The word connection has a special meaning to America Baez, a Chicago-based global thought leader in talent acquisition and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). It is her connections with family and others here and in her native Mexico that have helped her gain access to educational and economic opportunities and build her career
CHICAGO, April 25, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The word connection has a special meaning to America Baez, a Chicago-based global thought leader in talent acquisition and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). It is her connections with family and others here and in her native Mexico that have helped her gain access to educational and economic opportunities and build her career.
Baez, who has implemented DEI solutions for Fortune 100 companies including Accenture, Comcast, Pepsi, and Verizon among other companies for more than 18 years, is offering tailored consulting to organizations in the areas of DEI, talent attraction and acquisition, diversity, and campus recruiting, employment branding, Hispanic/Latinx talent attraction, hiring and retention strategies, and executive coaching.
She is also offering presentations around topics like overcoming adversity, addressing DEI workplace issues and helping prepare Hispanics and Latinx individuals for personal and professional opportunities.
The topics of both DEI and talent acquisition are important before and even now in today's American workplace. For example, Deloitte Insights recently published its 2023 Global Human Capital Trends. According to an article reflecting a trend called "Taking Bold Action for Equitable Incomes," the authors and co-authors mentioned that "in the last two years, large multinational organizations made more than 1,000 public DEI commitments and pledged more than US $210 billion to DEI initiatives, inviting increasing accountability for DEI-related promises."
"Things have changed over the past few years thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic," she said. "Employees and potential candidates are looking for companies that are aware of issues such as racial injustice and are committed to addressing them in the sphere of diversity and talent acquisition. In my role as a consultant, these are the situations that I deal with every day."
Hiring challenges continue to persist early in this new year. According to a recent Harvard Business Review article about several trends, organizations will pursue nontraditional candidates in their quest to expand their talent.
"It has become ultra-competitive to recruit the talent from a company perspective," Baez said. "We are also finding that there are not enough people with specific skill sets in the marketplace. This situation makes it more competitive to hire people. Companies need to find ways to be more proactive and flexible to create different talent attraction programs such as apprenticeships. Before, companies would require potential hires to have degrees. People, nowadays, gain skills and certifications from watching YouTube courses and doing other things."
To secure that talent, some companies are partnering with local universities to create programs tailored to that company's and industry needs. This allows students to gain the knowledge and skills set needed to kick off their careers in those areas, especially offering access and opportunities to underrepresented communities, Baez said. From an employee standpoint, job seekers are looking at companies that are actively implementing DEI initiatives.
"If I'm a person of color, someone from the LGBTQ+ community, someone who has a disability, or a Hispanic woman, I want to see a company that is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion and what it is doing in these areas," she said. "Potential employees will do research and see what kind of work they are doing, how they are helping different communities, and who their partners are."
For more information, visit https://www.americabaez.com/.
About America Baez:
America Baez is a seasoned, in-demand speaker because of her extensive experience in HR, talent acquisition, and DEI, working for some of the biggest corporations in the world. She is intentional and committed to helping others overcome challenges, and makes sure audiences are always given actionable items that make a difference in their lives and career. For information, visit https://www.americabaez.com/.
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SOURCE America Baez
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