Recruiter - July 2015

Business intelligence for recruitment and resourcing professionals

July 2015

INCORPORATING Recruitment Matters

PIRATES WEIGH ANCHOR Ex xclusive members’ club b sails the hig gh seas of re ecruitment for forrtu une and fun

WEARABLES Assessment – ‘fash pack’ style

www.recruiter.co.uk

FITFLOP Sian Smith’s brilliant career

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GLASSDOOR Recruitment firm employees have their say

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Bookings

Timesheets

Use Flo’s cloud based technology to automatically process timesheet data for your candidates.

Flo’s weekly consolidation process automatically generates invoice and payroll data, tracks information for AWR, and produces multiple MI reports saving agencies time and money.

Invoices AWR Tracking MI Reports

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C R ONT ENT S 41

ING PORAT INCOR itment Recru ers Matt

COV ER IMAG E | PA L HANSEN

20 A

NEWS

05 Talent mobility shifts

D

20 THE BIG STORY

Talent and global mobility are crossing organisational borders

Gary Goldsmith and Dean Kelly, founders of the Recruitment Directors Lunch Club, better known as the Pirates, share their vision for the future and how they’re getting there

06 Umbrella opening The sector has a rival to the FCSA in PRISM

06 Through the Glassdoor The online employer rating platform wants to be seen as a recruiting channel

07 Star recruit: Sepp Blatter 08 This was the month that was...

10 Contracts

B 13

TRENDS The Numbers Looking through the Glassdoor at recruiters

09

32 Recruiting goes wearable Wearable technology is already giving some recruiters the edge

07 Full of Eastern promise Wagamama’s UK expansion brings recruitment challenges

FEATURES

E COMMUNITY 35 Social Network 36 Careers Agency/In-house 41 My brilliant career: Sian Smith 43 Business Advice 44 Employability 48 Movers & Shakers 49 Recruiter Contacts 50 The Last Word

14 Insight

“So when I interview senior people, I watch and I listen to gauge the age of their inner person” G R E G O R Y A L L E N

Rigorous onboarding is key for diverse talent

17

Tech & Tools

50

The case for semantic search

C

INTERACTION

18 Agency View: Ricky Martin 19 Soapbox 19 Soundbites

50

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W E LCO M E

UPDATE

Talent mobility WE LCO M E

LEADER

W

elcome to a new, exciting chapter for Recruiter and the recruitment community!

Our new look will be evident from the front cover. And you may notice that we have more pages than before. But while some magazine redesigns are simply cosmetic, our changes go to the very core of how we want to serve recruiters and our suppliers.

You’ll find many of the same types of content we’ve delivered previously — news, technology information, etc.

However, you’ll also find a whole new “We invited Community rock’n’roll section, which will recruiters bring together Gary favourites such as Goldsmith appointments with and Dean new content Kelly of the focusing on Pirates to tell us their story” recruiters’ initiatives to increase employability skills in the wider marketplace, agency and in-house recruitment careers, bite-sized Social news, and business advice for recruitment owners from our new columnist Alex Arnot — The SME Coach.

To launch our new look, we invited rock’n’roll recruiters Gary Goldsmith and Dean Kelly of the Pirates to share their adventures for our cover feature, The Big Story. Warning: don’t expect a Hello!-type feature about Mr Goldsmith’s royal connections (he is the uncle of the Duchess of Cambridge). We’re talking pure recruitment here!

Let us know what you think — drop us a line at recruiter.editorial@redactive. co.uk or tweet @recruitermag

DeeDee Doke, Editor

DEEDEE DOKE

THE WORLDS OF in-house recruiters and global mobility (GM) specialists are increasingly drawing closer together as organisations deploy their talent around the world in different ways and tailor international assignments to meet strategic business needs, following in the footsteps of seasoned trailblazers such as BP and PwC, experts say.

“It’s about talent and the organisation’s goals — retaining talent in parts of the world and moving people for different reasons,” said Lisa Johnson, global practice leader, Crown World Mobility’s consulting services.

“In the last three to four years, it’s [GM’s] become much more aligned to the talent agenda, and in the future will be much more aligned to talent management rather than reward or taxation,” agreed Susannah Timlin, global head of talent acquisition (TA) and global mobility for specialist recruiter Hays, whose own role reflects the shift.

Currently, GM/talent mobility is an active jobs market for both in-house and mobility consultancies. “Mobility tends to follow the economy,” said Jonathan Kitterhing, who oversees GM recruitment at HR recruiter Frazer Jones. More companies are setting up mobility departments, such as publisher Reed Elsevier, which set up a mobility centre of expertise, Kitterhing pointed out. Also, mobility consultancies are “having a field day at the moment”, as companies seek external experts to handle mobility needs, said Jamie Newton, practice lead, HR recruiter Oakleaf Partnership. Salaries for internal specialists reflect the demand for their expertise. For the rare top GM professional, a six-figure salary is not unusual, Newton said.

SAINT GEORGE AUST RALIA © ESA M EXICO CIT Y © ESA

AT HENS © ESA JEDDAH © ESA

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NE WS A NALYSIS

UPDATE

5.7

MILLION PEOPLE ARE EMPLOYED IN THE RETAIL AND HOSPITALITY INDUSTRIES IN THE UK

PRISM says it lifts the game

“What we do is screen out the people you don’t want at an early stage”

COLIN COTTELL

Diarmuid Russell: “We’re really a recruitment channel”

Through the Glassdoor DEEDEE DOKE

IF YOU THINK of Glassdoor as an employment branding solution, the team at the online employer rating platform think you’ve got it wrong. “We’re really a recruiting channel,” said Diarmuid Russell, Glassdoor senior vice president – international.

“We found in the US, and also in the UK, that we’re a very efficient channel,” Russell continued, speaking exclusively to Recruiter.

“What we do is screen out the people you don’t want at an early stage; they sort of opt out of the process.”

Russell said that candidates who apply for jobs as a result of seeing the business reviewed or featured on Glassdoor are going to have proactively decided to apply at the company, “and if they accept an offer, they will have done their due diligence on what it’s really like to work for you”.

He added: “I think the thing people don’t always realise is that at heart, we make recruiters’ lives easier because we’re going 6 RECRUITER

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to bring them those really great candidates.”

In employers’ ranks, considerable fear has surrounded the rise of Glassdoor because the platform encourages employees to rate, review and comment on what it is really like to work somewhere.

Russell disputes whether fear is still a factor in employers’ perceptions of Glassdoor. “Every workplace is going to have good points and bad points,” he says.

“What Glassdoor does is, it shines a light on that. It allows people to make better decisions.”

For more on Glassdoor, see p13

Is your recruitment business hot enough to qualify for the Recruiter’s HOT 100 2015, the definitive list of the UK’s most profitable recruiters?

If your business’s gross profit is at least £1.5m, you have at least 20 employees

The chief executive of PRISM, the recentlylaunched trade association for service providers and payment intermediaries in the temporary market, has told Recruiter that competition between it and the Freelancer & Contractor Services Association (FCSA) will help raise everybody’s game and be good for the sector.

Following the almost simultaneous launch of PRISM and the FCSA’s associate membership programme in May, Crawford Temple rejected fears that having two trade bodies would be bad for the sector by fragmenting its voice in lobbying government. The umbrella sector faces serious challenges, both reputational and legislative, not least a shortly-to-beannounced consultation on travel and subsistence.

Julia Kermode, FCSA CEO, told Recruiter that the purpose of launching its associate membership was “to work with interested non-members who want to benefit from our good name and good reputation in representing them more widely”.

Kermode agreed that the FCSA and PRISM were “in direct competition” as each vied to sign-up members, telling Recruiter: “We are both doing the same thing.” But she said the FCSA was up for the challenge.

Temple acknowledged that having two trade bodies would mean that the sector spoke with “a disjointed voice”. However, he told Recruiter that “having competition makes it more likely everybody’s game is raised. It is going to benefit the sector more than just having one body, even if there is more than just one voice. It was disjointed already”, he continued. “People didn’t join FCSA; they were looking for an alternative.”

Kermode said: “I am not worried about people having the choice. Firms can choose either or both. We are confident in what we are doing and what we are offering; we will just have to see what pans out.”

and your turnover is at least £5m you may qualify for a place on Recruiter’s HOT 100 2015.

Send your latest set of filed accounts (no older than 2014) along with at least the previous year figures for comparison to sued@

theagilitybusiness.com.

Typically, these will be accounts for the year ending 31 December 2014. However, if a company’s reporting year ends in September, June or earlier, 2015 accounts should be sent. The deadline is 31 July

Find more daily news stories at recruiter.co.uk/news 16/06/2015 09:20

THOUGHTS FROM…

JAY SIHOTA O PE R ATIO NS DIREC TOR AT H1 HEALTHCARE

“If the government was serious about the framework agreements and wished to reward those agencies who were willing to be flexible with charge rates and who agreed to increased compliance levels and inspections, they could simply instruct NHS accounts not to pay non-framework invoices.

The question is: what is more painful? Continuing with ‘rip-off ’ agencies or a period of staffing challenges while a transition takes place? Either way, medicine that works rarely has a good taste.”

Finding talented chefs is a key staffing issue for Wagamama

Full of Eastern promise DEEDEE DOKE

AS PAN-ASIAN casual dining chain Wagamama widens its footprint across the UK, the company’s head of recruitment says its biggest recruiting challenge is staffing new restaurants in smaller urban areas where it is less well known.

Speaking exclusively to Recruiter, Chris Raaff said Winchester, Hants, where Wagamama recently opened an outlet with 40 staff, was an example of a location that “proved really challenging. It’s quite affluent, and the brand is not as well established and recognisable as it is in London or Birmingham where we have a number of restaurants”.

To overcome such challenges, Wagamama has invested significantly in building its employer brand, and is active on social media in advance of openings and uses hoardings to direct locals to the chain’s website.

The company has also worked with local government to reach potential candidates in pre-employment training. However, “inconsistent” experiences have led Wagamama to now partner with a ‘sole provider’ of employment support services, which Raaff declined to name, to tap into populations of young people who are not-in-education, employment or training (NEETS) across the UK. Currently, a nationwide hunt is on to find chefs as the chain opens 15 to 20 new eateries each year. Chefs represent “a critical skills shortage”, he added, “so we have to be aggressive in our approach to finding them”.

A rebranding of Wagamama’s careers sites is also underway. ●

R AHAF HARFOUSH CO -AUT HOR OF 20 14’S THE DECO DED COM PANY: KNOW YO U R TALENT BETTER THAN YOU KNOW YO U R CU STO MERS

“How can you build a good culture?

It’s never about having a ‘Hawaiian shirt Friday’ — it never works, and everyone hates it.”

JONATHAN AITKEN

STAR R E C R U I T

FORMER TORY MP AND EX-OFFENDER* HIMSELF JONATHAN AITKEN SPEAKING AT LAUNCH EVENT OF NACRO’S GUIDE TO EMPLOYING EX-OFFENDERS

“When I was first elected to the House of Commons in February 1974, the first piece of legislation I voted for was the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act. Why? Partly because it was a hung parliament and no other legislation was capable of being passed. That’s made a huge difference to spent convictions and whether people can be re-employed and how.”

I M AG E S | PA / R EX

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S EP P BL AT T ER

*In 1999 Aitken was convicted of perjury and served seven months of an 18-month prison sentence

The long-serving president at world football’s governing body FIFA may soon be on the lookout for a new job. Two recruiters advise him on the next stage in his career

Suki Sandhu, CEO, exective recruitment agency Audeliss: “Given your track record and beliefs, it may be worth doing some volunteering to redeem yourself.

How about an LGBT charity — there will be an expectation that no sex is allowed during this period.

Or maybe a leadership development programme about ethics and governance. But don’t call us, we’ll call you...”

Jane Vincent, MD, commercial and industrial staffing specialist Candelisa: “My advice to Sepp Blatter

would be to become a specialist consultant who goes into organisations that are riddled with controversy and corruption and for a fee sniff out those who are the culprits and name and shame them.

As they say ‘it takes one to know one’.”

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NE WS A NALYSIS

THIS WAS THE MONTH THAT WAS… Here is a round-up of some of the most popular news stories we brought you on recruiter.co.uk since the last issue of Recruiter was published M A Y •‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒→

T H U, 2 1 M AY 2 0 1 5

ACCESS BANK UNLOCKS THE PUZZLE Nigeria’s Access Bank has found a novel way of recruiting — via a disappearing portal.

The bank hoped to attract 500 new entrylevel employees with its innovative approach.

The portal, which opened for only 10 minutes at 10am each day until 10 June, asked prospective applicants to complete a logic puzzle within 10 minutes, before they could progress to another portal to upload their CVs. The bank’s social media team lead Segun Adekoye told Recruiter they were on the look out for “smart, sassy, hard-working, talented and devoted young people from reputable universities within and outside Nigeria”.

More: http://bit. ly/1I3jhn0

MON, 11 MAY 2015

SINGAPORE NAVY LOOKS TO NONTRADITIONAL RECRUITS A manpower crunch is seeing the Republic of Singapore Navy turn its recruitment radar to non-traditional sources such as women and midcareer professionals, Singapore newspaper Today reports.

Navy chief RearAdmiral Lai Chung Han anticipates the candidate pool to shrink by 20-25% in a decade. He was reported as saying women account for less than 7% of navy personnel but he wants to double that within 10 to 15 years.

T H U, 7 M AY 2 0 1 5

FRI, 29 MAY 2015

‘JUSTICE HAS BEEN DONE’ SAYS FORSTER, AS BLEASDALE IS BANKRUPTED

INVEST IN TALENT AND BOOST GLOBAL GDP

Following years of legal wranglings, Kate Bleasdale, founder of healthcare recruiter Healthcare Locums (HCL), was declared bankrupt in May. Bleasdale, the serial recruitment entrepreneur who had enjoyed huge success in building HCL into a £172m international staffing company, was not in court as Registrar Briggs handed down his judgement.

Briggs told David Isaacs, counsel for Bleasdale and her businessman husband John Cariss: “Your clients are bankrupt.”

The court’s decision to bankrupt Bleasdale, along with Cariss, is the culmination of a seven-year legal battle with inventor Debbie Forster.

Speaking after the hearing at the High Court in London, a beaming Forster told Recruiter: “Justice has been done, finally.”

A grim and red-faced Cariss refused to comment. Isaacs, counsel for Bleasdale and Cariss, told Recruiter that Bleasdale had been unable to attend the court today because she was ill.

The origins of the dispute go back to 2008, when Forster was unlawfully ousted by Bleasdale for alleged misconduct from Stayput Solutions, a company that Forster had set up and in which Bleasdale had invested. ●

Investing in talent and fulfilling people’s potential could boost global gross domestic product (GDP) by 20%, according to The Human Capital Report 2015, published last week by the World Economic Forum in collaboration with Mercer.

In a preface to the report, World Economic forum founder and chief executive Klaus Schwab said that despite reported talent shortages, the pool of latent talent was “enormous”.

“Business, in particular, must rethink its role as a consumer of ‘ready-made’ human capital to proactively seek out, engage and develop people’s potential.”

