Recruiter - October 2016

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INCORPORATING Recruitment Matters

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Your regular issue of Recruiter continues inside

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So much more than Compliance

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INCORPORATING Recruitment Matters

www.recruiter.co.uk

E M E R G I N G T E C H N O LO GY Future visions join the present tense

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O LY M P I C C A R E E R E x - Te a m G B h o c k e y star James Tindell THE LAST WORD Matt Churchward asks w h y c a n’ t w e k e e p s t a f f ?

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Matters

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NEWS

05 What price sterling?

The recent fall in the value of sterling will affect M&As in the staffing market 06 Tapping into sporting talent The market’s growing for recruiters eager to tap into the talents of top sports professionals 07 Win hearts and minds in a newly merged company Gattaca’s CEO advises fellow recruiters on the acquisition trail

07 Star recruit: Noel Edmonds, looking for work now that Deal or No Deal has been axed 08 This was the month that was...

10 Contracts & Deals

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20 THE BIG STORY SAP’s big bang theory

Competing for talent with the ‘sexier’ tech firms has led SAP to overhaul its employer brand and find out what great looks like

TRENDS

The technologies recruiters should know about today

36 Time to flex those employment categories Are current terms used to describe workers still valid?

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12 Insight Digital is booming – but that’s not all good news

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Tech & Tools What’s the deal with WhatsApp for recruiters?

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32 Techno dreams

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FEATURES

Social Network Employability Business Advice Careers The loneliness of the in-house recruiter My brilliant recruitment career: James Tindall Movers & Shakers Recruiter Contacts The Last Word: Matt Churchward

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INTERACTION

18 Agency View: Adrian Treacy 19 Soundbites

I M AG E S | M AT T OLAC K / SH UTTER STO C K / ISTO C K / G ETTY / AK IN FALOPE

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ot only do you, our dear readers, get two illustrated covers as an early October treat – through our black, grey and white cartoon cover, you also get a ringside seat to a recruitment culture revolution at SAP! This is a global revitalisation of recruitment and the employer brand at SAP, which aspires to become the world’s No 1 cloud company. And of course, that aspiration can only be achieved through recruiting – ta da! – the right people.

We’re thrilled that the SAP “This global creative team took revitalisation of recruitment the time and and employer develop a brand at SAP smashing, exclusive, is achieved one-of-a-kind through recruiting the cover for us – for which, thanks! right people” And there’s more, much more, in this issue. Our reporter Colin Cottell gets under the skin of the creative-digital-media sector, Gattaca CEO shares merger-integration secrets with our Graham Simons, and we delve into the burgeoning space of sports recruitment.

Happy October!

DeeDee Doke, Editor

I M AG E S | G E T T Y

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Sterling’s fall affects UK staffing M&As

BY COLIN COTTELL

ANALYSTS AND MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS PROFESSIONALS say the fall in the value of sterling against other major currencies since the UK’s vote to leave the EU has important consequences for the staffing sector. Following the Brexit vote on 23 June, the value of the pound plummeted against the dollar, the euro and the yen. More than two months on, the value of the pound remains well below its pre-Brexit vote level.

Kevin Lapwood, deputy chief executive at Capital Access Group, a corporate broking company, says the immediate consequences for many UK staffing companies have been positive. “Most of the quoted UK staffing companies have much bigger businesses and earnings in dollars, which, when translated back into sterling, means a lot more pounds than before,” he says. “We are talking about a 5-10% uplift in everything; revenue and pre-tax profits,” says Lapwood, citing Robert Walters and SThree as particular beneficiaries.

Sue Dodd, director of Agile Intelligence, says among others to gain are PageGroup, Hays and Phaidon International. She estimates that because not all overseas earnings are in dollars, a 10% drop in sterling against the dollar equates to an 8% overall uplift in 60% of the earnings of UK recruiters that operate internationally. She says another consequence of sterling’s devaluation is to make UK staffing companies cheaper and therefore more attractive to overseas buyers.

Philip Ellis, owner of Optima Corporate Finance, advised Japanese staffing business Trust Tech on its acquisition of North-East staffing and training company MTrec, a £17.1m deal that completed at the end of August. He says this could encourage more interest from foreign buyers.

“It certainly makes the UK an attractive place for inward investment,” adds Lapwood.

However, Ellis cautions that the issue is more nuanced than it first appears. “Potential investors have to take a view as to whether this is a permanent devaluation,” he says. A further complication is that any earnings booked in sterling lose their value when translated back into the foreign buyer’s home currency. The picture is further muddied by uncertainty over the outcome of Brexit negotiations, says Ellis, but sectors such as healthcare and teaching are among those least likely to be negatively affected by the outcome of the Brexit negotiations. Dodd says that, in contrast, recruitment businesses “that bring in staff from Eastern Europe to work in food processing plants in the East of England” are more likely to be hit by restrictions on freedom of movement, thereby lessening overseas interest.

Ellis says the importance of currency rates in the minds of overseas investors shouldn’t be over-estimated. Referring to the Japanese, he says: “I think the main driver to get into the UK is that it is an established and reputable market, with relatively friendly regulatory requirements. They are getting businesses with a long-term record that are relatively stable.”●

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32,495 FOLLOWERS AS OF 15 SEPTEMBER 2016

Tapping into sporting talent

BY COLIN COTTELL

STAFFING BUSINESSES are tapping into a growing market for highperforming sports people. Rob Steed of Laps.Careers (Life After Professional Sport), which is due to launch a job board as part of an online platform providing career advice for sports people in early October, told Recruiter: “I was being asked by a lot of clients if we could recruit sports people for them.”

Typically, he said, “clients who asked were those looking for sales people, project managers, as well as people for quite physically and mentally tiring roles, like stock broking and financial trading, where you need to be resilient and used to hard knocks”.

Steed estimates that the number of professional sports people, either currently in sport, or who have left it recently, is about 100,000. “It’s not a massive market,” he said, “but it is one that is constantly evolving.”

Steed said employers are attracted by the traits that make top sports people successful, including drive and determination, resilience and the ability to be coached, in the belief that these will translate into high performance in business. According to research by professional services firm EY, 94% of female C-suite executives played sport.

Olympian hockey player James Tindall, who represented Team GB at both the 2008 Olympics in Beijing and the 2012 London Olympics, and is now a director at finance and project management recruiter, Ad Idem

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Consulting, said companies “are very keen to hire these people” not only because of traits such as competiveness and transferable skills, but because they offer good PR opportunities.

Among elite sports people who have forged completely different careers after retiring are Paralympian equestrian Sophie Christiansen, who went into computer programming, and former Durham cricketer Mark Turner, who now works in medical sales. Others such as Robert Parker, Team GB water polo player at the London 2012 Olympics, work in recruitment.

Steed’s business partner is Exeter City footballer Robbie Simpson.

Ex-Wales Rugby Union player Andy Moore, co-founder of Athlete Career Transition (ACT), said his company recently placed eight Olympians into international professional services firm EY on six-month placements, including Team GB Olympian rower Olivia Carnegie-Brown. “We make the contact with the corporate and create the opportunity with them because most big companies don’t really have any experience in bringing

Rob Steed

James Tindall

Robbie Simpson

Andy Moore

“It’s not a massive market, but it is one that is constantly evolving”

in ex-professional athletes. We help them put the processes in place, then we go and get the athlete,” Moore said. “It is much easier to create the desire for the role rather than shoehorn a particular person into a particular role,” he added.

Demand for those from an elite sports background is not confined to big corporates.

“It is feasible for SMEs to employ top-level sports people,” said Moore, citing start-up foreign exchange firm OSTC, which hired ex-England cricketer Matthew Hoggard, and ex-Wales rugby internationals Dafydd James and Huw Bennett.

Moore said ACT targets certain types of candidates from the world of professional sport: “Those we can fast-track into business, those who have had their career ended by injury or whose contracts were ended, and those who have gone into the wrong career.”

With the recent EY appointments, ACT worked with Saville Consulting who provided psychometric testing, while video interviewing was also used to provide a shortlist of applicants. Moore said the number of candidates with a highperformance sports background is a sizeable one. With 10,000 Olympians competing in Rio alone, Moore estimates that 30-40% will need a job after the games end. Ex-US NFL players are also an untapped market that the company is eyeing, he added. ●

IMAG E | G ETTY / AK IN FALOPE

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Win hearts and minds in a newly merged company

BY GRAHAM SIMONS

RECRUITERS ON THE ACQUISITION trail should seek to win the battle for hearts and minds of new members of staff and resist creating a newly merged company of victors and the vanquished.

So says Brian Wilkinson, chief executive of specialist engineering, technology and professional services recruitment agency Gattaca, speaking about the integration of April 2015 acquisition Networkers International with Matchtech.

Wilkinson, who several years ago oversaw the integration of Vedior into Randstad, told Recruiter the integration has proven complex as it dramatically changes the financial profile of the group with the addition of £30m worth of annual net fee income to Matchtech’s

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STA R RECRUIT

HAKAN ENVER, OPERATIONS DIRECTOR, MORGAN MCKINLEY FINANCIAL SERVICES, OFFERS INSIGHT INTO A POTENTIAL ROLE FOR NOEL EDMONDS AS DEAL OR NO DEAL COMES TO AN END AFTER MORE THAN A DECADE ON UK SCREENS. “After 3,000 episodes, Channel 4 has finally said ‘no deal’ and is axing the show. While the show may go on the road, regular TV viewers will no longer be able to hear the phone ring and wait

in anticipation for the Banker to offer a deal to the contestant.

“Noel could now decide to pursue a banking career. He is good with people, and can manage clients (his contestants) to guide them through their negotiating efforts.

“So could sales be an option? Can you imagine Noel on a busy, vibrant trading floor of a leading investment bank? Or what about utilising his eccentric personality?

Could he move into some form of relationship

£40m and 300 extra members of staff. He explained previously just 2% of Matchtech’s revenues came from over overseas operations, while the merged group now achieves 30% in international revenues.

This change in the group’s profile necessitated the creation of an environment in which everyone in the company was comfortable, Wilkinson said.

People from both sides need to feel they are winning from this, he explained. “Very often in an acquisition, you’ve got the victor and the vanquished. The people who have been acquired feel like something’s been done to them, so you really want to get the goodwill.

“What you want to do is actually achieve genuine goodwill on the part of the people you are acquiring and make them feel that this is a fantastic positive step for them, not a sense of loss – losing a brand, losing colleagues, losing autonomy. You’ve got to compensate for all that by making this a better place to be than it was before.”

While some staff have left the business, including senior management shareholders from Networkers where there was duplication of back office roles, including payroll and finance, the firm’s assessment of its strengths and weakness has actually resulted in the addition of headcount, Wilkinson said.

Networkers’ Bromley base in South London has also been retained and now houses 100 sales people under the Networkers and Matchtech brands – a combination of cultures creating an employer brand now known as Gattaca.

And the group’s considered approach since April 2015 to the integration has already borne fruit.

“We are pleased to say that we have now won a substantial piece of business with a global technology firm to provide MSP [managed service provider] services across Europe for them on a three-year contract,” Wilkinson revealed. “That’s a piece of business that Matchtech couldn’t have won on its own and nor could Networkers.

“But bringing Networkers’ strength of relationship with management type function? that client together “Either way, arguably Noel could fit in well within with our account financial services. He has management and the characteristics, desire and appetite to succeed. bidding prowess has He proves his commitment enabled us to win with how long some of his shows have lasted. this transformational “Noel certainly knows piece of business.” how to entertain an audience. If he was out on Wilkinson told an important client pitch that needed that extra Recruiter he couldn’t help in closing the deal, reveal the new he could always call on Mr Blobby to help out – very business won just few have that luxury.” yet. ● WWW.RECRUITER.CO.UK 7

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THIS WAS THE MONTH THAT WAS… Here is a round-up of some of the most popular news stories we have brought you on recruiter.co.uk since the September issue of Recruiter was published A U G U S T •‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒→ T H U, 2 5 A U G 2 0 1 6

RETIRING ATHLETES SHOULD GO INTO RECRUITMENT, SAYS EX-OLYMPIAN

TUE, 23 AUG 2016

KING OF NORWAY PROMOTES WINGMAN The King of Norway’s Guard has chosen to promote from within rather than recruiting externally for its latest appointment to Brigadier.

The BBC reports Nils Olav, who was also awarded a knighthood by Norway’s King Harald V in 2008, began his new post by inspecting the regiment who were in Edinburgh for the Tattoo this summer.

We should also point out, however, that Sir Nils is a King penguin and lives at Edinburgh Zoo...

More: http://bit.ly/2cFOb0O

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Returning Team GB athletes, thinking about retiring from their respective sports, would do well to consider a career in recruitment, according to former Olympian and recruiter Robert Parker.

Parker, who was recently appointed head of property and FM recruitment at London-based corporate and public sector staffing specialist Insight Executive Group, represented the Men’s water polo team for Team GB in London 2012.

Parker added his experience of playing in a team has also held him in good stead in the world of recruitment.

“As an athlete I did play team sports but interacting in a team, and being able to talk to different types of people, which you get from that exposure of being a professional athlete, really made it easy for me.”

More: http://bit.ly/2clrK1m

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RAPPING RECRUITER WOWS X FACTOR JUDGES A recruitment consultant who starred in the first set of auditions in this latest series of ITV’s X Factor has told Recruiter that ice breaking training during her recruitment career helped her summon up the courage to face Simon Cowell and his fellow judges.

Rapper ‘Honey G’ wowed almost all of the X Factor judges, Cowell being the exception, to land a place in boot camp – the next stage on from auditions.

‘Honey G’ is the alter ego of Anna Georgette Gilford, managing director of recruitment firm ARG Search.

Gilford told Recruiter training in breaking the ice over her 15 years+ recruitment career held her in good stead when going to her first audition.

