1、BENEATH THE SURFACEA Unified Approach To Realizing The Value Of Untapped TalentTHE PANDEMICPrior to the Covid-19 pandemic,U.S.businesses were experiencing one of the tightest talent markets in history,with many organizations struggling to find and retain the employees they needed to succeed.As the c

2、ountry comes to grips with the impact that Covid-19 has had on the economy and the state of the labor market,organizations are still confronting a mismatch between the talent they need in a new economy and what they are finding in the marketplace.While unemployment is beginning to decrease as the ec

3、onomy stabilizes and recession begins to recede,there are stubborn talent gaps that have persisted from well before the pandemic.Organizations are now reckoning with the fact that these gaps were not just the result of a tight talent marketplace,but of a lack of organizational investment in diversit

4、y,equity,and inclusion(DEI)and will require more innovative HR practices to solve.One of the most effective and least-utilized solutions to these gaps1 are untapped talent pools:those workers who may not be in the standard consideration set when businesses seek talent,due to perceived barriers relat

5、ed to one or more demographic characteristics.Untapped talent pools such as veterans,military spouses and caregivers,individuals aged 60 or older,disabled workers,those with a criminal record,and non-student unemployed youth all present unique opportunities and value to organizations willing to make

6、 the effort to seek them out.Even prior to the global pandemic many of these workers struggled to find the work and wages they need to survive and thrive as a result of a plethora of barriers to employment.For example,prior to Covid-19,the unemployment rate for individuals with disabilities was doub