More: http://bit. ly/1I4zKg5

More: http://bit.ly/1Tb01wD

“Business, in particular, must rethink its role as a consumer of ‘readymade’ human capital to proactively seek out, engage and develop people’s potential” K L AU S S C H WA B

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Find more daily news stories at recruiter.co.uk/news 16/06/2015 09:23

FRI, 15 MAY 2015

Priti Patel was appointed minister of state for employment in Prime Minister David Cameron’s Cabinet reshuffle. •‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒→

Recruiters’ wish-list of priorities for the industry included addressing the UK’s skills crisis as well as building better links between schools and business through improved interaction with the Department for Education.

More: http://bit.ly/1JM5VA0

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DAYS

←‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒• J U N E

MON, 1 JUNE 2015

BBC WEATHERS STORM OVER DISABILITY AD

W E D, 2 7 M AY 2 0 1 5

CANDELISA’S TV ROLE GOOD FOR BUSINESS Candelisa People’s starring role in Channel 4’s new fly-on-the-wall documentary The Job Centre has been good for business, according to the recruitment agency’s managing director Jane Vincent.

Vincent set up Horizon Recruitment in 1997 and scooped the award for Best Regional Recruitment Firm at the Recruiter Awards for Excellence in 2004 and 2007, then set up Candelisa in 2009. She appears alongside her team in the television programme showing daily life at a recruitment agency.

Vincent told Recruiter it had already resulted in new business for her agency – even after the first airing: “The day after the programme our phones were going mental. We have already got new business from it.

“We have got hundreds of CVs through within minutes of the TV show going live.”

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

M

42 % OF MEN CALL AHEAD OF AN INTERVIEW TO CHECK ON THE DRESS CODE, WHILE ONLY

29 % OF WOMEN BELIEVE IT’S ESSENTIAL TO GET RIGHT CV-LIBRARY SURVEY OF MORE THAN 3,000 OF ITS JOBSEEKERS

M

FRI, 5 JUNE 2015

FOCUS ON NHS STAFFING LEVELS Healthcare recruiters have urged government to focus on ensuring adequate NHS staffing levels, in response to health secretary Jeremy Hunt’s announcement to clamp down on “rip-off ” staffing agencies operating in the sector.

Hunt announced last month that government would cap hourly rates for agency doctors and nurses, claiming expensive agencies are “ripping off ” the NHS. He added it was “outrageous” that companies are charging up to £3.5k a shift for a doctor.

But Glenn Cook, director of medical recruitment agency National Locums, told Recruiter he did not recognise some of the “stratospheric” figures being quoted in media reports.

Meanwhile Rosemary Bray, director at Blackbird HR, a nursing staffing agency that recruits across the UK and EU, called on the NHS to focus on ensuring adequate patient-to-staff ratios: “The NHS must focus on ensuring that the ratio of staff to patients is sufficient to deliver the care patients deserve. Until this happens there will always be a reliance on temporary agency staff to prop up staff shortages.”●

A BBC advert for a weather presenter training programme that was derided for being too politically correct has been labelled a bold approach by lawyers.

The advert specifically asks: “Do you have a disability? The BBC does not currently have any weather presenters who are disabled and we are actively seeking to improve onscreen diversity.”

In a blog, BBC Academy and BBC Birmingham director Joe Goodwin said while the three-day training course was designed for people with disabilities, there was no guarantee of a job at the end of it.

Chris Seaton, partner at law firm Burges Salmon, and Christopher Tutton, partner at law firm Irwin Mitchell, both told Recruiter specifically advertising for disabled people was not illegal.

Seaton said: “The reason for that under the Equality Act is to recognise that in general, disabled people face a lot of barriers to participating in work, so it’s an attempt to assist them getting over those barriers. I think it’s fair to say it’s a bolder approach than many employers usually make.”

Tutton added: “There is nothing to prevent employers treating disabled people more favourably than nondisabled people solely on account of their disability. Consequently, the BBC would be entitled to select a disabled candidate for the role even though they were not the most qualified applicant without breaching equality legislation.” ● More: http://bit.ly/1Gs0x3Z

More: http://bit.ly/1f4sx3b I M AG E S | CH A N NEL 4 / G ETTY

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£42m

NE WS A NALYSIS

CONTRACTS

WAS THE SUM TOWERS WATSON PAID FOR PSYCHOMETRIC ASSESSMENT BUSINESS SAVILLE CONSULTING

CONTRACT & DEALS

Ably Resources International recruiter Ably Resources, part of the Denholm Oilfield Services Group, has secured Middle East contracts worth about £400k.

The Scottish-based firm won new clients in the infrastructure and specialist fit-out sectors for a variety of new projects across the region.

Adecco, Hays, Retinue Global HR solutions provider Adecco, global specialist recruiter Hays and managed services provider Retinue were appointed to the MSTAR2 framework.

The framework was set up by the Local Government Professional Services Group to supply staff to public sector organisations.

Antal International Global recruiter Antal International acquired Milton Keynes-based office support temps recruiter Smart Moves.

This expands Antal’s presence in the UK, as well as in the temps and contractors space. Smart Moves will keep its branding.

Castlerock Recruitment Group Recruitment and health service provider Castlerock Recruitment Group (CRG) has bought the forensic healthcare division of healthcare staffing and services company Medacs Healthcare for an undisclosed sum.

Bluefire Digital and IT recruiter Bluefire has acquired IT recruiter Gate Hampton, adding an “additional level of expertise”, according to Bluefire founder Steve Dhillon. He added Bluefire would take over a number of managed service accounts with clients across the Big Data, gaming, value-added resellers and digital media disciplines.

DEAL OF THE MONTH Multi-sector recruiter Cordant Recruitment acquired international recruiter Staffgroup, parent company of Earthstaff, Eurostaff and Enginestaff, for an undisclosed sum after only three months of negotiations.

Recruiter Award winning Staffgroup, will join Cordant’s Professional Staffing division. Staffgroup was also on

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JULY 2015

Recruiter’s 2015 FAST 50 and 2014 HOT 100 lists of the fastest growing and most profitable recruitment businesses in the UK. Cordant Professional Staffing managing director Sid Barnes told Recruiter the deal “gives us a platform to rapidly establish and expand Staffgroup in the UK market but also internationally. It also offers the other Professional Staffing

brands a gateway to Europe and beyond as well which was always part of my longer term strategy”.

When he joined Cordant in January, he said, the board made it clear they wanted him to “bolster the professional staffing business and acquire a world-class organisation in the IT recruitment space.

It was just a match made in heaven”.

JSA Services Umbrella and payroll provider JSA Services has acquired the contractor base of CDI Contractor Services Ltd (CCSL) from professional services recruiter CDI AndersElite. This follows its acquisition of Conduit People Management and Conduit Accounting Services from Huntswood CTC.

ManpowerGroup Global recruiter ManpowerGroup has bought the Australian and Singaporean arms of FiveTen Group’s technology staffing brand Greythorn and its finance recruiter, Marks Sattin. The two brands will now operate under Manpower’s Experis brand in those regions.

Experis is Manpower’s professional staffing arm.

NHS SBS Specialist NHS business support provider NHS Shared Business Services (NHS SBS) acquired McKesson Shared Services (MSS), the outsourced HR, payroll and pensions service of McKesson UK.

One Call Recruitment Peterborough-based food, recycling and warehouse & distribution recruiter One Call Recruitment bought Lincolnshire agency Epton Employment Services. The deal has seen One Call almost double in size, as well as expanding its geographic reach.

O’Neill Consulting Group US-based global retained executive search firm O’Neill Consulting Group has bought DMR Advisory. US-based DMR specialises in retained executive search and human capital advisory services for the real estate hospitality and technology industries.

Penna Global people management business Penna’s Recruitment Solutions service line has won major contracts with supermarket chain Asda, the Local Government Recruitment Partnership and passenger transport provider Go Ahead.

The contracts will see Penna build a careers site and a learning and development portal, and deliver HR consultancy services and resourcing solutions.

Towers Watson Global professional services company Towers Watson has acquired international psychometric assessment business Saville Consulting for £42m. This offers offers its HR clients a one-stop shop of services including screening, potential and performance assessment or 360 degree feedback.

TransForce US recruiter TransForce, which specialises in the supply of commercial truck drivers, has bought Davis Transportation Services, a regional supplier of drivers in New England.

Announcing the news, TransForce president and chief executive David Broome said further acquisitions were on the horizon.

More contract news at recruiter.co.uk/contract news 16/06/2015 09:25

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T R E N DS

THE NUMBERS

LOOKING THROUGH THE GLASSDOOR AT RECRUITERS How well does your recruitment/staffing company fare on Glassdoor?

Love it or loathe it, Glassdoor is the online platform that lets employees spill the goods on what it’s actually like to work for a particular employer. It calls itself an online jobs and careers marketplace. Globally, 23m people visit the site and app each month to look at 8m pieces of workplace information, from salaries to reviews of interviews and office photos for 400k organisations around the world.

H UDSON GLOBAL

LOL A E V E N T STAF F ING

HAYS

4

M A N POWE R UK

5

6

PAGE GROU P

7

3 V E NN GR O UP

MONSTER

8

2

HYD ROGEN GROU P

9

A S PI R E

1

Employee reviews are not part of a survey but are voluntary and anonymous.

R ANK

10

ALEXAND ER MANN SOLU TIONS

This list provided to Recruiter by Glassdoor details the top 10 UK-based recruitment and staffing companies, including job board and recruitment process outsourcing providers, based on the numbers of reviews they had (20 or more) and an average taken from the ratings given.

The average company rating on Glassdoor is a 3.2, based on a 5-point scale: 1.0 – very dissatisfied, 3.0 – OK, 5.0 – very satisfied.

V ERY D I S S AT I S F I E D

1

OK

2

S ATIS F IED

3

4

5

ASPIRE

4.7 4.2

VEN N GR O UP

4.1

MA N P OW E R UK

3.9

HAYS

3.7

H U DS O N GLO BA L

3.5

LO L A E V E N T STA F F I NG

3.4

PAG EG R O UP

3.3

MO N ST E R H Y DROG E N GR O UP A MS

3.2 3.1

23

MILLION PEOPLE VISIT GLASSDOOR’S SITE AND APP EACH MONTH

8

MILLION PIECES OF WORKPLACE INFORMATION ARE AVAILABLE

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TRE NDS

INSIGHT

HELPING NEW HIRES ON BOARD Recruiters are often the first personal contacts for a candidate in a new organisation. And while the responsibility of officially onboarding a new hire tends to fall to the new employee’s manager, a recruiter can help get the onboarding process off to a good start.

O

nboarding has two main purposes: to help new hires become effective in their new roles as quickly as possible and to turn the attraction that originally made them join the organisation into high levels of engagement now that they are employees.

The initial months of a new hire’s time in an organisation have been found to have a significant impact on the individual’s success. A good onboarding process pays dividends, as evidence shows that performance levels of new hires increase much faster if they have been on a rigorous onboarding programme compared to no, or a less rigorous, programme. Good onboarding has a positive impact on a company’s bottom line.

Onboarding programmes, sometimes referred to as ‘new hire orientation programmes’ or ‘induction programmes’, vary widely.

In some organisations, it may be as little and as informal as providing a new joiner with a mobile phone and laptop, and introducing him or her to new colleagues. At the other end of the spectrum, there are rigorous and technology-enabled

solutions that allow new hires to start their onboarding even before they have physically set foot in the new company’s offices.

At IBM, we have a ‘Soon to be Blue’ virtual community that allows new hires to learn about the organisation, to build relationships with other new hires and to give an early taster for IBM’s way of working socially. Once officially part of the organisation, new hires are transferred to the ‘New to Blue’ community which provides a first port of call for all the necessary information that a new joiner may need. This includes information about career opportunities and work-life balance programmes, its vast array of training programmes, how to easily find experts and new colleagues across the world, and how to work socially in a global organisation.

The online community is supported through webinars that allow new starters to make sense of all the available information as well as a structured SUCCEED@IBM programme that takes new hires through the first six months of their career at IBM. We know from our research at the IBM Smarter Workforce Institute that factors such as training, development opportunities, work-life balance and

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Transforming outsider into insider Onboarding: an “organisational socialisation process” and “a process through which new employees move from being organisational outsiders to becoming organisational insiders.

Onboarding refers to the process that helps new employees learn the knowledge, skills, and behaviours they need to succeed in their new

organisations” – T N Bauer and B Erdogan (2011): Organizational socialization: The effective onboarding of new employees, American Psychological Association handbook of industrial and organizational psychology, Vol 3: Maintaining, expanding and contracting the organization.

being inspired by the executive team’s vision are all important drivers of employee engagement and retention.

Every onboarding should therefore pay particular attention to these elements.

My work with organisations also shows time and again how important rigorous onboarding is for diverse talent that is joining the organisation,

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hires hear, what they observe and the early buddying or mentoring that they receive that allows a new hire to get a feeling for the organisation and how things are done, and that will help them decide whether it’s an organisation where they can see themselves thrive and prosper.

In 2007’s ‘A Review of Onboarding Literature’, Guangrong Dai and Kenneth P De Meuse identified six areas as being important to address as part of a new hire’s onboarding period:

GOOD ONBOARDING HAS A

POSITIVE

IMPACT ON A COMPANY’S BOTTOM LINE

↗

as they are less likely to have access to unwritten rules as quickly as existing employees.

Supporting this observation is ‘Unwritten Rules: What You Don’t Know Can Hurt Your Career’, an interesting 2008 study series from non-profit organisation Catalyst.

Catalyst’s studies find that women tend to have a less good understanding of an organisation’s unwritten rules, which are often shared through informal interaction with more senior people or power brokers, than men. Without a good understanding of these unwritten rules that define success informally and that cannot be discovered in any handbook or website, a new employee is less likely to be successful — irrespective of their technical competence.

In addition to the official onboarding and passing on of company information, the informal socialisation process is important. It is the stories and anecdotes that new

➊ Performance proficiency ➋ People ➌ Politics ➍ Language ➎ Organisational vision and values ➏ History

DR INES WICHERT is head of the D&I [Diversity & Inclusion] Centre of Excellence, IBM Smarter Workforce in Europe

Through their interaction with prehires and new hires, recruiters can add great value through supporting the informal socialisation process in these six broad categories. ●

Dr Wichert works with clients to build a community of D&I experts, as well as advising on diversity and inclusion solutions. She has a special interest in talent management and female leadership development. Her latest book Where Are All the Senior Women? Nine Critical Job Assignments for Women Leaders was published by Palgrave Macmillan.

S IX A REAS OF IMPORTANCE

1

2

3

4

5

6

PERFORMANCE PROFICIENCY

PEOPLE

POLITICS

LANGUAGE

ORGANISATIONAL VISION AND VALUES

HISTORY

Most organisations have a wealth of documents available on their intranet or filed away on someone’s laptop. Not all documents are as useful and informational as others. Consider sharing the three best documents that you personally keep going back to with your new hires as a great source of tried and tested organisational knowledge.