“I am not afraid to speak to people, speak to anyone, because I have done a lot of cold calling...

I get on with people very well and people obviously warm to me.”

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Leeds-based airline launches drive for 1,000 staff Low-cost airline Jet2.com has launched a recruitment drive for almost 1,000 pilots, cabin crew and engineers across the UK. The Leeds-based airline said it will hold roadshows at airports and locations in Belfast, East Midlands, Manchester and Leeds to support recruitment of more than 180 pilots, 700 cabin crew and more than 80 engineering positions.

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

30 DAYS

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MODERN SLAVERY ‘COMMON’ IN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY WORLDWIDE

REC TO INVESTIGATE TRANSLINE OVER SPORTS DIRECT WORKING PRACTICES

The global construction industry is facing a “strong risk” of modern slavery, according to a new report from business information solutions provider LexisNexis BIS. The report, ‘Hidden in Plain Site – Modern Slavery in the Construction Industry’, explored articles from more than 6,000 licensed news sources in more than 100 countries in Europe, the Middle East, North and South America, Africa and Asia between January 2015 and May 2016.

The report’s findings show that throughout the global construction industry and its material supply chains, forced labour and other exploitation that constitutes modern slavery are common, concealed and subject to inadequate prevention, policing and prosecution.

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

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SCRABBLE HELPS WORLD CHAMPION SMITHERAM IN HIS RECRUITMENT CAREER

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IT DOESN’T HURT TO HAVE THE CONFIDENCE THAT YOU REALLY ARE THE VERY BEST IN THE WORLD AT SOMETHING

Handling the ups and downs of competition has held the new world Scrabble champion in good stead in his career as a recruitment consultant.

In the French city of Lille, Brett Smitheram, senior consultant at HR staffing specialist Macmillan Davies, defeated fellow Brit Mark Nyman with the word ‘braconid’, a parasitic wasp.

Speaking to Recruiter about his victory, the new world champion said the ability to handle the ups and downs of competition, to spot opportunities and to present himself well, due to the fact he has done lots of media interviews, has really helped in his recruitment career.

“My adverts tend to be pretty good… it also means I tend to have a fairly sharp eye for detail when CVs have mistakes!” he said.

He added: “Also, it doesn’t hurt to have the confidence that you really are the very best in the world at something.”

The Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) is to proceed with a full investigation into the conduct of member Transline in connection with working practices at retailer Sports Direct’s Shirebrook warehouse.

A Sports Direct-commissioned report, which identified “serious shortcomings” in working practices at Shirebrook in Derbyshire, called on its agencies to suspend a “six strike system” under which staff could be fired for accruing ‘strikes’ for spending too long in the toilet, excessive chatting or taking a day off sick.

Agencies Transline and The Best Connection (TBC) supply over 3,000 agency workers to work for Sports Direct in its Shirebrook warehouse.

REC chief executive Kevin Green told Recruiter that while the REC continues to engage with TBC to determine whether an additional investigation into this agency is required, the REC would proceed with a full investigation into Transline.

He continued: “We take accusations of wrongdoing extremely seriously.

We expect the highest standards of compliance and professionalism from our members, so the REC badge is something that clients and jobseekers can rely on. These allegations are serious and if proved would violate the REC’s Code of Professional Conduct.

“Our investigations can result in referral to our professional standards committee, on which the TUC are represented, and which has the power to issue public sanctions and in cases of serious breaches of our Code of Professional Conduct members can be expelled.”

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IS THE COMBINED INVOICE FINANCE FACILITY AGREED BY MYNT RECRUITMENT

CONTRACT & DEALS CareerBuilder Employment website CareerBuilder is to acquire cloudbased technology specialist Workterra.

Workterra will operate as a CareerBuilder company, while David Rhodes will continue serving as chief executive of Workterra. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Eden Brown Synergy Public sector recruiter Eden Brown Synergy has been awarded a place on the NHS’s new National Clinical Staffing Framework.

Being awarded a place on lots 1 and 2 of the framework means that Eden Brown Synergy can supply temporary and permanent staff to nursing and other clinical positions in the NHS.

Caritas Social care staffing specialist Caritas has announced the second phase of its partnership with charity the NSPCC. After becoming the NSPCC’s lead supplier in 2015, Caritas has been chosen as the NSPCC’s lead supplier for both its temporary and permanent social work recruitment requirements, implementing a full-managed service partnership with the charity. Under the agreement, Caritas now manages the social work supply chain, as well as participating in joint initiatives affecting the wider social care community. Caritas also continues its long-running charity partnership with the NSPCC.

Mynt Recruitment York-based recruiter Mynt Recruitment has agreed a £750k combined invoice finance facility from specialist lender and savings bank Aldermore. The firm has been supported by funding from Aldermore since its launch, while previous facilities have already enabled the company to expand and open a second office in Hull.

The new funding has been used to support the recent opening of a third office in Rotherham, South Yorkshire.

Randstad Recruitment giant Randstad has started the process to acquire all outstanding shares of global job site Monster Worldwide through a tender offer. The move follows August’s announcement that Randstad is to buy Monster Worldwide in a deal worth $429m (£330.6m), which will see the enlarged group expand its portfolio of HR services, as well as its ability to offer digital and technology services to candidates. Under the terms of the agreement, Randstad will pay $3.40 per share in cash.

The tender offer is due to expire at midnight, New York time, at the end of 3 October 2016, unless the period is extended.

Simplicity Finance and back office provider to the recruitment industry Simplicity is the new kit sponsors of Gloucester Rugby for the Aviva Premiership season 2016/17. The deal sees the Simplicity logo emblazoned on the sleeves of Gloucester Rugby shirts for the new season, which kicked off at the start of September.

DEAL OF THE MONTH RECRUIT

Consilium Recruit Manufacturing and engineering recruiter Consilium Recruit has been appointed by The London Taxi Company as one of its recruitment partners for its new multi-million pound factory being built near Coventry.

Consilium, which

also has offices in Stourport, has a division specifically aimed at recruiting highly skilled engineers, managers and advanced manufacturing technicians.

Coventry-based London Taxi Company – manufacturer of the London taxicab – has

Recruitive Recruitment software provider Recruitive software has integrated its multi job-posting technology with automotive jobs site Global Automotive Jobs.

chosen Ansty Park as the site for a new state-of-theart 80,000 sq m factory to make an upgraded ‘green’ version of the classic London cab, due to be launched in 2018.

Production of the current TX4 will remain at the company’s base in Holyhead Road, Coventry.

Jobbio Career marketplace Jobbio has raised €5m (£4.2m) in funding to accelerate international growth.

Jobbio, which has bases in Dublin, London and New York, is growing internationally and launched in Canada late in September. It will use the investment to accelerate its growth in these regions, according to the company.

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INSIGHT

DIGITAL IS BOOMING – BUT THAT’S NOT ALL GOOD NEWS Recruiters such as Gemini People are riding the wave of the expanding creative and digital market. But, as Colin Cottell discovers, success brings its own challenges that must be overcome if recruiters are to build a sustainable future

W

hen Michelle Watson, chief executive at digital and creative recruiter Gemini People, speaks to recruitment peers operating in the finance and public sectors she says “a little prayer”.

It’s a prayer of thanks, she says.

“Thank goodness we are not in those markets.”

For recruiters such as Watson, the creative, digital and media sector must indeed feel like the answer to their prayers. Starting with just three staff in 2011, Gemini People is riding the wave of one of the UK’s most dynamic and fastest-growing industries. In five years, staff numbers have rocketed to 56, and the company is looking to open its first office overseas, probably in New York.

And Gemini People is not alone.

On the back of the UK’s £71bn a year creative sector, which employs one in 12 of the UK’s workforce, creative, marketing and digital recruiter Major Players has grown 30% year-on-year,

It’s not an industry anymore; it’s more of an economy. All businesses require digital skills

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and plans to recruit 20 more staff by the end of 2016.

According to a report by the UK Commission for Employment and Skills, published in June 2015, the UK’s digital and creative sector is expected to need 1.2m new workers between 2012 and 2022, both to support growth and to replace those leaving the sector.

“By anyone’s measure that is huge growth,” says Steve Wright of IT recruiter and talent management consultancy Rethink Group, which bought itself a bit of the action in March when it acquired international digital recruiter Digital Gurus.

The diversity of the creative, digital and media industries sector is vast, ranging from advertising and design, to film, TV and video music, publishing, and IT and technology. The sector has been given greater impetus as more and more organisations migrate delivery of their services, and their internal operations online.

“The world is going digital,” Watson says. “The lines between digital and creative are becoming increasingly blurred,” she notes, as employers look to hire those with a fusion of both creative and digital skills.

Melina Jacovou, founder of digital recruitment business Propel London, says: “It’s not an industry anymore; it’s more of an economy. All businesses require digital skills.”

Paul Farrer, chairman of specialist digital, media and marketing communications recruiter Aspire, adds: “The market is very, very strong. London is the world beacon for the sector and the best talent is prepared to come here from mainland Europe. There are tonnes of business.

It’s a job-rich, candidate-short

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INSIGHT

market, and it is going to continue because as digital develops, new jobs are being created all the time.”

However, along with undoubted opportunity, they say operating in such a buoyant market creates its own dynamic and brings its unique challenges.

Consolidation The acquisition in March of Digital Gurus by Rethink Group highlighted how the sector’s growth had not gone unnoticed by recruiters outside it, says Watson. “Everybody has their eyes on this market. They see the money being made from what we are doing.”

Farooq Mohammed, managing director of Digital Gurus, predicts further consolidation, with companies “merging or partnering up with larger companies such as Rethink Group”. “There are loads of start-ups and there are large players who have been established for 10-12 years, who are at the stage where they either consolidate or go backwards,” he says.

Mohammed says one factor that

will drive consolidation is “companies that want to add a digital/creative/ marketing offering to their existing offering”. The other factor is that in a young but growing market, merging or being acquired is a “tried and trusted” option.

“I would never say it is impossible to get the same growth organically, but it is difficult because the market is saturated,” he says.

Steve Wright, group chief executive at Rethink Group, adds: “I suspect that digital players in the recruitment sector will be quite niche. But as the digital sector as a whole scales up and starts to mature, I would imagine dominant players would start to emerge.”

However, Jack Gratton, CEO of creative and marketing recruiter Major Players, says he sees the sector characterised by niche recruiters with a boutique feel. “Market knowledge is paramount and most SMEs don’t like the big recruiters’ generic approach,” he says.

Watson says specialist niche recruiters are better able than larger corporates to tap into and understand the sector’s distinctive culture. For

Everybody has their eyes on this market. They see the money being made from what we are doing

example, she says, Gemini People’s staff dress casually in line with many of their clients’ dress code policies.

Keeping up with the pace of change But one of the biggest challenges recruiters face is keeping up with the pace of change. “A lot of new jobs have appeared virtually out of nowhere,” says Propel’s Jacovou, citing a whole family of new jobs in data and data science as an example. As technology continues to evolve this will continue.

“What we see today in terms of job specifications is going to be unrecognisable even in the next two or three years,” she says.

And Farrer adds: “We are being asked to find people with two years’ experience when the job title didn’t exist two years ago.”

Gratton says the upside of change is that new business opportunities are constantly emerging. “Imminent growth areas” for Major Players are in the area of emerging technology, particularly UX (user experience)/tech, Big Data and e-commerce, he says.

To keep on top of change, Jacovou says Propel places great emphasis on educating its consultants. As well as standard training courses, this includes events that the company runs, as well as others they attend.

Watson says Gemini People’s teams holds weekly industry updates in which they talk about what is happening in the market, what their clients have told them, and discuss any research papers that have come out. “We also make use of information that we get from online communities,” she says.

Technological change is a constant feature of the sector. But Jacovou says

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15/09/2016 10:54

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T R E N DS

INSIGHT

Candidate shortages A candidate-short market is normally manna from heaven for recruiters. But according to Mohammed, in this case it can be too much of a good thing. “There are not enough candidates to service all those jobs,” he says, “and that is where the growth struggles a little bit because, clearly, when you have more candidates than jobs the market can’t sustain itself and it tends to stagnate.”

Mohammed says the situation highlights the need for recruiters to manage clients’ expectations: “The client assumes you can just take 20, 30, 40 requisitions, and you will automatically be able to fill them. It is about being able to manage clients’ expectations and keeping them realistic.”

Globalisation The creative, digital and media sector workforce is globally transient, says Watson. “Globalisation in this market is beginning, though it is still in its infancy,” agrees Mohammed “Digital is becoming a truly global phenomenon, so the offering has to be global also.” Jacovou says another aspect of globalisation is US technology companies setting up their first offices in Europe, predominantly in London, with the help of recruitment companies, and continuing to use recruiters “to populate their businesses”.

Finding good consultants “Staff turnover is probably at an all-time high, and any recruiter who says they are finding it easy to find good recruiters is not being honest.

It is a big challenge,” says Farrer. In a highly competitive market where many companies employ fewer than 20 staff, “losing three of four of your best people” to competitors poses “a significant risk” to the success of recruitment firms in the sector, he warns.

“We all have a responsibility to take on staff with no recruitment experience either from other sectors or as graduates,” Gratton adds. ●

2 3

The UK’s digital and creative sector is expected to need 1.2m new workers between 2012 and 2022, both to support growth and to replace those leaving the sector, according to a June 2015 report by the UK Commission for Employment and Skills.

The report notes the merging of digital and creative roles, with employers seeking a fusion of technical expertise, creativity and softer skills. An increased need for digital skills will develop right across the digital and creative sector and, indeed, the whole economy.

The UK’s creative sector was worth £71bn in 2012 and accounted for 1.68m jobs, according to Department for Culture, Media & Sport figures.

