to invest. Inflation is exhausting. It takes effort to shop around for better prices or to handle complaints from unhappy customers. And inflation feels unfair — the wage increase you earned feels arbitrarily taken away at the gas pump.”

But the experience from the inflation fight in the 1970s must not be repeated, Barkin said.

“If you back off on inflation too soon, it comes back stronger, requiring the Fed to do even more, with even more damage.”

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68% of global recruitment firms reported an increase in revenue in 2022

77% of staffing firms have implemented a digital transformation strategy

According to Bullhorn’s Global Recruitment Insights and Data (GRID) 2023 Industry Trends Report, firms with the highest revenue gains were twice as likely to have digitized their data as those with the greatest revenue losses and nearly twice as likely to use automation heavily. While 77% of staffing firms have begun implementing a digital transformation strategy, many are still in the early stages. Only 30% said they use self-service technologies such as chatbots to streamline operations and engage candidates, and only 17% heavily leverage automation throughout their business.

More than two-thirds (68%) of global recruitment firms reported an increase in revenue last year, and a similar number (67%) expect to improve performance again in 2023.

Winning new business becomes the top priority

For the first time in six years, staffing firms cite winning new clients (40%) as this year’s top priority, most likely due to continued economic uncertainty and intensifying competition. The second biggest priority is digital transformation (34%), followed closely by candidate acquisition (33%).

Despite feeling optimistic about their business growth prospects, global recruitment firms continue to face client-related challenges. The most pressing is an increase in job requisitions that are too specialized or demanding (according to 22% of respondents), followed by a reduction in overall job requisitions (17%), and a lack of communication from clients (15%).

Engaging existing talent leads to higher revenue gains

Candidate acquisition remains a challenge: 56% cite the talent shortage as a top challenge in 2023, an increase from last year. However, firms that followed certain best practices in engaging candidates were 30% or more likely to report revenue gains in 2022. These best practices include engaging with passive candidates in the firm’s database, soliciting referrals from candidates, and using candidates’ preferred methods of communication, among others.

The two practices most correlated with success were redeploying candidates and database utilization. The firms that lined up the highest proportion of workers for new roles before the end of their assignments and those that most frequently filled a position with a candidate already in their database were twice as likely to report revenue gains last year and 50% more likely to expect gains in 2023. However, fewer than 10% of firms use automation to redeploy candidates.

Gretchen Keefner, SVP, Global Enterprise Business at Bullhorn, comments:  “This year’s survey highlights a clear relationship between business performance and technology adoption. This makes a compelling case for firms to invest more in digital transformation to future-proof their businesses, despite economic challenges and uncertainty in the jobs market.”

“Acquiring new clients has once again become the top priority for recruitment firms, and it’s still crucial for firms to focus on delivering a more modern, personalized, and connected candidate experience because the talent market remains tight. Firms that use technology to increase their efficiency and provide a streamlined experience will set themselves apart from the competition.”

Read the full report here.

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Nearly 78% of employers gave pay raises in the past six months

Compensation top of mind despite recession concerns

According to a survey by iHire, 77.9% of US employers gave pay raises in the past six months, despite economic downturn concerns. The pay raises were given due to merit, performance, pay compression or the rising cost of living.

Lisa Shuster, Chief People Officer at iHire commented: “Compensation is top of mind for employers and their workforces. Now is the time for organizations to ensure they are compensating employees fairly while avoiding pay compression. The good news is that most employers do not appear overly worried about a recession and continue to invest in their most valuable business asset: their people.”

Of the 436 employers surveyed, just 22.1% had not given raises recently. Of that 22.1% that did not give a raise, 69.6% said they couldn’t afford to give raises, and 32.6% said they were preparing for an economic downturn or tightening their 2023 budgets. In addition, 13.0% reported poor or stagnant employee performance, and 13.0% were unsure how to determine fair compensation.

iHire also surveyed 305 workers and found that 23.9% of respondents had asked for a raise in the past six months, and 60.3% got a raise upon asking, according to the report. Of the 76.1% of workers who had not asked for a raise, 50.0% already received a raise recently and 25.6% did not know how to negotiate their salary. In addition, 23.2% were afraid to ask or approach their supervisor for a raise and 11.0% did not think their performance was deserving of a raise.

For the report, iHire surveyed 436 employers and 305 workers in 57 industries across the US in February.