Stress the importance of any onboarding programmes that your organisation runs and how they can help the new starter become more successful more quickly.

Introduce the new hire to two or three senior contacts and three peers from your own network. It will help the new hire build a network that is broader than his or her immediate team.

Also, are there any business resource groups that the employee may be interested in?

Share three projects that everyone in the company is talking about. It will give a new starter a great insight into the unwritten rules of behaviour and get an understanding into what really counts in the organisation.

These ‘stories’ also give the new hire something very concrete to talk about when they meet new colleagues and managers.

An observant new hire will have picked up on some of the organisation’s language throughout the recruitment process, as it is hopefully woven throughout the recruitment process.

As a recruiter you have a great opportunity to bring this language to life and help new hires understand why this language is being used and important.

It is one thing to read about an organisation’s vision and values on a company’s website and a completely different experience to hear a person talk about why they have chosen to be part of the organisation and which values they identify with. Why are you part of the company that you are recruiting for?

Consider sharing your own interpretation of the organisation’s vision and values and what they mean to you personally.

Share a few stories of the company’s history.

What milestones have defined the company so far? At IBM I have frequently heard about the importance of having a diverse workforce and inclusive work environment, considered to be a great enabler to help the organisation stay current and to keep re-inventing itself.

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15/06/2015 17:18

T R E N DS

TECH & TOOLS

The case for semantic search Intelligent searching has evolved SUE WEEKES

The use of intelligent search methods, such as semantic versus traditional Boolean and keyword searching, is a subject that always generates discussion as it typically turns into a debate about humans versus machines.

Intelligent searching uses some form of artificial intelligence and, in theory, it can deliver quicker and more accurate results. In the case of semantic searching, it tries to understand the intent, meaning and context behind the search.

But while it has been around for some years, semantic hasn’t always

F IVE KEY POINTS

fully lived up to its promise. In the early days the intelligence behind it didn’t cover enough markets and segments. “It has evolved, though, and semantic search nowadays does do better than Boolean,” claims Filip de Geijter, chief executive of Actonomy, which specialises in intelligent search and match recruitment technology.

Traditional Boolean will continue to exist — but if recruiters are to make sense of the increasing volume of data that resides on the web about potential candidates, semantic has an important part to play.

➊ SEMANTIC V KEYWORD SEARCH

➋ WHAT IS AVAILABLE

➌ WHERE IT ADDS VALUE

➍ POTENTIAL DOWNSIDES

➎ ENGAGE WITH

Keyword searching works by matching the words in a search string to information on the web. In theory, semantic searching is more intelligent because it tries to understand the meaning behind the search. Put simply, it can distinguish between ‘ruby’ as a programming language, ‘ruby’ as a jewel and ‘ruby’ as cockney rhyming slang for a curry. Behind it is a huge knowledge base and clever search algorithms that do the hard work.

Taken to the ideal, de Geijter says that semantic search should allow natural language processing queries. “Such as, ‘we need a sales manager with experience in real estate for five years and living in London’,” he explains. “The system will analyse your query, convert it into real search concepts and get you results.”

Google started building some semantic search capabilities into its algorithms a few years ago, so you may be using it without knowing that you are. A number of specific products have been developed for the recruitment industry, such as Actonomy, DaXtra Search, Monster’s 6Sense and Jobsite’s Jobtology.

Increasingly, semantic search technologies are being packaged as intelligent ‘search and match’ products in which the semantic part will be largely invisible to the user in the future. As well as finding a list of closely matched candidates, such products may include a candidate rating or score.

In any complex search, but it can be particularly useful when searching for unstructured data that doesn’t reside in a structured database. For example, there could be a white paper hidden deep in the web containing the names of several experts who would make ideal candidates for a particular role. Boolean experts could seek this piece of data out with a clever search string but for those less proficient in specialist keyword searching methods, semantic search could help locate the same document. “The fact that recruiters search for candidates across the internet and across different sources will force them to use more advanced ways of searching compared to Boolean,” says de Geijter.

Highly accomplished sourcing wizards would rather know precisely how they have arrived at a set of results than be led by semantic or another form of intelligent search and match, and some fear it is taking the skill and thought out of recruiting. In theory, if everyone can buy the same tools, they will all be searching out the same talent. Writing in his muchread ‘Boolean Black Belt’ blog, expert sourcer Glen Cathey posed the question whether sourcing could be truly automated and contends that, if companies need to “make sense” of the ever-expanding mass of human capital data, they need people to do it.

Semantic search is a highly technical subject, and recruiters often shy away from quizzing vendors on their products. Ask for examples of what the technology can do and ensure the provider understands their expectations of it. “Systems are not always trained well enough for specialised recruiters,” warns de Geijter.

“If the system does not know the context very well, then it will bring little added value.”

Also, with new roles and job descriptions emerging and therefore new search terms, make sure the vendor is continually investing in and updating the knowledge base behind the system.

VENDORS

DEF IN E D: B OOL E A N SE A RC H

DEFINED: S EMANTIC S EARCH

A type of search allowing users to combine keywords with operators such as AND, NOT and OR to further produce more relevant results.

For example, a Boolean search could be «hotel» AND «New York». This would limit the search results to only those documents containing the two keywords.

A data searching technique in which a search query aims to not only find keywords, but to determine the intent and contextual meaning of the words a person is using for search. It provides more meaningful search results by evaluating and understanding the search phrase and finding the most relevant results in a website, database or any other data repository.

Source: Webopedia.com

Source: Techopedia.com

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

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D

INTE R AC TIO N

AGENCY VIEW

Promotion time Are you ready?

RICKY MARTIN

ut in the time, hard work, hit your targets and you’ll be well on the way to getting that promotion. But wait, stop and think for a minute.

Are you actually ready for this promotion? That might sound pessimistic coming from me, ‘Mr Think Positive Be Positive’, but I’m also a realist.

Just because you already consider yourself to be successful in your current role doesn’t necessarily mean you’re ready to take on more responsibilities.

Ever looked across the office and thought “How on earth did you get that job? What was your manager thinking?”.

Having worked in the recruitment industry for a decade, I’ve seen this happen time and time again. The consequences of over-promoting employees when they’re not quite ready for it can have serious repercussions — not just for them but the entire team, perhaps even the business.

Consider this scenario: you manage a large team. One of your recruitment consultants approaches you about a promotion. This person is really good at his or her job, perhaps even your top recruiter, but does that guarantee readiness to manage a team?

Naturally, as a manager you want your team to develop and you want to demonstrate that you appreciate the value

P

+ RICKY MARTIN is managing director and founder of Hyper Recruitment Solutions. Find out more at www.hyperec.com or @Hyperec_HRS on Twitter

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JULY 2015

“Just because you have a successful business doesn’t necessarily mean you can take on the world”

they bring to the business. But your gut instinct tells you they’re not entirely ready to take the next step — perhaps one day maybe, but not right now. Why set a person up to fail simply because you couldn’t be straight with them? Yes, it might be tough, but if your employee isn’t quite ready for a promotion, you need to tell them. Or be prepared to support them, provide them with the training they require to get to that point.

The same applies to you. Don’t just take the next step because you think you’re ready. Just because you have a successful business doesn’t necessarily mean you can take on the world.

Big decisions require serious thought and selfpromotion is not a decision to be taken lightly. Do you have enough experience? Have you fully understood what the role entails? What responsibilities will it bring? Don’t set yourself up to fail. By fail. I mean never agree to something you cannot deliver.

It’s so easy to get excited at the thought of a promotion (and we all do it) and not actually think about the kinds of responsibilities it will bring. Taking on too much work, then realising you can’t work to agreed deliverables, ultimately means disappointing clients, colleagues, managers and — even worse — yourself.

Making tough decisions is hard, but don’t avoid making them. Be confident and take your time to think things through carefully. Whether you’re considering promoting a member of your staff or you’re thinking about self-promotion, my advice is to make sure you do your research and have considered all the implications and risks. Is it the right thing to do? Remember, the more you take on, the more responsibilities you have — so before you commit, think about the consequences of your actions. ●

ILLUST RAT ION | ISTOCK

16/06/2015 16:35

I N T E R AC T I O N

SOUNDBITES SOAPBOX TIME TO CRACK DOWN ON BLACK MARKET PRACTICES AS SOMEONE who has committed almost their entire career to the recruitment industry, spanning nearly 30 years, I have personally experienced the journey from our industry being on the ‘bottom of the heap’ to an industry that has built a reputation around service and quality, and created real value for its clients and candidates (albeit with significant room for further improvement).

I have recently been made aware of the ‘black market’ practices operating within our industry on what seems an increasing basis of cash inducements being paid to consultants by umbrella companies to secure candidate referrals.

I’m not naive to the fact that all organisations seek to find favour with clients, but this goes well beyond the odd box of doughnuts, a mouse mat etc. I am now hearing of cash amounts of £300£400 being paid for single referrals.

For directors of recruitment companies, identifying this practice should be a significant focus. It is imperative they outlaw this behaviour within their business immediately as it breaches both the law and good practice, including the nonpayment of tax and National Insurance, contravention of the anti-bribery act and the fact that consultants can make more money by referring candidates to umbrella companies than they do from placing people in jobs!

It has become so commonplace that I have heard some consultants are now demanding an upmarket lunch and state their ‘terms’ to umbrella providers before referring candidates.

In my opinion, any consultant guilty of accepting cash payments should have their employment terminated immediately and (if aware) their managers and directors should suffer the same fate.

It’s important that the full range of organisations representing the industry — including the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo), the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC), the Association of Recruitment Consultancies (ARC), the Institute of Recruiters (IOR), the Freelancer and Contractor Services Association (FCSA), PRISM etc — act together in closing down this seedy behaviour.

Steve Carter Principal Carter Squared Consulting

“How can you tell if someone is lying on their CV?” DEBOR AH KELLY H EA D OF RECRUIT MEN T, RETA I L , CON S UMER P ROD UC T S A N D IN S UR A N CE, L LOY DS BA N K IN G G ROUP

“Look out for vague information or responses — this can be the biggest clue to something being not quite right. Candidates should be able to profile their biggest achievements, so you need to look for examples to back this up and to add some depth. Does the overall CV stack up in terms of the roles and successes? Does it look realistic against what they have been doing? You should also ask for certificates as a standard — at interview, ask the candidate to bring evidence of their achievements.

Probe the responses to satisfy yourself they can back up their claims and evidence this with specific examples.”

JAMES WAKEFIELD MA N AG IN G D I REC TOR – IN T ERN AT I ON A L , COBA LT RE C RU I T M E N T

“This is an age-old problem and the truth is you can only part mitigate the risk of untruthful CVs. Spotting lies in a CV is the same as spotting lies in life. People that lie often can’t help themselves, so you will tend to come across a few points that feel just too good to be true. The best way to validate someone’s CV is to meet a candidate in person where possible. Then you can engage them in a detailed conversation about their qualifications, experience and technical capabilities. If you get to the end of the conversation feeling it is all too good to be true, you have your answer!”

OLIVIER JULIENNE G EN ER A L MA N AG ER ST R AT EG IC H R , G ROUP E ROUL L I E R

“What we often find wrong with CVs is that the information is really out of date and/or not quite true.

A usual find is that information gets presented rather enthusiastically, particularly regarding the actual experience of the candidate. So while they might be cheating on their CVs, they might not necessarily be a liar. It could mean they are dreaming about their next role, that they are ambitious — like a key account salesman that only has five years of sales experience but says he increased company turnover by 25% a year. Do be careful about the candidate who describes in detail the local factory he built up for 4 tonnes of product when the global market has only 2 tonnes. Therefore, we think it is best to always cross reference information during interviews, and to dig deep. Even if you identify wrong dates or other details on a CV, it is only with an interview that you may determine cheater from liar.”

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TH E B IG STO RY PIR ATES CLUB

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JULY 2015

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BY GRAHAM SIMONS

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PHOTOGRAPHY

PAL HANSEN

Entrepreneurial spirit, motivation and drive are all qualities one associates with privateers of legend. But these traits alone would not be enough to join the crew of recruitment industry pirates Dean Kelly and Gary Goldsmith’s ‘member ship’. Warning: recruiters are advised to leave their egos at the door.

In case you’ve spent the last year on a deserted island with no phone, tablet or other communications tool, one of the hottest topics in the UK recruitment industry since last summer has been the Recruitment Directors Lunch Club (RDLC), typically referred to by its more colourful nickname, the Pirates.

Formed by Goldsmith and Kelly, recruiters who pulled themselves up by their bootstraps to build their careers, the RDLC is an exclusive peer-to-peer recruitment agency leaders’ club that facilitates the sharing of knowledge and experience by founders, owners and senior shareholders of recruitment businesses who want to grow said businesses.

The RDLC meets six to nine times a year for lunch. Members pay a £200 monthly fee to participate, access an exclusive members’ buying club and ▶

22 RECRUITER

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T H E BIG STO RY PI R AT E S C L U B

“Aim for the stars and you might touch the moon” – Gary Goldsmith

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TH E B IG STO RY PIR ATES CLUB

enjoy the bonhomie and expertise of other ambitious recruiters. But it’s not for everyone.

“Aharrr!” Goldsmith booms jokingly in pirate-speak as the three-way conversation with himself, Kelly and Recruiter gets underway. “It’s a very elite group at the moment, and we’re certainly not going to let everybody in.

The recruitment world has a reputation — and, for the main part, fairly — of being quite arrogant. Those people wouldn’t really fit well into our group.

If people are going to walk in and say how brilliant they are, there are plenty of other groups for them to go to.”

Kelly adds, offering a parallel with the cult film and novel Fight Club: “We don’t lobby. We’re not out to accredit.

It’s a Chatham House rules forum, so the first rule of lunch club is that you don’t talk about lunch club.

“There’s no kind of cartel. There’s no sharing of clients or anything like that. The rules are you have to give, you have to speak, you have to provide information — your thoughts, what you’re looking to achieve and what you’re looking to do, your aims your goals, your values. So I would say it is the most open, sharing environment in recruitment outside of a cartel where you’re doing it for progressive purposes.”

Those who have joined “wanted a sense check”, he says. “[They want to know] ‘Am I doing good? Is the market good, is the market bad?’ We wanted a group of people that wasn’t together because they just wanted to listen to speakers; it was a networking group.”

But a networking group with a difference, Kelly continues: “So everything was for the betterment of recruitment. Nothing was to tarnish recruitment as a brand.”

As colourful themselves as the nickname of the group they created, founders Kelly and Goldsmith have paid their dues with hard graft and reaped most of the rewards successful careers in recruitment have to offer.

Reflecting their success are the palatial surroundings of Home House, the London private members’ club that Goldsmith refers to as his “home away from home” and where Recruiter meets up with the duo to talk about the Pirates . And the nickname, Kelly and Goldsmith are happy to reveal, comes from Apple founder Steve Jobs’ ▶ 24 RECRUITER

“It’s better to be a pirate than it is to join the navy. Rather than join the main herd, let’s carry on to do something else, and let’s go and do something that’s abstract, that’s different” – Steve Jobs, founder of Apple

JULY 2015

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T H E BIG STO RY PI R AT E S C L U B

philosophy for creating what became a world-changing company.

