5 key learnings from Greenhouse Open 2022

3 mins, 47 secs read time

It finally happened – Greenhouse Open came back and was better than ever. Whether you joined us live at Open 2022 and want to relive the magic or missed it and want to catch the highlights, we’ve got you covered. Read on for some of the key learnings and themes we heard in two days of keynotes, panel discussions and workshops filled with forward-thinking talent acquisition professionals.

People-first companies are coming out ahead

In his keynote presentation, The rise of the people-first company, Greenhouse CEO and co-founder Daniel Chait walked us through some of the major transformations the world of work has seen in the past decade – and what that means for business leaders and talent acquisition pros. The TL;DR version? The war for talent is over. Talent has won. The people-first companies that realize this and prioritize the “human” part of “human resources” are those that will succeed in attracting and retaining those very humans who will give their business a competitive advantage.

The one question every talent acquisition team should be asking

Now that we’ve established the importance of people-first companies, you might be wondering how you can ensure your own company fits into this category. If that’s the case, give yourself a pat on the back. You’re already on your way there! According to Greenhouse President and co-founder Jon Stross, one of the strategies the most successful companies have in common is asking themselves, “If we decided to be better at recruiting than anything else, what would we do?” Jon says the answer doesn’t matter so much as the fact that you’re asking this question. As tough as it can be, it’s essential to take time away from the everyday business of recruiting and look for ways to make small improvements to your processes, whether it’s to the way you source, manage candidates, make decisions, close offers or onboard new hires.

We can’t just say we care about belonging – we need to take actions to back it up

Jackye Clayton, VP of Talent Acquisition & DEI at Textio invited us to question whether everything we know about diversity recruiting is wrong. Spoiler alert: It is. Instead of focusing on one-off initiatives – like unconscious bias training – Jackye recommends investing in a flywheel of belonging. This combination of practices, communication, policies and accountability creates genuine behavior change that builds on itself over time and attracts more inclusion-minded people to your organization.

Candidate experience is everything

In a room full of recruiters (or an entire conference hall full of hundreds of recruiters, to be more specific), you know that candidate experience is going to be a hot topic, especially in our current talent market. Whether you’re crafting the narrative that will convince candidates to join your company, considering how to make your offers more equitable or looking for ways to share your company culture in a distributed world, candidate experience continues to be top of mind for all talent acquisition professionals.

The importance of emotional intelligence can’t be overstated

Psychologist and author of Emotional Intelligence Dr. Daniel Goleman shared research that connects emotional intelligence in leaders to higher job satisfaction, employee engagement and mental and physical health. He taught us that emotions are contagious, so our job (especially as people managers) is to leave the person we’re encountering feeling a little better than when we found them. Tony award-winning director and writer Rachel Chavkin also spoke of the importance of self-reflection and self-awareness. When we’re honest about where we’re lacking knowledge and experience, that opens the door for feedback and growth. And award-winning producer, actress and equal rights activist Laverne Cox closed out the conference by sharing her practice of building resilience by imagining and rehearsing the moments she wants to experience. “We can use our imaginations to bring us joy, resources and resiliency,” says Laverne.

And… puppies make everything better

Okay, so this might not count as a key learning per se, but having puppies onsite to welcome attendees was a clear highlight of the event. Who doesn’t love a little snuggle with a furry friend to kick off a day of learning and networking? Warm, fuzzy thank yous to our sponsor Fetcher for making that happen!

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