Recruiter - July 2017

www.recruiter.co.uk

Business intelligence for recruitment and resourcing professionals

TALENT TURN-OFF Wise up to candidate dissatisfaction

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FACE VALUE Seeing past our hidden facial messages

July 2017

INCORPORATING Recruitment Matters

GREGORY ALLEN Don’t ignore the research channel

14/06/2017 11:35

Driving your success

by Microdec

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12/06/2017 11:36

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C R ONT ENT S 37

INCORPORATING Recruitment Matters

COVER IM AG E | R I C H A R D L E A H A I R

A

NEWS

05 Antal Russia comes home Tony Goodwin, group CEO of Antal International, on its new buy-back 06 Build branches not roots HR guru Dave Ulrich advises HR leaders to look to their business culture

D

18 THE BIG STORY Recruiting beyond the thin blue line

Recruitment is pushing the boundaries among Britain’s police forces

26 Face value

07 NEW Start-up of the Month: Monday at Nine Ex-Michael Page manager Dan Boneham’s new recruitment venture 08 This was the month that was...

10 Contracts & Deals

B

TRENDS

12 Insight Wise up to candidate dissatisfaction

15

Tech & Tools Going online to build personal brand

C 16

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15

Facial expression analysis technology helps recruiters work more efficiently, rather than put them out of a job

07 Cook’s Brexit challenges Tim Cook, CEO of nGAGE Specialist Recruitment, speaks about his firm’s year of frustrations as a result of Brexit uncertainty

FEATURES

E COMMUNITY 33 Social Network 34 Community Careers: The Workplace 35 Community Careers: In-House Careers 36 Business Advice 37 My brilliant recruitment career: Nicholas Kidson, Gerrard White Consulting 38 Recruitment Advertising 40 Movers & Shakers 41 Recruiter Contacts 42 The Last Word: Gregory Allen

42

INTERACTION Viewpoint Poonam Mawani, director of Azuki Accounts Soundbites

I M AG E S | S H UT T ER STO C K / G ETTY / P ETER SEAR LE

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26 WWW.RECRUITER.CO.UK 3

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12/06/2017 11:38

N E WS

UPDATE

WE LCO M E

LEADER

A

year after the Brexit vote, and the picture of what lies ahead is nearly as foggy as it was days after. Yet the UK’s looming departure from the EU – or is it still definitely on the horizon? – has already had incredible impact.

The fall in the number of EU nurses

emigrating here has become evident. For business leaders like nGAGE Specialist Recruitment CEO Tim Cook, new courses have had to be charted for recruiting activity, acquisition strategy and more, as our news story on p7 says.

“A year after the Brexit vote, and the picture of what lies ahead is nearly as foggy as in the days after”

One of the most startling points to emerge is that the owner of a UK agriculture business is moving strawberry plants from this island to Poland, fearing the evaporation of a workforce to pick the

fruit. At the same gathering where Tim Cook spoke, Sebastian Remøy of strategic communications firm Kreab shared the intimidating timeline that lies ahead for the UK to negotiate a healthy deal for our exit – a 12-month negotiation period, basically – and it’s a bit alarming.

As Remøy, who joked about his ‘Nordic noir’ analysis of the situation, said: “The worst deal you could have is ‘no deal’. The wheels start coming off the bus.” Recruiters have stark evidence of a barren economy that could await if our negotiators do not go into these talks with a constructive, win-win approach.

It’s time the ‘powers that be’ listen to business to prepare for the perilous journey ahead.

DeeDee Doke, Editor

Antal Russia is coming home, says Goodwin

BY COLIN COTTELL

TONY GOODWIN, GROUP CEO AND CHAIRMAN OF ANTAL INTERNATIONAL, has told Recruiter that buying back Antal Russia and Antal CIS from FiveTen Group provides Antal with a massive opportunity to generate business across major parts of the organisation.

Goodwin sold Antal Russia and Antal CIS to FiveTen Group in March 2008, but bought it back earlier this month in “a multi-million pound deal”.

Goodwin said he was “truly delighted” by the deal, which he said “brought the brand back home”. He said the first thing on his agenda was to hold a group conference call “to share all the clients from around the group that could do or are doing business in Russia”.

“Likewise,” he said, “our other offices will get leads about Russian companies that are expanding outwardly.”

Sharing clients and providing cross-border leads between Antal offices “was particularly relevant in countries where was Antal was strong such as China and India, which were also countries that were keen to do business with Russia”, added Goodwin.

He said a major investment in China – ‘The Road and Belt Initiative’, a massive infrastructure project to connect China with countries around the world – represented a major business opportunity. China would need the natural resources Russia provides, and this would boost the Russian economy “enormously”, he explained. “The deal couldn’t have happened at a better time,” Goodwin added.

In a statement, Mark Carriban, FiveTen Group CEO, said the sale was “an optimal solution for both its [Antal Russia’s] customers and loyal workforce”. It also “enables our group to focus all our efforts on core, UKheadquartered specialist recruitment businesses – Marks Sattin, EMR and Laurence Simons. All are prestigious, heritage brands with a strong market position”, said Carriban.

Commenting on the deal, Graham Palfery-Smith, who was global CEO of FiveTen Group when it acquired Antal Russia in March 2008, told Recruiter the deal was “fabulous news” for all concerned. “If you had to design a deal that was good for everybody this would be it,” said Palfery-Smith. ●

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15/06/2017 15:35

NE WS

UPDATE

Build business branches not roots

BY DEEDEE DOKE

THE REAL DIFFERENTIATOR SETTING apart today’s sustainable businesses is the organisation itself, the ultimate HR guru, Dave Ulrich, has told a UK audience.

Eighty per cent of their success stems from teamwork, with 20%

35,017 FOLLOWERS AS OF 15 JUNE 2017

reliant on individual talent, Ulrich said. The new world of work is also heavily reliant on organisational culture. He added: “The culture inside should reflect the promise we make on the outside.” He was referring to the identity of the firm in the eyes of the customer.

He went on to say: “I hope in HR we define culture not as our past but as our opportunity.”

He illustrated this thought by urging HR and their organisations to “build branches, not roots”.

The University of Michigan professor and management consultant spoke on 6 June at the Saïd Business School in Oxford.

The RBL Group event, attended by Recruiter, was supported by

Annapurna Recruitment and Cielo.

In a talk filled with useful soundbites, Ulrich covered a wide range of topics, always returning to a theme of HR’s customers being its organisation’s external customers, not employees.

“HR is not about HR,” he said.

“It’s about the business.”

He also urged the HR practitioners in the audience to not only expand their knowledge but to “get out of our comfort zone” and switch out about 25% of what they knew every couple of years. “I hope we in HR can learn and unlearn,” he said.

And he offered a bit of career advice: HR leaders should not have to leave HR to be considered good at what they do.

He said: “You can create value without being CEO.”

Police recruitment thinks outside the box

THE WINNER OF THE BEST IN-HOUSE RECRUITMENT LEADER OF THE YEAR at the recent Recruiter Awards in May, says the secret of his success is “not to be afraid to try new things”.

Kesh Ladwa, recruitment manager at West Mercia Police and Warwickshire Police, told Recruiter that getting buy-in to do things differently was difficult because of the ingrained risk-averse public sector culture shared by many police forces, which meant “there was a reluctance to try new things”.

“Changing the culture is the big thing,” said Ladwa.

However, this could be achieved with the right approach, he said: “You have got to be focused, motivated, think outside the box. You can’t be blinkered, and you have got to have passion and love recruitment.”

Ladwa said he envied the resources available to his peers in the private sector, but added, “I have to deliver with the tools, the resources and the budgets I have.”

• For more on Ladwa and police recruitment today, see The Big Story, pp18-24.

BY COLIN COTTELL

6 RECRUITER

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IMAG ES | R IC H AR D LEA H AIR / SH UTT ERSTOCK

Find more daily news stories at recruiter.co.uk/news 15/06/2017 15:56

N E WS

THOUGHTS FROM…

UPDATE

BARONNESS TANNI GREYTHOMPSON DBE THE M ULTIPLE PAR ALYMPIC CHAMPION WAS SPEA K I N G AT A CEREMONY WHERE SHE OPENED THE LO N D ON STOCK EXCHANGE IN MID-JUNE

“The reality is only about 2% of athletes make any money or have any help with their careers. We chuck loads of kids out of the programme at all sorts of different levels.”

FI BROWNING BUSIN ESS WOMAN FI BROWNING (PLAYED BY L IS A FAULKNER) ADVISING QU EEN VIC LANDLORD MI CK CA RTE R ON THE ADVANTAGES OF USING RECRU I T MEN T AG ENCIES IN A RECENT EDITION OF THE BBC’ S EASTENDERS.

“That agency I was telling you about, Mick, supplies staff to loads of bars in Hoxton, Shoreditch… decent staff more than pay for themselves – I’ll get some CVs.”

Cook lays bare bane of Brexit

BY DEEDEE DOKE

FROM REDUNDANCIES TO THE ACCELERATED internationalising of his business, the UK vote to leave the EU has created a year of challenge for Tim Cook, group CEO of nGAGE Specialist Recruitment, and Tim Cook, CEO of nGAGE Specialist Recruitment his organisation.

Cook laid bare the expansive landscape of twists, turns and frustrations created by Brexit at a briefing hosted by law firm Mishcon de Reya on 14 June. “I haven’t done anything adding value to our business for the last 12 months”, because of having to deal with the impact of UK politics, Cook told the London audience.

He recounted that he had planned, on the day before the Brexit vote, to hire 50 new staff. The day after, he was forced to let 50 people go and call off his hiring plans. “That’s 100 jobs [gone],” he said.

With the widely reported fall in interest from EU nurses to work in the UK, Cook’s business is shifting nursing recruitment activity to the Philippines from previously fertile Portugal and Spain. The UK, he said, is not training enough nurses. He said nGAGE is also looking to outsource certain functions outside the UK as a result of Brexit, possibly to India and Vietnam.

At the same time, nGAGE has accelerated its acquisition plans and created an international footprint, most recently through GCS Recruitment, which has offices in London, Reading, Dublin and New York. Cook suggested that the future Brexit had influenced and stepped up nGAGE’s drive for an international presence. ●

STA RT-UP OF THE MONTH FORMER MICHAEL PAGE LEEDS MANAGER DAN BONEHAM LAUNCHED MARKETING SECTOR RECRUITMENT AGENCY MONDAY AT NINE THIS MONTH. Currently working on his own, with advice from a former colleague who now owns his own marketing business, Boneham aims to get under the skin of the industry he’s serving.

“We are looking to offer a service where we immerse ourselves in the market in Leeds.

We want to understand what marketing agencies are looking

for when working with their clients,” he says.

“You are governed by corporate guidelines at companies like Michael Page and I’m looking forward to being more flexible, more bespoke.

“We will take a different approach, trying to be more marketing, to market our business in a way that reflects the people we want to work with.

“We will have cards in the style of Guess Who? We have plans for reverse graffiti where you use a stencil and a pressure

washer to clean your logo into the pavement. We are thinking outside the box, trying to change the way people think about recruiters. The plan is to grow and bring in specialists in other subsectors. We would consider taking on marketing people; if someone comes from recruitment they have a preconception of how it’s done.

“An ex-colleague of mine who went into marketing is a silent partner and he has been great.

Without him I could not have done it.”

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NE WS

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

MON, 22 MAY 2017

RUN FOR YOUR LIFE FROM THE JOB INTERVIEWS FROM HELL

MON, 22 MAY 2017

ERRANT EMAIL SENT TO CANDIDATE LANDS CONSULTANT IN DEEP WATER… A consultant that inadvertently accused a candidate of “bulls****ing” on their CV is going to have to see the resulting controversy surrounding the incident as a learning experience. That’s according to the unnamed consultant’s boss James Penfold, director at engineering recruiter Russell James Recruitment.

