Recruitment Matters - June 2016

Issue 38 June 2016

RECRUITMENT MATTERS The View and The Intelligence

The Big Issue

TREC and Eurociett

Business mentoring

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p4

Legal update and the IRP

Events and Training

Legislative changes coming up p6-7

TREC 2016 – Conference Agenda

REC GEARS UP FOR TREC 2016 The REC’s annual Talent, Recruitment and Employment Conference (TREC) returns to London on 22 June.

The conference brings the HR and recruitment community together to discuss issues around candidate experience and talent attraction.

This year’s conference features a keynote address from Times sports journalist and Commonwealth Games gold medallist Matthew Syed.

Other speakers include Graeme Johnson, head of resourcing, Virgin Media; Katherine Lamb, talent acquisition lead - Europe,

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Kellogg’s; and Gerard Murnaghan, vice president of sales EMEA, Indeed.

REC head of HR and projects Steve Othen says this year’s conference will continue shining a light on candidate experience.

“For our members, it’s two-fold. Not only will they hear from some top notch speakers about things like candidate experience and

employer brand, but they will also be able to network with some great brands,” he says.

“We have already having bookings from 200 individuals in the HR and in-house recruitment communities, so it’s a great opportunity to hear and network with those people. They will be able to hear about how these things affect both them and their clients.”

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97% of previous attendeess would recommend attending TREC

Othen says the conference will take a close look at how recruiters and HR staff can improve their business straight away.

“TREC 2016 will be focusing more on the practical side of things, looking at the nuts and bolts of building a great HR experience,” he says.

You can find a full TREC agenda on p8, and book online at rec.uk.com/trec

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Leading the Industry

THE VIEW

The European recruitment market is strong, says Tom Hadley, REC director of policy and professional services

TREC 2016 offers a great chance for recruiters to think about candidate experience says Kevin Green, REC chief executive For many years the call from recruiters to the REC has been: let’s educate our clients about good recruitment practice. Well, in the middle of 2014 we took up the challenge – following six months spent engaging employers, we launched the Good Recruitment Campaign.

At the centre of the campaign is an aspirational charter which organisations sign up to adhere to. We’re pleased to say that over 110 employers have become advocates of the campaign.

They include PepsiCo, Land Rover, Jaguar, Santander, Morrisons, EY and Wincanton just to name a few. These organisations employ well over a million people in the UK. The campaign is also supported by business bodies such as the CBI, CIPD, FSB and CIPS. To you, our members, we are saying: promote this campaign to your clients. This is a fantastic way to add value to your client relationship.

The benefit to your client is that by signing up they can get access to top-notch research from the REC and from our supporters such as CEB and Indeed. The ability to network with peers and subgroups on subjects such as employer branding, candidate experience and diversity is another key benefit. And don’t

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MARKET VIEWS IN DOWNTOWN VIENNA worry – we have made sure that recruiters can’t access any client contact details, so there’s no risk of your clients being wooed by competitors.

Two of the charter’s principles are about only using recruitment partners that are signed up to our Code of Practice, and that actively develop their consultants to professional standards. This reinforces to clients that they should only use REC members to ensure they are working with the best.

We are delighted to say that over 200 employers are committed to attending TREC, the REC’s annual conference and the Good Recruitment Campaign’s flagship event.

We would love you to join us to hear about what clients are doing in relation to talent acquisition and world-class resourcing. You can register now at www.rec.uk.com/trec I am around the country over the next few months – you can join me at our Scale Up in the Round events in Belfast on 3rd June, Glasgow on the 9th or Edinburgh on the 10th June.

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

It was good to catch up with other national federations and global industry leaders last month over Tafelspitz and trimmings in downtown Vienna. We were in town for the latest Eurociett Board meeting, which provided a lively insight into overseas market trends.

Ciett’s latest Economic Report shows that the global recruitment industry now has an annual turnover €450bn (£355bn) and helped 71.9m people across the world get into work. That’s worth raising a chilled glass of Grüner Veltliner to! In Europe, the sector grew 7.7% last year and regulatory barriers are gradually being dismantled in countries such as Italy. That’s the good news. The less good news is that pressing legislative challenges threaten to hit hard-won recognition for the positive role of agency work in many other countries.