↗

that keeping up to speed is easier because most consultants are part of the generation that is “technology savvy and know what is going on in the wider digital/technology world”.

Mohammed agrees that most consultants don’t have to be taught those skills. It’s more a problem for himself and the other directors, he says. “We wouldn’t know where to start and we wouldn’t be able to engage [with clients and candidates] on a genuine level.”

1

POWER POINTS: PLUGGING THE SKILLS GAP

COLIN COTTELL is a reporter for Recruiter magazine and recruiter.co.uk

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T R E N DS

TECH & TOOLS

What’s the deal with WhatsApp? Ignore the messaging app and miss out on new contacts SUE WEEKES

The mobile messaging app WhatsApp passed its 1bn user milestone earlier this year but many recruiters still see it as a tool used by the younger generation. As well as being free to download, it uses the phone’s internet connection so you don’t have to pay for exchanging text messages or sharing images and video (see box-out, below). Hence, teenagers restricted by their mobile plan’s data limits love it. But with smartphones one of the most important tools in a recruiter’s armoury, and in many cases the preferred communications vehicle for the candidate, any app that enjoys such ubiquity should be exploited by recruiters for contacting and building relationships.

REACHING OUT TO CANDIDATES A recruiter can send a WhatsApp message to anyone with the app. (Once installed and launched, it will show you who else has the app on their phone).

You can then message an individual who will see your name, message, your number and profile image.

It is then down to them to choose whether to accept and add you as a contact or block you. This has two main advantages for recruiters, says Síofra Pratt, content marketing executive for social media training company Social Talent. “You can see if your message has been delivered and read,

and you can also check your prospect’s name and profile picture, and determine if their phone number has been verified,” she explains.

messages from your phone so you can continue or pickup the chat on your desktop machine.

A PERSONAL AND PRIVATE CHANNEL

TIMELY AND CONVENIENT MESSAGING

WhatsApp provides endto-end encryption, which means messages, images, videos and voice files sent are secure and can only be seen by the recipient.

This makes it appealing for candidates who want to keep their communication with a recruiter private. A desktop version of the app (WhatsApp Web) is also available that acts as an extension of your phone and mirrors conversations and

As well as reaching out to engage with possible prospects, WhatsApp is ideal for building the relationship further via ongoing communication and getting quick answers to questions.

“Since mobile users are connected to their devices from early morning until late at night, it’s also a perfect tool for global recruiters to get answers to time-sensitive questions from candidates in different time-zones,”

WHAT’S WHATSAPP? WhatsApp is a mobile app that allows users to exchange text messages, voice, images and video. It uses the same internet data plan that your phone uses for web browsing, so as long as you are connected to free wi-fi, your carrier company shouldn’t charge you anything. Check the WhatsApp website for full details and compatibility with your mobile phone.

I L L UST RAT I O N | D EN YS P RY K H O D OV / SH UTTER STO C K

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says Pratt, who adds the app also has applications for onboarding. “There could be a month-long gap between when the new employee is hired and when they actually start. There’s no reason why they can’t get to know the people that they’re going to be working with during this time. Add them to a private company WhatsApp group to join in the conversation as soon as they’re hired.”

INFORMATION EXCHANGE While some recruiters have been slow to exploit WhatsApp’s benefits for contacting candidates, they are using it to engage with colleagues and other recruiters. You can set up group chats on a particular subject such as hiring trends, skills shortages and even using social media in recruitment. As well as providing a platform to facilitate an exchange of views and ideas, this can help build your profile in the company and/or recruitment community and

form part of your personal networking strategy.

REMAIN PROFESSIONAL While WhatsApp can be an informal way for a recruiter to communicate, maintain a level of professionalism at all times. “If you expect candidates to answer questions in a timely manner, be sure to be ready to answer their questions to you in a timely manner,” says Pratt, who also warns that some candidates may consider the use of WhatsApp by recruiters to contact them as an invasion of personal privacy. Apply the same caution and sensitivity as you would when using any social media channel. If a candidate doesn’t want to engage with you on it, respect their wishes. Pratt also advises monitoring any group chats you set up for any untoward behaviour such as bullying.

Hopefully, this won’t arise, but it is important to be aware of potential issues and take responsibility for guarding against them.

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C

INTE R AC TIO N

AGENCY VIEW

Taking responsibility Create a CSR programme that makes a difference

BY ADRIAN TREACY

n July 2014, a chance encounter on the outskirts of Delhi inspired me to set up the Arrows Group Foundation. Stuck in nighttime traffic after a late client meeting, I spotted a young girl of about three years old in the crowd. About the age of my eldest son, the girl was on her own and carrying a small piece of carpet, her bed for the night.

Since then, the Foundation has supported various initiatives for orphaned and vulnerable children in the country, including an internship programme. But how can companies with expertise in employability go about setting up a truly effective CSR [corporate social responsibility] programme?

I

it was essential that we considered what we could offer that would make any difference.

2. Consider your strengths Simply noting a problem does not help anyone.

Aligning a problem to a solution, with reference 1. Identify a clear area of need to your strengths and ability to bring about that Personally, I came face to face with a clear need before I was solution, is the next step. even on the lookout for it. This orphaned girl’s plight alerted For example, we know that staffing companies me to the reality of the situation: India is home to about 170m have a deep level of expertise in issues surrounding vulnerable children. employability, with many doing a great amount Following on from this initial moment, it was essential to of work by offering CV assistance and interview define more specifically the need we would seek to address. advice.

Failure to make this definition can create serious problems: Yet we felt that to truly set the vulnerable chileveryone can help someone, but it can be counterproductive to dren we are supporting apart, there was a lot more set unrealistic goals. that could be done. There are many basic employFrom our work in India, we already knew that the job marability skills that are not taught at schools, such as ket is intense. Competition for roles in finance and accounting, phone etiquette, self-discipline, time management in particular, is high, and for vulnerable children the challenge and communication. Experience of working in a is even greater. Throughout the process of identifying a need, corporate environment, on an internship that is designed to introduce young people to these skills, can have a tremendous impact.

Even after just a couple of weeks, work experience can make the difference. We knew that access to work experience is tough for orphaned children, but that it is crucial in getting into employment. Our expertise fits the problem, leaving us to implement a solution.

+ ADRIAN TREACY is chief operations officer of the Arrows Group and cofounder of Arrows Group Foundation

3. Adopt effective implementation principles Many charitable endeavours have a great mission but can quickly become bloated. Running any programmes according to business principles helps to keep the operation lean and effective. This is particularly true of any work experience initiatives, as a programme which slots young people into a business can be disruptive for the company if it is not managed properly.

We know from experience that working with local partners is vital; their insights have been invaluable in setting up an initiative that helps to bring our employability expertise to those who need it in India. ●

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IMAG E | SH UTTER STO C K

15/09/2016 10:58

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

SOUNDBITES WEB CH AT MANUFACTURING FIRMS NOT GOVERNMENT ARE LETTING OUR YOUNG PEOPLE DOWN In response to your article, ‘Government to meet apprenticeship levy costs for most employers’ (recruiter.co.uk, 12 August), manufacturing firms have treated employees shabbily for decades. Yet they have the gall to criticise the government for the poor quality of skills possessed by young people, when in fact, it is their responsibility to invest in specialised, on-the-job training for apprentices and new graduates so that they can perform the full range of job functions prevalent on engineering contracts.

Fresh talent with innovative ideas, especially young people with degrees in STEM [science, technology, engineering, maths] subjects, are shunning a career in the defence engineering industry because of its negative image in the media, persistent failure to deliver military equipment within time, cost and performance boundaries, and a complete absence of professional, ethical and moral leadership.

Older, wiser defence workers will be familiar with having to perform under a brutally repressive management regime, put up with poor work conditions and have their work-life balance destroyed by excessive workloads.

What’s more, in their desperation to quickly build up their project performance team to full strength following down-selection for a military equipment contract, defence contractors have been less than honest with apprentices and new graduates about their individual roles – as they are not bound by a ‘Code on Ethical Behaviour in Business’.

Consequently, these newcomers have no choice but to align their personal and career goals with those of their new employer on the basis of what they are told. It is the disappointment of discovering a substantial gap between the reality on the ground and what they were led to believe at interview, that causes these new starters to leave.

Worse still, whereas every contractor has a staff recruitment policy, none has a staff retention policy.

Are there some jobs that should never be automated using an algorithm?

FAHD KHAN MA N AG IN G D I REC TOR , C T RL RECRUIT MEN T G ROUP

“One of the most important jobs that comes to mind would be teaching. I don’t think teaching can ever be automated or put into an algorithm to create the perfect recipe for a teacher. In the era of social media we’ve already found more and more young people choosing to interact with their peers over the internet, spending countless hours in front of a laptop or smartphone. The last thing we need is to have students stuck in front of screens learning a curriculum taught and designed via an algorithm. There is no algorithm that can teach a whole classroom of individuals, while inspiring them by creating a culture of learning and passion for further enquiry and education like a good teacher does.”

SCOT MCR AE CO-FOUN D ER , CA N D I DAT EID

“Our algorithms help companies understand which candidates are most suitable and interested in opportunities, but algorithms that work in the other way (positioning jobs to potential candidates) are fraught with difficulties. They will never be displayed to the total addressable candidate market, so shortlists may lack quality; and if they are visible to too many people, employers may invite an influx of unsuitable candidates, leading to an admin burden or risk of candidate experience failure.”

JAG PATEL

REC RESPONSIBILITY How can the REC be ‘considering’ whether to carry out its own investigation into the conduct of its members The Best Connection (TBC) and Transline (REC considers whether to investigate agencies involved with Sports Direct, recruiter.co.uk, 16 August)?

Surely it has a ‘responsibility’ to the rest of its members and to the wider populous of temp contingents to investigate? Or is this really a toothless organisation that is afraid to lose its corporate numbers?

Employment businesses have a duty to ensure their clients operate above the law (not just within it) when they walk side by side with them. People are ‘any’ business’s greatest asset and maybe these organisations should be more mindful of that moving forward.

SHARON SEVILLE [Editor’s note: The REC has since announced it is to proceed with an investigation into Transline.]

LEMA REDJEP OP ER AT I ON S D I REC TOR , CH ERRY P ICK P EOP L E

“There are some jobs that just cannot be replaced by algorithms, such as manual labour roles. While research roles, like resourcer positions within recruitment, could in theory be replaced by algorithms to help in the search for potential candidates, there are risks associated.

Recruitment isn’t just about being able to ‘find’ or ‘match’ candidates to job specs. If it was, then recruitment as we know it would have died with the advent of LinkedIn and the job boards. Ultimately the interview and selection process must be done by a human, as usually there are far too many variables to be considered when selecting someone for your company. With many of your considerations being made subconsciously, this makes it impossible for a computer to replace this process.”

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TH E B IG STO RY SAP

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15/09/2016 12:54

sexy e h t h t i w e t To compe , SAP decided to tech firmsts employer brand overhaul i to find out what in a quest s like. Sue Weekes great lookd how SAP went discovere about it WWW.RECRUITER.CO.UK 21

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TH E B IG STO RY SAP

SAP, WHICH EMPLOYS ALMOST 80,000 EMPLOYEES in more than 130 countries, has always been open about the challenges it faces: as an unsexy, business-to-business German software company, it doesn’t have a brand that attracts the top tech talent in the same way Apple, Google or Facebook has.

For the past two years, it has been on a path to reversing this and its 99 top employer, HR and recruitment awards (including Recruiter’s Most Effective Employer Brand Development award earlier this year) are testimony to its efforts. It has also seen its Glassdoor rating grow from 3.7 to 4.1 in the past year, ahead of consumer brands like Apple, Cisco, Disney and Nike.

So job done? Far from it. “We felt we had the foundations in place but didn’t yet have an attractive house,” says Matthew Jeffery, vice president global head of sourcing and employment brand. “It is a big year for us. SAP is moving to the cloud. We are no longer an onpremise, static software business. We need that talent that is going the big consumer brands.”

The employment brand “big bang”, as SAP calls the overhaul, includes a new employee value proposition (EVP), real-time candidate feedback assessments, innovative Facebook assessment tool, recruitment game, careers site, global photo competitions, talent mapping initiative, candidate insight pack and Recruiter Playbook to train recruiters, plus a weekly cartoon designed to inject fun into the process. Oh, and SAP has also published a book to share their experience with others, called Revealed.

Among the stand-out developments is a feature that takes an individual’s Facebook profile (with permission) and, in less than a second, returns a personality profile and suggestion of opportunities where a person may ‘be brilliant’ within SAP. Meanwhile, the game ultimately aims to alert SAP of a player, with no experience or knowledge of the company, who may be a great

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recruit. And when it comes to assessment, in future candidates will receive real-time feedback from online assessments and find out if they are being called for an interview.

Aside from external specialists, such as people consultancy The Chemistry Group, and games platform developer GameSparks, everything has been generated by the in-house employment branding team. The homegrown approach underpins the central aim of the EVP: to humanise SAP and bring it to life. “SAP is out of sight to everyday consumers and its software is hard to understand,” says Robin Dagostino, head of creative media team. “But while code is abstract and cold, SAP and its employee’s contributions are really warm, inspiring, real and authentic.”

The new EVP, therefore, includes the use of highly visual mosaic posters encouraging employees to bring “everything you are” to work. “This is the dominant message,” says Dagostino, who works alongside employment brand marketing manager Andrea Woolley.

Across all the initiatives, Jeffery and his team have

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15/09/2016 14:08

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TH E B IG STO RY SAP

managed to achieve an approach that is simultaneously human and data-driven.

Indeed, big data underpins many of the initiatives that make up SAP’s talent acquisition and management strategy and is central to the work done by Chemistry.

