Business intelligence for recruitment and resourcing professionals
April 2018
INCORPORATING Recruitment Matters
www.recruiter.co.uk
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The CEO and chairman of Staffing 360 Solutions speaks about acquisitions, organic growth and intelligent integration
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C R ONT ENT S
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INCORPORATING Recruitment Matters
COV ER IMAG E | PAUL STUART
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FEATURES
18 THE BIG STORY
Capita system problems Navy resorts to manual workaround for DRS Spotlight shifts to PECR Current focus on GDPR may soon move to regulations on electronic marketing Take time out to recharge Recruitment managers urged to use mindfulness and meditation Recruiting talent Nationwide Building Society adds heavy-hitters to its resourcing team Start-up of the Month: Grafter Tom Cape from Grafter This was the month that was... Contracts & Deals
The deal maker Brendan Flood, driver of Staffing 360 Solutions’ expansion, on subsidiaries working together 24 A carrot not a stick A positive angle on the upcoming legislation on personal data protection
TRENDS
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12 Insight
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Established businesses turn to tech start-ups for recruiting inspiration Tech & Tools Targeting candidates: programmatic advertising and the GDPR
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E COMMUNITY 29 Social Network 30 The Workplace: 31 32 34 38
Guy Hayward Community Careers: Andrew Mountney Business Advice: Alex Arnot Employability: Jablite and HMP Ford My brilliant recruitment career: Sasza Bandiera Movers & Shakers Recruiter contacts The Last Word: Alan Furley, ISL Recruitment
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INTERACTION Viewpoint Minesh Jobanputra Soundbites
I M AG E S | I STO C K / G ETTY
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UPDATE
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hen I was just starting junior high school, I signed on to be in the school band. I played the clarinet – rather badly – but I wanted to play the drums. “No girl is going to
Royal Navy admits problems with Capita’s recruiting system BY COLIN COTTELL
play the drums in my band,” said
the band teacher, whom I will today name and shame as Mr David Hall. Times have moved on. But deciding a person’s future job or the musical instrument to be played based on any reason other than her or his capability or potential still happens and is simply wrong. March is filled with
“Just do the right thing: recruit the person who can best do the work, look to bring in different points of view and flavours”
days and weeks dedicated to promoting women, apprentices, employee appreciation and many other worthy causes. But my objection to these days of commemoration is that these causes
need attention every day and every week of every year. Once the fanfare has died down, the attention and focus die down too. At Recruiter, we get buried with well-intentioned research about gender pay, the lack of women on boards, and on and on and on – and I don’t believe that the bulk of this research will change anything or minds. Just do the right thing: recruit the person who can best do the work, look to bring in different points of view and flavours of gender, ethnicity, age, beliefs, neurodiversity and more on to boards and into the workplace. Doing this in your own environment is the only way to make a difference.
THE ROYAL NAVY has admitted to problems with its new Defence Recruiting System (DRS), the online recruitment system provided by outsourcing firm Capita. A Royal Navy spokesperson told Recruiter that “teething problems” with the new online system that was introduced in the middle of November resulted in some candidates not being able to successfully register. The Navy said it was forced to come up with a manual workaround, with priority applications – between 30% and 40% of the total – first in the queue. Priority applications included those for Royal Marines, weapon engineer officers, submarine sonar operators and chefs, as well as for roles that might need more urgent processing to allow them to meet dates for initial training courses – such as officers in the Royal Marines. Recruiter understands that the workaround involved recruiters having to manually re-contact applicants by email to re-register them. The Royal Navy expects about 3,200 new entrants this year. The spokesperson said the Navy expected to use DRS “to process every application soon”. The spokesperson added: “Anyone thinking of joining the Royal Navy or Royal Marines can be confident their application will be received and processed.” These problems are the latest to come to light since outsourcing firm Capita won the contract to manage recruitment for the UK’s armed forces in March 2012. In February, defence secretary Gavin Williamson described the state of British Army recruitment as “unacceptable” after it was revealed it took an average of 300 days to complete the lifecycle of processing an application to join the Army. A Capita spokesperson told Recruiter: “The DRS is being used by all services to actively support recruiting. We continue to look at ways we can improve this new system through further enhancements as it beds in, in response to feedback from recruiters and candidates.”
DeeDee Doke, Editor IM AGE | GET T Y
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UPDATE
36,925 FOLLOWERS AS OF 7 MARCH 2018
Never mind GDPR – what about PECR? BY SUE WEEKES
All the discussion regarding the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) may soon switch to the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR). Chris Bridges, solicitor speaking on behalf of law firm Irwin Mitchell, explains that the current EU directive that deals with direct electronic marketing was due to come into force at the same time – 25 May – as GDPR, but (at the time of writing) the PECR text has not yet been finalised so it is now unlikely to debut as planned. He adds, though, that a draft version suggested display advertising targeted at a specific individual
Take time out to recharge not take out on colleagues
may be treated in the same way as email marketing. As a result, it would be necessary to obtain opt-in consent (with one limited exception where opt-out is permissible). “If this was the case, anything highly targeted such as that which uses a tracking pixel to target an individual would be likely to be affected but we won’t know until it is finalised,” says Bridges. • For more on data practices with programmatic advertising, see Tech & Tools, p15.
Holistic health coach Tori Boughey
BY GRAHAM SIMONS
RECRUITMENT MANAGERS should use stress management techniques like mindfulness and meditation to stop themselves taking out their frustration on colleagues. Speaking at an event organised by hospitality staffing specialist Human One at its London offices, managing director and event host Amber Whalley told an audience that taking time out is also important. She revealed her agency has had issues with consultants being unable to switch off taking calls at midnight. But if a temp calls them and it’s not an emergency situation, the consultant doesn’t need to be taking a call at that time. “If you’re not on call, enjoy your weekend, don’t be checking; it’s about boundaries. Don’t be checking your emails all the time... It’s just going to have a negative impact all round because you’re going to come in the following morning stressed and tired, and that’s going to have a knockon [effect] and then you feel frustrated with yourself because you might not be filling as many candidate bookings, and then you feel under pressure.” 6 RECRUITER
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Also speaking at the event, holistic health coach Tori Boughey illustrated the dangers of outwardly projecting negativity through sharing the results of an experiment. After cutting an apple in half, she put one half in one jam jar and another in a separate jam jar. She then kept the two halves under entirely the same conditions but with one half she vented all of her frustration at it through anything bad she had to say with negative thoughts; while the other half received all of the nice things she had to say with positive thoughts. The result, Boughey revealed, was that after two weeks one half of the apple was completely mouldy, while the other half was fine. “It’s so interesting the power of the way we think and we speak. If that does that to an apple it’s going to affect a person as well... Every single thought is a piece of energy and the way we communicate that with others is so powerful. I think the way that you manage staff and employees is so important.”
Find more daily news stories at recruiter.co.uk/news
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THOUGHTS FROM…
UPDATE
KIRSTY MCHUGH C E O, ERSA , SPEAKING AT AN EVENT LAU NCHIN G LON D ON YO UTH RESEARCH REVEALING THERE ARE 480,0 0 0 ‘ H ID D EN ’ YO UNG PEOPLE IN THE UK , WHO ARE UNEMPLOY ED A N D N OT CLAIMING BENEFITS
Recruiting talent BY DEEDEE DOKE
New faces, old faces – Nationwide’s top resourcing team
“I think the government should be scandalised… that there are 480,000 youngsters that at the moment are not accessing any meaningful support unless they are lucky enough to get access to a talent match or a similar provision.”
JOHN AMAECHI OBE CEO, AMAECHI PERFORMANCE SYST EMS
“Unconscious bias is bullsh*t. It is the biggest ‘get of jail free’ card that exists right now. It relies on a couple of very tenuous tenets. The first is that unconscious bias is the problem because unconscious bias training only works if unconscious bias is the problem. The second is the idea that being made aware of your bias will make you want to change it.”
MARC WOODS FORMER PAR ALYMPIAN OLYMPIC GOLD MEDA L L IST
“You don’t judge people on the one thing that they can’t do. You judge them on the thousand things that they can do.”
THE LATEST STEP IN THE transformation of Nationwide Building Society’s resourcing function has been the addition of several heavy-hitting recruiters to the team. “We’re thrilled to welcome into our team some phenomenal new hires,” NBS’s director of resourcing, Katrina HutchinsonO’Neill, has told Recruiter. They include: Jon Hull, previously of Carillion, as head of resourcing for customer, change & technology; James Clark, previously of Argos, as head of resourcing strategy & specialist services; and 2017 Recruiter Awards winner Kesh Ladwa as head of resourcing for group functions. Also joining the resourcing team are Tom Portingale as head of employer brand – external relations, and Sarah Griffiths and Laura Thomas sharing the role of head of employer brand marketing. They all join Claire Whiteford, head of workforce supplier management, and Spencer Hurley, head of executive resourcing, on the team. “Our plans for the next two years are ambitious … and I’m excited to have the strongest team I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with to lead on that journey,” Hutchinson-O’Neill said. Part of the journey involves helping to change the perception of Asperger Syndrome from being considered a disability to a “welcomed and valuable difference”, as well as “starting the conversation” around recruiting neurodiverse workforces in the wider business community, Hutchinson-O’Neill went on to say. In February, Hutchinson-O’Neill and NBS ran an awarenessraising event with BBC presenter Chris Packham about creating Asperger’s-friendly work environments and the special skills people with the condition offer (see recruiter.co.uk, 14 February 2018).
STA RT-UP OF THE MONTH GRAFTER Tom Cape has launched Grafter, a self-service recruitment platform for short-term and seasonal workers. Cape came up with the idea for Grafter 18 months ago and then turned to ex-colleague Richard Knight to help get the business off the ground, with a mobile app launched across IOS and Android last summer followed by an online version just before Christmas. The aim is to build up a database of workers. Their database now boasts 10,000 registered users.
The platform, aimed at companies seeking project, shortterm or seasonal workers across an array of industries including construction, farming, landscaping, warehousing, leisure, events and light industry and self-employed workers, enables ‘Grafters’ to upload their profiles detailing who they are, where they are located and what they are able to do. The service is free for businesses to find and engage workers, while Grafter also offers a managed service including additional value-add services such as tracked
messaging contracting messaging, digital contracting, reminder emails and a cashless payment system. At payment, Grafter charges the business a usage fee of 5% plus VAT. “It’s been a bit of a journey
but it’s been full throttle since launching the online version in January,” Cape told Recruiter. “We’re trying to provide a very easy, valuable, low-cost service at the bottom end of the market.” Looking ahead, Cape says Grafter has larger organisations in its sights. “Coming soon this year, we’ll be building out the enterprise model, which is a much more robust model with multiple users and additional services … so we can support larger scale enterprises rather than just SMEs.” 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 5 F E B R U A RY 2 0 1 8
CV-SPECCING CAN LEAD TO BIG FINES FOR RECRUITERS UNDER GDPR
More: http://bit.ly/2CR0kc1
More: http://bit.ly/2Bvoc7W
T H U, 8 F E B R U A RY 2 0 1 8
WILKINSON STEPS DOWN AS CEO FROM GATTACA
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BLU GLOBAL FIRES CONSULTANT FOR DISCRIMINATING AGAINST BRITISH DRIVER A recruitment consultant has been fired after telling a candidate her agency’s positions exclude British candidates. The Salisbury Journal reports the candidate in question – Michael Fowler, who was applying for a role for a delivery lorry driver – was told via email by Blu Global recruitment consultant Plamena Ivanova: “Are you British, because our positions exclude British candidates?” Fowler told the paper the job ad stated drivers were required to live and work in the UK and must be a EU citizen, with a good level of English, adding he didn’t know what to say when rejected for the role. After being shown the email, Blu Global said it was “completely shocked”, and in a statement sent to the paper revealed the recruiter had terminated Ivanova as a result of her actions. “We can confirm that we continuously place candidates of European and British nationality within all of our past and present clients, as we advertise for, and recruit, candidates both in the UK and across mainland Europe. “Any deviation from this policy, by any member of staff or any independent person/organisation acting under or using the Blu Global brand, is not supported in any way by the company and we will fully investigate this allegation.”
