Recruiter - April 2016 by Redactive Media Group

Business intelligence for recruitment and resourcing professionals

April 2016

INCORPORATING Recruitment Matters

TMP WORLDWIDE Small adds up to beautiful with RPO Yocto division BRILLIANT CAREER Oliver Sandersonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Natasha Makhijani

www.recruiter.co.uk

ANDREW MOUNTNEY Trying to find new in-house talent? Handle with care

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DRIVING AMBITION Gethin Robertts, MD of Driivers Direct Recruitment, sets his sights on a different direction

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C R ONT ENT S 15

ING PORAT INCOR itment Recru ers Matt

COV ER IMAG E | R IC H AR D LEA- HAIR

NEWS

05 Small is beautiful for TMP’s Yocto division The new RPO division will have an identity of its own 06 Priory Group takes care of best cultural fit A new psychometric tool aims to improve staff retention

07 Essentia meets NHS Trust’s interim needs London’s Guy’s and St Thomas’ is finding interim talent through Essentia

07 Thoughts from... Nigel Barker, Tony Goodwin and Kevin Hyland

07 Star recruit: Daniel Bryan, injured WWE wrestler 08 This was the month that was... 10 Contracts & Deals

TRENDS

FEATURES

18 THE BIG STORY

Gethin Roberts, MD and founder of Drivers Direct Recruitment, on the next journey for the recruiter

24 Wipe away a tier

Intra-company transfers are the life-blood for many y global employers

32 Performance indicators Recruitment paradise from the dashboard light

E COMMUNITY

37 Social Network 38 Careers Agency/In-house 41 My brilliant recruitment career: Natasha Makhijani 42 Employability 44 Business Advice 48 Movers & Shakers 49 Recruiter contacts 50 The Last Word: Matt Churchward

12 Insight Mentoring in-house talent

Tech & Tools True Cloud or hosted Cloud — that is the question

C 16 17 17

INTERACTION Agency View: Jackie Bedford Web chat Soundbites

I M AG E S | A K I N FALO P E / ISTO C K

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ACQUISITION OPPORTUNITY REFERENCE 2579 LOCATION North UK

OVERVIEW

Recruitment Mergers is representing a niche recruitment agency

EMPLOYEE INFORMATION

based in the north of the United Kingdom which was established

one of whom is employed in a billing manager capacity.

six years ago. After this company has enjoyed many successful years of

FINANCIAL INFORMATION

trading and continued growth, Recruitment Mergers has been

Turnover for 2015 per accounts: £4m+

appointed to market the business for sale.

Gross proﬁt for 2015 per accounts: £2.3m+

The company provides recruitment solutions to clients who

PROPOSED TRANSACTION

The company has a stable work force of eight consultants,

12-month rolling adjusted net proﬁt: £330k+

A phased exit is sought by the owner/s in order to focus resources

primarily fall into the following sectors:

on other projects (non-industry related). They are willing to sign • Renewable energy

relevant non-solicitation/compete clauses.

• Oil & gas • Construction & infrastructure

GET IN TOUCH...

• Industrial & commercial

James Hughes

• Water & utilities

To learn more about this opportunity, please contact Principal M&A Consultant

Placements are being made in the United Kingdom, mainland

+44 (0)1454 275 933

Europe, Asia and the US.

james@recruitmentmergers.com

GET IN TOUCH... For enquiries in The South:

For enquiries in The North:

Charlie Watson

Adam Wharmby

M&A Consultant

+44 (0)1454 628 772

+44 (0)1454 628 791

+44 (0)7787 560 553

+44 (0)7703 434 477

charlie.watson@recruitmentmergers.com

adam.wharmby@recruitmentmergers.com

ARE YOU PLANNING YOUR EXIT STRATEGY?

www.recruitmentmergers.com Mergers & Acquisitions for the recruitment industry

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W E LCO M E

UPDATE

EXCLUSIVE

WE LCO M E

LEADER

“W

hat are you looking for in articles for Recruiter?” This is a question we’re often asked, and this month’s issue provides sterling examples of the kinds of stories we want to share with you. Our Big Story cover feature about Gethin Roberts of Drivers Direct is not just about Gethin himself; it’s about his very different take in his sector and an exciting new direction (see p18). Then there’s the ‘hot off the press’ news about a new “On 1 January, kind of RPO at TMP Worldwide’s Yocto, the world of technology resourcing innovation from and HR lost the in-house team Lindsey at the Priory Group Tasker, a (p6) and a move to real friend to improve the Recruiter” resourcing profession through mentoring by a group of frontline leaders (p12). What are you up to at the moment? In sadder news, it should never be too late to call attention to the loss of a particularly special individual. On 1 January, the world of resourcing and HR lost Lindsey Tasker, who had held head of resourcing roles at Morrisons and Lloyds Banking Group. A real friend to Recruiter, he was a judge last year for our Investing in Talent Awards, travelling down to London for the event despite his illness. I personally will miss his sparky humour, insight, enthusiasm and refusal to stand on ceremony. Our condolences to his family and colleagues. Here’s to one of the genuinely good guys: Lindsey Tasker, you’re missed.

DeeDee Doke, Editor

Small is beautiful for TMP’s Yocto division DEEDEE DOKE

TMP WORLDWIDE THIS week launches its newly branded recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) division, Yocto. Referring to the “tiniest measurement there is”, the new name will give the RPO operation its own identity following years of serving clients through the TMP brand — best known for recruitment marketing and communications. Speaking exclusively to Recruiter, Yocto managing director Jon Porter said that the concept of this measurement, one quadrillionth of a metre long, “underpins the entire ethos of our RPO offer. The doctrine of marginal gains is our focus. Small incremental improvements adding up to a signiﬁcant overall impact. For us it’s about the detailed intervention”. Asked about the timing of the launch, Porter said: “The [RPO] business has got to a size where it needs its own identity. We have 200 people in that part of the business.” Of that workforce, 170 are based in Bristol, with the remainder sitting either on-site or in London, he elaborated. Yocto’s heritage as the offspring of a communications business with expertise in employer branding and attraction will be a key differentiator in the “crowded RPO space” in which most competitors operate from a staffing background, Porter said. While RPO is still evolving as a discipline, what has emerged “loud and clear” from TMP’s own research is that “no generic model” will serve every client’s need, with ﬂexibility and a variety of offerings necessary to “make sure the [talent] pipeline matches the aspirations of senior leadership” and the business, Porter explained. Engagement, for instance, is a “natural, next stage” area of expertise for an RPO such as Yocto to offer once the attraction and selection have occurred, he said. “It would seem perfectly natural to extend [our] knowledge to what happens to that hire once they’re in.” Jon Porter, managing Ultimately, Porter director, Yocto said, Yocto aims to assist their client partners to “think about things in a slightly different way”. ● WWW.RECRUITER.CO.UK 5

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UPDATE

29,698 FOLLOWERS

Priory Group gives care to best culture fit tool COLIN COTTELL

“Many leave the job because it is not what they expected, so we asked ourselves what can we do to educate them about the job”

PRIVATE HEALTHCARE provider the Priory Group is set to go live on 21 March with a new online psychometric assessment tool that its group head of resourcing has told Recruiter will massively improve its staff retention. The new cloud-based tool will assess candidates for around 6,000 support worker and care assistant roles within the Priory Group’s 15,000-strong workforce across the UK. The roles are assigned to the Priory Group’s divisions for education, healthcare and Craegmoor (autism, learning disabilities, mental health, positive behavioural support and supported living). Craig Hunter, the Priory’s head of resourcing, told Recruiter that by identifying candidates who were both a cultural ﬁt and a role ﬁt, he expected the tool would reduce annual turnover from between 30%35% to 20%-25%. “That’s a realistic expectation,” said Hunter. The bespoke tool, developed with

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human capital consultancy Chemistry Group, provides candidates with a series of situational judgement tests. Candidates are presented with four choices and asked both how they would and wouldn’t respond to the type of scenario they might face in the role. For example, one question might be, ‘What would you do if a service user spat in your face?’. The tool has a specially tailored algorithm based on a ‘what great looks like’ proﬁle for the Priory Group to identify those candidates whose behaviours best ﬁtted its values. Hunter

AS OF 10 MAR 2016

said the work done with Chemistry had identified “primary” behaviours as “creating empathy, the ability to process information, and empowering others”. Many support workers and healthcare assistants currently leave within the first six months, and Hunter said he believes this tool will address and resolve this problem. “Many leave the job because it is not what they expected, so we asked ourselves what can we do to educate them about the job. This tool helps candidates to make the right career choice.” At the end of the 25-30 minute test, candidates are advised on their suitability for the job. Those advised the job might not be suitable for them are informed they might not make the shortlist, and are asked to consider other vacancies. Providing this immediate feedback, alongside the type of scenarios presented to them during the situational judgement tests, will help candidates self-select out and should reduce the number of applications. Other predicted benefits were “far more time spent interviewing the right candidates” and “a significant improvement in the ratio of job offers to final interviews”, Hunter predicted. Managers carrying out job interviews will also be upskilled, as the tool provides them with a set of individually tailored questions for candidates based on their responses during the assessment. Assuming the new tool works, Hunter said the plan was to roll it out to other roles, including leadership roles and potentially nurses, Hunter said: “If it’s a cultural fit, it’s a cultural fit regardless of the job title.” ●

Above: Craig Hunter, head of resourcing at the Priory Group. (Right) The Priory Hospital Roehampton specialises in the management and treatment of mental health problems, including addictions and eating disorders

Find more daily news stories at recruiter.co.uk/news 10/03/2016 16:24

THOUGHTS FROM…

EXCLUSIVE

NIGEL BARKER

G RO UP HE AD OF RESOU RCING, LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE GROU P

“Resourcing is not rocket science, but it’s easy to get it wrong.”

Michael Younger, head of resourcing for Essentia Resourcing

Essentia meets NHS Trust’s interim needs DEEDEE DOKE

KEVIN HYLAND

UK INDE PE N DENT ANTI-SLAVERY COMMISSIONER

“No proﬁt margin should be worth a human life.”

TONY GOODWIN

CHA IRM A N , ANTAL , SPEAKING ABOUT BU SINESS O PPO RTUNIT IES IN THE NEWLY EMERGING MARKET OF IR AN

“This is exactly my bag — this is what I live for.”

I M AG E | G E TT Y IM AG E S

STA R RECRUIT

ALEX STRAW, PROPEL RECRUITMENT, OFFERS INSIGHT INTO POTENTIAL NEW ROLES FOR WWE WRESTLER DANIEL BRYAN, WHO WAS FORCED INTO RETIREMENT THROUGH INJURY: “For a diminutive man competing in wrestling’s heaviest weight division, Daniel Bryan’s biggest challenge (besides fighting against men a foot taller than him) was getting the WWE [wrestling promotion company World Wrestling Entertainment] and spectators around the globe to buy into him as a serious challenger.

A NEW INTERIM resourcing business wholly owned by Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust is aiming to meet the health service’s need for professionals with specialist skills and experience in a new way. Armed with health sector interim placement experience from Penna, VMA Group and Capita, Michael Younger is head of resourcing for Essentia Resourcing, focusing on specialist executive, management and transformation interim recruitment. Launched last autumn, the resourcing operation is part of Essentia Trading, the commercial arm of Essentia, which provides Guy’s and St Thomas’ and other public and private sector clients with strategic estate development, healthcare planning, property and capital development consultancy services. Younger joined Essentia in October. “The first couple of [resourcing] deals are done, and the response has been fantastic,” said Younger, speaking exclusively to Recruiter. All of Essentia’s profits are reinvested into the health service, and a recurring theme for the company is “commercial focus with public sector values”. In contrast, NHS Employers is a not-for-profit organisation, which is part of the NHS Confederation, a charitable company. Noting that his resourcing operation is still in “a start-up phase”, Younger said it had had to be built from the ground up. “Nothing existed,” he said, which required him to develop and put in place contracts, time sheets and a payment process, as well as work out a solution to “cashflow challenges” that come part and parcel with temporary, albeit interim, placements. “Part of the challenge is stepping into the unknown,” he said. On track to break even “from a standing “Where Bryan has changes to his own brand, excelled throughout his from Bryan Danielson start in three months”, career is his ability to to Daniel Bryan, as well the business looks set to market himself and build giving himself multiple a social media presence nicknames such as The take on clients beyond that punches well above American Dragon, The the South London-based its weight, thus making Flying Goat and King of him an ideal fit as a Beards. Trust. Younger said he marketing manager. “Having successfully was “already talking “Away from social launched his own ‘Yes! media, Bryan is no Movement’, we believe to trusts all over the stranger to producing Bryan will fit right in at engaging content, having a small start-up looking country” about providing published a book in 2015 to make a name for similar services to them: — Yes! My Improbable themselves. Here, his Journey To Wrestlemania tenacity and doggedness “We’re off and running, — and he has a wealth will see him challenge and but this isn’t a race of experience in PR and disrupt some of the bigger brand management. players and help the to have hundreds of Throughout his career he company go from strength interims out there.” ● has overseen a number of to strength.” WWW.RECRUITER.CO.UK 7

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THIS WAS THE MONTH THAT WAS… Here is a round-up of some of the most popular news stories we have brought you on recruiter.co.uk since the March issue of Recruiter was published F E B R U A R Y •‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒→ T H U, 1 8 F E B 2 0 1 6

HEALTHCARE AGENCY WORKERS UNWILLING TO WORK UNDER NEW SPENDING CAPS

FRI, 12 FEB 2016

MON, 15 FEB 2016

RECRUITMENT AD ASKS FOR DYSLEXICS ONLY

CANADIAN TOWN CUTS TO THE CHASE TO FIND A HAIRDRESSER

Marketing firm The Garage has hit the headlines for a recruitment campaign specifically asking for dyslexic applicants. According to the Guardian, the firm’s advert features a picture of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, who was dyslexic, and reads: “We require people with a unique mind, so only dyslexics (like Steve) should apply.” The marketing consultancy was founded by Chris Arnold, a former creative director at the advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi, who describes himself as a “dyslexic entrepreneur”. He reportedly said people with dyslexia were great at creative and strategic thinking, and problem solving. The Advertising Standards Authority reportedly said the ad did not appear to breach its code. More: http://bit.ly/20VxhOL 8 RECRUITER

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Forced with having to cut each other’s hair, residents of isolated Canadian town Norman Wells have launched a desperate recruitment campaign to find a hairdresser. The town of about 800 residents in Canada’s Northwest Territories, near the Southern edge of the Arctic Circle, has not had a hairdresser for two years. Nicky Richards, the town’s economic development manager who is leading the recruitment effort, said locals were “trying to figure out a way to maintain ourselves”. And while some can make do with a regular buzz cut from Richards herself, others have to make the 17-hour drive or four-hour flight to Edmonton in Alberta, at a cost of about £400 each way, to get a trim. Others have used sheep shears to cut their own hair. Short back and sides, anyone?