In Holland new regulations on self-employment could place more onus and risk on end-users. In Belgium, restrictions prohibit the supply of temporary staff into specific sectors.

There is a renewed focus on civil contracts in Poland and a huge drive to increase barriers in Sweden. In France, employment will be a major topic ahead of the presidential elections in 2017 but proposals to increase labour market flexibility have unleashed a predictable backlash driven by the trade unions. In Germany, Chancellor Merkel recently confirmed that proposed new regulations on outsourcing and agency work would pass through to the next stage of the legislative process.

The regulatory challenges listed above are all driven by national governments. The EU requirement (under Article 4 of our old friend the Agency Workers Directive) that barriers to agency work must be justifiable represents a positive ‘hook’ for our industry’s arguments. Talking up the benefits the recruitment sector brings for jobseekers as well as for business was a core theme of the REC’s Flex Appeal report and is a key way forward in EU countries facing a regulatory squeeze.

As a member of Eurociett, the REC’s mission is to support other national federations and ensure a strong collective voice. Pushing back on current legislative challenges is key to facilitating industry growth and enhancing overseas opportunities for UK recruiters.

You can follow Tom on Twitterr ment @hadleyscomment

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THE INTELLIGENCE DIANA BEECH, REC SENIOR RESEARCHER, ALLAYS FEARS AROUND RECENT ECONOMIC UNCERTAINTY The UK’s referendum on its continued membership of the European Union is now less than a month away.

Since the referendum was announced, officials have warned that the UK economy is showing signs of weakening amidst a climate of political uncertainty.

Most notably, in April, the Bank of England held interest rates at 0.5%, warning that the referendum could hurt the UK’s economic growth. Bank of England governor Mark Carney hailed the referendum, scheduled for 23 June, as the UK’s “biggest domestic risk to financial stability”.

Recent business surveys have also been reporting a “softening” in hiring and

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investment intentions across the country. Data from the REC’s own monthly JobsOutlook survey, which tracks the hiring intentions of 600 UK employers, has already seen the net balance of employers planning to increase their permanent workforce drop 10 percentage points in four months – from 80% in December 2015 to 70% in March 2016.

Yet, as historical data from the survey shows, this is not the first time political uncertainty has impacted employers’ hiring strategies in the run-up to a major election. In the six months prior to the 2015 General Election, for example, the net balance of employers expecting their permanent workforce to increase dropped 18 percentage points from 77% in December 2014 to 59% in May 2015. So the hesitation we are witnessing at the moment is nothing new and, perhaps, also not something to be overly worried about, considering that immediately after the General Election

0.5% BANK OF ENGLAND HELD INTEREST RATES AT 0.5%, WARNING THAT THE REFERENDUM COULD HURT THE UK’S ECONOMIC GROWTH

IN

OUT

IN THE SIX MONTHS PRIOR TO THE 2015 GENERAL ELECTION THE NET BALANCE OF EMPLOYERS EXPECTING THEIR PERMANENT WORKFORCE TO INCREASE DROPPED

18

PERCENTAGE POINTS

IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE GENERAL ELECTION HIRING INTENTIONS ROSE RAPIDLY AGAIN BY

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PERCENTAGE POINTS

hiring intentions rose rapidly again by 20 percentage points in just three months – reaching 79% in August 2015.

In April, the Office of National Statistics (ONS) reported the UK’s first rise in unemployment since mid-2015 and also the slowest rise in employment. Although some commentators were quick to link this to the threat of a possible ‘Brexit’, we should keep in mind that the figures are based on the three months to February 2016. The date

for the referendum was announced on 20 February, so it’s problematic to attribute the slowdown in employment growth to the EU question based on the ONS data.

