Recruiter February 2013

February 2013

www.recruiter.co.uk

BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE FOR RECRUITMENT AND RESOURCING PROFESSIONALS

Lynda Price Lloyds Banking Group’s head of resourcing — insurance and retail banks on Resourcing Academy to build skills within

To attend or for more information, visit

www.smartresourcing2013.com

FINAL COUNTDOWN… See the shortlist for the Recruiter Awards for Excellence 2013, sponsored by Eploy

INCORPORATING 01_Recruit_FEB13_Cover-B.indd 1

THE CHALLENGE

TALENT SOURCING

InterQuest networked with Exponential-e to secure better inter-office communications

Seeking new sources of talent through new search techniques and technologies

Recruitment Matters 06/02/2013 10:06

Perfect.

You have roles that are vacant.

We have readers who aren’t.

Talk to the best candidates, talk to us Call 0203 353 3401 or email jobs@guardian.co.uk

web print tablet mobile

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Contents 30

26

One of the most enjoyable days of the year for this editor is judging day for Recruiter’s Awards for Excellence, sponsored again this year by Eploy. The review of exciting entries, accompanied by invigorating, challenging debate and discussion over the merits of each combine to make the day a thorough one-day intensive course in recruiting best practice. See who made the 2013 shortlist, starting on p10.

Speaking of a one-day, high-energy, high-intensity course in recruitment, Smart Resourcing 2013 is right around the corner, on 28 February in London. Also sponsored by Eploy, this event is where practising resourcing professionals themselves are the stars, sharing their innovations and ‘best practices’.

Our peerless keynote speaker, John Vlastelica, has long been a leading light in global recruitment through his resourcing career at Amazon, Expedia and other top employers. Sponsored by Jobsite, his talk, a UK first, is guaranteed to give you an absolute banquet of food for thought — and lots more information to act upon!

Visit www.smartresourcing2013.com to book, and for more information. Look forward to seeing you there!

NEWS 5

Standardising HR terms across the globe London is host to a meeting of global representatives to formulate HR definitions

6

GLA chief plans dual approach New CEO Paul Broadbent aims for a dual track action plan

7

The media organisation appeals to quality graduates 8 Tech & tools 10 Awards shortlist The shortlist for Recruiter’s Awards for Excellence 2013 has been finalised

12 News Analysis End of the road for temps in China?

14 Sector Analysis Sales & marketing 17 Global Spotlight on Poland 12

Scan here to get your own copy of Recruiter

26 COVER STORY Lynda Price, head of resourcing, insurance and retail, at Lloyds Banking Group 30 Talent sourcing Recruiters and in-house resourcing teams alike need to know which channels to use and how to use them

A&N Media uses brand power to attract grads

ANALYSIS

DeeDee Doke, Editor

FEATURES

REGULARS 18 19 19 20

Soapbox Soundbites Letters/Web chat Insight Engaging with brand fans to find future candidates

24 The Challenge InterQuest Group and Exponential-e 38 Movers & Shakers Industry moves 42 Bloggers with Bite

WHO’S HIRING? 39 Ruth Moran 41 Jark Healthcare 41 ARM

EDITORIAL Editor: DeeDee Doke T: +44 (0)20 7880 7601 deedee.doke@recruiter.co.uk Senior reporter: Colin Cottell T: +44 (0)20 7880 7603 colin.cottell@recruiter.co.uk Reporter: Sam Burne James T: +44 (0)20 7880 7606 sam.burnejames@recruiter.co.uk Contributing writer: Sue Weekes Production editor: Vanessa Townsend T: +44 (0)20 7880 7602 vanessa.townsend@recruiter.co.uk Art editor: Adrian Taylor ADVERTISING Advertising director: Andy Daniel T: +44 (0)20 7880 7607 andy.daniel@recruiter.co.uk Recruitment sales executive: David Rix T: +44 (0)20 7880 7608 david.rix@redactive.co.uk Fax +44 (0)20 7880 7553 PRODUCTION Deputy production manager: Kieran Tobin T: +44 (0)20 7880 6240 kieran.tobin@redactive.co.uk PUBLISHING Publishing director: Anne Sadler T: +44 (0)20 7880 6213 anne.sadler@redactive.co.uk RECRUITER AWARDS Events: Anja Rodford T: +44 (0)20 7880 7555 anja.rodford@redactive.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 recruiter@alliance-media.co.uk • To purchase reprints or multiple copies of the magazine, contact Andy Daniel T: +44 (0)20 7880 7607

Total average net circulation between 1 July 2011 & 30 June 2012 – 17,838. Recruiter is also sent to all REC members R d ti M Redactive Media di Group 17-18 Britton Street London EC1M 5TP

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. © 2013 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

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RECRUITER

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News

LONDON HOSTS TALKS TO CONSIDER GLOBAL HR DEFINITIONS If you and your recruiting colleagues have long debated the definitions of terms such as ‘cost to hire’, you’re not alone.

However, an initiative to define that and similar professional recruitment terms, and standardise global metrics is underway.

London will be the setting from 18-21 February for discussions on formulating international human resources standards, including recruitment.

The three-day meeting of representatives from 18 participating countries and 20 observing countries will mark the launch of the International Standards Organisation’s (ISO’s) effort to gather data from all ISO member countries regarding HR standards and rules.

“Standards are methodologies for coming up with a standard way to measure a

standard definition, which allows HR organisations to be comparable,” explained John Kells, vice president — product management at US human capital management solutions firm ADP. John Kells Kells is the USbased convenor of an ISO working group that last year created an American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standard of cost-to-hire.

“For years in recruiting, people would say, ‘Our time-to-fill is two days for a job’ or something, for example. But one never knew where they started the measurement:

the day they created the job; the day they processed the job? Did they start the day they got the first phone call? And when did they end — was it the first day of work?

The day the job was accepted? The day you reach productivity? So no one could agree on the maths formulas,” Kells told Recruiter.

The project was generated, Kells went on to say, because “there’s an understanding that in HR globally, we have a very hard time comparing things and methods. So HR is now moving the way that other industries and groups have, which is to come up with standards which allow these calculations to take place”.

The ANSI-developed standard for costof-hire fills most of a 40-page document.

“It’s the first metric for recruiting, but there will be many, many more,” Kells said.

DEEDEE DOKE

Owners of staffing businesses should not run their businesses with the sole of objective of selling it, but must focus on building the best business they can and the buyers will come, according to Russell Clements, chairman of visual analytics company cube19 and recently departed chief executive officer of international recruitment group SThree.

Speaking at a Recruiter event at law firm Charles Russell in London celebrating the success of firms in Recruiter’s 2013 FAST 50, produced in association with mergers & acquisitions advisers Boxington Corporate Finance, Clements told the audience: “Running your business with a view to an exit is fine, but never run it solely with an exit in mind.

“If you do that,” he continued, “then you end up building a business that is not worth buying… what you should concentrate on is building the most exceptional and outstanding business that you can and then people will come and ask you whether they can buy it.”

Clements said that this was his experience at SThree, where potential buyers approached the company on the basis of its track record.

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PHOTOS: DEEDEE DOKE

FAST 50: BUILD AND BE THE BEST

Learning, sharing and networking at the FAST 50 event Learning

Clements said that only “very very few” of those who left a staffing company to set up another business with the intention of selling it and becoming a millionaire in five years’ time had achieved their goal. “The guys that have done well are those that have focused on building a business that is as good as they could possibly build, and the buyers have come.”

Earlier Tim Evans, managing director of Boxington Corporate Finance, looked back at how the staffing companies in the very first

FAST 50 in 2009 had fared. Evans said 24 had F continued their growth, 13 had seen revenue decline, 10 had gone through some sort of M&A event, involving either private equity or trade, while three have since gone bust. Only one company from the first FAST 50, Red Commerce, was in the FAST 50 five years later.

“This tells us that longevity of growth in recruitment businesses is by no means a given, although being in the FAST 50 will improve the chances because there is a strong platform to grow from,” said Evans.

COLIN COTTELL

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News

Random thoughts from recruiter.co.uk, Twitter and beyond…

“Be famous for something, and decide who you are and who you are not” RUSSELL CLEMENTS’ ADVICE TO AMBITIOUS RECRUITMENT FIRMS AT RECRUITER’S FAST 50 CELEBRATION (SEE P10)

Events Meridian Auto-Enrolment Summit 21 February, St Botolph Building, London, tinyurl. com/meridianpensions

Social media for in-house recruiters, hosted by the IOR 21 February, HR Insight, London, theior.org.uk/events

Recruitment Agency Expo 26-27 February, Olympia, London, recruitmentagencyexpo.com

Recruiter presents Smart Resourcing 2013, headline sponsored by Eploy 28 February, The King’s Fund, Cavendish Square, smartresourcing2013.com

#truLondon 7 6-7 March, City Hotel, London, tinyurl.com/ truLDN7

Employers Network for Equality & Inclusion (enei) Conference 12 March, City Hall, London, enei.org.uk/events.php

GLA CEO PLANS DUAL APPROACH The new chief executive officer of the Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA) said he plans a dual track approach to the sector, with prosecution to be used only as a last resort.

Paul Broadbent took up his role in January after a 30-year career in the police. He told Recruiter that he would crack down hard on those who exploit vulnerable workers and “deliberately flout the legislation”.

At the same time he said he was determined to work more closely with “the vast majority” of gangmasters and labour providers who he said were “totally ethical”.

He said his vision was one of co-regulation, where the GLA helps labour providers to comply with the rules. “We expect to regulate with consent — that is the key thing moving forward because it is better for everyone… The ideal would be prevention rather than prosecution mode,” he said. “It’s more carrot than stick,” he added.

Broadbent said he saw a key objective for the GLA as promoting growth within the sector and not stifling it by having “an unwieldy licensing system”. “We need to streamline that system so that the compliant providers and labour users can continue their business and flourish,” he said.

“We want to ease the burden of those compliant and ethical providers and suppliers, so there is a greater element of trust and discretion,” he continued. “This will allow us some modest additional capacity to look at those serious cases where people are being smuggled into the country and exploited.”

Broadbent said one measure being considered

Paul Broadbent

was having a set period between reviews of labour providers after the GLA has given them a clean bill of health.

Steve Hill, operations director of GLA licence holder Extrastaff, said he supported Broadbent’s approach of “working with the good guys, so we can all work against the bad guys”. However, he called for a tougher approach on those who operated without a licence. “They should be clobbered and not just told ‘get a licence’ — that’s a bit odd,” Hill told Recruiter.

Less red tape is fine, said Hill, however he went on to offer Broadbent the following advice: “If there are rules stick to them, make sure they are easy to understand, and that everyone applies them. If not [your approach should be] ‘we will close you down and take your licence away’.”

COLIN COTTELL

University of London Spring Graduate Fair 20 March, Senate House, London, springgradfair.co.uk

AGENCIES COULD FILL GUILDS’ ROLES

Recruiter Awards for Excellence 2013, sponsored by Eploy

RECRUITERS COULD face a return to the Middle Ages, according to Denis Pennel, managing director of the European Confederation of Private Employment Agencies (Eurociett).

Speaking to Recruiter, Pennel argued that with many employers finding it difficult to source workers with the right skills, and staffing companies increasingly focused on higher-end niche markets, conditions were right for agencies to take on the roles of medieval guilds. This has been exacerbated by Europe’s ageing population, he said.

“These organisations were in charge of training the workforce, employing and placing them, but also protecting them, fighting for high wages, and the best employment and working conditions,” he told Recruiter. “It could be possible that Denis Pennel recruitment companies turn into these types of companies.”

Pennel predicts that in this new world, “more and more the employment relationship will be less with the company or workforce that you are with physically, and more with the guild or staffing company that will assign you to different places”.

Pennel is due to publish a book on what he describes as “the new reality of work” later in the year. “People think ‘let’s wait for the crisis to be over, and everything will return to normal’. Now there will be no more normal. The normal situation will be the abnormal. There is only one thing permanent, which is change,” he said.

1 May, Grosvenor House Hotel, London, recruiterawards.co.uk

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News

“If we use a recruitment agency, the most crucial attribute is honesty” SALLY GREEN, ADVERTISING ACADEMY MANAGER, MIDLAND NEWS ASSOCIATION (SEE P14 FOR MORE)

“Data equals insight equals influence” JON HULL, GLOBAL HEAD OF RESOURCING AND ACTING HEAD OF HR APAC, RS COMPONENTS, AT LATEST ANNAPURNA HR HRTN EVENT

“In China, it’s always about enforcement, not just what’s on paper” JONATHAN ISAACS, SPECIAL COUNSEL, BAKER & MACKENZIE HONG KONG (P12 FOR MORE)

A&N USES BRAND TO ATTRACT GRADS A&N Media, the consumer media company of the Daily Mail Group Trust (DMGT), which is comprised of the Daily Mail, the Mail on Sunday and a host of well-known brands, is leveraging the power of those brands to develop a distinctive graduate recruitment strategy. Other brands within DMGT include Metro, the London Evening Standard and job board Jobsite.

A&N Media launched its first graduate scheme for disciplines such as creative and marketing in September, with the closing date this month.

So far, the company has received more than 120 applications for 10 positions, learning and development manager Laggi Diamandi told Recruiter.

Diamandi said that as a media organisation the company was in the position of being able to promote the new programme through its brands. “We haven’t had to go out to agencies and specialists who find you graduates,” he said.

And because working in the media was also “very attractive” to graduates, neither did it need to compete head on with other graduates recruiters such as Deloitte and the investment banks by running large-scale campus campaigns.

The emphasis was on using the group’s resources internally, he added.

The focus was on quality and not quantity, said Catherine Rush, A&N’s head of talent. “We know what good looks like,” she said, describing how HR had developed a Catherine Rush profile of the ideal graduate from a composite of the best 15 graduates taken on previously outside any formal graduate programme.

“We have built this almost super-human graduate profile that we benchmark against,” Rush explained. Some of the traits were “high potential, ability to shake up the place, not be afraid of giving their opinion, a real go-getter and having insight”.

Rush added that because of the strict entry requirements, including 320 Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) points [allocated for entry to higher education], only 30% of those who were interested enough to look at the programme’s web page were taking their interest any further.

COLIN COTTELL

PATHOLOGY GROUP FINDS WINNING MENTALITY MEDICAL RECRUITER Pathology Group •hasSPECIALIST adopted many of the principles and practices of

elite sport to drive the performance of the business.

Louie Evans and Zack Feather, two of the company’s founders, played professional football and cricket respectively, and the company has continued to recruit high-performing sportsmen and women, with around 25% of its staff of around 80 coming from this background.

Among those recruited are an ex-women’s hockey captain, the England women’s football captain, an exEngland netball international and an ex-professional badminton player.

John Zafar, Pathology Group chief executive officer, told Recruiter: “One of things we believe really set us apart is they come into business with a level of competitiveness that is just on another planet to the

Pathology Group’s sporting stars

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man on the street, so we have consciously gone out to seek people from a similar background.”

Feather added that “people from a sporting background have that winning mentality, where ‘no’ is never accepted and good is never good enough, so we found it made a real difference to the calibre of people we have employed in the business.”

Pathology’s growth made it the second-ranked staffing company in Recruiter’s 2013 FAST 50 produced in association with mergers & acquisitions advisers, Boxington Corporate Finance.

Zafar said that one aspect of elite sports such as cycling and rugby he “absolutely buys into” is the aggregation of marginal gains. This is based on the idea that 1% to 2% improvements across many areas leads to big improvements in overall performance.

One example of adopting this principle is in the way the company uses its performance dashboard, which provides real-time information on consultants’ performance, including the number of calls, duration of calls, financial statistics, sales, revenue and time sheets, said Zafar. “This allows coaches to identify specific areas for improvement for creating marginal gains — that’s an area that we are investing in at the moment,” he explained.

It also allowed the company to tailor its coaching and development for new employees, he added.

Contract News Adecco: The staffing group’s IT specialist Icon Recruitment brand has merged into its staffing and managed services provider Ajilon subsidiary within the Australian market…

Bayt.com: The Middle East job site has signed a reseller agreement with Sri Lankan IT, recruitment and services provider The Amazai Group…

Cph: The RPO provider has won a deal with surgical supplier Mölnlycke Health Care… DMJ Recruitment: The Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators has appointed the legal recruiter as sole recruitment partner… Empresaria: The staffing group now owns Japanese IT recruiter Skillhouse outright… Hiring-Hub.com: Investors John Laithwaite Partners have made a six-figure investment in the online recruitment technology provider… ICON: Staffing firm Cross Country Healthcare has sold its clinical trial services business to the outsourced developer of healthcare products… Hunters Green: The renewables recruiter has joined the Human Capital Investment Group… KDR Recruitment: The information management recruiter has signed terms to supply to insurer Catlin, manufacturer Dyson and media firm Virgin Media… Medical Professional Personnel: The medical recruiter has acquired NHS finance staffing firm Parkhill Executive Resourcing…

PageGroup: The recruitment group has secured a £50m facility with HSBC Invoice Finance… Step Ahead: The Viewing gallery’s guest services team at London landmark The Shard has been hired by the recruitment and training firm

COLIN COTTELL

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Tech & tools

COMMUNITIES AIM TO CONQUER EUROPE HR RECRUITER ANNAPURNA BELIEVES THE FUTURE OF RECRUITMENT LIES IN BUILDING INTERACTIVE NETWORKS he recruitment firm Annapurna HR is taking its specialist professional networks into Europe.

Managing partner James Ballard told Recruiter it will begin by launching the Technology Transformation and HR Transformation Networks in Germany, and its Business Transformation Network and will follow.

“Once you’ve built a content community, the next step is to go global,” said Ballard.

“I went away on holiday a month or so ago and when I came back there were 60 people waiting for approval to join the group from countries such as Egypt through to Malaysia.”

Annapurna HR was founded in 2008 by Ballard and partners Nigel Fox and Charlie Appleyard, and it later launched divisions focusing on technology and business change.

Ballard explained that it wanted to position itself as an ethical recruitment firm that builds strong James Ballard relationships with candidates and clients. “Some agencies can be rather transactional in how they deal with candidates and clients,” he said.

“I think the future of recruitment will be about building communities. Companies are increasingly looking at direct resourcing so as an agency you have to have a really specialist supply when they do reach out to you. If you are building engaged communities of specialist people you can activate a very passive, almost dormant market that direct sourcing potentially won’t reach. It’s a powerful way to recruit.”

The three networks have more than 10,000 members between them and are designed to be thought leadership communities where ideas can be shared and disseminated.

Each network hosts live events, LinkedIn discussion groups and also has a dedicated TV channel. Video and interactive

T

Annapurna networks hit Europe

media is seen as an important part of Annapurna’s strategy to deliver high quality content to the communities so it has built a television studio in its office and invested in digital recording equipment and staff training. The technology infrastructure for the channel is provided by Concentra using its OrgVue software.

Typically, an expert will be invited to deliver a talk on a particular subject which is then posted on the network’s website.

Content is driven by members and topics often emerge from discussions and question & answer sessions at live events. The network websites also feature interactive polls and Ballard says they are always looking for guest bloggers.

Annapurna may be one of if not the first recruitment firm to create multimedia channels for specialist groups in this way but Ballard predicts that many agencies will have their own communities and platforms in five years’ time.

“Anyone thinking of this route needs to be prepared to invest time and money though,” he explained. “It has taken us four years to get the HR Transformation Network to 6,000 members. Once a network is up and running though, it starts to take care of itself and goes viral.”

“I think the future of recruitment will be about building communities”

www.hrtn.tv www.thettn.tv www.thebtn.tv

MyJobMatcher gets cash funding MyJobMatcher, the website that matches a person’s CV to the most relevant jobs on employment sites, has secured $720k (£456k) funding from a private investor for the next phase of its development. As well as launching a major multi-channel marketing campaign to attract more users, managing director Chris Smith (pictured below) told Recruiter it is already planning to take the “reverse aggregation” site to the US: “We’re in early stage talks and need to adapt to some of the technical challenges. At the moment though, the focus is still on building the UK presence.”

Founded by digital recruitment specialist Opinio Group, MyJobMatcher officially launched last summer and differs from many other sites and aggregators in that it parses [analyses syntactically] and reads a person’s CV, and serves up only relevant jobs that have been gathered from an extensive network of employment sites. It currently receives upwards of 200,000 new jobs every week and each day jobseekers receive a single update of the most relevant jobs. “Our aim is to put the best job in front of the best candidate,” said Smith. “If I’m a candidate beginning my job search on Google, I’ll probably only see the jobs that feature on the best SEO ranked sites. Another site might not have an SEO budget but does have the perfect job for me and our site will find it.”

As well as uploading their CV, a user can add keywords that will filter results such as location or skillsets. Having seen a job they like, they can click through to apply.

“The conversion from click-through to them proceeding to make an application on a job site has been as high as 75%,” said Smith, who is the former joint managing director of IT recruiter ecrm people.

Because the site bases its results by matching information in a job advertisement with that of a candidate’s CV, it won’t necessarily be the best option for someone looking for a career change. “If you are a butcher, baker or candlestick maker we’ll show you butcher, baker or candlestick maker jobs. But if you maker who a a candlestick make ar are wants butcher then we w ants to be a butche are for you,” says a re probably not fo Smith.

Smith Smi th. “What we sserve up is based b ed on relevance bas ba and a in rrecruitment an relevance is r ev rel re king. ki ” kin www.MyJobMatcher.com www MyJob MyJ J bMat JobM M tche cher h r com com

SUE WEEKES

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News

RECRUITER AWARDS 2013

Web Comment ‘Radio 1 brings social media awareness to younger generation’ (recruiter.co.uk, 28 January) We fully support the notion of warning jobseekers about the pitfalls of social media.

Whilst Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn et al can enhance a career search, it can also impede it if users act irresponsibly. In response to our own audience, we have spent time in universities around the UK talking about protecting your professional reputation with a fantastic response.

Ruth Dalton

‘APSCo in Hong: Day Three’ (recruiter.co.uk, 24 January) As a former long-term resident of Hong Kong who occasionally recruits for Hong Kong companies, let me give you a tip. There are no ‘expat’ anything now in Hong Kong there are only people who work in Hong Kong. All the big headhunters have offices there and the demand is heavily biased toward Mandarin speakers. The bulk of the work is carried out by local Chinese.

Anyone who thinks they can walk in and set up an expat business is bound to lose their investment.

The market is local, highly competitive and in most sectors Chinese.

John Watts

Speaking with one voice: time for a lead association? (Recruiter, January) This is a great message. The more trade bodies, the more divided the industry. Most trade bodies in our industry were created on personal agendas, weakening the position of each. The industry needs one strong voice, not a divided one.

Bill Boorman

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RECRUITER AWARDS — SHORTLIST REVEALED Judging took place earlier this month in London to shortlist the entrants in the 29 categories for Recruiter’s Awards for Excellence 2013, sponsored by Eploy. See if your company has made the grade!

1. Agency Recruiter of the Year • Tony Chapman, director and founder, LinuxRecruit • Jodie Gale, IT contracts team leader, Roc Search • Zoe Lewis, head of resourcing, Methods • Christopher Oddy, principal consultant. Real Staffing Group/SThree • Tony Vickers, consultant/ director, Balance Recruitment 2. In-House Recruiter of the Year • Jason Gowlett, head of resourcing delivery, Direct Line Group • Tony Mancino, senior recruiter EMEA, Autodesk • Emma Mirrington, head of talent for chocolate, Mars Chocolate UK • Jo Morgan, senior HR manager, Sodexo Prestige 3. Best Candidate Care Experience and Onboarding • KM&T and Interview Coordinator • Mars Chocolate UK in association with Tonic Agency • Matalan • Ovo Energy 4. Best Apprentice/School Leaver Recruitment Strategy • Ernst & Young • Network Rail • KPMG in association with SMRS • Visa Europe

7.

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Innovation in Recruitment Hays LV= REL Field Marketing The Royal Bank of Scotland Group in association with ThirtyThree University of the Arts London

8. Most Effective Employer Brand Development • Allied Bakeries • Direct Line Group • Expedia • Greythorn • LV= • McDonald’s Restaurants • Mars in partnership with Work Group 9. Best Employee Referral Strategy • Boots UK • EMC 10. Best Global/International Recruitment Strategy • Deutsche Bank • Life Technologies • Mars in partnership with Work Group • Tech Mahindra 11. Best Recruitment Agency Marketing Team • Antal International • Cititec • FiveTen Group • Oasis HR • Pertemps • Phaidon International • Your World Healthcare

5. Best Graduate/Trainee Recruitment Strategy • BSKYB • Deutsche Bank • Lockheed Martin UK • Newton Europe • Post Office

12. Best Large Recruitment Agency to Work for (50+) • Amoria Bond • Goodman Masson • Hays • Pertemps Recruitment Partnership • Phaidon International • Sanctuary Personnel

6.

• • • • •

13. Best Small Recruitment Agency to Work for (fewer than 50 employees) • Caritas Recruitment • ConSol Partners

Best Recruitment Team Direct Line Group Jagex Games Studios Life Technologies LV= McDonald’s Restaurants

• • • • •

La Fosse Associates Lawrence Harvey Next Ventures Parkside Recruitment Regional Recruitment Services

14. Best Candidate Care • Independent and Kiddicare • Meridian Business Support • NES Global Talent • Penta Consulting • Salt • Sanctuary Personnel • Selby Jennings • Tangent International 15. Best Client Service • CBSbutler • LA International Computer Consultants • Meridian Business Support • Oasis HR • Oil Consultants • Pathology Group • Penta Consulting • Purple Consultancy • Sanctuary Personnel • Synergy Group 16. Best Banking/Financial Recruitment Agency • Cititec • Oliver James Associates • Orgtel London IT Banking • Selby Jennings 17. Best Engineering Recruitment Agency • CBSbutler • Consilium Group • Contract Scotland • Earthstaff • JAM Recruitment • Meridian Business Support • NES Global Talent • TXM Recruit 18. Best International Recruitment Agency • Antal International • Darwin Recruitment • NES Global Talent • Oil Consultants • Penta Consulting • Selby Jennings • Staffgroup • Tangent International

WWW.RECRUITER.CO.UK

07/02/2013 16:46

RECRUITER AWARDS 2013

19. Best IT Recruitment Agency • Annapurna IT • Cititec • ConSol Partners • Energize Recruitment Solutions • Eurostaff Group • Henderson Scott • LA International Computer Consultants • Nicoll Curtin Recruitment • Salt • The ITHR Group 20. Best Newcomer Agency • AdMore Recruitment • Alderwood • Argyll Scott • Barclay Meade • Dynamite Recruitment Solutions • Gemini Search • Pod Talent 21. Best Professional Services Recruitment Agency • Annapurna HR • Goodman Masson • ITN Mark Education • Oakleaf Partnership • Shilton Sharp Quarry 22. Best Temporary Recruitment Agency • Barker Ross Staffing

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• • • • • • • •

Solutions Caritas Recruitment Drive Hire Nationwide Extrastaff Meridian Business Support Pathology Group Protocol Education Randstad Education Resourcing Group

• • •

•

• 23. Best Large Recruitment Agency of the Year (+50 employees) • Darwin Recruitment • LA International Computer Consultants • Oliver James Associates • Pathology Group & Associated Companies • SThree

Meridian Business Support at Spirax Sarco UK Ochre House at Telefónica Pertemps Recruitment Partnership at Transport for London (TFL) Transline Resource Group at Monsoon Accessorize, Wellingborough Volt Consulting Group at Boehringer Ingelheim

26. Outstanding Outsourced Recruitment Organisation • GradWeb • GTI Recruiting Solutions • Hays • Ochre House • Raw Talent Academy

24. Best Small Recruitment Agency of the Year (Less than 50 Employees) • Annapurna HR • Hanson Search • Lawrence Harvey • Resourcing Group • Salt • Templeton and Partners

27. Best Technology Innovation • 3 Story Software (a Hays PLC company) • DiversityJobs.co.uk • Hollaroo • LaunchPad Recruits • YO Sushi! in partnership with Pink Squid • Transline Resource Training • WebSearch

25. Best Embedded Recruitment Team • Capita Resourcing at Secure Central Government Client

28. Best Job Board • CareersinAudit.com • Chemistry World Jobs, Royal Society of Chemistry

• • •

News

CV-Library DiversityJobs.co.uk Technojobs

29. Most Effective Recruitment Campaign • Mars in partnership with Work Group • McDonald’s Restaurants • Nando’s in partnership with Pink Squid • Portland Hospital in partnership with Pink Squid

RECRUITER

FEBRUARY 2013

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07/02/2013 16:56

News Analysis

CHINESE AGENCY WORK SET FOR CHOP OR CAN THEY STICK IT OUT?

CREDIT: AP PHOTO

Changes to the law in China could have far-reaching consequences for the supply of agency workers in the country. Colin Cottell investigates what effect the new employment law could have for companies and recruiters

Women work at a textile factory in Huaibei in Central China’s Anhui province

erious questions are being raised about the future of agency work in China after a committee of the National People’s Congress, China’s parliament, passed an amendment to the country’s contract law in January. Under the revisions, which are due to take effect on 1 July, companies will no longer be allowed to hire temporary staff through staffing agencies except in tightly defined circumstances (see Key facts, right).

Among the other changes are a quota system for the percentage of the workforce that can be hired through agencies, and equality of compensation with directlyhired employees.

On the face of it these are important changes that could significantly reduce the use of agency workers in China, who are officially estimated to number 37m, as well as having major ramifications for both employers and staffing companies, including firms from the UK and the US. The effects are not lost on Tom Deacon, APAC lead for global manufacturer Invensys, who says: “The real world consequence will be more hiring by companies directly on to their own payroll, a shrinking of the contract labour market and higher labour costs carried by companies.” Deacon sees manufacturing as being particularly affected — albeit he expects the changes to be felt only gradually.

David Arkless, Manpower’s president of global corporate and government affairs, who has many years’ experience of representing the company in China, explains that the authorities are trying to get rid of rogue agents and are under pressure from trade unions and pressure groups, following high-profile cases such as Apple supplier Foxconn, where workers’ grievances have led to strikes and disturbances.

However, he says that at this stage the detail of the legislation is unclear, and the amended regulations still have to go through a process of clarification involving several important and influential Chinese government ministries.