Recruiters say agency healthcare workers are refusing to work under new government-imposed spending caps in NHS Trusts, which the trusts say are unrealistic. A report from independent charity the King’s Fund reveals 53% of 83 trusts surveyed are concerned they will not be able to meet caps on their agency staff spending imposed last October. A fifth (22%) say the caps may affect their ability to recruit the staff they need to provide safe levels of care. Respondents ranged from NHS finance directors to clinical commissioning groups (CCG) finance leads. “The feedback that we have got is most candidates are not willing to work under the capped rates,” Shubber Raja, managing director at healthcare recruiter MediLink Consulting, told Recruiter. Tawhid Juneja, director of healthcare recruiter Primary Care People, agreed, adding the caps are causing “a lot of conflict” between clients, candidates and agencies. More: http://bit.ly/1Lbn9ud

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BREXIT COULD PAVE WAY FOR REPEAL OF AWR SAY LAWYERS A British exit from the European Union (EU) could see the repeal of the Agency Workers Regulations (AWR), employment lawyers say. Employment lawyers Recruiter spoke to say an ‘out’ vote on 23 June could pave the way for the unravelling of European legislation implemented in the UK. One such piece of legislation — the AWR, originally an EU directive, introduced in October 2011 — gives agency workers the same rights as full-time workers to pay, holiday leave and other benefits after 12 weeks in employment. More: http://bit.ly/1QEe79y

More: http://bit.ly/1W60wbj

Find more daily news stories at recruiter.co.uk/news 10/03/2016 16:28

TUE, 1 MAR 2016

Indian army candidates forced to take test in pantss The Indian Army has hit upon a novel method to ensure potential recruits don’t cheat in entrance exams – making them sit the test in their pants. In the Indian city of Muzaffarpur, around 1,150 candidates for the post of clerks in the army were ordered to strip down to their pants in an open field and take the test sitting cross-legged to prevent cheating. More: http://bit.ly/1QINtZI

DAYS

←‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒• M A R C H

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ACCOUNTS CLERK JAILED AFTER STEALING MORE THAN £31K FROM RECRUITER

TUE, 1 MAR 2016

DAWN ELLMORE EMPLOYMENT ACCUSED OF INVENTING STAFF MEMBERS Legal and intellectual property recruiter Dawn Ellmore Employment has been accused of inventing members of staff for the ‘Meet the Team’ section of its website. Irreverent legal website RollOnFriday.co.uk reported its investigation found two consultants — ‘Josephine Allan’ and ‘Paul McDermott’ — listed on the firm’s ‘Meet the Team’ page do not exist. According to RollOnFriday, McDermott bears a “striking” resemblance to Aaron Sims, a receptionist who worked at the agency in 2014, while Allan’s image is listed as a photo available for purchase on shutterstock.com. When contacted by RollOnFriday, Dawn Ellmore Employment director Dawn Ellmore said: “This matter forms part of an investigation and legal steps we are undertaking following the departure of a former employee. While the investigation continues, we have suspended the ‘Meet the Team’ section of the website, and I’m afraid we are unable to comment.” Recruiter contacted Dawn Ellmore for comment but Ellmore had not responded by deadline.

A payroll and accounts clerk has been jailed for 12 months for defrauding her recruitment agency employer out of more than £31k. Lucy Taylor stole £31,572 from commercial, IT and office recruiter Oakland House Recruitment, which has branches in Cheshire and Staffordshire, by creating false invoices and transferring the money to her husband’s account. Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard that she began helping herself to the company’s funds after she and her husband ran into ﬁnancial difficulties. Taylor, of Barleyﬁelds in Audley, Stoke-on-Trent, pleaded guilty to the fraud that took place between October 2013 and July 2014. More: http://bit.ly/1THO2ZL

STOLE MORE THAN

MON, 7 MAR 2016

£31K FROM

LIVERPOOL FC KICK STARTS 1,000 NEW JOBS

RECRUITMENT AGENCY →‒‒‒‒‒•

Premier League football giant Liverpool FC has launched a ‘ready to work’ programme to get local unemployed residents into work as part of a recruitment drive to fill 1,000 new roles. Ahead of the opening of a new 20,500-seater stand this summer, the club announced it is on the hunt for 1,000 new staff to fill roles across its matchday kitchen, retail, catering, safety, hospitality, tours and museum teams. As part of these recruitment plans, the club has launched its ‘ready to work’ scheme in partnership with Liverpool City Council. The scheme will support unemployed Liverpool residents fill hospitality and catering roles at the stadium. More: http://bit.ly/1W63Zq6

More: http://bit. ly/1QIOm4p I M AG E S | A L A M Y / G ETTY / ISTO C K

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£105m

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CONTRACTS

IS THE AMOUNT ADECCO PAID FOR PEOPLE MANAGEMENT CONSULTANCY PENNA CONSULTING

CONTRACT & DEALS

Belcan US global technical and engineering recruiter Belcan has acquired Glasgowheadquartered East Kilbride Engineering Services (EKES). Transaction terms of the deal were not disclosed. EKES, founded in 1996 by former Rolls-Royce aero engineers, provides engineering solutions and recruitment services in the UK and Europe to engineering firms and manufacturers across aerospace, marine, nuclear energy, and oil & gas.

MedicsPro MedicsPro, part of Urban Recruitment Group, has been awarded a contract to supply nursing personnel (including nurses, midwives and healthcare assistants) under the Health Trust Europe (HTE) framework. The contract win adds to healthcare framework agreements it already holds with HTE and the London Procurement Partnership.

nGAGE Specialist recruitment group nGAGE has acquired built environment recruiter Setsquare for an undisclosed sum. Setsquare operates from six offices in the UK, focusing solely within construction and maintenance. Setsquare is headed up by managing director David Trotman. He is a former director of Hays Specialist Recruitment. Previous Setsquare owner and founder Mike Watson is retiring but will remain in a consultancy capacity for the transition period.

Odgers Berndtson Executive search firm Odgers Berndtson has acquired HR executive search and talent advisory firm Charleston Partners, which targets human resources and human capital professionals. Francis Luisi, founding principal of Charleston Partners, will lead Odgers Berndtson’s US HR practice, working across the firm’s New York and Houston offices.

DEAL OF THE MONTH

Adecco buys Penna Recruitment giant Adecco has reached agreement with Penna over the £105.3m acquisition of the people management consultancy. The deal values Penna shares at 365 pence each. The cash offer was made through Adecco’s indirect wholly owned subsidiary Olsten (UK) Holdings.

details about its plans for Penna following the completion of the deal later in the spring. But current Penna chief executive Gary Browning told Recruiter he is to leave the business, along with chief financial officer David Firth, following a transitional period after the acquisition.

People Force UK-based HR, recruitment and immigration consultancy People Force International has bought East Grinstead-based recruiter Elizabeth Arnold Associates for an undisclosed sum. Libby (Elizabeth) Arnold has been appointed adviser to People Force chief executive Pritul Khagram. Elizabeth Arnold Associates’ East Grinstead high-street office will remain, but will be rebranded as People Force International.

Rare CRS TV network ITV will use diversity recruitment firm Rare Recruitment’s contextual recruitment system (CRS). The agreement coincides with ITV’s launch of an in-house solicitor apprenticeship under the governmentbacked Trailblazers Apprenticeship in Law initiative. To recruit the apprentice from a broader talent pool, ITV is piloting Rare’s CRS. ITV will recruit one apprentice, starting this September, who will work within its business while studying. Also, in another win for Rare, Nottinghamheadquartered Freeths has become the first regional law firm to adopt Rare’s CRS. Freeths has 11 offices across the UK.

RMR Recruitment RMR Recruitment has been awarded Tier 1 supplier status for nurses and doctors to Russells Hall Hospital in Dudley, West Midlands. Before this new contract, the healthcare recruiter had been providing doctors for the hospital. It has now been selected to supply nursing staff as well. In addition, RMR has been awarded a place on Weston General Hospital’s Tier 1 supplier list. Already supplying the North Somerset NHS hospital with doctors, the agreement will extend this to include nursing staff.

Staffline Staffing services, outsourcing, training and employability organisation Staffline has acquired Belfastbased training firm Paragon Training. Paragon provides training and employment services throughout Belfast, an offering that sits in line with Staffline’s employability offerings.

Adecco is expected to reveal further

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APRIL 2016

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More contract news at recruiter.co.uk/news 10/03/2016 14:06

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TRE NDS

INSIGHT

TAKING TALENT UNDER ITS WING Bringing on future resourcing talent so they can really take off needs a regimented mentoring scheme, resourcing experts believe. Colin Cottell reports COLIN COTTELL

s a fully-fledged profession in its own right, resourcing has reached the stage in its development where it needs to develop innovative and fresh approaches to how it fosters its own talent. That is the view of Isabelle Hung, director of resourcing strategy and executive recruitment at enterprise software solution firm Sage, and one of a small group of senior resourcing and talent professionals (see list below right) who have launched a new initiative they hope could one day become a feature of the industry. “I think everybody just needs somebody to bounce ideas off, to get advice from someone who’s just got a bit more experience,” says Hung, speaking to Recruiter to launch Resourcing Mentors. The new scheme will give talent and resourcing executives the opportunity to receive confidential advice and support, and to tap into decades of experience from some of in-house recruitment’s foremost practitioners, working at senior levels in companies such as The Co-op and Capita. There is no charge for the support. “It could be that you are doing a massive project that needs support, or that you just need someone to touch base with because you have reached a point in your career where you are not sure what to do,” Hung continues. According to Hung, the time is right 12 RECRUITER

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for such an initiative. “Recruitment has moved on from the days when people just fell into it,” she says. “Today, you Isabelle Hung: time is right for mentoring see people entering recruitment who have made a choice to do so straight out of generation of middle management graduation, which is very different to level in-house recruiters for what is how it was 15, 20, 30 years ago. Then, often a tough job in a challenging work it wasn’t really an industry, but I think environment. now it is an industry in its entirety.” “Take a manager in a business who But while recruitment may have is reporting into someone who maybe many of the trappings of a profession, doesn’t have a recruitment background. Hung questions whether enough No offence to HR, but it could be to is being done to equip this new someone in HRD [human resource development]. You are taking your ﬁrst head of resourcing role and sometimes you just want to know ‘Am I doing the right thing? If I’m not, there is no one to check in on because I have been hired as the expert’. To compound the issue, those who reach the ranks of management are GREGORY ALLEN, global head of often reluctant to conﬁde in their resourcing, Lloyd’s Register boss for fear of “negating themselves LOUISE GALLANT, founding partner, The Talent Group in some way” through appearing stupid. And alongside this is people’s ANDY HILL, executive vice president talent and resourcing, The Sage Group wider reluctance to ask for advice and ISABELLE HUNG, director of resourcing support. “I recently had an email in strategy and executive recruitment, which someone asked me for my advice The Sage Group on their CV. But you so rarely get this. CHARU MALHOTRA, global EVP lead, employer brand & digital projects lead People are so reticent to do that now (interim role) Primark Stores because they are scared of what the DAVID MASON, self-employed consultant, repercussions might be.” previously director of recruitment, Capita Hung speaks from experience. “I CATH POSSAMAI, director of talent and have been through some difficult jobs resourcing, Capita and challenging environments, and we ADRIAN SHOOTER, director of executive talent, resourcing & diversity, The Co-op all know what that feels like when we stand alone for a long time,” she says.