Kelly has been CEO of education recruiter Synarbor since 2007, and also is an investor and non-executive director.

Goldsmith, currently a non-executive director, investor and consultant, made his name in recruitment as the builder of SThree’s contract business and was managing director of SThree’s Computer Futures for 13 years. The pair actually forged their relationship at Computer Futures, which Kelly joined for his first job in recruitment.

To understand the duo’s vision for the RDLC, it is important to understand their individual rises to the top of the recruitment tree.

Kelly had left a role as a commercial negotiator, dropping his salary by a third to join Computer Futures.

This willingness to take a hefty pay cut to take on a new career spoke to Goldsmith’s drive and determination.

“We used to call them PHDs — poor, hungry and driven,” Goldsmith recalled of Kelly and others who joined the company demonstrating motivation and potential for success. “Dean was a definite PHD from back in the day, prepared to sacrifice his income to join the industry, loved the work and worked very, very hard.”

To pay his mortgage at the time, Kelly supplemented his Computer Futures pay with jobs cleaning his boxing and football clubs, and labouring at weekends. As his labours took their toll, he was summoned to a meeting with Goldsmith. “He said, ‘I heard you’ve been moonlighting — but we’ve never seen anyone work as hard as you’,” Kelly recalls. “I am going to give you a guarantee for three months, taking you up to the equivalent of £30k, but I want you to stop everything else you are doing and show us what you can do.’

“Literally, within two weeks, my numbers went through the roof. I broke into DHL, One2One — massive accounts within three months.”

Goldsmith earned his own rewards by building his career from the ground up. The man who is renowned for setting up SThree’s contract business was sacked from his first job in recruitment.

“I was working for a company called Grayson. It was above a Methodist ▶

“Being a recruitment artist is being able to express yourself in a way that gets people emotionally” – Dean Kelly

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church right opposite Madame Tussauds — ironically around the corner from where I can afford to live these days. I was so poor I used to come into work in my Fiat Uno from Maidenhead and put the parking ticket on one day and turn it over the next day to see if I got away with it because I was so skint.

“Every bit of commission I earned just went towards paying my parking fines. It was horrific.”

He explains he didn’t fit in at this family-run firm and was fired.

However, he had already secured a job at another agency. “I also worked for VNG [IT recruiter Victor Norman Groves]. I wrote them a business plan

based on a formula I’d found which was based on multi-level marketing, which I then went on and investigated … I presented the plan to them and it was never acknowledged,” he says.

VNG’s loss was SThree’s gain and resulted in SThree’s out-earning his previous employer, Goldsmith says.

Goldsmith regards the setting up of the contracts business as his finest achievement in recruitment. It was successful, he says, because of hiring people with potential who bought into a culture and who were innovative around how they sourced candidates and won new clients.

“I always employed the best tool kit I could find and recruited people with

WHO A RE THEY?

Gary Goldsmith

Dean Kelly

January 2013 to present Nonexecutive director, investor, consultant, various

April 2007 – present Chief executive, Synarbor

February 2012 to January 2013 Chief operating officer, InterQuest Group 2010 to February 2012 Shareholder, non-executive, management consultant, business angel, investor, various 2004 to 2006 Chairman CFS channel, SThree December 1993 to August 2006 Managing director, Computer Futures Solutions (SThree)

September 2006 to April 2007 Chief executive/managing director, Public Recruitment Group (Synarbor) October 2002 to August 2006 Chief executive/founder/owner, Kellis Group September 2000 to July 2002 Group operations & sales manager, Dream (Servoca) August 1999 to October 2000 Team leader, Paragon IT August 1998 to September 1999 Senior consultant, Computer Futures Solutions (SThree)

28 RECRUITER

personality and smarts. In the business there was an open door, and people got rewarded — people that brought ideas to the table,” Goldsmith says. “There was no such thing as a bad idea — just people with no ideas.

“So it was cool to be good, cool to be great and cool to want to be a boss, and if you added to the pot you got more — and had more fun.”

That philosophy is not far from that governing Goldsmith and Kelly’s Pirates today. Take the scurvy sea dogs who fall foul of the founders’ discerning requirements of sharing and contributing to the lunchtime discussions, for instance. Kelly says he and Goldsmith are not averse to making them walk the plank.

“We’ve kicked people out,” Kelly admits. “You have to be put forward [for membership], and you have to be seconded and agreed by pretty much every member. You could be kicked out for not contributing, for just sitting there, listening and taking in information without contributing.”

“You must wear it on your sleeve,” Goldsmith adds of the expected contributions from members.

While the effusive Goldsmith and the more reserved Kelly clearly enjoy a yin-yang relationship, they share a vision and aspiration of what the Pirates should be. And the dedication to building and operating great recruitment businesses is also aligned with a fervent belief in enjoying oneself.

Take Goldsmith’s recent birthday celebrations, for example. “It’s turned into a birthday year to be fair — my 50th year,” he says of his April birthday.

“It became something of a Hindu festival where it just never stopped. I had my last birthday lunch last week [in May] and I’ve still got two more to go. We’ve had a party for 100 friends, lunches, golf in the pouring rain.

“I have a lot of fun,” the tennis-mad Goldsmith concedes. “I liked my title back at SThree as ‘the king of fun’. I realised also that happy people make you money, so I always found ways to make fun and games at work.”

Treats and rewards were used to drive consultants on to better performance month-on-month.

“I enjoyed work massively so I did it as much as I could, and tried to

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Goldsmith on Kelly:

“We have an appreciation of each other, a massive respect for each other. It’s a really good balancing act”

get better at it. If you’re not having a good time, just don’t do it. I think my personality is borne out in the RDLC.” Goldsmith had recently taken five years off “doing absolutely nothing, and then came back to recruitment because I missed the people and the buzz. I think what we’re doing with the whole Pirates thing is quite magnanimous and is giving back”.

Kelly, meanwhile, is an amateur boxer whose approach to work and life reflect his presence in the ring. “I punch above my weight,” he says. “I always fight. I can box but if I need to go toe-to-toe, I do it.

“I get up at 4.25am every morning to go to work and I still work 12-14 hours day every single day because I love it,” he says.

Taking the point further, he continues: “I think recruitment is an art. They call boxing the sweet science.

We’re not playing by numbers. Animal spirits drive our market, drive our recruitment processes, they drive our recessions. To be an artist is an emotive way of engaging with people.

“If I can tap into your emotions

about how you feel about an individual, a process, a working environment, whatever you’re doing, then you’re more likely to excel within what suits you and what you’re about and what you want to do.

“It’s about creating an environment where everybody can excel and you can be different — but it’s about having the artistic values to apply that to people’s emotions.”

Within the sanctity of Pirates meetings, the toughest issue raised to date is “almost everything surrounding opportunity costs”, Goldsmith says.

“The market has changed, and changed up a gear. There is an opportunity cost if you’re not shaping your business in the right way, if you’ve not got the right number of people, if you aren’t considered to be a specialist and considered to be a generalist, if your margins are being eroded.

“So there are a few people who are dying through a thousand cuts with lots of little things going wrong — but there are also an awful lot of people in the room with things going brilliantly.

It’s about making sure they’re doing

the right thing in terms of turning the volume up,” he says.

Also, he adds, “there are a few businesses that have invested quite heavily in teams of people that have basically depleted them of cash. So they’ve invested in people that haven’t had returns on that investment. That’s quite heavy”.

And what does the future hold for the Pirates?

The ultimate aim is to help their members work better, work faster and do it more consistently, Goldsmith says. “We are here to help the founders of recruitment enterprises, and make sure they are rewarded for their bravery as an entrepreneur — be it EBITDA [earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation] or value in an exit.”

Also, he adds, he and Kelly have had conversations with “sources” about creating a fund to invest in businesses.

“Obviously, given our background and experience, the conversations about mergers and exits are being explored.”

Get on board now — this Pirates’ ship is clearly headed for the high seas. ● WWW.RECRUITER.CO.UK 29

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16/06/2015 09:32

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15/06/2015 17:23

Issue 27 July 2015

RECRUITMENT MATTERS The View and The Intelligence Working with the new government and the state of the jobs market p2-3

Visa salad Is the UK’s visa system turning away the brightest global student talent to our detriment? p4

Legal update and the IRP The impact of possible changes in employment law and inside the IRP p6-7

TALK TO US, REC TELLS DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH The Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) is calling on the Department of Health to meet with it about changes to NHS trusts’ spend on agency nurses

Health secretary Jeremy Hunt told the NHS to cut its soaring £3.3bn bill for agency staff, calling for an end to the “extraordinate” rates charged by some agencies.

Many hospital trusts have had difficulty attracting enough extra skilled staff and have relied on agency personnel to fill their rotas.

REC director of policy Tom Hadley says the health

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secretary’s comments are disappointing.

“The language and tone from Jeremy Hunt is outrageous. Agency nurses play a vital role in ensuring safe staffing ratios and quality patient care in an NHS that cannot find sufficient permanent staff,” he says.

Hadley says the secretary is using agencies as a scapegoat for the NHS’s own

mismanagement of workforce planning.

“We are disappointed that the Department of Health has not consulted around the introduction of these new rules and await more detail about exactly how they propose to reconcile them with NHS trusts’ legal responsibility to ensure safe staffing levels on wards.”

Events and training How to write an awardwinning entry and how the REC’s Manifesto for Jobs is helping the industry p8

NHS agency supplier Talent HCM says NHS staff levels need more attention.

“To some extent, temporary staff expenditure has risen after the publication of the Francis Report, which has meant hospitals have needed to put more staff on wards,” says Talent HCM operations director Sarah Heales.

“But there is a disconnect between the size of the existing NHS workforce and its current needs.”

The chief executive of the NHS Confederation Rob Webster says the health sector needs to examine what’s important.

“We need a focus on the workforce, on prevention, on the role of innovation and new models of care,” he says.

“It will mean new relationships across sectors and with the public – as well as using the money well if we are to forge a better future.”

For more information about the REC’s Health & Social Care sector group, visit www.rec.uk.com/ nursingandsocialcare

www.rec.uk.com 15/06/2015 15:35

Leading the Industry

THE VIEW We now have a new Conservative government.

So what does this mean for the recruitment industry? asks Kevin Green, REC chief executive Well, on one level it means less intervention in the labour market, which is what we have called for consistently over the last few years. Our jobs market is the envy of most other large economies and we feel that the private sector should be allowed to focus on creating wealth and jobs. We are supportive of always making work pay. This benefits business but it also gets more people into work so they can support their families and male a valid contribution to society. We expect the government to push again to reduce the burden of red tape and outdated regulations, which we also welcome.

Where we will be pushing the government to go further and faster is on improving education. Our most important competitive advantage is the knowledge and skill of our workforce, so our young people need to be as well-prepared for the world of work as they can be. Creating a world class careers service is essential. We should guide young people on what to study, and advise them on what employers are looking for and how they should prepare themselves to get their first job. We also want to see more investment in vocational quali-

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Here are some simple calling cards for the new government, says Tom Hadley, director of policy and professional services at the REC

fications and employer-led apprenticeships.

An area of huge debate will be around whether the UK should remain within the European Union. We think that continued membership is in the best interests of UK business and our economy.

We have always believed that the EU needs to be reformed, with less focus on regulation and more on supporting trade.

We hope the Prime Minister is successful in convincing our European colleagues that reform will not just be good for the UK, but also for the rest of Europe.

We will engage actively with our members around this issue. It’s clear we will not all agree but an informed and sensible debate is important to ensure that the right decision is taken.

We expect to see a different approach to immigration for the new government. We believe that immigration has been predominantly positive for the UK. When people come here to work and make a contribution it’s good news for all. We feel the government is going too far on limiting accesses to skilled employees from outside the EU and this could have very negative consequences for British business.

As always, you can depend on the REC to fight our industry’s corner. We will ensure your voice is heard.

You can follow Kevin on Twitter @kevingreenrec

FINDING THE RIGHT PITCH There’s been a veritable flurry of post-general election activity at REC HQ. What hooks can we use to drive our own policy priorities with the new government and what are the best levers for building our links with new ministers and MPs? The last few weeks have provided a good reminder of what the REC’s best calling cards are when it comes to building our relationships with the political elite. Here’s a few: Legitimacy – The fact that we represent over 80% of the recruitment industry by turnover is an important part of our ‘pitch’ and opens doors to senior levels of government.

Equally important is the specific insight provided by the REC’s 19 sector groups and our ongoing work to coalesce other organisations around key jobs market issues (the ‘Expert View’ collection of essays is a great example of this).

Authority – Regular jobs market data generated through JobsOutlook and the REC/KPMG Report on Jobs provides instant credibility and underpins our key asks to the new government. For example, the fact that candidate shortages are on the rise and are likely to become even more acute (80% of employers plan to hire more staff over the next 4-12 months, according to JobsOutlook) underlines the need for policies to address the current skills disconnect.

The regular insight we get from REC members across all sectors complements this data and research.

Proactivity – As well as responding to the latest government consultations, we are in the business of putting forward proactive solutions to major jobs market challenges. This is the core aim of our Manifesto for Jobs and has driven our input into recent initiatives linked to older workers and gender equality in UK boardrooms. The Good Recruitment Campaign, the Flexible Work Commission and the Youth Employment Charter are just a few other examples.

Our pitch to the new government is sweet and true: harness the knowledge and expertise of our industry and work with us to build the best jobs market in the world.

You can follow Tom on Twitter @hadleyscomment

www.rec.uk.com

15/06/2015 16:30

2.2%

THE INTELLIGENCE Nina Mguni, senior researcher at the REC, asks if the jobs market will stay in good shape

The new UK government begins its five-year term in a buoyant mood. Less than a week after the general election, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) published labour market statistics for period January to March 2015.

With 31.1 million people in employment, and an employment rate of 73.5%, this is the highest rate and number in employment. This was also complimented by highest number of vacancies at 733,000.

And further good news was included in the ONS data.

With growth of average wages (without bonuses) at 2.2%, alongside an inflation rate of 0% at the time, and with

KEEP AN EYE ON THE PROFITS Last month we talked about continuing revenue growth for UK recruiters, with 15 consecutive months of growth and the median RIB (Recruitment Industry Benchmarking) recruiter seeing double digit revenue growth, but we also expressed some concern at signs of tightening profitability (Figure 1).

Tightening net profit margin partly stems from declining NDR margin, with median NDR margin declining nearly 5% from 28.3% in

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subsequent negative inflation, working people should see real wage growth.

Following on from the significant changes we have seen in the last seven years, this will feel like welcome relief. However, there are some meaty issues that will preoccupy the new government.

In a report the Recruitment & Employment Confederation published in March this year, ‘Building the best jobs market in the world’, we invited a number of political, economic and business commentators to discuss the main issues for the labour market. The book of essays offered a range of views about some of main challenges, as well as opportunities that will face the next government.

There was common agreement among the commentators that the historical tie between economic demand and jobs has unravelled somewhat. During the economic

PEOPLE IN EMPLOYMENT

JAN-MAR 2015

GROWTH OF AVERAGE WAGES WITHOUT BONUSES

downturn, employment levels did not correspond with GDP in the way we would expect.