Jonathan Isaacs, special counsel at law firm Baker & McKenzie in Hong Kong, says it all depends on how aggressive the labour authorities are in enforcing the legislation. “If the labour authorities’ evaluation [of the

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Key facts Under the newly amended Employment Contract Law, which is due to come into effect on 1 July, companies may only use temporary agency staff (labour dispatch) for specific types of position: • temporary labour positions of no more than six consecutive months • auxiliary positions in which staff engaged in a company’s noncore business provide services to those involved in the core business • substitute positions where staff are hired to temporarily replace employees who leave work for a fixed period — ie, leave Host companies that violate the regulations can be fined up to RMB10,000 (£1,026) for each member of staff hired Staffing companies wishing to supply temporary agency staff must obtain a special licence from the local labour bureau A company that supplies temporary agency workers without such a licence risks fines up to five times the amount of illegally generated income Source: Baker & McKenzie

law] is based on performance indicators, such as how many companies are investigated then you will see strict enforcement, but if there is no strong signal then local enforcement will be weak,” he says.

Tony Caldeira, who owns a textile factory in China employing 70 staff, says the changes will inevitably lead to less flexibility and higher labour costs in China.

However, he says he doesn’t mind the changes too much if everyone plays by the same rules.

This is unlikely, he suggests, with some local authorities “more disciplined and strict” in how they apply the law than others. A saying in China, “Open one eye and close one eye”, is indicative of how officialdom can turn a blind eye when it chooses, he adds.

Graeme Read, managing director of Antal International, a staffing firm that has offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong, and has operated in the region for more than 10 years, says he welcomes any legislation that cracks down on abuses and unfair treatment of workers and promotes equality. He says he is encouraged that the new law recognises real temporary workers as separate and essential to business.

However, Isaacs is less sanguine. Becoming a direct employee requires termination of the existing contract with the agency, which requires the consent of those workers. This is fine if the worker co-operates, however, more ‘bolshie’ workers may try to demand severance pay, he warns.

He says another potential cloud on the horizon is that workers may also have the right to sue if, for example, the agency is not properly licensed.

Although the precise details of the legislation are still to be clarified, these changes to the labour laws are undoubtedly significant. In the end, the devil will be in the detail, and in how local authorities interpret and police the new laws on the ground.

“The real world consequence will be a shrinking of the contract labour market”

Sign up for our daily news bulletins at www.recruiter.co.uk

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07/02/2013 10:21

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Sales & marketing

Sector Analysis

Sales & marketing

Stakeholder Comment

WHILE NOT EXACTLY DELUGED WITH JOBS, THE SECTOR DISPLAYS OPTIMISM AND EVOLUTION AS FIRMS GO FOR THE REVENUE GROWTH MADE POSSIBLE BY TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES

Sally Green Advertising Academy manager, Midland News Association

WE CONTINUOUSLY ADAPT OUR APPROACH AND PRIORITIES TO MEET THE NEEDS OF THE BUSINESS

demand on her: “We continuously adapt our approach and priorities to meet the needs of the business.” When a new product is coming out, or a new developing or emerging market being attacked, each new team needs a re-focused approach.

Broadcaster ITV’s head of recruitment Catherine Schlieben has herself seen the birth of a new team recently, having brought creative marketing completely in-house, rather than using an agency. “We are looking at individuals with a specific set of creative skills… [and] are particularly looking for people with a blend of experience — agency as well as broadcast,” she says.

Creative input is needed more broadly: “We need to create that second screen experience for our viewers… we will all still watch television, but we will also interact with our tablets and phones while we are doing that to comment on the shows and share experiences,” she explains, meaning the need to have “more creative” sales & marketing people “able to sell these concepts and ideas to our commercial clients”.

Technology drives further innovation in recruiters — and not just in media-driven marketing roles. Sally Green, manager of the Advertising Academy at publisher Midlands News Association, explains: “Customer relationship management (CRM) is increasingly vital to us, so we need people who can not only sell but also keep detailed records and develop an understanding of their clients.” In turn, she says, this further puts emphasis on salespeople’s aftersales service.

While sales and marketing are often grouped together, they can also be treated separately.

White says that eight or so years ago, Michael Page would have combined these disciplines, but now the divide has “become more obvious as the industries of sales and marketing have evolved”.

SAM BURNE JAMES sam.burnejames@recruiter.co.uk

JOBS AND APPLICANTS ■ New CVs (000s)** ■ Jobs (000s)* ■ Applicants/job** SALES

■ Sales ■ Marketing

MARKETING 106 102 98

11.1 20.3 16.5

10.1 18.8 14.5

Q3

10.6 20.3 14.7

Q2

12 21.2 17

33.3 60.0 17.2

Q1

33.2 57.7 14.7

30.1 62.2 15.3

94

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Q4

2012

14

SALES AND MARKETING WAGES* 110

RECRUITER

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90

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec 2012

Emily Robinson In-house recruitment specialist (sales & marketing), Unilever “To ensure that our brands stand out and remain relevant, our marketing and sales professionals are required to have a good understanding of our consumers’ needs, as well as our customers’ requirements to pioneer new products, new categories and new concepts.”

Ed Steer Managing director & cofounder, Sphere Digital Recruitment “One of our biggest frustrations is companies would far sooner hire someone with limited experience and train them than take someone with transferrable skills.”

James Taylor Director, Macildowie *REED SALARY INDEX DATA FOR SALES/MARKETING & PR

According to Ed Steer, co-founder of Sphere Digital Recruitment, there is an “ever increasing demand for digital marketers”, on top of which he notes that “very few [marketing] jobs won’t have a digital element in them now” — good news for novice ‘digital native’ candidates, traditional marketers less so, he notes (see Stakeholder Comment, right).

Meanwhile, Stephen White, managing director of Michael Page Sales, says that his sector is “solid, but not particularly exciting… one of the more recession-proof industries” — with demand for junior roles declining, something he expects to see continue in 2013. Nonetheless, various areas — namely FMCG/consumer, business services, IT and industrial & technical sales — are notably strong, with the latter growing 22% over 2012.

Furthermore, Liana Seager, an in-house recruiter specialising in sales & marketing at FMCG giant Unilever, says candidates that they are “always keen” to see include brand developers, brand builders, customer account managers or executives, and category managers.

And Seager also tells Recruiter the ‘F’ in FMCG [fast-moving consumer goods] puts a particular

31.7 65.8 16.8

*NEW CVS ON CV-LIBRARY FOR SALES/MARKETING & PR **TOTALJOBS BAROMETER JOBS DATA FOR SALES/MARKETING, ADVERTISING & PR

In sales and marketing, each discipline is recruiting in places — hence Midlands recruiter Macildowie entering the arena in response to the need for revenue growth, after the earlier part of the recession saw clients focus heavily on hiring cost-cutting specialists such as procurement and supply chain experts (see Stakeholder Comment, right).

“The most important attribute we look for is resilience. It isn’t always about a candidate’s qualifications, more their passion and drive. In today’s media marketplace you need people who stand out, have grit and a determination to succeed. These kinds of skills can be hard to find.”

“This year and last year the common theme from listening to customers was that they couldn’t cut cost any further, so what they needed to do to drive profitability was really aim for sales growth, and of course who drives sales growth, strategic sales professionals and professional marketers.”

WWW.RECRUITER.CO.UK

07/02/2013 12:06

. n% n + )) % ! ' ) ) n3 ) n ' ) )% '< ) ' ) 3 n%' n/n3 % +% !% - +' '3') ) % ' +' '' - ' )3< ) n ' n' % n) % ) + ) n )3 n ) n' % n 3 - +' n )% < Kirsty Bridgewater, IT Manager Ambition Group

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06/02/2013 10:23

Market Indicators

Global Spotlight on Poland STAFFING AGENCIES AND DIRECT EMPLOYERS ARE LOOKING BEYOND THE STEREOTYPES ATTACHED TO POLAND FOLLOWING YEARS OF HEAVY MIGRATION OF WORKERS TO THE UK Poland boasts a hitherto recession-proof economy and an ever-growing jobs market, while its education system was in November ranked by publishing and education firm Pearson as the world’s 14th best, beating both Germany and the US.

Number of Polish-born workers in the UK in Q2 2011: 450,000. Census data from the same year shows it as the UK’s second most spoken language Currency: Złoty (zł) — 1zł = £0.20 = $0.32 Intelligence Group research from 2011 shows Warsaw as the 74th most desirable city as a working destination globally, rising from 113th in 2009.

New entrant Krakow was 114th.

(Intelligence Group) Polish language LinkedIn rival GoldenLine has 4m users. LinkedIn had half a million members in Poland when it launched in the language in April 2012

SAM BURNE JAMES sam.burnejames@recruiter.co.uk

MANPOWER EMPLOYMENT OUTLOOK SURVEY

■ Firms increasing headcount ■ Firms decreasing headcount

TOP SECTORS HIRING NEXT QUARTER 100

40 5 20 0

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Q1 Q4 Q3 2013 2012

Q2

Q1

0

ANTAL GLOBAL SPOTLIGHT – JAN 2013

60

10

Insurance

%

Technology - software

%

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

NO. 1 QUALITY

80

15

Technology - hardware

20

the prime motivations are more “because of the work and the prestige”.

And it’s not just returning expats or would-be expats, as IT giant Cisco System’s HR manager for Poland Katarzyna Nalecz describes. “To some extent Polish citizens are interested in returning to their home country after living abroad, but at the same time we also see non-Polish nationals interested in opportunities in Poland,” she says, with Krakow, where Cisco opened a global support centre last year, a particular magnet.

However, such trends cannot be overstated, with Amrop’s Andrzejewski saying: “For a lot of senior managers, the only way to advance is to move to the country or city where the headquarters of their company are located. Thus, an increasing number of them leave Poland for the regional or global positions in Paris, London or Frankfurt.”

As workers leave the country, but not in the droves of yesteryear, so too the entry of recruiters into a far from crowded market appears slow.

Mlynarczyk at Hays says he has seen few major arrivals of big players in the recruitment market since 2008 (they set up in 2002). There are, he estimates, 2,000 recruitment agencies in the country of 38m people; Andrzejewski says 3,000 — either way, a lot fewer per capita than in the UK, where estimates vary from 8,000 upwards.

Marklove at Omega comments: “Previously the perception of recruitment business in Poland wasn’t fantastic when it comes to processes and compliance, but in the past two or three years it has come to match what we do in the UK.” Well it should, with economic growth more than matching the UK’s, and so many others.

SPONSORED BY

E-commerce & social media

8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 -1 -2 -3 -4 -5

Poland was the only EU nation seeing no recession at all in 2009

Shared service centres/ business process outsourcing

GDP GROWTH ■ Poland ■ Europe

YEARLY GDP GROWTH

INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND, 2013 DATA PROJECTED

Industries currently keeping executive search firm Amrop’s Warsaw office busy are mining, utilities, shared services centres (SSCs), energy and retail, partner Rafal Andrzejewski tells Recruiter. Michal Mlynarczyk, managing director (Central & Eastern Europe) for recruiter Hays, adds that SSCs are predicted to create 100,000 new jobs often requiring multi-lingual candidates in the country in the next five years — also touting IT as a strong market.

So significant are such SSC and outsourcing developments, that Katie Evans, director of people for CEE at professional services firm KPMG, says they have begun to encroach on the firm’s territory.

“We anticipate that it could become increasingly challenging to hire sufficient numbers of students with a traditional educational background for KPMG, which is economics. There are a number of reasons for this, one of them is an increasing number of companies setting up outsourcing centres in Poland and hiring massive numbers of people, especially graduates,” she says.

While such centres are generally located in more middle-income economies due to their cost-saving raison d’être, economic growth is shifting Poland’s position in the global talent market.

James Marklove, bid manager at UK recruitment firm Omega Resource Group, which set up a Warsaw office 10 years ago, says that across the board, “salaries have caught up to a certain extent because, with such a diaspora there’s been a shortage of certain workers in Poland”. Coming to work in the UK is “not a no-brainer any more in terms of economics and what you can earn”, he says. Instead

Key indicators

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07/02/2013 10:22

Opinion

Soapbox

Recruiters are crucial — fact WHY IN-HOUSE RECRUITERS AND RPOS WILL NEVER KILL THE RECRUITMENT CONSULTANCY INDUSTRY

While executive boards of most companies still cite sourcing talent as one of the major challenges, they also regularly seek to cut the recruitment costs by outsourcing the whole process to a recruitment process outsourcing organisation (RPO) or by building an inhouse recruitment team.

We wouldn’t be the first recruiter to question the effectiveness of both RPOs and in-house teams. But perhaps controversially, we may well be one of the first to say openly they are a necessary and important part of the future of recruitment. However, it is also important to appreciate that the ecosystem within which we all exist is delicately balanced and they too need recruitment agencies to continue to survive.

We believe that both RPO models and in-house recruitment teams will eventually deliver all low-level, process-driven recruitment.

Additionally, the ability for a major corporate to pay one invoice for all their contingent labour and permanent hires in each month is hugely beneficial. And there is also the added benefit of passing the responsibility for scaling the recruitment team up or down to a third party.

But it is obvious that both RPO models and in-house resourcing teams must acknowledge the symbiotic nature of their existence with recruitment companies. Those that are thriving have acknowledged that their tenure onsite with clients is dependent on key performance indicators (KPIs) that demonstrate improving quality of service, as well as cost. And it is also dependent on the delivery of future talent. This means they have to recognise and embrace specialist recruiters who can genuinely provide a more efficient service for hard-to-source talent.

Time to hire, fill ratios and talent succession planning are all areas of analytics that are becoming key at board level. In fact in a recent PwC global survey, more chief exxecutive officers expected to change their talent attraction and retention strategies than adjust their approach to risk. Why? Because high-potential, middle-management professionals are the employees that most CEOs covet — but also that they most fear losing. Not only are they the future, but they are also most likely to innovate. If the tap that

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supplies innovative future leaders is turned off, organisations will struggle.

This is the talent crunch. One in four CEOs said they could not pursue a market opportunity or have had to cancel or delay a strategic initiative because of lack of talent. One in three is concerned that skills shortages have affected their company’s ability to innovate effectively.

So despite the evolution of the recruitment process, the whole ecosystem still isn’t efficient enough to solve the talent attraction requirements of the world’s biggest companies – even against the backdrop of mass unemployment among highly skilled individuals. The current system isn’t efficient enough to mobilise the right talent to the right opportunities in the right place.

Niche professional recruiters are crucial to the system. The quicker all facets of the recruitment ecosystem adapt their processes to fulfil clients’ core needs for the effective delivery of talent, the more efficient the system will become.

ADRIAN KINNERSLEY is managing director of

Twenty Recruitment

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WWW.RECRUITER.CO.UK

07/02/2013 08:05

Opinion

Web chat Do you want to be in my gang?

•

IN RESPONSE to your article ‘Speaking with Lord Heseltine at the one voice: time for a recent launch of ‘No Stone Unturned in Pursuit of lead association?’ (News Growth’ Analysis, Recruiter, January 2013), I’m surprised a man of Lord Heseltine’s experience hasn’t learned a bit more about human nature.

