HR Talks – Episode 4
Workplace diversity is and should be one of the key considerations for any organization in 2021. By hiring employees from various social and cultural backgrounds, an organization can widen its range of perspectives, knowledge, and approaches from which decisions are made. In fact, according to McKinsey, gender and ethnically diverse organizations have a greater commitment from employees, higher rates of productivity, and are more likely to have financial returns above their industry medians. That said, while many firms recognize the benefits of having a diverse workforce, there are many challenges that need to be addressed before a successful and balanced recruitment strategy can be implemented.
To better understand the obvious and the hidden obstacles organizations face when building a diverse workforce, we’re hosting a panel of diversity specialists on September 22nd at 1:00pm EST, that includes Nicole Amiotte, People Programs Manager at ActZero, Jean-Pierre Fernandes, Sr. Diversity & Inclusion Specialist at The City of Toronto, and Noah Aiken-Klar, Director, Academic and Strategic Relationships, Early Tech Talent at RBC.
During this session, our expert panelists will share their insights on the essential components for a diverse workplace infrastructure, how to recruit diverse talent in a meaningful way, how to eliminate bias in the recruitment process, and how to create and support an inclusive workplace environment.
We hope you can join us!
Meet the Panelists:
Nicole Amiotte, People Programs Manager | ActZero
Nicole (any pronouns) is an agender, neurodiverse, and queer person from Seattle, Washington. They are currently the People Programs Manager for ActZero, a Cybersecurity startup. At ActZero, they are co-lead of the Inclusion Team, the Recruiting Lead, and an Employee Satisfaction Specialist.
They have 15 years of experience focused on inclusive recruiting, hiring, and retention, along with employee support. They spent the early part of their career in male-dominated retail industries, receiving accolades for team satisfaction and creating training programs to ensure equitable promotion opportunities across stores. After leaving retail, they moved into the more traditionally based HR and Office Management roles. They have spearheaded projects such as listening sessions around the Rise in Hate against Asians During Covid, written a guide on writing inclusive job descriptions, and have hosted trainings on Mitigating Unconscious Bias in the Recruitment and Hiring Process, Unbiased Interviewing Techniques, and How a Bad Apology can Cause More Harm.
Jean-Pierre Fernandes, Sr. Diversity & Inclusion Specialist | City of Toronto
Jean-Pierre is a Sr. Diversity & Inclusion Specialist with the City of Toronto. Having worked across multiple sectors, including the not-for-profit, post-secondary, corporate, and now public service sector, Jean-Pierre brings with him a wealth of experience working with and supporting equity deserving communities. Core tenets of his work include taking an intersectional approach, building community and transformation through empowerment.
Noah Aiken-Klar, Director, Academic and Strategic Relationships, Early Tech Talent | RBC
Noah works with schools and community partners to engage students from diverse backgrounds and help them launch careers in Tech and at RBC. Prior to this, he helped develop and lead RBC Future Launch, a groundbreaking commitment to deepen and scale programs for young people to gain skills, grow their networks, get practical work experience, and enhance their mental well-being. Before RBC, he was Regional Director at the Ontario Trillium Foundation, a provincial agency, and grantmaker.
Noah is also a bilingual lawyer, the former ED of PBSC (a national youth leadership and access-to-justice organization), an active community volunteer, and an award-winning singer, performer, and writer. He has degrees from McGill and UofT and lives in downtown Toronto with his wife and two kids.
Kristin Condon, Chief Customer Officer | Sales Talent Agency
Kristin Condon earned her HR Management post-graduate degree in 1999 and has now spent 21 years building a career in human resource strategy with a particular focus on recruitment and talent acquisition for sales professionals. Kristin is a Partner and Chief Customer Officer for Sales Talent Agency, Canada’s largest sales-specific recruitment company. Over the past 12 years with STA, Kristin has helped companies like Rogers, Clearbanc, Citron and Yellow Pages build their sales infrastructures at both the direct sales and executive levels, and has influenced more than 3,000 sales hires. Kristin’s expertise is helping business leaders and talent acquisition professionals find, attract, choose and equip elite salespeople to develop highly effective revenue growth teams.
Past Episodes: