AI for inclusive business: automating DEI in hiring and promoting

In the contemporary, post-pandemic workplace, discussions about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) continue to gain momentum — much to the chagrin of many.

However, a new starter has joined the business: AI is being touted as a potential ‘game-changer’ in creating more inclusive workplaces.

A recent study found that most UK and Ireland organisations remain committed to DEI, with over 87% increasing their focus in the past year.

The study by American cloud-based finance and HR software vendor Workday, in collaboration with Sapio Research, found that 83% of firms have set aside a budget specifically for DEI, and most leaders expect that budget to continue growing in the coming years.

For the survey, Workday spoke to 2,600 global business leaders across the HR, finance and sales sectors, finding that the primary motivations for supporting DEI include its positive impact on business success (45%), improved employee engagement (41%), staff well-being (44%), and attracting a diverse workforce (52%).

Click here to read the previous article in this series — AI for Inclusive Business: Neurodivergent and Marginalised Workers

Translating DEI budgets into tangible improvements

Although DEI initiatives are becoming an increasingly important priority for firms, the journey from making commitments to actual, measurable diversity in the workforce remains fraught.

According to the study, 85% of organisations have a DEI budget, but only 57% are progressing with or already using a strategic approach to DEI.

This gap indicates that allocating financial resources to DEI is insufficient; there needs to be a clear, actionable strategy for effectively using these resources to foster diversity.

Another challenge is measuring the impact of DEI initiatives. While organisations may implement various programs and policies to increase diversity, quantifying their success and the actual change in workforce composition can be complex.

Enter the other acronym on the lips of business leaders worldwide: AI. But can the transformative effect artificial intelligence is having on other sectors translate to employment?

AI for good hiring?

There are now many websites marketed to help job seekers create CVs using AI. There are even guides on how to write AI prompts for tools like ChatGPT to improve your resume, like this one by Forbes.

This new way of using the technology is having a levelling effect on the job seeker market. It enables a much wider pool of candidates to apply for roles previously gatekept by privilege and powerful connections.

Job seeking is slowly becoming a game between employees and employers of who can do AI better.

The recent Workday roundtable, attended by TechInformed, included representatives from Aviva, Generation UK, and Colorintech. The panel discussed the role of AI in developing hiring practices that enable companies to reach potential candidates who may have previously been excluded due to conventional recruitment practices.

Skills-based h‘AI’ring

During the conversation, skills-based hiring emerged as a promising frontier for DEI. By focusing on candidates’ skills rather than traditional credentials, skills-based hiring would theoretically provide fair access to job opportunities.

“Wider adoption of skills-based hiring can play a big role in addressing the digital skills gap that the UK faces,” said Michael Houlihan, CEO of Generation UK&I. “Large numbers of people intrinsically well-suited for digital roles are being overlooked.”

He suggested that AI’s role in breaking down job requirements and matching candidates to skills-based roles is a potential ‘game-changer’.

“AI tools can play a big role here, both to improve and accelerate peoples’ learning journey, as well as helping employers roll out skills-based hiring in a coherent, impactful, and business-improving way.”

Speakers cited Accenture as an example of a business that successfully used these tools after the pandemic when it struggled to fill 100,000 vacancies.

“They couldn’t find the right talent,” added Houlihan. “They found that when they went to prestigious universities, they found people who were very good at passing exams but weren’t finding the kind of critical thinking skills that they needed.”

He explained how Accenture was able to source the right people using Workday’s Skills Cloud, which uses Machine Learning (ML) to understand and manage an organisation’s workforce’s skills and capabilities.

“They went to people in customer service and call centres, people with good relationship skills and experience interacting with people. These were people who were fairly low paid,” he continued.

“They could take those individuals with the right skills and give them a huge boost in income.”

Up-skilling and promotion matching

The consensus was that AI’s influence should extend beyond the point of entry to retaining diverse talent. Now that you have a shiny new, diverse team, what will you do with them?

AI has the potential to offer tools and insights that help organisations nurture and develop their workforce in a manner that values diversity as a strength.

The survey recognised AI and ML technologies for significantly enhancing sentiment surveys and promotion discussions, with 95% and 91% of respondents noting improvements, respectively.

“At Workday, we’re seeing positive uptake of Workday Skills Cloud,” explained Daniel Pell, vice president and country manager, UKI, Workday.

“Using this data, organisations can build even better people strategies and easily identify gaps and opportunities to upskill, re-skill, and even hire new talent,” he added.