The Sun reported the candidate, Pedro Da Silva, said he was excited after receiving an email from the agency but then he discovered he had been

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RUSSELL TAYLOR HOLDINGS BUYS TRANSLINE GROUP

copied into the email from one of the agency’s consultants that read: “No Buying experience and I think he is bulls****ing with his previous work experience”. Da Silva told the paper he was “dumbfounded” by the company’s lack of professionalism.

Speaking to Recruiter, Penfold said the furore around the incident would be a learning experience for the consultant.

“We’ve looked into our processes to find out what happened … but fundamentally we believe that the learning experience for the consultant will be of bigger benefit to him moving forward to ensure this never happens again.”

Wirral-headquartered recruitment group Russell Taylor Holdings has bought labour procurer Transline Group.

Transline was tightlipped about Sky News reports that Russell Taylor had come in to acquire the labour procurer, after Transline filed a notice of intention (NOI) to appoint administrators in a bid to protect the business.

On 18 May, Russell Taylor confirmed they had completed a deal that sees the Transline Group business become a whollyowned subsidiary of Russell Taylor Holdings.

Russell Taylor Holdings’ companies operate across construction, engineering, warehousing and manufacturing recruitment sectors. The statement added there would be no changes to the day-to-day operations at Transline, with all employees, senior management and clients transferring across to the new company.

More: http://bit.ly/2sY36rh

More: http://bit.ly/2rFEshj

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Asking a candidate “Do you like foot massages?” is perhaps the stand-out question to feature in Protecting.co.uk’s compilation of job interviews from hell.

The employment law consultants found three in 10 UK workers have walked out of a job interview because of something their interview panel said that put them off. Here are a few corkers: Jackie, Newcastle: “He asked me if I liked foot massages. I thought I had misheard, so I asked again, but no – it was foot massages.

This was for a job at a well-known chain store, which is not known for footcare, so I left feeling a bit ill.”

Alex, Essex: “I’ll never forget their po-faced, highly illegal, take-it-orleave it offer of £2 per hour. I hope they’ll never forget the subsequent visit from Trading Standards, which I later arranged.”

Theresa, Cardiff: “They told me right from the outset ‘You won’t be cold-calling clients’. Ten minutes later they admitted that I would be spending eight hours a day doing nothing but cold-calling clients. I won’t work for liars.”

Richard, Portsmouth: “Estate agent job, and I thought I had it in the bag before they mentioned the so-called company tradition that the newest person is always in charge of cleaning the toilets, and they weren’t joking. I’ve been in the business for 10 years, and told them to get stuffed. What a bunch of clowns. Actually, it was a lot stronger than ‘get stuffed’.”

More: http://bit.ly/2rZUROa

IM AGES | ISTOCK / PA

15/06/2017 12:41

W E D, 7 J U N E 2 0 1 7

Ex-Randstad manager launches Jigsaw Staffing Former Randstad UK manager Craig Barclay has launched his own recruitment firm in partnership with investor Bluestones.

Jigsaw Staffing officially launched in the first week of June. It is based in Manchester city centre, and covers a range of sectors including manufacturing, retail and logistics. Bluestones offers investment and back-office resources to help start-up recruitment ventures.

More: http://bit.ly/2tlBk8l

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DAYS

←‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒• J U N E

MON, 5 JUNE 2017

USE OF RECRUITMENT AGENCIES SET TO PLUMMET SAYS CIPD RESEARCH More than half of HR professionals expect their organisation to cut their use of recruitment agencies this year, according to research.

A poll of more than 1,000 HR professionals by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and Hays found that 56% intended to reduce their reliance on third-party recruiters in 2017. This was up from 45% who said the same thing last year.

Three in four respondents said they expected to focus on developing more talent in-house this year, up from 48% in 2016. Six in 10 expressed a desire to work on retention rather than recruitment in 2017, up from 37% last year.

Nearly three-quarters of HR professionals expect the competition for well-qualified talent to increase as a result of the UK’s decision to leave the EU, with more than six in 10 predicting further difficulty recruiting senior and skilled employees over the next three years.

TUE, 6 JUNE 2017

MON, 12 JUNE 2017

TFS HEALTHCARE HOSTS FELLOW RECRUITER FOLLOWING TERROR ATTACK

UMBRELLA FIRM QPS DIRECTORS JAILED FOR PAYROLL FRAUD

IT recruitment specialist NEXERE has temporarily moved into the offices of a neighbouring recruiter today, with its own base still behind a police cordon following 3 June’s terror attack in London.

NEXERE’s head office at the Hop Exchange on Southwark Street was still inaccessible as the investigation into the van and knife attacks continued. So the firm took residence at its former building at nearby Two London Bridge – which TFS Healthcare has expanded within since NEXERE vacated in November.

Both companies operate independently but they share a CEO, Andrew Yetzes, and a marketing manager, Emmy Hudson. All staff at both companies worked from home on 5 June, with the TFS office unusable as its emergency exit was cordoned off.

“We were working from home on Sunday evening, emailing candidates and clients explaining the situation,” said Hudson. “People have been brilliant, saying they hope we are safe; no one has had any work queries.”

More: http://bit.ly/2s5p1h6

More: http://bit.ly/2tg2pJW

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The directors of umbrella firm Quality Premier Services (QPS) have been jailed for a total of 27-and-a-half years after being found guilty of payroll fraud.

Geoffrey, Joshua and Andrew Copp were found guilty of not passing on VAT they received from recruitment agencies to HM Revenue & Customs.

The trio instead used the money to fund lavish lifestyles, including a fleet of luxury cars and a series of mortgage-free properties, both in the UK and in Spain.

On Joshua’s mobile phone, detectives found a photo of a notepad showing how the VAT fraud was calculated and the split between his father and uncle, while the original notebook was subsequently discovered at his desk at QPS.

Geoffrey, of Holland Close, Stanmore, was jailed for 10-and-a-half years, while his son Joshua, of Galley Lane, Barnet, was jailed for eight years and Geoffrey’s brother Andrew, of Cardy Close, Hemel Hempstead, was jailed for nine years.

More: http://bit.ly/2sX1NcS

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15/06/2017 12:41

NE WS

CONTRACTS

CONTRACTS & DEALS Guidant Group Outsourced recruitment solutions provider Guidant Group has secured a five-year deal with roadside recovery firm the AA. With head offices in London and Atlanta, the recruiter revealed it was appointed in January for the outsourced recruitment service, which covers multiple disciplines across the AA’s UK locations. The service will be delivered via an on-site team based at the AA’s UK headquarters in Basingstoke, Hampshire, and will have an emphasis on providing IT talent to drive the company’s technology strategy.

City & Guilds Group City & Guilds Group has bought civil nuclear skills training provider Gen2 for an undisclosed fee. The acquired Cumbria-based firm, established in 2000, employs 160 people and has eight training centres, with 1,300 apprentices and 250 higher education students.

Vitae Selection Executive search business Hudson James Human Capital has acquired fellow Leeds firm Vitae Selection.

Hudson James said the deal, for an undisclosed sum, would double its headcount to 22. Established in 2008, Vitae Selection specialises in consumer, packaging, ingredients and energy sector appointments across the UK and international markets. Vitae managing director Andrew Osbaldeston will become co-owner of Hudson James Human Capital alongside the acquiring firm’s founder Dan Spurr.

Aasaanjobs India’s online recruitment marketplace Aasaanjobs has announced the acquisition of Noidabased jobs platform mHire. Mumbai-based Aasaanjobs said that the purchase of the firm, which has a focus on entry-level jobs, would help strengthen its presence in the North of India. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

Petroplan Global oil & gas recruitment specialist Petroplan has been awarded a contract to provide consultancy and managed services in the UK, South Africa and Mozambique for international integrated chemicals and energy company Sasol. The contract continues a long-standing working relationship Petroplan already has with Sasol through supplying both contract and permanent oil & gas professionals in the UK and South Africa.

Cielo Recruitment process outsourcing firm Cielo has secured a five-year deal to boost headcount at Shawbrook Bank.

The recruiter, which has offices in London, Manchester, the US and elsewhere around the globe, will embed its people within the bank’s HR team, as well as offering Shawbrook the use of offsite experts.

Shawbrook Bank wants to boost staff numbers to support the planned growth of offices in Brentwood, Dorking and Glasgow. Cielo will help the bank hire both permanent and temporary workers.

DEAL OF THE MONTH

Cpl Resources Dublin-headquartered recruiter Cpl Resources has agreed a deal to buy 91% of staffing specialist RIG Healthcare Group for £8.1m.

Kent-based RIG has five offices across the UK and supplies medical professionals to the NHS

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with a focus on radiography, occupational therapy, pharmacy and physiotherapy.

In the year ended 31 December 2016 RIG Healthcare Group posted turnover of £53.5m. Cpl expects the

investment to be earningsenhancing from the date of completion.

The acquisition is Cpl’s entry into the locum doctor market and enhances its UK presence following the acquisition

of Clinical Professionals in September 2015.

Current RIG managing director Affi Khan will become its CEO, while Rob Bryan will be promoted to MD. Khan and Bryan own the remaining 9% of RIG Healthcare.

More contract news at recruiter.co.uk/news 15/06/2017 11:51

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12/06/2017 11:44

TRE NDS

INSIGHT

WISE UP TO CANDIDATE DISSATISFACTION Transparency, feedback and status updates can help create a good candidate experience – so why are companies still ignoring them and the negative effect this has on candidates?

BY NICK SHAW

J

ob candidates know only too well how important it is to make the right impression on a potential employer – it’s the difference between getting the job or not. But companies are neglecting the impression they make on candidates in the hiring processes; and it’s giving them a bad rap.

According to our study of nearly 4,000 people, one in four candidates report having a negative recruiting experience during their most recent job search. Digging deeper into the data, we discover that poor communication is the main driver behind bad experiences and candidate dissatisfaction.

Organisations wouldn’t dream of keeping their customers or prospects in the dark – not responding to a query, ignoring a proposal request or failing to get in contact about a delayed order. Yet it frequently happens to job candidates.

Firms are focusing too heavily on moving candidates through the process and overlooking the importance of maintaining communication with job applicants. It’s not that companies like yours set out to upset job candidates; expectations and technologies have changed, but hiring processes have not kept up.

So how can organisations make the right impression on candidates? And what does a better experience look and feel like? There are four things you need to know and do:

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➊ Job candidates expect a

straightforward experience online. People use their mobile device for a whole host of activities now, from shopping to banking. But the steps to apply for jobs are rarely as clear or intuitive.

Organisations should ensure that their career sites, application processes and assessments are easy to use and optimised for mobile.

➋ Candidates want greater

transparency. They want to know more about the job they’re applying for and what they need to do to get it. Companies are missing a trick by not providing applicants with more information upfront about the day-today requirements of the role and the stages in the hiring process. Setting candidates’ expectations in advance helps them to make informed decisions about whether it’s the right job for them and allows them to choose to continue with the application process or self-select out.

➌ Job candidates want to give and

receive feedback. Having put in time and energy to progress through the hiring stages, jobseekers want feedback on how they performed, how their

qualifications stack up, how they scored on assessments and how they could improve for future opportunities.

Companies don’t have to share a full report; simple hints and tips, helpful for guiding their development, will often be an improvement on the existing process. Some firms signpost other job openings the candidate might be more suited to. It is also important to capture candidate feedback routinely to surface issues and understand engagement across the stages in the process.

➍ Candidates want status updates.

There are critical touchpoints in the job application process where candidates want to hear from a potential employer. These communications don’t have to be highly personalised, but they do need to be clear, actionorientated and set expectations on the next stage(s). A candidate’s recruiting experience can be greatly enhanced by firms acknowledging when applications have been submitted, assessments fulfilled and interviews completed. Organisations also need to let candidates know if they’ve been

IM AGE | ISTOCK

15/06/2017 11:53

Jobseekers want feedback on how they performed, how their qualifications stack up, how they scored on assessments and how they could improve for future opportunities

↗

successful or not in securing the job.

Our analysis shows that most candidates are victims of the ‘recruiting black hole’, which happens when potential employers go silent during the process. Companies fail to acknowledge that CVs and applications have been submitted, do not provide feedback as to where candidates are in the hiring process or how they performed in interviews, or worse still, fail to let applicants know they have been unsuccessful in securing the job.

Understandably, when candidates

get the silent treatment they become frustrated. They have invested significant time and effort upfront – researching the firm, customising their CV, applying for the job and prepping for and completing assessments – only to be left hanging.

Even for the lucky few that do progress through the hiring process, they’re likely to be kept in limbo for around 13 weeks (that’s three months!) before securing the job.

But when companies get the candidate experience right it has a knock-on effect after the candidate joins the enterprise. New hires apply 15% more discretionary effort and are 38% more likely to stay with the organisation. And happier employees work harder.

Successful organisations realise that the recruiting process plays a critical role both in acquiring quality candidates and improving performance once in role. But existing hiring processes are giving some firms a bad reputation and leaving candidates (and potential customers) frustrated.

Now is the time for companies to use technology to create a more engaging, rewarding and interactive experience for candidates, which will also ensure that recruiters identify the best-fit job applicants effectively, quickly and efficiently. ●

NICK SHAW is managing director of the UK and Ireland at CEB, now Gartner

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15/06/2017 11:53

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T R E N DS

TECH & TOOLS

Online activity Using the online environment to build personal brand SUE WEEKES

Building personal brand frequently goes on the back-burner for busy recruiters more focused on presenting others. As Paul Maxin, founder of Max Intalent and currently interim VP talent acquisition at Zalando SE in Berlin, succinctly puts it: “Top talent attracts top talent.” Those recruiters who are adept at using the online environment for sourcing often miss a trick by not using it build their brand. “Recruiters need to be present where candidates are,” says Maxin.

Tony Restell, founder of specialist agency Social-Hire, believes having a strong brand boosts the results of everything else a recruiter does: “How likely candidates are to respond to a job advert, take your call, refer you to someone, turn to you as a client. All are positively impacted if candidates feel they know and trust you more.”

DEVISE A STRATEGY Before engaging in any online activity to build your brand, consider how you want to be perceived. Maxin recommends speaking with colleagues and obtaining 360-feedback.

“Think about your values, who you are, how others see you and how you want to be seen by others,” he says. While just being visible on social media and engaging in conversations will give you a presence, Restell reckons that those who have the biggest wins are those who take a more strategic approach. “They’ve formulated a plan for how social media will contribute to their goals

and then they’ve gone out and put that plan into action, learning from what’s working and then consistently implementing whatever they’re finding to be working the best.”

WHICH CHANNELS Most recruiters will be well versed in how to make good use of a range of channels – but carefully consider which are the best fit for your brand. It is important to be active on the channels where your target audience are most active, advises Restell. He adds that it is also more effective to focus your efforts on one or two channels and become highly proficient on those rather than

spread yourself thinly across multiple platforms. Maxin suggests mastering at least one “mainstream” channel such as Twitter or LinkedIn and one “alternative” such as SnapChat or Instagram. “If you have a blog, make sure you link it to your chosen social media channels,” he adds.

PLAY THE LONG GAME Brand-building is an ongoing process and it is important to commit time and effort to it. Set aside dedicated time two or three times a week to create and keep up momentum even if it’s just 15 minutes to share interesting or authoritative articles or to tweet/retweet.

Restell acknowledges that the short-term pressure to

SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGEMENT TOOLS These allow you to take a much more organised and automated approach to online activity such as brand-building. They include Buffer, which allows you to automate and schedule activity, while Hootsuite manages multiple accounts and brings your analytics into one place. There is also Buzzsomo that finds the most shared content and key influencers. Check out the free trials available to test their usefulness.

I L L UST RAT I O N | SH UTTER STO C K

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secure hires and new clients will take priority but he says recruiters should resist “the incessant pressure” to abandon a long-term strategy “just for the next few weeks”, and then have a flurry of activity. “Becoming overly promotional on social media can quickly undo all the hard work you’ve put into your building your presence,” he says.

MIND YOUR LANGUAGE As a recruiter, you’ve no doubt warned candidates about behaving inappropriately on social media sites such as Facebook, so take heed of your own advice.

While it is important to have a point of view and opinions, be respectful to others. “Too many recruiters get sucked into online arguments that become personal.

Be yourself at all times and be human. Don’t just communicate about the jobs you’re trying to fill,”

says Maxin, who adds: “Also remember who you work for. Your views are your own, but be careful not to compete with your company’s employer brand.”

TEST AND EXPERIMENT Not everything you do online as part of your brand-building will work so be prepared to experiment. The great thing about social media is that it is measurable, so you can quickly find out what works and what doesn’t. Also consider social media management tools (see box, left) that will allow you to automate, analyse and schedule activity. “Testing ways to grow your reach and to convert that reach into results is essential,” says Restell. “Having found approaches that work, then consistency in finding the time to implement these approaches is also key. Focus on consistency, testing and engagement and you’ll have taken a big step towards success.”

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C

INTE R AC TIO N

VIEWPOINT

Take it to the board Quality strategy only comes with stronger reporting

BY POONAM MAWANI

believe recruitment businesses need better reporting to help with strategic business decisions.

Too often, the way recruitment businesses report data evolves over time. This makes it difficult for business owners and directors to be furnished with detailed, real-time management information that can be used as the basis for successful decision-making.

Recruitment companies that are either unclear about business reporting or who simply do not have it, end up relying on disparate silos of information, which are then used in short-term tactical ways. All of this masquerades as strategy. But this is not strategic in any sense.

Thus, many recruitment businesses end up with numerous and unchecked data sources and poor-quality, data-generated reports. With inferior data, decision-making is inconsistent and can: delay revenue recognition and cashflow; incur fines for non-compliance; instil operational inefficiency; erode customer confidence; increase subscription costs to reporting software; negatively affect billings.

Often the aim of a business is to reduce the cost of the finance function or provision. The reality is that the potential for cost savings is limited and instead the focus needs to be shifted to how the finance function can become a strategic business partner, adding value. It is essential to fully understand how the finance function

I

“Only with stronger reporting can better quality strategic decisions be made”

POONAM MAWANI is director of Azuki Accounts

should influence strategic decision-making. Yet in many recruitment companies this is not the case. This puts at risk, not just the future growth and prosperity of the business, but also its very survival.

If a business wants to provide timely, accurate and consistent information to be used for strategic decision-making, then quality board packs are an important first step. Performance reporting is a means to an end, and never an end in itself. The board report is therefore the document that pulls together all the relevant information with balance and objectivity. So how can the finance function begin adding value through the board pack?

Board packs are the single most crucial source of information for directors. They supply the numbers and intelligence necessary to ensure the dialogue and decisions at board meetings – and in the day-to-day management of a recruitment business – are as productive and effective as possible. Even if you are a one or two-person organisation, they are vital. The board report needs to draw together and integrate management information alongside financial analysis to deliver something meaningful and tangible to allow you to help grow your business.

It sounds simple, but getting this right is fraught with pitfalls. A good board report has to be technically strong. But this is only part of the story: board directors also need to take a pro-active approach and work with their finance function. The finance function must therefore exercise integrity and transparency in creating the report, but they must also be influential enough to ensure that the pertinent points are discussed and are able to aid strategic decision-making.

Only with stronger reporting can better quality strategic decisions be made.

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I N T E R AC T I O N

SOUNDBITES

L ET T ER S

Do you see uncertainty or opportunity following the General Election?

DON’T LET SOME BAD APPLES UPSET THE COMPLIANCE CART

BEV WHITE

Following the news that the directors of Quality Premier Services (QPS) have been jailed after being found guilty of payroll fraud, FCSA is keen to point out that while there are some cases of bad practice amongst a minority of businesses which have grabbed the headlines, there are also a large number of highly compliant organisations working ethically and correctly to provide a high level of service for their clients and contractors.

The challenge comes in identifying a compliant company you can trust, sound in the knowledge that it continues to work within the rules. In this case, recruitment firms could have requested evidence of VAT returns for this company to confirm that they were indeed paying it appropriately.

I would advise recruiters to never underestimate the importance of doing proper due diligence on their supply chain partners as the reputational damage and financial risk of getting this wrong could be significant.

There are an alarming number of recruitment firms that don’t have time to do even basic checks, but this case highlights the importance of investing the time in compliance.

Companies like QPS have the potential to give all umbrella firms a bad name, so I would like to reassure recruiters that as the trade body that represents umbrella firms we at FCSA are working hard to redress the balance, to drive up standards and rid the industry of such cowboys.

“Uncertainty could cause major instability potentially resulting in a breakdown of any governing party and trigger yet another election.

The impact of this on the UK productivity and on the people of the UK could be long lasting.

Opportunity, for me, comes in an important way for accessing talent. Brexit, under a different government mandate and with other stakeholders outside of the main party becoming involved, may soften. For businesses in the UK this may result in softer migration policies, allowing more freedom of employment across Europe.”

J U L I A K E R M O D E , C E O, T H E FREELANCER & CONTRACTOR SERVICES ASSOCIATION (FCSA)

CEO, G I G ROUP UK

LISA GAINSFORD CEO, N I CH OL A S A S S OCIAT ES G ROUP

“While the hung parliament clearly brings a number of uncertainties, not least around the Brexit negotiations, I believe the recruitment sector should view this as an opportunity to lessen the potential impact. With no majority for the Conservative Party, it’s now surely more likely that Theresa May will be faced with agreeing a softer Brexit deal. This may enable us to provide more certainty in the sector for migrant EU workers, as well as the highly skilled specialists where we continue to see candidate shortages.”

MATTHEW HASTIE director, C&D Group “Yes, the outcome of the general election was possibly a surprise and we now have more internal political turmoil right when we should be focusing on some very important negotiations with the EU. However, the uncertainty in itself creates opportunities for astute businesses, as shown by the continued growth in the UK manufacturing sector. Longer lead times and stockpiling of raw materials, the fluctuations (lower) in sterling, and the future source of skilled and unskilled labour all offer opportunities for innovative recruitment solutions.”

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The winners of two of the 2017 Recruiter Awards demonstrate that recruitment is pushing the boundaries among Britain’s police forces, as Colin Cottell discovered Finding people willing to put their lives on the line for the public is itself a tall order, but it is by no means the only demand on recruiters for the UK’s 43 police forces. The need to have police forces that represent the communities they serve means that as the country’s demographic changes, so too must police forces.

On top of this there is the need for specialist skills, such as those to combat cyber-crime. At the same time, recruiters have an important role in countering the sometimes negative and ill-informed perception of the police by making it an employer of choice.

“It’s a great challenge,” says Kesh Ladwa, recruitment manager at Warwickshire Police and West Mercia Police.

However, Ladwa, who was recognised for his work by winning In-House Recruitment Leader of the Year at the recent Recruiter Awards, clearly relishes it. After a career spent predominantly in recruitment agencies, Ladwa says joining the police was “my way of using my expertise

18 RECRUITER

in recruitment to make a difference”.

“Recruitment is not seen as a specialism especially within the public sector,” he says.

But at the same time, recruiters are in a unique position to make a difference, he adds. “The brand, the attraction – we are the first point of contact with every single employee we recruit.”

Ladwa’s award was not the sole honour awarded to police recruiters at May’s Grosvenor House event. Social enterprise Police Now, in partnership with marketing and brand agency Tonic Agency, picked up the award for Most Effective Recruitment Marketing Campaign.

