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Pioneer Profile: Debbie Fraser

Meet Debbie Fraser, Head of Talent Acquisition EMEA @ Boomi with over 20 years of global experience. At Boomi, she focuses on innovative recruitment and diversity, ensuring fair and efficient hiring in the fast-changing world of AI.

12th Nov 2024

• 5 minutes

It’s time that we recognise the people behind the evolving world of work. Our working lives have shifted to being more inclusive, more people-centric, more flexible, and just plain better for both employees and companies. 

These changes didn’t just happen: they were put into place and upheld by individuals and teams working to create a better working future for everyone. 

So we’re finally putting the spotlight on the people who make great companies great: the people-people.  

People-people are crucial to the success of every company. They find you the talent that drives you forwards, and they’ve taken on an increasingly strategic role in the past few years – often taking on responsibility for mental health, diversity and inclusion, culture, EVPs, Employer Branding and team happiness. 

Read more about the Pioneers List and go behind the scenes to understand how and why we’ve selected our Pioneers.

We were lucky enough to speak with Debbie Fraser, Head of Talent Acquisition EMEA @ Boomi

Tell us a little bit about your career history, and how you got to where you are now. What were the key milestones?

I love to travel to experience different cultures.  After school I selected a degree course which required me to relocate to Germany at the age of 19yrs, attending university there for a full academic year. As soon as I graduated, with BA(Hons) Degree in Business I decided to leave the cold weather of Scotland behind for a life in the Caribbean's beautiful Cayman Islands, accepting my first job in agency recruitment - this launched my 20 year long career in the field, which I am still devoted to today!  

I loved the international aspect of my role, sourcing and engaging accountancy professionals from all over the world bringing them to the Cayman Islands to work for some of the world’s most esteemed Finance and Professional Service firms. I was fascinated by the richness of the multicultural society of the Cayman Islands and made great friendships with people from all over the world. Looking back I believe this was my greatest education, constantly learning about different cultures, and personally developing my own ability to communicate, connect with and understand people with an array of backgrounds. 

When did you become interested in the future of work?

I became truly interested in the future of work when I started getting into the tech industry about 10 years ago.  I was asked to lead a talent mapping project for one of the world’s largest management consultancy firms.  They needed to know where all of the Data Warehouse and Data Architect related PhD’s were located across Europe in order to inform their clients about where to open new tech hubs. I was like wow, this is very exciting, this is the future, tell me more!! Then when I joined the Dell Talent Acquisition Team, we were always focused on the future of work, especially in the context of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

What is the most impactful change that you’ve implemented?

Looking back it’s probably the work I did over and above my role as a Senior Talent Acquisition Advisor at Dell, when I got the opportunity to help design and execute a new diversity program “StemAspire” which connected gender diverse college and university students from a STEM discipline to take part in a 1 year program in which we helped develop their skills and knowledge in preparation for the world of work, specifically in the tech industry. We launched in 2017 and the program has since been rolled out globally, still going strong today, and has won many awards as it continues to attract more women to careers in tech. I am very proud to have played a small part in the early days!

What’s the biggest challenge of being in your role/industry right now?

Today, it has to be the incredible power of AI and automation within the recruitment process.  With the myriad of AI enabled tools and automation available to  candidates, the impact for us on the company side is that the number of seemingly qualified applicants has increased significantly. So we need to employ the best tools, and redesign our processes in a responsible way in order to ensure that every single application is reviewed. In 2024 Talent Acquisition teams are expected to do more with less, so we need to constantly optimise our hiring process to ensure it’s efficient and fair.

What do you think the next big trend is in working culture?

I believe that right now we are just on the precipice of the greatest workforce transformation ever seen, as we move into a world of work led by advancing technology, specifically in the AI and Automation arena.  In the Talent Acquisition team at Boomi we have been very fortunate to be early adopters of AI enabled recruitment tools, but still as the tech landscape evolves around us, we need to acclimatise swiftly to ensure we are achieving efficient and responsible recruitment every day.
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Personal storiesFuture of work pioneersWorkplace cultureBuilding an EVP