At the opening of a new body for awarding certificates to managers, to certify they could, well, manage, the idea was to bring order where there was presently chaos. No doubting the credentials of the speaker, who had clearly been there, and done that. “Did you know,” he began, “there are 121 different awarding bodies?”

“And now there are 122,” came the riposte from some wag at the back. And off it went, downhill from there, like a greased toboggan.

The point is that since Ug and his neolithic pals went off in a huff after a squabble over the best use of old mammoth bones, all human organisations — religious (especially religious), sporting or trade — periodically divide like overfed amoebas, usually because two people both want to be in charge. Or sometimes because those on the inside get a bit precious about letting in the riff raff, and the riff raff, not to be outdone, form a rival gang. Occasionally, like-minded members try to marry two gangs to serve the common interest, and of course not everyone agrees, so then you have three.

Eventually a well-meaning personage like the Noble Lord says, “this is nonsense”, and sensibly sets up something called an umbrella organisation, to bring order where there is presently chaos. And of course, not everyone agrees, so then you have four or five, or 122.

Learn to live with it, My Lord.

Terry Knight, managing director, Knight Selection

Thanks de Poel, but no thanks AFTER RECENT communications with de Poel I felt that I wanted •to let others know the views of a small independent business. I feel

that someone needs to say something and I am sure others will be of the same opinion. In brief… THAT’S IT! WE’VE HAD ENOUGH! We were recently contacted by de Poel regarding a client we supply to via their contract, informing us that they had kindly signed a new agreement with the client.

They went on to happily explain that they would be updating us soon about the new margins they had agreed and informed us that we had to sign up to their “fair Umbrella company” — Paraplus.

The update came through and we weren’t surprised to find that the charge rate was lower, we were required to do more work for less return, would be forced to use their umbrella business and also be subjected to random charges for audits. Thanks! All this without any consultation; it’s take it or leave it and this from a business that suggest they uphold the integrity of the industry. Where is the integrity in this?

So, in short, we’ve told them that we don’t want in on their deal. If margins are cut constantly, then how long before others decide that it simply isn’t worth the man hours put in to supply?

The sooner the better! We surely can’t be alone.

Andy Pitt, operations director, Service Service Recruitment Agency

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Soundbites

“What new initiative would you introduce to save money in how you and your team recruit?”

Anthony Aarons Head of recruitment, Biffa Waste Services

Biffa Waste Services recently celebrated 100 years in the waste management sector, and to continue our success, one of the initiatives for 2013 is to increase talent and reduce the recruitment spend. We intend to implement and promote an attractive referral scheme across the business. This is important as we believe our employees are our biggest asset and are in a great position to promote Biffa to their connections through a variety of social networks. This scheme will have many benefits including cost per hire, time to hire and reducing the attrition rate. This is also a great opportunity to increase employee engagement and the staff motivation levels throughout the workplace.

Catherine Rush Head of talent, DMG Media

My suggestion would be to use different and innovative ways to get your message out there if you are externally hiring.

Harness social media as much as possible and influence your organisation to try it if you haven’t already.

Professional social sites, such as LinkedIn, are gathering momentum in their effectiveness and credibility.

They cost very little to use. These sites reach a large volume of professionals in many different sectors and social media savvy individuals will be high on many organisations’ skills agenda.

Matt Reeves Head of resourcing, Integrated Dental Holdings

The attraction activity we execute as part of our talent acquisition strategy starts in the dental schools, where we educate the clinicians of tomorrow on our opportunities and build a pipeline with an audience that are soon to step into the workplace. A range of activities, from being the main sponsors of the British Dental Student Association Sports Day to open days at our head office and practice network, enable dentists to experience life in our business. This generates positive referrals, which in turn increases application levels, with large numbers coming from our i-Phone application process — a perfect communication channel for the younger dentist.

IF YOU HAVE A LETTER OR WOULD LIKE TO BE A CONTRIBUTOR TO SOUNDBITES, EMAIL...

VANESSA.TOWNSEND@RECRUITER.CO.UK

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07/02/2013 10:33

Insight

Engage with fans to find future candidates TALENT COMMUNITIES: ASSESS BRAND FANS, BUILD DEFINED PROFILES TO ENSURE THE DIALOGUE IS RELEVANT With all the buzz around talent communities it is important to be able to find the candidates among your brand fans. But just how do you do this in today’s modern and connected world?

Innovative talent management professionals are increasingly realising that their brands need to engage with potential candidates above and beyond existing social media platforms by creating professional candidate communities.

With 42% of jobseekers more likely to apply for a job at a company after they’ve interacted with it online, it is no surprise that talent management professionals are taking notice of the potential these talent hubs have.

Talent communities are inherently open communities in which people interact. This means that both consumers and candidates can join and interact in these communities. But just how do you differentiate between future employees and brand fans?

Based on the size of the community and level of engagement it generates, a good place to start to ensure the dialogue you are having is relevant to the community is to assess its members and build defined profiles. You can do this in a number of ways. You could ask community members a range of ‘killer questions’ or ask them to complete a simple series of drop-down fields on the registration page through to more advance assessments such as viaEDGE or ProSpective Assessment.

The results of these ‘assessments’ can then be added to a community member’s profile. This can also be a great way of helping candidates learn a lot about themselves and feel that your business is truly getting to know them. Even if they are just a consumer and their journey with your organisation will go no further, it is a brilliant way for them to feel involved and engaged.

You can also learn more about potential candidates by encouraging two-way dialogue.

You can share content with the community with a view to increasing interaction — leave them with a call to action to respond. By initiating two-

THE FOCUS HAS GOT TO BE ON MAKING THE COMMUNITY THE BEST IT CAN BE FOR ALL MEMBERS

way conversations, individuals begin to buy into the brand’s position as a thought leader in their specialist area, and provide useful opinions on the company’s offering. The challenge, and in fact the opportunity in 2013, will be to build a sustainable strategy for engaging internal and external talent.

The question you have to ask yourself is whether there is always a need for your brand to formally categorise future talent from consumers within talent communities? This will depend on the service and product you have as a business, but there are some really interesting ways of leveraging recruitment sites for multiple purposes.

For example, I recently worked with a client in Europe — a large brewer — to investigate who was a consumer as well as a candidate. After creating an employer brand for the client, as part of the implementation stage we set up a centralised careers portal for candidates from multiple countries across EMEA. The portal enabled them to find out more about the brand but, on that particular site, we also embedded a small promotional link for the latest product launch from the client.

This enabled us to track how many candidates clicked through the portal and that particular link, and went on to purchase the product itself.

The experiment was very successful with several thousand euros being generated as a result of career seekers clicking through. As a result, senior stakeholders in HR discussed with their marketing director how they would go about using the career portal as another way of generating sales.

So as more brands across the globe start to embrace talent communities as a new approach for recruitment, the best advice I can give talent management professionals is to find pragmatic ways of working with their business. They have to align business objectives with the broader application of a community platform rather than limit it to a certain ‘type’ of member. This is the only way to find the right talent at the right time, especially in today’s digital world where it is increasingly difficult to segment people into groups.

Embrace the fact that one day they may be a fan and the next a potential candidate. The focus has got to be on making the community the best it can be for all members — engaging, informative and exciting. That way, whether a member is a fan or a candidate, they get the best possible information about and insight into your brand.

Power Points Brands need a pipeline, or pool, of potential employees that they can engage and tap into to find the right candidate for the job when needed. As a result, talent management professionals are exploring the role that talent communities can play in adopting a more strategic approach to recruitment Consumerism has underpinned the continued maturation of talent pool management and the use of talent communities, and smart employers are recognising that many of the tactics used by consumer brands to attract and maintain a relationship with customers can be applied to the candidate experience The focus has got to be on making the community engaging, informative and exciting for all members.

That way, whether a member is a fan or a candidate, they get the best possible information about and insight into your brand

NEIL GRIFFITHS IS GLOBAL PRACTICE LEADER FOR FUTURESTEP’S TALENT COMMUNICATIONS AND EMPLOYER BRANDING PRACTICE

Share your insight and blue-sky thinking. Contact the editor: deedee.doke@recruiter.co.uk

20

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FEBRUARY 2013

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06/02/2013 10:25

Recruitment Matters Issue 12 February 2013

Trade Association of the Year

What’s inside 2 The Intelligence

Take advantage of free REC research, and net profit margins show a welcome improvement

3 REC Talk

Shout to the top: In competitive times it is more important than ever that recruiters boost their brand and convey their strengths to clients and candidates. Marketing special: see pages 4-5.

Respond now to conduct regs review Recruiters are being urged to contribute to the government’s consultation process to reform the Conduct Regulations or the sector could lose out.

REC director of policy Tom Hadley says the industry must speak with a collective voice because there are a number of areas of concern with the Department for Business Innovation & Skills’ (BIS’s) plans.

These include suggestions that tempperm transfer fees should be abolished and government inspections replaced by a greater reliance on Employment Tribunals.

“There is a perception transfer fees act as a barrier to people getting permanent jobs but there is no evidence for that and temp-toperm rates are the highest they have ave been for years,” says Hadley. “We also need to keep an inspection regime, me, if perhaps a more targeted one, because it identifies bad practice and many workers will not go down the he tribunal route.”

He adds that re-enforcing rules that protect workers from fees and ensure they know their rights are entirely appropriate and mirror what the REC already requires through its code of practice.

Another positive from the consultation process could be the removal of unnecessary red tape if BIS is serious about removing costly and complex regulations where it can.

The REC plans an extensive communications programme with members over the next few weeks to explain how they can contribute to the consultation process which closes on 11 April.

There will be specific webinars and regional sector meetings to enable members to feed in responses, says Hadley. their respon Minister for Employment Relations and Ministe Consumer Affairs, Jo Swinson (left), says Consum department’s aim is to bring in reform her dep which will enable the agency sector to continue to contribute to a flexible cont llabour market.

Sector-led campaigns are a priority this year says Tom Hadley and Kevin Green talks about relationships

Big 4-5The Talking Point Targeted and measured marketing is the fuel powering successful recruiters. Are you doing enough to build your brand?

6

Business Matters

How one agency defended claims for pay parity under the Agency Workers Regulations 2010, plus news of how online skills testing is an efficient way to verify a candidate’s skill level

7

Institute of Recruitment Professionals We meet Sam Ferri from Advanced Resource Managers who won the IRP’s Best Newcomer of the Year Award

8

Events and training

Head to the regions rather than London for training

www.rec.uk.com RM p1_FEB.indd 23

05/02/2013 14:29

REC Research

the intelligence Research is a secret weapon

Fig 1: Annual change in NDR 20%

Most marketing plans begin with an assessment of market conditions and trends, a process that can inform important decisions around sector coverage, pricing and the approach to sales, says Roger Tweedy

15% 10% 5% 0%

Research is crucial, even if it’s just talking with clients and candidates.

You must know your market inside out and understand what your competitors are doing so you can do it better or differently.

The REC’s ‘Recruitment Industry Trends’ survey presents the key trends in temporary and permanent recruitment, while our Medium Term Forecast details how we think industry turnover will grow over the next five years. The recent ‘Back to the Future’ report summarises broader recruitment trends.

These reports explain how margin pressure will continue and recruiters have a strategic choice to make. They can become a low-cost staffing provider or a more specialist firm that adds value and builds strong local client relationships. An inch wide and a mile deep rather than a mile wide and an inch deep will be the right focus for many small and medium-sized recruiters.

Technology is one of the most critical drivers behind any marketing plan. Our new ‘Recruitment 2022’ report details how new and predicted technological change will impact online reputation and shape the recruitment process. Video will emerge as both a standard role profiling and candidate profiling/ interviewing tool. The interview and testing process will thus become an increasingly virtual encounter.

Developing a strong ‘unique selling point’ has always been important for agencies.

There are several options here: brand development (become known as the ‘fun’ recruiter),

2 Recruitment Matters February 2013

RM_02_FEB.indd Sec1:24

innovate (video candidates, launch your own YouTube channel), focus your propositions on a specific area (become experts on diversity), develop new added-value services (outplacement, on-boarding).

For agencies wanting to enhance their core offering to attract clients ‘A Guide to Adding Value’ provides sound practical advice on how to set your business apart from the competition – while also protecting profit margins.

Finally, our research is used to benchmark performance, keeping agencies up-to-date with market trends so their marketing strategies remain relevant. Our free monthly ‘Jobs Outlook’ newsletter tracks employers hiring intentions for temporary and permanent recruitment, while ‘Market>i’ summarises the stories that matter.

Visit the REC on-line bookshop: http://www.rec.uk.com/research/ bookshop.

This year, the full catalogue of REC research is freely available to all corporate members.

• You can follow Roger on Twitter @Tweedy_REC

Using a ‘Value Proposition’ to differentiate your business

Candidate

Agency Added value services Employer

Purchasing

-5% -10% Jan Mar May Jul Sep Nov Jan Mar May Jul Sep Nov 11 12

Fig 2: Net profit margin

(net disposable revenue)

5%

4%

3%

2%

1%

0% Jan Mar May Jul Sep Nov Jan Mar May Jul Sep Nov 11 12

Thinking positively In previous editions of Recruitment Matters I have commented on how recruiters are seeing downward pressure on net disposable revenue (NDR), but December brought some positive news.

Figure 1 shows that whilst throughout most of 2012 median NDR was lower than at the same time a year ago, median NDR in December was up nearly 2% on December 2011, which itself was up nearly 2% on December 2010. This was the first time since January that we have seen NDR growth.

My new year’s resolution was to look for silver linings in the darkest storm clouds. Figure 2 shows that net profit margin (NPM) has recovered strongly in the last 10 months, nearly tripling from February’s less than 1.5% to more than 4.2% in November, due to strong control of overheads. The decline in NPM in December is what we see each year, as recruiters have a full month of overheads, but only two to three weeks for revenue.

Overhead control is seen by median employee growth being zero – recruiters are growing the top-line 4.7% in December with the number of employees up only 0.5%. This has allowed fee earner costs to fall from nearly 45% of NDR in June to only 42% in December, expanding net profits.

• Chris Ansell is chief financial officer at Recruitment Industry Benchmarking (RIB). The RIB Index provides bespoke confidential reports on industry trends. See www.ribindex.com; info@ribindex. com: 020 8 544 9807. The RIB is a strategic partner of the REC.

www.rec.uk.com 05/02/2013 14:30

Leading the Industry

Join the campaigning choir REC director of policy & professional services Tom Hadley says the REC’s sector-led campaigns will ensure government and employers hear the industry’s voice.

Q: What do the following have in common: a new registration scheme for nannies, the personal taxation of IT contractors, the revalidation of locum doctors and gender equality in UK boardrooms?

The View

A: They are all key issues for specialist recruiters that the REC will take forward over the coming months.

Our sights are set on influencing the agenda across a range of sectors from healthcare to industrial and driving, through to life sciences, education, engineering, technology, creative industries and many more.

Variety is the name of the lobbying game – a fact brought home to me in my very first week (a few years ago, now!). As well as getting stuck into meaty topics like immigration and the EU Agency Workers Directive (it was still a twinkling in the European Commission’s eye then), I remember being handed three lever arch files of NHS contracts for the supply of temporary staff before scuttling off to a meeting on ‘digital tachographs’, which was a hot topic for driver agencies.