I M AGE | A LA M Y / I STO CK / SHUT T ERSTOK
Brian Wilkinson has resigned as CEO at technical recruiter Gattaca. Wilkinson joined Gattaca, then operating under the Matchtech name, in December 2013 from recruitment giant Randstad. He was a board member at international staffing services company Vedior before its acquisition by Randstad a decade ago. He presided over Matchtech during a period in which it acquired Networkers International in 2015 and the merged group’s subsequent name change to Gattaca the following year. In a statement, Gattaca revealed Wilkinson is to retire from full-time executive roles but will be available to the company as he works out a notice period.
Recruiters have been urged to avoid engaging in “CV-speccing” or risk falling foul of current data protection rules and incoming General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Recruiter Mark Hopkins, director at Thomas Lee Recruitment, posted on LinkedIn in frustration about encountering rival recruiters speculatively sending out candidate’s CVs without their knowledge. Speaking to Recruiter, Hopkins explains he talks to candidates daily about roles. But in certain cases, he has found these candidates have already been submitted to the client by a rival recruiter without that candidate knowing. This happens firstly, where a client tells him they have received a candidate from another agency as an urgent update and that this candidate has entered the marketplace; but when Hopkins goes back to the candidate they tell him they have not authorised this. Secondly, the rival agency has openly told the candidate they cannot tell them the client’s name in what Hopkins dubs a “blind hope” submission – the candidate does not know if they have been submitted for the role or not. When he goes back to the client and asks if they have spoken to the agency about the candidate, the client tells him they have rejected that candidate – but the candidate isn’t aware they have been rejected, let alone applied for the role. Employment lawyers warn recruiters engaging in such activities that they risk breaching current and future data protection laws, with companies risking fines running into millions of pounds.
More: http://bit.ly/2HXz4Mv
Find more daily news stories at recruiter.co.uk/news
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TUE, 6 MARCH 2018
MCDONOGH APPOINTED CEO AT MORGAN MCKINLEY Aldagh McDonogh has taken over the reins as CEO at Morgan McKinley. The multinational professional services recruiter revealed McDonagh (right), who joined the agency as transformation director in 2010, succeeds current group CEO and founder Pat Fitzgerald (centre), who takes the role of executive chairman and steps back from his direct operational position. Meanwhile, Shane Doherty (left) becomes chief financial officer. More: http://bit.ly/2HdfH0X
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PROLIFIC HOUSEBURGLAR RECRUITER JAILED A recruiter-turned-burglar has been jailed for five years after falling on hard times following his agency going bust. The Mirror reports David Adams, who according to his LinkedIn profile is a director of sports recruitment agency Beached, was found to have burgled 130 homes. Bournemouth Crown Court heard Adams turned to crime after his agency went bust. Companies House lists the business as active but its accounts are overdue. The court heard Adams had previously served three years in prison for burglary and was released from prison in early 2016. In May that year, his recruitment firm Beached was incorporated, according to Companies House. The court heard Adams had turned to gambling to make money but his life spiralled out of control, following the failure of his business. Adams was sentenced to five years and four months in prison, while a Proceeds of Crime Act hearing will be held in the future, the paper added. More: http:// bit.ly/2Has25U
MON, 5 MARCH 2018
BEWARE OF ‘GENDER CODED’ LANGUAGE IN JOB ADS, RECRUITERS ARE WARNED Recruiters using ‘gender coded’ language in job adverts run the risk of being brought to tribunal. That’s the warning from lawyers commenting on analysis of 77,000 jobs posted to UK recruitment websites over a six-week period by online jobs board totaljobs that showed 87% of the jobs posted contained ‘gender-coded’ language, defined as terms likely to skew the likely applicants for the role based on their gender. The study, which applied linguistic analysis from The University of Waterloo and Duke University, identified a series of masculine and feminine words that unconsciously serve to uphold gender stereotypes in both recruitment and employment.
MON, 5 MARCH 2018
BRANSON SEEKS ADMIN ASSISTANT ON NECKER ISLAND Fancy swapping the UK for a role on the idyllic Necker Island in the Caribbean? That’s because Virgin’s head honcho Richard Branson is recruiting for an admin assistant to relocate to his private island. According to Branson’s LinkedIn ad, interested applicants should send their CV alongside a video detailing why they should get the job and an interesting fact about themselves. Form an orderly queue… More: http://bit.ly/2I6uOuh
More: http://bit.ly/2FvxZ08
Necker I sland
IM AGES | SHUT T ERSTOCK / REX / ISTOCK
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CONTRACTS
CONTRACTS & DEALS
Adecco Recruitment giant Adecco has acquired online recruitment platform Vettery. Following the deal, Adecco revealed Vettery will accelerate its expansion, including into international markets, leveraging the wider group’s domain knowledge, data and client relationships. Vettery cofounders Brett Adcock and Adam Goldstein will continue to lead the business within the Adecco Group, reporting to John Marshall, regional head of North America, UK & Ireland – Professional Staffing. Terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.
Crown World Mobility Global mobility specialist Crown World Mobility has acquired UK cloud-based technology company TIME Relocation. Grant Chapman, former director for TIME Relocation, will join Crown World Mobility to lead the global service rollout and oversee future development.
Templine Employment Agency Multi-sector recruiter Templine Employment Agency has acquired North Wales-based Nation Recruit for an undisclosed sum. Nation Recruit was advised by Brian McCann, partner, and James Curtis, corporate finance executive, of North West-based MC Vanguard. Aaron & Partners was Nation Recruit’s legal adviser and St Asaph-based Harold Smith was its accountant. Templine was advised by law firm DWF and Dains Accountants on financial and tax due diligence.
The Curve Group TSB’s new commercial banking arm has awarded The Curve Group a project outsource contract. The resource process outsourcing (RPO) firm is already helping the bank recruit 15 new relationship managers, who will support small businesses across the UK.
Uniting Ambition Venture capital business Tempting Ventures has taken a “significant stake” in specialist RPO, recruitment and talent management services provider Uniting Ambition. Uniting Ambition now plans to grow headcount by 30% over the next 12 months, net fee income by 20% and earnings before interest & taxes (EBIT) by almost 50%, as well as continue to invest in its technology platform to further improve its client offering.
Bullhorn Asia-Pac executive search and human capital consulting firm Viventis Search Asia has adopted cloud computing company Bullhorn’s software to support its growing CRM needs, as well as the development and delivery of its portfolio of products and services throughout the region. The firm will roll out the system initially in the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore with plans to extend further into North Asia in the near future.
DEAL OF T HE MONT H
Alexander Mann Solutions Talent acquisition and management solutions provider Alexander Mann Solutions has been chosen by Nationwide Building Society to deliver an end-to-end talent acquisition solution
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for its contingent workforce programme. The six-year partnership will see AMS deliver a seamless integrated workforce strategy encompassing flexible,
contract and temporary workers. The contract includes strategies for embracing flexible working and diversity aimed at creating an engaging candidate
experience for flexible, contract and temporary workers; using VMS technology to streamline and improve the candidate experience; and enabling informed business decision making.
More contract news at recruiter.co.uk/news
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TRE NDS
INSIGHT
HIRING FOR FIT – TURN TO THE START-UPS Some well-established businesses are turning to an unlikely source of recruiting inspiration: technology start-ups BY JAMES OSGATHORPE
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o combat the technology industry’s chronic lack of candidates with STEM [science, technology, engineering and maths] skills, forward-looking tech start-ups have had to rely much more so on hiring for cultural fit and aptitude versus an exact match of skills and experience. They are solving their industry’s skills shortage by hiring those who share their core values and have a willingness to learn, and are successfully training these new recruits once onboard. While ramp-up time is certainly needed, these companies are finding that the benefits outweigh this setback. They can grow the skilled labour they need and experience a higher degree of staff engagement and retention from this organic growth strategy.
When it makes sense A demonstrated talent shortage presents an obvious need to re-think your recruiting strategies. Hiring with a stronger focus on culture fit will certainly help expand your talent pool. But there are specific scenarios where ‘hiring for fit’ can provide a true advantage. If retention is an issue, prioritising candidates that share your company’s
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values will improve resilience and cultural buy-in. A by-product of this will be less business disruption caused by employee turnover and of course the cost savings that come from avoiding operational talent loss. Another example is in hiring for customer-facing roles, where a consistent brand experience is important. Companies can drive this by hiring employees who share certain personality traits or skills, such as problem solving. Lastly, for companies who wish to drive some level of uniformity in the way employees are managed, assessing upper-level candidates carefully for a consistent leadership approach will accomplish this goal.
Different approach needed However, hiring for cultural fit does require a different approach than traditional recruiting. When ‘hiring for fit’, the job description can’t serve as the typical checklist of what a candidate must be able to do. The employer must use the job posting to paint an accurate and compelling picture of what the
company and role is like, and also outline what types of attributes (vs skills) are desired in a successful person. The screening process must also evolve. When evaluating interested candidates, recruiters must shift their focus from checking the box on particular skills and experience to assessing aptitude and behavioural competencies. Essentially, they’re
“However, hiring for cultural fit does require a different approach than traditional recruiting” IM AGE | ISTOCK
07/03/2018 17:59
T R E N DS
INSIGHT
What it takes to be successful To adopt a new hiring approach, companies must be able to support it appropriately. To hire for fit vs skills, there are a few business requirements that are critical to its success. First and foremost, recruiters must be extremely well-versed in the employer value proposition. While those on-site have the advantage,
POWER POINTS
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Recruiters must understand their organisation’s employee value proposition
3
All candidate-facing employees must be provided with a framework for interviewing, since hiring for fit requires a different line of questioning then most hiring managers are experienced in using
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A new approach needs buy-in from all levels of stakeholders
Each person involved in hiring and onboarding new employees needs to demonstrate a shared understanding and style of communicating the company’s values
A well-developed training programme will be needed when an organisation decides to hire for fit instead of for existing skills and knowledge to enable high-potential, culturally aligned employees to fully contribute
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looking for potential, not proven expertise. To do this, they’re taking advantage of new recruiting technologies such as video interviewing, as well as personality testing.
all recruiters need to understand exactly how each candidate will influence the company culture and benefit from it as well. Each person involved in the hiring and onboarding process needs to demonstrate a shared understanding of the company values, both in terms of how they describe them as well as how they carry them out personally. Because hiring for fit requires a different line of questioning than most hiring managers are experienced using, recruiters need to provide all candidate-facing employees with a framework for interviewing. As with any major process change, this new hiring approach needs stakeholder buy-in. This includes everyone from top leadership executives to other functional business heads, down to individual hiring managers. Last, but quite possibly the most important requirement, is a welldeveloped training programme. The trade-off for hiring high-potential, culturally aligned employees is that they must first undergo training before they can become contributors. Companies must think through this carefully to maximise the value to be gained from hiring for fit. Forward-looking companies are thinking outside the box when it comes to recruiting in today’s unpredictable business environment. To successfully adopt a new approach, it’s critical to understand how it can support your specific hiring challenges and whether it will be championed internally by your colleagues. • For more on hiring for culture fit, see Community Careers on p31.
JAMES OSGATHORPE is senior manager, Talent Services, Sevenstep
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T R E N DS
TECH & TOOLS
Targeting candidates Programmatic advertising and the GDPR SUE WEEKES
With traditional recruitment advertising, an agency and/or employer would know in which channels their job ads were appearing and, in most cases, make a point of seeing them. The always-on, 24/7 online world makes this much more difficult. Programmatic advertising (PA) (see Recruiter, October 2017), which serves up ads and information to candidates in real-time, adds another layer of complexity. Up until now, recruiters have got away without thinking too much about how programmatic works but the upcoming General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), as well as concerns about adverts appearing in close proximity to inappropriate online content, means they have to be more aware of the effect it may have on the individual.
POTENTIAL ANNOYANCE FACTOR PA is one of the most targeted forms of advertising. Its biggest strength can also be a source of annoyance. “Candidates like being engaged in real-time with contextually relevant content but can also get frustrated if they feel they are being followed online, which is why you start to see ad blockers,” says Niall Moody of online advertising specialist, Nano Interactive. The company launched Nano INSIST (Instant search-intent targeting) at the end of last year that claims to allow recruiters to target jobseekers with transparency “at the moment that counts”. It wants to work with all sectors, including recruitment, to put in place more good practice around PA.
I M AG E | G E T T Y
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WHERE ARE THE ADS APPEARING? Major firms have voiced concerns about their brands appearing next to inappropriate material. Unfortunately, machines and a set of algorithms decide where ads are placed – not people. Earlier this year, Unilever chief marketing and communications officer Keith Weed described the digital supply chain as “at times being little better than a swamp” in terms of its transparency and called on the industry to collectively build trust back in systems and society. Recruiters need to ensure there is transparency in their own digital supply chains.