Nonetheless, the main challenge is to sustain levels of employment, demand for jobs and wage growth, while addressing poor productivity in the economy. Wage growth often goes hand in hand with productivity. In an article by Robert Peston from the BBC, he estimates that had productivity continued the trend between 1992 and 2007, wage growth would have averaged 15% compared to the 2% we have seen in recent times. This is a stark reminder of the cost of poor productivity.

‘Building the best jobs market in the world’ concludes with views on what the

Figure 1 - Recruiter Net Profit Margin 12

■ Upper Qtile ■ Median ■ Low Qtile

10 8 6 %

OUT OF THE WOODS YET?

4 2 0 -2

Apr 13

Jun

Aug

Oct

Dec

January last year, to 23.5% in March 2015. We believe that this is partly due to change in the composition of recruiter revenues, with permanent and temporary revenues growing at low double digit, while contract billings are declining at around 10% over the last 12 months.

Feb 14

Apr

Jun

Aug

Oct

Dec

Feb 15

With a higher proportion of lower NDR margin temp revenues, and a lower proportion of higher margin contract Billings, the overall margin falls.

Nevertheless, there are signs that underlying profitability is falling, with median fee earner costs to NDR

31.1 M 73.5% 733,000 EMPLOYMENT RATE OF

HIGHEST NUMBER OF VACANCIES

future holds. Technological advancements will have some impact on the way we think about work. And assuming that demand continues, it will be interesting to see what levers the new government will use to attract and retain talent in the short term, be this immigration policy or qualification and skills. And so despite the buoyant mood of the new government, some tough challenges remain. increasing from just under 40% of NDR a year ago, to 43% in March this year.

If revenue growth continues to slow, then we would encourage recruiters to focus on total profitability to ensure they fuller benefit from the strong growth in recruiter activity over the last 18 months.

Chris Ansell is chief financial officer at Recruitment Industry Benchmarking (RIB). The RIB Index provides bespoke confidential reports on industry trends. See www. ribindex.com; info@ribindex. com: 020 8544 9807. The RIB is a strategic partner of the REC.

RECRUITMENT MATTERS JULY 2015 3

15/06/2015 16:30

The BIG talking point

VISA SYSTEM

I

n May 2011, Home Secretary Teresa May vowed to bring “common sense” back to the UK’s student visa system.

That took shape in April 2012 when the government shut down the popular Tier 1 Post Study Work (PSW) visa.

It offered graduates outside the European Economic Area (EEA) 12 months to pin down a skilled UK job. Now, they only have four months to negotiate an expensive and baffling points-based system in order to stay.

There is evidence that culling the PSW visa route has affected the UK’s reputation abroad. Students in key territories are disappearing from our lecture theatres, while sectors depending on foreign talent face massive shortages.

Has common sense prevailed, or did the government score an own goal for our economic rivals?

ATTRACTING THE BEST “There is a basic point to be made about who the most desirable immigrants are, from an economic and broader social perspective,” says the director of the National Institute of Economic Research Jonathan Portes.

Like many economists, Portes sees benefits in attracting quality migration to the UK: educated Englishspeakers, immersed in our way of life and a will to work.

“Who is likely to qualify on all of those counts?” he asks. “Students who have completed a degree here.”

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VISA SALAD:

WHY POST-STUDY WORK VISAS MUST GO BACK ON THE MENU The UK is one of the most popular study destinations in the world – but is our visa system turning students away? Michael Oliver investigates The UK has no problem wooing foreign students – an industry worth more than £2.3bn a year to London alone. A PricewaterhouseCoopers survey found more than twothirds of foreign graduates listed the quality of UK institutions as a factor in choosing a university.

We are second only to the US in popularity, with more than 300,000 students outside the EEA applying to study in 2013-14, a 3% rise on the year before. That increase has roots out East, with student numbers from China, Malaysia and Hong Kong rising by five, 11 and 13% respectively.

But pluck China and Hong Kong students from the

mix, and the story changes.

Student numbers actually dipped by 4.5% last year. The single biggest fall came from India, where numbers have plummeted 48% since 2009.

The same survey also found nearly a third of foreign students wanted to work here post-graduation, but found the UK’s immigration system “negatively affected their experience of studying here”.

The general secretary of the London School of Economics Student Union Nona Buckley-Irvine thinks the UK doesn’t endear itself to foreign students, particularly those from Asia.

“There’s a perception and a reality that we are hostile to foreigners, especially students. They’re not doing

anything wrong – they want to be educated and they want to work,” she says.

The change in student flow is affecting the market, particularly the UK’s tech sector. A report by the European Commission says the UK has the largest tech skill shortage in the European Union, and the loss of the PSW visa has exacerbated that.

It’s predicted a shortage of 120,000 highly-skilled tech workers will hit the UK by 2020. The industry’s trade body Tech UK says the gap cannot be filled with European talent alone.

“We know that recruitment demands cannot be met without non-EEA recruits, and alternative visa routes are insufficient to enable

www.rec.uk.com

15/06/2015 15:36

the necessary talent flow to the UK,” it told the All-Party Par Parliamentary Group on Mig Migration.

F Foreign students in science, tec technology, engineering and mat mathematics (STEM) blocks are taking up study in rival ma markets like the US, Australia, Canada and France, buoyed by attractive post-study options.

The outcome is bleak, Tech UK’s deputy CEO Anthony Walker says.

“The closure of the PSW visa route means that the UK is effectively training our competitors to outcompete us.”

THE ALTERNATIVES Most foreign students apply to study in the UK under a Tier 4 visa. There are four options available for students after they graduate: Tier 2 (General) The Tier 2 (General) route was envisaged by the government as the primary route for skilled grads to stay in the UK. Foreign graduates must have an offer of skilled employment from a licensed employer with a minimum salary of £20.5k per annum, or the “appropriate level” for that occupation. That varies from £20.8k for journalism jobs to a staggering £33k for marketing positions.

Tier 2 visas are granted for five years and 14 days, but can be extended to a maximum of six years. After then workers can apply for leave to settle, but must be earning a salary of more than £35k a year to qualify.

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THE IDEAL VISA The problem with applying for a Tier 2 visa is its complexity. Both students and employers need to run an obstacle course before even applying and only graduates in certain fields will find jobs that meet the strict salary criteria.

“Creative Arts students in particular were exceptionally restricted by Tier 2 because the nature of work which is often freelance, part-time and based on portfolio working, none of which meet Tier 2 requirements,” says the National Student Union.

The inflexible nature of Tier 2 and the profound drop in student numbers pushed the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Migration to call for the PSW visa’s return.

In a report published in February, the group said a “new immigration route should be established that allows non-EEA students to remain in the UK for a period of 12 months following graduation… to secure skilled employment”.

But a spokesperson for the Home Office told Recruitment Matters there

were no plans to bring PSW visas back.

Jonathan Portes says it should return, but with some restrictions.

“The previous PSW visa was probably too generous and there was some abuse of it, but it was also in many ways quite successful. It should be restricted to people graduating from a university, but not a particular subject area.”

He says it’s up to businesses to make the case. “The most serious economic challenge facing the UK is productivity, and nothing is worse for the economy than reducing the quality of workers available. You won’t have any problems convincing civil servants, but they need to have their hands strengthened.”

LSE Student Union’s Nona Buckley-Irvine agrees. “We have to think about what we want our education offer to the world to be,” she says.

“Being divisive hasn’t worked, there has to be a change.”

Only then will common sense prevail.

“BEING DIVISIVE HASN’T WORKED, THERE HAS TO BE A CHANGE” LSE STUDENT UNION’S NONA BUCKLEY-IRVINE

Right now, graduates have four months following the end of their studies to be offered a job and go through the sponsorship process.

The government imagined this would take up much of the slack from the PSW visa’s demise, but that hasn’t rung true. The Home Office anticipated a 49% drop in the number of students remaining in the UK, with the remaining 51% likely to qualify under Tier 2. But only 4,175 foreign graduates managed to find sponsored jobs in 2013, a fall of 88%.

Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur) visa The Tier 1 visa is for graduates and postdoctoral researchers with “genuine and credible business ideas and entrepreneurial skills”.

Successful applicants can stay in the UK for up to a year to develop their business with an authorised higher education institution.

Tier 4 Doctorate Extension Scheme (DSE) The Tier 4 DSE allows students nearing the end of their PhD studies to apply to stay in the UK for a further 12 months to gain work experience.

Tier 5 (Temporary Worker – Government Authorised Exchange) Tier 5 visas allow nationals of some non-European nations to work in the UK for either 12 or 24 months. It’s open to Tier 4 holders but there is no option for transferring to a Tier 2 visa.

RECRUITMENT MATTERS JULY 2015 5

16/06/2015 10:53

Legal update

DEDUCTIONS FROM PAY Now that the general election has concluded, recruitment businesses will be looking at what impact any changes to the law will have on their business and the industry. In this article, we focus on three key issues. By Ryan Huggett, Legal Adviser

1

Agency Workers and Strike Action The Conservative manifesto provided plans to repeal Regulation 7 of the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003. Regulation 7 restricts employment businesses from providing work-seekers to cover staff taking part in industrial action, unless the strike or industrial action is unofficial.

For many employment businesses, repealing Regulation 7 will create new business opportunities, as they will now be able to supply workers in strike situations where they would have otherwise been prohibited. However, there may well be reputational issues in using agency workers to break a strike.

2

Zero-Hours Contracts As published in the recent REC Legal Bulletin

article ‘Zero Hours Contracts – What’s Next?’

The Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 (‘the Act’) recently passed into law, providing a general restriction on the use of exclusivity clauses in zero-hours contracts and rendering unenforceable any clauses that prevent a worker from working elsewhere or requiring them to obtain consent to work elsewhere.

The previous government also produced the draft Zero Hours (Exclusivity Terms) Regulations 2015, which sought to extend this restriction to other types of contracts, as well as ensuring that workers are not subjected to any detriment for refusing work offered to them.

However, while workers may welcome these changes, these provisions will not come into force until a commencement order is in

place and it remains to be seen as to how far the new Conservative government will go to implement these changes.

3

Europe Since the UK became a member of the European Union, EU law has been instrumental in shaping the landscape of our employment law.

The Conservatives already plan to renegotiate a return of powers from the EU to the UK on key areas such as social policy and employment law, and to hold a referendum on EU membership.

If the government does renegotiate a return of

powers, this will no doubt have an impact as to how employment law will develop, as Parliament will have more scope to legislate in areas that were previously shared with the EU. If, at a referendum, the public vote to leave the EU there would be significant constitutional and legal ramifications. It remains to be seen how existing employment law would be affected.

The free movement of workers is another issue to consider. Membership of the EU currently allows citizens from the European Economic Area (EEA), as well as citizens from a number of other European states that are not EU members, to move freely without restriction.

Leaving the EU may result in new rules relating to right to work checks and immigration, unless the UK was part of the larger EEA.

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT: EXEC-APPOINTMENTS Figures released by Twitter show that as many as 78% of senior executives are using Twitter for business purposes.

To recognise that rise in executive use of Twitter, exec-appointments.com is now offering their clients the chance to run Promoted

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Tweet campaigns as part of the Essentials Package. This will allow clients to target passive jobseekers from across the Twitter universe.

Promoted Tweet campaigns will be targeted and bespoke for the role and will be managed in house by the exec-appointments.com team.

The Essentials Package is

our most popular recruiting solution. It reaches both a passive and active audience by combining the most effective job board and social media inventory with

a shortlist of CVs from our candidate database and a listing on the home page of FT.com.

REC members receive a 15% discount off ratecard.

For more information If you would like to hear more about the Essentials Package and how exec-appointments.com can help you fill your senior executive role please call an Account Manager on +44 (0)20 7873 4909 or email contactus@exec-appointments.com

www.rec.uk.com

15/06/2015 16:31

Inspiration

BEHIND THE SCENES AT THE INSTITUTE OF RECRUITMENT PROFESSIONALS

The View

Tom Rankin iss a specialist uiter database recruiter ing at Understanding Recruitment, and winner of Bestt Newcomer at the 2014 IRP Awards

gle is an Yvonne Skingle ector at associate director tment Penna Recruitment and winner off Best arch Executive Search Consultant att the 2014 IRP Awards

AWARD WINNER

THINGS I KNOW

How has your career changed since your win?

I started as an apprentice recruiter, finishing my course early, got promoted a few times internally and topped it off by winning the award. It’s been fantastic.

Hard work does get recognised I work in the public sector, which is going through reform right now. I find myself working with a lot of chief executives who are planning how their teams will be structured. It’s a lot of work, but the feedback has been really positive.

How did you get into recruitment?

I came out of college at 18 and didn’t fancy university. I joined as an apprentice on apprentice wages and saw the potential to grow. I really bought into recruitment and fell in love with the industry.

What are the biggest shifts in your sector right now?

A lot of charities I work with are going through a transformation process with the way they use databases.

Charities are now opening themselves up to new data possibilities, using it to boost funding and revenue techniques.

Were you surprised to win Best Newcomer?

I was up against six or seven people and went into it with a mind-set that I wasn’t going to win. I was completely nervous but when it was announced it was an excellent feeling. Funny story at the time – I had a broken leg and I had to hobble up on stage to collect my award.

What would you say to someone thinking about nominating themselves this year?

It’s definitely worth doing; you’re always in for a shot if you’ve had a good year. It’s always good to differentiate yourself from the rest of the industry.

What advice would you give yourself on your first day?

Strap yourself in for the ride. You’ve got your highs and lows – enjoy the highs and don’t let the bottoms get you down.

Winning was a surprise I was quite surprised at the kind things people had said, and I feel appreciated and respected in the profession for what I do. It was a bit of a validation for me and for the industry – we really do things that add value to the client. The award made me realise that I have a client base that really appreciates what I do and the way in which I do it.

The kudos matters Winning an IRP Award is a win for both you and your clients.

It means you’re recognised in the industry, which has got to be good for anyone’s career. But when I saw the testimonials from my clients, I was humbled.

Public sector recruitment is in a state of flux Clearly austerity and the way in which the public sector responds to cutbacks will be a big issue. I look at how organisations are modelled in terms of their service delivery for the future. It may mean more people will be working in the commercial sector or with police, fire and health in a way they haven’t before. Some senior managers we’re appointing have to be more focused on outcomes and commerciality. It’s a very interesting dynamic.

Find your passion and run with it I’m passionate about what I do, and for me it’s about getting the top talent in local government in housing in particular and being able to see the impact of that on local communities. That’s what I love about what I do.

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

www.rec.uk.com

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Events and training

IRP AWARDS Entries have opened for this year’s IRP Awards, but what’s the best way to build a great submission? Jodene Adjei-Agyekum explains how you can turn a winning year into a winning entry

BUILDING A WINNING IRP AWARDS SUBMISSION production, as it sets the tone of the final product, so make sure the INTRODUCTION to your business and BACKGROUND are perfect. Be specific and concise.

Awards. Submitting an entry is no mean feat, but we have the best building material to help you write an award-winning submission.

