Netpotism Guarding against Netpotism - building fairer and more inclusive recruitment processes in a post-COVID UK - Handshake
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Research Paper
Netpotism
Guarding against Netpotism – building fairer and more inclusive
recruitment processes in a post-COVID UK
#HandshakeUK
Netpotism Research Paper
Foreword
Online nepotism, or as we call it, ‘netpotism’, puts the
UK employment market in real danger of becoming more
closed than ever.
We can all agree that the last 12 months have been But there’s a downside too. Tech should be a
challenging for both students and employers. huge leveller for the industry. The nepotism which
Campuses have closed their doors, exams exists in industry, where business leaders rely on
have been cancelled, and opportunities for existing contacts to fuel recruitment pipelines,
work experience and internships have quickly ought to be a thing of the past, and equal access
A new risk when recruiting virtual. diminished for employers. As a result, connecting of opportunity should finally be a reality. But at the
Netpotism
with graduates has been harder than ever. Not moment it’s simply not happening. Our report has
only has recruitment slowed in the face of global found that employers are swapping one closed
economic uncertainty, but a move online has network with another, relying on existing contacts,
fundamentally changed the talent acquisition friends, family and colleagues to connect and
process. meet potential employees, even online.
The danger of recruiting from the same closed networks, virtually and
eschewing the opportunity of broader access.
Despite the challenges, for many the pandemic We’re calling this kind of online nepotism
has acted as a catalyst for positive change. ‘netpotism’, and it puts the employment market in
Digital technologies have changed the learning real danger of becoming more closed than ever. By
environment, allowing students to collaborate exposing the issue, we are hoping that employers,
with peers all over the world, and to learn on their students and education providers alike can
own terms, at their own pace. It has brought some seize the opportunity to combat it. A diverse and
unexpected benefits to the recruitment process inclusive workforce is one that ultimately thrives,
too – students and employers can now interact and limiting the recruitment pool isn’t just unfair –
wherever they are in the world. As remote or hybrid it’s bad for business and economic growth too.
working looks set to continue for the long term,
geographic location, or place of study, is no longer
a stumbling block to employment.
3
Table of Contents 6 The state of play: changes to the early careers recruitment process during the pandemic 10 Access to opportunity – introducing ‘netpotism’ 17 The view from businesses: is the hiring challenge about skills gaps or a pipeline failure? 20 Tackling the long-term challenges 24 Conclusions and recommendations
Netpotism Research Paper
201,000 fewer 18-24 year-olds in employment from January
March 2020, compared to September-November 2020
The past 12 months have seen immense turbulence in the jobs market – felt especially acutely by young
people looking to enter into their careers. Overall, the UK unemployment rate hit its highest level since
early 2016 in February 2021. But looking deeper into the figures, between January-March 2020 and
September-November 2020 there was a fall in employment levels for 18-24 year-olds of 201,000 [ONS,
Labour market bulletin February 2021, Table A01 – more than twice that of any other age group.]
Larger falls in employment for young workers
The state of play–
Fall in employment levels, Jan-March to Oct-Dec 2020, thousands
0
changes to the
-50
-53
-100 -84
-93 -93
-99
early careers -150
recruitment
-200
-201
-250
16-17 18-24 25-34 35-49 50-64 65+
process during But it’s not only the number of jobs and week [ONS – Annual Population Survey, Jan-Dec
the pandemic
opportunities available that has changed the 2019, as reported within ONS – Coronavirus and
picture for students and graduates entering homeworking in the UK labour market: 2019.]
into their careers, the nature of the applications
process has also been turned upside down.
In the week ending 21 February 2021, most working
56% 12%
adults in Great Britain were working from home at
least part of the week (56%) [ONS, Coronavirus
and the latest indicators for the UK economy
Adults working from home at least part Adults working from at least once a
and society: 25 February 2021 Figures from ONS’ of the week ending 21/02/2021 week in 2019
Opinions and Lifestyle Survey]. This is compared
with government data showing that back in 2019, And as lockdowns saw working habits change, this
just 12% worked from home at least once a was also reflected in hiring habits.
