LinkedIn: Bridging the Global Employment Gap - Comprehensive Notes

LinkedIn: Bridging the Global Employment Gap

Introduction

• In 2016, LinkedIn was the largest online platform connecting people to job opportunities and training.
• Jeff Weiner, CEO of LinkedIn, faced the challenge of innovating and co-creating a stable online platform to serve a global business community amidst rapid technological and structural changes in the job market.
• The emergence of technologies like cloud computing, augmented intelligence, and platform technologies transformed organizational strategies and career planning.
• Microsoft acquired LinkedIn in 2016, aiming to transform how people work and plan their careers.
• In September 2013, Weiner introduced the LinkedIn Economic Graph, a digital map of the global economy.
• The Economic Graph aimed to include profiles of the global workforce, skills, jobs, employers, and educational institutions.
• LinkedIn faced challenges in realizing the vision for the Economic Graph.

Background: The Employment Problem

• In 2016, out of three billion people who wanted to work, only 1.2 billion had "good jobs" (steady, full-time employment).
• Underemployment and lack of employee engagement were significant issues.
• Only 13% of workers were engaged, while 63% were not engaged, and 24% were actively disengaged.
• Almost 200 million people lacked the basic skills for the digital economy.
• Work on online platforms grew by 22% annually, compared to 3% for offline jobs.
• Technology platforms using augmented intelligence were expected to displace many current jobs.
• Examples: Robot assistants for legal searches, virtual assistants for customer interaction, and virtual drivers for commercial driving.
• Technology would also create new jobs and services, and LinkedIn's Economic Graph aimed to connect these innovations.

LinkedIn’s Foundations

• Founded in 2003 by Reid Hoffman, Allen Blue, Konstantin Guericke, Eric Ly, and Jean-Luc Vaillant.
• Core values focused on professional identity, insights, and ubiquity.
• Professional identity was captured in user profiles, search options, and networking features.
• Professional insights were available on the home page, SlideShare, LinkedIn Today, groups, and through LinkedIn Influencers.
• Ubiquity was ensured through mobile and API development.

LinkedIn’s Financials and Microsoft Acquisition

• LinkedIn's net revenue almost doubled between 2013 (1,529 million) and 2015 (2,991 million).
• Talent Solutions (recruiting services) accounted for 62% of revenue.
• Marketing Solutions and Premium Subscriptions accounted for the remaining 38%.
• Individual membership grew from 277 million in 2013 to 414 million in 2015.
• Microsoft acquired LinkedIn in 2016 for 26.2 billion.
• The acquisition provided Microsoft with a new revenue source and access to LinkedIn's professional users.
• LinkedIn gained capital and opportunities to integrate with Microsoft's Office products and services.

LinkedIn Economic Graph

• The Economic Graph was a digital map of the global economy.
• It aimed to include profiles of the global workforce and their skills, all open jobs, employers, and educational institutions.
• It was designed to intelligently connect individuals to other individuals, groups, and organizations.

The Vision

• Weiner's vision was to digitally map the global economy, identifying connections between people, jobs, skills, companies, and knowledge to spot economic opportunities.

• Reid Hoffman and the founders created a platform to help people leverage their professional networks.

• LinkedIn's long-term vision was to digitally represent every economic opportunity, required skills, company profiles, and professional profiles in the Economic Graph.

• Blue encapsulated the vision: “LinkedIn’s vision is to create economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce . . . not just white collar workers with four-year college degrees. Everyone.”

Components and Benefits

• The Economic Graph contained information about employment history, skills, available jobs, and connections.

Benefits to Individuals

• Professionals can access information about available jobs, required skills, and relevant connections.
• They can find mentors, experts, and members of their networks for support.
• Professionals can identify skills gaps and locate training resources.

Benefits to Organizations

• The Economic Graph allows companies to recruit the best talent, including passive job seekers.
• Recruiters can better understand the market for specific roles and find people with socially verified reputations.

Benefits to Educational Institutions

• The Economic Graph can help educators understand skills gaps and find employer partners.
• LinkedIn Learning can show in-demand fields and help individuals align their education with market needs.

A Smarter Economic Graph

• LinkedIn's Economic Graph was designed to continually update and revise information.
• Professionals update their profiles regularly, providing a basis for LinkedIn's knowledge of skills, demand, and skills gaps.
• This allowed LinkedIn to maintain a stable employment platform amidst continuous market and workforce transformation.

Context for the Economic Graph

The Emergence of the Entrepreneurial Mindset

• Hoffman advocated for self-reliance and connecting with others for mutual benefit.
• People needed to think like entrepreneurs, creating value, getting paid, learning skills, and enhancing employability.

Developments in Technology

• LinkedIn’s Economic Graph was enabled by advancements in cloud computing, digitized data, augmented intelligence, mobile computing, platforms, and software applications.

• Ginni Rometty described the world being rewritten with technology-enabled global innovation and interconnectivity.

• Augmented intelligence enhances human expertise.

• The cloud connects public and private information.

• Platforms enable infinite applications to create new services and products.

• Data, especially "dark data," creates value when provided in the right form and at the right time.

• Cognitive systems understand, reason, and learn from unstructured data.

• Mobility allows geographically dispersed workers to access resources from any device.

• The cloud enables collaborative innovation and the rapid assembly of cognitive applications.

• Systems can match individuals with open positions.

Platforms as the New Institutions

• The Markle Foundation partnered with LinkedIn to increase access to opportunity by prioritizing skills and removing barriers.
• LinkedIn connects education and employment.
• Technology enables new paths and opportunities in the digital economy.
• Platforms are the breakthrough technology and enablers of the moment.
• People need to adapt to rapid changes with an agile, entrepreneurial mindset.
• The Economic Graph promises to help people adapt to change with new guidelines and best practices.

The Challenges

• How to innovate and co-create a stable online platform while dealing with structural inhibitors, evolving skill sets, and rapid transformation of work itself.
• How to expand to include less educated adults and connect people in regions with different business cultures.
• How to coordinate open-source information among stakeholders who may not want to disclose their information.
• How to define “soft skills” and connect people with good soft skills with hiring managers.
• Recruiters find it difficult to find people “with the right ‘soft skills’ or personal attributes.”
• In LinkedIn’s study of 291 U.S. hiring managers, the managers agreed it was “hard to find people with the right soft skills for 59 per cent of their open jobs.”