The Entry – scary, right? As you sit in front of your screen, fingers hovering over the keyboard, you’re slightly put off with the thought of writing a three-page submission.

Fear not, my recruitment professional! We are going to build a house instead.

Project: Future 1. Planning Preparation – Make sure you get all of the materials together first to make a rough frame. Prepare your evidence so you can complete it in a timely manner.

2. A solid foundation – A good base is the first step in any

Inspection! Check your submission 3. Don’t forget the stairs – To link it all together, you’ll need examples explaining the CONTENT and EASE OF USE to the customer of your product/campaign/individual/ team or service.

4. Install the interior and flooring – Adding in bullets on EFFECTIVENESS, twoparts DEVELOPMENT or IMPROVEMENT ie. before and after.

5. Finish all the trimmings – Add WHY YOU THINK YOU SHOULD WIN, and even though your answer could be ‘‘because we are great’’, you should take this chance to polish your case.

6. Get creative with the interior – Add the finishing touches with SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS, APPENDICES and a TRIPLE PROOFREAD.

This will be the white picket fence!

The Final Walkthrough – The final check of your submission Interior suggestions 7. Don’t rush, and remember who your audience is 8. Back up your points with stats and facts 9. Be clear about your achievements, avoid jargon and stick to the word count 10. Proofread again and again and again!

The IRP Awards are now open! The annual award evening will take place at the exquisite Park Plaza Westminster Bridge Hotel, London on 9 December 2015.

For more information please visit WWW. REC-AWARDS.COM The submission deadline is 1 September, so make sure your planning preparation begins soon. But remember, YOU have to be in it to win it!

PS. If you have any questions you can send us a Tweet to @IRPAWARDS.

THE REC’S MANIFESTO FOR JOBS How do we build the best jobs market in the world?

The REC will be taking forward a bold vision for the new government: How to build the best jobs market in the world.

Our core message is that building the best jobs market in the world means focusing on four keys areas: 1. Give everyone the chance to succeed through work.

2. Accelerate business growth and job creation through skills.

3. Build the best local jobs market through partnerships and SME access.

4. Enhance our position in the global marketplace.

As well as laying down practical solutions to some of the major labour market challenges of the day, our manifesto also showcases the positive role that recruiters play by placing over 630,000 people into new, permanent jobs last year and supporting the 1.15 million people on a temporary or contract assignment on any given day.

For more information download a copy of the manifesto visit WWW.REC. UK.COM/MANIFESTO

RECRUITMENT MATTERS

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

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

© 2015 Recruitment Matters. Although every effort is made to ensure accuracy, neither REC, Redactive Publishing Ltd nor the authors can accept liability for errors or omissions. Views expressed in the magazine are not necessarily those of the REC or Redactive Publishing Ltd. No responsibility can be accepted for unsolicited manuscripts or transparencies. No reproduction in whole or part without written permission.

8 RECRUITMENT MATTERS JULY 2015

RM new_JULY_15 v2dtNEWdeeperblue tint copy.indd 8

www.rec.uk.com

15/06/2015 16:31

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REC.07.15.039.indd 39

15/06/2015 17:28

TE CHNO LO GY

RECRUITING GOES

Look to your Apple Watch or Microsoft Band to glean insights into candidate behaviour

BY ANTHONY MULLEN

32 RECRUITER

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he recruitment industry is bedevilled by unknowns: How far along is the client business in the recruitment process?

Does this candidate have other interviews? Will this candidate perform well in an interview?

Will they say yes? What is the client business really thinking?

The list goes on, taking a lot of power out of the hands of recruiters.

But wearable technology may help to remove some unknowns for practising recruitment professionals.

Wearable technology is currently dominated by fitness devices like Jawbone and Fitbit, and smartwatches such as Pebble or the Apple Watch. What all these devices have in common is that they collect data on the owner.

This data by itself doesn’t tell

T

you much. However, when you add in other information on the owner, such as social media profile, demographic information or psychometric testing, and then apply data science techniques, a very interesting picture begins to emerge.

For example, wearable data can reveal a person’s stress level by showing when their heart rate has risen despite their movement being low. If you have a device with ‘galvanic skin receptors’ — the same technology used in lie detectors and part of Microsoft’s activity tracker Band — you can even deduce emotional state. By collecting more information, you can understand someone’s fitness, lifestyle and aspects of their behaviour.

So how does this apply to recruiters?

Well, it opens the door to a range of new testing techniques to assess candidates and offers

JULY 2015

16/06/2015 09:34

POWER POINTS

1⁄

Wearable technology is set to revolutionise hiring, developing and retaining staff

2⁄

Wearables will improve the quality of candidate vetting

5⁄

4⁄

To improve recruiting, wearables will detect performance under stress and when the truth is being stretched

On the horizon: Exploration of the legal and moral dimensions to using wearable technologies

within a recruitment company will require investment and planning.

It will not be enough to bring in candidates and provide them with a Jawbone device. To make the data provided suitably rigorous, the type of questions asked, how they are asked, the speed, order, and even factors such as how the room is set up, will all need to be consistent. Recruiters will also need to invest in data scientists to properly assess the data and create results that are easy to digest and although for candidates to be compared.

Recruitment is such a competitive industry that any way to differentiate a business and improve results is well worth the cost.

The faster a recruitment firm starts looking into wearable technology, the further ahead of the curve it will be and it will have the chance to create an industry-wide standard of assessment. ●

↗

additional information to supply to client businesses. Recruiters can provide candidates with wearable devices and undertake mock interviews or competency tests. The data from the device can then be analysed to reveal how the candidate copes under pressure. If a set of questions causes a spike in stress it could indicate an underlying weakness — for example, the candidate is not confident about speaking about that area of their experience or competency.

The recruiter can then provide coaching to improve the candidate in that area or deem that their performance rules them out of certain jobs.

On the flip side, if a candidate remains calm, even

under the most intense scrutiny or testing, the recruiter can provide this information to the client business as an additional proof point.

For this system to work it would be essential for a recruitment firm to apply the same system of testing to all candidates. The data collected could then provide a benchmark to assess the relative merits of candidates and also create a new service that they can provide to client businesses.

In short, a recruitment firm could set themselves apart from the competition by providing client businesses with a much more rigorous form of assessing candidates. Questions such as how a person will cope under pressure, what skills they are most confident about or, conversely, areas that they personally feel are weaknesses, will be objectively revealed by the data.

In the future, when more people wear wearable devices, recruiters could ask candidates to volunteer their own data to allow a full picture of their lifestyle. In some positions, it may be a big plus to have a very active candidate. By providing information that proves this attribute, it could make a candidate stand out much more than by simply stating it on their CV. Of course, creating such a system

3⁄

Historical lifestyle data from wearables will complement CV information

ANTHONY MULLEN is practice lead, research and development at data science consultancy Profusion WWW.RECRUITER.CO.UK 33

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15/06/2015 17:30

CO M M U N I T Y

SOCIAL NETWORK WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN UP TO? GET IN TOUCH!

E

From white water rafting to cake baking, you’ve been letting us know what you’ve been doing apart from recruiting DEMENTIA FRIEND VIA Ricky Martin, founder of science and technology recruiter Hyper Recruitment Solutions, baked a (delicious-looking!) chocolate cake for the #dosomethingnew challenge in support of the Alzheimer’s Society in an effort to help reduce the stigma around dementia. The company is an official ‘Dementia Friend’.

EAT CAKE VIA When PR and marketing recruitment firm Brand Recruitment senior consultant Hannah Szurek left to go travelling, what did her colleagues do? Got her this amazing cake, that’s what!

MAJOR PLAYER VIA Marketing and creative recruiter Major Players recently held an event with Google to highlight how technology is reshaping marketing, how to reduce fragmentation with a unified technology approach and how to use programmatics to build personal customer relationships.

WHITE WATER RAFTING VIA

International recruiter Asoria Group’s latest team bonding exercise took them to Lee Valley, the home of the national kayaking team, for a spot of white water rafting. Three people, including two directors, literally hit the water!

T WEET Ian R McAllister@ianrmcallister Jun 3 RT: Oh dear - @LinkedIn profile fails, acted out for #video = which makes them #laughable!

Key@keygroup Jun 3 Ah, this really amused us this afternoon! Thanks @RecruiterMag. We’re just off to re-read our LinkedIn profiles...

Mark Gardiner@markgardiner Jun 3 .@RecruiterMag brilliantly funny! This needs more exposure!!! @RecruiterMag instagram.com/recruitermagazine/ recruitermagazine.tumblr.com/

PURBECK PURSUIT VIA

HITTING THE TARGET VIA Global specialist recruiter PageGroup is celebrating after hitting its £200k fundraising target for Alzheimer’s Research UK. Employees across all 31 offices in the UK scaled great heights, ran marathons and cycled hundreds of miles between them to reach the incredible milestone, in a nationwide effort as part of the company’s two-year partnership with the UK’s leading dementia research charity.

The partnership saw staff around the country cover more than 200,000 miles between them as they raised money to fund two PageGroup Research Scholarships. These scholarships have brought two talented new scientists into the dementia research field on three-year PhD programmes, helping give a vital boost to the number of researchers working on the condition.

Staff from recruitment specialist TeamJobs took to the saddle, the road and the water to help raise £8k for Macmillan Nurses and Prospect Hospice in the Purbeck Pursuit. Poole-based TeamJobs took part in the event, with seven other teams from around the UK, which TeamJobs also sponsored. The Purbeck Pursuit involves an eightmile cross country run, followed by a 15-mile mountain bike ride, a six-mile kayak, a six-mile treasure hunt and a ‘fun’ relay race.

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E CAREERS CO M M UNITY

RECRUITMENT JOB ACTIVITY Agency recruitment careers Why are we losing so much talent from the recruitment industry?

BY TARA LESCOTT

↗ TARA LESCOTT is managing director of rec-to-rec agency Recruiter Republic

By luck I found myself in recruitment as a trainee recruitment consultant in 1998, and I never looked back. I am passionate about people.

I love finding out their 'story' and l love matching people and their ambitions with companies that share their values. To this day, it still makes me happy each and every time I make a placement.

Recruiters enjoy an incredibly dynamic role with great rewards and are incredibly luck to have pretty much open entry to our sector, as long as they display the right qualities and attitude.

But I’m seeing a growing trend for recruiters to leave the industry between their first and second years. This couldn’t be happening at a worse time. Virtually every agency I know is trying to expand within a market that is sorely short on quality experienced recruiters.

So why are so many consultants leaving the industry? Recent research we conducted tells us the primary reasons are: ➊ Lack of quality investment in training & development ➋ Unrealistic key performance indicator (KPI)/sales pressure ➌ Cultural mismatch Unfortunately, these recruiters believe the answer is to move in-house or to leave recruitment entirely.

It must be a top priority for all of us senior recruitment leaders to stop this talent drain, especially when the reasons that cause good recruiters to leave can be fixed. Here are my solutions to those causes:

1

2

LACK OF TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT

HARSH KPI PRESSURE

CULTURAL MISMATCH

Firms must invest more in training & development — whether a firm’s provision for training is in-house, external or a blend, one size does not suit all. Quick fix: Give each consultant a mentor (senior consultant looking for more responsibility), allocate a budget per headcount for training and let them USE IT.

Ease up on how KPIs are measured and managed.

Constant pressure just burns people out. Quick fix: Spend more time roadmapping the activities you want your recruiters to complete and more time coaching through or helping them achieve the component parts. Give them the belief they can deliver, make them excited about what happens if they achieve their goals and then get out of their way!

Make sure you are recruiting people with similar values and beliefs to the rest of your team in the first place. Quick fix: Try using competencybased interviews and perhaps psychometric profiling to support your usual process. Don’t forget some people feel out of step with their teams simply because they feel isolated — bring them into the team and keep them close.

3

Our industry offers many opportunities and every firm has a different model, approach and culture — you just have to find the right tribe! New to the industry? Please stay. ● 36 RECRUITER

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AN ANALYSIS of data compiled through Recruiter Jobs, the job board for Recruiter magazine, reveals big variations between the market for both in-house and agency recruiters around the UK. Analysis of activity on Recruiter Jobs in the week ended 7 June shows a healthy 17% increase in applications for jobs overall over the previous week. However, drilling down into the data reveals significant regional variations across many key metrics.

REGIONAL VARIATIONS IN JOB APPLICATIONS

● 1.47 applications per job in South-East England, compared with the West Midlands where the comparable figure was 0.82. ● For every 100 recruitment jobs in the South-East, employers signed up to Recruiter Jobs received 147 applications, compared with 82 for each vacancy in the West Midlands.

WHERE CANDIDATES WANT TO WORK

● A quarter of the job board users (26.7%) expressed an interest in vacancies in London, compared with 16.32% abroad. ● 12.76% were seeking opportunities in North West England.

THE KEENEST CANDIDATES

● Recruiter Jobs job board users with a preference for working in Northern Ireland were the keenest to make applications, followed by those seeking a job in London. ● Almost half of all jobseekers from this latter group applied for a job during the week, with those interest in working in the City or the East London made the most applications.

CHANCES OF LANDING A JOB

● Those looking for openings in East Anglia stood the best chance of landing a job, with 5.46 jobs available jobs per user available on Recruiter Jobs board, followed by the West Midlands with 2.44.

CANDIDATE APPLICATIONS IN MAY

● The North-East of England stood out with 4.41 applications per job, the second highest after Northern Ireland, perhaps indicating the latter region’s relatively high unemployment rate. ● Even within the same region, there were variations.

For example, within Greater London, there were 4.5 applications per job in East London and 1.85 per vacancy in the West End.

JULY 2015

16/06/2015 09:36

CO M M U N I T Y

CAREERS

E

In-house recruitment careers The notable return of the Recruitment Business Partner

THE TYPE OF JOBS CANDIDATES WANT

● During May, four out of 10 Recruiter Jobs users (40.13%) registered an interest in in-house recruitment jobs, compared with 26.2% for recruitment consultant vacancies.

BY ANDREW MOUNTNEY

LIVE JOBS ON THE RISE

↗

● Over the six-month period ending December 2014, the last full half-year period for which figures are available, the number of live jobs on the site rose by 23% to nearly 7,000, ● The jobs per user and the applications per user ramped up by 83% and 22% respectively. ● On a regional basis, one in four jobs (24.13%) were based in Greater London, and 19.54% in South-East England. ● This was not mirrored in the share of applications for these jobs, however, with the one in five recruitment jobs (20%) based in the South-East of England receiving only just over one in eight (11.99%) of the applications.

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

KEY STATS

2,448 774 Active Recruiter Jobs Users in week ending 7 June 2105, up 4% on the previous week

Job applications made

by Recruiter Jobs candidates in May 2015, 5% higher than in April

114% is the percentage increase in jobs posted on Recruiter Jobs in 2014, bringing the total to 11,948

14.8% is the percentage of jobs advertised on Recruiter Jobs in May in the salary range £40,000-£59,999

9.25

M M 59.12%

is the percentage of jobs advertised on Recruiter Jobs in May as a proportion all advertised vacancies.

is the number of applications per job in legal recruitment in the quarter ending March 2015

A cursory understanding of recruitment — call it talent acquisition, if you like — tells you pretty quickly that what we call ‘talent’ is in demand.

