{"id":209812,"date":"2019-02-05T07:25:50","date_gmt":"2019-02-05T15:25:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/?post_type=wherenext&#038;p=209812"},"modified":"2021-12-13T04:17:00","modified_gmt":"2021-12-13T12:17:00","slug":"location-bias-in-hiring","status":"publish","type":"wherenext","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/location-bias-in-hiring","title":{"rendered":"Opportunity Awaits Employers That Overcome Location Bias"},"author":501,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"sync_status":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","castos_file_data":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1001,791,1561],"tags":[182012,281,320192],"department":[476792],"wherenext-category":[],"industry":[],"class_list":["post-209812","wherenext","type-wherenext","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commercial","category-digital-transformation","category-economic-development","tag-hr","tag-location-intelligence","tag-workforce","department-cxo-priorities"],"acf":{"short_description":"In a tight job market, every hiring advantage is important. Companies that reduce location bias could gain an edge.","pdf":{"host_remotely":false,"file":"","file_url":""},"flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"On a r\u00e9sum\u00e9, the second thing an employer learns about someone is where they live. A recent study tested the effect that commute distance has on an applicant\u2019s chance of being hired. It found that <a href=\"https:\/\/hbr.org\/2018\/12\/research-hiring-managers-are-biased-against-people-with-longer-commutes\">hiring managers are biased<\/a> against those who live farther away.\r\n\r\nThe research, conducted by\u00a0University of Notre Dame economics professor David Phillips, involved sending more than 2,000 fictional r\u00e9sum\u00e9s to low-wage employers in Washington, DC. Phillips carefully chose r\u00e9sum\u00e9 addresses for each job opening and balanced the mix of applicant-workplace proximity and the affluence of the job seeker\u2019s neighborhood to see how the location of the applicant\u2019s home influenced invitations to interview.\r\n\r\nThe results: applicants living five or six miles farther from the job received one-third fewer callbacks than those who lived closer.\r\n\r\n<strong>Distance versus Affluence<\/strong>\r\n\r\nThe research was designed to test the \u201cspatial mismatch hypothesis,\u201d which argues that the tendency of the urban poor to live far from jobs makes it difficult to find employment, thus perpetuating poverty.\r\n\r\nThe research offered some solace for job applicants and some insight for employers. Refreshingly, researchers found little significance between the affluence of an applicant\u2019s address and the rate of callbacks, indicating that those in poor areas weren\u2019t purposely being overlooked. Instead, the perceived issue of reliability in a long commute was deemed the deciding factor."},{"acf_fc_layout":"form","form_type":"aside","form_position":"Right","form_title":"THE ESRI BRIEF","form_desc":"A biweekly email connecting senior executives and business leaders with thought-provoking articles on location intelligence and critical technology trends.","form_button_label":"Sign up now","form_content":"https:\/\/go.pardot.com\/l\/82202\/2017-10-12\/jw1bmb","form_tag":"low-commitment-form\/sign-up-form"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"Researchers acknowledged that avoiding applicants with long commutes makes some sense from an employer\u2019s point of view. Neighborhoods with few transit options and high transit costs can translate into a high turnover for low-wage jobs. Long commutes have also been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S0166046210000633?via%3Dihub\">shown to increase absenteeism<\/a>.\r\n\r\nBut with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/location-intelligence\">location intelligence<\/a> and creative thinking, employers might find ways to mitigate the impacts of distance.\r\n\r\n[To learn more about the effects of location intelligence on a business, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/content\/dam\/esrisites\/en-us\/media\/pdf\/G249682_Making-Sense-of-Digital-Transformation.pdf\">read this e-book<\/a>.]\r\n\r\n<strong>Influencing Upward Mobility<\/strong>\r\n\r\nWith today\u2019s booming economy and low unemployment rates, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/holiday-worker-hiring\/\">employers face difficulty staffing up to meet peak demand<\/a>.\r\n\r\nSome companies have used a geographic information system (GIS) as a competitive intelligence tool and information resource for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/cost-of-living-and-business\/\">finding staff near retail locations<\/a>.\r\n\r\nLocation intelligence generated by GIS can also help employers locate pockets of willing and able workers in areas impacted by urban revitalization. The increased cost of living in revitalized areas has pushed low-income, minority communities farther away from economic opportunity and into neighborhoods with little or no access to reliable, affordable transportation.\r\n\r\nTo access workers and help mitigate the challenges of long commutes, employers might consider flexible options, including four-day workweeks and flexible job hours to avoid busy travel times.\r\n\r\n<strong>Location Intelligence Maps Solutions <\/strong>\r\n\r\nSeveral <a href=\"https:\/\/hbr.org\/2018\/12\/research-hiring-managers-are-biased-against-people-with-longer-commutes#comment-section\">commentators suggest<\/a> that employers would be wise to consider offering shuttle services or public transportation vouchers to improve worker reliability. A modern GIS helps companies map optimal routes to decrease commute times\u2014something that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/buzzwords-hidden-dimensions-and-innovation-a-ups-story\/\">the logistics experts at UPS<\/a> can attest to.\r\n\r\nIn addition, companies looking to bolster a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/davidschwab\/2017\/05\/09\/social-good-campaigns-are-here-and-they-arent-going-anywhere\/#447a145b385e\">social good campaign<\/a> could focus on hiring in an area where they would have an impact on upward mobility. Location intelligence reveals demographics in specific areas to facilitate this kind of analysis.\r\n\r\nLyft recently announced a partnership with a nonprofit to <a href=\"https:\/\/afrotech.com\/lyft-announces-2-50-flat-fare-to-grocery-stores-for-families-living-in-food-deserts\">start the Grocery Access Program<\/a>, with $2.50 flat fares to grocery stores for families living in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ers.usda.gov\/data-products\/food-access-research-atlas\/go-to-the-atlas.aspx\">food deserts<\/a>. The resultant improved mobility is helping to address the lack of access to healthy food, a well-documented problem of the urban poor.\r\n\r\nA similar effort\u2014one that leverages location intelligence to connect underserved groups with available jobs\u2014could help employers address their own needs and do well while doing good."}],"references":null},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.9 (Yoast SEO v25.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>With Unemployment Low, Employers That Overcome Location Bias Can Excel<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"HR executives would do well to analyze location bias in their hiring, and enlist location intelligence to strengthen their workforce.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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