By allowing employees to self-identify their skills and interests, tools like Skills Cloud facilitate better matching for internal opportunities and project assignments, promoting diversity and inclusion within teams.

Aviva’s approach to collecting diverse employee data for informed decision-making was presented as a model for achieving a more equitable workplace.

“Our diversity initiatives start at the understanding and data-collection stage. We aim to gather as much data as employees feel comfortable disclosing about who they feel they are,” outlined Jonny Briggs, DEI and resourcing director, Aviva.

“From more traditional diversity characteristics, such as sexual orientation and ethnicity, to whether an employee is a caregiver, to understand diversity in an intersectional manner.”

He added: “Having DEI data and insights available at our fingertips has allowed us to make more informed decisions and move towards an even more equitable workplace.”

Strategic approaches in leveraging AI for DEI.

Setting clear strategies, goals, and KPIs is crucial for moving beyond representation to foster genuine inclusion and belonging within organisations.

Daniela Porr, principal solutions marketing lead at Workday, identified insights, talent management, and creating experiences as the top areas AI can significantly impact.

“The highest positive impact I see is in performance and development. It starts with recruitment, but the employee lifecycle doesn’t stop there,” she said.

“People tend to want career growth, and continuing that experience is important.” She added that AI can help connect skills, people, and jobs with better recommendations, not just in recruiting but also in projects and agile teams.

The use of AI for generating insights through sentiment surveys and performance evaluations was particularly noted for its positive influence on understanding and improving the employee experience.

“The second highest is sentiment surveys. You need to fully understand your workforce, not just about their representation and diversity data but also how they feel and feel they belong to the company because that might differ depending on who you are and where you sit,” she added.

“With AI, we can much better surface information in the form of stories, in the form of convincing people, building trust, and speaking their language rather than just throwing numbers out there.”

“Third,” she continued, “is experiences. We can help individualise and personalise information based on who you are, what you need, and people’s interests and backgrounds, be it for self-identification campaigns or special initiatives based on things like International Women’s Day or Black History Month.”

Transparency and trust

But collecting all of this data on your workforce isn’t without its challenges. There’s no such thing as a free database.

AI developers often want to protect their intellectual property, including the data and algorithms behind it.

However, end-users and organisations must understand the technology’s applications and intentions to mitigate scepticism and fear among employees regarding AI replacing jobs or being implemented improperly.

“Organisations must consciously find ways to build trust in their workplace. Only once trust is built can the positive impact of AI be realised,” noted Ashleigh Ainsley, co-founder of Colorintech.

“Certainly, with ethnic minority communities, there’s just an underlying assumption that almost everything is biased against them,” he continued. “Building that trust from the beginning is super important.

“We’ve seen some examples across the internet recently that demonstrate a lack of transparency. The discussion about what’s gone into making some of these outputs is eroding elements of trust.”

In 2021, for example, HireVue, a company providing AI software for vetting candidates, removed a feature that analysed facial expressions in video interviews to detect specific characteristics, following concerns about bias in the software.

In response to similar concerns, the European Parliament recently approved the AI Act. It classifies AI used in employee recruitment and promotion as high-risk, stating, “Those systems may appreciably impact future career prospects and livelihoods.”

For the people

According to Workday, embracing diversity in all forms is crucial for business success.

The company’s report says, “Technology plays a critical role in enabling DEI. The research shows a strong correlation between strategic maturity, technology adoption, and a robust DEI programme.”

AI is playing a pivotal role in enhancing DEI initiatives for businesses. However, strategic maturity, responsible AI use, and leadership commitment are essential for continued progress in DEI.

Jud Grutman, counsel at The Torrey Firm, part of the IR Global professional network, says: “AI-enabled decisions are shaped by the datasets they are built on. This means that if the data is biased, then the resulting algorithms can perpetuate bias.”

He says auditing your AI tools and keeping HR involved is essential. “HR departments should receive sufficient training to understand and use AI tools, including to ensure their fairness.”

Despite the increase in DEI budgets, the slow shift in workforce diversity numbers raises questions about the effectiveness of current DEI hiring practices.

The conclusions from the panel discussion suggest a requirement to pivot beyond just recruiting for diversity towards ensuring inclusion and belonging to retain diverse talent.

AI can work alongside DEI to create more fulfilling and welcoming workplaces for all, but only if implemented thoughtfully and with the people it aims to serve at the core.

Read more on this topic: EU AI Act approved by European Parliament: a new era of AI regulation