SAP previously worked with the consultancy on assessment for its sales academy and it wanted to take this work to the next level. Its wish-list included: the ability to provide the candidate with an immediate response and let them know if they are right for the company; to help the hiring manager ask the right questions; and to take the subjectivity and bias out of recruiting.

Chemistry’s aim is to definitively predict performance by designing ‘What Great Looks Like’ (WGLL). So using its unique methodology and software it embedded WGLL at the top of the recruitment funnel for SAP, and consistent assessment and selection methods in the other two stages of attraction and screening and selection.

SAP has also benefited from the work of the Chemistry ‘Lab’, set up to develop “frictionless” ways of assessing a person.

“It is about making the candidate experience better but also finding

more talent,” says Gareth Jones, chief technology officer at Chemistry. “The lab specifically looks at ways of using data to profile an individual as opposed to them taking an assessment test.”

For SAP, it has built two mechanisms for obtaining this data: the Facebook app that returns a personality profile, and also gameplay. The approach is all about finding the “latent talent” within an individual, which might not otherwise surface. “The game will identify people with the potential to perform in a role even if they have no prior experience of a similar role or knowledge of SAP,” says Jones.

It isn’t just the game score that is relevant but also how the person plays the game, says Griff Parry, co-founder and CEO, GameSparks. “Some people play a game to win, whereas others play to socialise and feel connected, and some to explore,” he says. “Games are good at two things: behavioural science and analytics as they consume huge amounts of data, process it and respond to it quickly.”

Obviously SAP isn’t relying solely 24 RE REC R RECRUITER EC CRU CRUI RUI R UITER TER R

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TH E B IG STO RY SAP

on Facebook and gameplay data to find its talent but data of all sorts is likely to inform its recruiting decisions going forward. “One of the exciting things about the partnership with SAP is the multiple things we can try,” says Roger Philby, CEO of The Chemistry Group. “In the US market we may explore using data such as shopping habits. What we’re interested in is, where is the data from which we can start to think about how you behave, how you interact with the world and other people?”

Jeffery believes the raft of initiatives being put in place will deliver major savings in terms of cost and time to hire, quality of hire, cultural fit and reduced attrition. As well as the immediate benefits to candidates and hiring managers, the data-driven approach is popular with the onboarding and learning & development teams as the insight helps to inform induction reports and training plans.

“It means they can hit the ground running with the individual,” says Jeffery.

SAP’s employer branding ‘big bang’ is likely to turn a few heads in the recruiting world, especially among those who fear technology is removing the human aspect. But detractors be warned, this could just be the start. Philby envisions a future where there would be no need for recruitment companies at all. “What would be really disruptive is to get to a point where you log on to a platform, put in the postcode of where you are hiring, and see a list of the top 100 people for the role by house number,” he says. “We know that data is out there. If you understand what great looks like and how the data out there relates to that, you could do it.”

FACEBOOK APP Facebook users click a button and are asked if they give permission for SAP to take their data. In under a second, it returns a personality profile as well as information on their opportunity “to be brilliant at SAP”.

SAP believes that the value-add of an instant personality profile will help to encourage individuals to buy into the process and give permission to access their data. “We’re not forcing users to do anything,” says Jones.

ASSESSMENTS Individuals are streamed into an online assessment. The first one is designed to find out the cultural environment that suits them and explores their values and motivations. The second is a behavioural assessment and finds out how a person would react in a particular scenario in the SAP environment. “Once complete, the pay-back for the person is that they are given instant feedback,” says Jones.

EVP This shows an exclusive draft example of one of the mosaics that will depict all aspects of a SAP employee’s life and is designed to humanise SAP by sharing employee stories. “It is about fulfilment,” says Dagostino. “It shows you having fun at work; giving back to the community; you have career advancement and development; and you have a purpose and mission.”

The message of the EVP is: “Bring everything you are. Become everything you want.”

EMPLOYMENT BRAND MENU When the centralised marketing team was set up some hiring managers expected work done for a ridiculously low budget or even for free. The menu lists the services on offer with their

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T H E BI G STORY S A M A N T H A R A M S AY

costs. “But even the high cost ones are e significantly less than they would pay if they went to a third-party agency,” says Woolley. “And this has really started to resonate with hiring managers.”

Because SAP is able to collect data on its recruitment activity, the menu also makes the hiring managers rss more accountable for their decisions. ““If If what they do fails, their manager can nh hold old lld d them accountable, not us,” says Jeffery. ry ry. y.

“But it is down to us to provide that d data ata a whether it be on number of responsess or or cost and time to hire.”

GAME The Get Home menu shows four divisions of sport, entertainment, viral defence and recruitment. For entertainment, for instance, players have to move and dock buses that transport attendees home from a concert. “Having got a high score, the player will tend to be in a heightened emotional state and it’s at that point we reach out and say, ‘you’re awesome’ and provide a link to the SAP talent community,” says Parry. Players start as a rookie and progress to becoming a senior VP. As you achieve things you get ‘new toys’ (ie the buses get funkier) and you can unlock new divisions. You can also compare performance with friends.

“How you interact as you progress through – what I call the metagame --

can tell us more about you,” Parry adds.

Jeffery describes the game, which will be featured on the website across social media and at events and also features some of the cartoon characters, as the perfect representation of what SAP does. “We try and make the world run better.”

LIFE AT SAP CARTOON The weekly Wednesday cartoon has been running since April on the company’s Facebook and Instagram pages and features a group of co-workers. It aims to showcase some of the unique features of SAP with “a cartoony spin”, says Dagostino. “We’ve tried to humanise and provide insight into life at SAP,” says Jeffery. Topics covered have included being assigned a buddy and ‘coffee corners’ which SAP holds between employees and the senior leadership team. “It’s really tapped into the zeitgeist,” says Dagostino, adding that they regularly get 500-600 likes and sometimes more than 1,000.

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Issue 42 October 2016

RECRUITMENT MATTERS The View and The Intelligence

Member of the Month

Legal update and the IRP

Events and Training

Being inclusive

Remit Resourcing

Beware unconscious bias p6-7

In Company training p8

p2-3

p4

REC SECURES SERVICEMARK The Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) is now the second professional body in the UK recognised by the Institute of Customer Service (The Institute) with ServiceMark accreditation.

ServiceMark recognises achievement in delivering exceptional customer service.

The assessment in August identified the REC’s strengths as its supportive culture and customer-focused attitude, noting the rigour with which it measures customer satisfaction.

REC chief executive Kevin Green says the mark is a great recognition for the organisation.

“Achieving ServiceMark [status] is a real accomplishment for the REC, showing that our members are at the heart of everything we do. This external

@RECPress RM_OCT_16_1.indd 1

recognition of excellent customer service proves that we are committed to providing our members with a great experience every time,” he says.

“Great customer service starts with creating a strong culture and positive working environment where our staff live our values every day.

We’re proud that our people are focusing on meeting our members’ needs and expectations.”

Feedback from the national standard ServiceMark praises the REC’s mantra ‘Respect Every Customer’ and its members’ day, during which all REC staff put their day-to-

day work on hold to talk to its members.

The Institute gave the REC a score of 79.8 in its member survey, which measures customer satisfaction. The minimum score to achieve ServiceMark is 70. The REC also showed high employee engagement, scoring above the benchmark in a staff engagement survey.

Institute of Customer Service chief executive Jo Causon welcomed the REC into the circle of accredited firms.

“We are delighted that the REC is part of a growing band of

organisations who understand that providing superior customer service can positively affect the bottom line,” she says.

“Achieving ServiceMark is a sign that the REC is putting customer service at the centre of its member strategy and is determined to constantly evolve plans for service improvement.”

Currently 114 organisations across the UK are ServiceMark accredited, including The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, Which? Member Services, EDF Energy and Holland & Barrett.

www.rec.uk.com 12/09/2016 12:52

Leading the Industry

THE VIEW

How do we make things happen on inclusion, asks Tom Hadley, REC director of policy and professional services

We need a smart approach on immigration, says Kevin Green, REC chief executive Three months since the EU referendum and nothing has changed. It’s also clear that nothing will change in terms of trade, immigration or legislation for at least a couple of years.

Employers were shocked by the result and this caused uncertainty, which explains why permanent hiring in July paused. However, we continue to see positive data about the underlining fundamentals of the economy and labour market. In August’s ‘Report on Jobs’ we saw ongoing growth in vacancies, so demand for staff remains strong.

This is supported by 23% of employers saying in the August JobsOutlook that they will hire more staff in the next three months.

Our conclusion from this data and the good news about retail expenditure in July is that the jobs market is likely to return to pre-referendum patterns during the autumn as employers get used to the idea of the UK exiting the EU, while at the same time demand for their goods and services remains solid.

In the longer term, the size and complexity of the deal we need to negotiate with the EU Is becoming more apparent.

The area where the REC will be investing its time is on what a post-EU immigration policy should look like. This has huge ramifications for recruiters in all sectors. At present the UK has well over 2m EU nationals

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ALL INCLUSIVE working in the UK. We are very close to full employment, we only have 1.6m people unemployed – just 4.9% of the population. We also have 750,000 vacancies each month.

The UK is dependent on labour from Europe, and with an ageing working population and 56% of employers saying they are finding it difficult to fill the roles they currently have available, this requirement is going to grow in the next few years.

In high-skill sectors especially, businesses want the ability to move talent to different locations in Europe.

Any post-exit immigration policy needs to avoid any changes that add cost and complexity to the hiring and movement of talent. If Britain is truly going to remain open for business we need a system that works for UK businesses.

We understand that many people have concerns about immigration, but ultimately UK organisations must be able to find the people they need – hindering that will affect our ability to create wealth and prosperity for all.

Watch this space as the REC will be asking for your views on this critical issue in the next few months.

If you want to keep abreast of all that’s new about employment and recruitment why not follow me on twitter at @kevingreenrec

Despite the change of administration and the flurry of new ministers, one thing has not changed: the government’s focus on providing more life chances for under-represented groups.

This is a huge opportunity for us to showcase how REC members can make things happen when it comes to inclusive recruitment practices.

Over recent months, the REC has represented the recruitment industry on the DWP’s ‘Disability Confident’ steering group and we have hosted rumbustious roundtables at REC HQ with the Minister for Pensions on opportunities for older workers and with Baroness McGregor Smith, who is leading the review of career progression for BME applicants.

These events were a great platform for government officials to engage directly with REC members and take stock of where we are with the inclusion agenda.

There are some signs of progress – for example, 28% of REC members on a recent webinar poll reported that clients were more open to hiring to people with disabilities. However, the majority (67%) said that companies remain ‘fearful’ of hiring disabled people and it is clear that we have not yet reached a tipping point. During the recent BME roundtable, Baroness McGregor Smith bemoaned the fact that only a minority of FTSE 100 companies currently hold data on the ethnic breakdown of their workforce, which makes it difficult to chart progress. Speaking at the same event, the Baroness also underlined the “crucial role that the recruitment sector can play in making change happen”.

So, how can recruiters help to build this brave new world of opportunities for all? Working with clients to embed inclusive recruitment practices is one of the building blocks and we will continue to foster this partnership approach through the REC’s Good Recruitment Campaign. Schemes like the Recruitment Industry Disability Initiative (RIDI) are a key means of showcasing good practice and recruiters will continue to provide practical feedback on proposed new initiatives like ‘name-blind’ applications.

Jobs transform lives. That’s why we’re building the best recruitment industry in the world and want to work with government to build the best jobs market in the world.

Doing our bit on the inclusion agenda is part of this journey.

You can follow Tom on Twitterr ment @hadleyscomment

www.rec.uk.com

12/09/2016 12:53

THE INTELLIGENCE WITH REC SENIOR RESEARCHER, NINA MGUNI-JONES Business as usual?

A few months have passed since the referendum and economic sentiment remains mixed. In May 2016, the HM Treasury reported, “A vote to leave would cause an immediate and profound economic shock creating instability… the effect of this profound shock would be to push the UK into recession and lead to a sharp rise in unemployment”.

There was some uncertainty in the run up to the referendum. The next preliminary GDP estimate, published on 25 October, will give us a better understanding of the referendum result’s impact. But in the second quarter of this year, in the three months before the referendum, the economy grew by 0.6%.

www.rec.uk.com

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Since the referendum, a host other of indicators suggest business as usual.

When looking at employer behaviour, JobsOutlook data shows that hiring intentions have changed little in the three months since the referendum.

One in five employers (22%) intends to increase permanent staff in the next three months, which has remained fairly steady looking at the monthon-month data between June and August. Looking at the medium term (4-12 months), one in four employers (25%) intend to hire permanent staff, again a figure that has changed little when looking at the data month-on-month.

In addition, data from the ONS shows that retail spend, business investment and the labour market was in good health in the months leading up to the referendum.

Similarly, in September, the ‘Report on Jobs’ found that

0.6% IN THE THREE MONTHS BEFORE THE REFERENDUM, THE ECONOMY GREW BY 0.6%

32.5% of recruiters had placed a higher number of people into permanent roles, compared with the last month.

But other indicators show that confidence has fallen.

In JobsOutlook, when asked about economic conditions in the country as a whole, the month-on-month data shows that in June, 45% of employers stated that conditions were getting better. In August, the proportion fell to 24%.

Conversely, 34% of employers thought that conditions were getting worse, up from 13% in June. In terms of confidence in hiring and investment decisions, in June only 6% of employers stated that they were getting worse but in August this figure stood at 24% Also, on 31 August, the

HIRING INTENTIONS HAVE CHANGED LITTLE IN THE THREE MONTHS SINCE THE REFERENDUM.

22%

OF EMPLOYERS INTEND TO INCREASE PERMANENT STAFF IN THE NEXT THREE MONTHS

25%

OF EMPLOYERS INTEND TO HIRE PERMANENT STAFF IN THE MEDIUM TERM (4-12 MONTHS)

Lloyd’s Business Barometer reported a fall in average confidence level for that month and concluded: “This seems consistent with a slowdown in UK growth prospects in the second half of the year.” In contrast, the GfK consumer confidence showed a month-on-month increase to -7, though still below its 12-month average of -1.