The sectorial approach to campaigning has created a virtuous circle. The practical input of specialist recruiters has enabled us to make a tangible contribution to key debates.

For example, specific skills needs in different sectors. This has increased recognition of the industry and helped us to amplify the views and concerns of each of our dedicated sector groups.

Here is a snapshot of priority areas for some of our sector groups: • REC Technology – IR35, skills, security vetting of IT contractors • REC Education – Working with new academies, AWR review, safe recruitment • Association of Executive Recruiters (AER) – Women on boards, executive pay, leadership skills • REC Engineering & Technical – Tackling the skills deficit, diversity, IR35, immigration • Marketing, Media & Creative industries (MMC) – Digital skills, apprenticeships, inclusion • REC Healthcare – Revalidation of locum doctors, procurement, social care reform • REC Childcare – Development of a new ‘nanny register’, safe recruitment, immigration • REC Life Sciences – Pre-empting future skills needs, working with inhouse recruiters • REC Drivers – Procurement and working through Vendor Managed Services An underlying aim of all the groups is to pre-empt what broad changes to a sector and evolving client needs will mean for specialist recruiters. It is also about ensuring that the voices of our different sector groups continue to bolster the booming choir of the industry’s collective voice.

For more information, visit: www.rec.uk.com/regions-sectors

It always comes back to the same thing – it’s about relationships.

It doesn’t matter what budget you have ring-fenced for marketing materials or under whose job description advertising comes in your business – you are marketing yourself and your business every time you sit down with a candidate and pick up the phone to a client.

You can have the most up-to-date website, the fanciest mobile apps and the glossiest full-colour flyers but if you don’t speak the same language as your clients, if you don’t understand their sector or the pressures they are under then you’re not making yourself invaluable to them and you’re not securing yourself a role as a trusted adviser, business partner and supplier.

Your expertise and your care and attention to existing and potential customers are what build long-term relationships and ultimately your business’s reputation.

As Mary B. Lucas puts it in one of my favourite business books (Lunchmeat and life lessons – look it up on Amazon) what’s the ‘come back sauce’ that you spoon on to every encounter that makes your client return to you without even thinking about going to anyone else?

It’s the same with candidates. Your best advert is your quality of service. The general public have a good view of recruiters’ professionalism, but that good opinion increases when people actually turn to a recruiter for help to find a job. Our research reveals that 51% of those polled felt recruiters project a professional image, which increased to 72% among people who have used the services of a recruitment agency.

Which is why – as well as providing training, products and services that help you make the most of your business through marketing – the REC is helping you stay abreast of the latest legal, legislative and market developments so that your expertise and professionalism will set you apart from your non-REC competitors.

Near the top of our agenda at the moment is sharing your feedback with Minister Jo Swinson at BIS who is managing the review of the Conduct Regulations. This is your chance to ensure that unnecessary red tape is swept away but important checks and balances are enforced. Check out our website for more information or follow us on Twitter @RECPress.

• Follow Tom Hadley on twitter @HadleysComment

• Follow Kevin Green on twitter @kevingreenrec

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Recruitment Matters February 2013 3

05/02/2013 14:31

The Big Talking Point

Build your brand and your profits Without good marketing a great recruitment business is just a well-kept secret, says Steve Hemsley

R

ecruiters operate in a competitive market and a well-planned marketing strategy will strengthen the business and boost profits.

Candidates and clients remain loyal to brands they trust, so make the most of yours.

Marketing expert James Nathan (right) will run the REC’s first ‘Creative Marketing on a Shoestring’ course on 11 April (other dates are 20 June and 10 September) and he says recruiters must return to basics.

“A lot of agencies have lost the art of selling their brand and building good networks and referral networks,” he says.

“They should be out there shaking hands and making phone calls rather than relying too much on email and social media, which is there to back up the physical

networking. The cost here is only their effort.

Sending an email is fine but making a phone call is making a proper effort.”

Nathan adds that many managers who are training consultants today do not have the experience themselves of networking effectively. “People need to know how to walk into a room full of strangers and they must have a strategy and know who they need to meet.”

Whilst networking remains crucial, it is the strength of a recruiter’s online presence which can really impact on how its brand is perceived these days.

Thomas Brown (opposite, p5), head

of insights at the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), agrees that networking is still important, but in an ever-evolving marketing landscape all recruiters must allocate more of their marketing budget to digital engagement during 2013.

“The current challenging economic climate, coupled with increased pressure to achieve competitive advantage means companies of all sizes must accept that increasingly candidates are using online products such as CV builders, webcasts, Q&A forms and the internet during their employment searches,” says Brown.

“This is in addition to pursuing direct dialogue with organisations themselves through channels such as Twitter and LinkedIn to set them apart from competitors and to gain an advantage.”

CASE STUDY: S Tate’s modern marketing approach Charlotte Woodward, W divisional marketing manager at Impellam Group which owns the Tate Ta brand, says recruiters must stand out from the crowd and be clever with their m marketing.

“In difficult times you cannot keep badgering clients for business so you have to act more as a consultant,” she says. “We have supplied eight advice hav guides from Tate in recent years, covering topics such as how to refine the gu screening sc process to keeping morale up.

“We are actually spending less on marketing but being smarter. This includes i up-skilling our own teams on digital marketing techniques and ensuring we provide engaging content on our website.”

She adds that the company has cut back significantly on some forms of “less sophisticated” traditional marketing, such as promotional merchandise.

4 Recruitment Matters February 2013

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www.rec.uk.com 05/02/2013 14:32

Make the most of your website An effective website will work for a recruiter 24 hours a day, says Alister Cattell, marketing manager at web experience management company Squiz (www.squiz.co.uk) RM: What’s the first rule when building a recruitment website?

AC: You must listen to your site visitors and understand what works.

Don’t just glance at your analytics but delve deep into the data and use the insight to drive the content, campaigns and social media activity you do.

RM: It’s all about social media these days isn’t it?

AC: Indeed. You must spend some time each day on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook creating an online presence for you and your business. Don’t set yourself goals like ‘get 100 Facebook Likes’ but set objectives such as ‘generate 10 new leads from LinkedIn and one new deal in a month’. These are real business goals for social media.

RM: What about mobile?

AC: Smartphone and tablets allow people to surf the web wherever they are, so make sure your site can be used on different devices. You don’t need an app, just convert your site for smaller screens.

RM: What should a recruiter put on their website?

There is an old saying in marketing that 50% of the budget is wasted – but most companies do not know which 50%, which means setting a marketing budget is never an easy task.

There is increased pressure to ‘do more with less’ says Brown, but many recruiters are failing to measure and track the effectiveness of their campaigns or customer satisfaction. “Measurement and accountability are crucial when evaluating ROI and the success of marketing spend. Otherwise you cannot assess whether to react or change if your business objectives are not being met.”

Recruiters do not have to spend huge amounts on marketing but research is critical before any money is allocated.

Agencies need to know which media their clients and candidates interact with and be clear about how they like to be communicated with.

Do leads come from advertising on job boards or from the agency’s own website, for instance?

To avoid wasting money on your website, ensure content delivers what the jobseeker really wants to see rather than including lots of company

www.rec.uk.com RM_4-5_FEB.indd 27

AC: There must be a content strategy so start thinking about how often you publish content to the web and in what form. This gives you things to Tweet or post about and raises your brand profile as people do their research online. Plan three informative blog posts which you’ll write over the next three months. Make them happen, even if you delegate or outsource it.

RM: Should paid advertising be considered?

AC: Many companies focus on natural SEO (search engine optimisation), but good old fashioned PPC (pay per click) advertising can be cost effective for increasing traffic and business. Try some paid advertising, even if it’s only a £100 spend.

information. Also make sure it is properly optimised so it attracts the maximum number of visitors.

Any market research must also include competitor analysis. What is the business and pricing strategy of other recruiters in the sector? What are their strengths and weaknesses? Find out what they spend their marketing budget on and how they promote their brand.

Getting mentioned in the local press or on local radio adds credibility to a business more than any amount of advertising. It is also free.

But make sure you have a reason for sending a press release. Maybe you have won an industry award? If a release sounds like an advert it will go straight in the reporter’s bin. Why not offer to write an ‘expert’ column for the newspaper talking about the local jobs market?

Five top tips

1 2 3 4 5

Lucy Stafford, managing director of marketing agency Mindshare and a member of the Direct Marketing Association, has five key tips for recruiters.

Segmentation – Segment your audience and clearly identify which segments you want to target Relevance – communicate only relevant messages to target audiences Integration – when considering the experience you wish clients and candidates to have and how you reach them, also think about how these different channels are integrated Measurement – there must be response mechanisms in place to accurately evaluate the success of any marketing activity Test & Learn – continuously test and learn from your activity to ensure it is fully optimised

Recruitment Matters February 2013 5

05/02/2013 14:32

Legal Update

First AWR case makes headlines An agency has successfully defended claims for pay parity under the Agency Workers Regulations 2010 (AWR). By REC solicitor and commercial adviser Lorraine Laryea In one of the first recorded cases under the AWR we now have an initial view of the Employment Tribunal’s approach to ‘flipping’ agency workers onto a Swedish Derogation (regulation 10 compliant) contract. The case is Bray and others v Monarch Personnel Refuelling (UK) Limited.

To recap, under regulation 10 of AWR, agency workers are entitled to equal treatment compared to a hirer’s directly recruited workers after completing a 12-week qualifying period. The parity treatment is limited to the terms and conditions relating to pay, the duration of working time, night work, rest periods, rest breaks and annual leave.

However, where the temporary work agency engages an agency worker on a permanent contract of employment that complies with regulation 10 of the AWR the agency worker will not be entitled to pay parity, but all other equal treatment rights apply. A regulation 10 contract (also known as a Swedish Derogation contract or Pay Between Assignments contract) must include certain terms and conditions and must also provide for the agency worker to receive a specified minimum amount of pay between assignments.

In order to be compliant, regulation 10(1)(a) specifies that: ‘the contract of employment was

entered into before the beginning of the first assignment under that contract.’

The case explores the thorny issue of how to transfer agency workers (also known as ‘flipping’) from existing contracts to a Swedish Derogation contract in a manner that fully complies with regulation 10(1)(a).

The claims were brought by a group of claimants who accepted the Swedish Derogation contracts offered to them by their agency in place of their previous zero contracts. The issue to be determined was a very narrow one: were the contracts of employment entered into before the beginning of the first assignment under that contract in accordance with regulation 10, with the effect that the entitlement pay parity did not apply?

The decision: the claims were all

dismissed as it was found that the agency had properly implemented the Swedish Derogation contracts.

Key findings: • The judge rejected the argument that ‘assignment’ means the continuous period during which an agency worker is hired out to a hirer. Instead he found that assignment means ‘a period of time’ during which the agency worker is hired out to hirers and agreed that this meant the particular assignment received from the client from time to time.

• A further argument put forward by the claimants, that the Swedish Derogation Contract was merely a variation of the original zero hours contract also failed.

The judge was satisfied that the Swedish Derogation Contract was a new contract, particularly given that the change from the zero hours to the guaranteed pay between assignments was a ‘fundamental change’ to the terms.

• The judge also rejected the claimants’ request that a reference be made to the Court of Justice of the EU for further clarification of the application of regulation 10.

This is a first instance decision which isn’t binding on other employment tribunals but it still gives an interesting first view of ‘flipping’.

Business development Testing… testing Recruiters must find and develop the best people for their clients. To make this happen, online skills testing and training is a quick and efficient way to verify a candidate’s skill level before putting them forward for interview.

The effective screening of candidates means employers can make informed hiring decisions. It also minimises future recruitment and training costs, increases retention rates and boosts productivity levels.

ISV Software’s ‘FastPath’ system adds value to the recruiter’s service and is integrated with front-end candidate management software. So candidates’ details and skill assessments can be managed fully within one program, saving more time.

6 Recruitment Matters February 2013

RM_06_FEB-A.indd 28

“When one of our new recruitment clients began using FastPath skills testing they reported an 8% increase in placement rates and a 6% improvement in attrition within the first quarter,” says Amanda Davies, ISV Group’s sales and marketing director. “Another client, REC-audited member White Horse Employment, uses both the testing and our online training.

The training helps to improve candidates’ skill levels while they’re looking for work, whilst the consultants dip in and out to brush up on their Microsoft Office skills.”

ISV Software has recruitment partners in every continent, with candidate tests and training available in different languages, covering myriad business sectors.

www.rec.uk.com 06/02/2013 09:56

Inspiration

Behind the scenes at the Institute of Recruitment Professionals

New boy Sam is a games hit This month we talk to Sam Ferri who won the IRP’s Best Newcomer of the Year Award Name: Sam Ferri Agency: Advanced Resource Managers (joined September 2011) Years in recruitment: sixteen months Specialism: Online gaming Has winning the award made a change to your professional life?

It has boosted my confidence and I have used it to win more customers.

It’s a tough market though?

My sector is still growing and is one of the more buoyant and emerging markets, and that’s played a part in how I can approach business.

There is also great support from the team in our Bournemouth office where I’m based.

What do you like and dislike about our industry?

I love helping others progress in their career and the continual change as well as building connections and contacts throughout the industry. I dislike the lack of control you can have at times. It can be very frustrating when you think you’ve got all the pieces ready to fall into place and it doesn’t happen, for reasons beyond your control.

Obviously your personality suits recruitment?

I am naturally fairly confident and I enjoy talking to people, so to do it for a living is fantastic. I am also naturally determined and I like a challenge.

www.rec.uk.com RM_07_FEB.indd 29

What’s your top tip for people entering the industry this year?

Identify a sustainable and fruitful niche that isn’t saturated with competitors or stagnant – ideally one that is well-placed for growth and longevity.

How can recruitment improve its image?

More visibility generally of what recruitment entails would be a good thing because some people underestimate the work we do.

Is there anything your work colleagues don’t know about you?

I once made a citizen’s arrest in Brussels when I saw a man steal a purse from a woman. I wrestled the thief to the floor. I rescued the victim’s purse and she bought me beers.

If you were not working in recruitment what job would you do?

I once found a dinosaur bone that the Natural History Museum went on to display for seven years, so I would have to say an archaeologist or palaeontologist!

Incentives on a budget A recent IRP webinar debated how we all like to be recognised for our efforts at work and that money does not always have to be the reward.

Workplace incentives say well done and drive productivity, and traditionally commission structures in the recruitment industry have worked well. However, many consultants are motivated by other things too, such as praise and a feeling of belonging. Two factors which cost employers very little but which can make staff feel more loyal and willing to go that extra mile.

Head of IRP Richard Charnock has some other suggestions for managers. He says staff need boundaries to work within and must have the confidence to make decisions for themselves within those boundaries and know how their manager will react.

“The key is to re-enforce these boundaries with praise, both for a job well done and sometimes for failure. Just the act of trying sometimes deserves praise, even if the

activity didn’t work out,” says Charnock. “It’s often the learning process or the way the staff member reacted to the failure that is more valuable than if the activity had gone well.”

Rewards do not have to be expensive and should be given for any idea which improves the business or adds to the bottom line. “Make people feel special. I’ve always found that listening and then following up on ideas is a good starting point,” says Charnock.

