door Israpil Nalgiev | mrt 21, 2022
In recent years, the quality of written content has become increasingly important. Everything you publish needs to be engaging, interesting, and well-written. That’s the only way to ensure that people will read and share it. And the only way to make sure that Google will reward your SEO efforts. But continuously producing well-written content is easier said than done. Especially if there is much to consider, such as the tone of voice and avoiding bias. Luckily, there is technology available that can be of help here. It’s called an augmented writing platform. What is it, and what can you use it for? We’ll tell you below.
What is an augmented writing platform?
An augmented writing platform is a technology that serves as a writing coach. It’s your own personal writing assistant. You use an augmented writing platform to:
- improve the quality of your writing by removing unnecessary words and grammar mistakes;
- remove biased language from your writing;
- adhere to a particular tone of voice and terminology;
- maintain consistency throughout your writing;
- write at a certain language level.
Of course, you can pay attention to the above yourself. Or you can ask someone else to give you feedback on the content you’ve written. But those are very time-consuming activities. And some biases are hard to detect. Job descriptions, for example, often have a more masculine tone of voice. This is very hard to detect yourself. An augmented writing platform, however, has no problem highlighting this. And it will give you suggestions to use language that appeals to both men and women.
An augmented writing platform and recruitment
Job descriptions are part of the content your company produces. They, too, need to be well-written and inclusive if you want to appeal to your entire target group. At Textmetrics, we offer you a full augmented writing platform. You can use it to create more inclusive content. Our platform reads and analyzes your content and provides you with real-time suggestions for improvements.
And there’s more! You can also use the augmented writing platform for SEO. This increases the likelihood that more qualified candidates will apply. The better your job ads are written, the more people in your target group you will reach. And you’ll need to reach everyone in your target group if you want to achieve your D&I goals.
Want to know more about our Smart Writing Assistant? Click here.
door Israpil Nalgiev | mrt 2, 2022
Are the number of responses to your job ads a bit disappointing? Then there are two things you can do. You can go over the job descriptions once more and rewrite them to make them more persuasive. Or attempt to do so. Or you can choose a more science-based approach. An approach in which you use an augmented writing platform. An augmented writing platform can best be described as a technology that serves as a writing coach. It analyzes what you write and helps you choose the language proven to appeal to your target group. This is especially useful if you are striving for a more diverse and inclusive workforce. Because achieving that requires writing job ads that appeal to people of different backgrounds, genders, and ages.
A more diverse and inclusive workforce
The more inclusive your job descriptions are, the fewer people you exclude. You need this to build a more diverse and inclusive workforce. Let’s see how an augmented writing platform can contribute to more diversity and inclusiveness:
It’s not uncommon for job ads to have a more masculine tone of voice. However, as a result, women feel less spoken to and therefore less motivated to apply. An augmented writing platform can point this out to you. It will flag that your job ad has a more masculine tone of voice. And you’ll receive suggestions to replace the masculine words with gender-neutral ones. Your job ad will be appealing to both men and women.
Job ads often exclude older people. They don’t recognize themselves in the language used. Or they are scared off because it mentions a maximum number of years of experience. Age discrimination in job ads often happens unintentionally. An augmented writing platform can spot age bias in a job ad. And it will give you suggestions on how to avoid this.
The Textmetrics augmented writing platform
You can use the Textmetrics augmented writing platform to become a more diverse and inclusive company. The platform can do all of the things we described above. It uses algorithms based on artificial intelligence to read and analyze your job ads. And it provides you with real-time suggestions for improvements. It’s the perfect writing coach for creating job ads that appeal to your entire target group. Before you know it, you’ll be receiving more valuable responses to the job ads you publish.
Want to know more about our Smart Writing Assistant? Click here.
door Israpil Nalgiev | feb 9, 2022
Do you want to attract and keep top talent of different backgrounds, races and cultures? Then you need to create a workplace where all employees feel safe, respected and valued. Everybody needs to feel like they belong. DEIB plays an important role here. It’s short for diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging. But how do you become a more diverse, inclusive and equal workplace where everyone feels like they belong? Discover five ways to invest in DEIB below.
#1. Diverse hiring practices
To become a more diverse company, you need to hire diverse talent. The job descriptions you publish play a key role here. These need to be free of bias and appeal to everyone in your target group. To men and women, and to people of all ages and backgrounds.
#2. Educate employees on DEIB
Building a diverse workforce through diverse hiring practices alone isn’t enough. More needs to be done to create a workplace where everyone feels comfortable. Education and training play an important role here. Employees need to learn about the existence of unconscious bias to ensure a community of inclusion is built.
#3. Employee Resource Groups
Who better to tackle issues regarding DEIB in the workplace than employees themselves? Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) give employees an opportunity to meet like-minded people. Together, employees can address the needs of underrepresented groups in the workplace. They can also raise awareness about issues they have to deal with. But above all, ERGs can present initiatives to improve DEIB in the workplace.
#4. Employee growth
In leadership and at management level, diversity often falls behind. So, if you succeed in creating a diverse workforce, your next step is investing in employee growth. Every employee should feel equally motivated and have the opportunity to grow. Offer mentorship programs and a budget for training and education to facilitate this. Because you need diversity at all levels of the organization.