So despite a shock in confidence and economic and political volatility, in the short term at least, businesses continue to hire.

RECRUITMENT MATTERS OCTOBER 2016 3

12/09/2016 12:53

Member of the Month

REMIT RESOURCES

A REMIT TO GROW

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Richard Morgan is the managing director of Remit Resources.

He tells Recruitment Matters why he thinks the recruitment industry needs to talk itself up

www.rec.uk.com

12/09/2016 12:53

Recruitment Matters: Where did you start?

Richard Morgan: I originally worked for a technology company and that’s where my passions really lie. I always felt there was something not quite right when we were trying to hire staff – it’s like something broke down in the sales process. I moved into recruitment wanting to use my knowledge of tech. Every business is a tech business, but the real differences are people.

Recruitment gives you a unique opportunity to work with both.

Recruitment Matter: What separates you from other recruitment businesses?

Richard Morgan: Specialisms are going to be the big trend that develops. The more generalist candidates are finding that tougher. One of the things I always find hard is when we find a client who wants a general IT support person – invariably, it’s always the same candidates who are available. When you look at the specialist roles, the right skills are hard to find. We work with small to medium businesses who are demanding specialist candidates – cloud technology in particularly. The ability to reskill and change is critical. Candidates have to be more adaptable.

Recruitment Matters: Who’s

Richard Morgan: One of our competitive advantages is that we’re really into tech.

Our three core markets are infrastructure, security and software development. I’ve got a real understanding for the infrastructure and how that related as well as teams focused on the other areas.

We’re a recruitment business – we’re part of the staffing industry, but I also think we’re part of the technology industry. We very much sit on the crossroads of the two.

Recruitment Matters: What big trends do you see coming in tech recruitment?

benefiting most from that?

who doesn’t care about candidates and just fires out CVs. I wonder sometimes if we talk ourselves down completely. When I talk to most clients and candidates, they don’t have the same view of recruiters as we do for ourselves. People spend most of their time at work and it’s important they have jobs they’re happy and develop in, and we want that.

Candidates are people, and we help them and clients get better by getting the right jobs. Sometimes it means getting more money for them, sometimes it means a better work-life balance, sometimes it means working with different technologies.

Certainly in our business, we’re interested in finding the best jobs for the right people.

Richard Morgan: The next generation of candidates coming through – the millennials – are the ones who are more adaptable.

They’re used to it. Often the challenge lies with candidates who have been in a job for a long time.

Recruitment Matters: You’re a staunch supporter of the REC’s Jobs transform Lives narrative – why does it resonate with you?

Richard Morgan: I don’t recognise the kind of recruiter

Recruitment Matters: Any examples?

Richard Morgan: One of our consultants who specialises in recruiting Microsoft spec developers was working with a candidate – a really nice guy – who had been on 22 interviews and hadn’t got a job. He had been out of work for five months, so we spent a lot of time on soft skills – interviews, how to relate skills to a company – three or four hours building that up. He was offered a job at his next

interview. When he was asked technical questions, he was an expert. But the reality is that he didn’t know the soft skills questions. If we can merge the human part with the technical part, we’re happy.

Recruitment Matters: What lies ahead for the technology sector?

Richard Morgan: I’m doing a TED talk about the future of work, and driverless cars is one of those things that will have a major impact on work, and a lot faster than you think.

I think the time for that will be within five years. Google’s car has racked up 2 million miles of testing already. There are a lot of jobs that will be displaced, but will be replaced in other areas. Tech is one of those areas that will see more and more growth. So it’s certainly a good time to be in tech, and go back and really focus on the specialist skills.

Recruitment Matters: It’s an exciting time to be in the industry, isn’t it?

Richard Morgan: I think it’s a great time to be in recruitment. It makes real positive impacts on people’s lives and our clients businesses. It’s a real positive time, and we do really important work.

“ONE OF OUR CONSULTANTS WHO SPECIALISES IN RECRUITING MICROSOFT SPEC DEVELOPERS WAS WORKING WITH A CANDIDATE – A REALLY NICE GUY – WHO HAD BEEN ON 22 INTERVIEWS AND HADN’T GOT A JOB. HE HAD BEEN OUT OF WORK FOR FIVE MONTHS, SO WE SPENT A LOT OF TIME ON SOFT SKILLS. HE WAS OFFERED A JOB AT HIS NEXT INTERVIEW” www.rec.uk.com

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Legal update

DISCRIMINATION Beware unconscious bias James Coupe, REC legal executive, explains why In August, the House of Commons Women and Equalities Committee released a report on ’Employment opportunities for Muslims in the UK’.

Its key finding was that Muslim people are the most economically disadvantaged group, with higher rates of unemployment and a significant pay gap compared to other groups. For Muslim women from ethnic minority backgrounds seeking employment, the report identifies a ‘triple penalty’ with discrimination based on a combination of race, gender, and religion.

The Equality Act 2010 prohibits discrimination, directly or indirectly, on all of these grounds, yet Muslim women are, as the report sets out, still the most disadvantaged group when it comes to finding employment.

Even reaching the interview can be a problem. The report

recommends shortlisting candidates using a ‘nameblind’ approach – removing personal details when examining application forms.

At interview, it is important to combat unconscious biases. The Equality and Human Rights Commission maintains an Employment Statutory Code of Practice, with useful guidance for employers on these matters.

It recommends establishing relevant objective criteria for the role, reflected in the job specification, assessments and conduct of interviews, and focusing all decisions on whether each candidate met or exceeded those criteria.

Having secured a role, problems can still arise.

Workers may face difficulties if they ask for prayer breaks or to schedule annual leave around religious festivals.

Sometimes, accommodating such requests is problematic, but employers should seriously consider each

request to find possible compromises. Where opportunities for socialising and networking involve the local pub, it is important not to inadvertently exclude Muslim workers who might avoid them. These events often provide informal opportunities for meeting managers, which can help with career progression. The report suggests providing alternative networking opportunities, which can also benefit workers with caring responsibilities (predominantly women).

Employers may also think that workplace dress codes might present problems. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) is considering two cases involving hijabs (Islamic headscarves): Achbita v G4S, a Belgian case, and Bougnaoui v Micropole, a French case.

The law allows reasonable restrictions for ‘genuine occupational requirements’, such as health & safety

requirements, but these new cases involve employers preventing workers from outwardly showing faithbased symbols and clothing when meeting customers – an issue when some religions require these items while others do not.

As recruiters, you must not discriminate against your staff or your candidates.

Challenge your own staff ’s misconceptions by providing cultural sensitivity and awareness training, especially for anyone who conducts interviews. Do not accept client instructions that involve excluding candidates with a protected characteristic, such as race, gender or religion. Avoid assuming which candidates a client would want where such assumptions involve protected characteristics. Compensation for discrimination includes lost earnings and also injury to feelings, which can run into tens of thousands of pounds.

BUSINESS PARTNER: HOW THE INSURANCE ACT AFFECTS YOU The Insurance Act 2015 came into force August 2016. How could the changes affect you?

A scenario A business purchases a policy that includes a warranty that there is a working and maintained burglar alarm on their premises, when in fact there isn’t one. Heavy rain causes flooding and damages their building.

Pre Insurance Act treatment Before the Insurance Act, the insurer may have refused to

6 RECRUITMENT MATTERS OCTOBER 2016

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cover the business’s losses for failure to adhere to the warranty.

Post Insurance Act treatment With the Act in force, a broker could argue that failure to comply with the warranty couldn’t have increased the risk of the property being flooded and that any claim should be paid.

Things to remember. It’s important to understand and comply with the terms of your cover. If this claim were for a theft, the insurer’s decision

to refuse payment may have been valid. It’s also important to understand your new rights under the Act and the obligations you need to meet: • Fair presentation – you must disclose all material circumstances. These are facts/situations that may influence an insurer’s assessment of your risk.

• Reasonable search – you are expected to conduct a thorough investigation for all information relating to your business, including asking

external parties, to fully disclose your risks to insurers.

Ask your broker to help you.

• Insurance team – the disclosure obligations in the Act also require the knowledge of senior management and those who are responsible for arranging the insurance to be disclosed.

For more information about how The Act affects your business, why not get in touch with Jelf via 03333 557606 or email rec@jelfgroup.com

www.rec.uk.com

12/09/2016 12:53

Inspiration

BEHIND THE SCENES AT THE INSTITUTE OF RECRUITMENT PROFESSIONALS

The View

Kirk Willoughby ghby vision is head of division at Cento

Jan Stevens is corporate servicess director at DP Connect

Q&A

MEMBERSHIP

How did you get into the industry?

Years and years ago when I was in sales, I was told you had to be degree educated. For someone who quit school to play pro football, that wasn’t high on the agenda. A friend of mine said he had an opportunity in his recruitment business – I had a chat and from there I flew with it.

Why did you join the REC? We joined the REC to give additional credibility to our business, to network with other senior recruitment professionals and to take advantage of the many benefits that the REC provides for its members.

You played for Rangers – any similarities between recruitment and being on the pitch?

It gave me good models to follow, particularly how to hold yourself and talk to people. I always refer back to it in my role as head of division. There are guys I can have a pop at and know I’ll get a reaction from, but there are people you need to put your arm around and say “You’re doing the right thing”.

Recruitment is never a tick box exercise; you’ve got to make sure everybody is in the right frame of mind – staff, clients and candidates.

What will your new role involve?

Cento finds security jobs and I’ve been heading up the division that concentrates on permanent recruitment. We’ve been looking to diversify and I’ve started looking after the contract business. It’s exciting to be building something from scratch right at the coalface of recruitment.

Why contracts?

I always knew there was a contract business out there. Security is not a massive, massive division and in the contracting world a lot of work goes straight to subcontractors. We saw an opportunity to build the contract model – even if a recession hits, contract still survives. There’s longevity to it and it’s a different conversation, which I like.

What makes a good recruiter?

Seventy-five percent of what makes a good recruiter is mindset. You need to have that to immerse yourself in the role.

What does REC membership mean to you?

For us membership of the REC means that we can continue to focus on, and invest in, the revenue generating side of our business, safe in the knowledge that our HR, legal and compliance people are being kept alerted to, and informed of, the latest developments and promptly taking any action necessary. REC provides a free legal helpline and regular legal and employment updates, which we take advantage of.

What have you enjoyed about being a member?

We have met excellent contacts through the REC, many now good ‘industry friends‘, albeit some are direct competitors.

The REC has seen great success in its aim to bring the industry together and share best practice. Historically recruiters did not speak to competitors and no spirit of cooperation or ‘co-opetition’ existed. We have seen at first-hand the excellent work that the REC does behind the scenes on behalf of its members and would definitely encourage other members to get more involved and share their skills and experience.

What does the future hold for your membership?

We will continue to use REC membership in the future, potentially making more use of the formal training accreditations as part of our development programme. We have received and responded to surveys from the REC recently regarding the service elements we use currently and what else would be of interest to our business, so we are sure that new services will continue to be added to the REC’s portfolio in order to meet member demand.

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

www.rec.uk.com

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Events and training

IN-COMPANY TRAINING WHAT IS IN-COMPANY TRAINING?

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF IN-COMPANY TRAINING?

IN-COMPANY TRAINING IS ALSO IDEAL FOR:

In-company training is when we at the Recruitment Business Academy (RBA) bring our courses to you. Simply pick the course, location and date and we will run the programme for your team.

Any of our open training courses can be delivered at your premises. 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.

This option is perfect if you have a number of staff that need training, or you require very specific outcomes from the training.

Location and time are flexible and arranged around your business needs.

You can cover a range of topics • If you operate in a niche market, we can focus on that area • You get a dedicated trainer to deliver the whole programme • The trainers are all experienced recruitment professionals – they speak your language!

• Save money – the cost per head is lower, plus savings on travel & expenses • Increased retention levels – you are demonstrating your desire to invest in your employees.

• Sector-specific courses • Social media sessions • Legislation workshops • Team development programmes • Train the trainer • Coaching

THE RBA ALSO OFFERS ONE-TO-ONE COACHING FOR YOUR TEAM, PERFECT FOR: • Developing employee skills in line with organisational objectives • Engaging employees with their work, making them feel valued and fostering commitment to the organisation

• Promoting selfresponsibility and initiative • Facilitating a positive culture to new challenges and change • Coaching is an excellent way to improve the performance of individuals to achieve increased productivity, quality, innovation and customer satisfaction.

We have a wide range of highly experienced trainers and consultants that can offer a completely bespoke service tailored to your exact needs and requirements.

Call one of our In-Company training experts on 020 7009 2100 to find out more.

RECRUITMENT MATTERS

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

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

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

8 RECRUITMENT MATTERS OCTOBER 2016

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www.rec.uk.com

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13/09/2016 10:57

E M E RG ING TE C HNOLOGY

REALITY Sue Weekes looks at four technologies that are gathering momentum in the recruitment world

NOT ALL TECHN TECHNOLOGIES TAKE OFF in all sectors straightaw straightaway. Machine learning and predictive analyt analytics have roots going back to the 1940s a and 1950s, while anyone who remembe remembers the original 1990s Total Recall movie will know that virtual reality was once the future many years ago. Meanwhile, the origin of serious games (see p34) can be traced to video gaming.

For reasons of accessibility and affordability, as well as the natural evolution of technology, all four have increasing resonance for recruiters.

