Finally, a report that not only documents several barriers that keep our Nation's Caregivers from re-engaging in paid work (v.s. their valuable unpaid work), but highlights that Companies are missing out.
"Hidden workers" the term coined in an earlier HBR article “have a desire to work and are actively seeking work, but their regular efforts to seek employment consistently fail because of hiring processes that focus on what they don’t have (such as credentials) rather than the value they can bring (such as capabilities).”
Caregivers and trailing spouses were included in this disparate group that also included veterans, immigrants and refugees, as well as those with physical disabilities. All 'unseen' by those seeking resources. In our case, the Untapped Potential Talent Pool is classified by the article as “missing from the workforce” (not working and not seeking employment
but willing and able to work under the right circumstances).
Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS), which sort through applicants at scale and exclude viable candidates whose resumes don’t match a specific criterion contributes as a barrier. While yielding an efficient process, the result is less effective. In fact, 88% of those surveyed in this global study believed that their ATS weeded out high-skilled prospects because of this issue.
See the 47 page report by Accenture and Harvard Business School here
Untapped Potential has been battling the issues that leave our demographic side-lined since 2015. Our three prong approach overcomes barriers caregivers face while offering business leaders access to this hidden talent. We use an UP Profile that shares our Candidates' skills and experience without the bias of years. Our Flexreturn™ Services help our business clients understand what are those "right circumstances" that would enable our educated-experience talent to engage in the workforce. We ask our Clients to take our Pledge to measure our Candidates by their skills and experience and not to discount them for caregiving.
You can meet such hidden talent at our 10th Bi-Annual Return-to-work Week for Women this October.