7
Netpotism Research Paper Netpotism Research Paper
65%
businesses became more reliant on
career and job sites during the pandemic
In order to provide a more bespoke view of the picture for students,
graduates and those hiring them, Handshake commissioned research
20% 33%
among these groups, investigating the jobs landscape in 2021.
Research was conducted by Savanta between This meant that broadly, approaches were less are less reliant on
Friday 5 March and Monday 15 March 2021, tailored to early careers applicants and relied university careers
services are less reliant on
among 640 current students and 334 recent much more heavily on getting to know the
campus-based
graduates in the UK, and 502 HR Decision candidate online.
careers fairs
Makers at UK businesses.
While the perception persists of young people
22%
This research among HR Decision Makers being tech savvy and therefore more easily
found that during the pandemic, businesses able to cope with this kind of mass digitisation,
became far more reliant on careers and job the necessary move online of applications
are less reliant on
sites and say they became less reliant on presented its own set of problems – particularly
student ambassador
campus-based routes that are specific to when we consider the impact on marginalised programmes
targeting students and recent graduates, and less financially secure groups.
such as careers fairs, student ambassador
programmes and university careers services.
8 9
Netpotism Research Paper
While the pandemic has been hard for having been impacted by lack of access to a
everyone, official figures suggest that workers tablet or laptop [Office of Students, poll of 1,416
who are from an ethnic minority group, women, students, run for the OfS by Natives].
young workers, low paid workers, and disabled
workers have been most negatively impacted Equality of access is a problem which extends
economically [House of Commons Library, to university students looking towards their
Coronavirus: Impact on the labour market, employment, too. Our research revealed that
Thursday, 25 February, 2021]. 22% of students don’t have the technology
required to access careers services since they
Importantly, the last 12 months have also shone have moved online. One key step to improving
a spotlight on the pervasive ‘digital divide’ equality of access, therefore, is to make sure
in the UK, as school, college and university offerings are mobile-optimised at a minimum,
students reported being unable to access or with mobile device penetration at 98% among
afford mobile-suitable devices or an adequate the 16-24 age group – and adding support for
broadband connection to access remote mobile-based third-party platforms.
learning. 18% of university students reported
Access to
opportunity
22% of students report being without
the technology required to
access online career services
18% report a lack of access to tablet
or laptop
98% of those aged 16-24 have access
to internet via a mobile phone
11
Netpotism Research Paper
91% of students have experienced issues with online interviews A new risk when recruiting virtual.
Similarly, mechanics behind online interview processes presented problems across the board for
students during this time – but also disproportionately affected those with fewer resources. Nine in
10 students have experienced some kind of problem relating to the new way of conducting interviews
Netpotism
during the pandemic and nearly a quarter of students or recent grads tell us they don’t have the room at
The danger of recruiting from the same closed networks, virtually and
home to interview via video (23%). eschewing the opportunity of broader access.
The most common problems encountered during virtual interviews are a poor internet connection
disrupting a video interview (34%), being worried about somebody else in the household walking in
(28%) and poor equipment like microphone or laptop causing issues (26%) – all of which are problems
that tend to disproportionately affect applicants who are less well off. One in five were also late to
interviews due to technical difficulties, further suggesting that there is an accessibility issue for some.
Top issues with virtual interviews
Poor internet connection 34%
Somebody in household
walking in 28%
Poor equipment 26%
Not enough space/quiet 24%
Finding things in the
21%
background
Being late to the interview
20%
due to tech issues
Not knowing interview
etiquette 15%
Accidentally sharing the wrong
thing onscreen 15%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40%
12 13Netpotism Research Paper
It’s long been an issue that the most prestigious firms only prospect for recruits among a small group of
elite universities, putting their resources into physically visiting just a limited group of campuses in the
form of ‘milkrounds’. For many experts, the move online looked to be an opportunity to level the playing
field, and allow students from all locations, and all backgrounds, to access these opportunities.