THE EIGHT RESOURCING MENTORS ARE:

APRIL 2016

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“It’s not coaching because coaching is about helping people to ﬁnd answers themselves” The sense of isolation felt by many in the industry has only been compounded by technology, which far from fostering better communication is actually creating barriers to meaningful and vital personal interaction, says Hung. “We just don’t think that people connect enough anymore. Before we all had the internet and everything like that, we were much better at connecting. When we were at conferences we did actually talk to people, and there wasn’t an iPhone to hide behind,” she says. Together, Hung says, all these factors make this an apposite time for more recruiters to beneﬁt from mentoring, something that she and her group of fellow senior resourcing executives have each gained much from in their careers. “We were just lucky enough to have people in our previous [working] lives, who we could go to and be comfortable enough that we could ask the stupid question, or to say ‘Look, I’m having a difficult time in this situation and I don’t want to talk to my line manager because it wouldn’t feel right’. “Some people are very career minded, and want to know ‘How do I get to become head of resourcing, or when am I going to be a business partner?’ And

part of that is saying, ‘Well, you are a great recruiter but becoming a business partner comes through experience, it doesn’t happen overnight’.” If this advice came from a mentor rather than “said to them internally” say, by a line manager, Hung says the employee might be more likely to take it on board. “You hear stuff slightly differently,” she says. While working at TMP, Hung says she gained enormously from the experience, support and wise counsel of Andrew Wilkinson, current chief executive of TMP Worldwide UK, with whom she still keeps in touch. “Looking back at that point in our careers, it was when we started to question our own judgement that we reached out to our own mentors,” she adds. After more than a year discussing it within the group, Hung says Resourcing Mentors is ready to go, giving talent acquisition and resourcing managers the opportunity to be mentored by Hung and the other seven members, with each mentor taking one or two mentees — without any fee or payment involved. Hung accepts that the initiative might not be popular with some line managers. “I think some will think it is interfering,” she says. However, she counters: “I think if anybody says ‘stop’, they are not properly understanding what a mentor is. This is not to replace the line manager. A line manager is a coach and a developer of skills, who looks at performance and KPIs, but sometimes you need that ‘no connected view’ of what you are doing.” She continues: “What we want to do is to give people the opportunity to engage with someone conﬁdentially for up to six months and just get some advice and

1 2 3 4

THE RESOURCING MENTORS INITIATIVE HAS THE FOLLOWING STAGES: Potential mentees, resourcing and talent acquisition managers will be invited to submit their interest in being mentored, including describing the challenges they face, initially by email and later via a special LinkedIn group After a matching process, up to six months of mentoring support will be agreed Mentees will continue to have ongoing support via webinars A quarterly review process to monitor progress

direction and someone to go to know that they are doing the right thing.” “It’s not coaching because coaching is about helping people to ﬁnd answers themselves,” continues Hung. “The difference is, mentoring is not a regular thing. You don’t set an appointment every Wednesday as you would with a counsellor or a coach. It’s as you feel like it. Let’s go and have a coffee together, let’s meet for lunch.” ● Interested in being mentored? Email louise@ thetalentgroup.co.uk

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For ten consecutive years, Pertemps has been named by the Sunday Times as one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For. Not many agencies can say that! In an independent Best Companies survey, our employees said this about us: O 87% believe they can make a valuable contribution to our success O 85% feel proud to work for Pertemps O 83% feel cared for as individuals – this was the 9th highest score among all companies O 83% said Pertemps is run on strong principles O 80% are inspired by their leadership Pertemps is always on the lookout for the ﬁnest in recruitment industry talent. If you want to work for an employer that is caring, supporting and run on strong family values get in touch today. Pertemps: the UK’s largest independently owned recruitment agency; celebrating a decade in The Sunday Times Best Companies to Work For.

01676 525000 Meriden Hall, Main Road, Meriden, Warwickshire CV7 7PT Pertemps is an equal opportunities employer

E: info@pertemps.co.uk

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08/03/2016 12:04

T R E N DS

TECH & TOOLS

True Cloud or hosted Cloud? Decide what suits you best before committing long term SUE WEEKES

DEFINED: True cloud offers what is called ‘multi-tenancy’, in which costs are shared with all of the other users around the world, making access to the latest technology and upgrades highly cost-effective. Hosted cloud is not multi-tenancy and can be more fixed, explains Oliver Kiddell, spokesperson for cloud desktop services provider iFollowOffice, owned by technology consultancy Viastak. “Hosted cloud won’t necessarily offer the scaleability, automatic upgrades nor cost-effectiveness of the true cloud,” he says. “Recruiters’ requirements can change quickly and the true cloud is more adaptable in terms of capacity and bandwidth.” Hosted cloud may suit your needs but be clear on what the provider is offering you.

For recruitment start-ups, the cloud is often an obvious route for their IT set-up. Typically there are no upfront costs, it requires a reduced IT infrastructure, software is automatically upgraded and the number of users can scale up or down to meet business needs. For established agencies that want to migrate their IT set-up to the cloud, it is a bigger decision though. Joseph Blass, chief executive of cloud services provider WorkPlaceLive, says the case is a compelling one but with the cloud services market having matured exponentially in the past few years, this also means there are far more providers than ever. “Some are good, some not so good and others are just the wrong ﬁt for the business,” he says. Here are the key areas to explore when making the decision to move to the cloud.

F IVE KEY POINTS

➊ PRIVATE, PUBLIC, HYBRID?

➋ IMPORTANCE OF SERVICE

➌ SECURITY AND BACK-UP

➍ PERFORMANCE

➎ CLOUD CULTURE

There are three types of cloud: public, private and hybrid. A public cloud is one that is located off-premise and operated by a provider, while a private cloud sits in your building or a datacentre and you own the hardware on which it runs. “Which means you own the overhead and depreciation of that as an asset,” explains Kiddell. A hybrid cloud is a private cloud that sits within a public cloud. The private cloud option is more expensive but can be more tailored to business needs and some believe it is more secure. The public cloud, however, can deliver bigger cost-savings. Kiddell explains that hybrid cloud can give the best of both worlds: “The benefit of public infrastructure and the security associated with a private environment.”

Make sure the provider has sector experience and can give you site references. Blass says as well as ensuring the company can deliver on any claims, assess whether the service can support your business in achieving its potential. Cost should not be the sole driver of the decision, he warns. “The key is to understand what you are getting for your money.” Guy Deterding, managing director of IT services company Kamanchi, agrees and says it is worth paying a little extra for “good service, resilience and reliability”, while Kiddell reminds recruiters that the cloud is “not a one-off buy” and once you’ve transferred to the cloud you will be working in tandem with that provider.

Data security remains a concern for some people but good cloud services providers know they stand or fall by their high standards of security and back-up. Deterding says it is common to sometimes feel a “loss of control”. Quiz providers on areas such as the different security layers they have in place, encryption, testing, resilience and back-up. Also carry out due diligence on the organisation itself. Don’t shy away from asking about worst case scenarios, says Deterding. “If your partner goes bust, what happens to your data and any thirdparty contracts?” he says. “And if things go wrong, think about the exit process and how easy it is to undo and get your data back.”

Not all cloud platforms handle recruitment applications such as CRM [candidate relationship management] software as well as they might claim. Recruiters need to ensure there will be no drop in performance. “You must ensure your solution works well in the environment you are looking to move to,” says Blass. “Ensure the cloud provider has experience in working with recruitment businesses and recruitment software providers. Even if you are using a recruitment platform they haven’t previously worked with, they will have the knowledge and expertise required to work in partnership with you and the software provider to ensure success.”

It is easy to become preoccupied with the technical considerations surrounding a move to the cloud but it can also mean culture change for the business. Blass says any change in IT can be seen as an issue or even “daunting” by some employees. “The way to reduce this is to sell the benefits of having access to their system at any hour and from any location,” he says. “Resultsorientated individuals will enjoy the agility this provides.” Moving to the cloud should result in a more liberating environment for employees who can work on the move or remotely while business owners have the reassurance of an IT infrastructure that can scale up or down with the needs of the business.

I L L UST RAT I O N | ISTO C K

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CHANGE

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INTE R AC TIO N

AGENCY VIEW

The apprenticeship levy A blunt tool from government BY JACKIE BEDFORD

here’s no getting away from it, the government’s apprenticeship levy is a blunt instrument. It is designed to force large employers to buy into apprenticeships in a big way. From next year, all businesses with a payroll of more than £3m will incur an additional 0.5% levy to be paid to the exchequer on their staff spend. The good news is that any money paid will be used to create a funding pot that businesses can use to invest in training staff as apprentices. According to the government, this will affect 2% of employers, raise £3bn a year for training and, by hook or by crook, help them hit their target of 3m more apprentices by 2020. Despite this, businesses across the country are up in arms over the proposal. While the levy is a big stick, from April this year employers will get a carrot too. They will no longer have to pay National Insurance Contributions for the apprentices they hire. The rumour is that the Chancellor will outline more of the detail on the government’s apprenticeship policy in his March Budget, which falls fortuitously in the middle of National Apprenticeship Week. For recruitment agencies the levy is

+ JACKIE BEDFORD is CEO of Step Ahead, a London-based recruitment and training business

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a big challenge, but potentially a transformative opportunity for our sector. The challenge is that the levy is based on PAYE, and for recruitment agencies that are employing temporary workers, it is common that their payroll costs exceed £3m. For example, even a relatively small recruitment agency with, say, 135 full-time temps earning an average of £12 per hour will qualify to pay the levy. Despite their output being for external organisations, they exist on the recruiter’s payroll. For any business an additional 0.5% increase on costs will have substantial repercussions, affecting hiring decisions and other organisational investment, but the effect for a small recruiter on logistics alone will be signiﬁcant. Up until now though, many recruiters have not seen the direct value in training their temporary workers and this is where the opportunity really lies. Polling we commissioned from market research company YouGov bears this out. We found that while the majority of employers (68%) see a business case in training temps, only 4% currently do so. Temporary workers are a growing and yet forgotten part of the workforce as far as training and development are concerned and, given the impact of the levy, there is a clear business case for training them up as apprentices. Many recruitment businesses have historically perceived themselves as SMEs with disproportionately large wage bills, but with the levy, the government has not acknowledged this distinction. Given that the policy is unlikely to change, more businesses need to make the most of it. Yes, the apprenticeship levy could be seen as introducing adverse and unfair consequences for SME recruitment agencies, but why not treat it as an incentive to make the most of our workforce and tackle the growing skills shortage? Agencies that buy into the levy, will no doubt quickly ﬁnd they have gained a competitive advantage, as their investment means that they develop and retain higher skilled employees, which other organisations want to hire. ●

IM AGE | ISTOCK

10/03/2016 11:01

T WEET I N T E R AC T I O N

SOUNDBITES S OA P BOX / W EB CHAT

BREXIT: PROS & CONS FOR GRADUATES In response to your article ‘No benefits to Brexit for graduate recruitment, says AGR chief’ (recruiter.co.uk, 2 March), I am not sure a Brexit will make any difference. There is little cross border hiring of graduates anyway in Europe. Those who come here do jobs that are at a non-graduate level. It will be hard for any government to enforce any sort of effective restriction of EU workers working in the UK. N I C K L E S L I E-M I L L E R

This is an extremely misleading headline (‘No benefits to Brexit for graduate recruitment, says AGR chief’) because the AGR only represents big employers who recruit less than 10% of graduates who enter the job market. To suggest being liberated from the straightjacket of EU employment legislation won’t boost job creation for all, including graduates, is illogical and another example of ‘Project fear’ having a louder voice than ‘exploration freedom and opportunity’. PAUL FARRER

TAX AVOIDANCE CLAMPDOWN? NOT BEFORE TIME I read ‘Roundtable: An expense too far for umbrellas?’ in March’s Recruiter, with interest and say: “Not before time!” My company was heavily penalised by HM Revenue & Customs for using the services of several self-employed drivers several years ago and it’s been PAYE all the way since then. My business has suffered greatly, so please forgive me if everyone that’s working in the tax avoidance industry now has to pay their way and we can all play on a slightly more level playing field.

Is another recession around the corner? How do you think the UK jobs market will fare for the rest of 2016?

GARETH THOMAS D IREC TOR , V EN T URE RECRUIT MEN T

“George Osborne said it was going to be a tough year, but I don’t think we will slip into another recession. The outlook can look grim with job cuts in certain markets. However, there are also some really positive stories out there around growth and buoyancy in other sectors. I think with smart management and experience of these tough conditions businesses can perform regardless. I’d take a measured approach to any expenditure, ensure your business is working even harder to develop the relationships they have in place, as well as winning new customers to combat tougher economic conditions if they do arrive. The job market, for me, will remain the same as it has done for the last few years. It’s tough out there. However, employment is out there, depending on what people are willing to do and how hard they are willing to work to get in front of potential employers.”

NICOLA GRIMSHAW CH I EF EX ECUT IV E, OA K L EA F PA RT N ERS H I P

“I don’t believe we have another recession around the corner. But I do think there will be quite a bit of uncertainty in the UK market until after the Brexit referendum in June. I think we will see some resistance to major new projects and investments over the next six months, which could put the brakes on recruitment until after the vote. Nevertheless, since UK plc is generally in a good position, we are expecting the second half of the year to show strength and for hiring plans to gather momentum again.”

PAUL BRENNAN

PETER HILDITCH

JUST A THOUGHT Just a quick note to say I absolutely loved the ‘Thoughts From’ column this month [March] in Recruiter. They all hit home but particularly the comments from Josh Graff “Every individual is now an entrepreneur, whether they realise it or not” and Jeff Grout “The wrong job in the right organisation often becomes the right job”. Couldn’t be more pertinent for people working in recruitment. Thanks for the inspiration!

ACCOUN T D IREC TOR , ID P P

“Based on what I have seen the last year, the UK economy will not enter a recession in the near future. Our clients have plans for growth in 2016 and are looking to grow further this year. Moving forward I feel that 2016 will be a positive time for the UK job market and look forward to helping our clients grow and meet their goals for this year and beyond.”