WHAT IMPACT WILL GDPR HAVE? Chris Bridges, solicitor for and on behalf of
Irwin Mitchell, says GDPR itself will not change anything but it will introduce a new restriction on what is called ‘solely automated decisionmaking’, which has a legal or a similarly significant effect. The guidance surrounding this suggests that the advertising would only be affected by the new restriction if it is significantly intrusive. “For instance, if you know someone has a vulnerability or the way you are targeting them goes beyond what would be expected of advertising,” says Bridges. “It doesn’t mean you can’t do it but you would need consent.” In general, delivering a job ad or employer information shouldn’t fall into this category but recruiters need to be aware of this area of the law.
WHAT IS LEGITIMATE INTEREST? If recruiters don’t need consent to target candidates, they are probably attempting to rely on something called ‘legitimate interest’. While GDPR has not changed the rules around this, it has changed the risks of not complying with it. Bridges explains: “So a recruiter must consider three things: whether they, as a business, have a legitimate interest in doing something; whether the proposed activity is necessary to achieve that interest; and thirdly, they must consider the impact on the individual. If the impact is disproportionate to the business interest, you can’t rely on legitimate interests.” Once again, recruitment PA should comply with this unless it is extremely
intrusive, but Bridges emphasises recruiters must ensure good practice is in place in the supply chain. “In general, GDPR should encourage recruiters to have safeguards in place because ultimately the buck stops with them.”
TAKE AN INTEREST AND RESPONSIBILITY While recruiters aren’t expected to know everything about the legal and technical side of PA, Moody encourages them to be more quizzical. “Recruiters should ask about the data being used and what steps are being taken to ensure ads are being shown against safe and relevant content. They need to identify between a true partner and one who will just deliver the campaign and take the money.”
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VIEWPOINT
Quality not quantity Putting relationships back into recruitment BY MINESH JOBANPUTRA
efore smartphones and laptops, the most important item in a recruiter’s arsenal was their little black book. These small but powerful lists of names were the result of hard work and hours spent networking with clients and candidates to build meaningful relationships. However, the rise of technology and increased competition has caused many agencies to overlook this personal approach in favour of focusing on the size of their database rather than the quality of their contacts. Many recruitment agencies are using Big Data and the convenience of social media to tap into larger networks of candidates, which is making it easier than ever to import thousands of profiles into their CRM [customer relationship management system] in an instant. In a market where clients are all competing to attract the best candidates into their business, and consultants are being pressured by management to deliver numbers, it’s easy to understand the mentality behind grabbing a CV off the system and sending it out the door. This transactional method of recruitment can provide results in the short term, but it’s often unsustainable. It’s impossible for a consultant to truly understand what their candidate or client wants when they’ve not spent any real time with them. That’s not to say that there isn’t a place for transactional recruitment. But if you really want people to place their
B
“It’s better to focus on the qualitative measure”
MINESH JOBANPUTRA is managing director of Deltra Group
trust in you to help build their career, you need to take a more personal approach. We’re spending increasingly more time at work, so it makes sense for recruiters to match a candidate with a company they’re likely to enjoy working for. It’s imperative for recruiters to take the time to understand a candidate’s EQ [Emotional Quotient] and personality alongside their skills and experience to make sure they’re the right fit for a company. Using a more personal approach means that recruiters can have honest and open conversations, with both their clients and candidates, to make sure they’re bringing the right people together. Instead of rushing to get any old CV out of the door, it’s better to focus on the qualitative measure. You might send out fewer CVs but you get far better results, which will undoubtedly set you apart from the competition. At Deltra Group, building a genuine and meaningful relationship with candidates and clients is a priority. We expect each of our consultants to be able to pick up the phone to any of their contacts and have a conversation that is entirely non-recruitment related. We want to make sure the people we introduce to our clients have a proven ability to make an impact and the only way we can do this is by getting to know them on a personal level. We’ll meet every candidate face-to-face or on Skype before putting them forward for a role, and we regularly host events for our contacts to network and build stronger relationships with our consultants. To us, that’s simply part of the job. We’re putting relationships back into recruitment.
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I N T E R AC T I O N
SOUNDBITES
L ET T ER S / W EB CHAT
SPOTLIGHT ON CV-SPECCING In response to your article ‘CV-speccing can lead to big fines for recruiters under GDPR’ (recruiter. co.uk, 15 February), my compliments to Mark Hopkins [director at Thomas Lee Recruitment, who posted on LinkedIn about rival recruiters speculatively sending out candidate’s CVs without their knowledge] for raising this issue. In my view such practices are both unprofessional and unacceptable. It is clearly a widespread problem that has been going on for years. It puts candidates in a potentially invidious position with employers and at risk of damaging their current and future career prospects. Whilst the ICO and forthcoming GDPR legislation will hopefully go some way to stopping these practices, policing of such businesses who persist in breaking the rules will remain a problem. I wonder if this is one for the Employment Agencies Standards Inspectorate? However, government agencies seem to be hamstrung for people and resources in the current climate, which together with the complications of new legislation and Brexit, will allow this and so many other bad practices to continue. The casualties are in the main the candidates, but also those of us who try our best to be professional and to act with integrity and in turn lose out on such business opportunities. It is only by raising such issues in ‘open forum’ that the industry can support those trying to stamp out illegal and bad practices. CHRISTOPHER FRY
About time that this activity leads to fines as it gives the recruitment industry a bad image both with candidates and clients. For companies that are concerned about this issue, then please get in touch (careerzlimited@gmail.com) as I have written an Agency Code of Conduct that covers this area, which I am free to share. The idea is that any agency who wishes to work with you must agree to the conditions before submitting any CVs. I assure you that a little effort up front helps prevent any issues down the line. JOHN ADAMS
I would be interested to see your Code of Conduct as we are keen to ensure that we comply with all requirements under GDPR. Agree this activity should be prevented. We work in senior executive recruitment and it is amazing how some companies share confidential information even at senior level without the candidate being aware. D I A N E S O U T H W I C K , M D, D S A E X E C U T I V E
What do you do when you encounter a brilliant candidate that for whatever reason you cannot place? PAUL BOOTH BUS I N ES S D EV ELOP MEN T MA N AG ER , F UL L P I C T U R E R E C RU I T M E N T
“The word ‘brilliant’ is subjective. What’s perfect for one is unsuitable for another. As recruiters, the first thing we do is identify a candidate’s skills and experiences and try to match them to the roles we’re hiring for. If we think a candidate is brilliant but don’t have the right job for them at that moment, we strive to get them the right role. Working together, we will take their credentials and find them the perfect match. Recruitment is as much about finding companies the right people, as it is about finding people the right companies.”
CHRIS PEACE MA N AG I N G D I REC TOR , P EACE RECRUI T MEN T
“At Peace Recruitment, we set realistic expectations for our candidates and if we couldn’t deliver we revert back to our company values, one of which is to work with integrity at all times. If we could not achieve the desired result we would refer the candidate to our competitors and advise them of PSLs that they were maybe on that we were not. Having said all that, given the current skills shortages in our sector, if a ‘brilliant’ candidate walked through our door we would be confident of placing them without too many problems.”
MATT GR ADY MA N AG I N G CON S ULTA N T, V EN T URE RECRUI T M E N T
“Whatever you do, keep in touch with this person. With the right amount of care, contact, value adding activities and feedback, you will see value come back to you way in excess of any one placement fee. This candidate will remember you long after this search is over and they will become a walking ambassador and referral machine! Offer to help improve their interviewing skills, sharpen their LinkedIn profile, invite them to industry events to help them network. Be genuine, supportive and help connect them with opportunities at every opportunity. Go the extra mile, not many people are on it!” WWW.RECRUITER.CO.UK 17
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TH E B IG STO RY BRENDAN FLOOD
PHOTOGRAPHY: PAUL STUART
THE DEAL MAKER The CEO and chairman of Staffing 360 Solutions Brendan Flood has been the driving force behind the group’s growing portfolio of subsidiaries, but making them work together is just as important. Colin Cottell went to meet him or a man who negotiated 24 deals in 24 months earlier in his career, the end of 2017 and the start of 2018 have been relatively sedate for Brendan Flood, CEO and chairman of Staffing 360 Solutions. It’s been nearly six months since the Nasdaqlisted recruiter, which operates solely in the UK and the US, announced its latest acquisitions to the market. In a press release in September, the company said the acquisition of technical recruiter CBSbutler in the UK and FirstPro Georgia – an IT, finance and accountancy recruiter in the US – was expected to boost revenue by nearly 50% and to double earnings. The genial and loquacious Irishman laughs heartily at the suggestion that he is itching to do another mergers & acquisitions deal to add to the “40-50” he has notched up during his career. And that’s not including the “15-20” staffing businesses he has sold. “As you can imagine with the fun of doing a deal with a company the size of CBSbutler, you want to have a bit of a breather after it. It was certainly a transformative event
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for us because it is about twice the size of our existing UK business,” says Flood. Flood may be doing himself a disservice. For deal-making aside, it is fair to say he has been far from idle. Indeed, this relative lull in the pace of deal-making may turn out to be nothing more than a brief interlude as the group that operates on either side of The Pond looks to double its annualised revenue to $500m (£359m) in the next 24 months. “There will be acquisitions made during this calendar year,” he promises, “though when, where and who we aren’t ready to say.” Flood admits that he is currently “talking to a number of acquisition targets”, though none have yet reached the letter of intent stage. In addition, Flood says he is pushing potentially far reaching internal changes aimed at improving the performance of the group’s existing subsidiary companies in an effort to drive organic growth. Even when the $500m target is achieved, Flood indicates there will be no let-up. “We will simply increase the target,” he says, although he suggests there will be less focus on acquisitions and more on organic growth.
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Philosophy of recruitment “A lot of it is doing what you say you are going to do. Being fair and truthful”
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TH E B IG STO RY BRENDAN FLOOD
Future M&As In the probable event of future acquisitions, it is highly likely they will follow the blueprint of September’s acquisition of CBSbutler. Flood explains the deal followed an approach by CBSbutler’s chairman David Leyshon and finance director David Kennedy last year “about having a conversation about bringing our two organisations together”. “I was very much aware of CBSbutler, so it soon became apparent that it ticked a significant number of boxes in meeting our requirements in acquiring any organisation.” Not only was it culturally a good fit – “it’s a very well-run organisation, and they are a happy crew”, says Flood – but also because it fitted in with Staffing 360 Solutions’ “strategic pillars”. Flood explains: “All our businesses are driven around the talent set of the candidate rather than the industry, so CBSbutler ticked an enormous box for engineering and related skills in the UK.” In addition, it doubled the size of the company’s IT offering in the UK. “I do enjoy deal-making,” Flood admits, although he explains, “the amount of fun and frustration during the negotiation process is probably in equal measure”. “What I like and prefer,” he continues, “is the ability to grow something and to see something go from a standing start to something fairly big.”
Track record Flood has certainly achieved that during his career, particularly the frenzy of 24 deals in 24 months between 1999 and 2001 that saw TMP Worldwide’s European revenues lift off from $30m to $450m. In 2003, as CFO for North America he went on to lead Hudson’s IPO [initial public offering] on Nasdaq. After joining Faro Recruitment, Flood was tasked with selling off the worldwide staffing interests of the group’s owner. After buying the commercial and light industrial recruiter Monroe Staffing Services
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T H E BIG STORY B R E N DA N F LO O D
Secret of my success “I have been very lucky in my career to have worked with some very good people” business in the US, as part of a management buyout from Faro Recruitment, Flood renamed the holding company Initio International. In January 2014, Initio International, which by then included UK finance, accountancy and legal recruiter Longbridge Recruitment, was acquired by Staffing 360 Solutions in what Flood says “effectively became a reverse takeover because the management and board of Initio International became the management and board of Staffing 360 Solutions”. While M&A is at the core of Flood’s way of doing business, it is only half of the group’s ‘buy and build’ strategy. In November the group’s largest subsidiary, Monroe Staffing Services, opened a new office in Fort Mill, South Carolina. Business is already brisk, and a flood of contract wins should result in it becoming a $5m-$10m operation by the end of February, says Flood. The plan is to take advantage of the opportunities in the light industrial market along the Interstate 85 corridor that extends as far as Atlanta, Georgia, where one of the latest subsidiaries, FirstPro Georgia, is based. Around 750 potential clients have been targeted. While Flood is careful not to comment on whether there is a ‘Trump effect’ in the US, declaring himself “not qualified to say”, he says recent tax changes [to corporation tax] “will allow us to save more money and to hire more people”. Despite his long history of doing deals, Flood baulks at the suggestion
that he is a wheeler-dealer. “We don’t do deals for the sake of doing deals, but with the defined purpose of meeting the strategic aims of the company,” he explains. “You have to have a walk-away point,” he continues, “and you never get deal fever. It’s never ‘I must do this deal’.” During his four years at Staffing 360 Solutions, Flood says he has walked away from “probably five or six times more deals, and we closed eight”. Flood says he looks for companies that enjoy client loyalty. “Probably 16 of the top 20 clients in Monroe Staffing Services have remained in its top 20 for four or five years, so it’s all about relationships. If the client list changes year in, year out, they are selling on price, and if you sell on price there will always be someone who can sell cheaper than you.”