So when looking for a new role for yourself you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s going to be simple. Speak to any in-house recruitment professional at any level seeking their next challenge and you’ll likely find a different story: multiple applications out, slow (or no) feedback, interviews stalling. But that’s only if you speak to anyone but the recruitment business partner (RBP).

Why so? I’ve been building in-house recruiting teams for the best part of a decade, and one thing that gets clearer every year is how the function follows a trend: focusing on one part of the function and hoping hiring for that area solve all the issues talent acquisition faces.

The frustration of being outside of that part of recruitment can be a lonely place, with less demand, little engagement and greater Experience is competition for roles. being given a For the last several years, sourcing has been the chance, and star turn for organisations aiming to cheaply and investment directly engage talent. Sourcing has a place, but in talent like anything it has not proved to be a fix-all. acquisition This year has seen a notable change. Experience is up is being given a chance, and investment in talent acquisition is up. The result has been a significant rise in RBP roles just as they were going out of fashion.

In my view, this is a positive sign for in-house recruiters, signalling investment in their function and ‘the business’ taking recruitment seriously again. Here are the reasons for the return of the RBP: ● A preference for having experienced professionals facing the business who will not just do as they are told but who will advise and better still push back ● A number of firms have mentioned, through examination of their processes, that they may have had the right candidates in front of the business previously. However, they failed to create the right candidate experience, and also to train and advise hiring managers on how to see that and select the right people. RBPs are better placed to do that ● Making talent acquisition accountable. As all areas of organisations come under the pump to be more productive, leaders crave functions that give back time, take responsibility and provide solutions. Broadlyskilled professionals such as RBPs feel like a safe pair of hands. ● A recognition that a blunt, one-dimensional sourcing strategy relying heavily on messaging to competitors might not work. An RBP is likely to have utilised a range of channels and have a sourcing mix. Indeed, their weakness may be direct sourcing but the rest of the hires made in the last few years should support that function.

As organisations aim for a higher touch, stakeholder-focused in-house recruiting team it’s easy to see why the RBP is back in vogue and why other more focused roles are less in demand than 12 months ago. ● WWW.RECRUITER.CO.UK 37

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16/06/2015 09:36

SHOW 2015

REGISTER NOW 18-19 November 2015 / Barbican Centre, London

FREE TO ATTEND

Launching in November, a major new event for the recruitment profession and industry in the heart of London that will inspire, inform, engage – and entertain!

Brought to you by Recruiter, the leading source of recruitment content and producer of the industry’s leading awards schemes, this is a show not to be missed.

More than 2,000 visitors registered

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15/06/2015 17:31

SPONSORED FEATURE

Lucky 7 for Penna Being listed as a Times Top 100 Best Company To Work For, for 7 years is an achievement of which Penna is rightly proud. But does it really add value to a fast paced recruitment business?

Julie Towers, MD of Penna Recruitment Solutions (PRS) joined the business 4 years ago and says “being recognised as a good employer and a best company to work for in itself is not the main prize. For me, being recognised demonstrates that we practise what we preach when it comes to excellent talent management and development.

It shows we have highly engaged employees, and management that listens and responds to the needs of the business. The true test of any engagement and talent management approach is of course, ultimately the bottom line. A recruitment business with highly engaged employees that’s making a loss can only be either in a particular phase of its development, or in denial.

Fortunately, here at Penna we’ve achieved engagement 20% higher than our benchmark equivalents, 30% improvement in profits year on year, commercial revenues up 34% and public sector revenues 44% up year on year. Hiring the right recruiters, consultants, client partners and aspiring graduate and apprentice talent, and creating the most positive work environment and conditions have been key to our success.

Recruitment is a fast paced, highly geared business, requiring high levels of repetitiveness, attention to detail and candidate care. We want our employees to feel empowered to deliver the highest levels of service and do their very best work. This approach has attracted over 100 new employees in the last year and provided promotion opportunities for 44 individuals. Whilst we will always want to attract new employees into PRS, we also want to ensure that once here, they progress and contribute for as long as possible. Our professional apprentice scheme, learning academy and tailored learning support (including significant investment in people management and leadership development) are now paying off with increased levels of engagement and even more importantly, talent pipelines in place throughout the business.

Penna’s recruitment business is truly unique. We are an executive search business; an executive interim business; an attraction and communications business and a managed recruitment business.

Integrating these different, but very synergistic, offers together as one company means we can provide clients with a truly holistic and blended solution, tailored to their needs.

Without silos and dividing financial lines we are able to focus on the best outcome for the client. And it creates a totally unique career environment for those who want to gain experience across professional boundaries. How many people have easily moved from an attraction and comms business to a search business? At Penna that’s not just possible; it’s easy.

Penna’s engagement programme measured by Best Companies includes our annual employee conference, regular dinners with the Directors, engagement survey, an independent employee forum and a blend of formal and informal social activities that allow teams to work hard and play hard together.

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CO M M U N I T Y

CAREERS

E

“It would be very interesting to interview someone wh while riding next to them on a roller coaster” MY BRILLIANT RECRUITMENT CAREER Earliest dream job: To be a

op y t da m lly an na he B al o s t t r Pe oe is Crys h s cro Mi

journalist, actually.

What was your first job in recruitment, and how did you come into it? At [recruitment

What do you love most about your current role? It sounds cheesy, but it’s the people — the people in the business and the people I meet in my role — and it’s that constant newness and difference, and doing lots of different things.

What has been the most brilliant moment of your career? Probably last year here at FitFlop when I was asked to go out and spend six weeks in Asia and help set up and grow a new team out there, look at the culture differences and how we could integrate our Asia team into the whole FitFlop culture.

Your ‘can’t do without’ office tool? Pen and paper. I get different ideas when I’m on the train to work, when I’m just walking around the business or popping to Sainsbury’s to get my lunch, and I’ll forget them if I don’t write them down.

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

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↗

agency] Leisurejobs. I was working in health and fitness sales before that and had an interview with the agency for another sales job in health and fitness. Halfway through the interview, the interviewer stopped and said, ‘What do you think about being in recruitment? We think you’d be great. Have you ever thought about it?’ I said, ‘No — does anyone ever plan to go into recruitment? I don’t think they do.’ I took the role, and ended up staying two years.

SIAN SMITH is resourcing & talent manager, FitFlop

Sian Smith Stay-cation or holiday abroad?

Holiday abroad most definitely. I would like to go to Thailand — for a week of slumming it and experiencing what life is like without hair straighteners and make-up, and then doing a week in pure luxury — eating, drinking and doing nothing.

Outside the office, where would you like to interview or be interviewed? A roller coaster. It would be very interesting to interview someone while riding next to them on a roller coaster — the adrenaline rush, seeing how they react in that situation, probably getting a real honest answer, quick thinking, rather than having them sit there and think a long time about what they’re going to say. Put them in that situation and see what happens.

What’s your top job to fill at the moment? A senior footwear design role.

Laugh or cry: which did your most memorable candidate make you want to do and why? I’d say it’s a bit of both actually, depending on what you find funny. We were interviewing a guy over the lunchtime period.

Halfway through the interview, he reached inside his bag and got a sandwich out, and said, ‘Do you mind if I have my sandwich?’

Make us an offer we can’t refuse We’re very much a global company; it’s not just about UK experience. There’s a huge social culture here; we celebrate every single occasion ever — anything from National Popcorn Day to Cupcake Week. We’re in the throes of launching a new well-being campaign as well, and we encourage walking meetings around the park. ●

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INVESTING IN TALENT AW WARD 2015 201 15 AWARDS

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Awards enquiries Awar @

Spon Sponsorship enquiries

+44 4 (0) 20 7880 7625

LinkedIn: Li nk @RecruiterMagazine

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tom m tom.culley@redactive.co.uk

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15/06/2015 17:34

CO M M U N I T Y

BUSINESS ADVICE

E

FIVE STRATEGIES TO MAKE THE MOST OF A GROWING MARKET After years of struggling against contracting markets, renewed economic confidence in most sectors is providing the opportunity for SME [small to medium] recruitment consultancies to accelerate their growth — often dramatically. However, in such a competitive industry companies cannot simply expect to piggyback their sector’s growth.

Rapid growth starts with a clear vision of what you are trying to achieve, a three-year plan to realise that vision (see right) and ensuring that you have an efficient, hard-working team to deliver it.

Given every ambitious consultancy will have a plan and claim their team is “efficient and industrious” here are five strategies you can use to refine what you do and outperform the competition.

THE THREE-YEAR PLAN Making decisions within the framework of a long-term plan will see you achieve your vision with a minimum of detours.

Alex Arnot The SME Coach

F IVE STRATEG IES

● Start with a vision of what the company will look like in three years’ time and then put in place short-term objectives (eg. monthly and quarterly) to get you there.

This is your plan. ● The plan is wrong if you don’t feel confident in achieving it. ● Directors must review the plan regularly. ● Don’t let your original plan become too rigid if there is a good business case to grow faster. ● If you over-achieve on key business indicators (eg. revenue, profit and cash flow) in a given period, then you can hire more recruiters and grow more quickly.

5

2

3 4

LEVERAGE REFERRALS

ESTABLISH A ‘REVENUE’ TASK FORCE

TURN YOUR TOP BILLERS INTO TRAINERS

PROACTIVELY SEEK OUT NEGATIVE FEEDBACK

CREATE A TRUE MERITOCRACY

Referrals are the most effective way to develop new business and candidates. So, are you training your recruiters how to maximise the number of referrals they receive?

Approach your warmer customers and candidates.

Before calling them, quickly identify their 1st degree LinkedIn connections or business associates that you want to be working with. You can then ask how well they know them.

Set up a ‘Revenue’ task force to identify and overcome sticking points that hold your recruiters and the company back from performing to their potential. Create an agenda every month to specifically solve one or two of the biggest challenges at that point in time and then set a time limit to focus the thinking eg. one or two hours. Put those ideas into practice and consistently refine them until you achieve the results you really want.

One of the most productive things that you can do with your top billers is to get them to share their expertise. They have strategies and tactics that set them apart and if you can teach your other recruiters these skills then the impact on company performance will be dramatic.

When you engage with customers, candidates and recruiters, what is their ‘User Experience’? Analyse every part of the user experience for each group and every month create a project plan to systematically improve every part of it. Small things will cause people to opt for one of your numerous competitors. Test all the touch points. Apply for a job on the website via a tablet. Call the switchboard.

Regularly audit the frequency and quality of marketing emails, in-mails and your job adverts. Seek out negative feedback.

Few recruitment companies offer the ‘true meritocracy’ they claim. A true meritocracy provides a transparent company career structure detailing expectations for each position from rookie to board director.

It also stipulates what objectives and timescales an individual needs to achieve to get promoted.

If a person instantly gets promoted on achieving those objectives, then that’s a true meritocracy. If you operate a meritocracy then display it in a prominent position within your office.

It will help you to retain and motivate staff, and to attract and secure new quality recruiters.

↗

1

ALEX ARNOT is a non-executive director to 18 fastgrowth companies

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E EMPLOYABILITY CO M M UNITY

INSIDER'S JOB ON PRISONER RECRUITING

BY SARAH MARQUET

A

meeting in London’s Brixton Prison of Michael Corrigan and Steve Newell, both convicted of fraud, has led to the creation of a multi-streamed recruitment, training and support organisation for ex-offenders.

At Brixton, the pair were rather unique among most of the prison population in that they knew how to use computers and how to write CVs, and so started giving advice about how to write CVs. In the 18 months since their company Prosper 4 was incorporated in January 2014, the men have helped about 250 people find jobs and have hired 10 people for the business itself. The company has attracted investors such as former Goldman Sachs bankerturned-social investor Andrew Dixon, the government’s Start Up Loans programme and Bullhorn international managing director Peter Linas.

It also has become SFEDI (Small Firms Enterprise Development Initiative) and Institute of Enterprise and Entrepreneurs-accredited to offer training programmes.

Electricity and gas company National Grid, which had an ex-prisoner recruitment scheme in place, was their “first big break”, according to Corrigan.

National Grid asked the prison to get 15 men ready with CVs, a job for which Corrigan and Newell were enlisted.

“It was one of the proudest moments of my life to use this little computer to produce 15 CVs for these guys. They had never seen a CV in their life before — they didn’t know how to articulate their abilities or their skills.”

As a result, two obtained high-paying jobs. And so Corrigan and Newell turned their attention to other employers, inviting the chief executives of 250 top companies to a meeting in the Brixton Prison chapel. Fifty showed up.

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Michael Corrigan (left) and Steve Newell

“That’s when we first realised we could turn our prison-bound efforts into a specialist resettlement and training company on release,” Newell said.

A challenge facing prisoners on release was they were given only £46.

Lacking jobs and financial support, exoffenders too often reoffend.

With the fear of this in mind, Corrigan and Newell now begin their work with prisoners about three months before release — helping them write CVs, develop soft skills, train them for specific roles or set up their own business.

As Corrigan explained: “We realised asking an employer for a job was not

“It was one of the proudest moments of my life to use this little computer to produce 15 CVs for these guys” the right question.” Instead, they asked businesses what their 'pinch points' were. Coffee chain Costa, for instance, did not have enough baristas, so Corrigan and Newell trained prisoners to be baristas. Then, Costa found coffee machine repair people in short supply, so the men began developing an inprison training programme for machine repairers.

“The most important and lifechanging thing is we have become accredited ourselves to offer exams and qualifications,” Corrigan said.

Lord Young, Prime Minister David Cameron’s business adviser, also took

Recruiters can get in touch via www.prosper4.com 16/06/2015 09:37

Gaining a Masters with Montreal

Helping former prisoners find work has been shown to reduce reoffending

an interest and is now the company’s honorary president.

He told Recruiter helping ex-offenders achieve employment brought down reoffending rates, “and from the government’s point of view, it saves a fortune… we can’t afford to waste so many people’s lives by just placing them in jail and letting them rot”.

Newell said the group was currently working with about 1,250 people and was about to take on another 500, train them in general employability and business-specific skills, and place them into already found jobs.

He called on the recruitment industry to help them, specifically by sharing information about skills shortages.

“We’re not asking for the charitable CSR [corporate social responsibility] piece, we’re saying tell us… the recruiters know what jobs are in demand, what they’re struggling to recruit for, what jobs are coming up the most. If we can drive that information back into us, we can develop the training proposals around the need in the marketplace.” ● I M AG E S | A L A M Y / ISTO C K / MA R R IOTT H OTEL S

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INTERNATIONAL IT recruiter Montreal Associates’ partnership with Columbia University to promote a new European residency and Masters programme for IT specialists benefits both clients and candidates, managing director David Thuillier says.

“It’s all about turning technologists into managers, and sometimes it’s the biggest challenge for some people in IT. They can be brilliant technologists, they can be really savvy but sometimes they need to work on their presentation, communication and management skills — all the soft skills really,” he told Recruiter.

