Ethical AI in Talent Acquisition
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May 17, 2023 – Cleveland, Ohio – AMS, the global talent solutions business has been recognized by HRflag, China’s leading HR management think tank, as winner of “Best Recruitment Process Outsourcing Provider (Foreign/Joint Venture)” category in HRflag Awards 2023. This is the third consecutive year AMS has won this award.

The HRflag Awards recognize organizations that have demonstrated the best services in each segment of the HR services industry. It is evaluated by capabilities across a range of criteria and business situations to identify the overall best-performing organizations that have profoundly influenced the future competition pattern of the industry and promoted the sustainable development of the HR industry.

In particular, the “Best Recruitment Process Outsourcing Provider (Foreign/Join Venture)” category considers the organizations’ business capability, industry impact, customer value, growth potential, and innovation ability. The award received submissions from 613 leading HR service organizations.

Kensy Sy, General Manager at AMS China, commented, “Being named as a winner in the ‘Best Recruitment Process Outsourcing Provider (Foreign/Joint Venture)’ category in HRflag Awards 2023 for the third consecutive year is a testament to the continued cutting-edge RPO services that we deliver to our clients throughout China.”

Roop Kaistha, Regional Managing Director at AMS APAC, said, “This leading award, along with the other highly valued recognitions that AMS China has achieved during recent years, demonstrates the value of AMS and our commitment to delivering best-in-class talent outsourcing solutions to our clients. This award will also encourage us to remain innovative in our talent and tech capabilities to support the HR industry.”

 

Related links
  • AMS Responsible AI, an exclusive partnership with Holistic AI to audit talent technology products for compliance with new regulation
  • Launch comes as NYC Bias Audit Law enforced from July 2023 prohibiting use of AI in decision-making without independent audit
  • Further regulation anticipated in Europe as take-up of AI talent technology continues

May 11, 2023, Cleveland, OH — AMS, the global talent solutions business has announced it has entered into an exclusive partnership with the AI governance, risk and compliance platform, Holistic AI, to bring to market a new offer – AMS Responsible AI.

AMS Responsible AI brings AMS’s talent knowledge to bear alongside Holistic AI’s diagnostic tool and approach. The subsequent audit, the first of its type, is aimed at ensuring organizations understand how their AI technology is being used and brought to bear on decision making, across their talent technology stack and in their sourcing and hiring activities. The audit assigns a score, indicating each tools level of AI sophistication and risk, a first among HR software review tools.

With regulation in the AI talent technology space fast approaching, the need for organizations to understand the use of AI tools within their HR tech stacks is crucial.  In November 2021, the New York City (NYC) Council passed The NYC Bias Audit Law. From July 2023, companies will be prohibited from using automated tools in the decision-making process to hire candidates or promote employees, unless the tools have been independently audited for bias. Further legislation is expected in other jurisdictions in the US and across Europe.

Earlier this month, in an exclusive interview with AMS, US Equal Employment Opportunity Commissioner, Keith Sonderling said “You can use the latest AI technology to source the most diverse applicant pools, but the bottom-line decision on who to hire must be based upon their actual ability to perform the job at hand, through their qualifications, skills, or potential.”

Sonderling adds: “If you’re using AI to unlawfully include certain or exclude certain individuals, let’s say based upon age, now you have a digital record available that will be eventually produced in legal discovery. You have proof of them clicking and making the AI produce and select or exclude these exact candidates.”

AMS Managing Director, Tech Strategy & Partners, Jonathan Kestenbaum said: “AI in talent technology can be a fantastic tool to reduce bias and broaden hiring pools, fairly and appropriately.  In a tight talent market this can really power a skills-based talent acquisition approach. Where hiring processes are complex or technology stacks have been added to or built over time, the certainty of knowing where and how and who makes the decisions in the process can be more difficult to understand.  With regulation fast coming down the track and organizations such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alive to the potential of bias it’s important companies understand their processes and their responsibilities. Like all technology, AI when used well can be a game-changer for talent strategies but companies have a responsibility to ensure their processes remain fair and equal.”

Holistic AI will host a webinar:
Workplace relations in the age of AI: Practices, regulations and the future of equal opportunity laws.