Both awards are especially impressive given the pressure

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T H E B IG STORY PO L I C E R E C RU I T M E N T

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T H E BIG STORY P O L I C E R E C RU I T M E N T

on police budgets as, according to Ladwa, “every penny spent is scrutinised”. But they are also recognition of these recruiters’ success in shaking up long-established ways of doing things. “It’s not an easy task, because you are dealing with a culture and with individuals who have been in the business for a very long time,” says Ladwa.

To illustrate the conservative nature of the police and its resistance to change, proposals to allow people to join at inspector and superintendent level rather than everyone having to join as a police constable and work their way up faced stiff opposition from the police rank and file, and remain a sore issue today.

“Historically people have always come in and progressed up the ranks, so culturally, there has been a negative reaction from existing staff because they had to work their way up,” says Ladwa. West Mercia and Warwickshire signed up to direct entry for inspectors last year, says Ladwa, but not for

C O M PANY

Warwickshire and West Mercia Police ▶ Since 2012, recruitment for both Warwickshire and West Mercia Police forces has been delivered by one team ▶ 6,000 staff ▶ 24 staff in recruitment ▶ 900 hires this year

direct entry at superintendent level.

The issue remains a live one. An announcement by the Metropolitan Police in June that it would allow direct recruitment of graduates as detectives was criticised by the Police Federation at national level.

Since he took up his role two years ago, however, Ladwa has shown he is no hostage to the past. Not only has he shaken things up by reducing recruitment costs from £3m to just under £1m a year, largely by slashing use of recruitment agencies, he has also completely transformed the force’s recruitment function. The Recruiter

Awards judges highlighted Ladwa’s work with the College of Policing, the professional body for police in the UK, in sharing and promoting new and innovative ways of recruiting in police recruitment across the country.

According to Ladwa, one of the most important challenges police forces across the UK face is changing the perception of policing and the career opportunities it provides. “All the public see is the word ‘police’, and they think only of police officers.

But behind every police officer there is a vast number of people supporting him or her to do their job, anything from 999 call handlers to forensics, special constables, HR, finance, even lawyers,” he says.

There is also a social stigma, Ladwa contends, evident particularly on social media about the police, about whether they do a good job and what they actually do. “It’s about educating the public. As the [terrorist] events in London show, the police were protecting the public, and they do a really

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TH E B IG STO RY POLICE RECRU ITMENT

great job. That is what the passion of everyone in the police force is: they want to protect and serve the public.”

Police Now’s impact The need to change perceptions is especially important if the police are to attract those who have never considered policing, including black and ethnic minority groups, and women. This is the thinking behind the IMPACT campaign for Police Now, which recruits graduates to work as neighbourhood police officers as part of a two-year leadership and development programme. The campaign included an interactive game, which was based on real challenges faced by previous Police Now recruits – for example, around drugs and prostitution. Alongside campus and outdoor marketing events, the campaign also included a film taking the viewer on a journey through various communities.

Vanessa Soames, graduate recruitment director at Police Now, explains that the aim of the campaign was “to bring to life the link between crime, deprivation and quality of life and people’s life chances for which a different type of approach and a different type of police officer is needed”.

The campaign has clearly paid off: this year, 19 police forces have signed up to taking on 360 recruits from Police Now. The campaign was designed to meet the police forces’ target of 20% of recruits from BAME backgrounds, a target it looks likely to achieve.

Already half the applications come from women.

Soames says the message the campaign wanted to get across to graduates, was “if you think you can make a difference, then apply to us. If you care about making society better, then you want to join us because the change in society is happening here”.

“The real game changer,” she continues, “is that everyone who joins the programme is assessed every 100

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days on the impact they have had on their community.”

“We are definitely looking for people who wouldn’t normally consider policing or who hadn’t applied before,” she adds.

Mark Horley, executive creative director & founder of brand agency Tonic Agency, which created the campaign, says it stood out because “we were hitting on not just the functional reasons for becoming a police officer but the emotive reasons for doing something worthwhile and good”.

C O M PANY

Police Now ▶ Started 2014 ▶ Originally part of the Metropolitan Police ▶ Since 2016 an independent social enterprise ▶ Recruits graduates to work as neighbourhood police officers on a two-year leadership and development programme ▶ Mission: to transform communities, reduce crime and increase the public’s confidence in the police by recruiting and developing outstanding and diverse individuals.

“As a brand piece,” he continues, “it hangs very much on honest truths, the challenges and the things they are actually facing when they are on the streets. These are the types of things you will be doing in your first 100 days on the job.”

Ladwa is a big advocate of Police Now’s work, with West Warwickshire and West Mercia having taken on seven Police Now recruits. Ladwa says he particularly likes how Police Now proactively goes into the communities and colleges and universities, the 100 day reviews of their performance, and how “it gives potential candidates all the information to rule themselves in or out of the process, putting it all on the table for them to make a decision”.

And coming from a BAME background himself, the effort to attract people from BAME backgrounds, where “historically the police was never promoted as a career”, has particular resonance. “For me it was educating my parents ‘ok, allow me to choose policing as a career’,” he says of his own experience.

“Historically policing never had a diverse workforce. It never represents the public it serves. Every force has got that challenge,” he adds.

Ladwa says police forces must do more to raise awareness generally,

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TH T HE B BIIG G STO RY SAMANTHA POLICE RECRUITMENT R AMSAY

but especially among those, including those in the BAME community, who have never considered the police before.

“We need to educate them on what we do, why we do it, the opportunities that exist and how you can build a career in the police.” He accepts it is difficult because it takes time to build relationships, especially with underrepresented groups and communities.

“They just don’t know enough about policing,” he says.

In response, West Mercia and Warwickshire now have a large outreach campaign into universities and colleges, and even places of worship “to interact and remove any barriers they might have”. Under Ladwa’s watch the joint effort has also become a big user of social media.

For Ladwa, one of the biggest challenges for those in police recruitment is to change forces’ prevailing culture. “Changing culture is the big thing,” he says. “It is training people to do something different to what they have been doing for 15 years.” A key aspect of his role, he says, has been to upskill staff so they provide better levels of customer service to the business. But he has also focused on increasing use of technology, as well as on more streamlined processes.

“Changing the mindset from processdriven doing ABC, to focusing on results and productivity, that was probably the biggest hurdle,” he says.

A most impressive example of change has been a complete overhaul of candidate vetting. By questioning every aspect of the process, taking it apart and then rebuilding it, the vetting period of eight months has been reduced to three months, drastically cutting time to hire. “Most of the time when you ask someone ‘why are you doing this?’ they say ‘it’s policy’ but when you ask where the policy is stated, [you find] it doesn’t exist.

Someone, sometime, somewhere put in measures to address an issue, and suddenly it has turned into a policy.”

The other strand that has allowed Ladwa and his team to raise their game has been the introduction of a collaborative approach to working with the business, ensuring that recruiters

24 RECRUITER

According to Ladwa, all of Britain’s 42 other police forces face the same challenges as those faced by West Mercia and Warwickshire, which is why he gives such a high priority to his work with the College of Policing, where he sits on various working groups. “I see it as a great opportunity to share the successes we have had and to change things nationally,” he says.

Doing more with less

are accountable. Line managers get a good service, and everyone knows who is doing what when. Recruitment is no longer seen “as just a paper process but as a critical specialist area”, says Ladwa, and the added credibility and respect awarded the recruitment team means that it now has a place at the table when big decisions are made.

For Ladwa his work with the College of Policing goes further than just providing a conduit to share best practice. With no sign of pressure on police budgets relenting, and the need “to do more with less” while keeping up with the private sector in the ability to attract and retain their workforces, this all points to forces “needing to work more collaboratively”, he argues.

This means that just as each force needs to streamline its own processes, recruitment processes between different forces also need to be streamlined, and indeed co-ordinated. “The 43 forces are all recruiting for the same thing,” says Ladwa. An example of cross-force collaboration developed when successful candidates waiting for roles in West Mercia and Warwickshire to become available were given the opportunity to apply for vacancies in Gwent and the West Midlands. But instead of having to go through the whole application process again from the beginning, recruiters in the two neighbouring forces were able to begin where Ladwa’s recruiters had left off, avoiding the need for candidates to complete another application form, get referees and be vetted again.

Despite the clear benefits of cost and time savings by eliminating duplication of effort, and a better experience for candidates, Ladwa admits that this example of collaboration was “definitely difficult to organise”.

“Doing things that have never been done before, it is always a challenge to get buy-in,” he says.

What is equally evident is that much more fresh thinking and overcoming resistance to it will be necessary if police recruiters are to successfully help Britain’s police forces to respond to challenges they face. ●

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FACE

A RTIFIC IA L INTE LLIGENCE

26 RECRUITER

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Recruiters may fear the rise of facial recognition software in the interview process, but as well as being more accurate, the technology can free up recruiters to better build human relationships with candidates and clients, as Sue Weekes discovers WHILE WORKING AS A NEWS ANCHOR for Shanghai’s state-owned finance channel, Yi Yu became aware of how difficult it was to hide genuine reactions in facial expressions. Before this, she worked at investment bank Credit Suisse where part of her role was to sift through CVs of junior analysts. “It was very timeconsuming and then, when the person came in for interview, they had a low resemblance to the one [person] on the CV,” she says.

Combine the two experiences, and the upshot is a piece of software that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to analyse micro-expressions on the face during a video interview. While representing only a millisecond of movement, they can give an insight into a person’s true characteristics, explains Yu, who founded her company City Sail to develop the product a year and a half ago.

The march of artificial intelligence into recruitment began several years ago, and has fuelled fears of removing the human touch from the process. The idea that a computer can now better read the face of a candidate than a recruiter will no doubt reinforce the view in some people’s minds that automation

I M AG E | G E T T Y

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is taking over. More products are likely to emerge in this space though, and another leading-edge developer already in this field is the US-based HireVue. It has embedded facial expressions and voice pattern detection software in its video-interviewing platform as part of its predictive HireVue Assessments offering, launched last year.

Emotional science However, rather than fear such products, recruiters should explore the sentiments, technology and science behind them.

Both City Sail and HireVue are driven by using technology to help recruiters make better hiring decisions and, ultimately, give them more time to spend on the human relationships with their candidates and clients. Both companies aim to remove bias and bring more inclusivity to the process, and have taken the responsibility of developing such software extremely seriously.

After coming up with the idea, Yu put together an initial team that included former colleague Katariina Jalas, then Credit Suisse’s director of HR for EMEA, as well as industry, technology and commercial experts. The software is

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based on volumes of data and expertise from expression, psychometric and other experts. “Emotion detection software has been around for some time but what we wanted to look at was different, and it brings together the sciences of psychology and machine learning,” she says.

Moreover, they interviewed some 50 recruiters and HR professionals to quiz them on the characteristics they look for when recruiting. “Nearly all of them talked about recruiting for corporate values and we heard… ‘principled’ and ‘people person’ a lot. But when we asked how they graded them, it was very subjective and difficult to quantify,” says Yu. City Sail’s video interview AI analyses 67 feature points across the face at a rate of 24 frames per second and is able to identify key traits such as passion, confidence, sincerity or nervousness.

“There are hidden messages in the face that we can miss or misjudge as a human but machine learning sees them,” says Yu. HireVue also combines the power of data science and machine learning with ‘industrial-organisational (IO)

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There are hidden messages in the face that we can miss or misjudge as a human psychology’, which it describes as the scientific study of working and the application of that science to workplace issues facing individuals, teams and organisations. It has put together an IO Psychology Team, led

by Dr Nathan Mondragon, who has 20 years’ experience of blending talent management and technology solutions.

“Imagine if humans can predict top talent precisely every time,” says HireVue CEO Kevin Parker. “That is the mission we had in mind when we created our Assessments AI technology. It’s designed

to help companies make faster and more effective hiring decisions; reduce the bias and inconsistency that marks traditional interviewing; and help top candidates rise to the top with a modern, consistent process.”