MACHINE LEARN LEARNING What is it?? Where Wh a computer learns to do somethin something even though it hasn’t been spe specifically programmed to do that task task. A form of artificial

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EMERG I N G T E C H N O LO GY

intelligence, it picks up on patterns in data and, based on this, makes adjustments to its own actions. Even though we don’t notice it, machine learning features in many of our daily online lives: it is the technology that picks up on our ‘likes’ and preferences to deliver content or product recommendations that interest us.

Examples in recruitment: Machine learning is already used within several recruitment and HR applications and could well be the next buzzword. It can be applied in several ways: identifying patterns in data to help recruiters find the best candidates; it can ensure potential candidates are delivered relevant content; and it can help a recruitment system continuously improve.

In the case of the recruiting platform Meritocracy, for example, machine learning keeps its search tools upto-date by gathering data about a recruiter’s preferences and embedding them in the platform. Meritocracy explains that its platform “studies” at night, to give candidates and recruiters a better product by the morning. One of the most powerful machine learning systems is IBM’s Watson artificial intelligence platform and Watson Analytics are already being used in recruitment to help identify future superstars.

Why recruiters should explore its use: Machine learning is a part of predictive analytics that is helping recruiters to use technology far more intelligently. “Machine learning raises the potential of being able to analyse even deeper patterns within the data produced within and around recruitment,” says Jon Ingham, people and organisation development strategist at the consultancy Strategic

I M AG E | I KO N

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Dynamics. He believes that while recruiters and candidates are busy getting on board with social media and mobile, technology development has hit a plateau – but that is set to change.

“The drivers of these changes are around IT analytics, particularly when blended with machine learning systems to deepen the amount of insight we can generate quickly and easily,” he says. “The next five years will be really exciting as these technologies take hold.”

PREDICTIVE ANALYTICS What is it? A form of analytics that helps to predict future events or outcomes. It does so by exploring historical and current data, and picks up on patterns or trends. It uses techniques such as data mining, machine learning and modelling to reach its conclusions.

Examples in recruitment: With recruiters having recognised how reporting analytics can make them more efficient and improve performance, many are ready to

“The next five years will be really exciting as these technologies take hold”

take the next step and use more proactive predictive tools. Predictive analytics has many applications across recruitment, from assessing how a person may perform in a role to working out when a top performer could be on the move. Companies such as PredictiveHire and Firefish Software have been among those leading the way for recruiters.

PredictiveHire’s platform allows employers to carry out a data capture on their workforce which, when overlaid with performance data, provides a picture of the type of people that perform well – or not so well – in a role. The top performer’s data can then be plugged into the recruitment processes (employee information in the data capture is gained from answers to a broad-based set of questions).

Meanwhile, Firefish’s software can track an individual’s level of engagement and behaviour, and alert a recruiter to crucial trigger points such as when they might be ready to talk to a recruitment agency.

Why recruiters should explore its use: Businesses across all sectors are making the shift towards data-driven decision-making, and predictive analytics are a cornerstone of this.

Firefish Software chief executive Wendy McDougall describes predictive recruitment as letting the technology “join the dots”.

“It presents the trends it finds in your database to guide recruiters in the right direction and maximise hidden placement opportunities with their clients,” she says. A major benefit of such tools is that they have the ability to continue learning.

Steven John, business development manager

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E M E RG ING TE C HNOLOGY

at PredictiveHire, explains that new performance data is continually input into its algorithm so it remains valid for as long as the client is using the tool. If a group of people flourishes unexpectedly, it shows that a particular pattern of answers in the data capture has become more significant to the business, he says. “It tells you what good looks like before the business has a chance to notice it.”

SERIOUS GAMES What is it? Use of computer games in a non-entertainment context, although they can still entertain as well.

Examples in recruitment: The use of serious games in recruitment is different from gamification. The latter is where gaming techniques and tools such as leader boards and badges are used in the recruitment process.

Serious games involve the invitation of a candidate or potential candidate to play an actual game, which typically challenges them to do something.

Among the most high-profile examples are L’Oréal’s REVEAL game, which helped Gen Y students and graduates define their professional preferences and to explore their suitability for different types of careers within the organisation. Meanwhile, AXA’s awardwinning Great Global Adventure game was designed to raise brand awareness among a particular demographic.

GCHQ has also used games to help it to engage with future talent. As well as perform a specific function, serious games can also capture valuable profile and performance data in the background.

Why recruiters should explore their use: Marcus Vlaar, chief creative officer and game director at Ranji Serious Games in the Netherlands, believes serious games can help recruiters see the real candidate by “triggering” authentic behaviour. “If you are playing a game you tend to get immersed in

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OCTOBER 2016

an experience where you lose your critical distance and tendency to show social and desirable behaviour because you want to achieve the goal of the game,” he says. Vlaar’s ideal is that serious games could take over the whole process: “My dream is a player who reaches level 20 and they sign the contract.”

Mark Beavan, head of digital at ThirtyThree Bristol and who worked on the AXA project, says the use of competitions or challenges is becoming prevalent in the recruitment of technologists and says, where appropriate, recruiters should embrace the use of games. Because game development can be expensive, he acknowledges clients must realise a return on their investment. “But if the return, such as quality of hire, justifies it, they will invest in it.”

VIRTUAL REALITY (VR) What is it? A realistic computergenerated 3D environment in which people can immerse themselves (see Tech & Tools, Recruiter, September 2016).

The 3D environment can be viewed through a special headset, with gloves and other equipment helping an individual to experience what seems like real-life sights and sounds. In a more scaled down version, it could be a realistic computer-generated image

“If the return, such as quality of hire, justifies it, they will invest in it”

viewed on a personal computer, such as a 360-degree panorama.

Examples in recruitment: VR has been around a long time, but its use is only now being explored more seriously for recruitment purposes.

Its main benefit is that it can make the process far more experiential and insightful for the candidate, such as in the case of the British Army’s campaigns, Army Vision and With Heart. With Mind by JWT and Capita and VR specialist Visualise. In one scenario, for example, the viewer is placed next to the commander on a machine gun turret.

Meritocracy is launching a VR recruiting experience on its platform that aims to show prospective candidates what it is like to work in an organisation and communicate its vision and ethos.

Like the British Army campaign, it makes use of Samsung’s Gear VR tool, which can be used with a Galaxy smartphone. Meritocracy is working with Samsung Italia to test its recruiting tool. Other uses of VR in recruitment could be for video interviewing and skills and capability testing.

Why recruiters should explore its use: VR can literally bring the recruitment experience to life. “With talent harder to come by and the jobs market being so competitive, it is a great way to attract the best to a particular company,” says Will McMaster, head of production at Visualise, adding that VR can also help seek out “exaggerated claims” on CVs and put candidates truly to the test. “We’ve worked on campaigns where a clip will be played to the user, and they are presented with a number of choices as to how they’d react in the situation. It’s a far better way to judge someone’s character.” ●

IM AGE | IKON

15/09/2016 11:00

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13/09/2016 11:00

PAYRO LL ISSUE S

36 RECRUITER

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PAY RO L L I S S U E S

FLEXING THOSE WORKING TERMS A review is underway to modernise the UK’s employment and tax policies, including whether even the various means of describing workers are still valid.

Colin Cottell investigates AT THE START of September an independent review of flexible working indepen in the UK was launched by think-tank Market Foundation (SMF). the Social M

by PRISM, a trade body Sponsored b providers and payment for service pro intermediaries in the temporary labour market, tthe review will take into consideration everything from and ‘Uberisation’ the ‘gig’ economy a consider whether to contracting, and c the UK’s tax, benefits, pensions and employment oyment legislation framework is fit for purpose. rpose. produce interim The SMF expects to prod findings later this autumn, with a final recommendations, due report, including recommend next year. to be published in February nex I M AG E | I KO N

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“The SMF has been tasked with assessing how the world of work is changing and how policy should adapt as different forms of employment, self-employment and contracting take shape,” explains Crawford Temple, PRISM’s chief executive.

The launch of SMF’s wide ranging review came as the Office of Tax Simplification, the government’s own advisory body on tax, called for a review of the taxation of flexible workers. This came as part of its response to HM Revenue & Customs (HM Revenue & Customs) consultation on off-payroll working in the public sector. Temple tells Recruiter he welcomes the OTS’s review.

“It’s an important intervention at a

crucial time,” he says.

However, he notes that given the OTS’s remit is limited to tax, by necessity its call for a review is limited to the area of tax policy rather than SMF’s wider review, or the strategic review that PRISM has been calling on the government to undertake, which has received the support of 55 MPs. Temple says a key issue the SMF has been asked to explore is whether legislation has kept up with the way that people choose to work and the way that the end hirers wish to engage them. “This strategic review is needed because tax and employment legislation still only officially recognises two ways of describing engagement (employee or self-employed), and these are obviously rooted in the past,” Temple says.

One area in particular needs looking at, he says. “Our firm belief is that a fresh look at properly thought-out employment categories will create the level playing field that HMRC wants, while giving people the opportunity to operate in the new and exciting ways hundreds of thousands of people now chose to be engaged,” he explains.

According to Temple, contractors fare particularly badly within the current legislative and tax framework, falling between the two stools of employee and the self-employed, and not receiving the WWW.RECRUITER.CO.UK 37

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PAY RO L L I S S U E S

benefits of either: neither the pensions and other benefits of employed workers nor the tax relief of the self-employed.

“This means those workers are never catered for and end up losing out,” says Temple. “Contractors are, in fact, a new and different type of worker, entirely deserving of their own category, and recognised as a third mode of employment.”

“Employment legislation needs to be designed with more of a customer focus, and the customer in this case is the contractor, just as it is in our business,” agrees Ian Black, managing director of umbrella firm and contractor service provider The Sterling Group.

Julia Kermode, CEO of FCSA, a trade association for umbrella employers and accountancy providers, welcomes the review: “My gut feeling is positive.

It certainly cannot do any harm. The government doesn’t understand how the flexible workforce operates.

They would rather everyone was employed PAYE [pay as you earn] because that is straightforward, and it doesn’t know how to legislate for people that don’t fit that model.”

Kermode agrees that the UK workplace has changed significantly in recent years, and that this continues apace. “The number of self-employed workers in the UK currently standing at 4.6m is set to continue to grow as more professionals seek gigs instead of permanent jobs, and the sharing and economy and freelance market continues to expand,” she says.

However, that said, she argues that the view there is a third neat category of workers called ‘contractors’ is flawed.

“It is an oversimplification,” she says, “particularly considering the many and varied ways of working that people choose that do not fit into these three categories.”

“Employment status is transient,” Kermode continues. “It can change part way through an assignment as working practices evolve, and someone can have several different tax statuses in a given tax year depending on the specific circumstances.” She says a good example of the transient nature of employment I M AG E | I KO N

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status and its complexity is the ongoing Uber employment tribunal, where selfemployed driver ‘partners’ are arguing they should be classified as workers and receive the accompanying benefits.

Kermode points to the position taken by the Office of Tax Simplification.

In 2015, the OTS published a report, which recognised “a ‘third way’ would be a simplification for those unclear on their current status” but concluded that this potential gain “would be likely to be outweighed by additional rules and regulations that would be needed to monitor compliance”.

Leon Deakin, senior associate in the employment team at law firm Irwin Mitchell, says the law has some serious catching up do. “There are a raft of people who want to work the way they want, who want to be free to do a few hours’ work when they want remotely from home. They understand they don’t get all the benefits of employed workers.”

“Do they [the government] recognise there are individuals in the workforce that work in a flexible way, and choose not to work according to the blueprint of a full-time salaried employee?” adds Matthew Huddleston, managing director of umbrella firm, FPS Group.

Deakin agrees that more clarity around a worker’s employment status would be a good thing. “Have we got the right categories of employment status for individuals? Probably not,” he says.

One of the most common questions asked of him by contractors, Deakin says, is whether he can give them assurances over their status as contractors, and that their relationship with an employer could not be construed by HMRC as employer-employee. Given the current lack of clarity, “my answer is ‘probably’ or ‘probably not’ rather than ‘definitely’ or ‘definitely not’ ”, he says.

Employment status is just one of the areas that the SMF is tasked to look at. But it is symptomatic of a current legal and tax framework that is widely regarded by those advising on and working in the sector as overly complex, piecemeal and not in tune with the modern day needs of either workers or engagers. Despite widespread agreement

“The government really doesn’t understand how the flexible workforce operates”

of the need for change, many question whether, whatever recommendations the review comes up with, change on the scale required will be forthcoming.

“It is only natural for there to be resistance when a call to go ‘back to basics’ means potentially undoing decades of legislation and policy decisions,” says Damian Broughton, executive chairman of accountancy services provider Danbro.

John Chaplin, executive director people advisory services at professional services firm EY, questions whether the sort of radical changes needed to modernise the UK’s tax system into one “which balances the needs of the UK’s flexible workforce with the right amount of tax being paid” will materialise.

“Being blunt, it is just too big an issue,” he says, explaining that the complexity and interconnectedness of the various strands of legislation means that a change in one area has inevitable consequences in others. “I would like to think it would [happen], but I am a pessimist [in this regard]. I don’t think that it will get beyond the ‘nice to have’ stage.”

If the pessimist in Chaplin is correct, those hoping for radical change in response to the SMF review when it is published next year are likely to be disappointed. ● The OTS response can be viewed here at http:// bit.ly/2cAZ1oF The SMF is keen to receive evidence and views from the sector. As part of this, PRISM plans to form a working group. Email crawford@prism. contractors.

WWW.RECRUITER.CO.UK 39

15/09/2016 11:04

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The challenge SPO NSO RE D COLUMN C A S E S T U D Y : P R O T O C O L E D U C A T I O N

Protocol Education boosts business performance by integrating their Payroll and CRM systems Thanks to Access Group we can run our ever-growing business with a small back office team About Protocol Education Award-winning Protocol Education is a specialist provider of classroom-based staff to schools and academies in England. With around 300 employees, every year Protocol Education provides over 11,000 teachers, teaching assistants, SEN specialists, early years, one-to-one tuition staff and intervention specialists to 4,000 clients both in the UK and to schools across the globe.