B E L I N D A WA L M S L E Y, B RO O K F I E L D RO S E

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TH E B IG STO RY GETHIN ROBERTS

WORDS: COLIN COTTELL

Colin Cottell spoke with Gethin Roberts, managing director of driver recruitment agency Drivers Direct Recruitment, about his passion for the road Not many people in life are fortunate enough to be able to make a living from their passion. Gethin Roberts, managing director of driver recruitment agency Drivers Direct Recruitment, is one of the lucky ones. From driver in the Royal Air Force, to transport manager and distribution manager with Royal Mail, and now into driver recruitment, Roberts’ whole working life has revolved around trucks and heavy goods vehicles. “I was lucky enough to put my passion to use in recruitment. I have had the best of both worlds,” he tells Recruiter at the company’s Reading branch. Roberts, who likes to visit each of the company’s 21 branches across England and Wales twice a year, clearly has a taste for getting out and about in the

business. He even still holds an HGV (heavy goods vehicles) licence, although he says the last time he sat behind the wheel of one was shortly after he co-founded the company in April 2002. “We were delivering beer in Central London to support a client,” he says. But today, he seems to have accepted that the days of earning his living behind the wheel are over. “I have got to the stage where I am probably better off steering a desk,” he says, with a laugh.

Driving growth P H O T O G R A P H Y: R I C H A R D L E A-H A I R

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Roberts has been making a good ﬁst of it at Drivers Direct, with year-on-year growth of 25% in the last three years,

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TH E B IG STO RY GETHIN ROBERTS

“As a recruitment agency we wanted to look at areas where we could add value to our clients but stay within driving” around 300 clients and between 800 and 1,200 drivers out on Britain’s roads every day. The old habits of a steady hand on the wheel and smooth acceleration clearly remain every bit as important behind the desk as behind the wheel. Roberts says the aim is to consolidate the ﬁrm’s existing branches “getting them up to speed”, after which he expects to see a return to 25% growth. Such a scenario might satisfy many recruiters, but not Roberts. Although he describes himself as “cautious by nature, and therefore cautious in business”, in July 2015, the company embarked on the unusual step for a driver recruiter by taking delivery of its very own vehicles — in effect, using its own branches to supply its own 20 RECRUITER

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logistics company. “We provide the cabs and the drivers to pull the clients’ trailers,” says Roberts, summing it up succinctly. A specialist logistics director was hired to run the new division, Drivers Direct Logistics, which sits alongside Drivers Direct Recruitment as part of the Drivers Direct Group. Within three months of coming up with the idea, Roberts says the company had its own trucks on the road. It now has nine new Renaults, six second-hand cabs and employs three permanent staff. Roberts agrees that such as a diversion from pure recruitment “could be risky”, but against that he emphasises: “We did a lot of research. I like to think things through. We tend not to make knee-jerk decisions but,

once we take a decision, we will act quickly.”

Driving demand There is real demand. “We had some clients ask us to provide the service. It was one of those things that kept coming up. They weren’t just short of drivers they were short of vehicles, so were we able to supply both. “As a recruitment agency we wanted to look at areas where we could add value to our clients but stay within driving,” says Roberts, explaining the business rationale behind the new venture. And he is clear in his mind that it remains true to the company’s principles of sticking to what it does best, namely driver recruitment. “There are transport companies

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W H O I S H E?

Gethin Roberts 2002-present: managing director, Drivers Direct Recruitment 1997-2002: account manager, then head of driving, Blue Arrow 1990-97: transport manager, then distribution manager, Royal Mail 1978-90: Joined as mechanical transport driver, left as transport supervisor, Royal Air Force C O M PANY

Drivers Direct Recruitment ▶ Founded 2002 ▶ 78 employees ▶ 21 branches (including two franchisees)

,0 0 0

▶ Philosophy of recruitment To work hard and to try to have fun in the process

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£20

⦁ 2013-14

0,0 0

0 SALES

£85

0 4,0 0 £65

logistics industry. He began in the RAF, where he acquired his full range of driving licences up to heavy goods and also qualified as a transport manager. Leaving the RAF on a Friday, he joined Royal Mail the following Monday, where he rose to distribution manager. “I was then headhunted by Blue Arrow to oversee the Royal Mail account, which was quite an eye opener. I had to learn a whole new set of skills,” he says. Promoted to head of driving, which is when he first got into driver recruitment, Roberts says: “The opportunity came up to try something different, which is when I set up Drivers Direct Recruitment.” Founded by “four friends from Blue Arrow”, the company grew rapidly from the start, opening three branches on its first day. “Quite scary,” admits

£16

that do recruitment. We are a recruitment company that does transport,” he says. Adding a logistics element to the company’s repertoire also helps build credibility with clients, says Roberts. “Not only do we understand supplying drivers, we understand the complexities of running a ﬂeet of vehicles as well.” Roberts has set the logistics director a target of acquiring 60 vehicles within 24 months and, provided things go well, “there is no reason why we cannot reach that target, which would make us a reasonably-sized transport company as well”. While a driver recruiter with its own ﬂeet of trucks is certainly unusual, perhaps it is no surprise given Roberts’ extensive career in the transport and

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,3 0 1

▶ Secret of success I am determined. If we decide to do something then we will see it through

PRE-TAX PROFIT ⦁ 2014-15

APRIL 2016

10/03/2016 12:51

T H E BI G STO RY G E T H I N RO B E RT S

Roberts. Just before the onset of the recession in 2008, Roberts bought his three partners out, after which things took a turn for the worse as the global downturn took hold. “We didn’t expect to almost have to start up again having had six years of success. We had to cut our cloth very quickly to make sure we survived the recession.” This led to Roberts having to make what he says is “his most difficult decision” to date: to make a member of staff redundant. Happily, he says, he was able to re-employ him in 2010 after business picked up.

Driving legislation These days, Roberts says his biggest challenge is coping with new legislation. “Every year we seem to be having new legislation, so the challenge is understanding it while continuing to run the business.” New travel & subsistence (T&S) legislation due to come into effect in April is a case in point. Asked what keeps him awake at night, Roberts responds: “My worry is what happens this time next year — that we comply with the legislation and that our budgets are right.” Roberts believes his experience in the transport sector, together with his time as a driver, alongside a number of other staff who are also ex-drivers, has helped the company prosper as a niche recruiter that really understands its sector. “I think it gives us an insight into what our drivers are exposed to. Our drivers feel we understand their needs because of our experience.” Similarly, he adds, “it helps us to know what clients expect”. The company operates a simple model, with each branch initially having a branch manager and two consultants: one who deals with clients, and the other with drivers. “Put the two together and you should have a successful branch,” says Roberts. As soon as a branch begins to see growth, “we put in extra resources, so it will continue to grow”, he adds. Roberts is not one for complicating matters, preferring to focus on certain core activities and outsourcing everything else, such as accountancy and IT. “We recruit. We sell. We pay and we charge. “If you do those four things well you will grow your business, the clients will

be happy and the drivers will be happy. We stick to what we do well, which is recruitment.”

Driving ambition Roberts attributes much of his approach to his 12 years in the RAF. “If you have a good team of people around you, if you support them and work hard you will be successful. It all goes back to the RAF: team work, setting goals and achieving goals.”

“I want to be recognised as the number one driver recruitment agency”

That includes his measured approach to decision-making. “Part of being in the services means rushing is quite dangerous,” he says. Roberts accepts that he doesn’t come across as a typical recruiter. “Even though I am not flashy, I am determined and ambitious. I want to be recognised as the number one driver recruitment agency. We are proud of what we have achieved, and we want to achieve more.” He certainly appears confident that the company’s growth strategy will continue to bear fruit, with plans to grow the logistics side of the business in the next two years by opening in two new locations, one in the Midlands and the other in the South, to supplement its existing depot at Shaw, in Oldham. At the same time, he is looking to add another three recruitment branches, taking the number up to 24, a goal Roberts estimates will take two to three years to realise. The plan is to then grow the sales and profitability of the business “to the point where the management team will in all probability buy me out”, he says, adding that the business has been structured with that outcome in mind. “The team has worked hard to make the company what it is so it makes sense that they should take over and benefit from it.” With Roberts’ determination, and his record of achieving what he sets out to do, few would bet against him reaching his destination. ●

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G LO B A L M O B ILITY

The government could soon decide to cut the numbers of workers eligible for intra-company transfers, which could have serious consequences for employers. Colin Cottell reports

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ILLUST RAT ION | ISTOCK

09/03/2016 16:36

WIPE AWAY A TI R AN INCREASINGLY popular route used by international companies to bring workers from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) to the UK could be under threat if the government implements the recommendations of an influential committee. The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) was asked to carry out a review of the UK’s current Tier 2 skilled workers visas, and to advise the government on “significantly reducing the level of migration from outside the EU” while balancing this with the needs of employers and the UK economy as a whole. In its report published in December, MAC highlights the growing use of a special category of Tier 2 visa: intracompany transfer (ICT). The ICT route is for existing employees of multinationals, who ▶ are transferred to the UK to fill a

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G LO B A L M O B I L I T Y

IN TR A-COM PA NY TR A NSFE RS (I CTS) CURRENT C ATEG OR IES

Short-term: for employees staying in the UK for up to 12 months

Long-term: the intention is to stay between 12 months and five years and one month

Graduate trainee: recent graduates staying in the UK up to 12 months

Skills transfer: overseas employees transferred to the UK for up to six months

speciﬁc vacancy or for training that cannot be ﬁlled by an EEA worker. Unlike the Tier 2 general route, there are no limits on how many workers can come to the UK to work via this route, and according to the Home Office the number grew from 28,653 in 2009 to 44,680 in 2014.

Transfer value ICTs are valued by many international companies. In a statement, Chris Marsh, director of group resourcing at Atkins, says: “As an international engineering and professional services consultancy, it’s critical that we can recruit or move existing talent across our business, so intra-company transfers are an important means of achieving this.” At a seminar at law firm Baker & McKenzie in February, Professor Sir David Metcalf, chairman of MAC, reiterated the point, telling the audience: “The conventional transferee is a Japanese auto engineer coming from Toyota and going to work at its plant in Derby, let’s say supervising the installation of an assembly line, and here for perhaps five years. My view is that UK plc benefits enormously from this route.” However, Metcalf went on to contrast this with another category of ICT. “The typical firm is a consultancy which brings in Indian IT workers — they comprise 90% of third-party contracting. They immediately farm them out [to UK companies].” Although international regulations require such workers to be specialists and senior managers, “often it is very routine work”, Metcalf continued, “so one questions whether these are specialists and senior managers”. Recruiter contacted the top 10 sponsors of third-party ICT transferees in 2015, based on Home Office figures. Not all responded, and those that did referred us to NASSCOM (The National Association of Software and Services Companies), the trade body representing companies such as Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys, who use ICTs to transfer Indian IT workers to the UK to service business process outsourcing contracts for their clients.

One of these clients is British Airways. A spokesperson confirmed that the airline used the services of Tata Consultancy Services, which according to MAC, last year brought more than 6,000 workers into the UK via the ICT route, but declined to comment further. Gagan Sabharwal, a director of NASSCOM, denies any suggestion these visas are not being used in the way intended. Sabharwal tells Recruiter: “These jobs have to be done by Indian workers because there is no one with skills available locally in the UK.” While opinions differ on this point, the recommendations, which include raising the minimum salary threshold of £41.5k for some 61% of ICT transferees (see Routes to Work, p29) made by MAC in its report are clearly aimed at cutting the flow of these workers, although as Metcalf acknowledges “it is not possible to be definitive concerning the reduction in numbers associated with the proposals”. “That depends on how employers ▶

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G LO B A L M O B I L I T Y

respond. Will they raise pay to the higher thresholds? Might EU workers substitute for a reduced ﬂow from outside the EU?” Metcalf questions.

Immigration complication Carole Nel, director of immigration services, EMEA and Asia at international talent mobility ﬁrm MSI Global Solutions, says MAC’s recommendations will further complicate a UK immigration system that is already more complex and expensive than others in Europe. “Some of our clients already say ‘they can’t be bothered’, and this will make bringing these workers in even more complicated and expensive,” she says. Already she says “some of them just give up, and this will make things worse. It takes time and companies want projects done yesterday.” It is also likely to accentuate the trend for companies not to sponsor transferee’s dependents. “This can be

an issue for the Indian IT specialists, whereby they are young professionals and are usually of an age where they start a family.” Nel predicts one outcome will be for companies to recruit more European workers. However, Sabharwal says “it is too early to say” what the effects of MAC’s recommendations might be: “In the short-term I don’t see there being any impact.” Although, he adds, in the longer-term, “it might force some companies to move some of those jobs offshore”. Nigel Roxburgh, founder of the UK National Outsourcing Association, agrees offshoring of IT jobs currently done by Indian ICT transferees is a possibility. However, it depends on the role. “If the role involves writing code, there is no reason why the person has to be in the UK.” On the other hand, where workers with particular skills are in demand, such as Cobol programmers, he says it

RO UTES TO WOR K Conventional route: An international company transfers employees to the UK who continue to work for it

Third-party contracting route: An international company transfers employees to the UK, who are used to service contracts for third-party clients

MAC’s recommendations — third-party route: Raise the annual salary threshold for short-term (up to 12 months) intracompany transferees from £24.8k to £41.5k

Both third-party and conventional route: Increase length of transferee’s previous experience with the employer from 12 months to two years, except for the graduate trainee route and skills transfer route, which should remain at six months

An annual £200 a year charge per transferee to pay for their use of the NHS: A skills levy of between £500 and £2k per transferee per year, aimed at reducing employers’ reliance on hiring migrant workers

is more likely that companies will be prepared to pay more than the proposed £41.5k salary threshold, so allowing them to continue to bring these workers into the UK. At the seminar, Metcalf acknowledged the risk that jobs currently undertaken in the UK could be moved overseas. “We have had discussions with some of the major consultancies who use this route. They do say they are potentially mobile and they could use some offshoring but the only thing I would say about that is their clients do like some of the work to be done in their base. I take it seriously, but one shouldn’t take it too seriously.”