Date & Time:
May 18, 2023, 11.30am ET

Speakers:
US EEOC Commissioner Keith Sonderling, AMS Managing Director, Tech Strategy & Partners, Jonathan Kestenbaum

Register here:
Workplace Relations in the Age of AI: Practices, Regulations and the Future of Equal Opportunity Laws

 

May 5, 2023, Cleveland, OH — AMS, the global talent solutions business responds to latest US Bureau of Labor Market statistics revealing the current complex labor market. Skills shortages remain in sectors such as retail and hospitality requiring organizations to carefully consider their employer brand. In other sectors, companies are renewing their focus on early careers initiatives as they seek to capture talent. Regardless of sector or speciality, the use of technology and more specifically AI-led technology will be a key component in the support of future talent strategies but careful consideration is required.

Commenting on the latest statistics Nicky Hancock, Managing Director, Americas Region at AMS said: “Overall, the trends we’re seeing show that hiring levels are reducing as organizations continue to brace for economic headwinds. Dive into the detail though and the talent market is far more complex than we have seen for some years. Skills shortages remain, especially in technology, life sciences and the hospitality and retail sectors. Even the economy can’t slow enough to keep up with the demographic changes we’ve seen, there are simply fewer people in the workforce and the competition for the right talent remains fierce.

“This is perhaps playing on the minds of many big employers who are now focusing their efforts on early careers and campus hiring volumes. Renege rates for college students have increased as choice remains in the sector and young people at the beginning of their careers increasingly look to organizations whose direction aligns with their purpose. To address this, companies are having to think carefully about their communication and engagement, assigning mentors and career coaches and bringing back in-person "welcome" events."

“Whether organizations are focusing on experienced hires or on those at the outset of careers, they are all increasingly looking to the benefits and pitfalls of AI hiring technologies. It’s a difficult line for companies to walk, investing now ahead of the curve will allow them to embed tools which could be game-changing for them when the inevitable return to hiring and growth begins. With regulation on the march, this will be a delicate task to get right but the rewards, especially for sectors which require specific skills or high volumes will be significant.”

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27 April 2023 — AMS and BNP Paribas are proud to announce a two-year extension to their existing partnership.

Dating back to 2006, the AMS and BNP Paribas relationship is now in its 17th year and includes the delivery of an outsourced Extended Workforce Managed Service

With this current extension, which commenced in March 2023, AMS will continue to provide all aspects of sourcing, recruiting and managing 900 professional workers on behalf of BNP Paribas, utilising its increasingly sophisticated technical and digital platform. Additionally, they will continue the management and hosting of experienced hires and campus websites, delivering the campus Employee Value Proposition, and for 2023 managing its award-winning apprentice programme.

Sharon Bagshaw, Regional Managing Director, UK&I at AMS commented: ‘We are excited to be deepening our partnership with BNP Paribas.   Our shared passion and engagement over the last 17 plus years is testament to the strong relationship our teams have developed during this time and will, no doubt, allow us to demonstrate our ability to proactively unlock further value for the bank. Skills and early career development are ever more important in a tight labour market and as such we  have considerable pride and interest in developing our working partnership on apprenticeship and graduate programmes.’

Louise Fitzgerald-Lombard, UK Head of HR at BNP Paribas went on to comment: ‘This is the beginning of a new and bright chapter in our long-term partnership with AMS and we very much look forward to building on the foundations already in place as we move forward together as a cohesive team.  AMS’s consistent levels of service excellence were central to our final decision and gave us the confidence to extend our existing partnership.’

Related links
  • Online thought leadership and data research series will explore the way hiring strategies have changed in the wake of pandemic disruption
  • The Talent Climate initiative combines rich global talent analytics with in-depth interviews with CHROs and Talent Acquisition leaders to distil powerful new insights and inspiration
  • The research-led webinars and executive Innovation Board sessions will assemble Talent leads from some of the world's biggest companies including Johnson & Johnson, Bayer and Deloitte
  • These leaders will talk about the ground-breaking ways they are tackling current skills gaps and longer-term talent pipelines, and the resulting reports will take a deep-dive into the latest data on the state of talent acquisition

27 April 2023, — The Josh Bersin Company, the world's most trusted HR advisory firm, and talent solutions business AMS, have today launched a timely Talent Climate research initiative with the first in a series of events designed to help CHROs tackle the current skills crisis plaguing entire industries around the world.