However, our research shows that this hasn’t been the case, and that employers are simply swapping
one set of closed networks for another, relying on existing contacts to find and vet potential recruits
online.
This form of online nepotism, we’ve dubbed ‘netpotism’, has the
potential to further limit diversity in the workforce – and close off
opportunities to graduates who don’t have personal or institutional
connections to an employer.
Introducing
In the past year, employers have relied far more on existing online networks of connections – with 63%
saying they leaned more on online professional networks such as LinkedIn due to restrictions around in-
person recruitment, while over half said they used word of mouth recommendation more since the start
‘netpotism’
of the pandemic – with this process merely having moved online.
What methods employers have leant on during pandemic
Online professional
63%
networks such as LinkedIn
Word of mouth
recommendations - staff 57%
Use of personal networks
57%
-e.g. former colleagues
Virtual career fairs 57%
Social media (e.g. Twitter,
Facebook) 53%
Recruiters 52%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80%
And beyond logistics, the increased financial pressure being felt by businesses led a fifth of HR decision
makers to say they prefer to hire graduate and student candidates they already know as they’re less of
a risk in the current environment. So while virtual recruitment has opened up doors in many instances,
there is also the risk that it can potentially entrench privilege.
15The view from
businesses: is the
hiring challenge
about skills gaps
‘Netpotism’ is already being felt by many students and recent
graduates
33% or a pipeline
From the student and graduate perspective,
students believe that job
a third believe that job applications and
applications and interviews
interviews are biased towards people who have
are biased towards
failure?
existing connections, while 15% feel excluded
people who have existing
from job opportunities due to their background.
connections
What’s more, more than one in four have
15%
been frustrated by entry level jobs demanding
feel excluded from job
unreasonable amounts of experience – which
opportunities due to their
generally means they’re more accessible to
background.
those who have had the connections and
26%
safety net to do relevant internships. In short,
have been frustrated by
‘Netpotism’ is already being felt by many
entry level jobs demanding
students and recent graduates – and these
unreasonable amounts of
formative experiences at the start of a career
experience
can have a ripple effect into future working life.
16Netpotism Research Paper
58% of businesses find it harder to connect with early career
candidates since the start of the pandemic.
We know that some companies are restricting It’s perhaps no surprise, then, that digital
or reducing hiring while the economy remains recruitment is on the rise – and in many
unstable – 47% say they’ve consciously done instances, it has proven effective. Based on
so, while a further 14% have stopped hiring their experiences during the pandemic, 66%
grads altogether since the pandemic until things of businesses say they’ll conduct more of the
stabilise. However, while companies in some recruitment process online going forwards,
sectors, such as hospitality, tourism and leisure, suggesting that the results have been positive.
aren’t currently hiring, graduates shouldn’t lose And while as indicated, this potentially has
hope. Logistics, health, medicine, and some consequences for those with less space and
retailers (particularly those operating online) a less reliable set-up in terms of connections/
are booming and are actively looking to recruit equipment, 47% of businesses say they are
graduates. taking steps to make it easier for candidates to
conduct online interviews during the pandemic.
But our research shows that it’s increasingly
tough for employers to find the right recruits. The Positively, we’re also seeing a more proactive
majority of businesses say it’s been harder to approach to recruitment, with a quarter of
connect with early career candidates since the businesses (24%) reporting that they have
start of the pandemic. directly targeted student prospects via online
communication rather than waiting for them to
apply during the pandemic.
66% of businesses say they’ll conduct more of the recruitment process online.