Question marks While uncertainty about how firms might react to MAC’s recommendations leave question marks about their impact on the flow of migrant workers, Tony Haque, who leads Baker & McKenzie’s global and immigration practice in the UK, told the London seminar that it was possible to say how many workers would not have been granted a visa had the new salary threshold been applied in the past. According to MAC’s report, 72% (11,792) of applicants, who entered the UK via the short-term ICT route (up to 12 months) in the year to August 2015, would have been excluded on the grounds of salary. Haque described the effect as “severe”. In contrast, only 15% or 1,034 of ‘conventional’ applicants would have been excluded. In his statement, Atkins’ Marsh says the firm does not use intra-company transferees supplied via the third-party contracting route, so any changes to the rules “would not have an impact on Atkins. However, we do use the ICT route to enable a flow of staff between our global design centre in India and our UK business… enabling them to work as a team on a project. “The proposed immigration health charge and immigration skills charge, and the increase in required experience from one to two years, is likely to have a negative impact for us by reducing our flexibility to operate in this way.” However, with political pressure building to cut the number of migrant workers coming into the UK, restricting numbers entering via the ICT route may just be something that employers will have to learn to live with. ● WWW.RECRUITER.CO.UK 29

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Issue 36 April 2016

RECRUITMENT MATTERS The View and The Intelligence

Member of the Month

Collaborative hiring

Nanny & Butler

p2-3

Legal update and the IRP p4

SMEs and award winners

Events and Training p6-7

EU debate photos and In the Round p8

EU DISCUSSION VITAL FOR JOBS, SAYS REC The Recruitment & Employment Confederation is calling on members to share thoughts about the upcoming EU referendum. It has teamed up with market research company ComRes to canvass recruiters’ opinions about a potential Brexit. Its policy team has also produced a document asking members to consider both sides of the argument. The REC also played host to a debate featuring both sides of the in-out argument. Director of policy and professional services Tom Hadley says the REC has a vital role to play in the discussion. “Our immediate priority

@RECPress RM_APR_16.indd 1

is to facilitate an open and informed discussion between members and encourage members to consider the implications of the different scenarios for their business,” he says. “Whatever the outcome of the referendum, it is crucial to ensure that the practical implications for the UK jobs market are taken into account. The insight from REC members will have a crucial role to play here.” Deputy director for Britain Stronger in Europe Lucy Thomas – who spoke on behalf of the ‘In’ campaign at the debate – says jobs will be a crucial factor.

“It was really interesting li tions to see what the implications might be for jobs if we were to leave the EU. We simply don’t know what any new deal with the EU would look like if we were to leave, so there are lots of uncertainties.” Vote Leave’s Jon Moynihan told the debate there are plenty of opportunities for the UK outside the EU. “We will have free trade

agreements, both with the EU ld and with the rest of the world. There won’t be some ghastly trade war with the EU because if there was a trade war, every three jobs we lost they would lose five and they’re not stupid.” The REC is asking all members to get involved with the discussion at rec.uk.com/ eu-referendum

www.rec.uk.com 09/03/2016 09:21

Leading the Industry

THE VIEW

What will the EU referendum mean for the industry, asks Tom Hadley, REC director of policy and professional services

Collaborative hiring is more than a fad, says Kevin Green, REC chief executive

The ability of recruiters to help clients provide a better candidate experience and improve their selection processes is needed now more than ever. There are more people in work now in the UK than at any time since records began in 1971. Jobs transform lives and the fact that more people are feeling the financial and social benefits of work is great news. However, vacancies continue to rise, and for employers it’s becoming increasingly difficult to find the talent they need to compete. Our data shows that 94% of organisations are operating close to full capacity, and that more than eight in 10 companies intend to hire more permanent staff in the next three months. Without the right people, UK businesses will miss opportunities and struggle to take advantage of the UK’s favorable economic climate. With recruitment becoming more of a challenge, one innovation that employers are turning towards is what’s known as ‘collaborative hiring’, and as recruiters we should be prepared to advise clients about the merits and challenges of adopting this approach. Collaborative hiring is one of the strategies that made Apple so successful. In the UK, Pret A Manger has adopted a similar approach, with candidates spending ‘experience days’ in

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RED TAPE REMONSTRATIONS a store and team members voting on whether they are taken on. The idea is that, by asking their existing team to feed back on a candidate’s performance, hirers gain more insight and so are more likely to make the right decision. Collaborative hiring also benefits the candidates. As an interviewee, you want to get a sense of the culture and values of the organisation. Engaging with the people that already work there during the selection process is a fantastic way to work out whether you would make a good match. For businesses, there are huge benefits to empowering their existing team and encouraging collective responsibility. This approach also enables employers to avoid ‘unconscious bias’ – giving more people input in the hiring decision means it is a more robust and objective process. Collaborative hiring is set to become a more familiar strategy as employers seek the capability to help them grow. By creating more engaging hiring strategies, organisations put themselves in a better position to attract the people they desperately need — which is great news for candidates, employers, the recruitment industry, and for the UK economy as a whole. You can follow Kevin on Twitter @kevingreenrec

With travel & subsistence (T&S) changes taking effect in April, and with the EU debate in full swing, it’s a good time to take stock of the regulatory landscape for our industry. Cutting EU regulations is often cited as one of the potential benefits of leaving the EU and is one of the reasons that a Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) survey has showed that 40.9% of SMEs would vote to leave. Our industry has first-hand experience of regulatory ‘offerings’ from Brussels through our old friend AWR. Will this colour the way recruiters approach the EU referendum? The feedback from our members is that investment has been made and that avoiding further regulatory impositions in the future is key. Ensuring that the focus is on boosting competitiveness and jobs (rather than on more layers of legislation) was one of the areas covered in the Prime Minister’s renegotiation package, which is why we are broadly supportive of the areas of reform that were announced. How else might regulatory musings play out in the run up to 23 June? Some EU regulations (like maternity/paternity rights) are seen as broadly positive and are unlikely to be repealed whatever the outcome. It’s also fair to say that the major regulatory threats currently facing our industry – T&S, National Living Wage, Apprenticeship Levy, the NHS cap on agency staff – have nothing to do with the EU. Additionally, some of the biggest challenges for the UK jobs market, such as skills gaps, would not be helped by a Brexit. An emerging argument for remaining within the EU is that the political class should be focusing on some of these key challenges rather than spending years agreeing the terms of our EU divorce and renegotiating trade deals. Whatever the outcome on 23 June, we must harness the insight of REC members to fuel an informed debate about the practical implications for the UK jobs market. One of the discussion points will be whether concerns over Brussels bureaucracy outweigh the potential implications of a Brexit for growth, business confidence and access to skills. You can follow Tom on Twitter @hadleyscomment

www.rec.uk.com

09/03/2016 09:21

THE INTELLIGENCE DIANA BEECH, SENIOR RESEARCHER, EXPLAINS WHAT THE UPCOMING NATIONAL LIVING WAGE MEANS FOR RECRUITERS From 1 April employers across the UK will be required to implement the National Living Wage (NLW). This means that all workers aged 25 and over will be paid a minimum of £7.20 an hour. This figure is intended to rise incrementally and is expected to exceed £9 an hour by 2020 as part of the government’s plan to move towards a higher wage, lower tax and lower welfare society. The Regulatory Policy Committee, which advises government, estimates that the NLW will cost UK businesses well over £1bn. This comprises £804.4m in extra wages and staff costs, and a

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further £243.3m in additional “spillover” costs arising from the need to maintain pay differentials. A recent survey by the Resolution Foundation and the CIPD found that the introduction of the NLW will have the greatest impact in retail (79%) and hospitality (77%), whilst more than two thirds of employers in the healthcare sector (68%) also expect to be significantly affected. A recent survey conducted for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills nevertheless found that, despite the extra costs involved, 93% of UK employers still believe the NLW is a good idea, 88% feel it will make staff more productive, 86% think it will boost staff morale, and 83% believe it will increase staff loyalty. However, the poll also showed that, even by December, very few employers had actually started to make preparations for the move. Only around 45% of employers had updated payroll to

93% OF UK EMPLOYERS STILL BELIEVE THE NLW IS A GOOD IDEA

88% 86% 83%

FEEL IT WILL MAKE STAFF MORE PRODUCTIVE

THINK IT WILL BOOST STAFF MORALE

£7.20

AN HOUR ALL WORKERS AGED 25 AND OVER WILL BE PAID THIS AS MINIMUM

£9

BELIEVE IT WILL INCREASE STAFF LOYALTY

AN HOUR RISING INCREMENTALLY AND IS EXPECTED TO EXCEED THE ABOVE BY 2020

take account of the changes and just 39% had communicated these changes to their staff. Recruiters can play an important role in clearing up the confusion around the NLW and encouraging employers to act. First, the NLW should not be confused with the ‘Living Wage’, which is a voluntary threshold signed up to by only about 2,000 UK employers. Second, the NLW does not mean the end of the National Minimum Wage (NMW). This will still

apply to 4 separate tiers below the NLW, set at £6.70 for 21-24-year-olds, £5.30 for 18-20-year-olds, £3.87 for under 18s, and £3.30 for apprentices (either under 19 or in their first year of an apprenticeship). Under the Equality Act 2010 an employer must not discriminate against a worker because of their age. Recruiters should, therefore, encourage employers to meet their obligations to pay workers accordingly when the NLW comes into force this month.

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Member of the Month

NANNY & BUTLER

A TOUCH OF CLASS Paola Diana is the chief executive and founder of Nanny & Butler, an agency specialising in recruiting childcare and household staff around the world. She tells RM why their approach is unique in recruitment Recruitment Matters: How

RM: Was the demand for

did Nanny & Butler start?

nannies only?

Paola Diana: I’m Italian, and

PD: Not at all. We began fielding many, many requests for every kind of house staff, and I would say “No”. I wasn’t confident in getting the right people and I wanted to be a provider of very good candidates. But I realised I couldn’t stop the wave and learned how to recruit different kinds of staff.

10 years ago I needed a British nanny for my kids. I’m a strong believer in bilingualism and I couldn’t find a nanny suitable in Italy. I thought the idea of an agency specialising in finding nannies was a clever idea and a shame something like that didn’t exist in Italy. I opened the first agency and was inundated with requests – the demand was huge.

RM: Was the next step expanding?

PD: It was. I opened two offices, one in the heart of Rome and the other in London. London was a must. There is such a strong demand for British nannies, it made sense to start recruiting from there. 4 RECRUITMENT MATTERS APRIL 2016

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We went from nannies to maternity staff, butlers, chefs, private jet crews, chauffeurs – all very good, of course. In the last year, I’ve noticed a huge demand for personal trainers.

RM: That sounds like a natural progression.

PD: It was. Our mission statement is ‘Trust Us’. When a family trusts your service and values, they are comfortable

“MANY FAMILIES WILL REQUEST PEOPLE WHO ARE FUN, NICE, ENJOY ENTERTAINING CHILDREN – AND THAT DOESN’T COME NATURALLY TO SOME PEOPLE. WE HAVE TO ACT LIKE PSYCHOLOGISTS, EXAMINING CANDIDATES’ TRAITS AND CHOOSING THE RIGHT PERSON FOR THE JOB”

asking all kinds of requests. They learn about the way we recruit and the way we use time.

RM: Would you agree bespoke recruitment requires a different skillset?

PD: Oh yes. Recruiting for an office is far different from recruiting someone who is going to live in your own home. It’s sensitive. You not only have to be good with kids, but good with parents too, plus the other staff who work there. RM: What kind of candidates do you look for?

PD: We look for a person www.rec.uk.com

09/03/2016 09:21

“BUT WE ALSO KNOW THESE JOBS CAN TRANSFORM A LIFE AND MAKE A PERSON BETTER THAN THEY WERE BEFORE”

who has experience, can take responsibility and is trustworthy. These are the three most important things. Then comes motivation. When a candidate is motivated, particularly in a home environment, they work better. We never push our candidates. We really prefer to send people who are willing to stay long term with their families. It’s better for us to make a good selection and provide the very best people, and those people are the most motivated.

starts with carefully checking every candidate’s paperwork – from qualifications, to references and DBS checks. But that’s not enough. After that, we need to check the character of the person. Many families will request people who are fun, nice, enjoy entertaining children – and that doesn’t come naturally to some people. Many of our families travel a lot and travelling with children can be very stressful. We have to act like psychologists, examining candidates’ traits and choosing the right person for the job.

RM: What does good recruitment mean to you?

RM: Nanny & Butler has

PD: Good recruitment for us

offices in London, Rome and New York. How do those

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markets shape your approach to recruitment?

but we love the challenge and every search is unique.