The webinar series promises to be both enlightening and a powerful source of inspiration.

The Talent Climate initiative started with the inception of a new Innovation Board that brings together top thought leaders to discuss key trends impacting the global talent landscape. To build on and broadly share these executive-level findings, the teams hosted the first of a series of public webinars on Thursday 20 April. Talent leads from some of the world's biggest companies discussed how approaches to hiring are changing as a result of major recent disruptions and looked into the systemic strategies organizations are implementing.

With the upcoming release of the related Talent Climate reports, data-driven analysis and benchmarking will further explore the experience-driven insights shared during the Innovation Board and webinar sessions.

The Talent Climate webinars will take place quarterly across 2023. They are part of a broader ongoing in-depth Talent Climate collaboration between The Josh Bersin Company and AMS.

The project will also see the publication of the first Talent Climate Report in May as part of the run-up to The Josh Bersin Company's Irresistible 2023 event in June.

Jo-Ann Feely, Global Managing Director of Innovation at AMS and co-chair of the Talent Climate Innovation Board, said: "By joining forces with The Josh Bersin Company to develop The Talent Climate Report,  AMS is very excited that for the first time, we will be able to deliver a data driven view of the talent world, understanding how the current global environment is impacting the sourcing, selecting, hiring and retention of key skills for some of the world's most innovative and impactful organizations."

Janet Mertens, The Josh Bersin Company Senior Vice President of Research, said: "The Talent Climate research program will change the conversation for Talent leads and CHROs as they grapple with some of the toughest skills and resourcing challenges ever seen across whole industries globally. AMS has a vast, rich and very broad set of data from its expansive book of business which shows the trends over the last few years, in terms of hiring volumes, internal hiring trends, and time-to-hire statistics.

"Through this important project, we are really digging into the AMS data to understand what is happening today, and then exploring those themes at a micro level with the Talent leads at some of the biggest and best-known employers in the world.

"All in all, the webinar series will bring all of this together in a live, public forum which promises to be both enlightening and a powerful source of inspiration as the speakers discuss their own strategies and experiences in some detail."

Josh Bersin, global HR research analyst and CEO of The Josh Bersin Company, said: "Over the next year or more, we're going to be holding these deep-dive webinars with the market to distil the strategies and solutions that are working for some of the world's leading companies. Among the issues we'll be drilling into every quarter will be internal mobility, for instance: the North American numbers here are alarming, as only about 15% of jobs are being filled by internal candidates. That means companies are struggling to compete for 85% of their hires.

"As ever, our role in all of this is to observe with our 'pacesetter' organizations (companies that are not only thriving and outperforming financially, but that are also at the top of their game when it comes to HR practices) what they are doing that is making the difference.

Typically, they are approaching talent in a more strategic and systemic way, so that 'hiring' is no longer just an external practice. These companies are also thinking much more holistically, and laterally—looking across internal candidates, external candidates, at alumni, thinking about how to embrace gig and contract work, the gig economy, and generally being very deliberate in breaking the traditional boundaries of talent acquisition.

"Crucially, many of them are using the latest technology too, to identify future gaps and make new connections between those opportunities and the resources they already employ. There's so much to unpack, so I see this webinar series as potentially ground-breaking."

The first Talent Climate webinar took place on April 20, 2023. To learn more about the series and to review the program recording, visit the Talent Climate page here.

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11 April 2023, Cleveland, OH — As organizations continue to navigate the challenges of a tight labor market in a rapidly evolving digital landscape, artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a powerful tool for helping to reach candidates faster, improve decision-making and broaden the talent pool from which to hire. However, as AI becomes increasingly integrated into talent solutions, there are persistent myths about operationalizing the technology.  The latest “Exploding Digital Myths” chapter from global talent solutions business AMS has revealed the three key steps to successfully integrating AI into existing talent strategies.