Retain the heritage Just as he rejects the idea of doing deals for their own sake, Flood sees little value in making sweeping changes to the acquired company. “We set out with the intention that whatever it is that made those acquisition targets great, we keep it,” he continues. Invariably, this will include keeping the name. Floods reckons changing the name “runs the risk of three levels of disenfranchisement”: staff, clients and candidates. The exception to keeping the name was Poolia, which was bought in 2013.
STAFFING 360 SOLUTIONS
▶ UK companies: CBSbutler, Longbridge Recruitment, JM Group ▶ US companies: Monroe Staffing Services, FirstPro Georgia, PeopleSERVE, Lighthouse Placement Services, Control Solutions International ▶ Revenue: 9 months to 30 September 2017 $133m ▶ Revenue: Calendar year 2016 $165m ▶ Adjusted EBITDA $5m
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TH E B IG STO RY BRENDAN FLOOD
Its name was changed to Longbridge Recruitment, but only because the Swedish public company gave the use of their name for just one year. Flood says the aim “is to retain the heritage of whatever we buy”. In the case of Monroe Staffing Services, the group’s largest subsidiary, Monroe has been operating in the Connecticut market since the late 1960s and in the Massachusetts market since the mid-1970s. However, that is not to say that business carries on strictly as it did before the acquisition. Where the offices of a newly-acquired company is in close proximity to an existing company office, it makes sense to share offices, he says.
Intelligent integration A key plank of the group’s drive for organic growth is to improve the performance of the group’s subsidiary companies. Even as he is speaking to Recruiter from his spacious office in the City of London, its walls adorned 22 RECRUITER
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CV: BRENDAN FLOOD
▶ Dec 2017 to date: Chairman and CEO, Staffing 360 Solutions ▶ 2014-Dec 2017 Executive chairman, Staffing 360 Solutions ▶ 2010-13: CEO, Longbridge Recruitment (acquired by Staffing 360 Solutions Jan 2014) ▶ 2010-13: Chairman and CEO, Initio International (acquired by Staffing 360 Solutions Jan 2014) ▶ 2009-13: Chairman, Monroe Staffing Services (acquired by Staffing 360 Solutions Jan 2014) ▶ 2008-10: Various finance roles, then global CFO and CEO, Faro Recruitment (forerunner to the MBO of Initio/Longbridge/Monroe Staffing) ▶ 2006-07: Global CFO, K2 Partnering Solutions ▶ 2003-06: SVP finance, Hudson Highland Group (spin-off from TMP Worldwide) ▶ 2001-03: CFO, the Americas, TMP Worldwide ▶ 1999-2001: CFO, executive search division Europe, TMP ▶ 1996-99: Various finance roles, Dow Jones Telerate and Bridge Information Systems ▶ 1993-96: Finance director, Spillers Petfoods
with photos and mementoes, he says a meeting is underway in the building between executives from Longbridge Recruitment and its UK IT subsidiary JM Group and CBSbutler with that very aim in mind. Called ‘intelligent integration’, Flood says the objective is to improve the way group’s constituent companies work together, particularly by sharing clients and, indeed, offices. Flood says this follows similar meetings in Atlanta, with another due to take place within weeks. “It’s little steps over time, so that businesses build trust with each other,” says Flood. With all of the company’s 14 US offices operating as a single brand, “this is a wonderful opportunity to grow organically by spreading our brands into different states”, Flood enthuses. Flood says the acquisition of CBSbutler presents a great opportunity to win business in the burgeoning aerospace and defence market in the Carolinas. Monroe Staffing Services and Lighthouse Placement Services can manage the compliance, he explains, while tapping into CBSbutler’s candidate database of skilled contractors and permanent staff. Flood doesn’t completely rule out further geographical expansion beyond the eight US states the group currently operates in – say, out to the West Coast. However, he indicates that given the size of acquisition needed “to make it worthwhile” (which he reckons at $75m-$100m), more likely are further smaller deals of between $25m-$50m along the Eastern Seaboard where “a lot of our offices are within a couple of hours of each other”. He all but rules out entering new markets outside the US and the UK on the grounds that culturally and from an industry perspective, the UK and the US are very similar, and they both have liberal labour laws. In the 1970s, long before Flood cut his teeth in recruitment, there was a famous advertising slogan for industrial conglomerate Hanson Trust that said “a company from over here that’s also doing rather well over there”. Decades later, Staffing 360 Solutions might be able to achieve the same – in geographical reverse – under Flood’s leadership.
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RE G ULATIO NS
The upcoming legislation on personal data protection needn’t be the scary monster many fear it to be. Colin Cottell uncovers the positive angle for recruiters
A CARROT NOT A STICK THE GENERAL DATA PROTECTION REGULATION (GDPR) is one of the most talked about and feared pieces of legislation to hit the recruitment industry in recent years. It’s not only the fines of up to 4% of global turnover that have caused recruitment owners sleepless nights, it’s what many see as the complexity, the red tape and the use of valuable management time. Then there is the cost both of preparing for the regulation and the ongoing financial commitment to maintain compliance. Yet amid all the negativity, some in the industry see the GDPR not as a burden, or just another piece of compliance, but as
an opportunity to change the industry for the better. In their view, this often – at best – grudgingly accepted piece of legislation can improve the key relationships between recruiters and candidates, drive a wedge between good and bad practice, and provide firms with a valuable source of competitive advantage.
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INDUSTRY CHALLENGE The challenge to the industry from the GDPR was brought into sharp focus by Ian Grey, an information and cyber security consultant from East London, who took to LinkedIn in January to complain about
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R E G U LAT I O N S
took any notice of what people wanted we would never be able to contact anybody.” Although some kickback followed from recruiters arguing that by putting his profile on LinkedIn, Grey is fair game, other recruiters have taken to LinkedIn to attack other industry practices that lawyers say will be outlawed.
CV SPECCING
an email he received from a recruiter, who claimed to have his CV on its database. Grey wrote: “You don’t have my CV on your network. You viewed my profile on LinkedIn, why not say that? Come on recruiters, be honest and you will get respected for what you do.” Grey tells Recruiter that he checked on LinkedIn and found that the recruiter, whom he refuses to name, looked at his profile four hours earlier. Many experts say that under the GDPR, holding a candidate’s personal details in this way without their consent would be outlawed. In a precursor of what many foresee as the future when the GDPR becomes law in May, Grey says he plans to send the recruitment company concerned a SAR (Subject Access Request) to find out what information they hold about him on their systems. He also discloses that he is considering making further SAR requests to a number of other companies, although he refuses to say how many of them are recruiters. Grey says this is not the first time he has been contacted in this way by recruiters. “I must have been contacted at least once a month for up to a year,” he says, explaining that this is despite declaring on his LinkedIn profile that he is not open to job offers. He adds that he has had discussions with recruiters who have told him: “If we
One of these is Mark Hopkins, director of Birmingham engineering recruiter Thomas Lee Recruitment. He highlights the practice of CV ‘speccing’, where agencies “ping a CV across to an employer but they haven’t informed the candidate where they are sending it and haven’t received the candidate’s consent before doing so”. During his career of more than 10 years in recruitment, Hopkins says: “I have seen it being used by a huge amount of people.” Tara Lescott, managing director of rec-torec firm Recruiter Republic, agrees this is a problem in the industry. She argues that not only will the GDPR outlaw this practice, but by changing the way recruiters collect, handle and share data, the relationship between recruiters and candidates could be improved. Rather than “the cloak and dagger approach” that many recruiters adopt now, where agencies won’t even tell a candidate who the client is, Lescott says the GDPR will force recruiters “to work with them in a more transparent way from the start”. Candidates will trust agencies more, this will engender their loyalty and this in turn will lead more of them to agree to work with agencies on an exclusive basis, she argues. “If you show the candidate exactly who your clients are, and they give you their approval about whether you can talk to them on their behalf, the candidate is more likely to give you that exclusivity,” she explains. Embracing the legislation in this way “is a brilliant way for recruiters to show how good they are and to separate themselves from the rest”, she continues, and this in turn will lead to these recruiters gaining marketshare. “GDPR is a process and something that you have to do, but it is also something that will help you win more candidates and that makes your money,” Lescott says. WWW.RECRUITER.CO.UK 25
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BEHAVIOUR CHANGE Helen Haddon, a former recruiter and founding director of consultancy ComplyGDPR, says a lot of clients “are seeing the GDPR as an opportunity to clean up some of the practices in the industry – for example, where recruiters are mailing candidates’ details without their consent – it should technically stop this. A lot of people see it as a positive thing”. According to Haddon, GDPR is a great opportunity “to re-engage with candidates and to get more quality connections with their candidate base”. The forthcoming legislation is already changing behaviour, she adds. “A lot of clients have reduced their databases by two-thirds, and some have pretty much scratched everything because the liability they are holding [inaccurate, out-of-date data, without the proper consent] is just too great.” But she predicts that other changes will follow, particularly by embedding good data privacy and data security management practice. “Lots of clients who started off ‘GDPR, what a nightmare’ start to go through the process and realise actually, this is really good business practice,” she says. Ultimately, she predicts this will prove beneficial to recruiters, “because as you spend less time on things that go wrong, you earn more money. We are seeing that very strongly with clients”. “At the end of the day, people don’t want to deal with people who aren’t taking care of their data,” says Haddon, who points to candidates’ growing awareness of their rights under the legislation. There are already signs that candidates “are becoming a lot more savvy about what happens to their data, telling recruiters ‘you can only use my data for this one specific role, not for x, y and z’ ”, she says. Although Haddon says this is “a bit premature” given the regulations don’t become law until 25 May, she warns this is an indication of where things may be heading post-GDPR. Haddon says there is also anecdotal evidence online that candidates are already discussing which agencies they have lined up for a SAR, giving them the right to 26 RECRUITER
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know, for example, the names of those organisations with whom their personal data has been shared.
RECRUITERS UNPREPARED While some recruiters are ready to embrace the commercial opportunities brought by the GDPR, Lisa Jones, founder of recruitment technology and social media consultancy Barclay Jones, says unfortunately, most recruiters are not yet at that stage. “GDPR has become a compliance piece rather than a business piece,” she says. Jones advises recruiters to clean up their data, and to work instead to attract candidates by generating and promoting interesting content. “What should come out,” she continues, “is an engaged community, a proper talent pool so you can say to clients, ‘not only do we have a list of people on our system, but 78% open up an email when we send it to them, and 88% know who we are when we call them’, and therefore we’ve got an edge on all those other agencies that clients might want to use. “Recruiters need to apply the GDPR from a commercial perspective rather than just a legal one,” adds Jones. Simon Hunt, senior partner at HR recruiter Oakleaf Partnership, says his agency never sends candidate details to clients without getting their permission first. “We sit in the HR market and from an HR perspective building trust is absolutely key in terms of longevity of relationship.” Hunt says he has seen firms enter the HR market “that don’t work with the level of integrity that GDPR will drive, and they have struggled because ultimately people won’t work with those individual consultants”. He continues: “It will certainly mean most recruiters probably have to operate with more integrity, and should mean they are more thorough.” Hunt says clients are already beginning to drive behaviour, by asking his agency to confirm “we are
compliant from a GDPR perspective”. He believes the greatest potential for change is in the high-volume market, “where big high-volume firms just want to get CVs out through the door”. “There is no way they could have spoken to all those people to get their permission every week to send their CVs out – that is where you would hope it [GDPR] has an impact. Customers – both candidate and clients – should get a better service,” Hunt says. “That age-old perception that recruiters are like dodgy estate agents may be banished – you never know. That would be a change for the industry, wouldn’t it?”