Other factors must, therefore, be considered before blaming the recent labour market slowdowns purely on the pending referendum. Employers have long been feeling the burdens of the National Living Wage and pension autoenrolment, for example, not to mention the forthcoming Apprenticeship Levy. The uncertainty around the referendum, then, is just one of many challenges facing UK businesses at present.

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The Big Talking Point

BUSINESS MENTORING For 11 years Midge Bennett was a director at Rethink Recruitment.

Now he’s part of the REC’s new business mentoring programme.

He tells Recruitment Matters about the transition

A MENTOR NAMED MIDGE Recruitment Matters: What prompted you to step back from Rethink?

Midge Bennett: I’ve stepped back, but I’m still working two days a week on a consultancy basis for them. My focus there is integrating our new acquisition Digital Gurus, who are a specialist digital recruitment agency. My goal is to bring them into the fold as effectively as possible without damaging their brand. They have a fantastic client base and we want that transition to seamless. So really, I’m still a stakeholder with Rethink, still talking to clients, but it’s a nice transition

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for me. It’s given me time to secure other opportunities in the recruitment sector, and I’ve been looking for a new challenge.

a strong relationship with the REC over the past three years, it seemed logical that I was a part of their business mentoring programme.

RM: What are you moving into?

RM: What can you tell

MB: I’ve set up a consultancy

me about the mentoring programme?

business – Rethink are still important to me, but I’m looking to work with smaller recruitment companies through the REC’s mentoring programme. I’ll be advising businesses on how to grow, changing their business model, strategy, and brand – that sort of thing. I wanted to share my years of knowledge and experience, and having such

MB: It’s about giving small businesses access to people with the experience and expertise who have been through similar challenges around growth, setting a business strategy and sticking to it. Small business owners are very engaged with their business, and it’s common for people not to step back

and take a look at the big picture. The team of business mentors at the REC have huge experience and have worked in big and small companies. You need to find someone who you can work closely with – they won’t be your best friend because they will ask some tough questions, but you do need to gel with them.

RM: What are some common issues small recruitment companies face?

MB: There are issues that crop up all the time – questions about growing a business and selling it, questions about finding and www.rec.uk.com

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“YOU’VE GOT TO BE TIGHT ON CASHFLOW IN YOUR EARLY BUSINESS SETUP. THERE IS SUCH A THING AS BUSINESSES THAT SELL WELL AND GO BUST”

developing good staff. There’s also a growing interest in client acquisitions since the business model in the UK is changing considerably: it’s about being a specialist or offering outsourced recruitment. It’s ultimately about working with them on what they want to achieve and putting a plan in place on how to get there.

RM: What are some common mistakes recruitment companies make?

companies also think they can hire people and become productive quickly, but that’s not the case.

MB: Yeah – setting up a business means there’s a lot of dull admin work, but you have to do it.

RM: Finance plays a role here

RM: It all comes down

too, doesn’t it?

to hard work and hustle, doesn’t it?

MB: Yes – you’ve got to be tight on cashflow in your early business set up. There is such a thing as businesses that sell well and go bust.

Getting senior finance skills in early is vital, even to handle things like banking relationships.

MB: Based on my personal experience, it’s about expectations being set too high and not planning enough. Many

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MB: Absolutely. You should be the hardest worker in your business, out visiting clients and seeing how their business operates.

RM: Where do you think the recruitment industry is placed right now?

RM: There’s also a lot of humdrum things to consider too, right?

MB: I think we’re strong.

Despite nervousness about

Brexit, I think things are looking good. The REC is forecasting 8-10% growth in the next two years and we’re getting more respect from clients thanks to things like the Good Recruitment Campaign.

The perception of our industry is changing, but we’ve got a long way to go.

One of the big challenges is getting talent into recruitment and keeping it there, but a lot of work is being done making recruitment a career of choice. The sector is set to be very positive for the next few years, hoping the economy doesn’t tank.

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11/05/2016 09:20

Legal update

REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL…

By Lewina Farrell, solicitor and head of professional services at the REC It’s hard to believe we are already almost half way through 2016. So it’s worth seeing what else is in store for recruiters in 2016.