Protocol Education operates in a particularly fast-paced and demanding market. To ensure success, the company needs systems that are reliable and simple to implement and that also scale in line with its needs.

The challenge Protocol Education’s systems were not performing as required; consultants were being held back by a lack of system functionality and integration. On the CRM side of things, the inability to open multiple screens and poor messaging and mail shot capabilities were having a negative impact on productivity as consultants were unable to follow up on basic recruitment processes.

Payroll was also proving to be particularly challenging. The existing system was unable to handle the volume of candidates and didn’t integrate effectively with the front-end database. The disjointed workflow from the front to back office also made cross-business reporting problematic. The current system therefore prevented the business from scaling, maximising productivity and responding quickly to clients and candidates.

The solution Protocol Education quickly realised that for them to grow and keep up with the fierce competition, it needed to get its CRM and Payroll system working in synergy.

With RDB ProNet now in place, the company’s search and messaging capabilities improved significantly and the intuitive, multi-screen environment helped to boost productivity. In addition, with Select Pay in place to manage payroll, all databases were finally on a SQL platform that was easier to maintain and able to provide valuable reports from.

The results By integrating the new systems across the business, Protocol Education is now able to handle higher volumes of data more efficiently and smoothly, and manage its 300-employee business more effectively.

Contact: Andrew Forster, Head of Recruitment Division at Access Group Email: sales@ firstchoice.org.uk Tel: +44 (0) 1206 322 575 | Ext: 3757

According to Claire Gee, IT Systems and Process Manager at Protocol Education, “Access Group have integrated extremely well into our organisation, providing us with a totally joined-up workflow from the start to the end of the recruitment process. Our consultants’ time is maximised and we can continue to run our ever-growing business with a small back office team.”

Integrating payroll and CRM systems has helped the business to be more agile and responsive. In addition, the business now benefits from a faster pull-through of information from the front to the back office, which allows them to obtain and manage meaningful business intelligence and reporting.

Claire concludes, “It is probably easier (although not necessary) to have Access finance software here as well.

We find that having Access finance software and Select Pay, joins our processes up fully.” ●

Different software options were evaluated and after careful assessment, RDB ProNet and Select Pay were chosen because of their flexibility and seamless integration with each other.

↗

WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE INVOLVED IN THE CHALLENGE? Contact Tom Culley at tom.culley@recruiter.co.uk

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s to ason

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13/09/2016 11:06

CO M M U N I T Y

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

E

From marathon running for charity to fundraising at black tie events, here’s what you’ve been getting up to when you haven’t been recruiting…

ULTRA FIT RECRUITER GARETH RAISES £1K+ FOR CHARITY VIA Gareth Boyd, business director at Adele Carr Financial Recruitment, completed the Ultra Great Britain, a 200-mile Ultra-Marathon following the Trans-Pennine Trail from Southport to Hornsea, in aid of Everton in the Community, Everton Football Club’s charity. Gareth decided to take on the Ultra Great Britain, which has to be completed within 100 hours, after finishing 21 marathons over the past few years and wanted a new challenge. We think it’s time you put your feet up for a well-deserved rest, Gareth!

HAYS STAFF RAISE OVER £150K FOR TOGETHER FOR SHORT LIVES VIA At the end of the first year of a two-year partnership with Together for Short Lives, recruitment consultancy Hays has raised over £150k for children’s hospices across the UK. Staff from Hays ran marathons and ultra-marathons, climbed to the top of Mount Snowdon in sub-zero temperatures and 30 staff hiked a marathon-length trek through the Peak District.

ADELE CARR’S GARETH BOYD HAVING FINISHED THE 200-MILE ULTRAMARATHON

Nigel Heap (centre), managing director of Hays UK & Ireland, visits East London children’s hospice Richard House, pictured alongside Richard House’s CEO Peter Ellis and Together for Short Lives CEO Barbara Gelb OBE

BERRY RECRUITMENT ORGANISES GESTAMP KICKABOUT FOR CHARITY VIA Berry Recruitment, which has an on-site division at automotive giant Gestamp’s factory, arranged a charity football tournament in Cannock, West Midlands. The event, held in the name of charity activist Stephen Sutton MBE, raised more than £1.2k for the Teenage Cancer Trust, which Stephen famously raised funds for before his death from cancer in 2014.

TW I TT E R

DRIVERS DIRECT RAISES OVER £2K FOR CHARITY VIA Transport recruitment specialist Drivers Direct has raised £2.4k for Cancer Research UK by holding a black tie event for staff across the UK. All Drivers Direct employees were asked to donate to the charity for attending the company’s 14th all-inclusive annual black tie event at the Victory Service Club, Marble Arch, in London. After the event the grand total raised was doubled by Drivers Direct, resulting in a staggering £2.4k being raised for the charity.

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D DeeDee Doke @editordeedee Aug 24 2 floor @WeAreRedactive - @ 2nd R RecruiterMag home - preps 4 2day’s O Olympics bash. Thx @marthajharris @ n nesstownsend!

Drivers Dire ct MD G hi (centre) an n Robe d some ofet his staff rts

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

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13/09/2016 11:08

CO M M U N I T Y

EMPLOYABILITY

E

HELPING PRISONERS DANCE TO A NEW RHYTHM

BY COLIN COTTELL

F

or those who spend time at Her Majesty’s pleasure, the punishment is likely to continue long after they walk back out through the prison gates.

According to research by employability service Working Links, 75% of employers admit to discriminating against ex-offenders, with 10% saying they would never hire one.

While training courses are available in prison, the experience of David, who was released in 2015 after serving three years for drug offences, left a lot to be desired. “Some courses, like labourer courses, are forced upon you,” he says. So when, in early 2015, the governor of HMP Springhill circulated a leaflet about a short music course, although “sceptical because I hadn’t done music before”, he decided to give it a go.

“Music is very popular in prison, but this isn't the type of course you would normally expect,” he says.

The course was run by Finding Rhythms, a charity set up in 2012 by Emily Vermont, its executive director, and operational/creative director Robin Harris. The course aims to tap into the transformative power of music to change lives “by creating a more engaged, employable generation of prisoners”, says Vermont. Each course is run as a 36-hour project led by two professional musicians and a sound engineer working with a group of prisoners to produce a professional quality album of new music.

Vermont says so far, 160 prisoners have completed the course across 13 UK prisons. This is set to rise to 200 prisoners and 14 prisons by the end of the year.

The charity’s work is based on the blueprint of the ‘Scrubs Sessions’, a project led and produced by Harris while working at HMP Wormwood Scrubs in 2006.

Although evidence for its success is mainly anecdotal, David is in no doubt of its effectiveness. He has just launched a business with his brother selling football socks to semi-professional and professional

Finding Rhythms offer prisoners the chance to gain confidence and find a voice

“You didn’t feel you were in prison … It gave me belief there was life outside prison” – David

footballers, something he says he would never have done without Finding Rhythms. “Definitely not,” he says. “I never had the confidence before, but the course has given me the drive.” It has also led him to set his sights higher. “It taught me I didn’t have accept being happy with any job but I could do something that I enjoyed.”

Vermont says one of the secrets to Finding Rhythms’ success is the professional way it works and the exacting standards it sets. “We work as you would in a workplace. You have a job to do, and you have to produce a set number of tracks a day. We only use professional musicians working in the industry,” Vermont adds. Indeed, the high quality of music produced led well-known singer/songwriter Cerys Matthews to describe Our Geordie the Gambler, a track from Finding Rhythms’ first album All Mod Cons, as “my favourite folk track of the year”.

David, who completed other courses in prison, including personal training and labouring, agrees that this is one way the course stood out. “You didn’t feel you were in prison. It gave you a taste of life outside and what you could achieve if you put your mind to something positive. It gave me belief there was life outside prison,” he says.

The project also aims to combat one of the major barriers to ex-prisoners finding work after leaving prison: a lack of soft skills. Vermont says the course emphasises the importance of basic skills such as punctuality and arriving prepared. Course

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CO M M U N I T Y

EMPLOYABILITY

“Everybody makes progress on the course”

participants are also expected to spend 14 hours of their own time working on the project. This could be writing lyrics, or writing to a local journalist telling them about the project, she says. “These are all skills that are transferable to the workplace,” says Vermont.

One of the benefits of the course is that participants can work towards a qualification, she says – the BTEC Supporting Employability and Personal Effectiveness (Certificate in Employability Skills). This is equivalent to a quarter of a GCSE, she adds, “quite a substantial achievement” for prisoners, 49% of whom don’t have any qualifications at all. To date, 96% of course participants have gained the qualification. “It is good for their CV. It also gives them confidence and motivation to take other qualifications, and to develop other skills,” says Vermont.

Participants learn other skills too, such as “how to settle disputes appropriately”, without resorting to threatening language or violence. “It’s about raising self-awareness, recognising your own skills, and which ones need to be developed,” she explains. It also teaches prisoners leadership skills and how to listen actively. At the end of the course there is a debrief. “They start to realise ‘I wanted to be involved and if I had conducted myself in a slightly different way I would have seen this result’. These are the type of realisations that people come across of their own accord.”

David agrees that participating in Finding Rhythms gave him valuable skills, such as “getting on with a mixture of people and personalities who you hadn’t seen before in prison”. It also helped him understand the importance and the discipline involved in working towards goals. “We were required to record two songs a day,” he says. Despite having no formal music training or experience of a recording studio, as one of the only participants who could sing, “I ended up singing on most of the tracks”, he says.

E

Vermont says that, as a group, prisoners are challenging. “Quite often the prisoners we work with, who are chosen by the prison staff, are classified as ‘hard to reach’. They are not engaged in other forms of education or training. They might be spending a lot of time locked up in their cells, they might have had a bad experience with education, be suffering from depression or drug dependency. Music is that thing that really captivates people.”

The charity works with a wide array of prisoners, with different backgrounds and skills, “from some who had a settled career in the banking industry, put in prison for fraud, to someone with no work experience or qualifications. What we do find is that everybody makes progress on the course”, says Vermont.

Being small means Finding Rhythms doesn’t have the resources to follow up on individual prisoners or produce comprehensive statistics. Vermont says the charity is, however, currently trying to get funds “to do a more in-depth study of re-offending rates and how many participants got into and stayed in employment”.

“Of the people we have kept in touch with, some have got into work usually with the help of a probation officer, while others have set up their own businesses, such as a clothing business,” she says.

The size of the charity, which is made up of Vermont, the only full-time employee, and two part-time staff, has also meant putting on the back burner plans to develop close links with employers who might be interested in taking on Finding Rhythms’ clients. For the same reason, Vermont says a proposed arrangement with Timpson, the high street cobbler and well known for its policy of employing ex-prisoners, to hold interviews at the end of each course never materialised.

However, now that the charity is better established, Vermont says it is in “a stronger position to revisit those ideas”. The charity will also look to work closely with other charities working with prisoners, such as Working Chance and Working Links.

She is optimistic about the future of the charity.

She says there was a sea change after Michael Gove became Secretary of State for Justice, with prison governors given more freedom, which she hopes will continue with this summer’s appointment of Liz Truss.

“There is a real appetite about what works in prisoner rehabilitation and an acknowledgment that the third sector [charities] have a huge role to play,” says Vermont.

“There is much more willingness on the part of prisons to open their doors to projects like ours. In the last 10 months, so many more prisons have been more welcoming and said ‘please, come and work with us’.”

With Finding Rhythms' record of success to date, that could spell good news – not only for prisoners but ultimately employers too. ●

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13/09/2016 11:11

CO M M U N I T Y

BUSINESS ADVICE

E

MANAGEMENT FRICTION: CREATING OR BREAKING A COMPANY A recruitment firm’s success depends on effective collaboration and constructive debate among the top team. Inevitably, the vision and passion that makes good leaders can sometimes escalate beyond debate and, according to a study of start-up partnerships in East Anglia, in 40% of cases it can actually break the business.

THE VALUE OF DEBATE AND THE CURSE OF CONFLICT Debate among the board of directors and/or owners results in more robust strategies, plans and decisions than a top team sleepwalking into the future or acquiescently following the dominant personality. But if debate develops into conflict it will create stress and possibly costs for the individuals involved, deflect energy from the growth of the business by wasting management time and is likely to confuse the team with conflicting messages.

Potential conflict needs to be nipped in the bud early.

Causes of conflict The East Anglia survey of 106 owners highlighted that “collaboration failed when personal, individualistic or selfish goals started to take precedence over the collaborative, shared goals”.

This was driven by: differences in personal values; differences in personal objectives; differences in objectives and visions for the firm; loss of respect for the competence of the other people; failure to communicate effectively; failure to reward effort justly; and loss of trust in the other people.

Reducing the likelihood of conflict Along with excellent ongoing communications, setting out collaborative and shared goals is fundamental to reducing conflict between owners and/or the board of directors.

These shared goals should be incorporated in a formal document (or series of documents) detailing the: company ownership structure; the ultimate business objectives (such as target size); how the business will be run (such as whether profit be reinvested); roles, responsibilities and areas of accountability; expectations of behaviour; and processes for conflict resolution.

Conflict resolution

The SME Coach will almost certainly lead to a loss of focus for the business, so it is important to address the issue(s) rapidly. During such conflicts, it can be easy to forget the larger picture, which is the overall success of the business. Revisit the business goals (mentioned earlier) to refocus minds on priorities.

Then organise a session in which each party has three to five minutes to explain their point of view to the other directors/owners. If this fails to resolve matters, consider external mediation using a NED or a professional mediator who will have a menu of techniques to help resolve differences.