#5. Inclusive office space
For employees to feel comfortable and like they belong, you also need an inclusive office space. The office should also be wheelchair accessible and have a gender-neutral toilet. There should also be a place where employees can pray. And a place for new mothers to pump.
Textmetrics and DEIB
At Textmetrics, we offer a platform that you can use to invest in DEIB. It uses artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms that empower you to improve all written communication. You can use it to write job ads that are free of bias. This is an important first step to more diverse hiring practices. And you can use it for writing content that appeals to everyone. That’s important if you’re striving for diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging throughout your company.
Want to try Textmetrics? Click here for a free trial!
door Israpil Nalgiev | jan 5, 2022
All you need to know to hire a chief diversity officer in 2022
Is 2022 going to be the year that you reach all your diversity and inclusion goals? The year you become a more diverse company? Then you can’t do without a chief diversity officer. This person is solely responsible for diversity and inclusion. And that is just what you need if you really want to take a step forward. Because it takes a lot of time and effort to reach D&I goals. And it requires a focused approach. Something that is difficult to have when you’re busy working on other things as well.
To hire a chief diversity officer, you’ll need to write a chief diversity officer job description. But what is it that a chief diversity officer does exactly? And why do you need to have one?
What does a chief diversity officer do?
The chief diversity officer is the person responsible for increasing the level of diversity and inclusion within a company. This includes creating a work culture where all employees can be productive. Where everyone feels respected and safe in their work environment. Besides that, the chief diversity officer also plays an active role in the hiring process. It’s their job to ensure that HR hires candidates from a variety of backgrounds.
The chief diversity officer needs to promote diversity and inclusion throughout the entire company. To do so, he or she needs to come up with an organization-wide plan. In this plan, others can read:
- what D&I goals have been set;
- and how they can be reached.
Why do you need a chief diversity officer job description?
You hire a chief diversity officer to reach your D&I goals. This brings with it three important benefits:
A chief diversity officer will diversify your workforce. It will consist of men and women of different ethnicities, ages, and economic and social backgrounds. They will all bring different perspectives to the products and services you offer. This results in products and services that appeal to a broader consumer base. A great way to generate more revenue.
- Employees are less likely to leave
The chief diversity officer is responsible for creating a safe work environment. One in which everyone feels welcome and respected. By doing so, employees will feel they have more room to grow, both professionally and personally. And they won’t look for another place to work.
Research shows that hiring a diverse group of employees increases productivity. Because the more diverse a group is, the more ideas come to the table. And the more likely you are to come up with different solutions.
Use Textmetrics to write a chief diversity officer job description
You use the Textmetrics platform to create a chief diversity officer job description. And that will attract the perfect candidate for this job. And the chief diversity officer you hire can use the Textmetrics platform to write inclusive job descriptions. These are job posts that attract diverse candidates and:
- have a more gender-neutral tone of voice;
- contain words that appeal to both men and women; and
- are free of any bias (such as age bias or gender bias).
Because inclusive job descriptions are the first step toward the recruitment of diverse candidates. And they will make the job of a chief diversity officer a lot easier.
Want to try Textmetrics? Click here for a free trial!
door Israpil Nalgiev | dec 14, 2021
Do very few people respond to your job ads? Then you might wonder if the job you’re offering is interesting enough. Often, though, it has nothing to do with the job offered. It’s the readability that’s a problem. Many job ads are written at a language level that is too difficult for most people to understand. That’s a real problem. Because if people don’t understand something, they won’t continue to read it. And, as a result, they don’t apply.
This is especially crucial now that diversity and inclusion are becoming more and more important. Do you want to attract a diverse group of qualified candidates for a job? Then you need job ads that everyone can understand. Job ads that are written at language level B1. Because that is the language level that the majority of the population (60%) can understand.
The various language levels
The Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) distinguishes six different language levels:
- A1 and A2: the basic user
- A1: The language is very simple. The sentences are often separated by breaks.
- A2: The language is simple. The words are highly frequent, known from one’s own language or belong to international vocabulary. The sentences are often separated by breaks.
- B1 and B2: the independent user
- B1: This involves straightforward standard language that is within one’s own area of expertise or interest.
- B2: The use of language is more complex.
- C1 and C2: the expert user
- C1: Vocabulary and grammatical construction are complex. Idioms and implicit meanings are used.
- C2: The language is complex. Idioms and unclear sentence structures without explicit signal words are used.
Language level C2 is the most difficult to understand, and A1 is the easiest to understand. The language level that the majority are able to read and understand is B1. Do you want to improve the readability of your job ads? Then you need to write them at a B1 level.
How to write a language level B1
Writing at language level B1 is important for the readability of your job ads. But how do you make sure that your job ads aren’t too difficult to understand? You can make use of:
- lists (particularly using bullet points, like we do here);
- short paragraphs (three to five sentences);
- spaces;
- easy-to-scan subtitles;
- short sentences; and
- readable fonts.
And then there are tools you can use to clarify your content. Like the website synonym.com and our own Textmetrics platform. Textmetrics has a readability module that you can use to identify the language level of your job ad. And it gives you real-time suggestions on how to reach the desired B1 language level. Perhaps you’ll need to spell out certain words. Or cut back a number of sentences. The platform guides you through the steps to end up with job ads written at language level B1. It’s the language level that Google understands best as well. So, it will also make your job ad easier to find online.
Want to try Textmetrics? Click here for a free trial!