PD: Having an office in one country doesn’t mean we’re close to that country. Our Italy office covers Switzerland, France and Monte Carlo, for example. The important point to remember is we have candidates who are willing to do a lot of travel. Our London office works with a huge number of clients in the Middle East. Our kind of recruitment is difficult because every family is different. We really need to understand their needs, requirements and feelings. Of course, different nationalities have different approaches,

RM: What is your goal for 2016?

PD: The goal for 2016 is to continue to grow and maintain our reputation for helping families find happiness. But we also know these jobs can transform a life and make a person better than they were before. We got sent a bottle of champagne and bouquet of flowers from a candidate because we placed them in a dream job with a family travelling the world in a private jet. She wouldn’t have been able to do that if not for the job. It’s a very exciting time. RECRUITMENT MATTERS APRIL 2016 5

09/03/2016 09:21

Legal update

LEGAL SUPPORT FOR SMEs By Lewina Farrell, solicitor and head of professional services at the REC A significant number of REC members are SMEs. They work across all sector groups, introducing candidates for permanent employment and supplying temporary workers. Recruitment supply chains can be lengthy and the regulatory landscape complex. The REC legal team can help members navigate through all of this. How can we help? Our dedicated legal helpline is open Monday to Friday 8.30 to 5.30. In 2015 we answered almost 17,500 queries. To support this we have an online legal guide comprising almost 1,000 questions across 50 employment and commercial topics, a library of 100 model documents including model contracts to supply perms and temps and related forms, internal employee contracts and model policies. We also have short webinars and

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produce our bi-monthly Legal bulletin and Legal Bitesize. Finally, we have topic and sector specific factsheets eg. on ITEPA reporting, the Conduct Regulations, AWR, and operating in the Construction, Healthcare and Driving sectors. All of this is produced in-house. We work closely with the REC Policy and Compliance teams and regularly meet with key stakeholders such as HMRC, BIS, the Department for Education and the Department of Health. Current issues: So, what has been occupying us so far in 2016? Tax, in particular the removal of travel & subsistence expenses relief from temporary workers working under, or subject to the right of, supervision, direction or control. This kicks in from 6 April 2016 and will impact significantly on how members engage with umbrella companies and personal service companies.

We have produced a number of briefings, including for use with clients and temporary workers so that members can explain the changes to these groups. We can probably also expect an IR35 review this year. The NHS agency caps have also kept us busy. We have sought competition law advice on the imposition of the cap and the impact it has on the sector. The National Living Wage is causing quite a stir. We remind agencies that this is simply another band of the National Minimum Wage – they should not be misled by the ‘NLW’ label. Age discrimination is an issue, with members telling us that clients are instructing them to send under 25s or terminate assignments once the temporary worker reaches 25. Holiday pay questions rumble on. At the end of February we had the

Employment Appeal Tribunal decision in Lock v British Gas, whereby the EAT agreed that commission should be included in holiday pay calculations. We have previously had decisions on overtime and rolled up holiday pay, the latter which was ruled unlawful a number of years ago by the ECJ, remains an ongoing issue. We have also had decision on payment for sleepovers. We expect that the Working Time Regulations will have to be reviewed to take account of all of these decisions. In 2016/17 agencies will also have to think about gender pay audits and the apprenticeship levy. Aside from these specific issues agencies will always have contractual matters to deal with. What terms to use, how to claim introduction or transfer fees, what do indemnities mean, where does liability lie? REC Legal can help with all of this.

www.rec.uk.com

09/03/2016 09:21

Inspiration

BEHIND THE SCENES AT THE INSTITUTE OF RECRUITMENT PROFESSIONALS

The View

Cassie Moore is M a consultant at ARM and winner of Recruitment Apprentice of the Year at the 2015 IRP Awards

Jamie McGauley iss a edical consultant for ID Medical and winner of Best er at Temporary Recruiter ds the 2015 IRP Awards

AWARD WINNER

Congratulations on your win – how has it been? The win itself was amazing. It was one of those things that takes a while to sink in, but it’s got to the point where a lot of people in the industry know who I am now. My LinkedIn requests went a bit crazy after that night.

Congrats on the win – how has your year been? It’s been a bit hectic. A lot has changed in the medical industry, and it’s very, very busy at the moment.

What led you to choose an apprenticeship in recruitment? I started in 2012 in customer service but I’ve always enjoyed learning, so I moved into a recruitment apprenticeship with ARM. It was well worth a go because not only do you learn how to do the job, you get the Certificate in Recruitment Practice too. I’ve recently been promoted to a full time consultant, so the last four years have been worth it. Congratulations – there must have been some happy faces at work after that? There were, yes. I showed that an apprenticeship can work and that you can be a valued member of the team regardless of what role you’re in. It was great knowing ARM was with me and made sure I was on the right track. How did you make the most of your apprenticeship? I decided to start my own desk. I saw an opportunity to grow the business, so now I look after the shipping sector for Hong Kong, Singapore and all of Europe except the UK. It was very difficult to begin with since I don’t come from a sales background. But I learned it’s all about relationships. Once I got the hang of that, and getting the idea of how each culture deals with recruitment, you adapt to their demand. What makes a good recruiter? You need to know your candidates and what processes work best for them. You also need passion for the industry you’re working for – you need to be able to talk about the sector from their perspective, not just from a recruitment point of view. Keeping that relationship strong is so important.

What sectors do you cover? ID Medical coves everything in the medical sector, but I recruit for doctors in the NHS and private sectors. The medical market has increased in the last couple of years, especially since there’s been less applications for doctors training, making it a busier place for locums. How did you get into recruitment? I fell into it. I started at ID Medical when I was 17 and learned about the job through my brother, who worked for the company too. I couldn’t see myself working in anything different. What makes a good recruiter? Someone who is willing to go the extra mile and provide a premier level service to candidates. You’ve also got to make sure you can deliver and follow through on your promises, giving adequate feedback and reassuring your candidates you’re doing everything in your power to get the ideal job for them. A lot of candidates have my personal number and get in contact with me outside of work – it’s all about them knowing you’re there for them whenever they need you. What piece of advice would you give to yourself on your first day? I would tell myself that you must believe in your own abilities. You’ve got to be confident and know you’ve got plenty to offer. You never know how far this job will take you.

To keep up to date with everything the Institute of Recruitment Professionals is doing, please visit www.rec-irp.uk.com

www.rec.uk.com

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Events and training

EU REFERENDUM DEBATE THE REC HOSTED A DEBATE IN LATE FEBRUARY ABOUT THE UPCOMING EU REFERENDUM. HERE ARE SOME PICTURES FROM THE EVENING. WANT TO GET INVOLVED? FIND OUT MORE AT WWW.REC.UK.COM/EU-REFERENDUM Clockwise from top right: Lucy Thomas, deputy director of Britain Stronger in Europe Jon Moynihan from Vote Leave Richard Maughan, head of campaigns at the CBI

IN THE ROUND COMES TO SOUTHAMPTON Don’t miss out on Scale Up: In the Round coming to Southampton on 13 April. Join chief executive Kevin Green for an intimate and conversational update on the latest goings on in the industry. There won’t be any PowerPoint presentations, but you will get to discuss the big issues shaping the market right now.

What will be covered? Everything from issues in the East affecting recruitment, through to the wider economic and political landscape. • How is the UK economy performing? • What is being done about chronic skill shortages? • Beyond the Seven secrets of successful recruitment entrepreneurs • How to attract and keep top talent • Jobs transform lives Kevin will walk you through some of the challenges facing the industry and the opportunities that exist. Visit rec.uk.com/scaleup to find out more

RECRUITMENT MATTERS

Membership Department: Membership: 020 7009 2100, Customer Services: 020 7009 2100 Publishers: Redactive Publishing Ltd, 17 Britton Street, London EC1M 5TP. Tel: 020 7880 6200. www.redactive.co.uk Editorial: Editor Michael Oliver michael.oliver@redactive.co.uk. Production Editor: Vanessa Townsend Production: Production Executive: Rachel Young rachel.young@redactive.co.uk Tel: 020 7880 6209 Printing: Printed by Precision Colour Printing

The official magazine of The Recruitment & Employment Confederation Dorset House, 1st Floor, 27-45 Stamford Street, London SE1 9NT Tel: 020 7009 2100 www.rec.uk.com

© 2016 Recruitment Matters. Although every effort is made to ensure accuracy, neither REC, Redactive Publishing Ltd nor the authors can accept liability for errors or omissions. Views expressed in the magazine are not necessarily those of the REC or Redactive Publishing Ltd. No responsibility can be accepted for unsolicited manuscripts or transparencies. No reproduction in whole or part without written permission.

8 RECRUITMENT MATTERS APRIL 2016

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www.rec.uk.com

09/03/2016 09:22

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XXXXXXXXXX

RECRUITMENT PARADISE FROM THE DASHBOARD LIGHT

IL L U STRATI O N | I STO C K

32 RECRUITER

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APRIL 2016

10/03/2016 12:53

Dashboards are helping recruiters make the shift to data-driven decision-making and increase their productivity. They also bring more transparency to key performance indicators (KPIs) and processes and, in some cases, help agencies to share good practice internally. Three ﬁrms, which have integrated dashboards into their daily lives, tell Sue Weekes how they are maximising their beneﬁts

ACRE AND CUBE19 Analytics and dashboards products mean that there is no hiding place for poor performance. Richard Wright, chief executive of sustainability recruiter Acre, warns against recruitment bosses falling foul of the “management by KPI [key performance indicators]” culture though. The key, he believes, is putting the tool at the core of the business. “We have integrated cube19 into our everyday practice,” he says. “It is the ﬁrst and last thing that the consultants check on a daily basis and forms the basis for our weekly managers’ meetings.” He adds this means it is not necessary to “beat consultants with a stick” over KPIs.

Acre, which specialises in sustainability recruitment and related services, uses the dashboards feature of cube19 to track individual and team KPI data to ensure each consultant is working in the most efficient way. The system allows the firm to track historical data and to predict revenues based on activity. “This has enabled us to improve our performance and efficiency and increase revenue through the manipulation of data and trends,” explains Wright. “It allows us to predict whether we as a business will achieve our financial target based on the output activity being produced.” There is no point in using a product like cube19 superficially or inconsistently, he emphasises, and Acre has also invested a lot of time and energy in the quality of its Bullhorn usage, which flows through to cube19. “Whether on the big screens in the

office, individual desktops or crucially on our mobiles, the quality of real-time information is exceptional and has undoubtedly improved our performance. Slicing and dicing is a game changer,” says Wright, who adds that while the big screen in the office creates a sense of competition, it also gives recruiters the opportunity to celebrate each other’s success in real-time, flashing when a new deal has been done. Dan McGuire, founder of cube19, says recruiters increasingly want to make systematic improvements in both workflow and the operational aspects of the business. “Senior management are turning to data-driven decisionmaking and an infrastructure focused on business intelligence and performance management,” he says, believing that in a perfect world a recruiter need never look at a spreadsheet again. “The shift towards data-driven decision-making is fuelled by visibility, timeliness, personalisation of data and ease of access. Dashboards are a great example of all four coming together.” And he adds that a dashboard also gives recruitment firms a clear idea of ‘what’ is going on right now which inspires people to ask ‘why is this going on?’ “And that’s where advanced analytics, ad hoc reporting, and actionable insights come in.”

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DASHBOARDS

ASPIRE AND DYNISTICS

variety of sources, it gives an holistic view of the agency’s activity and effectiveness. “A proper return on investment can be seen from adverts posted, applications through an advert courier, placements made, timesheets received and invoices billed,” Chandler explains. While the real-time aspects of Previously consultants and managers dashboards are one of their USPs [unique would need to wait a day or potentially selling propositions], visibility on how until the end of the week or month the team is progressing in both the short and long term is a key beneﬁt. The even to see where they stand, but they now see the impact of their activity digital, media and marketing specialist far more immediately. “Which in turn recruitment agency Aspire uses drives the activity in the ﬁrst place,” Dynistics Active Dashboards to track says Chandler. “Giving managers and revenue and activity ratios on a fourweek, 13-week and 52-week basis. “Ensuring team members are moving in the right direction, but not making knee-jerk reactions to a ‘bad week’,” explains Aspire CEO Chris Chandler. “By tracking activity and revenue against targets and averages for the team/ company, a consultant can see how they match against their peers. Incorporating this with predictive technology shows a consultant the impact on their back pockets by doing more of an activity based on their current ratios.” Aspire worked with Dynistics and IT services company Kamanchi to tailor the boards to the business. “Being able to tweak and make it your own, makes it real to the consultant as [that is] in line with their business plans and incentives,” says Chandler. Meanwhile, because Dynistics software can mash the data from a

HARVEY JOHN AND EPLOY

An Eploy user since 2006, Brightonbased recruitment agency Harvey John was keen to take advantage of the software company’s new dashboards when they were introduced in 2014. The ﬁrm had been exploring different ways to set KPIs and deliver feedback, 34 RECRUITER