Your business is the most important thing How partners should handle the situation if they cannot resolve their differences will depend on the business structure, their personal situations and their relationships, but may necessitate one of the partners stepping away from the business.

Again, it is important for all parties to consider the bigger picture and remember that generally a smaller part of a bigger pie is more valuable.

Compromise, even if distasteful, will leave everybody except the lawyers better off.

My mantra for successful business management: encourage debate, ensure constant constructive communication, address issues early and recognise everybody wins from compromise. ●

↗

These documents set the “principles” that will give the framework for the creation of business plans. A director should be made accountable for delivering each action and target within the agreed timeframe. Accountability means diverging expectations among owners or directors are likely to be recognised earlier and can be addressed before they become causes of serious friction.

Companies with a non-executive director (NED) should be able to rely on them to ensure all directors are delivering what they have committed to and address any issues with a reduced risk of souring relationships between directors.

Alex Arnot

ALEX ARNOT is nonexecutive director to more than 20 recruitment companies

Given that successful businesses are built around committed individuals, some conflict at some point is almost inevitable. It WWW.RECRUITER.CO.UK 49

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15/09/2016 11:06

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CO M M U N I T Y

CAREERS

The loneliness of the in-house recruiter Take advantage of the opportunities

E

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

AS WE WORK THROUGH the post-referendum uncertainty, to date we’ve seen little change in our client requirements – if anything a slight increase in work. What has significantly increased are enquiries from baffled candidates. What does it all mean? Let’s take a look from the stand-alone recruiter’s viewpoint.

It has been a slightly quieter market this year for inhouse recruiting and hiring, particularly into established teams. An area where there has been growth is in smaller businesses. We’re regularly seeing companies with headcounts of 25-400 people making their first hire in a recruitment role, sometimes before an HR generalist hire.

There’s lots of scope with these opportunities as they’re often loosely defined and allow the recruiter to push for broader responsibility, but it can also be a lonely existence.

Often, for a stand-alone recruiter, these times of uncertainty can feel magnified; with your employer unsure of the market, you may be operating in a vacuum.

There’s a great opportunity to b be the type of recruiter a small business often wants: sma the all-round adviser. We know little more than anyone else littl about the long-term impact abou of Brexit, B but we're the ones in daily contact with people in dail other firms. We can be a quick othe temperature check on our tem candidate pools’ willingness to cand IMAG E | IKO N

p59_recruiter_careers.indd 59

move, the levels of engagement from potential employees and potentially gain insight into other organisations that we can share with the business.

The ability of the standalone recruiter in any market to understand and share this information is often critical to their success. Get it right, and be seen as a key adviser to the business leadership. Fail to share it, and you become the person in the corner no one

When that opportunity arrives the fear factor comes too.

A lot has been written recently around imposter syndrome and recruiting, and these roles encourage it. The organisation is looking for me to be an expert in something I’ve never done before – what do I do?

Firstly, don't panic, support is at hand. Through LinkedIn, Slack channels, Twitter and Facebook there’s a huge of source of information and

hears from who is not filling key roles.

It’s exposed. That for many is the attraction; typically standalone roles go to hands-on recruiters looking for a bigger role, or recruitment consultants moving in-house as they start out. They quickly become more than that. Ambiguity becomes a given, random projects likely, involvement in broader talent themes typical. Don’t expect anyone to tell you when that’s going to happen or what outcome to expect.

in-house recruiters willing to share their experience. You just need to ask.

It can be easy to get isolated in these types of roles, wondering what is going on elsewhere and if you are doing things right. But that is offset usually by the opportunity to quickly build your CV and experience compared with a narrower role in a bigger firm.

To get the support you need, head online, or pick up the phone. There’s always someone out there happy to share. ●

WWW.RECRUITER.CO.UK 51

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E CAREERS CO M M UNITY

‘Scoring the first goal in the first game me of the Beijing Olympics is a special moment’ ment’ MY BRILLIANT RECRUITMENT CAREER What was your earliest dream job?

↗

Football player – my dad’s a massive Chelsea fan. I’ve always been as well.

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

JAMES TINDALL, director, Ad Idem Consulting, and Team GB hockey player, Beijing 2008, London 2012

My last role before this one was with City-based KennedyPearce Consulting.

I was doing IT sales before and met Ann Radford, who is my business partner now. She hired me pretty quickly to come into KennedyPearce.

What do you love most about your current role?

People always look negatively on recruiters. I want to change that to long-term relationship building – bringing the consultant back into it.

The work/life balance and the flexibility that I have is something I have managed to build up, but at the same time anyone that works for Ad Idem would have that as well.

What has been the most brilliant moment of your career?

As an Olympian, scoring ing the first goal in the first game of the Beijing Olympics is always a special moment and similarly scoring in London too.

Recruitment-wise, the first placement in your own company y is always a big one, but ut the most memorable thing is people coming back to you; not necessarily clients, but people you placed and have wanted to work with you.

52 RECRUITER

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OCTOBER 2016

James Tindall Do you prefer staycation or holiday abroad?

A holiday abroad – the English weather can sometimes be a pain. But I do love being out on the English coast.

Where would you most like to interview a candidate or be interviewed?

II’m m qui quite enjoying this rooftop [at Redactive’s offices in London]! In coffee sshops and depending on the person, if it’s Thursday or Friday afternoon, sometimes a beer.

W What’s your top job to the fill at the moment? th Group financial controller.

Grou

What did your most memorable candidate make you want to do and why?

We had a client who had a preferred candidate. Loved the guy, the CV, and

the phone interview was brilliant. They wanted him to come in for a face-toface but the candidate didn’t turn up.

The guy’s text said: “Sorry I couldn’t make the interview.” We started thinking, “you can’t do that – it’s a bit unprofessional”. He should have followed it up with a picture of him in his hospital bed after a car crash.

He had a broken arm, and the crash on his way to the interview wasn’t his fault. He was fine but didn’t take that role.

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

How many table tennis balls can you fit into a jumbo jet?

Make us an offer we can’t refuse You will never get a massive hard sell.

You will always get a real personal service. I would back myself for the quality of candidates within our business, so the service you would get would be second to none. ●

IMAG ES | AKIN FALOPE / SHUT T ERSTOCK / GET T Y

15/09/2016 11:20

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View the latest jobs at www.recruiter.co.uk To place your advertisement E: tom.culley@redactive.co.uk or T: 020 7880 7553

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13/09/2016 11:19

E CAREERS CO M M UNITY

A D EC C O : The recruitment giant’s UK & Ireland operation has appointed Nicola Linkleter as president of professional staffing, Alex Fleming, president of general staffing, and Chris Moore, president of group operations.

hired by the multi-sector recruiter to run its driving division.

A F F ECTO R ECRUI TME N T: The digital and tech recruiter has hired Jasmin Fletcher as technology recruiter.

A MB ITION : The global boutique recruiter has appointed Nicky Acuna Ocana as managing director for the UK.

A R GY L L S C OTT: The specialist permanent, temporary and interim recruiter has promoted Rachel Weightman from managing consultant to associate director within its technology contract division.

E1 EW: Chris Sawdon has been 56 RECRUITER

OCTOBER 2016

p64-65_recruiter_peoplemoves.indd 56

E G S OLUTI ON S: Jonathan Bunce joins the provider of enterprise workforce optimisation solutions, specialising in the back office as chief marketing officer, while Barbara Ann Fitzpatrick is head of global client management.

The Co-operative Bank has appointed Helen Gallagher as its new HR director.

Gallagher, who is expected to come on board in early 2017, will be a member of the bank’s executive committee reporting directly to Liam Coleman who takes over as chief executive in January 2017.

She is currently the retail HR director at Lloyds Banking Group, and has also held senior HR positions at Santander and Barclays.

Julie Harding, who has led the bank’s HR strategy for the past three years, will be stepping down, as planned, once Gallagher joins. Harding started at the bank in January 2014 as a member of its executive team, recruited to help deliver the transformation required in the early years of the bank’s turnaround plan.

EAMES CONSULT ING GROUP: The international

HCL WORKFORC E SOLUT IONS: The healthcare

recruitment and search consultancy has appointed Simon Bradbury as director of its finance, risk management, audit and compliance division in Singapore.

professional and workforce solutions provider has recruited Charlotte Rush as head of marketing.

EXPAND EXECUT IVE SEARCH: The executive search firm has appointed Laura Morgan as learning and development manager.

FRAZ ER JONES: Michelle

KENT EMP RECR U IT M E N T:

Jackson is the global HR search and recruitment consultancy’s new head of North Asia.

Claire Benson (top p57) joins the Kent-based recruiter as business manager for its promotional division.

Email people moves for use online and in print, including a short 15/09/2016 14:14

TAL E N T P LUS: The talent assessment and management consultancy firm has appointed Don Tomlinson as chief information officer.

K EN TIS H AN D CO: Vanessa Shaw has been hired by the people development firm as an associate.

N OR MA N BROADBE N T: The senior and board executive recruiter has appointed Frank Carter as non-executive chairman.

OL IV ER J AME S ASSOCIATES: The multisector recruiter’s Hong Kong business has hired Anna Agafonova to head up its new dedicated banking desk across the Asia-Pacific region.

PAG EG R O UP: Michelle Healy has been appointed by the international recruiter as non-executive director.

R ED L IN E G ROUP: The technical and technology recruiter has promoted Peter Livingstone to director of contracts & interim.

Livingstone has been managing Redline’s specialist contract & interim division for almost eight years.

R O UN D 8 : Tom Simons is moving to the multi-channel media specialist to head up its agency & brand practice.

RSA GROUP: The talent consultancy in Life Sciences has announced the appointment of a new chief executive, Alex Bennett.

VE N TURI : The IT recruiter has promoted Sian Souness, Joe Ingleby and Jamie Rogers to directors. Souness and Ingleby were previously team leads, while Rogers was a data specialist.

X R E F : The HR technology company has appointed two non-executives. Brad Rosser, an entrepreneur who worked for global management consultant McKinsey before being directly employed by Richard Branson as director of corporate development for Virgin, joins Xref as nonexecutive chairman, while Nigel Heap, who is currently UK & Ireland managing director and chairman of the Asia Pacific business of recruitment giant Hays, is non-executive director.

YOU R NE X T M OV E A selection of vacancies from recruiter.co.uk Search Consultancy Recruitment manager Call and contact centre up to £40k (dep on experience) Sheffield Built Environment Resourcing Associate director Construction, built environment £highly competitive + comms Location subject to agreement CRA Consulting Recruitment consultant £20k-28k + bens + bonus Sheffield

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 vanessa.townsend@recruiter.co.uk

Senior designer Craig Bowyer Picture editor Akin Falope

PRODUCTION +44 (0)20 7880 6209 Production executive Rachel Young rachel.young@redactive.co.uk

PUBLISHING +44 (0)20 7880 8547 Publishing director Aaron Nicholls aaron.nicholls@redactive.co.uk

ADVERTISING +44 (0)20 7880 7607 Sales manager Tom Culley Senior sales executive Josh Hannagan

RECRUITER AWARDS/ INVESTING IN TALENT AWARDS +44 (0)20 7880 6236 Events Rebecca West

josh.hannagan@recruiter.co.uk

rebecca.west@redactive.co.uk

tom.culley@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. © 2016 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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Scan here to get your own copy of

15/09/2016 14:14

E THE LAST WORD CO M M UNITY

Matt Churchward Why can’t we keep staff?

Staff turnover is like your waistline when you hit your mid-30s: bigger than you want to admit and something you would do anything to keep covered up...

In a world where the war for talent demands every business has branded football tables, unrivalled progression, flexible working, share options and a company pet, just to get someone to interview, admitting your staff turnover is higher than you would like would appear to be professional suicide.

However, we all should be brave enough to admit it.

Think about it: if just one person left your business in the last 12 months then that’s one too many. Even if that person was fired, then mistakes were made either in hiring or in the development stage. With this revelation out of the way, breathe a collective sigh of relief and read on.

It’s ironic that in an industry reliant on our ability to “recruit”, we suffer poorer retention rates than most of our clients. Is it the nature of the work? The low barriers to entry? Or perhaps that for many, it is the first job out of education? The reasons will vary, and it is unlikely any major patterns will emerge in an analysis of exit interviews. As an industry, recruitment goes above and beyond most

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when it comes to benefits.

Company holidays, early finishes, meals, high earning potential, quick career progression, great offices – any recruiter worth their salt will be able to reel off a list of at least 10 benefits you would struggle to find in other industries outside the tech bubble. Yet still we churn through staff.

Take our business. We continually look at every aspect of it to improve staff retention. The hiring process, onboarding, training, benefits, work environment,

opportunities, communication – the list goes on, but the turnover barely changes. We have a brilliant business and clearly get a lot right. But equally, are there people who no longer work here that I would rather did? Yes, of course. Admitting this is half the battle. So what is my solution? Well, get ready for your mind to be blown …

Some people just think recruitment is s**t.

Digest that a little longer.

When you employ a graduate model it doesn’t matter how in-depth your recruitment process is or how honest you are about the role or even how great your business is to work for – if they don’t like the day job, they will leave.

If they aren’t motivated by recruitment it doesn’t matter if you have a slide in your office or Bluetooth headsets or a lunchtime finish on a Friday.

So I will leave you with my solution. Build the best business you possibly can that will retain good recruiters. Focus your office layout, your benefits scheme and working day to allow those people who are motivated by recruitment to do their job better and be better rewarded for doing so. Set them up to succeed.

I am yet to see anyone leave recruitment because they were doing too well, and I am yet to hear that someone left because their office didn’t have a living wall.

Accept that some people will think recruitment is s**t, and focus on motivating the ones that don’t.

Anyway, enough from me; this ping pong table won’t play itself. ●

+ Matt Churchward is director at the Green Recruitment Company

OCTOBER 2016

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