HireVue’s Assessments take in 25,000 data points from video interviews that assess both tangible and intangible characteristics. This process includes analysing facial expressions and voice patterns. “We do this via four to six carefully crafted questions developed by our industrial/organisational psychology PhDs in collaboration with our customers,” explains Parker.

“These data points are analysed with our proprietary machine learning algorithms to accurately predict future job performance.”

Pilot projects Both products have generated a lot of interest and are currently being piloted by various organisations. City Sail has already been used in a trial by the NHS, where data from two top performers was benchmarked and used in video interviews.

Recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) firm Resource Solutions is planning to use the HireVue assessments in a pilot (it is a long-time user of the video-interviewing platform). Faye Walshe is global head of innovation, whose job it is to investigate emerging technologies. The company’s stance is to take “a cautious view” to new technologies until tested but believes any tool that gives a recruiter more datapoints to supplement an interview decision is worth exploring. “In this

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A RT I F I C I A L I N T E L L I G E N C E

day and age, we are always thinking about how we can add to an interviewer’s insight not only to back-up a decision but also to challenge assumption and bias,” Walshe says.

She believes such technology can help guide an interviewer on where to probe more deeply if a level of discomfort has been detected by the software when the person was quizzed in a particular area. And she adds that it can also help a recruiter to challenge their own assumptions. “They may have a team they like and recruit for similar people but the software can teambuild in a more meritocratic way. It can help organisations achieve more diversity of thought by identifying a candidate well qualified for the role but whom they may not have considered.”

HireVue’s Parker is critical of many interview processes, saying that they can be fraught with inconsistency, bias and “a lot of guesswork”, which does a huge disservice to both the client and company, and can ultimately affect productivity, performance and bottom line. He hopes that HireVue’s software addresses many of these but says it is also important to note that its assessments technology is not meant to dictate a candidate decision. Instead, he adds, its purpose is “to offer rich data that identifies top performers specific to that company”.

He adds: “It informs our decisions with unbiased algorithms and contributes to more effective – and speedier – hiring cycles.”

degree of robotic response and I’ll roll with it’ to ‘Gosh, more big brother’.

“These could be the ‘least friction’ and ‘maximum friction’ responses,” she says. “We will have to find out, and we’ve already asked recruiters to put themselves in the shoes of a candidate and consider how they feel.”

In the longer run, much will come down to how such technology is implemented. Ensuring recruiters are trained in how to use any form of new testing is crucial, Walshe says.

“Training is needed even for standard video-interviewing,” she says. “We have to support the candidate just as we’ve had to do at each step of the process in the past whether it’s how to apply via a job board or honing a CV so it comes to the top of the pile.

Ultimately, technology must only be used if it solidifies and enhances human relationships, and we get a better outcome for the candidate and employer.” ●

The human element is still needed to interpret and validate the process

Challenging technology Recruitment agency Rullion plans to trial City Sail. CEO James Saoulli describes it as an exciting technology, and he sees internal applications for the platform from an employee value proposition (EVP) perspective, as well as augmenting decision-making when it comes to candidates. “Something I’m turning my thought to is how you could use this technology to evaluate morale in the organisation,” he says.

Both he and Walshe believe it is important to challenge new technologies as much as embrace them.

Indeed, until organisations are further down the line with pilots and trials of AI software, there are questions to be answered such as how candidates will feel about it. “It is the $64m-dollar question,” says Saoulli. “We must set up trials, be upfront about its use and find out how they feel. We also need to be mindful that the human element is still required to interpret and validate the process.”

In Walshe’s view, candidate reactions could range from ‘OK, I submit my CV online so have to expect a

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WWW.RECRUITER.CO.UK 29

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Issue 51 July 2017

RECRUITMENT MATTERS The View and The Intelligence

Big Talking Point

Post-election jobs market p2-3

Member of the Month

Legal Update Dismissing employees

p6-7

p4

Products and Training oduct of o Product the Month

p8

WHAT IS THE COST OF BAD RECRUITMENT?

AVERAGE COST OF A BAD HIRE EXCEEDS £100K – REC e Businesses could lose more than £100k for every bad hire, with more than 85% off HR staff admitting they’ve ng made that mistake, according to new research.

The Recruitment & Employment Confederation’s ‘Perfect match – Making the right hire and the cost of getting it e wrong’ report highlights the real costs businesses face for choosing the wrong talent.

The report explains the common mistakes employers make, details the real cost of poor hiring decisions, and offers practical advice to

@RECPress RM_JULY_17.indd 1

businesses seeking to avoid financial risks at every stage in the hiring process.

It also finds that a third of employers say bad hires occur because the pool of talent

ava available is too small.

R REC chief executive Kevin Gre Green says hasting hiring sho should not be taken lightly.

“W “When candidates are scarce, employers can be tempted to make hasty hiring decisions.

While being fast is som sometimes no bad thing, if it lead to poor hiring decisions leads ca be very costly,” he says. it can “I is now more important “It than ever for employers to attract and retain the right people. We will work with employers and recruiters to ensure good practice remains a priority as they compete for

talent and search for the perfect match for every job.

“The REC is leading a national debate on what good recruitment looks like by promoting good practice to employers.”

He adds: “We encourage employers to sign up to the Good Recruitment Campaign to improve workforce planning, ensure an authentic employer brand and deliver a great candidate experience every time.”

REC members can download the report for free at rec.uk.com/perfectmatch

www.rec.uk.com 13/06/2017 15:45

Leading the Industry

THE VIEW

There are opportunities for recruiters postelection, says Tom Hadley, REC director of policy and professional services

The cost of a bad hire has never been more real, says Kevin Green, REC chief executive Right now, employers in nearly every sector are finding it difficult to attract people to fill the jobs available. The UK’s unemployment rate is the lowest since the 1970s, while demand for staff is increasing.

When candidates are scarce, employers often make hasty hiring decisions. While being fast is often a good thing, in hiring decisions it can lead to costly mistakes. Our latest research, ‘Perfect match – Making the right hire and the cost of getting it wrong’, shows that employers are underestimating the financial impact of getting recruitment wrong and because of this they’re not seeking to improve their recruitment processes and practices, so that they get it right more often.

This research will, for the first time, enable recruiters to define for their clients why getting recruitment right is so important, and provides a cost/benefit analysis of why it makes sense to use a professional recruitment expert.

We found that almost nine out of 10 HR professionals have hired the wrong person for a job: bad hires are not isolated incidents but frequent occurrences. Employers clearly don’t fully understand the implications of a bad hire – and if you fail to measure its damaging impact then you won’t learn how to avoid it next time.

2 RECRUITMENT MATTERS JULY 2017

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WHAT’S NEXT? The potential costs of a bad hire can encompass more than the time and money spent on repeating the recruitment process. A bad hire will have a negative impact on staff morale, a loss of productivity and potentially even an impact on reputation and brand. All this translates to weakened performance. In fact, we calculate that for a middle manager, the cost of a bad hire can be over three times their salary.

With this new research, we want to provide our members with the tools and knowledge to talk to clients about the business case for investing in recruitment. The report explains the common mistakes employers make, and offers practical advice to businesses.

It’s all part of our work to lead a national debate on what good recruitment looks like by promoting good practice to employers. We want employers to sign up to the Good Recruitment Campaign to improve workforce planning, ensure an authentic employer brand and deliver a great candidate experience every time. It’s more important than ever that UK businesses get this right.

If you want to keep up to speed with all things recruitment then follow me on Twitter @kevingreenrec

Despite the general post-election mayhem and initial uncertainty, one thing remains crystal clear: addressing the squeeze on skills and staffing must be a priority for the new government.

Our latest Report on Jobs shows demand for staff at a 21-month peak and the sharpest drop in candidate availability since August 2015. Our play is to use our ongoing data and new research to argue the need for an agile and balanced immigration strategy.

Recent discussions have also focused on the need to proactively ‘sell’ the UK as a place to come and live and work – is not a case of just ‘letting people in’, it’s about recognising the fact that we are competing with other countries for skills, and that we need to elevate the UK’s brand as a destination of choice.

The CIPD/Hays Resourcing and Talent survey found that almost three-quarters (72%) of HR professionals think competition for skills will increase over the next three years.

There’s a huge opportunity for us to showcase the role that recruitment professionals can play in boosting inclusion and in driving genuine innovation in the way businesses can attract and nurture the people they need.

As well as influencing the here and now, we are positioning our industry at the forefront of the ‘future of work debate’.

In the short term this will mean taking stock of the Matthew Taylor review into Modern Working Practices. In the longer term, we want to use our ‘Future of jobs’ commission to preempt how demographic, technological and social changes will shape a future UK jobs market.

As recruitment gets harder, our role is to help UK plc get better at it. The Good Recruitment Campaign has taken on a political dimension as policy-makers recognise that reviewing hiring practices are a key element in building a country – and jobs market – that works for everyone.

“THERE’S A HUGE OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO SHOWCASE THE ROLE THAT RECRUITMENT PROFESSIONALS CAN PLAY IN BOOSTING INCLUSION AND IN DRIVING GENUINE INNOVATION” You can follow Tom on Twitter nt @hadleyscomment

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13/06/2017 15:45

7.9%

THE INTELLIGENCE WITH REC SENIOR RESEARCHER, MARK HARRISON As this article goes to print, the Taylor review on Employment Practices in the Modern Economy will either just have been published or be due out in the next few weeks.

Bumped from its original publication date by the general election, the Taylor review was commissioned by the government in October 2016 and a large part of its scope involves reviewing employment practices in the temporary employment market.

ONS data demonstrates that there has been little overall change in the proportion of those in employment working in temporary roles in the last 25 years. Temporary workers as a percentage of the overall workforce actually reached a peak of 7.9% in Q2 1997 before following a downward trend over the next decade to its lowest point of 5.4% in the

NFI/GP RETURNS TO YEAR-ONYEAR GROWTH IN Q1 2017 After four quarters of negative year-on-year growth in the Net Fee Income (NFI)/ Gross Profit of the median RIB recruiter, Q1 2017 saw a return to positive territory.

The latest information from the RIB Index (sponsored by Bluestones Group) highlights that, having realised a lower monthly average NFI/GP (£) across the entirety of 2016 than the previous buoyant year (-4.8% YoY in 2016 versus

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RM_JULY_17.indd 3

summer of 2008. Since 2010, this percentage has fluctuated between 6% and 6.5% before actually dropping back below 6% in Q1 of this year.

Moreover, since 2014 there has been a decline in the percentage of temporary workers stating that they have taken temporary work because they were unable to find permanent work. For most of the noughties, the number of temporary employees taking temporary roles because they didn’t want a permanent role was higher than the number taking temporary roles because they couldn’t find a permanent role. Unsurprisingly, this changed in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crash and by 2013 the percentage taking temporary employment because they couldn’t find permanent employment was nudging over 40%. However, this has been on a steady downward trend since 2014.

By Q1 of 2017, there was only a 1.8% percentage point gap

TEMPORARY WORKERS AS A PERCENTAGE OF THE OVERALL WORKFORCE ACTUALLY REACHED A PEAK OF 7.9% IN Q2 1997 BEFORE FOLLOWING A DOWNWARD TREND OVER THE NEXT DECADE TO ITS LOWEST POINT OF 5.4% IN THE SUMMER OF 2008.

between those temporary employees who couldn’t find permanent work (27.8%) and those who didn’t want it (26%).

The REC’s monthly Jobs Outlook reports have also consistently shown how temporary work can be a route to permanent employment for those who want it. Jobs Outlook May 2017 shows that currently over half (54%) of employers transfer temporary workers to permanent positions, with nearly a quarter (23%) transferring 50% or more of their temporary workforce into permanent employment.