  • Step One: Implement a change management program. Bringing new AI into the business isn’t just an operational change. There are a number of stakeholders to bring on the journey to streamline integration and build AI fluency from legal and compliance colleagues to IT departments and DEI practitioners. Successful integration depends on an effective change management program which considers a broad scope of workstreams from regulation and data security to re-skilling and bespoke training.
  • Step Two: Define a clear purpose. AI will deliver a significant increase in data points. To ensure talent partners don’t get lost in a sea of information, it’s critical to identify specific objectives and outcomes that are relevant to business objectives. Knowing which AI integration will work, how the interface will be designed and what impact this will have on resourcing teams is crucial.
  • Step Three: Communicate transparently. The future is a mix of tech and touch but the fear of AI in workforces is largely driven by the unknown. Being transparent around why and how the technology is being utilized and clear about the value it brings to every stakeholder – including employees – drives adoption. This means being open and honest about implementation, addressing concerns and communicating in a clear and accessible way.

Erica Titchener, Global Head of Technology and Analytics at AMS comments: “We’ve been privileged over the last five years to work with clients who have been on the journey of introducing AI into their organizations.  It’s not just about learning how to use a new system; it’s also critical to help teams improve their analytical skills so they can use AI and the increased insights it delivers to support decision making.”

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06 April 2023, Cleveland, OH — AMS, the global talent solutions business responds to latest US Bureau of Labor Market statistics which indicate a complex labor market with the requirement for a clear talent strategy a key component to enabling business success.

Commenting on the latest statistics Nicky Hancock, Managing Director, Americas Region at AMS said: “Economic reports continue to point to a complex labor market. There are still almost two jobs for every unemployed worker, yet we’re seeing layoffs and reduced hiring in industries such as tech and investment banking. At the same time, we’re experiencing employment gains in industries like hospitality and travel. Despite the economic outlook appearing a bit uncertain, the job market is still strong and reducing time to hire remains a key requirement for tech searches we are seeing on our AMS Verified platform at the moment.

Companies are shifting their hiring strategies, though, to better prepare them for a downturn and help them come out ahead on the other side. One of the biggest trends right now is skills-based hiring. Organizations are finding skills-based hiring yields higher quality candidates and reduces the number of bad hires, which cost anywhere from 5 to 25 times the amount of the mis-hire’s salary. Increasingly, the use of AI is coming to the fore to better leverage this type of approach.

There is also an increasing focus on hiring emerging talent. Recruiting efforts for interns and new hires out of college are at the highest levels we have ever seen. For this group, companies are really focused on assessing future skills and investing in diversity initiatives, including increasing hiring efforts at HBCUs (historically black colleges and universities).

As the economy tightens it’s more important than ever that organizations put the right people in the right roles. Now is a good time for leadership to regroup on current talent strategy and look at their tech solutions. Investing in an employer brand remains critical to drive strong candidate interest even in times of uncertainty and low unemployment. Having a clear talent strategy has never been more important.”

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FlexAbility by AMS and HirePower to now operate under the AMS brand.

 

06 April 2023, London, England — AMS, the global talent solutions business has marked the successful integration of its recent acquisitions by combining both FlexAbility by AMS and HirePower under the AMS brand. The successful integration of both of these brands into the AMS organization has brought more than 1,000 colleagues into the AMS family, alongside an array of capabilities to help better support existing and new clients in both markets.

AMS has grown its global network substantially over the past 2 years with acquisitions in the significant talent markets of Asia and North America. In July 2022 it acquired Mumbai based FlexAbility, its longstanding Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) partner in India. October 2022 saw the acquisition of Toronto based HirePower, a leading Canadian provider of RPO.

AMS had worked with FlexAbility by AMS for more than a decade prior to July 2022, providing Indian talent to global clients across a range of sectors. The acquisition and now formal integration into one brand allows AMS to access local expertise in India, an increasingly important talent market for AMS’s clients globally.

Similarly, the acquisition and formal brand integration of HirePower provides a complementary addition to AMS’s rapidly expanding North American operations and is already supporting the continued broadening of AMS’s client base. AMS now has outstanding on the ground capability in the region and a platform to create a digital and technology sourcing and hiring center of excellence in Canada, supporting North American and global clients.

