The Lokenbergs Ponder 2020 | @Kimmetjedb @GordonLokenberg on The #SocialRecruiting Show

The Lokenbergs are ready for 2020…

To end 2019 we wanted to invite a guest to join us to provide an overview of the recruitment industry and cut through the BS as we head into 2020. But why have one, when you can have two?  Especially if it’s the Posh & Becks of recruitment, Kim and Gordon Lokenberg; known collectively as The Lokenbergs.

With a combined 30 years of recruitment experience, Katrina and I were excited to ask The Lokenbergs about a host of subjects, including AI, candidate ghosting, GDPR, hiring manager trends and the impact of social media. Asked what was the biggest change they had seen in the last 20 years… Gordon decided to take another view and told us,

“One thing that hasn’t changed is that a lot of recruiters don’t know what they are talking about!”

Oh yes, the BS-barometer was charged and ready!

We also hotly debated those hiring managers! In Gordon’s opinion, “Hiring Managers have started to realise that social media profiles can be read as resumes” and yet Kim points out that “recruiters still want resumes” and “people have a different profile on LinkedIn than they have in their resume” – which raises the question, are we creating processes that are at odds with the needs of those involved?

Automation = Machine Learning, it’s not AI!

One topic that has been debated widely in 2019 and looks set to follow the same trend in 2020 is ‘AI’ (artificial intelligence); The Lokenbergs have an insightful view on this area as Kim tells us that with

“Only 23 million Developers globally within a population of 7 billion people on this planet. We need to develop more Developers to enable us to put AI in more things”.

She expands further based on a presentation they both recently attended; “most algorithms have 5-6 people filling them, and the only way to make AI work is to put 100,000 people filling the algorithm”.

We end the show on the subject of GDPR and Kim provides advice for recruiters that are still confused by the implications of this legislation; “stop being afraid of it, GDPR was not made to p*ss off recruiters” – her hope is that it encourages recruiters to “be respectful to the candidate”.

If that wasn’t enough, below you’ll hear Kim and Gordon talk about:

• Sharing your personal data online
• Would you pay candidates to interview?
• Can gamification reduce unconscious bias?
• Simplify your hiring process
• Will ghosting still be a thing in 2020?
• The pro’s and con’s of GDPR