Much of the impetus for the Taylor review came from new employment practices (such as gig-working) and employment practices in the

Figure 1. NDR/NFI vs last year (%): median RIB recruiter, Q1 2015-17 14 12 10 8

Q1 2017 Upper quartile: +21.8% Median: 0.6% Lower quratile: -11.8%

6 4

0.6%

2

BY Q1 OF 2017, THERE WAS ONLY A

1.8%

PERCENTAGE POINT GAP BETWEEN THOSE TEMPORARY EMPLOYEES WHO COULDN’T FIND PERMANENT WORK

27.8% 26% AND THOSE WHO DIDN’T WANT IT

media spotlight (such as zerohours contracts). Whilst we welcome this attempt to more fully understand and respond to these changes in the temporary employment market, the review should remember that there are a significant number of workers who actively seek and choose to work in temporary positions. In responding to these challenges, the government should maintain the ability of those who want to work on a flexible, temporary basis to continue to be able to do so.

As to what extent market activities in the run up to the new Off Payroll rules for public sector bodies impacted trading performance will require evidence from Q2 2017 to determine.

0 -2 -4

-2.0%

-6 -6.2%

-8

-5.7%

-5.2%

Q1 2015 Q2 2015 Q3 2015 Q4 2015 Q1 2016 Q2 2016 Q3 2016 Q4 2016 Q1 2017

+6.5% YoY in 2015), Q1 2017 provided welcome respite for the median recruiter (+0.6% YoY). Trading remained challenging for those in the

lower quartile of the RIB index (-11.8% YoY) while the upper quartile yielded significantly higher NFI/ GP (+21.8% YoY).

Belinda Johnson runs employment research consultancy Worklab, and is associate knowledge & insight director of Recruitment Industry Benchmarking (RIB) – part of the Bluestones Group. The RIB Index provides bespoke confidential reports on industry benchmarks and trends. See www.ribindex. com; info@ribindex.com: 020 8544 9807. The RIB is a strategic partner of the REC.

RECRUITMENT MATTERS JULY 2017 3

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Member of the Month

AUTOTECH RECRUITMENT Autotech Recruitment is full of car fans. Managing director Gavin White tells Recruitment Matters why doubling down on talent puts them in the fast lane Recruitment Matters: How

RM: It’s an inch-wide, mile-

niche are you?

deep approach?

Gavin White: We mostly

GW: We’re all about that – that’s who we are and what our brand is about. It’s easy to start recruiting for other areas and lose your identity. We’re seen as the go-to place for finding a vehicle technician.

recruit technical positions, mainly MOT testers. That’s how niche we are. If you consider how any garage workshop works – they run on a full headcount, but they often have no flexibility. An MOT tester has a highlyspecialised skillset. They’re not the sort of people you can swap around. If one of them goes on holiday, you can bet your bottom dollar a garage will have an influx of MOT work. If they don’t have a tester working, that could cost them £2k a day.

RM: And you fill that gap?

GW: Yes – there’s a lot of compliancy around MOT testers. They’re rare too, so there’s a lot of value in recruiting those guys.

RM: Is that reflected in the people you hire?

GW: The majority of guys who work for the business are exindustry. We’ve taken vehicle experts and turned them into recruiters. Our National Sales Manager has worked 30 years in the car industry, and once clients hear him talk about recovery rates, lead times and other technical things, the barriers come down.

They know they’re talking to someone who knows the job.

Other agencies don’t have that level of expertise.

“IT’S REALLY EASY TO START RECRUITING FOR OTHER AREAS AND LOSE YOUR IDENTITY”

FULL THROTTLE 4 RECRUITMENT MATTERS JULY 2017

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“WE FOUND THAT ONLY HAVING A CV WAS UNACCEPTABLE.” skill level of each technician is to put them through a series of exams and tests and we hold all their certification on site. When our clients learn that we work this way, they’re pleasantly surprised.

RM: What challenges are you facing?

GW: We’re keen to overcome the poor perception of recruitment agencies. That’s why we’ve chosen to work with the REC because they want to change perceptions of the industry too. We’re also challenged to attract good staff. I don’t think many in the car sector would perceive working in recruitment as a great industry to work in. That’s why we big-up ourselves as a company, our values and what we do for staff. We’re more than salary and commission – we have regular team get-togethers, we’ve gone through a new office fit and we’re looking at introducing a profit share model.

RM: Given that you recruit in such a niche area, what kind of process do you through for finding talent?

GW: We’ve got about 300 www.rec.uk.com

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contractors working across the UK and we’ve compiled quite a stringent vetting process.

We found that only having a CV was unacceptable. The only way we can ascertain the

RM: What about young recruiters?

GW: We’re massively into apprenticeships and I want to see that throughout recruitment. As an industry, I think we need to do more for the benefit of all of us.

Recruitment is a very tight-knit community and anything that keeps good talent in the industry has to be a good thing.

RM: What makes a good recruiter?

GW: For us, it’s not about the CV or the soft skills.

It’s about their values as a person and what their ethics are. We’re not looking for cliché things like ‘drive’ and ‘ambition’. We want honest people who’re hardworking and have exceptional customer service skills.

That’s what we sell – we sell a service. I’m a big believer in not letting a client down and if you say you’re going to do something, do it.

RM: How has that been

RM: Has that translated to

received on the shop floor?

growth?

GW: We’ve found that some of our highest billers are motivated by things other than money. Say, if they want to leave early on a Friday afternoon and they’ve hit their targets, they can do.

You’ve got to be creative in motivating recruiters and their staff.

GW: Over the last seven years, we’ve grown from three staff to 25, and could grow even more. But we don’t recruit people for the sake of it – they’ve got to be right. We’ve only had one person leave of their own accord. That’s a testament to what we do here to retain staff.

RECRUITMENT MATTERS JULY 2017 5

13/06/2017 15:45

Legal update

DISMISSING

CONSIDERATIONS FOR EMPLOYERS WHEN DISMISSING AN EMPLOYEE

By Bunmi Adefuye, solicitor and commercial adviser at the REC Dismissing an employee can be problematic if it is done incorrectly or unlawfully.

An employment contract can terminate in various ways, including dismissal by the employer, resignation by the employee, mutual consent of both parties or by the operation of law where the contract is frustrated and simply cannot continue.

When an employer decides to dismiss the employee, the starting point is the reason for the dismissal, then the provisions in the contract or any contractual policy/ handbook together with the employee’s length of service.

Employers must ensure that a fair process is followed to minimise the risk of an employee issuing proceedings.

Despite the introduction of tribunal fees, unfair dismissal is one of the most common and difficult claims. The right not to be unfairly dismissed is a statutory right for employees in the Employment Rights Act

1996. To issue proceedings, the dismissed employee must have been continuously employed on or before 5 April 2012 for one year or after 6 April 2012 employed for two years.

However, an employee that does not have the required number of years’ service can issue proceedings for automatic unfair dismissal provided it relates to familyfriendly entitlements, national minimum wage, working time rights, whistleblowing, part-time workers, fixed-term workers, union recognition or assertion of other statutory rights.

Another tricky matter is wrongful dismissal, where an employer, for instance, breaches the employee’s contract by not providing the correct notice (except in the case of summary dismissal), or paying an employee in lieu of all or part of the notice but it is not stipulated in the contract.

It could also be terminating a fixed-term contract before

the end of the term or not following a contractual dismissal procedure. An employee does not need two years’ service to bring a wrongful dismissal claim.

Notwithstanding the above, there are fair reasons for dismissing an employee, which could be an incapacity to do the job, lack of appropriate qualifications, misconduct of the employee, redundancy when an employer needs to reduce its workforce, a legal restriction that prevents continuous employment or some other substantial reason.

If an employee is dismissed for a fair reason, the tribunal will consider the process followed and: • whether an employer acted reasonably by considering if dismissal was indeed a reasonable response • if warnings given to the employee were reasonable, and • the employer’s size and administrative resources.

On the other hand an employee could resign and claim constructive dismissal because the employer’s breach of contract made it impossible for the employee to continuing working.

Some other challenges for employers include the employee’s protections against discrimination and prohibited conduct under the Equality Act 2010, the decision to enter into a settlement agreement and post-termination issues, such as restrictive covenants and references.

Dismissals must be handled fairly and be consistent with good employment practice. Depending on the circumstances, dismissal should not be the first option.

Employers should obtain legal advice and where appropriate follow the ACAS Code of Practice, given that getting it wrong could result in spending valuable time and money to defend the proceedings.

BUSINESS PARTNER: MICRODEC The 25 May 2018 EU GDPR legislation always seemed a long way off. Plenty of time to get everything sorted!

Now we’re less than 12 months away, concern is growing among business leaders in the struggle to untangle the impact of the forthcoming laws.

Recruiters store names, addresses, career history, salary information, passport details – the list goes on.

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To comply, it’s vital to demonstrate that you’re acting lawfully, with reason to handle personal data and with permission, control and processes in place.

Firstly, each individual must perform a clear affirmative action to give you permission to hold and process their information. Using pre-ticked website forms or assuming consent is not enough. The source must be verifiable, so

you’ll need to keep records of how and when consent was given.

Individuals will have the right of access to their information free of charge and be entitled to have their data rectified if inaccurate or incomplete – or to be removed completely. If you have shared information with third parties, then you must also inform them of the changes and be able to inform the individual about the

organisations with whom their data has been shared.

This all points to having diligent practices, getting your CRM and marketing software right, and making sure there are no ‘gaps’ in your processing. To protect yourself, start by understanding your processes today. Having that platform will help you get your teams ready and for your partners and suppliers to support you.

www.rec.uk.com

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Inspiration

BEHIND THE SCENES AT THE INSTITUTE OF RECRUITMENT PROFESSIONALS

The View

Helen Lacey is the managing erry director of Red Berry Recruitment

IRP ADVOCACY Why did you become an IRP Advocate?

We believe passionately in good recruitment principles. We believe all candidates, clients and colleagues should be treated with respect. So much so, we have what we call the 10 Berry Commandments, which all staff sign in their handbooks and aim to follow as much as possible.

Why do you think it’s important that your staff are IRP members?

It demonstrates commitment to Red Berry, the industry and themselves. Being an IRP member shows, I feel, their commitment in being a recruiter; it’s a career path, not just a job.

What’s the biggest business benefit you’ve seen from becoming an IRP Advocate?

The respect given by other recruiters. It still takes time for businesses to see the benefits of a recruitment business being members. However, for other professional recruiters they can see the hard work and dedication that oneself and one’s company puts into the recruitment industry.

Would you recommend IRP Advocacy to other companies?

I would most certainly recommend IRP Advocacy to other companies. As recruitment is all about people, I feel it gives us the edge knowing we are a reputable, professional recruitment agency who care about their team. So, why wouldn’t a company want to show the same commitment? [IRP Advocacy] is a great way of doing this.

“BEING AN IRP MEMBER SHOWS, I FEEL, THEIR COMMITMENT IN BEING A RECRUITER; IT’S A CAREER PATH, NOT JUST A JOB”

Amber Whalley is the director of operations at Human One

LEVEL 5 STUDENT Why did you choose the Level 5 Diploma in Recruitment Leadership?

I went from doing a recruitment-type role to an operational role. After two years of learning on the job, I received an email from the REC about the Level 5 Diploma in Recruitment Leadership. I thought it would be a fantastic opportunity to summarise and grow upon everything I’ve learned in the role so far.

How will the Level 5 help shape your career?

We are changing all our processes and procedures next month, so I know I will use what I’ve learned in the Level 5 there. My pet project is to take what we’re doing and make things better and smarter. I have to take into account the risks and benefits that will take place during such a big change. Risk and strategic planning will be fundamental and I know that I can put the Level 5’s modules into practice.

What modules have you found most useful?