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team leaders the data they need to see trends, and progress and thereby drive the business. Active dashboards took a little adapting to, but once it sunk in, the beneﬁts became obvious for everyone at all levels of Aspire.” Dynistics CEO Andy Richardson believes dashboards change the way recruiters work and change organisations into “data-driven cultures”. He adds that recruitment agencies have speciﬁc challenges in that they often operate a network of branches that use a centralised CRM platform and also have multiple social media channels to reach candidates. “Having a dashboard that is renowned for connectivity is critical to ensure agencies can gain the ‘holy grail’ of a single view of operations to map performance, identify trends and to help predict future opportunities or requirements to change priorities,” Richardson says. Most customers extend their initial use across their brand network and score cards “drive a healthy competitive environment” that motivates recruiters, he adds.

explains Harvey John commercial director Stephen Barham: “Recruiters have to use a lot of different systems these days, so as much as possible we like to stay in our core system.” The customisation allowed by the dashboards also appealed. Rather than tell consultants what their dashboards should do and how they should look, Harvey John left team leaders and individual recruiters to decide on the KPIs most relevant to their speciﬁc areas of work. The agency specialises in accountancy, HR, marketing and

APRIL 2016

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XXXXXXXX

legal; Barham says they didn’t want to complicate things by overloading consultants with irrelevant data. “For instance, the legal sector is very candidate-driven with consultants focused on candidate registrations, whereas other divisions may be more job-centric and would need to look at different datasets,” he says. “Also, no two individuals work the same way.” Giving ownership of their dashboards and KPIs to consultants rather than installing a top-down approach has also helped secure engagement in the process. “They are less likely to see it as a name and shame/big stick approach,” says Barham. “And they’re constantly finding new ways to be productive, as they know it benefits them.” Within the first six weeks of implementing the dashboards, Harvey John’s call activity increased by 15%, and continues to rise. The dashboards have also increased collaboration and knowledge and best-practice sharing across the agency. “They’ll see when a best performer has had a good quarter and what activity stacks up to achieve that. Everyone says recruitment isn’t rocket science but it is incredibly complicated in terms of the chemistry that makes things work, and for new people coming on board the dashboards give a roadmap as to what to do.” Chris Bogh, technical director of Eploy, says it has put analytics and dashboards at the heart of its system as recruiters need answers to their questions, whether that’s ‘how are our KPIs shaping-up?’ or ‘what activities do I need to focus on today?’ “Top-level KPI monitoring is fine,” Bogh continues, “but dashboards can provide much additional value when everyone can create and customise their own measures of success and the activities and behaviours they believe are at the heart of their success,” he says. He adds that Harvey John has gone beyond Eploy’s initial expectations. “They are using Eploy Dashboards at both a personal success level as well as for stimulating team collaboration. Dashboards, and the metrics that power them, are critical for the modern recruiter.” ●

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10/03/2016 12:54

STILL UNSURE ABOUT THE NEW ERA? MEET OUR TEAM NOW...

Andrew Houldsworth - North

RACS Group ŚĂƐ Ă ŶĂƟŽŶĂů ďƵƐŝŶĞƐƐ ĚĞǀĞůŽƉŵĞŶƚ ŶĞƚǁŽƌŬ ƚŽ ĞŶƐƵƌĞ Ăůů ĂŐĞŶĐŝĞƐ ŚĂǀĞ Ă ĚĞĚŝĐĂƚĞĚ ƉŽŝŶƚ ŽĨ ĐŽŶƚĂĐƚ ƚŽ ŚĞůƉ ƚŚĞŵ ĂĚĂƉƚ ƚŽ ƚŚĞ ŶĞǁ ĞƌĂ͘

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Regional Development Manager London (South) 07885 801775

dŽ ĮŶĚ ŽƵƚ ŵŽƌĞ ĂďŽƵƚ ŚŽǁ Z ^ 'ƌŽƵƉ ĐĂŶ ŚĞůƉ ǇŽƵƌ ĂŐĞŶĐǇ ŇŽƵƌŝƐŚ͕ ƉůĞĂƐĞ ĐŽŶƚĂĐƚ ǇŽƵƌ ůŽĐĂů ďƵƐŝŶĞƐƐ ĚĞǀĞůŽƉŵĞŶƚ ƌĞƉƌĞƐĞŶƚĂƟǀĞ͘ Head Office RACS Group House | Three Horseshoes Walk Warminster | Wiltshire | BA12 9BT

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0845 604 0571 info@racsgroup.com racsgroup.com

08/03/2016 12:25

CO M M U N I T Y

SOCIAL NETWORK WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN UP TO? GET IN TOUCH! From helping the homeless to kicking off for charity, here’s what some of you have been getting up to outside recruitment… CORECOM CONSULTING’S WORK WITH THE HOMELESS IN LEEDS RECOGNISED VIA MP Stuart Andrew popped in to Leeds-based recruiter Corecom Consulting to thank the company and its staff for its work with Emmaus Leeds, a homelessness charity offering a stable home and meaningful work to formerly homeless people (see picture below). Corecom offers IT training sessions and CV writing workshops to the companions — formerly homeless people — at Emmaus. Corecom staff also volunteer in the Emmaus shop on St Mary’s Street in Leeds, like Dan Mills and Nicola Cooper did, alongside Peter, an Emmaus companion (see picture, left).

HAPPY BARKDAY TO ASCENDANT RECRUITMENT! VIA Ascendant Recruitment has just celebrated its 13th birthday and joining in the celebrations with the Milton Keynes team was managing director Nick Peacock’s dog, Friday. We wonder if Friday will be going walkies to celebrate with the team in Northampton? That’ll give paws for thought… [That’s e-ruff dog puns – Ed]

us), mma loke (Ees (head m C l u Pa ugh reco Rick Hg/QA, Co than tin g), Jona r, s e t f o ltin ecto Consuderson (dir ing) and nsult rew San o C om nd Corec P Stuart A M

TW I TT E R COMPASS POINT COMES OF AGE IN EAST ANGLIA VIA Bury St Edmunds-based Compass Point Recruitment is celebrating 21 years in business. The anniversary was celebrated by staff with a few glasses — and a brand new corporate image to boot! Compass Point specialises in sales and marketing, secretarial, PAs and administration, engineering, industrial, accountancy and HR.

SELLICK PARTNERSHIP HELPS MANCHESTER PROFESSIONALS KICK OFF F FOR CHARITY VIA Financial and legal professional recruiter Sellick Partnership hosted the seventh annual Manchester Professionals’ Football League (MPFL). Sponsored by Spire Manchester Hospital, the 5-a-side tournament for the Manchester financial and legal business community saw 24 teams play and help raise fund for St Ann’s Hospice. The cup winners this year were Money Advice Group (pictured right), who beat BDO to take home the cup for the first time. Savills were this year’s runners up, winning the plate after beating Cundall.

Recruiter Magazine @RecruiterMag Mar 3 Happy barkday to Ascendant Recruitment! @ascendant_ rec #recruitment http:// recruitermagazine.tumblr.com/ post/140395022786/happy-barkdayto-ascendant-recruitment … AscendantRecruitment @ ascendant_rec Mar 3 @RecruiterMag Thanks for the birthday wishes! We’re a happy ‘setter’ people here, although feeling a bit ‘ruff’ after eating too much cake.

Saville Consulting @savilleconsult Mar 2 Indian army candidates forced to take #test in pants to prevent #cheating > http://ow.ly/YY4Kh < @ RecruiterMag Not necessarily sure this is something you should consider when designing your own assessment centres… @RecruiterMag

@RecruiterMag instagram.com/recruitermagazine/ recruitermagazine.tumblr.com/

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E CAREERS CO M M UNITY

The Age of the Candidate Recruiters, time to get candidate-centric! BY TARA LESCOTT

↗

ALL THE STATS tell us that our market is booming. More businesses than ever need temps and most firms report permanent hiring as business critical. Employment is high, and everyone is recruiting! As a result we are in the age of the candidate — the candidate is everything. The candidate has choice and no longer needs a recruiter for data, and is constantly approached by internal recruiters and other agencies. So why are so many recruiters still just calling candidates with jobs as and when they have a job to fill? Why are so TARA LESCOTT is managing director many still failing to nurture candidate relationships and of rec-to-rec agency demonstrate real value to their candidate audience? This Recruiter Republic transactional approach of giving candidates your attention when you have a job to fill is futile and does not lead to success — only occasional short-term wins. If you are in a candidate-led market, which most of us are, then your strategy has to be candidate-centric. Why should a candidate come to your agency? Why should they choose to be represented by you solely? Why should they come to you rather than make a direct application? If you don’t have the answers to these questions, then you don’t have a candidatecentric strategy and your business needs urgent attention. From my own experience of working for a large corporate and now SME [small to medium-sized enterprise], I can tell you that this model takes real work; it takes greater investment and a change of focus. It also means a shift in terms of who you employ, as you will still need to be intelligent marketeers and relationships nurturers, who aren’t just in it for the quick win. Your staff have to be capable of being experts, producing great blogs and content, spending time with people to coach and support them, then converting them to being active candidates and giving them the best possible career management service. That’s right — recruiters have to become candidate agents, working to win and retain great candidates that you can represent long-term. If you need to get started on your candidate strategy, here are some good headlines to think about:

GET ATTENTION How will you get the attention of your most valuable candidate audience? Where are they? What interests them?

DEFINE YOUR VALUE

COVERT INTEREST

RETAIN LOYALTY

How do you demonstrate your value to them? How do you ensure it is not just about ‘find a job NOW’?

How do you nurture the relationships so that career choices lead them to you?

Once you represent your candidate, how do you keep them happy and loyal?

RECRUITMENT JOB ACTIVITY ANALYSIS of data on Recruiter Jobs, Recruiter magazine’s job board, reveals a general trend in February 2016 of a greater number of applications per user and applications per job on the previous month.

APPLICATION NUMBERS

Overall the number of applications across the site saw a 25% increase in applications per user in February on the first month of the year and a 5% increase in applications per job. The sector that saw the biggest increase in applications per user was the charities sector, up 800%, with no increase seen on the previous month in applications per job. Seeing the largest increase in applications per job was the property sector, up 600% on January and down 9% on the previous month in terms of applications per user. In the regions, London South saw the biggest increase in applications per user on the previous month, up 491% and down 83% in applications per job. The region seeing the largest monthly increase in applications per job was Central Scotland, up 610%. However, the region was down 6% in applications per user.

800% UP

In a market where skills are short, this will be your route to success. And no, you’re not abandoning your clients; being smart and focusing on candidate attraction is exactly what your client needs and will result in greater results. ● 38 RECRUITER

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Charities sector

APRIL 2016

09/03/2016 16:41

CO M M U N I T Y

CAREERS Find your next move in recruitment on jobs.recruiter. co.uk

Struggling to move on? It really is them, not you BY ANDREW MOUNTNEY

↗ ANDREW MOUNTNEY is founding partner at in-house recruitment specialist Aspen In-House

610% UP

Central Scotland

491% UP

London South p46-47_recruiter_careers.indd 47

IT’S BEEN A strange start to the year for our industry. Many in-house recruiters are feeling a sense of déjà vu, with the year ahead looking little different to the last, and that’s pretty boring. For others, particularly in the energy and ﬁnancial services sector, the strong hiring of 2015 in other sectors feels like a different world, with threats of redundancy and hiring freezes. Combine this with plenty of experienced talent acquisition professionals looking for the next challenge and feeling they cannot ﬁnd it with their current employer, then there’s more people chasing in-house roles than for some years — and they’re not enjoying it. At a recent industry event the programme of speakers focused heavily on employer brand, themes such as talent has won the war and candidate experience. But the conversation was narrow — often only talking about the journey for those who get to interview (which we all know is a fraction of those interested) through to offer and making it great. Well, they may be doing a good job at this but outside that stage of the process people are being treated horribly. Bearing in mind, most talent acquisition professionals reasonably assume that of all candidates, they’re going to get the gold-plated treatment as organisations would not want

other recruiters talking ill of their process, and you have to worry. In particular for contractors seeking a longer-term future, we’re speaking with individuals who are barely raising an acknowledgement of their interest in a role — let alone any detailed feedback on why they are not getting an interview. Even once processes start, the dreaded black hole is swallowing them up as they disappear into processes that rarely end and sometimes never start. If that’s how we are treating our own when eulogising candidate experience, who knows what is really happening to our wider candidate communities. So if you are actively looking for a role, it’s not you, it’s probably not your CV (but do sharpen it up, make it data-led and modern); it’s the organisations who cannot put together appropriate adverts or job descriptions that really show you why you should or should not apply or who cannot be bothered to let you know the next step. Move on, they’re not for you. People are still being hired in talent acquisition, albeit often on ﬁxed-term contracts, and your turn will come. In the meantime, if you have to hire in the near future, let’s try harder, let’s give honest feedback and updates — even if it does mean sharing some bad news. Any news is better than no news. ●

WWW.RECRUITER.CO.UK 39

09/03/2016 16:41

OPEN FOR

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08/03/2016 12:26

‘He said I was more of a Hays girl than a Michael Page girl!’

CO M M U N I T Y

CAREERS

MY BRILLIANT RECRUITMENT NT CAREER What was your earliest dream m job?

What was your first job in recruitment and how did you come into it? It was with Hays Logistics Supply Chain and I joined d the h graduate scheme back in 2000.

What do you love most about your current role? I love the variety

es aldiv

What’s your top job to fill at the moment? HR director, a conﬁdential

What would you consider to be the most brilliant moment of your career? When I worked for

Laugh or cry, what did your most memorable candidate make you want to do and why? Laugh and

Michael Page HR, I was told by my MD Paul Wilson that I would not be number one newcomer that year and I proved him wrong. He said I was more a Hays girl than a Michael Page girl! The other time was winning the DHL PSL (preferred supplier list) for Oliver Sanderson.

smile. That was a compliance director for a big blue-chip group. I managed

deﬁnitely, so the beach in the Maldives. I’d also love to go to Las Vegas.

