Page 17 - BE 50th Anniversary Edition

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION rotational job program lunch-and-learns with senior executives class mentors and opportunities to to learn about different areas of the airline including visits to its its airport operations and maintenance hangars The carrier views diverse candidates as critical to its IT department Leibman says such diversity fosters new opportunities and innova- tion as new hires bring their own experience and work to the the table “When you have a a diverse workgroup it brings different perspec- tives that a a a a non-diverse (group) would not have to offer ” Liebman says That may help the carrier gain a a a a a a different mix of customers employees and and perhaps help boost its revenues and and profitability The airline in in turn helps fresh hires understand what it is like to work for a a a technology organization As head of emerging technology at American Phillip Easter says his team scouts out out new technology that can be relevant to the airline space and can help solve current or future
problems For example that might include probing the virus threat machine learning and artificial intelligence It could also be technology to to automate current systems or new tech- nologies to to improve customer experiences in the future
“Other teams work on today’s technology my team works on tomorrow’s technol- ogy ” Easter explains To help build employee engagement and morale Eas-
ter’s team typically conducts
such events as internal work-
shop hackathons to educate
employees on new technology His team engages with colleges and holds hackathons for them “That allows us to socialize the fact that American Airlines is a a a a a a technology company as as well as as scout out out and hire new talent ” Further Easter values the the the partnership the the the airline has with BLACK ENTERPRISE using the BE Smart Hackathon as a a a a a a talent vehicle He says BLACK ENTERPRISE does a a a a phenomenal job of integrating with the the HBCUs and identifying talent that can come to the the event being a a a a bridge to the the students for the the carrier at colleges and universities “It’s a a a a a a a a a hand-and-hand partnership: We have great technical jobs and and and and work environment and and BLACK ENTERPRISE socializes that and and makes the connection for us ” On the the recruitment front Easter has higher expectations of the the upcoming virtual BE Smart Hackathon compared to the live version in in fin recent years Without students having to clear financial or logis- tical hurdles Easter says the virtual event could expose American Airlines to more HBCUs he projects it might attract 200 students versus only 50 before For Campbell the hackathon was a a a a a a a good way to practice computer science in in a a a a a a non-classroom capacity and interact with computer science people from other schools At the the event she learned not to always approach projects with a a a a a a purely theoretical mindset or or just from the perspective of making something It taught her to start thinking about the business logic of how a a a a a real company would have to approach things like privacy and operating within regulations “Basically it expanded my paradigm to to consider more factors when thinking creatively ” Campbell says For Raji the the event helped him learned a a a a a a lot about the the company and its partners and how they leverage technology to solve problems “I got to to meet a a a a a lot of other Black engineers and really add to to my network on top of that ” he says When a a a a a a hackathon ends American Airlines employees talk about how many new hires it will make Candidates are flown in for a a a a a a a day have campus tours and and meet with key executives and and potential managers Afterward Easter says the airline decides if it wants to make them an offer It’s a a a a quick process He says American tries to extend an an offer with 24 hours of of a a a a a a a a campus visit Because of of that Easter says the carrier has a a a a a high acceptance rate about 90% He noted that seven of the 14 HBCU hires are women an interesting statistic given the relatively low number of women in in in engineering “So to have half of them in in in engineering is very phenomenal ” Overall the new hires work in software develop- ment positions programming software for employee or or cus-
tomer use In his short time at the airline Raji says he already has par- ticipated in in two internal hack- athons “where the problems we we were trying to solve could provide real business value to the company ” He has also met with several vice presidents managing directors and even the CEO Easter believes diverse talent is an additive to the innovation
process A trend is is becoming established he he says: a a a a a company that embraces diversity in in in its hiring will ultimately be more innovative Greater diversity helps you you develop software more inclusive o of your customer base “We have more software solutions that allow all all cus-
tomers to to engage with us ” Another area American Airlines takes very seriously is mentorship and guidance for each recruit to promote career success retention and advancement Easter says key leaders are assigned to work with them regularly to see how they are progressing And their managers work with them on a a a a “learning journey ” New talent is embraced into American’s family-oriented culture And like any family finding your place takes time In terms of career aspirations Raji wants to be a a a a a a a a technical leader in his field: “It’s a a a a a a a a little vague right now because I’m still learning and trying different parts of computing to find the best fit for me ” AMERICAN’S EMERGING TECHNOLOGY HEAD PHILLIP EASTER JUDGES THE COMPETITION AND SCOUTS NEW TALENT