Company: Applied
Website: https://www.beapplied.com/
Business: Applied is a de-biased hiring platform which uses methods including anonymised applications and skills-based assessments to remove unconscious bias from the hiring process.
About Khyati and Applied
Khyati Sundaram is a tech entrepreneur who has experienced the sharp end of hiring bias. After closing a startup in 2018, there was an 8 month period where she couldn’t find a job, which she describes as ‘harrowing’. Recruiters told her she’d ‘never get hired’, which she puts down to her ‘non-white-sounding’ name, gender and unconventional CV. She was eventually hired as Head of Product at Applied in 2019, through the company’s own tech.
Applied is a de-biased hiring platform which uses methods including anonymised applications and skills-based assessments to remove unconscious bias from the hiring process.
Traditional hiring methods are often unethical and ineffective, with job seekers experiencing discrimination due to factors including race, gender and age. 60% of the candidates hired through Applied would have been missed by traditional recruitment processes – and the platform increases the number of ethnic minority hires fourfold.
Applied was founded in 2016, after extensive research into the behavioural changes that were needed to make recruitment more equitable. The mission was to transform the recruitment landscape by removing human bias from the hiring process. Applied’s system initially focused on anonymising CVs. But after extensive research into the biases in multiple stages of the application process, Applied’s technology has developed to ensure bias is removed from the entire application, screening and interview process.
This includes assessing job adverts for gendered language, anonymising identifying details such as name and university, focusing interviews around skills-based questions and tasks, and ensuring candidates are reviewed in a randomised and peer-reviewed way, to avoid groupthink.
Since becoming CEO at Applied, Khyati’s focus has been on growing the business. Applied’s current markets include the UK, the US, Australia and Europe and the aim is to expand and become the go-to method of recruitment globally for companies looking to attract and retain the best candidates.
A big focus for Applied is educating new and existing clients about how they can improve their recruitment practices to recruit ethically and inclusively. Applied is also continually improving its product experience to make it seamless and enjoyable to use for both candidates and hiring teams.
What Did the Judges Like About Applied?
“This platform addresses a very real problem that was discussed last year in a Wired article which said ethnic minorities needed to send 60% more applications to get as many callbacks as the white majority,” said Sithara.
“As someone who’s found it tricky navigating their career, explored opportunities in several countries and experienced a range of hiring processes, Applied’s mission spoke to me. Bias is virtually impossible to remove from the human mind, so it’s great to see a sophisticated system tackling this and creating more equity in professional settings. I like that Applied handles the entire recruitment process as there are so many opportunities for bias to creep in – even better to see that the platform increases the number of ethnic minority hires fourfold! I hope more companies realise how imperative new and innovative modes of hiring are to create greater access for BAME talent.” said Alix.
