SourceCon Community, 

Hey.
Hi.
Hello.
Whassuupppp???!!!

Do people still say that? I mean, I know they tried to bring it back once before. But I don’t think it stuck. Well, one thing I know people are still talking about is DEI initiatives.  It was a hot topic at ERE last week in Austin, TX and among the chatter in their roundtables. Quick aside, the ERE conference was very well done. Check out some of my favorite quotes from the conference…

• "Quality of hire isn't pornography where you know it when you see it." Mary Faulkner

• "The more data you share, the more data they want." Melissa Thompson

• "Empathy - The first step to a good candidate experience" Craig Fisher

• "Slides don't kill people. Bullets (bullet points on a slide) kill people." Jason Roberts

• "HR is the place you go when you can't get a government job. When I heard that I wanted to punch him." Jim Durbin

• "AI is a drunk looking for his housekeys under a streetlamp." Jim Durbin

If you ever have an HR itch to scratch, ERE is the place to be, but I digress. I was talking about DEI.

People were discussing its importance and how recent developments have endangered its progress. DEI received a lot of support but I could not help but wonder if people were more concerned about being politically correct and not seeing things more objectively. I give you an example of what I mean. I remember this article from a few years back. I quote…

While I can appreciate the intent behind his goals, is it realistic? For that matter, are companies with similar goals likely to succeed. I think not, solely based on talent analytics. Let me give you a few examples.

Consider the labor force statistics from the current population survey, which is data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It sums up the percentage of minorities in various industries.

Based on the data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), some of the industries with the lowest minority representation, showing significant discrepancies in diversity:

1. Farmers, Ranchers, and Other Agricultural Managers: 96.2% White, 1.4% Black, 0.8% Asian, 6.4% Hispanic.

2. Cost Estimators: 96.2% White, 0.3% Black, 1.9% Asian, 7.6% Hispanic.

3. Property Appraisers and Assessors: 94.7% White, 0.6% Black, 4.1% Asian, 11.9% Hispanic.

4. Surveying and Mapping Technicians: 94.8% White, 2.3% Black, 1.5% Asian, 8.7% Hispanic.

5. Insurance Sales Agents: 88.1% White, 5.8% Black, 2.7% Asian, 11.0% Hispanic.

6. Real Estate Brokers and Sales Agents: 86.2% White, 5.9% Black, 4.7% Asian, 11.8% Hispanic.

7. Financial Managers: 80.3% White, 8.4% Black, 9.3% Asian, 9.3% Hispanic.

Given this situation, is it realistic for companies in these industries to significantly boost the proportion of Asian, Latino, or African-American representation within their workforce, when BLS data indicates that these groups are underrepresented?

Now am I suggesting that diversity sourcing and recruitment is a waste of time? Certainly not! There is plenty of data supporting the assertion that company diversity leads to better profits. However, I do think a healthy dose of data is necessary for managing the expectations of hiring managers with unrealistic demands. As I meditate on it now, I think DEI initiatives are a strong argument on why Sourcers need to be trusted advisors and not only champions at finding purple squirrels.  

But hey, maybe I have it all wrong? What do you think? Hit reply and share your thoughts. I want to hear from you.

Sincerely,

Jim Stroud
Your SourceCon Editor

P.S. If you would like a shout-out in an upcoming episode of “The Source!,” tag us on social media (@SourceCon) with the hashtag #SourceConShoutOut and I will do what I can. 

;-) 

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