POWER POINTS Accentuating the positive about the GDPR • Be as transparent as possible with candidates about how you collect, store, handle and share their personal data • Use this as a way of building deeper relationships with candidates built on trust • Leverage those relationships to gain a competitive advantage in the market and to enhance your reputation with clients
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Issue 60 April 2018
RECRUITMENT MATTERS The View and The Intelligence The final five
p2-3
Kevin Green The exit interview
p4
Legal Update Consultation season
Events and training p6
REC TEAMS UP WITH YOUTH EMPLOYMENT CHARITY OPERA The REC has announced a partnership with the youth employment charity OPERA. OPERA was launched in September 2017, and works with the recruitment and staffing industry to tackle youth unemployment. The collaboration will run for a minimum of five years and aims at getting more young people into work and staying in work. OPERA chief executive Esther O’Callaghan says working with the REC is an important step towards fixing youth unemployment.
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“A strategic partnership between the largest trade body for the industry and the first recruitment-led youth foundation is a crucial step in harnessing our collective power to provide a meaningful and practical response to young people facing unemployment,” she says. All money raised by REC member agencies
and donated by individual recruiters will go towards OPERA’s #thrivefund, which helps disadvantaged young people by providing a bursary of up to £500 to spend on work essentials. These can be basics such as clothes to wear to an interview, a travel card to get to work or the fees for a course, and the necessary tools and
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equipment to start a new role. REC chief executive Kevin Green says the collaboration highlights important areas for the recruitment industry to focus on: “We chose to support OPERA and to recommend it to our members for two reasons. Firstly, its purpose and focus is helping young people furthest from the jobs market to get and stay in a job. This fits with our view that jobs transform lives. “Secondly, OPERA was started by recruiters for recruiters and we are always keen to leverage and amplify the great work our industry does in supporting good causes.” REC members can make direct donations as a business, organise activities or get involved in OPERA events, such as the Recruitment Rowathon in March, the Three Peaks Challenge in summer or a bake-off competition in autumn. In addition, those who want to bring in their skills by volunteering can join the foundation.
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Leading the Industry
THE VIEW
Ensuring the industry’s voice is heard by the right people is our priority, says Tom Hadley, REC director of policy and professional services
This is the final View, says Kevin Green, REC chief executive
HARNESSING OUR RISING VOICE
FINAL FIVE So this is my last column as the REC’s chief executive and I thought I should leave with five bits of advice based on my reflections from my time leading the recruitment industry:
the most critical resource to invest in. They create your culture and define if it’s a good place to work for or not.
1) HAVE A CLEAR STRATEGY AND PURPOSE
Be loud and proud about the great work the whole industry delivers to the UK economy, to businesses and candidates. Jobs really do transform lives. You weaken your own business’ standing if you talk to clients about there being no barriers to entry for the industry and there being thousands of rogues and cowboys.
Great recruitment businesses can define two things: where and how they compete. They can also answer the question of why a client should choose you and why a potential employee would want to work at your firm.
4) TALK UP THE RECRUITMENT INDUSTRY
2) SKILL, LABOUR AND TALENT SHORTAGES WILL ONLY INCREASE
5) ENGAGE WITH THE REC
So a candidate-driven approach will be your key differentiator in the next decade. Finding, attracting and helping hire people the clients can’t find themselves will be the key to sustainable success.
What you put in is what you get out. The REC is owned by its members to lead a successful, respected and recognised industry. It can only be the voice of the industry with active member engagement.
3) IT’S ALL ABOUT THE PEOPLE
I am convinced that the best years are ahead of the UK’s recruitment industry. It’s been a privilege and an honour to serve you over the last 10 years. Over and out. What’s next?
Your people are your value delivery mechanism, they provide service to your clients and candidates. So the engagement, development and motivation of your people should always be at the centre of your thinking. Your frontline managers are
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Don’t forget to follow me on twitter @kevingreenrec
Positioning the industry’s voice at the forefront of all key employment-related debates has been an underlying priority over recent years. Regular dialogue with government ministers and representation at select committees and external events have provided an important gauge of progress and have underlined the fact that skills and staffing issues have risen towards the top of both the political and business agenda. Our recent meeting with the secretary of state for work & pensions Esther McVey, honed in on the need to boost work and progression opportunities for all as a key element of the government’s vision of a ‘country that works for everyone’. This ‘all-inclusive’ message was also a key recommendation of our Future of jobs commission, and our involvement in the government’s Inclusive Economy Partnership is providing an ongoing platform for showcasing the contribution of recruiters in this area. The latest gathering of our Marketing, Media, Creative and Comms sector group included a presentation from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) and underlined the government’s commitment to driving growth and creating a million new jobs in the sector by 2030. Helping SMEs in the sector to scale-up will require leading-edge hiring practices. What about the business view? The REC’s JobsOutlook shows that business confidence has now deteriorated for six consecutive months, while our Report on Jobs data indicates that employers are increasingly turning to recruiters for help as candidate availability continues to deteriorate. Our recent slot at the CIPD’s annual recruitment conference honed in on these recruitment challenges and showcased the role that recruiters are playing in helping clients to address the candidate squeeze. Our message to employers is clear: recruitment is getting harder, but our industry can help you get better at accessing the staff and skills you need.
You can follow Tom on Twitter @hadleyscomment nt
www.rec.uk.com
07/03/2018 11:26
THE INTELLIGENCE A MASTERCLASS IN LEADERSHIP: LEARN FROM THE BEST
Thalia Ioannidou, REC senior researcher Speaking of great leaders, do you have what it takes to be one? As we say farewell to our very own Kevin Green, we reflect on what it takes to be successful in this highly competitive recruitment market. Is it about investing in what you do best or seizing new opportunities? Is success the achievement of one person or the culmination of collective efforts? In our latest ‘Scale Up Workbook: How to lead, inspire and retain your people’, we asked a range of recruitment leaders who have been there and done it to share their secrets to success. The workbook collates the key lessons for recruitment
NDR / NFI UP 4.1 PER CENT YEAR-ON-YEAR The latest data from Recruitment Industry Benchmarking (RIBIndex), measuring participating companies’ performance in December 2017, shows that – buoyed by a strong final quarter permanent recruitment performance – the Median RIB recruiter delivered a 4.1% average monthly improvement on prior year NDR/NFI/GP across 2017. The 3.9% year-on-year
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professionals in a practical way to help you develop the key skills and behaviours required to grow your business. As a leader, your success is measured by how effectively you turn your ideas into action. This requires that you have a compelling vision that inspires all; one you can easily apply to what your people do every day. You need a clear understanding of what success entails, set reasonable, achievable goals and help staff to identify the necessary metrics. As a top-performing leader, you would also have a distinctive proposition to attract quality candidates and entice clients. Are you comfortable taking calculated risks and making the most of the opportunities that come your way? How do you bounce back from mistakes? Even the best of leaders make mistakes but they remain positive and re-evaluate their actions. The extent to which you bounce
back depends on the culture, team and blueprint you have in place. As clearly demonstrated by great leaders in the industry, success is not one person’s sole achievement but that of the leadership team together with a group of dynamic managers and consultants. That means motivating and valuing your people at every level of your organisation is essential in delivering sustainable results. Leading by example and leading from the front, creating a continuous learning culture and inspiring excellence in the team are at the centre of any successful recruitment business story. There is no one right way to grow your company but these are some of the key lessons to consider, reflecting on insight from those who lead a successful recruitment
The median RIB recruiter subsequently delivered a per-employee average NDR/ NFI/GP of £74k across 2017, up from £70k on the previous year.
Median RIB recruiter year-on-year change in revenues, by business line, in Q4 2017
Temp turnover +3.9%
Contract revenue +4.6%
improvement in temporary turnover and a 4.6% increase in contractor revenues in Q4 was actually weaker than average across the preceding three quarters.
business. Use the ‘Scale Up Workbook: How to lead, inspire and retain your people’ to assess your skills and learn how you can scale up your business. For the recruitment leaders of tomorrow, this wisdom could help you reach your aspirations. As the recruitment market continues to grow, what you actually do to take advantage of this growth is critically important. You can download the full report as well as complete our online interactive checklist at www.rec.uk.com/howtolead
Perm billings +26.0%
Of significant note, however, the year ended with a much needed 26% year-on-year improvement in perm fees for the median RIB recruiter in the quarter.
Belinda Johnson runs employment research consultancy Worklab, and is associate knowledge & insight director of Recruitment Industry Benchmarking (RIB) – part of the Bluestones Group. The RIB Index provides bespoke confidential reports on industry benchmarks and trends. See www.ribindex.com; info@ribindex.com: 020 8544 9807. The RIB is a strategic partner of the REC.
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The Big Talking Point
KEVIN GREEN Michael Oliver: After almost 10 years at the helm, why are you leaving? Kevin Green: I think there are two reasons really: one is personal and one about the REC. From my perspective, I’ve been doing the job 10 years, I’ve loved it, it’s been a great job, and I’ve enjoyed it every day. But I’m 55, and I want to do something else before I hang up my boots for good. I also think it’s the right time for the REC. We’ve hit our reserves policy, we’ve got a new chairman, we’ve got a new strategy defined over the next four years, so it’s a good time for somebody else to bring in a fresh perspective. MO: Let’s go back to before you joined. How did you become the chief executive?
KG: I had just left Royal Mail. I had done five years there, and that was during a period of huge transformation. When I joined in 2003, the business was losing a million and a half pounds a day. We wanted to get it ready for privatisation and so we had to do huge amounts of change. So I went in there to manage the change programme across the whole business, which was a £9bn business employing 220,000 people. And then after about six months, I ended up being parachuted in to become the HR director of the biggest business, which is the letters business. During my period, there we closed some factories, we changed the working environment, we had to do a big piece of negotiation with the trade unions, we lost 35,000 people 4 RECRUITMENT MATTERS APRIL 2018
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KEVIN GREEN: THE EXIT INTERVIEW Outgoing REC chief executive Kevin Green reflects on his time at the helm with Recruitment Matters editor Michael Oliver in that time – a huge amount of change at a blistering pace. I was approached by a headhunter about a role at the REC and they described it as chief exec of a trade association, and I said ‘well I’m not sure that’s for me, really’. They then said, ‘well it’s in the HR space’. I knew the CIPD had just appointed a new chief exec, and what was an interesting starting point was that I hadn’t heard of the REC. I started to investigate the organisation, to build a picture of what was required. And I think because I was looking at other jobs and I wasn’t sure this was right for me, I was quite provocative, and what I said just resonated with the non-execs at that time. I think they recognised that the REC needed to be modernised. They recognised that the organisation needed to become more responsive and agile to its members. It was a bit dusty, it was a bit cerebral, so I think I was a change agent and they saw that’s what was required at that time. That was hugely impacted by Lehman Brothers going down in September, and the recruitment industry’s response to the financial crisis.
MO: That’s a baptism by fire by anyone’s definition. What was the process you went through to steady the ship?
KG: It was a very difficult time. The industry went from a £27bn industry to under £20bn. That revenue disappeared within 18 months, so our members were going through a really tough time. The issue for the REC was one where we really had to think strategically about why we’re here, and what our purpose was. And actually, our members needed us more than ever – membership held up reasonably well. We normally get 90% of our members renew and it only went down to 85%. And then within about six months, I had to go to the REC’s council and say to them that we were going to make a significant loss in 2009 and that we had a choice. We took about 15% out of our running costs, which included making staff redundant, but we could have gone further. I could have got us back to break-even within the year, but to do that would have affected member services. So the council agreed to my proposal, which was
that we took some cost out, we used half of our reserves in 2009 and would be back to break-even in 2010. That’s exactly what we did. So we protected member services, we used about £550k of our reserves, which was about half, and then in 2010 we broke even. And since then every year we’ve put more and more money back, and I’m delighted to say that we have now achieved our reserves policy, so we’ve now got £1.7m behind us. The council took the right decision, we protected member services when it was needed most, and we delivered the plan as we defined it. It was a baptism of fire; it was very difficult circumstances for the organisation and the industry, but we got through it and we continued to fight the industry’s corner.