What we do is never defined by recruitment as a specialism, but by the industry we work with as a whole. There’s a module in the Level 5 that covers the effects of internal and external factors on a business – I found that really useful. It brings to light things you wouldn’t think affected you, but they all do.

Would you recommend the Level 5?

From personal experience, the Level 5 has been fundamental to how I work daily and how I will work in future. For an operational role, it’s a step-by-step guide about how to survive. I really don’t think there’s anything else the course could cover – everything you need is there.

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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Products and training

PRODUCT OF THE MONTH: CRONER SETTLEMENTS & FORECASTS All recruitment businesses need a complete understanding of pay settlements and forecasts to plan ahead.

REC members can access Croner’s monthly Settlements & Forecast report at www.rec.uk.com/ croner-settlements.

It provides updates on pay trends across a number of sectors and regions.

What does it feature?

Croner’s Settlements & Forecast report contains detailed commentary about pay trends on a month-bymonth basis.

The report includes analysis from Croner’s team of labour market experts, and earnings movement for

basic and total pay every quarter.

• Participants supply details of their last pay settlement and the forecast increase for the next review • Croner Reward’s experts

comment on the current settlement and forecast trends • Comprehensive pay and benefits information and advice from Croner Reward REC members can

access Croner’s monthly Settlements & Forecast report at www.rec.uk.com/ croner-settlements • Call your account manager on 020 7009 2100 for more information.

OUR TRAINING – YOUR OFFICE Our In-company training has members in mind. If you are looking at ways to stay ahead of the competition, In-company training offers you the flexibility to build a knowledgeable workforce.

Some of the key benefits of In-company training are: • We can come to you – any location • Your choice of topics • We can focus on niche market areas • A dedicated trainer • Money saved on travel, expenses and a lower cost per head • Investing in your employees increases employee retention and productivity With In-company, you can create your own programme by tailoring elements from existing programmes, or we can

start from scratch and work with you to design your own.

You can include sector specifics, social media, legislative workshops, coaching and team development. We also offer one-to-one coaching, engaging employees with their work, making them feel valued and fostering commitment.

Visit www.rec.uk.com/incompany for more information

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

© 2017 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 2017

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CO M M U N I T Y

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

E

From making bids with lots of cash to making a splash, here’s what some of you have been doing to raise money for charity…

RED BERRY RECRUITMENT RAISES £5.5K FOR CHARITY VIA Somerset-based Red Berry Recruitment put on a party to celebrate its 10th anniversary and raised £5.5k for cancer charities Marie Curie and We Hear You. MD Helen Lacey (right, fifth from left) decided to combine the anniversary with a charity fundraising event for the charities that provided vital support for her stepfather Graham, who passed away from cancer in October 2015, as well as for the family. The party took place at the Haynes International Motor Museum, with a raffle for a huge number of prizes that had been donated by local firms and individuals. Although Helen’s aim was to raise £3k, the final amount was £5.5k, which included matched funding from Santander. The bank offered to support the event and help to raise funds for the two charities.

£5.5k WENT TO CHARITY

BER RECRUITMENT BERRY DIRECTOR MAKES A SPLASH DIR VIA

Generous bidders helped RSG raise over £7k for two cancer charities

D DRIVER HIRE’S ORIGINAL FRANCHISE CELEBRATES 30TH YEAR WITH CAKE AND C CHARITY RAFFLE VIA C I May, transport and logistics recruitment firm In D Driver Hire celebrated the 30th anniversary of sselling its first franchise – Newcastle. To mark the o occasion, staff at Driver Hire’s Newcastle office h held an open day, inviting customers and drivers to sshare a slice of their anniversary cake. They also o organised a raffle for local charity Cash for kids, w which supports disabled and disadvantaged c children across the North-East.

A re recruitment regional director who coul could barely complete four lengths of he her local pool finished a 5km swim for c charity just eight weeks later.

Ang Angela Milne (left), who manages the Sout Southampton, Gosport and Godalming branches of Berry Recruitment, raised more than £4k for charity – blowing away her original £500 target. The money raised will go to the Marie Curie charity for the terminally ill and the challenge was completed in memory of her father George (inset), who died a day after being diagnosed with cancer 14 years ago.

TW I TT E R

RSG RAISES OVER £7K FOR CANCER CHARITIES VIA RSG (Resource Solutions Group) has raised more than £7k in a two-week silent auction in aid of two of the UK’s major cancer charities. Seventy lots were donated from generous businesses around the UK in aid of MacMillian Cancer Care and Bloodwise – causes that were chosen from the 220-strong team at RSG. The money will be split evenly between the two. Lots, such as racing days, hospitality football tickets, spa days and luxury events, raised a total of £7,020.

Investing in Talent @RecruiterAwards May 31 Get in early and book your tables for @RecruiterMag #investingintalent Awards. http://ow.ly/cddo30cc4Zp Left to right: David Burn, Kasia Baldwin (franchise marketing manager), Michelle Haack and Jordan Tracey (Newcastle branch manager)

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

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E CAREERS CO M M UNITY

The Workplace

BY GUY HAYWARD

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making these classes happen during working hours.

Allowing your employees the freedom to take an hour out of their day to strum away on a guitar, or pick up a paintbrush, would be an amazing thing to do.

Bringing classes into the office is a great way for your employees to switch off from the stresses of making the next phone call. It’s also a fabulous way for your employees to bond – even if it is just over the naughty words they’ve learnt in the French lesson.

Many companies recognise the way they reward their employees shouldn’t end at their payslip. And of all of the perks I’ve seen businesses offering, skill learning has become the rising star.

Ask.com, Google and Facebook all offer tuition reimbursement, and software developer Medallia goes one step further by offering employees cash for lessons that will help them overcome their fears. Their staff have taken them up on their offer with, among others, boxing and acting classes, which in the long run have raised their public speaking abilities, making them all-round better employees.

At Goodman Masson we have art, photography and Spanish lessons during the week, which our people love.

You don’t have to go fullhog, like Starbucks, which

“Bringing in a specialist once a month is a great way to help your employees feel their personal wellbeing is a priority” reimburses its staff fully for any further education they undertake. However, bringing in a specialist once a month is a great way to help your employees feel their personal wellbeing is a priority.

As well as in-house learning, marketing company Propellernet offers its employees 12 ‘propel days’ a year, days that are set aside to help staff become the ‘best versions of themselves’. These days cost little to nothing, and if a team of only 50 can do it, anybody can.

Nights out with cocktails

↗

I’VE SAID FOR MANY YEARS NOW that there is more to life than work. However, we also want work to be more than work – to be a stimulating experience. So maybe the saying should really be: there is more to work than work.

The old cartoon of mundanity and routine no longer fits the workplace, and we want our careers filled with more variety and challenges. So maybe we’re no longer content with just climbing the traditional ladder or going on super trips. Why shouldn’t our workplaces be changing the way they help us learn, develop new skills or find new hobbies?

Learning at work doesn’t just have to involve professional development in your sector, and graduating from school to work doesn’t have to mean the end of our education. We should want to develop beyond being great recruiters. Yet most of us spend little or no time on things we were once passionate about – because we find that work is in the way.

Often when we’ve finished a busy day at work, the last thing we want to do is pick up our books and head off halfway across the city for a lesson on Italian verbs or go to a dance class before finally reaching home at 9pm. So as employers, we shouldn’t be afraid of

GUY HAYWARD – redefining the modern workplace CEO, Goodman Masson

and long lunches just aren’t hitting home as perks for all our employees anymore. It’s important we recognise this, and give those working for us more options for both entertainment and personal development. Try offering Spanish lessons, yoga workshops or guitar classes to your employees – you’ll probably be surprised by the rewards. ●

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CAREERS

The full recruiter toolkit

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

BY ANDREW MOUNTNEY

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

ARE YOU READY TO PLUG AND PLAY? What’s your favourite Chrome Extension right now? The game appears to be changing and so are the interview questions. Where once the tech sourcer was on the receiving end of these questions, now most organisations are looking for recruiters to have a full toolkit whether they are moving from agency or operating at head of talent level.

Anecdotal evidence, a few figures on cost avoidance, the platitudes of hiring

The game appears to be changing and so are the interview questions

I M AG E | SH UT T E R STO C K

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managers and a decent LinkedIn network just do not cut it anymore.

It’s all about the data. We’ve been here before but we are getting more sophisticated.

Particularly in areas where target hiring communities are in demand. The role of data is shifting; arbitrary cost of hire, cost avoidance and time-to-hire figures are less compelling. Organisations want market intelligence that can shape the decisionmaking of hiring managers.

Tough to find that full stack engineer? Of course it is: prove it with data, shape a new role description with the hiring manager, find a viable hire based on that and you are using data for the good of the organisation.

What’s your favourite Chrome Extension and why? Seriously, you don’t have one? That will need to change. This is a question that quickly defines for many organisations how inquisitive you are (another big deal), whether you are an early adopter of technology and looking to innovate, and whether you have a genuine interest in talent acquisition.

You’ll need a position on people aggregators, data mining extensions, email hunters and email trackers.

It does not stop at extensions either; full-blown interest in recruitment technology for many is now a pre-requisite.

Experience of a modern applicant tracking system [ATS], a favourite automation tool; dare I say it, you should probably know which Bots are going to be making our recruiting lives easier.

Part of the community. A reliable source of intelligence and a network in your world has always been important but you need more than a LinkedIn network. What events are you going to, where are you being asked to speak; and if you’re not, why not? Which companies trust you to talk with their people about talent, even though you do not work for them?

Demonstrating openness and collaboration with peers and your target hiring community is a given.

Plug and play. This is a phrase we hear a lot, often from start-ups and certainly for leadership roles. What does it mean? That you are a readymade talent solution.

You can walk in, put a ‘plug and play’ ATS in place in days, leverage the community you are part of to get the brand in front of target hires, put candidates in front of the hiring managers ASAP, and have data that can be used comparatively to support decision making. On a deeper level, you may have hiring manager interview plans to hand, an onboarding tool up your sleeve and relationships with key HR tech suppliers. ●

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E BUSINESS ADVICE CO M M UNITY

ASK THE EXPERT Q: My business is dominating all other parts of my life and causing me sleepless nights.

Any suggestions for regaining a balance?

Running a recruitment business is at times allconsuming. As a director or owner of the business it can also be a lonely place. It doesn’t matter as much when things are going well but when the road is bumpy – and it will be at times – it can be hard to leave the stress and anxiety behind.

Some of the ideas below are good practice, whether the business is going well or not; others may seem a bit extreme at first but when you are struggling they will help you regain control and sleep better at night.

Here are my top tips for sleeping well:

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The SME Coach

●

●

●

●

tasks. Even if you leave the office a bit later you will do so in a far better state of mind and be more likely to switch off for a few hours.

Make time to switch off: Have a day free from the business (ie. a Sunday) at least once every two weeks and make one hour for yourself at least once a day to do something that immerses you in things other than work.

Find a sounding board to share the burden: Find yourself a mentor or adviser who can act as a sounding board and ‘therapist’. Someone not engaged with the business who will give you an impartial sense check when you need it can do wonders for your sanity.

Don’t fight losing battles to the death: We cannot win every battle. If there is an issue that you can't find a solution to and it is pulling you down or negatively affecting other areas of the business, then sometimes it is best simply to get rid of the problem.

Put your business in perspective: Is your business more important than your relationships with your family and friends, or your health? Have a list of what you need to do to maintain the things that are more important than the business. Watch soap operas – it will remind you that there are a lot of people with much greater problems than yours!