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Over 97% of UK companies are not giving enough support to female employees

  • UK

Employers need to re-evaluate job perks for women

Less than 3% of jobs offered by UK employers advertise benefits necessary to help women thrive. This is according to new research from the job search engine Adzuna.

The company looked at more than one million job ads in March 2023 to find out how many postings promoting perks aimed at women. The results revealed the dire need for employers to step up.

In Adzuna’s analysis, they found:

  • 29,501 of the 1,043,451 job ads cited perks aimed at retaining and supporting women.
  • only 17,638 ads promoted enhanced maternity or parental leave.
  • just 6,410 postings offered some support with childcare costs.
  • only 821 job ads mention menopause support; of those, just 30 postings offer paid HRT therapy. This is despite evidence showing that 1 in 10 women aged 45-55 leaves the workforce due to symptoms of menopause.
  • only 5 UK job ads offered menstrual leave.

Recent research by YouGov found that almost half of Brits favour of the introduction of menstrual leave legislation. A further 40% of women said they regularly get period pain which is severe enough to affect their ability to work. Some countries have realised the negative impact that this time of the month has on women in the workplace. For example, Spain recently introduced legislation allowing three days per month of state-paid menstrual leave for those with incapacitating periods.

Adzuna’s research also found that fertility benefits such as egg freezing and IVF support are rare, with only 51 job ads mentioning these perks. Various large tech companies offer these benefits, but hiring in large tech companies is currently depressed, so there are limited options for women seeking fertility benefits from employers.

In contrast, many employers are offering popular perks such as duvet days (619 job ads), unlimited holidays (953 ads), and free gym membership (3,912 ads).

Paul Lewis, Chief Customer Officer at job search engine Adzuna, comments: “Women remain woefully undersupported in the UK workplace. Instead of duvet days or free gym membership, employers need to focus on benefits that support female employees. In particular, evidence shows menopause and menstruation are top factors making it harder for women to thrive at work, even leading many to drop out of the workforce. Women shouldn’t need to suffer in silence; employers need to step up, introduce open dialogues around these topics and add more flexibility for women juggling their health with work. Furthermore, keeping women in the workplace is key to filling skill gaps, so introducing benefits that help attract, support and ultimately retain women makes sense from a business as well as a societal perspective.”

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Young Brits demand corporate cards to cope with the soaring cost of living

  • UK

Businesses less keen to respond

People do not want to use their personal credit cards for work expenses due to their concerns about tight personal finances. Companies, however, are slow to respond to this demand.  This is according to research commissioned by Emburse.

The survey looked at expense processes within UK-based businesses, questioning employees about business policy enforcement about spending and employee preferences around business travel expenses and other related costs.

According to the research conducted by Censuswide, 16-34-year-olds were most likely to prefer corporate cards over personal cards (55%) compared to just 41% of those over 55.

Of these younger respondents, 47% said the cost-of-living crisis is the key factor. This is unsurprising considering that 78% of 16-24-year-olds reported cost-of-living increases, compared to 42% in January/February 2022.

The reasons that 94% of young employees want a corporate card include the following:

  • Long expense reimbursement processing time incurring the risk of late fees
  • Preference for not mixing personal and business spend
  • Streamlining the expenses process
  • Concerns about their own finances
  • Low credit limits
  • Ease in managing expenses at the end of a trip.

The data also revealed a limited desire to use personal cards for air/hotel points which can later be used for personal leisure and travel – only 10% of employees mentioned this as a reason to use personal cards.

According to the survey, only 6% of employees are required to use corporate cards at mid-size and larger companies. The majority of organisations do not use corporate cards. This is likely due to increased fraud cases due to cost-of-living hikes.

Jamie Anderson, Chief Revenue Officer at Emburse, commented: “We’re all feeling the impact of rising prices, so it’s more important than ever for companies to listen to employees and understand how best to support them. This is even more important for younger employees who often earn less and may not have large amounts of credit available. When almost half of young workers say that the cost of living makes them want a company-paid card for their expenses, it’s something that companies should seriously consider. It’s an easy – and free – way to show employees you care.

 “Giving employees credit cards also makes sound business sense. By setting restrictions on how and when, and where they can be used, it’s much easier to control purchases in advance, instead of having to wait for expense claims to come in after the fact. They also give much easier, accurate and timely insight into corporate spend, and the rebates that come back will also benefit the corporate coffers.”

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