MO: Leadership is something very close to your heart – what kind of person makes an effective leader in 2018?
KG: I think leadership is an area where there is more thought needed really. A lot of people find themselves as leaders accidentally. For www.rec.uk.com
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organisation, showing if they did their job to the best of their ability, this is what it would look like. Then the other part of feedback is about helping people, giving them feedback. We all have good days and bad days; we all come to work to do our best, and leadership is about recognising how to motivate and engage each individual. Sometimes it’s giving people some robust feedback and other times it’s putting your arm around someone. And that’s because you understand each individual. You know what they’re trying to achieve and you need to be a coach and a mentor to help them see things, to look at themselves differently, to go out and learn from other organisations, to seek advice and feedback so that they can get better.
MO: What’s next?
me, there are some golden rules. One is about painting a picture of the future, about the journey that the organisation is on. I think you need some logic when you’re managing people; they need to understand progression steps that need to be taken, but you also need to create a language and a narrative about why what we’re doing is important, and what it might be like if we work even better than we are today. Secondly, it’s about communicating that
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consistently and effectively, so engaging people. I’m a great believer in that leadership is a two-way conversation. You need to listen as much as you talk, and I think sometimes that’s misunderstood. I think you then have to play a role where it’s about trying to create a leadership population and getting other people, so even if you’re the chief exec or MD, your leadership team all need to be leaders and all need to be able to engage their people and paint a picture.
MO: And that ties in with performance and accountability?
KG: Yes. You need to articulate to people what ‘great’ looks like in their job, so that people aspire to do it and so that you say ‘this is what great performance looks like’. And then your job is to support people, to develop them, to help them get there. I think that’s the second big area of leadership – painting a picture for every person within the
KG: I’ve been invited to chair the Good Recruitment Campaign for the next year, which I am delighted to continue to lead on behalf of the REC. And then what I’m also going to do is I’m putting together a portfolio of nonexecutive roles. So there will be four or five non-exec jobs, some in the HR space and some in the recruitment space, where I’m going to be helping fast-growing organisations grow and develop themselves. I’m still going to be involved in HR and recruitment. I’m sure I’ll still pop up on platforms and things and I’ll be keeping an eye on the REC and its progress as a supporter and as a champion, but hoping it goes on to even bigger and greater things. RECRUITMENT MATTERS APRIL 2018 5
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Legal update
IT’S CONSULTATION SEASON … By Lewina Farrell, head of professional services In July 2017 Matthew Taylor delivered his Review of modern working practices (MT Review). On 8 February 2018, the government delivered its response to that review, broadly welcoming its 53 recommendations. The government also published four related consultations, all of which the REC will respond to. In this article we give an overview of the consultations. 1. Consultation on agency work • There are concerns about the level of information given about pay and deductions to agency workers, in particular those who work through umbrella companies. There is a suggestion that a ‘key facts’ document should be given at the time of registering with the employment business. • Is it now time to expand the remit of the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate (EAS) to cover umbrella companies? • Are ‘Swedish Derogation’ or ‘pay between assignments’ contracts being abused to deny equal pay to agency
workers? Should this derogation be removed in its entirety or enforced by the EAS? Responses are due by 9 May 2018. 2. Consultation on enforcement of employment rights The MT Review found that enforcing employment rights is not as easy as it should be. In particular those who are successful in pursuing a claim may not ultimately receive any financial awards made to them. The government has decided not to take forward all the recommendations in this area but will look at: • whether HMRC should be responsible for enforcing a set of core pay rights • making the enforcement process simpler • using aggravated breach penalties and costs orders as well as uplifts in compensation for repeated breaches of the same nature • whether to ‘name and shame’ employers who do not pay employment tribunal awards.
Responses are due by 16 May 2018. 3. Consultation on transparency in the labour market While the MT Review recognised the value of flexibility in the labour market there were concerns that not all workers benefit from this flexibility, that they do not fully understand their contracts and rights. The government is already taking steps to extend the right to receive a payslip to all workers and to improve the information included on the payslip. It is now consulting on: • extending the right to all workers to receive a statement of written particulars on day one • whether atypical workers should have a right to request a ‘more stable’ contract • whether to increase the reference period to calculate holiday pay from 12 to 52 weeks, and how to improve flexibility in how to pay holiday pay • for the purposes of
calculating continuity of service whether to increase the relevant break in service from one week to one month. Responses are due by 23 May 2018. 4. Consultation on employment status This consultation is not about reforming employment rights or creating new ones but whether and how status for employment rights purposes and for tax purposes can be aligned. It recognises changes in how people find work eg. through apps or online platforms and so looks at: • whether to create a new statutory employment status test • whether to change the definition of worker and relabel it as ‘dependent contractor’ • whether ‘self-employed’ and ‘employer’ should be defined in law • whether employment rights should be aligned to tax status. Responses are due by 1 June 2018.
AI COULD BE GREAT, BUT DON’T LOSE FOCUS ON THE THINGS THAT MATTER With the 21st century being a digital age, recruitment companies are forced to think of innovative ways to make sure their services are keeping up with the ‘technology times’, and right now, the subject on most minds is “how will artificial intelligence (AI) affect me and what should I be doing about it?”. AI has become the new buzzword in the recruitment industry for the last couple of years, and there is no doubt that it has its benefits. For example, AI has been used to develop Recruitment Chatbots. Candidates can receive
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answers to their job-role-related questions from AI robotic systems. Pretty impressive, I’m sure you’ll agree. However, tools such as this are only in their early stages because of the gaps in knowledge about AI’s full potential; it is all up in the air right now. Despite this, our belief is that once AI has been fully developed, it should be used to support and compliment businesses, rather than replace the interpersonal communication that is central to recruitment. In the meantime, while we wait for advancements in this ‘smart
technology’, recruiters should focus on making use of the technology that is already in full swing and proven to work. Google Analytics, Hotjar and WaveTrackR are just a few analytical tools to date that will tell you what is effectively working in your business and what is not – something that was not possible a few years ago. My message: Stay on top of technological developments while making sure you’re getting the fundamentals of recruitment right, the success will follow. David Jenkins, founder of Wave
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Inspiration
BEHIND THE SCENES AT THE INSTITUTE OF RECRUITMENT PROFESSIONALS
The View
Jaspreet Bhogal is a divisional manager at Oyster Partnership p
Andrew Vaughan ghan is a team manager ager at Advanced Resource ource Managers
WHAT I KNOW
Q&A
Best candidate story My best story of helping to transform someone’s life is actually the first candidate I placed. Eight years ago, I met someone who had just been made redundant and in the last eight years, he’s had seven temporary roles and they’ve all been through me.
What’s your best story about transforming someone’s life? My best story about helping to transform someone’s life was when I helped an IT consultant from Spain find his ideal job in the UK. It involved relocating his whole family over here. I literally walked him through, side by side, the whole process, including taking him to and from the airport, supporting him during the interview process and eventually helping him find a new home for his family.
What makes me different I like to just be a bit different and go that extra mile for candidates. I’m available from seven to seven if they need me; I take my phone on holiday too. My husband hates it, but it’s there with me. I like to offer something more than just “Okay, you need a job. Let me help you find one”. What I strive to achieve To make sure I leave a lasting impression with my candidates, I just like being different. I think recruiters get a bit of a bad rap about picking up their candidates when they need them and putting them down again. I think for me, as long as I can keep in contact with someone and show that I’m actually going to make a difference, that does help. Why candidates are the most important My tip to other recruiters hoping to transform candidates’ lives are make them just as important as your clients. I think the recruitment industry has a bit of a reputation of maybe not looking after our candidates as well as our clients, but for me I’ve always needed my candidates as much, if not more.
“I’M AVAILABLE FROM SEVEN TO SEVEN IF THEY NEED ME – I TAKE MY PHONE ON HOLIDAY TOO”
How do you go the extra mile? I go the extra mile for candidates by taking a lot of mundane leg work out of the process for them. So this might be researching the company before the interview and giving them some killer questions to ask the hiring manager. How do you set yourself up for success? I set myself up for success each day by getting in early, making a plan and focusing on the tasks that are going to yield the best results for the team. How do you ensure you continue to be a part of your candidates’ lives? To make sure that I’m having a lasting impact on candidates’ lives, I simply like to keep in touch with people, to follow their career throughout their whole journey, and make sure that I always take an interest in what they are doing. What tips do you have for other recruiters? My tips for other recruiters to help transform candidates’ lives would be to simply be honest, be polite and to communicate with your candidates throughout the entire recruitment process – and always do what you say you are going to do.
To keep up to date with everything the Institute of Recruitment Professionals is doing, please visit www.rec-irp.uk.com
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What’s coming up?
THE ONLY DEGREE-LEVEL QUALIFICATION IN RECRUITMENT: THE LEVEL 5 DIPLOMA IN RECRUITMENT LEADERSHIP This highly respected qualification provides the insight, practical skills and knowledge senior recruitment managers and directors need to manage and enhance processes and efficiencies within their own business. Industry-specific in content, the Level 5 Diploma in Recruitment Leadership (DipRL) is a strategic level qualification and equivalent to degree standard learning. The key topics for this qualification are: • Strategic business planning for recruitment • Leading people and teams in recruitment • Recruitment resource strategies • Financial management in recruitment • Client and stakeholder relationship management • Principles of legal and ethical requirements in recruitment • Understanding recruitment contracts
WHO IS THE COURSE FOR? Senior managers and directors looking to enhance their leadership skills will gain from this qualification.
The Diploma in Recruitment Leadership provides authoritative learning that will add value to the service you provide to clients and candidates, and help enhance your personal and professional effectiveness.
HOW IS THE COURSE TAUGHT? On-demand enrolment makes the Level 5 DipRL easy to fit around work and personal commitments, with four examination points each year. You will meet with your cohort three times to work through the seven mandatory units in year one, after which you take a minimum of one additional optional unit to fully qualify. During your study you will be provided with all learning materials and be allocated an IRP Study Coach, who will also facilitate the workshops. You can enrol on individual units for £675 + VAT per unit, or the whole course is £4,500 + VAT per person. • For more information and how to sign up, visit www.rec-irp.uk.com/DipRL to enrol today.
RECRUITMENT MATTERS The official magazine of The Recruitment & Employment Confederation Dorset House, 1st Floor, 27-45 Stamford Street, London SE1 9NT
APPRENTICESHIPS AND YOUR BUSINESS We know that our industry is experiencing financial growth, but the challenge is keeping up with that by attracting and retaining the best recruitment talent. Our recruitment apprenticeships are a great way to tackle this. The government’s changes to the way apprenticeships are funded and the introduction of the Apprenticeship Levy will result in a fundamental change to the talent strategy of your business. You can now recruit, train and grow the best recruitment talent through a funded apprenticeship programme.
RECEIVE FUNDING FOR YOUR NEXT HIRE Businesses with a payroll of more than £3m will be required to pay 0.5% of that into the levy. They will be given an allowance of £15k and the government will add 10% to the payment to fund apprentices for your business. This means if you qualify, you get paid to grow your own talent.
DON’T MISS OUT ON THIS UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY Investing in apprenticeship training means that you’ll have the opportunity to develop your staff ’s professional skills in line with your business aims and goals – helping give your company the edge over the competition in a competitive industry. The REC can also provide a specialist consultancy and advisory service for those employers interested in becoming an employer provider or full apprenticeship provider. • For more information please email info@rec.uk.com or call us on 020 7009 2100.
Membership Department: Membership: 020 7009 2100, Customer Services: 020 7009 2100 Publishers: Redactive Publishing Ltd, 78 Chamber Street E1 8BL. 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 © 2018 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.
Tel: 020 7009 2100 www.rec.uk.com 8 RECRUITMENT MATTERS APRIL 2018
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CO M M U N I T Y
SOCIAL NETWORK WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN UP TO? GET IN TOUCH!
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Whether you’ve been busy fundraising and handing over cheques or just getting on down with your canine consultants, you’ve let us know…
ZEEL SOLUTIONS STAFF RAISE £1K FOR CHILDREN’S CHARITY VIA Recruitment software specialist Zeel Solutions’ staff have raised £1k for Wolverhampton-based children’s charity Let Us Play to develop and improve the lives of children with special needs and disabilities. Staff raised money through running an office tuck shop and other in-office events.