He says bosses must also trust their staff. “If you want your staff to take up your vision and use the inspiration you’re trying to give them you must trust them. This means letting go of the reins. Remember you employed the person because you think they can do the job. Let them do it and trust them.”

• Find more advice on inspiring and motivating your staff on the IRP blog: iloverecruitment.wordpress.com and twitter feed @recirp

Recruitment Matters February 2013 7

05/02/2013 14:33

Events and training Read what participants have said about our events: The next few months will be a busy time for the REC’s many Sector Groups. Here are some dates for your diary.

Date 21/02/13 26/02/13 26/02/13 05/03/13 06/03/13 14/03/13 14/03/13 19/03/13 20/03/13 28/03/13 04/04/13 09/04/13 10/04/13 16/04/12 17/04/13 23/04/13

Sector Group Sectors – Sales & Retail MMC Education Office Professionals AER Roundtable Sectors – AFS Life Sciences IMA Sectors – R2R Technology General Drivers & Industrial Construction Sales & Retail Childcare HR & Legal Healthcare

Location online (Webinar) London London London London online (Webinar) London London online (Webinar) London Hinckley Island London London TBC, not London London TBC, not London

How to pitch in 60 seconds, with great hints and tips to gain more business Ann Barkas, owner Star Temps, from an Ask the Expert Workshop in December

It was an uplifting day which explained all the aspects in a clear and concise way. It was inspiring Adrian Barker, AndersPlus, from Business Brains on Tour in November

Bespoke and topical content Simon Noakes, Bespoke Recruitment, from the Construction Sector Group meeting in August

The REC doesn’t just run extensive training in London, there are a huge number of courses taking place in the regions too. To book go online www.rece.uk.com/training or call 020 7009 2100.

Course Title

Date

Location

New Manager

13-14 February

Leeds

£650

£875

Management Development Programme

13-14 February

Bristol

£650

£875

New Manager

20-21 February

Edinburgh

£650

£875

Proactive Business Development

26 February

Bristol

£350

£590

Recruitment Law: Managing PAYE Temp workers

27 February

Manchester

£350

£590

Essential Skills for Perm Consultants

27 February

Bristol

£350

£590

Telephone Sales

27 February

Glasgow

£350

£590

Recruitment Law: Understanding the Essentials

28 February

Manchester

£350

£590

Management Development Programme

05-06 March

Leeds

£650

£875

Start Up Your Own Recruitment Agency

05-07 March

Birmingham

£1,175

£1,175

Recruitment Law: Managing PAYE Temp workers

06 March

Birmingham

£350

£590

Recruitment Law: Understanding the Essentials

07 March

Birmingham

£350

£590

Successful Account Management

13 March

Leeds

£350

£590

Introduction to Recruitment Practice

13-14 March

Bristol

£595

£825

Essential Skills for Perm Consultants

14 March

Leeds

£350

£590

Essential Skills for Perm Consultants

19 March

Birmingham

£350

£590

Essential Skills for Temp Consultants

20 March

Newcastle

£350

£590

Successful Interviewing

20 March

Birmingham

£350

£590

Essential Skills for Temp Consultants

21 March

Leeds

£350

£590

Telephone Sales

26 March

Leeds

£350

£590

Successful Interviewing

27 March

Newcastle

£350

£590

Balancing Act

27-28 March

Birmingham

£650

£875

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

8 Recruitment Matters February 2013

RM_08–FEB.indd 30

Member Cost Non Member Cost

Membership Department: Membership: 020 7009 2144, Customer Services: 020 7009 2148 Publishers: Redactive Publishing Ltd, 17 Britton Street, London EC1M 5TP. Tel: 020 7880 6200. www.redactive.co.uk Publisher: Anne Sadler. anne.sadler@redactive.co.uk Tel: 020 7880 6213 Consulting Editor: Liz Banks liz.banks@rec.uk.com Editorial: Editor: Steve Hemsley. steve.hemsley@redactive.co.uk. Production Editor: Vanessa Townsend Production: Deputy Production Manager: Kieran Tobin. kieran.tobin@redactive.co.uk Tel: 020 7880 6240 Printing: Printed by Southernprint © 2013 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.

www.rec.uk.com 05/02/2013 14:33

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06/02/2013 10:26

The Challenge

The quest to secure inter-office networking Chris Dunham InterQuest

A CALL OUT OF THE BLUE FROM EXPONENTIAL-E PROVED JUST THE SOLUTION IT AND TECHNOLOGY RECRUITMENT GROUP INTERQUEST NEEDED

THE CHALLENGE IT and technology recruitment firm InterQuest counts itself among one of the largest IT staffing groups in the UK since its launch over a decade ago in 2001.

Growing both organically and through the strategic acquisition of niche market firms, the group has recently gone through a rebranding exercise, where the 15 distinct divisions now incorporate the InterQuest (IQ) logo or name.

Chris Dunham, IT manager at InterQuest, told Recruiter that although growth was obviously a good thing, the challenge was how to merge each new office with the group’s IT systems and ensure they were linked to each other. “We’ve gone from 40 staff when I joined seven years ago to around 240 staff today,” Dunham said. At that time, the firm was using an ADSL-based system, a data communications line that allows faster transmission than over telephone cable. “When we had three or four offices it was OK,” Dunham explained, “but as we got bigger it started to groan.

Any breakdowns took time to fix.

In the past we lost connections

“We talk about what Exponential-e can do for the company, offering them a better way” JOHN KYRILLOU

in one office for a whole week. It was fixed but then it went down again. The system was not fit for purpose.”

As InterQuest grew, the need for a new network was becoming more pressing. Any down-time was costing the firm money, as well as affecting its brand perception to both clients and candidates. Many sites had started to experience performance issues and so were becoming increasingly dependent on InterQuest’s London head office. Dunham decided it was time to look at a new system. As well as the incumbent provider, two others were sought in the tendering process. “Out of the blue we got a call from [cloud and IT provider] Exponential-e,” Dunham told Recruiter. “It made me pay attention. We looked at the offering and we were impressed with the company.” In fact, Dunham said it was the initial call that made him take notice of Exponential-e, explaining that it didn’t really sound like a sales call at all.

The result of the tendering process was that Dunham’s initial gut feeling was correct and InterQuest chose Exponential-e to solve its inter-company network problems.

THE SOLUTION John Kyrillou, head of direct sales at Exponential-e, explained that “we ask the right questions and do consultancy” from the very first phone call. “We

Key Lessons Good customer contact is key to any business relationship. “Even when we got bad news — like when Camden Council told us we could not dig up the road to install new cabling, which held up the roll-out — Exponential-e assured us it would run smoothly.

And it did!”

Chris Dunham talk about what Exponential-e can do for the company, offering them a better way,” he told Recruiter.

“We went through a bit of a discovery exercise,” added Dunham.

“We sat down with Exponential-e and mapped out our entire existing network.”

Having redesigned InterQuest’s existing infrastructure, what was most important for the recruiter, and what the previous network didn’t offer, was a system that was future-proof. For example, to have the option of video conferencing and rerouting internal voice traffic, so that it becomes free between sites.

As well as offering this, Kyrillou explained that database security was another important factor — as it would be to any recruitment business. Previously, InterQuest’s DSL connection, which runs via telephone lines, and therefore outside the in-house network and

John Kyrillou Exponential-e

into the outside world, was not as secure. With Exponential-e’s solution, “InterQuest manages its own data through a private connection”, Kyrillou said. “It doesn’t go out into the internet — so it won’t creep out. It’s a closed/ private network taking traffic to many different sites in a quick and efficient way.”

Although Dunham admitted “it wasn’t the cheapest solution but we’re getting a lot more for our money”. He continued: “The benefits far outweighed the price difference.” As part of the futureproofing options, Exponential-e has routed phone calls internally, which means calls between sites are free, offering InterQuest cost savings already. There are possibilities of expanding the network to include the Singapore office, and discussions are underway.

For Dunham, reliability was key.

“If things don’t work, we don’t make money,” he said. “Since its initial installation, I can’t honestly think of any ‘outages’.” In fact, at a recent seminar which Exponential-e laid on for various customers, one of the provider’s managers had to apologise to a client for not recognising them. He explained: “It’s not that we don’t like talking to you, it’s just that we haven’t had to!”

With options in the future of increasing bandwidth or adding new lines — should InterQuest expand their offices — and implementing video conferencing, Dunham is enthusiastic in his praise. “You just know it’s going to work,” he said simply.

Would you like to be involved in The Challenge? Contact Vanessa Townsend at vanessa.townsend@recruiter.co.uk

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06/02/2013 10:27

Profile

Lynda Price COLIN COTTELL MET HEAD OF RESOURCING, INSURANCE & RETAIL, LLOYDS BANKING GROUP Raising the professionalism and skills of recruiters is not a new idea. The profession is awash with various qualifications from trade bodies and numerous companies offer training. These days, no self-respecting staffing company bypasses the opportunity to promote its training as a way to attract and retain the best talent.

Until now, tailored training specifically aimed at inhouse recruiters has been thin on the ground. However, last year Lloyds Banking Group, the UK’s largest retail bank, launched a new training programme — the Resourcing Academy — for its 300 in-house resourcers and recruiters to do just that.

Energetic and bursting with enthusiasm, Lynda Price, the Group’s head of resourcing, insurance and retail, explains the rationale behind the academy as we meet in a Lloyds office in the City. “We wanted to raise the capability of our colleagues not just from a business partnering point of view”, with less focus on the purely transactional, “but also from a commercial perspective,” she says.

“Only by ensuring our colleagues understand the correct economic and competitive environment can they really be effective in a business and supporting role — that’s been the key driver for us,” says Price, whose responsibilities cover 45,000 of the Group‘s 100,000 or so employees.

Price first entered banking in 1990 joining Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS), taking on various HR roles of increasing seniority before transferring across to what in 2009 became Lloyds Banking Group, when the then Lloyds TSB acquired HBOS at the height of the financial crisis.

As she explains, the second driver for the academy came from the results of the bank’s annual staff survey.

This revealed that staff members within the resourcing function were enthusiastic about personal and career development.

The training course follows a modular approach,

LLOYDS BANKING GROUP’S RESOURCING ACADEMY Modules assessment and selection assessment and selection for senior hires contemporary financial services direct hiring employment law

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with staff able to pick and choose depending on their individual needs (see box below). One area where the academy has already shown impressive results is in direct hiring. Here, most of the focus was on introducing staff to techniques and tools such as LinkedIn; but it also covered topics such as ‘how to brief a job effectively’.

“The idea was that they would be able to take things from the day, and to start to think about things differently,” says Price, adding, “some of it is a change of mindset.”

While Price says it will take time before the full results are seen, the early signs from the direct hiring module are promising. The percentage of direct external hires has risen from 50% before the programme to around 82%, as a result of less reliance on recruitment agencies. This has saved the Group many thousands of pounds.

Last year 240 staff attended at least one module, and Price is clearly pleased. But it is still early days, she adds, and she is looking to build on the progress made to date by opening it up to new entrants to the in-house function. However, she readily accepts that it won’t be easy to maintain the results, for example on direct hiring. “The challenge is keeping it at 82%,” she says.

Cultural change is an issue often raised when the challenges for the banking sector are discussed. Price isn’t fazed. For Lloyds Banking Group, she says, “the fundamentals about putting the customer first and making sure you are providing a good relationship service are pretty constant”.

She goes on to explain how she sees her own role and that of her team fitting into that bigger picture. “You have got to be aligned with the goals of the bank from a resourcing perspective. Our responsibility is to provide people who meet the company values, who have the talent to understand the commercial environment and can deliver the level of customer service that we expect.”

Clarifying the point further, Price continues: “We do home in very closely on customer service skills LYNDA PRICE’S PHILOSOPHY:

“WE ENSURE THAT AS RESOURCING PROFESSIONALS WE HAVE GOT COLLEAGUES THAT HAVE THE RIGHT COMMERCIAL AWARENESS TO UNDERSTAND THE COMPETITIVE DEMANDS OF THE BUSINESS SO THAT WE CAN EFFECTIVELY SOURCE AND DELIVER CANDIDATES WITH THE RIGHT SKILLS AND BEHAVIOURS”

SECRET OF SUCCESS “Understand your business areas so you can identify with your business and understand the customer needs”

CV Head of resourcing insurance and retail, Lloyds Banking Group May 2011-present

Head of HR, group operations, Lloyds Banking Group March 2009-April 2011

Head of learning and development, resourcing and colleague engagement, Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS) August 2006February 2009

Head of HR North Region, HBOS March 2004- July 2006

HR project manager, HBOS November 2003-March 2004

Learning and development manager, retail operations, HBOS January 2001-November 2003

WWW.RECRUITER.CO.UK

07/02/2013 08:10

PHOTOGRAPHY: PETER SEARLE

ProямБle

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07/02/2013 08:10

Profile

and adaptable customer service skills to give staff the flexibility to work across all areas.”

At the operational level, Price explains how this feeds through into everyday practice within the function. One example is the use of role plays to identify those with the ability to deliver great customer service, she says.

Similarly, interview questions are framed to give candidates an opportunity to provide evidence of when they either delivered or received good customer service.

Price is in no doubt that focusing selection on identifying those that share the bank’s values of putting the customer first, keeping it simple, and making a difference together, is a key aspect of her role.

She is equally clear of the need to give those with hiring responsibilities the tools to do the job, be they members of her own team through the academy, or hiring managers.

Keeping it simple is a theme Price returns to when she illustrates how engaging hiring managers in this way can have significant results, citing the results of better engagement with hiring managers in its retail division through end to end processing reviews. In this case, she explains simply ensuring that the bookings for interviews and for selection events were made for dates early on in the recruitment process led to a better candidate experience, and a significant reduction in time to hire for the business. As Price remarks: “Quite often it’s simple things that make the difference.”

This attention to detail is captured in Price’s final comment: “We need to continually look at the way we operate, so that we are providing the most efficient

KEY FACTS Lloyds Banking Group was formed in January 2009 when Lloyds TSB acquired Halifax Bank of Scotland. Lloyds Bank first opened for business in 1765 The group has over 30m UK customers Lloyds Banking Group has approximately 104,000 employees It is 39% owned by the UK taxpayer

Main brands include: Lloyds TSB, Bank of Scotland, Halifax, Scottish Widows and Cheltenham & Gloucester 2011 Income £20.77bn 2011 Net loss after tax £2.79bn

recruiting processes, which links back to what the candidates and hiring managers are saying about it: basically, delivery; quality; and speed.”

In other words, if you want better results, best look within first.

Lynda Price will share even greater insight into the Resourcing Academy at Recruiter’s Smart Resourcing 2013 conference on 28 February in London. Book now by visiting www.smartresourcing2013.com

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07/02/2013 08:11

Recruitment is in our DNA

Developed by people who know recruitment RDB ProNet is developed by people with decades of front line recruitment experience who understand what small, medium and large recruitment companies want to achieve and have been helping them to achieve it since 1996. It’s because we understand your goals that ProNet has been designed to be a platform on which to build your business with usable workflows, ease of integration, customisation, compliance and security at its heart.

If you’re a small business you’ll appreciate that ProNet will meet and exceed your needs out of the box and if you’re a larger business you’ll appreciate the fact that while all the standard workflows are covered – your own particular, perhaps, more complex or compliance needs can be easily catered for.