Outside the office, where would you like to interview a candidate or be interviewed? Home

NATASHA MAKHIJANI, chief executive at board level and senior executive search firm Oliver Sanderson

Natasha Makhijani

and the autonomy that comes from being my own boss. And the fact that our business is expanding fast.

Do you prefer a staycation or holiday abroad? Holidays abroad

↗

When I was really young, one of my cousins was in recruitment and d somebody I knew worked in human n resources in the US. So believe it orr not, I always knew that I was either er going to go into HR and talent or recruitment.

brief for a major blue chip client.

to get him a job that allowed him to relocate back to the UK. I got him a pay rise of over £80k, which meant his wife could leave her role and he could send his kids to the best schools in the country.

What’s the best or worst interview question you’ve ever heard? Years ago I heard one of my recruiters, who was training, ask ‘how would your mum best describe you?’ I thought that was quite funny.

Make us an offer we can’t refuse Oliver Sanderson is expanding. As we’re growing, we’re looking for consultants that can come and work with us. We will be offering equity and LTIPs (Long Term Incentive Plans). ●

House in Portman Square but failing that, the beach in the Maldives. I M AG E S | A K I N FA LO P E / ISTO C K

p49_recruiter_brillcareer.indd 49

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09/03/2016 16:41

E EMPLOYABILITY CO M M UNITY

INGEUS TURNS AROUND YOUTH JOB FORTUNES WITH ASDA SARAH MARQUET

reviously unsuccessful jobseeker Osama Ahnini told Recruiter: “I was lucky — I just found this [opportunity] by luck.” Jobless and jobseeking since April 2015, Ahnini’s prospects were not encouraging. He was after a building site-based apprenticeship but had found the search hard going. Then some friends pointed him in the direction of a local Jobcentre. “And then I found this opportunity,” he says. The opportunity was an eight-week traineeship delivered by employability and training organisation Ingeus, working in partnership with retail chain Asda. Ingeus, a large Work Programme provider throughout the UK, ﬁrst partnered with Asda in 2012 on a small-scale support project. And as part of its commitment to the Movement to Work campaign, in September Asda partnered with Ingeus on a programme to support NEETS (young people not in education, employment or training), giving them employability skills and retail-speciﬁc experience that might help them land a role in an Asda store. In Ahnini’s case, he and his ‘classmates’ will, if they are successful in completing the course and progress to being hired by Asda, help staff a new Sutton store. Recruiter visited Croydon’s Turn Around Centre, a support and services centre for young people where the current London cohort of trainees are studying. From a small room at the Centre, Ingeus national account manager Jennifer Dix told Recruiter that

L-r: Ingeus tutor Damian Gregory, Minha Tufail, Osama Ahnini and Ingeus national account manager Daniella Asamoah-Manu

Asda’s online recruitment process, which includes psychometric testing, can potentially sideline young people such as Ahnini, who may have no previous work experience. “A lot of young people who have never worked or who have limited work experience will struggle to get through that process, and so Asda decided they wanted to open the doors to those people, offer training, guidance and experience to get them through the process in another way. “We’ve got people with backgrounds of homelessness, learning difficulties, and some are just young people who have not passed GCSEs and become a bit stuck and need guidance,” Dix says. A big part of getting these young people ready for the world of work, before even broaching the retail speciﬁcs, such as cash handling, is attitude, adds Ingeus tutor Damian Gregory. It’s knowing the difference between a “street mentality and work mentality”, he says. The components of ‘work mentality’ — including how to walk, how to talk and what kinds of jokes are acceptable — need to be reinforced constantly, until they become habitual. In addition, the habit of being early — arriving for a shift before the start time, for example — and understanding that when working in a team environment, what affects one will affect the rest, also must be ingrained in these students.

“A lot of young people who have never worked or who have limited work experience will struggle to get through that process… Asda decided they wanted to open the doors to those people”

42 RECRUITER

APRIL 2016

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IM AGES | SARAH M ARQUET

10/03/2016 09:58

INGEUS’ ASDA TRAINEESHIP AT A GLANCE:

“And after awhile the trainees begin to reinforce those ideas among themselves too,” he says. While individual programmes can be tweaked, the trainees will usually visit an Asda store twice, including meeting the store managers, before starting their work placement in week four of the programme. As well as employability skills such as attitude, the trainees are taught basic level maths and English — to ensure they can count change if a till goes down or replenish stock according to a speciﬁc plan — and retail-speciﬁc employment skills such as customer service. And what does it take for a trainee to succeed and

⦁ Launched September 2015 ⦁ Eight-week, fulltime traineeship including classroom-based training and instore experience ⦁ Targets 18-24-yearolds ⦁ Three modules: employability skills, functional skills (maths and English) and retail-specific skills ⦁ Course is run at the equivalent to GSCE grade C

⦁ Asda ringfences jobs, with the trainees in mind, though they need to go through a formal interview process ⦁ 87 have gone through the programme so far, with 38 securing employment ⦁ Funded by the Skills Funding Agency, which operates in England, with Asda providing the young people lunch when they are on shift. Should Asda want trainees in other areas of the

UK, Ingeus would outsource to an organisation such as The Princes Trust ⦁ Asda has signed up to the Movement to Work, a campaign supported by large employers that aims to offer opportunities to unemployed youth. Asda has committed to hiring 1,000 such people this year, and has tasked Ingeus with finding and training 600 ⦁ Ingeus runs a similar programme with retailer Poundworld

get the job? According to Gregory, the first thing is timekeeping. “If you start at 10, get there for half nine,” he says. “Number two, smile. Smile like you’ve won the lottery. The other thing is be motivated… [the trainees] have to show willingness and that comes back to one of the key things we’ve been looking at with these guys since the start of the course — body language.” Of course, first impressions are important, and these students may not always put their best foot forward initially. However, Gregory adds: “A lot of young people who haven’t had much success in life to date are very, very kind of defensive or guarded, or can sometimes react quite badly in group environments or when being told what to do; it’s a defence mechanism, it’s just a barrier. So it’s not that we have to say ‘you shouldn’t be like that’ it’s that throughout the duration of the programme, having that consistent person, the tutor, consistently delivering messages and believing in them, I think that suddenly they relax their defences a little bit.” That’s where the work experience is key, Dix says: it shows the store managers that these young people, despite potentially not giving a great first impression, are keen and loyal employees. For trainees who complete the programme but don’t ultimately get a job with Asda, Ingeus continues to its support by either finding them work elsewhere or giving them further training. And is this current cohort looking forward to starting work with Asda? “Yeah, I’m excited. Finally,” says Ahnini’s classmate Minha Tufail, who had been out of work and study for a year, a smile breaking over her face. ● WWW.RECRUITER.CO.UK 43

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10/03/2016 09:58

E BUSINESS ADVICE CO M M UNITY

THE NEED TO LEARN Training structures and establishing a sustainable framework for success was the hot topic at the latest Recruitment Directors Lunch Club

↗

PIRATE TALK

GARY GOLDSMITH and DEAN KELLY are the founding partners of the Recruitment Directors Lunch Club (RDLC). Contact them @RDLC_PIRATES on Twitter

Gary Goldsmith & Dean Kelly

he consensus among those at the latest Recruitment Directors Lunch Club (RDLC) was that training is a necessity for today’s millennial recruiters — at all levels. The concern was that its quality and outcome were often varied. All the founding RDLC Pirates said they had used a trainer and most believed there was something unique about their choices at the time that would give them a competitive edge. The reality behind their decisions, however, was probably based more on a herd mentality, a fear of missing out. The results usually didn’t live up to expectations. Most recruitment business owners said they had learned their trade at another established recruiter with training passed down to the next generation each time. In effect, a lot of it was just repeated without any attention to its outcome. If you toss a coin 30 times you will have 10 or more wins 98% of the time. So sharing risks and rewards with those in the same sector, or with similar objectives to you, will derive similar performance averages, diminished risk but also correspondingly reduced gains. Sound like a familiar market affair?

…Then start with the managers An employee who is engaged is open to learning and improvement. It is the managers’ role to ensure engagement with their team. They will need to be fully involved and committed to the team’s training, its content and substance. Then it has to be delivered.

The role of a recruiter is not hard to map The delivery isn’t that difficult to demonstrate. It’s the execution that requires practice, effort, determination and resilience. These are skills that can’t be developed in a day, or even a week, with a consultant trainer, but they can be organised in a way that can subsequently be nurtured by a skilled manager.

What should a manager/billing managers’ training course look like?

How does a trainer help recruiters improve?

⦁ Sessions to understand the managers’ purposes and aspirations for their teams. Looking to develop inspirational leadership. ⦁ Identify strengths and weaknesses in teams so that performance can be predicted and measured for a longterm sustainable business. ⦁ Create new leaders, embrace change, be accountable. ⦁ Look at vision, process, image, results and behaviour. ⦁ Then embed behaviours, improve momentum and actions so that the process is kept alive. ⦁ Introduce any new learnings and behaviours that arise. ⦁ Recruit, sleep and repeat.

Start with a group of successful ‘Recrupreneurs’ and industry experts. Design a malleable framework that allows for situational movement, engagement and understanding to play their parts.

Top tip Just like a Patek Phillipe luxury watch, you never own the recruitment process, we just need to look after it for the next generation. ●

So, if market conditions are good and everyone employs similar trainers, is the improved outcome down to the trainer, the market or a mix of both? How do you build a structured framework that allows you to support, track and improve the process at any stage? How do you ﬁnd a unique trainer or programme to deliver the catalyst for an explosive year? Will a process work the same for a business of 15 as it would for one of 1,500? The answers it seemed were around the table.

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W W W. R E C RU I T E R .CO.U K

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AWARDS SHORTLIST ANNOUNCED AGENCY RECRUITMENT LEADER OF THE YEAR

/ Matthew Churchward x The Asoria Group / Richard Cooke x Seven Resourcing / Sue Cooper x Morgan Hunt UK / Ben Davies x Rapid Search & Interim and Firefly Human Capital / Scott Davies x Hallam Medical / Lee Dempster x Just IT Recruitment

IN-HOUSE RECRUITMENT LEADER OF THE YEAR

/ Steve Bonomo x adidas Group / Jon Hull x Carillion / Matthew Jeffery x SAP / David McArthur x Department for Work and Pensions/Jobcentre Plus / Sam Ramsay x House of Fraser / Sarah Tulip x The Test People RECRUITMENT INDUSTRY ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR

/ Tony Goodwin x Antal International / Michael Helleur x ICG Medical / Dean Kelly x Gardean Human Capital/RDLC and Synarbor / Simon La Fosse x La Fosse Associates / Logan Naidu x Dartmouth Partners / Neil Purcell x Talent Works International BEST CANDIDATE EXPERIENCE

/ Experience x adidas Group / Adventures in Awesomeness x Auto Trader / Grant Thornton Trainee Recruitment (201415) x Grant Thornton in partnership with The Project Box (RPO) / Stores of the future x O2 in partnership with Cielo and Chatter / Global Career Website / consolidation and redesign x Pitney Bowes in partnership with Findly Talent / Autism at Work Program x SAP

BEST APPRENTICE/SCHOOL LEAVER RECRUITMENT STRATEGY

/ Adecco Group UK&I Apprentice Scheme x Adecco Group UK&I in partnership with Learndirect / Helping apprentices Express their potential x Vision Express / Pret A Manger BEST GRADUATE RECRUITMENT STRATEGY

/ Aldi in partnership with Penna / SAP / Tata Consultancy Services / Thales UK INNOVATION IN RECRUITMENT

/ Life Science Training Academy x Clinical Professionals / Challenging the pitfalls of traditional student recruitment using strengths, big data and the Jobmi Platform x EY in partnership with Capp and Co / Launching online candidate and on boarding communities x ‘Grant Thornton: I’ve applied’ and ‘Grant Thornton: I’m joining’ / Grant Thornton in partnership with The Project Box / Your Actions, Drive Ours x Jaguar Land Rover in partnership with Pink Squid / Newly Qualified Nurses Plan: The Confident Start Programme x Nuffield Health / Rare’s Contextual Recruitment System x Rare / Autism at Work Program x SAP / Sourcification x SAP

MOST EFFECTIVE EMPLOYER BRAND DEVELOPMENT

/ We Swear A Lot x Co-Operative Bank in partnership with SMRS / Bring Your Unique Blend x Costa in partnership with Pink Squid / Let’s Do The Extraordinary x House of Fraser in partnership with SMRS / SAP / VSO x VSO in partnership with Equilibrium Consulting and Collaboration Studio BEST IN-HOUSE RECRUITMENT TEAM

/ Carillion / Great Western Railway / SAP / Standard Life Group / Thales UK BEST RECRUITMENT AGENCY MARKETING TEAM

/ InterQuest Group / Morgan Hunt UK / Opus Professional Services Group / Stopgap BEST CANDIDATE CARE

/ Acre / Caritas Recruitment / Firefly Human Capital / First Point Group / Morson International / National Locums / Nicoll Curtin / Penta Consulting / Recruiter Republic / Sanctuary Personnel / Synergy Medical / Tangent International

In association with:

+44 (0) 20 7324 2771 rhianna.fitzgerald@redactive.co.uk