SEC Recruitment raised £4.5k for its 2017 charity of the year Thames Hospice
SEC DONATES £4.5K TO THAMES HOSPICE VIA Life sciences and IT/technology recruitment firm SEC has raised £4.5k for Thames Hospice, its charity for 2017. Handing over the cheque, SEC CEO Stuart Britton said: “This has been a great way for us to connect with a local charity that has a personal connection with our team. The efforts of everyone at SEC to raise this money are something I am very proud of.”
TW I TTE R A DOG’S LIFE IN RECRUITMENT Following our story online about the ‘Year of the (recruitment) dog’ (recruiter.co.uk, 15 February), a couple of other canine consultants wanted to get in on the act, so Molly at Magpie Recruitment and Bruce at Tria Recruitment got in touch on Twitter to put their best paw forward.
ENCORE PERSONNEL’S HEROIC DONATION VIA Staff at national recruitment agency Encore Personnel have raised nearly £15k for its charity of the year, Help for Heroes. Encore’s 250 employees took on challenging half marathons and Tough Mudders, an 83-mile cycle ride from Leicester to Skegness, as well as dress down Friday and fancy dress days, cake sales and car boot sales, all of which contributed towards the team raising a heroic £14,712.
@RecruiterMag instagram.com/recruitermagazine/ recruitermagazine.tumblr.com/
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E CAREERS CO M M UNITY
The Workplace BY GUY HAYWARD
30 RECRUITER
recognised this by suggesting that we were a top 20 UK workplace for females.) The support shown by SThree Careers is impressive, with its returning-to-work post-baby programme. Its maternity buddy scheme has seen 84% of female employees who have taken maternity leave return to work since its introduction, and there is a real maturity with supporting working from home. Flexible working increasingly suits the modern workplace, and it sits perfectly with helping mothers return to work – as does job sharing, the freedom to work from home and help with supporting childcare. We should all embrace it. Which is the better of two options? Youth and presenteeism or age and experience? A combination of both clearly, yet the latter is often overlooked. London Business School estimates that 70% of women fear taking a career break and those who do often put off returning to work at all. Let’s reduce this percentage, as is the aim of Women Returners, an organisation that works with companies and individuals to help women back to work. What else can we be doing? The importance of family is something we feel strongly about and something that we
“Flexible working suits the modern workplace and sits perfectly with helping mothers return to work”
actively promote through our Freedom to Come and Go programme. If your son is playing in a school football match, go and watch him play. If your daughter is competing in an interschool cross-country event, leave the office, stick on your overcoat, and stand and watch her. No one should miss out on being a parent. Our working parents love it … so will yours, I’m sure. Nobody should feel that they are lost to the world of work … we should be doing everything in our power to ensure that this isn’t the case. ●
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IMAGINE BEING LOST to the world of work. Imagine the huge sense of frustration that you are unable to enjoy the unique sense of fulfilment and excitement that only doing a great day’s work can bring. For many mothers this is often the reality and a sense that their career, which was once enjoyed and cherished, will be no more. This needs to change – and as an industry we should be showing others how this is possible. Some of our best fee earners and managers are female, yet at the point of starting a family they leave our sector as they feel it is impossible to return. As a consequence, we lose an amazing pool of talent. We also lose the opportunity to have a healthy group of female senior managers and future board members. We’re trying to address this. We have a stated aim that we want our first female board member by 2020. Our Women in Leadership programme – which looks at regaining one’s identity, building confidence, influencing, leadership, decision-making, personal brand, building a career road map, the work life issue and most of all how to make this happen – is playing an important role in helping mothers return to the workplace. (Glamour magazine
GUY HAYWARD – redefining the modern workplace CEO, Goodman Masson
APRIL 2018
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CO M M U N I T Y
CAREERS
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Find your next move in recruitment on jobs.recruiter. co.uk
Research and values BY ANDREW MOUNTNEY
↗ ANDREW MOUNTNEY is founding partner at in-house recruitment specialist Aspen InHouse.
ONE OF THE COMMON TRENDS of any discussion about recruitment is the ‘culture fit’ test. Increasingly seen by many in the industry as a cop-out response for rejecting a candidate, we’ve noticed a real trend around this being a reason not to hire a recruiter or sourcer in recent months. More so than before. That said it’s not a cop-out, albeit the feedback itself can often be weak because the hiring organisation struggles to communicate the meaning of it. This is particularly a problem where ‘culture fit’ is confused with ‘values fit’, and there’s a lack of direct and honest feedback. What does it mean? Well typically the shape of this
“The final key area to a successful recruiter interview is the values fit” feedback when we hear it is fundamentally not weak at all; it’s tough love. The person did not prepare, did not do research and does not share our values. These three things are not mutually exclusive but do get confused. Regularly we hear the shrill claim that “they approached me, so why should I do lots of research? They should be pitching me not the other way round”. That’s an argument we can have all day. What it does not cover is where candidates answer questions in a way that demonstrates a clear difference to organisational values.
Values fit In additional to experience and technical fit, the final key area right now to a successful recruiter interview is the values fit. The challenge for many recruiters, particularly those coming from an agency background, is ‘we like to
I M AG E | I STO C K
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win, we want to get every job’. This can mean treating an interview process like it has to conclude with an offer, whether it’s the right job for us or not. Research should not be treated as an unnecessary challenge or waste of time; it’s part of the exploration of the opportunity and understanding if it’s right for you. Time and again the best recruiters we see with clear progression, stable CVs and an engaging approach are those who prepare and check that values fit. They’re also typically the most comfortable at stepping away from an opportunity where their values do not align to an organisation – and rightly so. It’s not a trick question to ask about how you use data in your role as a recruiter by a company who states that using data for better outcomes is a core value. Instead, it’s an opportunity for you to share your experience and your organisational fit. Given that most organisations increasingly have a values interview as part of their process, and will ask open questions to judge your fit, spending time upfront getting to know a firm will save you time in the long run and put you in the best position to secure that role you absolutely want. ●
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E BUSINESS ADVICE CO MM UNITY
ASK THE EXPERT Q: Can I sell more retainers in the current climate? If so, how? Retainers can make a big difference to profit margins, and with candidates in short supply, clients in many industries are more open to retainers if approached correctly than they have been for many years. When working on 10 roles it makes sense to dedicate 10% of your time to each. With cash guaranteed upfront from a retainer you can increase the time dedicated to that role, thereby increasing your chances of filling it – one of my clients has calculated their success rate trebles when on retainer.
The two challenges with selling retainers are: • many recruiters don’t feel comfortable broaching the idea with clients; and • many clients don’t understand why, when they can engage with a selection of recruiters with no upfront cost, they would pay a fee to one consultancy without guarantee of success. Here’s how your team should approach retainers.
Alex Arnot The SME Coach candidates. Retainers are also more efficient for your client as they will select from the best, rather than the first available candidates. Coach the client through your process. Explain how you will scope the role together and how hard you will work; who the research team is and their approach; discuss when the client can expect to see the longlist and qualified shortlist of candidates. Discuss the support you will offer them throughout the process, as well as how you will manage successful and unsuccessful candidates after offer. Timeframes are important.
Your services are an investment not a cost Before even mentioning “retainer” probe for a client’s problem roles and assess the size of any resulting issue(s). Identify positions that have been unfilled for some time or that the client cannot afford to remain vacant. Explore their impact on the business and individuals – lost revenue, reputational damage etc. This conversation reframes the context for the retainer discussion and positions you as an investment not a cost.
Selling the value of a retainer
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All of the above may appeal to the client until fees are discussed. Flexibility on the traditional retainer structure (1/3 up front, 1/3 on delivery of the shortlist and 1/3 following a successful appointment) will often make the difference between securing a retainer, or even simply exclusivity, and being one of many recruiters trying to fill the position. Common variations include 1/3 of the fee up front and 2/3 following a successful placement; or a token amount up front and the balance on completion. If the client sees the value, close the agreement in the meeting and confirm it in an email back in the office while it is still fresh in their mind.
↗
Now the client is mindful of the business impact of vacancies, explain why a retained search is currently more likely to be successful than contingent recruitment. With good candidates hard to find, the bespoke research team that a retainer makes possible enables a more exhaustive search of the market. The upfront payment makes the role a priority and enables you to dedicate more time, which will translate into a larger selection of better
Beating objections
ALEX ARNOT is non-executive board advisor to more than 30 recruitment companies.
APRIL 2018
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E EMPLOYABILITY CO M M UNITY
BRINGING THE BAR-RIERS DOWN BY COLIN COTTELL
A
n initiative between industrial manufacturing firm Jablite and Her Majesty’s Prison (HMP) Ford is revealing the benefits of an enlightened approach to those detained at Her Majesty’s pleasure. A survey commissioned by the DWP in 2016 found that 50% of employers would not consider employing an ex-offender, regardless of the offence or sentence received. With the UK’s prison population standing at more than 84,000 that equates to a lot of people, whose lives are plagued by unemployment. Despite job vacancies in the economy standing at more than 800,000, few companies appear willing to take a chance with this marginalised group. However, one of the UK’s largest producers of expanded polystyrene (EPS) products, Jablite is taking a more enlightened approach. With its Styropack manufacturing factory at Ford in West Sussex cheek by jowl with HMP Ford, a category D open prison, Jablite’s senior management saw the opportunity to help meet its increasing need for workers. After months of preparatory work and working closely with the prison authorities, the initiative has already borne fruit, with the appointment of Andrew Stapleton as a maintenance engineer on a 12-week unpaid work placement. This has since led to paid work, with the placement set to continue until his sentence ends. Stapleton was sentenced to four years, although he will only spend two years in prison; the other two he will be on licence. “Working at Styropack has given me hope that not everybody will look at me as a waste of time, and that some people do believe in giving chances,” says Stapleton.
It’s a sentiment with which Steve Huxham, recruitment manager at Jablite, agrees. “The prison population does contain a large number of talented people, often with work skills, who are there because they made a bad choice, or took a wrong path,” he explains. “It shouldn’t be the only or main reason for considering a placement, but in a tight labour market it is a huge waste of talent for them not to be gainfully employed and productively occupied during their time served.” There are also wider benefits to both the individual and to society as a whole, says Huxham. “Prisoners who gain work experience and extra skills during their time are more likely to get a job upon their release and find it easier to turn away from a former lifestyle and take a better path back into society in future.” Indeed, so convinced is he of the all-round
34 RECRUITER
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Above: HMP Ford works with Styropack to offer prisoners the chance of work
Wider benefits
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CO M M U N I T Y
EMPLOYABILITY
E
Left and below: Offenders get the opportunity to learn new skills and trades
“Numerous mitigating circumstances play a role, as does bad luck. Everybody is accountable to the same laws, and all can all go to prison. I have seen this in the types of crime and sentencing,” says Palmer. Palmer says despite many offenders having qualifications and gaining employability skills while in prison, the greatest barrier to offenders finding work “is the initial stigma of being an offender”. He adds: “Confidence can also be a factor.”
Fears allayed
“Working at Styropack has given me hope”
benefits that Huxham says Jablite is looking at the possibility of building up a talent pool of pre-interviewed prisoners that could be brought in to meet the needs of its five fast-growing manufacturing facilities across the UK for both unskilled and semi-skilled temporary labour. Huxham emphasises the importance of working closely with the prison authorities, in this case the governor at HMP Ford, Steve Fradley, and community engagement manager James Palmer. Palmer says a key aspect of his job is to “sell” prisoners to employers and “open their eyes to the fact that some offenders are not bad just because they have been in prison”.
Huxham says the biggest concern that Jablite and Styropack had about taking on a prisoner was “just the uncertainty of the unknown”. He says that any fears workers in the factory had were allayed by “open and transparent communication” between staff and management. It was pointed out “it was a two-way street”, and that the prisoner coming in on work placement would be every bit as nervous and uncertain as to how the workers would react as the other way around. Jablite’s positive experience of working with the HM Prison Service (HMPS) is not an isolated example. At HMP Ford alone, Palmer says there are 101 offenders out every day, either in work, volunteering or in education. He says certain employers have been so impressed by the calibre of people placed with them they have helped with their accommodation upon release. Based on Jablite’s experience of working with HMP Ford, Huxham advises other employers who want to follow in its footsteps to exercise patience. “HMPS has a duty of care to safeguard their prisoners and ensure the workshops they might go to are fit and proper environments for them to be in when
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unsupervised by them. Planning always takes time,” he says. That said, once the checks have been carried out in particular workplaces, future placements should not take so long to arrange.