• We can’t avoid mentioning tax. Specifically, on 6 April travel & subsistence expenses relief was removed from temporary workers working under (or subject to the right of) supervision, direction or control. Alternative supply models have emerged – some legitimate, others very questionable, with potential risks for the temporary workers and employment businesses alike. The REC has updated its model contracts and produced new intermediary due diligence checklists to help members navigate the changes. We continue to advise members through sector meetings and our legal helpline (tax remains firmly in the Top 5 queries so far in 2016).

• IR35 – at the time of writing we are still awaiting

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publication of the IR35 consultation. Proposals published by HMRC in March suggested some fundamental changes including recruitment businesses being required to deduct PAYE tax and NICs from those paid via personal service companies but operating inside IR35.

The changes are expected to come into effect in April 2017.

Initially these will apply in the public sector, potentially being rolled out into the private sector in 2018.

• NLW – on 1 April the new National Living Wage for those aged 25 and over came into effect. We have seen various stories about how some household names have responded to the new rate and certainly recruitment businesses also have challenges, including avoiding age discriminatory instructions by clients and increasing their charges.

• The apprenticeship levy – sticking with the financial theme, the apprenticeship

levy will come into effect in April 2017 and will have a disproportionate effect on recruitment businesses because of the size of their pay bills. Questions remain about how recruitment businesses and their temporary workers can avail of the apprenticeships the levy will fund. Questions also remain about how the apprenticeship levy will work with the CITB levy. We know the CITB levy process will be simplified from 2017 though again, it will cost some recruitment businesses who might previously not have been in scope. Interestingly Hudson recently lost a judicial review challenging the simplified regime.

• In January 2016 the Government announced the creation of a new Directorate of Labour Market Enforcement.

This will be established via the new Immigration Bill, expected to come into effect by 18 May 2016. The

Directorate will co-ordinate the skills and resources of a strengthened GLA (which will become the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority), HMRC, BIS and others to look at worker exploitation and labour market issues in a holistic way.

• A new General Data Protection Regulation has been agreed by the EU and will come into effect two years after it is published in the Official Journal (expected summer 2016). The changes are far reaching and will require significant investment in training and processes by all organisations. Recruiters hold significant amounts of personal data, including sensitive personal data. REC will keep members updated but in the meantime see our most recent Legal bulletin for more detail.

REC Legal will keep its members updated on all of these issues throughout 2016 and 2017.

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Inspiration

BEHIND THE SCENES AT THE INSTITUTE OF RECRUITMENT PROFESSIONALS

The View

Ashleigh Wright ht is business anager development manager at Westray Recruitment Consultants

Graeme Wolf is director at Hexa Services

AUDITED MEMBER WHAT I KNOW What is your job?

I’m the business development manager at Westray Recruitment Consultants, so I’m focused 100% on sales. I started in the industrial sector before moving on to the commercial desk and eventually full time business development.

Why the move into business development?

We realised the business needed someone full time to focus on business development. With my experience across a number of different market sectors and a keen interest in sales, I suggested I take on the role and I have never looked back.

How has 2016 been?

2016 has been great so far. We’ve had an absolutely fantastic start to the new financial year, due mainly to the change in our business development strategy. We’ve secured a number of new contracts, including a client we’ve been courting for three years. We’ve also recruited a new executive director who has more than 15 years’ experience working in domestic and global markets, which means that the business can now branch out in to international markets.

How has being an REC Audited member worked for you?

There are more than 200 agencies in the North East, so we speak to clients who are inundated with requests from recruiters. It’s great to say that we have REC Audited Status as it demonstrates our commitment to exceptional service delivery. We have to make sure we’re at the top of our game at all times and the accreditation definitely helps attract new clients.

What is the most important thing a recruiter should know?

Knowing their market sector is important, together with a good understanding of their client’s business and the challenges they face. It’s also crucial to know what makes you different and why clients would want to work with you.

Referendum worries The EU referendum is causing a lot of doubt within our sector.