Commenting on the re-brand Meryl Rosenthal of AMS, formerly HirePower said: “Talent was always at the forefront of our world as HirePower and it is thrilling to see this value continue now as we become formally part of AMS. The shared values of our organizations remain and it is with considerable positivity and excitement that we look forward to a bright future as AMS.”

Vinod Subramanian of AMS, formerly FlexAbility by AMS said: “Following a close partnership for over a decade it is very satisfying to now be fully integrated into the AMS brand. The global talent market is extremely competitive and by leveraging the power of a single brand and network we are well placed to continue a successful growth journey. I look forward to further success as AMS.”

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Latest data from AMS Verified reflects the need for organizations to fill key roles quickly amidst a tight talent market and despite a slowing economy.

 

04 April 2023, Cleveland, OH — AMS, the global talent solutions business has unveiled the latest data on search trends seen on its talent technology analysis platform, AMS Verified.

AMS Verified allows members to search for and receive deep product analysis of over 160 of the world’s leading talent technology solutions. Anonymized data from these searches has demonstrated the topics most on the minds of over 150 talent acquisition professionals.

Launched just six months ago, AMS Verified’s most recent data analysis shows:

  • 72% of members searched for technology to reduce the time to hire
  • 66% of members selected the objective to increase the quality of hire
  • 50% of members selected the objective to increase candidate satisfaction

These search trends support the recent Bureau of Labor Statistics data which showed 828,000 jobs were added to the U.S. economy in the first two months of 2023 alone.  In a tight labor market competition for skills remains intense reflecting talent professionals’ requirements to get the right skills into their organizations quickly.

Commenting on the data, Nicky Hancock, Managing Director, Americas Region AMS said: “The labor market in the US remains at its tightest in 50 years. With record vacancies facing a significantly smaller workforce, the competition for talent remains fierce. This is reflected in the technology that talent professionals are looking for to help them fill open roles. Skills shortages remain significant impediments to success across a range of industries, and as the economy itself tightens it’s more important than ever that organizations do everything they can to put the right people in the right roles.”

Jonathan Kestenbaum, Managing Director, Technology Strategy & Partners, AMS said: “HR technology trends are changing quickly.  You only need to look at the recent noise around ChatGPT to see that organizations are open, now more than ever, to new and innovative ways of finding the right hires to enable their business success.

“The data we’ve seen go through AMS Verified over the past six months has been a bellwether for the trends we’re seeing elsewhere in the talent world. To reflect this, next month members will be able to conduct searches by business problem. This will provide them with the ability to source the products which most match their requirement and enable their business objectives.”

To arrange a demonstration of AMS Verified, contact: [email protected]

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16 March 2023 — AMS, the global talent solutions business and Tesco Bank, which serves over 5 million customers in the UK, are proud to announce the establishment of a new 3-year partnership.

The partnership provides for the volume hiring of permanent customer service talent as well as delivering contingent workforce requirements for both professional contractors and interim roles.

Tesco Bank’s delivery of a great service to its banking, insurance and money services customers is central to this new partnership. AMS will embed a team of thirty-five talent experts within Tesco Bank’s operations across the UK. Aligning to the organisation’s core values and culture will enable AMS’s dedicated team to source, select and hire the best talent to support Tesco Bank’s current and future customers.

Sarah Ferreira, Client Operations Director at AMS said: “Our dedicated talent experts are excited to be partnering with the Tesco Bank team. From the outset of our conversations, it’s been clear that our shared values and focus on putting the customer first would deliver a partnership focussed on enabling Tesco Bank’s business success and progressing future careers.  Putting the right people in the right roles is important to any organisation but it is especially important when those roles are the face of your organisation.”

Lynne Rennie-Smith, People Director, at Tesco Bank went on to comment: ‘Our customers are at the heart of everything we do at Tesco Bank, and our colleagues show great commitment in helping Tesco shoppers manage their money a little better every day.  Joining forces with the talent experts at AMS will enable us to find the best diverse talent to help our customers.”

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