Deeper integration, intuitive operation, exceptional user satisfaction, improved efficiency, reliability, easy customisation and larger profits.

These are the benefits enjoyed by recruitment businesses using RDB ProNet. Call us and find out how our understanding of recruitment can help your business and why, in a pretty flat market, sales of ProNet increased by 60% last year and are up again this year!

On-site or in the Cloud the choice is yours and you’ll be in great company - these are just some of our successful clients.

ProNet people I process I placements

Recruitment Software Client/candidate website portals I Vendor management I Job boards On-line timesheets I Virtual office I Search & Workflow Management

Seeing is believing

Book a demonstration and see for yourself

01256 314600 | www.firstchoice.org.uk REC.02.13.037.indd 2

06/02/2013 10:28

Talent sourcing

Seeking new sources of talent IN THE BATTLE FOR TALENT SUPREMACY, RECRUITERS AND IN-HOUSE RESOURCING TEAMS ALIKE NEED TO BE CONSTANTLY UPSKILLING AND LOOKING INTO NEW SEARCH TECHNIQUES. SUE WEEKES INVESTIGATES Jill Duthie, head of sourcing for the UK and Europe at the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), describes the company as being nine months into a “direct sourcing journey”. Her team goes out directly to the market, working predominantly in the passive candidate space, to support the consultants in the resourcing team. “We had to upskill everyone at the beginning and now the team is pretty savvy in terms of tools and search techniques,” says Duthie who, significantly, is one of the first people in the UK to have a ‘head of sourcing’ title.

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Kcom Group, meanwhile, which provides communication services for multimedia businesses and public sector organisations, claims to have saved around £216k over the past 12 months by implementing a direct recruitment strategy. Gemma Reucroft, head of HR at the company, says Kcom has hired a range of roles from part-time customer service advisers to director-level positions. “We’re focused on building talent pools for the long term and are now starting to hire people we hooked up with a year ago,” she says, explaining that it uses a range of tools,

WWW.RECRUITER.CO.UK

07/02/2013 12:08

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06/02/2013 10:28

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE

Building successful recruitment businesess throughout the UK

A

fter a successful growth period and in line with its business plan, Jark Ventures has renamed to ‘Recruit Ventures’. This will strengthen its brand and what it stands for as it recruits further new business partners throughout the UK in 2013.

The rebrand to Recruit Ventures and increased investments allows the business to offer venture partners a higher level of support and recruitment expertise. With more than five recruitment experts signing up in the last six months and adding an additional turnover of £8 million, the business is rapidly expanding and offers new partners an enhanced package of support and financial backing.

Recruit Ventures has access to recruitment experts with more than 40 years of experience in the industry and allows the opportunity for partners to develop their own personal brand and

Jark.indd 2

identity in the marketplace.

COULD YOU BE THE NEXT RECRUIT VENTURE? IF YOU ANSWER YES TO THE BELOW, THEN LET US KNOW

John Buckman, Recruit Ventures chairman (right in picture above), said: “I enable people to have the opportunity to grow their existing business or start from scratch. With many years of experience of opening start-up branches the guidance I can give is invaluable. I help to build and launch successful recruitment businesses where the owners have the freedom to grow and gain market share giving individuals the same opportunity I have enjoyed myself.”

Are you an experienced recruitment professional?

David Simons, Recruit Ventures managing director (left in picture above), said: “Recruit Ventures supports the budding entrepreneur and allows them to run their own profitable business. My team have the skills and experience to launch a new business and to support the business as it grows and develops. We provide both financial and expert back-office support which allows Recruit Venture partners to do what they are best at - recruiting.”

What does a Recruit Venture include?

Want to be your own boss?

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Recruit Ventures has an experienced and advanced support team for all venture partners. These experts include: Accounts • Finance • Payroll Credit Control • IT • HR and Training • Marketing and PR • National Sales

07/02/2013 10:04

CASE STUDIES

Senior Salmon is based in Mansfield. After launching in April 2012, the business has gone from strength to strength operating within the Industrial and Technical markets.

Joint Directors Jamie Senior and Martyn Salmon have said: “After launching last April we have grown to a team of six and are on course to achieve our projected sales of £3 million in 2013.

This success is down to the funding and support Recruit Ventures has given us which has allowed us to do what we are good at, sales!”

“Recruit Ventures allows a small business to have structure and a future direction. Working with the team gives you motivation, you can talk about ideas with someone in the same industry that understands you.”

Vebro, based in Cannock, and headed up by directors Andrew Weaver and Darren Browne, opened in 2012. The business has established itself in the local recruitment marketplace and is going from strength to strength.

Andrew said: “Launching in November last year we needed everything in place quickly to ensure we could trade immediately to catch valuable logistic business leading up to Christmas.

Recruit Ventures had us up and running and fully operational in just days from signing contracts and we have traded from our target launch date without a glitch.”

Darren said: “It really helped to launch our business with the latest back-office support, from accounts and payroll to training, HR to IT. I’m pleased we worked with Recruit Ventures to launch Vebro. We had the business up and running in a matter of days.”

Pebble People, which is based in Northampton, launched in September 2011 and is led by Harry Bowden. From when the business opened its doors it has been growing rapidly and is continuing to do so. The business supplies many clients throughout Northamptonshire and is gaining more business on a weekly basis.

Harry, director, said: “I believe that my strong growth pattern has been thanks to the Recruit Ventures team. Without the professional assistance I had when setting up Pebble People I wouldn’t be where I am now. The team provided me with support and advice from their many years of launching new recruitment businesses.

“For me the main benefits of setting up a Recruit Venture were assistance with branding and property searching which made the process very quick. The special combination of big company resources for items such as IT, payroll, HR and marketing, and my small company reliability and commitment enable me to provide Northampton with a bespoke service that is needed in the marketplace.”

Start your recruitment business in five easy steps 1. Let David know you are interested by emailing dsimons@recruitventures. com or calling 07900 263 043 (all calls are confidential) 2. Meet David for an initial business discussion 3. Compile your business plan

Resolve Personnel is the newest Recruit Venture which opened its doors in Stockport in January 2013. In only two months the business has developed a strong client base and is supplying staff in the industrial, driving, catering and commercial sectors.

Joanne Gooch, director, said: “I made the decision to start a Recruit Venture so that I could offer something different, a full service agency which doesn’t have its hands tied with red tape and that is run both productively and efficiently. I enjoy managing the business my way, and being flexible to changing sectors and client needs.”

4. Discuss the business plan with John Buckman and agree to become a Recruit Venture partner 5. Open the doors to your new office within weeks

An exciting opportunity is just around the corner…

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Recruit Ventures is a second chance at success. A low risk opportunity with experienced expert advice, management support and funding.

Visit www.recruitventures.com or call David Simons on 07900 263 043 for more information.

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07/02/2013 09:20

Talent sourcing

including social media, and has invested in specialist training and worked closely with LinkedIn. “The team have targets around LinkedIn connections.”

While talent sourcing is by no means just about technology, there is no doubt that it is liberating more and more in-house teams and providing huge support to those who want to switch to a direct resourcing model. Katharine Robinson, also known as TheSourceress, says initially she mainly worked with recruitment businesses but since 2012 there has been a major shift towards in-house recruiting projects.

“There’s a demand for training and awareness around all aspects of internet sourcing technology,” she says.

“In-house teams also want to know more about how they can make the most of the data they already have and how they can grow their talent pipelines and talent pools.”

With more sources of candidates and candidate information than there has ever been, the challenge is perhaps not so much accessing candidates as knowing what channels to use and how best to use them. “The scary thing is that most people can be found these days so you need to know how to optimise your search to tap into the specific skills you need,” says Duthie, whose team use a mix of channels and sources. “But you constantly have to look at the tools you are using to find people to make sure they are fit for purpose.”

Reucroft agrees it demands constant effort. Among the newer tools in Kcom’s armoury is the contentsharing platform Pinterest and it is also making use of QR codes. “Pinterest is a new one for us but we’ve set up an employer board based around our values which provides insight into our company culture,” she explains. “We are largely using QR codes to promote a referral scheme so people can scan a code on a poster or pop-up and view vacancies on their mobile phone rather than having to go through to the applicant tracking system (ATS).”

Indeed, with sourcing having established itself as a separate function, there looks like being no shortage of tools coming on to the market to help recruiters find the right talent.

Robinson says one of the hot topics in sourcing circles at the moment is Facebook Graph Search. This extends a recruiter’s search capability across the social network (for instance, it allows you to search for people based on interest) but while creating a great deal of buzz, she says not everyone in the sourcing community believes it is the next big social recruiting tool.

Better search and match technology is also emerging and job board Monster’s semantic search tool SeeMore is gaining more widespread use in the UK by corporate recruiters. Matthew Scherba, enterprise solutions consultant at Monster, says it is used to search and match external and internal talent pools many of which have been under-utilised in the past. “We see many clients wanting to reduce

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“IN-HOUSE TEAMS ALSO WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT HOW THEY CAN MAKE THE MOST OF THE DATA THEY ALREADY HAVE AND HOW THEY CAN GROW THEIR TALENT PIPELINES AND TALENT POOLS” KATHARINE ROBINSON agency spend and you don’t have to make many placements from your internal talent pool to quickly realise savings,” he says. “For some corporate users we’re monitoring return on investment from our PowerSearch and SeeMore tools on a monthly basis.”

Robinson agrees that semantic search in general is a powerful tool for recruiters but for the more advanced sourcer like herself, it can be a double-edged sword.

“When I run a [semantic] search I don’t always know why I’ve got the results back as the machine has made certain decisions for me,” she says. “If you are looking for something exact I think Boolean can still be better.

It’s about knowing how things work and looking under the bonnet of your search and asking why you are getting these results.”

Going forward, in-house recruiters will certainly need to establish for themselves what tools, techniques and channels will work best for them. One of the first companies to track the effectiveness of online recruitment was, of course, Broadbean and in-house recruiters can benefit from similar technology when it comes to searching. Dan Martin, managing director, EMEA, of multi-posting and CV search software firm Boradbean says the development of candidate searching and sourcing tools for in-house recruiters has been one of Broadbean’s major focuses for the past 12 months. “Under the same principle of aggregation used for posting, an in-house recruiter can now run just one search across multiple channels such as a CV database, LinkedIn or the web,” he explains, adding that its Search tool will then monitor which sources provide the best candidates and track channel usage across the organisation. “We also provide corporate recruiters with a sourcing database that is distinct from their ATS,” he explains. “It captures all of the candidates who

Dan Martin

Gemma Reucroft

Matthew Scherba

WWW.RECRUITER.CO.UK

07/02/2013 12:10

EXPERT OPINION

Creating new opportunities for recruiters, within the logistics sector

By Peter Sherry, Chief Executive, National Skills Academy for Logistics

T

here’s so much in our lives that we take for granted. We order things over the Internet and marvel at how much Tim BernersLee’s invention has transformed our lives, without giving a second thought to how efficiently our purchases arrive. Pretty much everything we buy, use and eat has – at some point – to be transported. That’s the job of the logistics sector.

In the UK, the logistics sector is one of the biggest employers – almost one in twelve people working in the UK works in logistics. That’s over two million people within 196,000 organisations.

In turn, the learning partners work with recruitment companies – who are able to supply the trained people to their own customers: either logistics organisations or organisations such as supermarket chains, which have significant logistics needs. Because the people are trained, they are significantly better candidates – safer, more reliable, more productive – which opens up more opportunities for the recruitment providers. It also helps them forge far stronger relationships with their customers. There’s another advantage that’s hardly trivial: the candidates are supplied without any direct costs to the recruitment provider.

Recruitment companies are often familiar with the sector – after all, they frequently provide logistics workers to all kinds of companies: from distribution organisations to large supermarket chains. More often than not, they struggle to find anyone except unskilled candidates.

There’s another benefit too. Typically, recruitment providers can only source unskilled workers for logistics roles. Now, they can tap into an entirely new source of people – those who are currently out of work. There should be no reservation about this: these people can be quickly trained to high standards and become excellent candidates.

Yet there are huge advantages to supplying skilled workers. People who are trained are significantly safer and significantly more productive than people who aren’t. The difference isn’t trivial – trained vehicle-loading workers deliver a 50% time saving and a trained order-picker can be 80% better than a novice. And delivering trained people helps recruitment companies build stronger relationships with their customers – because their customers vastly prefer people with training.

This also helps the UK solve a major issue: unemployment. Getting people back into work is a Government priority – and although unemployment is slowly decreasing overall, it’s actually rising for the young. The number of unemployed people aged 15 to 24 has risen by 35% between 2008 and 2011. Paradoxically, logistics is a sector which is crying out for more young people – just 9% of the current workforce is under 25.

My role, as Chief Executive of the National Skills Academy for Logistics, is to champion, promote and sponsor skills development in the logistics sector.

One of the ways in which we create more skilled people is through our preemployment training programmes.

The logistics sector has a burning need for more people. In fact, growth in the sector means that, by 2020, it will need an additional 738,000 trained workers. While the sector is not typically seen as a career of choice, our goal is to not only attract and train those workers, it’s also to raise the professionalism of the sector and make people proud to be a part of it.

To help achieve this, we’re working in partnership with learning providers and recruitment companies to establish a robust training and recruitment process that will support UK industry.

Specialist learning companies provide pre-employment training programmes – specifically targeting those who are currently out of work. People attend a 35-hour training programme, delivered in a real logistics environment. At the end, they get a recognised certification and a guaranteed job interview with a potential employer. During the training, there’s no loss of unemployment benefits.

Working in partnership with training companies and commercial recruitment providers, our goal is to boost the number of trained people in the sector: giving industry rapid access to people who measurably get more done, follow best practice and are safer employees.

It creates opportunities for all and benefits all round. The logistics sector can become more efficient and more competitive – because, while the logistics sector is good, there’s still room for improvement. It is ranked only 13th worldwide in terms of competitiveness. On top of this, efficiency in the warehouse and distribution network delivers a stronger bottom line for business. Recruitment companies can open up more opportunities, build stronger relationships with customers and increase customer satisfaction.

This will help lower unemployment – and it’s not just with a quick fix.

Logistics is a sector where people can genuinely start at the bottom and work up to the top. We can make logistics a career of choice. It’s good for those currently out of work, for recruiters, for companies with logistics needs – and, of course, for the UK.

For further information, please call 0161 923 9001, visit nsal.org.uk or e-mail p.sherry@nsal.org.uk

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Talent sourcing

have come in over a period of time and puts them in a searchable database so they can be matched with jobs.â&#x20AC;?

With an explosion of channels, Broadbean is aiming to help resourcers cut through the confusion and provide a â&#x20AC;&#x153;one-stop shopâ&#x20AC;? for sourcing needs.

As Martin suggests, in-house recruiters shouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t focus solely on sourcing technology and need to look at how their new processes can be embedded into their recruitment practices and infrastructures. Next up for Kcom is to integrate referral software into its ATS while Duthie says RBS is aiming to shift from an ATS to a broader talent management platform that will enable it to store, share and search information more easily.