47% say they are taking steps to make it easier for candidates to conduct online
interviews during the pandemic
24% businesses have directly targeted student prospects via online communication
rather than waiting for them to apply during the pandemic
18 19Long-term
challenges and
helping students
and graduates
crack a tough
jobs market
There is no doubt that we are set to see a tough jobs market in the near future. In its November
2020 Economic and fiscal outlook, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) projected potential
unemployment at 11% in Q1 2022, in its worst case scenario.
With these challenges in mind, it becomes even more important to ensure grads can access those roles
that do exist, and for employers to access the best talent – to fuel their regrowth and recovery.
Our research showed that there are several ways to solve the pipeline
problem we’re seeing.
21Netpotism Research Paper
Technology
The first lies in ensuring that young people have the technology required to
access career opportunities, tackling issues like slow broadband – or device and
connectivity provision for disadvantaged students.
When access is ensured, students need to feel comfortable with the technology
they’re using – and this type of training and advice is where university careers
services can support those entering the jobs market. More than a quarter (28%)
of students and recent graduates say they would benefit from more training on
how to conduct job interviews and a similar proportion (27%) say they could do
with training on the applications process too.
Confidence
We also know that there is a significant issue with confidence. While most
students and graduates are at least somewhat confident in using professional
networking sites, 30% say they are either ‘not very confident’ or ‘not confident
at all’ in doing so.
Partly driving this is that 21% are unsure of the etiquette around connecting and
messaging prospective employers on these platforms – and a similar proportion
(19%) don’t feel that they are useful for students or recent grads, being aimed
more at those who are already employed.
Proactivity
When it comes to changes that employers can make, our research suggests that
students would welcome more proactivity. A third (32%) say they want to more
often hear directly from employers that are looking for student and graduate
candidates like them – indicating that facilitating connections is a key part of
improving their prospects.
However, when it comes to proactivity, students are currently not taking a
lead. Just 8% have looked to connect directly with employers via a bespoke
graduate careers community or app and 17% have used professional networking
platforms like LinkedIn in the past in the hopes of connecting with prospective
employers.
22 23Netpotism Research Paper
While many analysts, economists, politicians and We see businesses and students alike
businesses talk about a skills gap, where there responding to this need in our own
aren’t enough skilled employees to fulfil the conversations, as they embrace tools like
needs of the workforce, our research suggests Handshake which forge connections between
that a major contributing factor is actually that early career candidates and their ultimate
the UK is suffering from a weakness in the employers.
pipeline of recruits. Employers aren’t accessing
students from a diverse recruitment pool, and It’s also positive to see Government schemes
students are finding it hard to reach employers. to provide digital technology and connectivity
Too often, businesses are relying on existing to the most disadvantaged in the UK, and
contacts to find recruits, limiting diversity and that technology firms are being urged to help
prohibiting inclusivity. ensure equality of access through device
and connectivity provision. University careers
Just as with nepotism offline, resorting to services also have a key role to play in helping
Conclusions and
‘netpotism’ in the digital world breaks the students and graduates as they forge ‘early
trust placed in managers and deteriorates the career networks’ – via offering support on
ethical climate of the corporation. And on the how to navigate the etiquette of connecting
recommendations
flip side, a diverse and inclusive workforce not with employers and how to crack the virtual
only fulfills societal duties, it fosters a culture of applications process, including remote job
innovation, more rounded thinking and better interviews and assessment centres.
productivity. Ensuring equality of access isn’t just
the right thing to do, it makes good business and It’s also important to recognise the problem
economic sense. and for employers and students to understand
the potential damage of nepotism – both in the
There are many routes to online and offline worlds – to business success
breaking the cycle of ‘netpotism’, and the wider economic outlook. There have
starting with ensuring that been plenty of studies on the benefits of a
students have access to the diverse and inclusive workforce – not just on
technology which output and productivity but to current staff
makes connections easier. wellbeing too. A diverse workforce is a happy one
which thrives.
Learn more at: joinhandshake.co.uk 25#HandshakeUK
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