Clients seem to be holding their budgets until the outcome is out, but we’ve still had a good year. The skill shortage is proving a hindrance in the construction and education side. We’re worried a leave vote would exacerbate the situation more.

Market still strong I think it’s buoyant. A lot of clients are still desperate for the skills, they’ve got perm, temp and contract vacancies. Should a good candidate come available, it’s very easy to place them – even the same day. We’re 17% up from where we were in 2015.

It’s nice up North There’s a lot of investment in infrastructure in the North West.

George Osborne’s plan for the northern powerhouse is starting to develop. It’s an exciting time to be in Manchester.

Future challenges I spend a lot of time thinking about how the industry will look in five to 10 years’ time. I think more needs to be done to bring people into the construction industry, in whatever capacity.

We need to emphasise the benefits of the industry and what a rewarding career being in construction can be. There will be demand for new kinds of skills with technology and engineering so the productivity of the industry is kept to the max.

Recruiters need to be at the forefront of finding that talent.

Smarter recruiters The advent of smart phones has changed the industry. It’s made things a lot more efficient, and it will continue to do so with the increased use of apps and cameras. It will make the candidate experience better – gone are the days where candidates are left waiting on hold. Recruiters can get through to them straight away. It should help us get better feedback, ensuring we do better.

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

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Events and training

TREC

TREC 2016 – CONFERENCE AGENDA THE REC’S TALENT, RECRUITMENT AND EMPLOYMENT CONFERENCE IS ON 22 JUNE IN LONDON. THERE ARE STILL SPACES AVAILABLE – BOOK NOW AT REC.UK.COM/TREC 8.30am

Registration, coffee and exhibition open

12.40pm

Lunch - buffet lunch in networking and exhibition area

9.15am

Welcome and introduction: Kevin Green, CEO, the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) and Neil Morrison, Group HR Director, Penguin Random House

1.35pm

10.00am

Panel 1: Attract: How to make sure your employer brand is authentic Chair - Johnny Campbell, CEO, Social Talent • Kevin Hough, Head of Resourcing, LV= • Charu Malhotra, Global Digital Channels & Employer Brand Lead, Ferrero • Dominic Redfearn, Global Brand & Communications Director, Diageo

Welcome back and introduction for the afternoon Open floor round table feedback session Each round table leader to feedback to the audience one interesting point/question which has arisen from each of their groups

2.00pm

Keynote address: Baroness Ruby McGregorSmith, CEO, Mitie

2.25pm

Panel 2: Recruit - The candidate experience getting it right every time Chair - Dave Hazelhurst, Partner, Ph.Creative • Graeme Johnson, Head of Resourcing, Virgin Media • Katherine Lamb, Talent Acquisition Lead Europe, Kellogg’s • Gerard Murnaghan, Vice President of Sales EMEA, Indeed

2.55pm

Coffee break, networking and exhibition

3.35pm

Panel 3: Retain - how to get line managers to play their role in engaging and retaining talent?

Chair - Katie Jacobs, Editor, HR Magazine • Val Dale, HR Director, Aggreko • Adrian Wightman, Head of Resourcing, RWE • John Whelan, HR Director, BAE Systems

4.20pm

Keynote address: Matthew Syed, Columnist for The Times, bestselling Author, and three-times Commonwealth Champion

4.50pm

Closing remarks

5.15pm

Post event drinks

6.30pm

Close of event

10.45am

Coffee break, networking and exhibition

11.20am

Round tables Each delegate will have the opportunity to select two round tables - pre-event sign up required.

Delegates will be sent joining instructions prior to the event via the REC events team.

1. Attract - What are employers doing to attract young talent 2. Attract - How to attract diverse talent to your business?

3. Attract - Social sourcing – Why, where, how?

4. Recruit - Lean recruitment – adding value 5. Recruit - Selection approaches – What’s new and what works?

6. Retain - Succession planning – making it work 7. Retain - How can we develop tomorrow’s super recruiters?

8. The forgotten art of workforce planning

RECRUITMENT MATTERS

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

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

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

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