With in-house teams expecting more from their ATSs, it is likely that some legacy systems simply wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be up to the growing demands of more advanced inhouse recruitment teams. With this in mind, Tribepad is launching what its co-founder and director Lisa Scales claims is one of the first truly â&#x20AC;&#x153;social ATSâ&#x20AC;?, which aims to deliver on both the sourcing/searching side as well as candidate management. It allows a user to search for candidates on internal databases and external sources but the latter perhaps needs some expansion to fully convey its capabilities.

Tribepadâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s search engine can search all of the candidate sources youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d expect but also everything that has been indexed by Google on the web. So as well as finding a profile of a Java developer that fits

â&#x20AC;&#x153;WE HAD TO UPSKILL EVERYONE AT THE BEGINNING AND NOW THE TEAM IS PRETTY SAVVY IN TERMS OF TOOLS AND SEARCH TECHNIQUESâ&#x20AC;?

JILL DUTHIE

the bill, it will also return individuals who have, for instance, written a white paper on Java but who wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t necessarily be on LinkedIn. Alongside this it returns all other web references to them or related profiles. â&#x20AC;&#x153;So itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leveraging big data for recruiters in a really meaningful way,â&#x20AC;? says Scales, who adds that having found a potential candidate, they can be imported into the Tribepad ATS. â&#x20AC;&#x153;People used to talk about their ATS like it was a big black hole of despair where they could never find anyone. So we decided to build an ATS within Tribepad so they could bring these people inside their own ecosystem.â&#x20AC;?

Scales who used to be an in-house recruiter in the City, has some sympathy with the demands placed on modern recruiters and is therefore keen to provide the right supporting technology. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Modern day recruiting is not just about processing,â&#x20AC;? she says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Today you have to be a sourcing expert, a communications expert, an SEO expert and more. You need technology to help you do all of these things so developers like us need to bring all of these strands together.â&#x20AC;?

Lisa Scales

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Movers & Shakers

Sponsored by Jark Ventures

ASCENDANT RECRUITMENT: •Natasha Wilkinson joins the new

ATS PIONEER MAISTER JOINS WCN IN US

finance division of the multisector recruiter as a director.

• ARROWS GROUP: The recruiter has promoted Ross Cooper to group financial director.

Jeanette Maister has joined e-recruitment software supplier WCN as managing director for US business development.

Previously the global chief operating officer and business manager for campus recruiting at investment bank Credit Suisse, Maister has been recruited to support and grow WCN’s US client base.

At Credit Suisse, Maister managed the global integration of WCN’s most recent multi-lingual solution, and previously launched competitor bank Lehman Brothers’ first applicant tracking system (ATS), also hosted by WCN.

•joined the recruitment software BULLHORN: Dan Cohen has

firm in the role of EMEA enterprise sales director.

CPH: The recruitment process •outsourcing (RPO) provider

has appointed Mike Cutt to its advisory board.

•

CTPARTNERS: The executive search firm’s new Frankfurt office is led by managing partner Gert Stürzebecher.

CAMPUS RECRUITMENT IS MASSIVELY IMPORTANT IN THE US, AND WE’RE EXTREMELY SERIOUS ABOUT SUPPORTING AND DEVELOPING OUR BUSINESS STATESIDE CHARLES HIPPS, CHIEF EXECUTIVE

•

DE POEL: The temp labour procurer has taken on Charles Gray as sales and marketing director.

Former treasurer to •HRHPENNA: The Prince of Wales Leslie

EPM SCIENTIFIC: The launch of Phaidon International’s specialist life sciences brand sees Emma Morris join as director.

The IT recruitment •firmINTERQUEST: has seen group development

RANDSTAD: François Béharel •joins the executive board for a

director Alan Found step down from his role.

four-year term.

•Claire Brown joins the property

•

Bowman as director.

•

FOUNDATION RECRUITMENT:

recruiter as operations manager.

•

GCS: David Bloxham, the technology recruiter’s MD, has been elected president of the Reading Chamber of Commerce.

•

GREYTHORN: The IT recruiter has appointed John Horton to the role of associate director overseeing its contract division. & STRUGGLES: •TheHEIDRICK executive recruiter has

promoted Michael Cullen to the role of regional manager partner (Americas) of its global technology & services practice.

LA FOSSE: James Parker is

promoted to MD as founder Simon La Fosse steps up to the CEO role at the tech recruiter.

•

LUMESSE: The talent software firm has appointed Thomas Volk as new CEO.

•

MANPOWERGROUP: Richard Buchband has been hired as senior vice president and chief legal officer at the global staffing group.

OYSTER PARTNERSHIP: Former •SThree boss Russell Clements

has joined the property & surveying recruiter as chairman.

•

firm as a non-executive director.

PARITY GROUP: Suzanne Chase has joined the IT recruitment and services firm as executive director and general counsel.

•group has taken on ex-soldier

•The executive recruiter has

Lincoln Jopp as an NED. Impellam Technical Solutions has hired

appointed Irham Dilmy as its country manager for Indonesia.

• ICS: Former Hays director David Trotman joins the payroll IMPELLAM: The recruitment

A selection of vacancies from recruiter.co.uk

Morson International Bid manager £dependent on experience Manchester (Salford)

Extrastaff Industrial recruitment consultant £excellent basic+comms West London

OFFICER, WCN Alayna Parish as internal talent acquisition manager within its ABC Contract Services, SRG and S.com brands.

• EMR: The marketing, comms & digital recruiter has hired Rachel

Your next move?

PEDERSEN & PARTNERS:

Jane Ferrar has joined the HR services firm as an NED.

The industry body has •newREC:chairs of two sector groups.

Aidan Anglin, director of IT recruiter DP Connect, leads technology, and resourcing firm BPS World’s director Simon Conington heads up engineering and technical.

• RTC GROUP: Sarah Dye has moved into the group finance

Recruiter Republic Account manager/ recruitment consultant £25k-£28k + comms Essex

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

do you want to

director role at the recruitment, training and conferencing provider.

START

•

RECRUITMENT

RESOLVE PERSONNEL: The industrial, driving & logistics agency, a Jark Joint Venture, is led by Laura Barber and Joanne Gooch.

YOUR OWN

business

totally risk free?

The recruiter’s CEO •andRETHINK: founder Jon Butterfield has stepped down.

•

TEC GROUP: The oil & gas recruiter has appointed David Bowers as its Americas vice president working in its new Houston office.

Your business - YOUR BRAND Contact David Simons on

07900 263043 dsimons@recruitventures.com

Email people moves for use online and in magazine, including a short biography, to recruiter.editorial@redactive.co.uk

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www.recruitventures.com

WWW.RECRUITER.CO.UK

07/02/2013 10:22

Appointments www.recruiter.co.uk

All Directors have in excess of 10 years direct experience in their individual fields.

A number of unadvertised vacancies at all levels are available so it is always worth a confidential conversation.

A confidential initial enquiry line (8am-8pm Monday-Friday) on 0113 2460062

View the latest jobs at www.recruiter.co.uk

To place your advertisement E: david.rix@redactive.co.uk or T: 020 7880 7608

Ruth Moran Consulting is now entering its 14th year of trading.

An impressive network of long established client relationships across the UK.

For further information please contact:

We offer tailored recruitment solutions to all clients both in terms of opportunity and cultural fit.

Ruth Moran, Managing Director Sales & Marketing, IT, Legal, Accountancy, HR, Executive Search and Selection/Senior Appointments.

Email: ruth@ruthmoran.co.uk 0113 2460062/07970 840061

Lucy Spencer, Director

Leeds Office: 10 Butts Court, Leeds LS1 5JS T: 0113 246 0062

Technical Engineering, Construction, Oil &Gas, Scientific.

Email lucy@ruthmoran.co.uk 0113 2460062/07805 687550

Manchester Office: The Chancery, 58 Spring Gardens Manchester M2 1EW T: 0161 228 2666

Commercial, Driving and Industrial, Social Care, Healthcare/Medical, Education.

Email: neil@ruthmoran.co.uk 0113 2460062/07971 094450

The Recruiters’ Recruiter REC.02.13.047.indd 2 RUTHMORAN_FP2013.indd 36

Neil Prestwich, Director

For current updates or to register online log on to our website on www.ruthmoran.co.uk

RECRUITMENT AGENCY

06/02/2013 14:54 10:31 09/01/2013

WE CAN HELPYOU FIND

your perfect role find it by following this link

JOBS BY E-MAIL Be the first to receive your perfect job straight to your inbox. To sign up simply: Enter your name and e-mail address Choose the sector, salary and location you would like to work in Create up to 5 different tailor-made alerts

CV UPLOAD Upload your CV and complete your jobseeker profile to increase your chances of being found for your perfect job.

No need to go through hundreds of job adverts, just fill in your profile and let employers do the work.

>> RECRUITING NOW:

Contact the sales team on 020 7880 7608 | www.recruiter/jobs

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Divisional Manager Remuneration Package negotiable dependant on experience

Jark plc is one of the UK’s leading and largest independent recruitment consultancies. Established in 1996 and operating from 30 locations, we are looking for a forward thinking, passionate and empathetic recruiter to develop the domiciliary care business within our Healthcare division.

With a mixture of hands on care skills together with commercial acumen you will be tasked with growing the business, working to targets and being rewarded for achievement.

Ideally, the successful candidate will have an in-depth knowledge of domiciliary care. You will be a dedicated, professional person who is 100% committed to delivering an exceptional level of service 24/7 and building strong relationships with clients.

This is an excellent opportunity for an individual who is driven, motivated and enthusiastic, seeking to develop in a supportive environment.

Please apply in the first instance by forwarding your CV to Julie Gover at jgover@jark.co.uk or call Julie on 01362 656136 to discuss the role further. Deadline for applications is Friday 8th March 2013.

All applications will be dealt with in the strictest confidence.

FANTASTIC OPPORTUNITIES FOR RECRUITMENT CONSULTANTS ACROSS THE UK.

ABERDEEN COVENTRY HAVANT BOURNEMOUTH FOR THE FULL LIST OF OUR LIVE VACANCIES VISIT

www.arm.jobs

JOIN A GLOBAL PLAYER With phenomenal growth across all our multi brand sectors and the expansion of our two niche businesses, Navis Consulting and Vortice Aviation; it’s an exciting time for the STR Group.

Navis Consulting, our dedicated Maritime brand and Vortice Aviation, our new manpower services provider for the Aviation Industry, have led to even greater global presence in high-value markets, complementing the STR Group’s existing brands - STR Technical, STR Health and STR Professional.

CURRENT OPPORTUNITIES Due to the expansion of these global brands, we have exciting opportunities for experienced Recruitment Consultants and Recruitment Managers to join us across all our sectors.

To join one of the South’s largest agencies, please contact Kelly Longdin, Internal Recruitment Manager on 07882 362821 or email klongdin@strgroup.co.uk

claire.anderson@arm.co.uk 02392 415 243 Technical

Health

Professional

STR Group, a finalist for the Recruiter Awards ‘Best Recruitment Agency to Work For’ 2012

WWW.RECRUITER.CO.UK

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Bloggers with Bite

Getty Images

LINKEDIN: TIME TO LISTEN TO WHAT THE PUNTERS WANT

LinkedIn talks up a storm in its bid to become the world’s No. 1 recruitment site – but to reach that mythical magic bullet status, it would do well to listen

L

inkedIn (LI) is now firmly established in the recruitment firmament. For some, it’s a magic bullet that reaches the candidates other sourcing tools cannot reach. For others, it’s a parasitic wasp, sucking out the entrails of recruitment consultancies from inside. And it’s certainly invading the job boards’ territory.

Recruitment consultants can’t ignore it, and most use it vigorously igorously and to good effect. But at the same me time it’s common knowledge that at part of LI’s sales pitch to direct ect clients is that it will liberate erate them from rapacious rec cons. What is the truth?

Well, ll, time and the market, as always, ways, will tell, but here are some me thoughts.

LI — as its employees are at pains ns to tell you — is neither a silver, ilver, magic nor indeed eed any other sort rt of bullet.

It will not kill vampires mpires for a start.

However, wever, its

Alastair Bl Blair works as thePotentMix, thePotent independent an indepen expert on recruitment, recruitmen media and marketing, marketing www. thepotentmix. thepotentm co.uk/mediaco.uk/med newsletter newslett

avowed intent is to become the No. 1 place where employers recruit new staff.

Nothing wrong with that — after all, didn’t Monster think much the same at one time? But world domination requires a major force of men and materiel. And, to continue this military analogy, a successful liberator/ invader must win the hearts and minds of those it wishes to liberate/invade.

To that end, LI has recruited many of the very best media sales reps/managers in the business. Promises of humongous bonuses in return for unremitting toil mean that these ladies and gentlemen have good reasons for hitting their targets.

Materiel-wise, LI was, as I think even they would admit, a bit clunky. It’s better now, although occasionally it still has the digital equivalent of ‘sorry, wet floor’ signs out when something isn’t working. More seriously, it’s moving to cut off every clunk that allowed users to get access to people/candidates free of charge. It’s almost as if there is a competition between recruiters and LI’s techies to see who can identify the ways around the system first.

The real problem is that much of the change seems to be driven by LI without sufficient reference to what its customers want.

Here’s one example. InMails are used all the time, and ignored a lot of the time, too. Partly, this is because an InMail is not a great marketing tool. Wouldn’t it be better if you could send some snazzy, flashy-advert InMail, rather than a lot of pleading words? In other words, make LI a platform for direct (recruitment) mail, using the full panoply of digital creativity now available.

When asked, LI says you can buy just such a directmail advert — but it costs megabucks, and you can only do this twice a year. But how much more would they make if they charged £500 for every creative InMail that recruiters want to send — and how much marketshare would that take from the job boards? And wouldn’t such InMails work much better?

I have written before that LI will succeed — in fact, it is succeeding — yet I believe that they would do much better if they listened more and dictated less. Over to you, chaps?

The real problem is that much of the change seems to be driven by LI without sufficient reference to what its customers want What do you think? Tell us at recruiter.editorial@redactive.co.uk

TO POST YOUR COMMENTS, GO ONLINE

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In March: Russell Clements, former CEO of SThree Group and new chairman of the Oyster Partnership WWW.RECRUITER.CO.UK

07/02/2013 08:13

High profile speakers: Keynote Speaker John Vlastelica Managing Director Recruiting Toolbox “Smart Resourcing means more than just filling open roles, more than just managing a process, and more than just treating candidates well. It requires us to lead, to make tough choices when faced with competing priorities, and to push hiring managers to own recruitment.“

CONFERENCE 2013 Sponsored by:

Ryan Broad Global Head of Recruitment The Moving Picture Company Lynda Price Head of Resourcing - Insurance and Retail HR Operations Lloyds Banking Group

Jonathan Young Head of International Workforce Strategy Lockheed Martin Ian Tolfts Director of Recruiting Royal Air Force Isabelle Hung Global Head of AMS Talent Acquisition Alexander Mann Solutions

High profile speakers include:

» Event chair: Roopesh Panchasra, Recruiting Director at Expedia Secure your place now to make sure you don’t miss out on this unique knowledge sharing event smartresourcing2013.com

»

Sponsored by: Supported by:

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The ‘must attend’ event for in-house recruitment professionals 06/02/2013 10:11

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06/02/2013 10:18