Get involved Looking at the broader picture, Huxham says there is an ongoing issue with offenders’ CVs, and especially if there is a gap caused by a now-spent conviction: “There is no easy answer here, although more employers offering placements so that some of that time can be attributed to the employer, as well as a reference might help.” Huxham suggests one way recruiters could help the Prison Service in its work would be for employers in the vicinity of their local prison to volunteer to support projects such as the one between Jablite Styropack and HMP Ford. “If the duties were shared out between representatives of different employers they would not be onerous, and it would have the virtue of employers getting access to talented people about to re-join the labour market.” Palmer says his key message to employers is: “Look at the person not their paperwork. Meet the offender and see what they have to offer. I have been told by numerous employers that they are pleasantly surprised by the high level of candidates.”●
36 RECRUITER
Learning a trade can open doors for ex-offenders
APRIL 2018
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06/03/2018 11:35
E CAREERS CO M M UNITY
‘My very first placement took me five months; within two weeks he was fired after he was caught lying about doing two jobs at the same time’ ↗
MY BRILLIANT RECRUITMENT CAREER
SASZA BANDIERA, managing director, Oyster Partnership
What was your earliest dream job? Archaeologist – based on the fact that I loved Indiana Jones and I thought you were paid by the dinosaur if you found one.
What was your first job in recruitment and how did you come into it? Oyster Partnership, as a trainee 10 years ago.
Sasza Bandiera
Who is your role model – in life or in recruitment? In recruitment Paul Flynn, who used to own Eurostaff.
What do you love most about your current role?
What’s the best or worst interview question you’ve ever heard?
Being able to coach, train and focus on developing young people. I have to bring on many inexperienced staff through coaching, bringing them up and getting them into a billing position or management.
I don’t know about question, but I’ve got a guy who’s been here four years – he came and said to me: “Sasza, I’ll work for you for the next four weeks for free – if I don’t do it, you can just fire me.” He’s still here.
manager role in the UAE, which is new for us. We’ve never done anything abroad, really.
What would you consider to be the most brilliant moment of your career in recruitment?
What is your signature dish?
What would you regard as your theme tune?
Lasagne
The Rocky soundtrack.
Deciding to step away from my day-today recruitment role and starting to build the business by opening up new revenue streams and bringing on perm teams.
Laugh or cry, what did your most memorable candidate make you want to do and why?
We have a very senior development
My very first placement took me five months to place; within two weeks he was fired because he was caught lying about doing two jobs at the same time and was in the pub on a Monday at 2pm.
38 RECRUITER
IMAG ES | SHUT T ERSTOCK / ISTOCK
What’s your top job to fill at the moment?
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View the latest jobs at jobs.recruiter.co.uk To place your advertisement E: recruiterjobs@redactive.co.uk or T: 020 7880 6215
RECRUITMENT ON YOUR TERMS
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E CAREERS CO M M UNITY
ARMSTRONG CRAVEN: The global talent mapping and pipelining specialist has appointed Felix Ko as client partner in its financial services team. Ko was previously a managing consultant with Hudson.
FRANK RECRUITMENT GROUP: Technology recruiter Frank Recruitment Group welcomes Sunny Ackerman as president of Americas.
GLOBAL RESOURCING GROUP: AUSTIN FRASER: Jacob McCulloch is promoted to chief strategy officer at the Reading-headquartered agency. Ashley Dunbar takes over from McCulloch as German technology director and James Lafferty is promoted to executive vicepresident of USA technology. 40 RECRUITER
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The international recruiter has restructured with three specialist divisions – Global Resourcing, ComRisk Associates and Forbes Hunt. Global Resourcing will continue its focus on tech and digital – led by Rob Johnson, who is appointed as managing director from his previous position as sales director. Sarah Luxford has
The Recruitment & Employment Confederation’s director of finance David Vallance is the interim CEO of the trade body, following Kevin Green’s departure on 15 March, until a new CEO is appointed. The REC announced Green would be leaving the recruitment trade body in the spring of this year after a decade in the role. Green, who is to pursue a portfolio career of non-executive director roles and consultancy, has been invited by the REC’s board to act as chair of its Good Recruitment Campaign in a newly created role for a period of 12 months. In this role, he will also be chairing the REC’s Talent, Recruitment and Employment Conference on 4 July. Early this year, Recruiter revealed executive permanent & interim recruitment specialist GatenbySanderson had won the race to recruit Green’s successor.
been appointed director at Global Resourcing, with Phil Walsh promoted to sales director and board member from head of contract recruitment.
MANPOWERGROUP: Darlene Minatel joins the recruitment giant as Canada country manager to lead Manpower, Experis, Right Management and ManpowerGroup Solutions.
MARKET TALENT: James Kent
joins the financial services staffing specialist in the newly created role of associate director.
MERCER: The global health, wealth and careers consultancy welcomes Laura McKim as UK career business leader. MORGAN MCKINLEY: The global professional services recruiter has promoted Hakan Enver to managing director of core permanent recruitment,
Email people moves for use online and in print, including a short
07/03/2018 15:31
continuing his responsibility for the specialist practices in banking & financial services, technology & sales and professional services. He was previously operations director. Victoria Walmsley has also been promoted to MD from operations director. Her remit includes Morgan McKinley’s UK core temporary markets across various disciplines and sectors. In addition, Walmsley continues to be responsible for the strategy, projects and change divisions of the business. Darren Burns has been promoted to operations director from his previous role as director of financial services. Having joined Morgan McKinley in 2016, his remit will now include commerce & industry alongside financial services.
in its industrial practice and head of its Board & CEO practice.
SEARCH CONSULTANCY: The multi-sector recruiter has appointed Kate McClorey as managing director to lead its UK-wide Search IT, digital & change division. SKILLSNAP: The Sussex-based digital recruitment job site welcomes Phil Adeosun as sales director.
international executive search firm has appointed Sandra Teboul as client partner in Paris, France and Conrad Lee as client partner in its US team.
RECRUITMENT ADVERTISING +44 (0)20 7324 2756 Recruitment sales manager Dario Cappelli
Reporters Colin Cottell, Graham Simons
dario.cappelli@redactive.co.uk
colin.cottell@recruiter.co.uk graham.simons@recruiter.co.uk
PRODUCTION +44 (0)20 7880 6209 Production executive Rachel Young rachel.young@redactive.co.uk
PUBLISHING +44 (0)20 7880 8547 Publishing director Aaron Nicholls aaron.nicholls@redactive.co.uk
TRUST TECH: The Japan-based
YOUR NEXT MOVE A selection of vacancies from recruiter.co.uk Collins Squared Branch manager North London/Herts borders £40k-£45k per year + bens
ADVERTISING +44 (0)20 7880 6213 Sales manager Paul Barron paul.barron@redactive.co.uk
+44 (0)20 7324 2762 Senior sales executive Will Hunter
RECRUITER AWARDS/ INVESTING IN TALENT AWARDS +44 (0)20 7324 2771 Events eventsteam@redactive.co.uk
william.hunter@redactive.co.uk
CIRCULATION and SUBSCRIPTIONS Recruiter is the leading magazine for recruitment and resourcing professionals. To ensure each issue of Recruiter magazine is delivered to your desk or door, subscribe now at https://subs. recruiter.co.uk/subscribe. Annual subscription rate for 12 issues: £35 UK; £45 Europe and £50 Rest of the world • Recruiter is also available to people who meet our terms of control: http://bit. ly/RecruiterCC • To purchase reprints or multiple copies, or any other enquiries, please contact mysidekick @recruiter.co.uk or +44 (0)20 8950 9117 CONTRIBUTIONS Contributions are invited, but when not accepted will be returned only if accompanied by a fully stamped and addressed envelope. Articles should be emailed. No responsibility can be taken for drawings, photographs or literary contributions during delivery, transmission or in the editor’s hands. © 2018 Redactive Media Group. All rights reserved. This publication (and any part thereof) may not be reproduced, transmitted or stored in print or electronic format (including but not limited to any online service, any database or any part of the internet) or in any other format in any media whatsoever, without the prior written permission of Redactive Media Group. Redactive Media Group accepts no liability for the accuracy of the contents or any opinions expressed herein. The publishers cannot accept liability for any loss arising from the late appearance or non-publication of any advertisement for any reason whatsoever. ISSN 1475-7478
Total average net circulation between 1 July 2014 & 30 June 2015 – 18,667. is also sent to all REC members
For more jobs, people moves and career advice go to ● recruiter.co.uk/jobs ● inhouserecruiterjobs.co.uk ● internationalrecruiterjobs.com
biography, to recruiter.editorial@redactive.co.uk
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Designer Craig Bowyer Picture editor Akin Falope
Recruiter Republic Senior recruitment consultant Marketing Hertfordshire £30k-£35k + comms + bonus
executive search and interim management firm welcomes Damian Walsh as partner
EDITORIAL +44 (0)20 7880 7606 Editor DeeDee Doke
vanessa.townsend@recruiter.co.uk
Technical Staffing Resources Recruitment consultant Engineering Leatherhead, Surrey £28k-£30k + comms + bens
SAVANNAH GROUP: The global
CONTACTS
Contributing writer Sue Weekes Production editor Vanessa Townsend
staffing company is planning an expansion into the UK and Europe with the appointment of Shingo Toyama as corporate executive officer for the region.
PEDERSEN & PARTNERS: The
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Scan here to get your own copy of
07/03/2018 15:31
E THE LAST WORD CO M M UNITY
Alan Furley is director of ISL Recruitment
Alan Furley What we really mean is…
Hidden meanings. My goodness... they are a curse. Especially if you’re like me – someone who just wants to know what’s going on, make a useful decision then move to the next thing. Real meanings are hard enough. There are, for example, triangular warning signs beside hilly roads telling me to look out for falling boulders. I’m ashamed to admit my car didn’t come equipped with the latest Boulder Deflection Technology. I’ve definitely missed something. Or I’m about to hit it. I honestly couldn’t tell you. But a hidden meaning is 10 times worse because you feel dim for not spotting it, annoyed it was hidden in the first place, then dim again when someone tells you how obvious it all was. Hidden meanings are awful. Most are euphemisms. Euphemisms exist only because the truth is temporarily unsayable. If
you’re trying to describe a man at party who’s morbidly obese, can you simply say so? No. He is a “larger gentleman”. Does anyone listening think you mean ‘larger’ like a heavyweight boxer? Of course not. But honour has been preserved. Perhaps less admirable are the euphemisms in job descriptions. Senior recruiters will have seen and heard these a thousand times, and recognise them for what they are – more unsayable truths. But to candidates and newer recruiters it’s still a code. It’s worth remembering candidates engage with job descriptions infrequently and reluctantly. Why should they be expected to spot hidden messages? So we’ve dragged the most common offenders into the cleansing light of day. I am pleased to present to you: The ISL Recruitment ‘Riddle of the Job Description’ List Of Shame (see right)...
Perhaps less admirable are the euphemisms in job descriptions 42 RECRUITER
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Riddle of the Job Description Self-starter We have no process. We’ll give you a desk and a phone. You’re going to need to do a lot of the work and take initiative with often little support.
need a good phone manner without a strong accent. If you can use three swear words in one semi-coherent sentence you’re in.
Ambitious/fun loving or talk about ‘culture’ a lot
A gossip.
Outgoing and sociable
We only want young people.
Urgent need Work hard/play hard culture You’ll be working 7am to 7pm and be frowned upon if you don’t go out drinking until the early hours and attend every social.
Ambitious or Driven Be money-hungry. Make us money and bring in clients. You don’t care who gets left in your wake.
Tenacious or Works well under pressure This is a tough place and you’ll struggle if you can’t manage pressure. Be prepared to have some KPI or other thrust in your face four times a day.
Good communication skills
Someone’s just left and we’re hoping to hire before we fire the next trainee.
Flexible approach to work You’ll be doing everything. You might end up leading a team, making the tea, moving teams, and maybe using a broom every so often. Because you said you were ‘flexible’. But don’t think that excuses not hitting all 17 daily KPIs.
Must be a team player Must not question authority.
Fast-paced environment We’re spinning our lack of organisation as exciting, modern and cool. You’re going to be run off your feet. Apart from a Friday morning where last night’s Jäger bombs will definitely be slowing you down.
Native English speakers only. You’ll
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