But not only will it give Montreal Associates’ candidates greater employability, it also helps their clients.

As Thuillier explained, many of the firm’s clients were IT professionals themselves — IT executives, for example, who wanted to join the C-suite and there, could drive a company’s technology agenda. “A lot of innovation at the moment comes from technology and at the top level of companies, at board level, there’s a lack of understanding of how technology can bring innovation to the service you deliver to your customers.”

The 16-month programme has run for about a decade in New York and boasts about 600 graduates. Most learning is done online so the Masters candidates do not have to leave their jobs, though they must attend five residencies of about four days, with at least one held in New York.

It also involves a one-on-one mentoring relationship with a top-level technology executive.

HOTEL CHAIN APPEALS TO EUROPE'S YOUTH M ARRIOTT HOTELS’ aim to increase the employability of Europe’s youth by offering 20,000 “career opportunities” by 2020 is also about creating a talent pipeline for its own business.

Marriott Hotels International vice president HR Europe Ben Di Benedetto told Recruiter the hotel network grew much of its own talent, particularly in sales & marketing, and this initiative would help boost that.

The new career opportunity commitment, building on an earlier programme that has seen it provide 4,000 opportunities since 2012, was ambitious and part of the company’s 'Spirit to Serve' ethos, he said.

The work experiences, internships, apprenticeships, seasonal roles or placements will be across the board — front of house, half of house, technical roles, and business support roles like sales & marketing.

Some will be placed into the available roles with permanent employment already assured, while others may secure permanent jobs at the end of their temporary work with Marriott. However, not all of those placed in the variety of temporary opportunities will receive job offers.

While the aim is to help all young people, aged 16 to 24, a specific focus has been put on disadvantaged youth, people who may not have completed higher education.

“We talk a lot about Marriott being a family-like atmosphere and the world of Marriott and the family environment, I think, plays well into this disadvantaged youth,” Benedetto said.

The company has partnered with charities The Prince’s Trust in the UK and SOS Children’s Villages across Europe, both of which are experienced in the field of youth support and employment, he said. ●

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E RECRUITMENT WWW. RE CRUITE R .CO.UK

View the latest jobs at www.recruiter.co.uk To place your advertisement E: emmanuel.nettey@redactive.co.uk or T: 020 7880 6234

OPPORTUNITIES IN SPECIALIST RECRUITMENT Finance Systems & Transformation Established in 1997, SystemsAccountants is one of the UK’s leading niche recruitment companies and has ranked in the top 15 of the Recruiter Hot 100 for the past 2 years running.

Specialising in Finance Systems & Finance Change our solutions encompass: INTERIM CONSULTING

PERMANENT SEARCH

PROJECT MOBILISATION

To enable us to better respond to the global nature of our clients’ projects and the footprints of their Financial and ERP systems we have recently opened offices in Chicago and Amsterdam and have plans to open additional offices in North America, Europe and Asia over the next 5 years.

In addition to hiring locally we are also keen to deploy UK staff on secondments to our existing international offices and to play key roles in developing operations, in new geographies.

As a consequence we have a number of requirements for experienced recruitment professionals within our UK business: Finance Transformation Senior Interims Consultant

OTE to £140k

Finance Systems Account Manager – Global Clients

OTE to £80k

Business Analytics Recruitment Consultants x 3

OTE to £65k

Roles can be based in London or our Midlands office in Market Harborough in rural Leicestershire; and we are keen to speak with applicants who might be interested in being based in Europe or the USA immediately.

We are not a cold calling culture. We don’t paint by numbers. We are looking for applicants with a level of social and political sophistication to be able to network with the right clients and candidates and build value adding, lasting business relationships.

For further information please contact our Group MD, Dean Turner:

dean@systemsaccountants.com London: SystemsAccountants Limited 2 Royal Exchange London EC3V 3LN

|

Chicago: SystemsAccountants Inc 200 South Wacker Drive Suite 3100 Chicago, Illinois 60606

0207 648 4242 Amsterdam: SystemsAccountants (NL) WTC, Zuidplein 36 1077 XV Amsterdam The Netherlands

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

View the latest jobs at www.recruiter.co.uk To place your advertisement E: emmanuel.nettey@redactive.co.uk or T: 020 7880 6234

RECRUITMENT

E

RECRUITMENT OPPORTUNITIES CAREER

In-House Resourcer 12-month fixed term contract Based in Keynsham, Bristol £27,000 - £30,000 At Andrews we look after our employees because it is their hard work and integrity which has made us one of the UK’s most successful independent property specialists.

We are currently looking for an experienced Internal Resourcer who can demonstrate these qualities while taking on the responsibility for establishing a credible recruitment function. This is a newly created role which will initially run for 12 months but will become permanent if proven successful.

If you’re ready for your next big move, apply today by calling 0117 946 1866 or visit the website careers.andrewsonline.co.uk.

London & Birmingham COME AND WORK FOR A BUSINESS WHERE YOU CAN REALLY MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

CVUK is a leading Global Retail & Lifestyle Recruitment Consultancy with offices in London, Birmingham and Melbourne and a fantastic client base across fashion, homewares, FMCG and hospitality.

Due to our ongoing success we have number of exciting opportunities in both our London and Birmingham offices as follows.

Birmingham – Recruitment Manager We are seeking an established 360 recruiter to help lead and inspire our Birmingham team. The successful candidate should be a high achiever with experience of winning new business and ensuring that candidates receive the best experience possible this is an excellent opportunity to develop your management career.

Birmingham & London – Recruitment consultants – all levels You will need to have at least two years’ experience in recruitment as well as being enthusiastic, engaging and sales focused.

Having an enjoyable work environment is important to us as we recognise that happy teams mean happy clients and happy candidates!

Our package includes an attractive salary and a market leading bonus scheme with the opportunity to achieve monthly, quarterly and annual bonuses as well as extra incentives including overseas trips, day spas and meals out.

If you are interested in joining a great business where you will feel empowered, work within a friendly and positive environment and have the ability to earn an excellent OTE send your CV to gemma@cvukgroup.com today.

PLAN YOUR NEXT MOVE

on the move See latest job listings Create job alerts by email Save and email jobs from mobile Apply for jobs by saving your CV to your profile Keep track of your activity

» Go to www.recruiter.co.uk/jobs WWW.RECRUITER.CO.UK 47

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E CAREERS CO M M UNITY

A MB ITION G R OUP : The global recruiter has appointed Chris Aukland managing director, Hong Kong for Ambition Asia.

A X A U K : Jamie White has joined the insurer as senior resourcing partner for AXA Wealth and the AXA Corporate Centre.

E AME S CON S ULT ING GROUP: The international recruitment and search consultancy has made two senior promotions in Singapore (below).

HAMLYN WILLIAMS: The global executive recruiter has appointed Pin Patel as global head of learning & development.

Patel has held learning & development roles at both global recruiter Phaidon International and finance, banking, accounting and IT recruiter Morgan McKinley, with Hamlyn Williams regarding his hire as a strategic move as it seeks to expand globally.

B OY D EN : As part of the firm’s board of directors elections, the global executive search firm has elected Jörg Kasten, managing partner of Boyden Germany, to a two-year term as chairman. Finn Rants, managing partner of Boyden Denmark, was elected to a first term as director. Kristen Smit, managing partner of Boyden France, and Brent Shervey, managing partner of Boyden Canada, were re-elected to new two-year terms as board members.

Singapore-based Mary Ferguson has been promoted to associate director & division head, while Ben Hardman has been promoted to associate director.

D EV ER EL L S M I TH: The property recruitment consultancy has taken on Ana Hutchinson to lead its estate agency division.

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FUT UREST EP, A KORN FERRY COMPANY: The talent solutions company has appointed Viquar Khan managing director of global operations.

HEIDRICK & ST RUGGLES:

BT: The telecommunications company has appointed Alison Wilcox group HR director.

BRUIN Financial, IBAM Consulting and LUDGATE Search, has taken on Miranda Newboult as head of talent management.

E DE N S COTT: The Scottish recruiter has appointed Ian Grant as director of its Glasgow business.

THE F I SE R GR OUP: The group, which incorporates

Michael Matella is appointed to co-lead the global executive search firm’s services sector within its global technology and services practice. Tim Dietlin joins as partner.

HR PLAT INUM: The HR

recruiter has appointed Yasmin Elezaj HR recruitment director.

MONEYGRAM: Tim Wilson has joined the money order service in the role of director of talent acquisition for Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific.

NEWDAY: Lynn McSeveney has been appointed head of talent at the credit card issuer.

NEXT VENT URES : The technology staffing specialist has taken on Jane Colenso as head of learning & development. She is based at the group’s head office in London.

Email people moves for use online and in print, including a short 16/06/2015 09:38

OD G ER S B E RN DTS ON : The global executive search firm has appointed Paul Aldrich partner in its financial services practice.

PA C ON S U LTI N G: The consultancy group has hired Heather Andrews as global head of talent acquisition.

PA R ITY G ROUP: Alastair Woolley has stepped down as group finance director at the talent management business, while experienced interim Paul Bergin has been made interim chief financial officer.

P EOP L EF LUE N T: The cloud provider of social human capital management technology has hired Eileen Adler as chief HR officer.

YOUR NEXT MOVE A selection of vacancies from recruiter.co.uk Alium Partners Recruitment consultant Recruitment-to-recruitment up to £40k + bonus + bens City of London Fresh Partnership Senior recruitment consultant £20k-£26k basic + bens Basingstoke Sharna Associates Senior recruitment consultant Marketing £25k-£40k + bens + bonus Leeds, South Yorkshire

For more jobs, people moves and career advice go to ● recruiter.co.uk/jobs ● inhouserecruiterjobs.co.uk ● internationalrecruiterjobs.com

THE P OST OFFICE: The delivery service has appointed Sarah Malone head of resourcing and talent.

P URPL E CO NSULTANCY:

CONTACTS

TEACHERACTIVE: The

deedee.doke@recruiter.co.uk

education staffing specialist has taken on Rob Browett as managing director.

TE SCO: Ryan Merrett has been appointed head of resourcing at the supermarket chain.

TE SL A: The vehicle manufacturer has appointed Apple’s former head of worldwide recruitment Cindy Nicola vice president, global recruiting.

TRUE BLUE : Patrick Beharelle joins the US blue-collar recruiter as president and chief operating officer.

VMA GROUP: The global recruitment and training specialist for corporate and marketing communications has appointed three new board members. The trio, who have all worked for VMA for at least two years, include director of continental Europe Willem de Rujiter, director of internal communications Andrew Harvey and Lucinda Moores, director of external communications practice Europe.

WAN TE D TECHNOLOGIES: The provider of real-time market intelligence and analytics for staffing and talent sourcing professionals has appointed Kevin Savage managing director.

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Redactive Publishing Ltd 17 Britton Street, London EC1M 5TP 020 7880 6200

Matt Nudds has been appointed managing director, 10 years after joining the specialist marketing recruiter as a recruitment consultant.

EDITORIAL 020 7880 7606 Editor DeeDee Doke

RECRUITMENT ADVERTISING 020 7880 7556 Giorgio Romano

Reporters Sarah Marquet, Graham Simons

giorgio.romano@redactive.co.uk

sarah.marquet@recruiter.co.uk graham.simons@recruiter.co.uk

PRODUCTION 020 7880 6209 Production executive Rachel Young

Contributing writers Colin Cottell, Sue Weekes Production editor Vanessa Townsend vanessa.townsend@recruiter.co.uk

Creative director Mark Parry Picture researcher Akin Falope

rachel.young@redactive.co.uk

PUBLISHING 020 7880 8547 Publishing director Aaron Nicholls aaron.nicholls@redactive.co.uk

ADVERTISING 020 7880 7607 Business development manager Tom Culley tom.culley@recruiter.co.uk

Senior sales executive Lisa-Jane Parker

RECRUITER AWARDS/ INVESTING IN TALENT AWARDS 020 7880 6236 Events Rebecca West rebecca.west@redactive.co.uk

lisa-jane.parker@recruiter.co.uk

CIRCULATION and SUBSCRIPTIONS To receive a regular copy of Recruiter, the leading magazine for recruitment and resourcing professionals, telephone +44 (0)20 8950 9117 or email redactive@abacusemedia.com • Recruiter is also available to people who do not meet our terms of control: Annual subscription rate for 12 issues: £29.99 UK; £35 Europe and Rest of the World • To purchase reprints or multiple copies of the magazine, contact Abacus e-Media T: +44 (0)20 8950 9117 or email redactive@abacusemedia.com 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. © 2015 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 2013 & 30 June 2014 – 18,994.

Recruiter is also sent to all REC members

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16/06/2015 09:38

E THE LAST WORD CO M M UNITY

Gregory Allen How old is the inner child?

I was once asked what I looked for when supporting the recruitment of executives into a company. My answer was simple: my role is to try and work out the age of the child inside the executive.

I use many tools to hone my interview abilities, competencies, behaviours and even psychometric measurements… cut and diced and served up in a melting pot of ‘fit’ for the role.

Many times I sat in interviews and listen to the answers, buzzword bingo playing in my mind. In the past I was like a shark circling, sensing and testing for that one slip, that one small tiny mistake…. Then STRIKE… Got you… FAIL. But this never proved that fruitful in terms of the quality of the executive that got hired.

As I grew in experience as a recruiter, I found I was not just listening to what was said, but more about what was not said or how it was said to the extent of the context, who it was said to and about. To me there seemed more in cadence and tone of their answers, the edge of petulance or the googling and whimpering of distress.

Then I found I would sit in the interview and watch; and in my head was one question: How old is their inner child?

50 RECRUITER

As a grown-up myself, I know in my head there is a 16-yearold boy. This child is nurtured and tempered by external forces, experiences and emotional controls. Swaddled with a thick layer of ego, narcissism and a sense of personal brilliance. But the core, the deep-down core, is a spotty teenager, who still worries about the first day of school, dreams of teeth falling out and turning up to school without my trousers.

So for me, [psychologist] Carl Jung had a point.

To understand the impact there are many writings on this subject and many labels — the ‘divine child’ or the ‘wonder child’, names which resonate the protection and status we give the inner us. As a recruiter, I believe being able to see this child within the leader enables you to meet the ‘parent’ on the outside and frames the emotional outcome of the executives you want for your business. Cultural fit or emotional intelligence.

So when I interview senior people, I watch and I listen to gauge the age of their inner person… and this then tells me more about the leader than any question I could ask about their ability.

I then frame questions and situations which will evoke signs to confirm my analysis.

The empathy, emotional intelligence or psychological contract you unearth will point to the type of leader the interviewee will be. Will this person lead with and iron rod, stifled by their own fear they will be found out? Will s/he be the leader who can generate a passion that drives their team over the trenches into the oncoming bullets of risk and competition?

To know the inner child is to understand the cultural link, the building block of their charismatic nature as a leader. And ultimately, this will dive the quality of your hire. ●

+ Gregory Allen is global head of resourcing at Lloyd’s Register and winner of In-House Recruitment Leader of the Year at this 2015’s Recruiter Awards for Excellence

JULY 2015

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