The co-founders of Unboxable are trying to disrupt HR tech. Stephie Knopel and Yardenne Assa sat down with Jessica Abo to discuss how their company helps talent-acquisition professionals optimize the hiring process.
Jessica Abo: What is HR tech?
Stephie Knopel: HR tech is basically everything that has to do with what unites human capital, talents and companies, which is the biggest research that companies need right now.
How did you go about creating Unboxable? What was the conversation, Yardenne, that the two of you had together and you thought, “Okay, this is going to be what we do”?
Yardenne Assa: There’s a broken protocol between companies and talents. We’re still relying on resumes, CVS, job descriptions in order to make a decision. We’re using them as decision tools, when in reality, they have zero ability to predict a match.
How does Unboxable work?
Knopel: Basically, what we have done is remove the resume that includes bad predictors of success, like education pedigree or past experience, which are no longer relevant in this era. We’re replacing it with data language so that it’s the shape of the talent. We’re able to surface from people data that tells us what are the specific skills, professional skills, soft skills. Something that makes us very unique in the market is that we’re able to create a prediction model between people like, “Am I going to thrive under this leadership, under this specific manager, in this culture of the company?” This is what makes us very unique, and this is why the company Unboxable is thriving.
I know you talk about a job applicant’s “true fit”. Yardenne, what is that exactly?
Assa: The shape of a talent actually is based upon the professional capabilities and the soft characteristic of a talent. Based on that, we can actually predict if this is a true fit between the talent and the role. Taking into consideration that both organisms are hybrid organisms that are changing all the time, by definition, by the state of the company, the state of the product. These two organisms that we’re trying to match are based on many, many different elements. We’re allowing both the talents and the companies to access this data in order to make a decision.
How do you determine relational fit?
Knopel: We currently have an algorithm that allows us to see both from the hiring manager and from the talent, what is their leadership style and their communication profile? What are the psychological needs that they have at work, which today is one of the most important things to understand from a talent. Am I going to be able to satisfy your needs as a talent? And all of these are data points that we take under consideration, which no one else is doing in the market.
It’s time to put the hiring manager and the talent in the same equal situation. We were told in the past that only the talents will go through an entire due diligence. And what happens to the other side of the table, which is the company? And right now we’re able to make intelligent and smart decisions based on data, because we’re going through this compatibility on both sides.
Assa: The reason the talent seems to be a good fit to a role or to a company most of the time has nothing to do with their professional capabilities. It has to do with the compatibility with a manager, with a team, with a culture, with a company, with the expectations. And what we’re trying to say is when you come in to join a company, you’re not coming only with your professional assets, you’re coming as a whole. You’re coming with everything that you hold, studied, bear, and this is what we’re trying to do. We’re trying to allow people to come as they are, and to be judged based on who they are and also their potential.
How can companies work with you?
Assa: What we’re doing is we’re replacing their CV with this job simulator that is allowing the talent to learn everything one needs to know in order to make an educated decision about should I apply or not. Based on that, take a 15- or 20-minute simulation that allows the talent to learn all about the role while also being able to submit his talent or her talent and not the resume.
Why Unboxable? Why this name?
Assa: Basically, what companies are trying to do today is to put talent into boxes in order to see if there’s a fit or not. And this box starts with a CV and continues with a specific role definition, et cetera. And what we’re saying is that talents are unboxable. In order to be able to actually assess and evaluate and see if there’s a real match between what you’re looking for and a talent, you need to unbox them, you need to see them as they are.
What advice do you have for the hiring manager who’s listening to this and feels stuck and doesn’t know how to improve this process
Knopel: Don’t give up. Many people today who are trying to hire, they’re giving up on quality because of the need for speed that they are required for hiring. They’re desperate. So somehow in a very unconscious way, which is natural, they’re giving up on the best of the best in order to fill up positions. And we are telling them don’t give up on quality. There’s a way of doing it fast with exceptional and extraordinary talent without losing and paying or investing millions and millions of dollars. There is a way for that. Don’t give up.