↗

● Have targets: There are only four targets that should cause you to lose sleep in recruitment: cashflow, profit, growth and headcount. If you are hitting your targets for these then there's rarely a reason to lose sleep. If you're falling short, at least you know what you need to address. Without targets you will always feel out of control. ● Have plans: Again, if you focus on a plan to achieve your targets, you have a sense of structure and control. If you are following your plan (ie. consistent implementation) and not hitting your targets then you will know what isn’t working and can redeploy resources accordingly. Ensure a member of the team has responsibility for each area of the plan. ● Devolve responsibility: Sharing the burden will stop the weight of the world being on your shoulders, as well as engaging others in helping make the plans work. ● Business-critical list: Always know what the top three risks to your business are, as well as the top opportunities. Have a plan to address each one. ● ‘To do’ lists: Set monthly targets for the business and for yourself. Break your targets down into weekly milestones, then at the end of each day write your ‘to do’ list for the next day. ● Clear your desk daily: At the end of each day make sure you have cleared your desk and inbox of all business-critical tasks and all 30-second

Alex Arnot

ALEX ARNOT is a non-executive adviser to more than 20 recruitment companies.

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CO M M U N I T Y

CAREERS

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‘You’ve got to be persistent, so that when you’re not doing well, you ou recover recover’ r’ MY BRILLIANT RECRUITMENT CAREER

↗

What was your earliest dream job?

I wanted to be a professional football player.

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

This is my first job in recruitment.

A director at the agency saw my profile on LinkedIn, contacted me and offered me the job.

Who is your role model – in life or in tennis?

John McEnroe. In his early career he had a ‘bad boy’ personality but he’s also intelligent and analytical of the top players. I’ve always found him interesting to listen to. I’ve read his book.

What do you love most about your current role?

Talking to new candidates, because you find out about their personal lives and their situation. You get to find out what they are like day-today, and why they are considering changing roles.

What would you consider to be the most brilliant moments of your career in both recruitment and tennis?

In recruitment, I was working on a role for somebody who had been a solvency professional for most of their career. They had been out of it for six or seven years, and a lot of

NICHOLAS KIDSON, recruitment consultant, Gerrard White Consulting, and county tennis player

Nicholas Kidson people disregarded their experience. I managed to get them into a solvency role at a well-regarded firm in the South-East. That was a life-changing role for them, and pleasing for me to get it. In tennis, I got our local club to one of the highest divisions in Kent by winning one of my matches.

What’s your top job to fill at the moment?

Corporate finance director in London.

What is your signature dish?

Carbonara.

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

Has your tennis career ever helped you in your recruitment career?

I think it has. You’ve got to be persistent, so that when you’re not doing well, you recover. You can apply that to tennis as well, as you do this quite a bit if you’re behind.

What’s the best or worst interview question you’ve ever heard?

The best one is: do you see yourself filling my shoes in the next five years?

What would you regard as your theme tune?

My Generation by Limp Bizkit – it represents my generation and the era I grew up in.

Laugh. I was dealing with a graduatelevel candidate, who was going for a corporate finance job, and was quite academic. Then he contacted the client directly, thinking that saying he’d worked in McDonald’s would help his career in finance. It blew his chances.

I M AG E S | S H UT T E R STO C K / ALAMY

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E RECRUITMENT WWW. RE CRUITE R .CO.UK

View the latest jobs at jobs.recruiter.co.uk To place your advertisement E: jude.rosset@redactive.co.uk or T: 020 7880 7621

Recruiter Jobs helping you to attract the best candidates for your vacancies.

Jude Rosset

jude.rosset@redactive.co.uk +44 (0)20 7880 7621

Recruiter Jobs is the online recruitment site for Recruiter magazine, the prin principal magazine for recruiting and resourcing professionals. You can search through a wide range of roles; from recruitment consultants to in-house recruitment, based in both the UK and International markets.

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View the latest jobs at jobs.recruiter.co.uk To place your advertisement E: jude.rosset@redactive.co.uk or T: 020 7880 7621

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E CAREERS CO M M UNITY

ASHFIELD: The international healthcare outsourcing services provider has bolstered its teams with senior hires in the US and Japan. Greg Flynn becomes regional president of Ashfield Commercial and Clinical in the US. Mick O’Leary takes on the role of regional president of Ashfield Commercial and Clinical in Japan, where he will lead CMIC Ashfield.

C & D G R OUP : The Swindon-based recruiter welcomes Kath Curr as managing director.

THE CURVE GR OUP: Recruitment and HR specialist has appointed Luke Windeatt-Dickens as client solutions director

ESA GROUP: The recruitment and headhunting firm has made Valerie George operations manager.

TalkTalk has appointed Mark Dickinson chief people officer, with responsibility for group activities, including the overall HR strategy. Most recently the telco firm’s people director for the consumer arm of the business, Dickinson succeeds group HR director Nigel Sullivan, who is moving to healthcare organisation Bupa.

Dickinson will be responsible for the group’s HR strategy and oversee all people elements of TalkTalk’s drive to become the trusted value champion within the telecoms sector. According to the company, this will include a cultural development programme that will see TalkTalk drive colleague engagement in the company’s reinvigorated purpose and values.

technology recruiter’s chief financial officer. Dyer leaves to pursue other interests.

C O R D AN T G ROUP : The multi-sector staffing specialist has appointed Phil Kilroe as group credit manager within its finance team.

THE CL A S S R OOM PA RTN ER S HIP : Gail Andrews joins the education staffing specialist as director.

C O G N ITIV E G ROUP : The specialist recruiter of Microsoft Dynamics professionals has appointed Renee Delaney as new client services director.

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HEIDRICK & STRU G G L E S : The global executive search and leadership consulting firm welcomes William O’Leary as partner in its Washington, DC office.

Andrew LeSueur also joins as head of leadership consulting in the Americas.

FAWKE S & RE ECE:

IIC PART NERS:

Russell Otter joins the construction, engineering and built environment recruiter as director of freelance.

The global executive search consultancy body has appointed five practice leaders across three countries. Thomas Hofer of Hofer Tan & Partners in Singapore leads IIC’s aviation, aerospace and defence practice; Janice

GATTACA: Salar Farzad succeeds Tony Dyer as the specialist engineering and

HARRIER HUMAN CA P I TA L : Sue Howse is the Australia-based talent management business’ managing director for its talent solutions company in Sydney.

Email people moves for use online and in print, including a short 15/06/2017 12:57

Ellig of New York’s Chadick Ellig is in charge of board search for IIC; the energy practice is led by Bill Clarey from Clarey/Napier International, Houston, US; John Salveson of Salveson Stetson Group in Philadelphia takes charge of life sciences and healthcare for IIC; Bendik Blindheim, of ISCO Group in Oslo, Norway, leads the body’s technology, digital media & telecommunications practice.

REC: The Recruitment & Employment Confederation has turned to the new MP for Tatton and former employment minister Esther McVey to lead its new ‘Future of Jobs’ commission.

CONTACTS EDITORIAL +44 (0)20 7880 7606 Editor DeeDee Doke

RECRUITMENT ADVERTISING +44 (0)20 7880 7553 Jude Rosset

deedee.doke@recruiter.co.uk

jude.rosset@redactive.co.uk

Reporters Colin Cottell, Graham Simons colin.cottell@recruiter.co.uk graham.simons@recruiter.co.uk

Contributing writer Sue Weekes Production editor Vanessa Townsend

MA N P OW ERGROUP : The recruitment giant has appointed Stefano Scabbio as president of Northern Europe, Mediterranean & Eastern Europe for ManpowerGroup.

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

vanessa.townsend@recruiter.co.uk

S PE N GL E RFOX:

Senior designer Craig Bowyer Picture editor Akin Falope

Sylvain Gauffre joins the global talent consultancy as practice group leader – financial services.

ADVERTISING +44 (0)20 7880 6220 Advertising account manager Josh Hannagan

THI RD WAY LEGAL:

The international talent management, business transformation and executive and board services specialist welcomes consultant Brett Smitheram, who will be working on HR and senior leadership appointments. Smitheram is also world Scrabble champion.

The marketplace legal recruiting platform has appointed Ashley King as the head of its commerce and industry practice.

YOU R NE X T M OV E A selection of vacancies from recruiter.co.uk Recruiter Republic Divisional director London Built environment £50k-£60k + bens London Business School Recruiter London £25k-£30k

MC G R EG O R BOYAL L : Stuart Campbell joins the global recruiter to head up its Scotland operations.

P ER F ECT FI T P E OPL E : The North-West-based agency has appointed Sharon Walsh as business manager.

Recruiter Republic Branch manager Cambridge Financial services £40k-£50k + car + comms

PUBLISHING +44 (0)20 7880 8547 Publishing director Aaron Nicholls

+44 (0)20 7880 2762 Senior sales executive Will Hunter

RECRUITER AWARDS/ INVESTING IN TALENT AWARDS +44 (0)20 7324 2771 Events eventsteam@redactive.co.uk

william.hunter@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: £35 UK; £45 Europe and £50 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. © 2017 Redactive Media Group. All rights reserved. This publication (and any part thereof) may not be reproduced, transmitted or stored in print or electronic format (including but not limited to any online service, any database or any part of the internet) or in any other format in any media whatsoever, without the prior written permission of Redactive Media Group.

Redactive Media Group accepts no liability for the accuracy of the contents or any opinions expressed herein. The publishers cannot accept liability for any loss arising from the late appearance or non-publication of any advertisement for any reason whatsoever. ISSN 1475-7478

Total average net circulation between 1 July 2014 & 30 June 2015 – 18,667. is also sent to all REC members

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

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M E R C U R I U RVAL :

PRODUCTION +44 (0)20 7880 6209 Production executive Rachel Young

Scan here to get your own copy of

15/06/2017 12:57

E THE LAST WORD CO M M UNITY

Gregory Allen Research firms maintain the flow

Recently someone said to me: “Are you supercharging your pipeline?” Once I had refrained from responding with a Carry On double entendre, I wondered if, in my role as a recruiter, I might have missed something.

Bravely, I asked just that.

With all that is new in this industry, it could have happened. I was happy to then receive validation that it was something I had been doing for a while. But now I have a name for this activity.

In a cost-conscious time, the use of branded search companies is saved for only the C-suite hires. Yet sometimes there is a similar effort needed for the tier of executive just below board level – something more than an advert through Broadbean or the broadsheet print press.

Often job boards tend to charge higher fees for customers other than agencies. So I needed to use a different channel to market, but with the same ownership and market knowledge.

For this, I have been using research companies, such as Write Research. There are others, larger and smaller companies alike, out there.

These companies have real market intelligence, algorithms and web spiders to wheedle out names of candidates who could match your search criteria – without them even knowing you’re looking.

On several projects, we have been more interested in the wider data that can surface around points such as diversity & inclusion, salary and location mapping, long before we want to know who is working in the space and for which company.

Using a company that can do all this market intelligence helps us as an organisation define the space we’re looking to invest in. It can help determine what skills are hot or not in the location we’re either supplying or developing into.

On top of this, there are the candidates, in terms of their social behaviours, their career histories and in some instances their connections,

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coming together in one whole report – and all this for one fee. You can then design specific reference terms to review, such as universities attended, competitive companies to avoid, and social and recreational likes. All these areas develop a broader story to the candidates found for the role you are resourcing.

What you do with the intelligence and the candidates is up to you. On several projects, we have paid once and filled many roles.

Understanding the candidates ahead of having our first

What you do with the intelligence and the candidates is up to you

GREGORY ALLEN is global head of resourcing at Lloyd’s Register

conversation means you can have broader discussions on cultural fit and behaviours, as well as skills and experiences.

It’s what we call, in sales terms, ‘a warm call’.

The names you don’t use will then ‘supercharge your pipeline’ for another day, but the intelligence delivers HR impact and business intelligence straight away.

When costs and in-house resource are limited, this channel can be an effective way to identify candidates and analytics, supporting your business in making more effective talent decisions. ●

15/06/2017 11:55

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12/06/2017 12:01

For recruiters who want it all

Struggling to manage candidates, clients, contacts and vacancies?

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