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Government recruitment and the case for agility: adapt and flow

June 17, 2019 by Content Team

Blogs & Articles

Government recruitment and the case for agility: adapt and flow

Content Team

June 17, 2019

Agility. Why is it so critical for government recruitment?

To answer that, let’s reflect briefly on the private sector, which excels at planning and executing strategic business plans and corporate objectives.

In a similar respect, many government departments are adept at setting and executing bold, visionary policies.

The challenge, however, is that we live in a dynamic and constantly changing environment.

Priorities can shift quickly, often in tandem with the amount of resourcing and investment available to deal with them.

So, how can teams respond effectively? As resourceful leaders and talent executives, we must all be in a position to adapt and flow. Agility makes that possible, talent acquisition leader Matt Saxty writes.

Become a champion of agile government recruitment

The ability to reprioritise and change direction has become increasingly important for government departments. Leaders in these departments recognise that the ability to plan and execute policy no longer suffices. This capability must be augmented with an agile and flexible way of working.

Lean, flexible recruitment strategies must be in place to deploy these new government operating models. The right strategies also make them effective.

An agile government recruitment function drives this success.

Government recruitment teams are modelled on a range of factors, including hiring volumes, requirement scoping, locations, technology, and process. What is changing, however, is the need for teams to respond quickly to fluid requirements. Government departments must be readily able to scale up.

Explore an example of government recruitment agility

Want to better understand how your government recruitment function can become more agile, and the difference it can make? Let’s use a real-life example.

We recently supported a large Australian government department with their organisational transformation program. We helped them scale up by deploying a Hudson RPO project team of more than 50 people within six weeks to support them with a significant volume of recruitment activities for both internal and external candidates.

In that example, the support for our clients’ transformation programme required a multi-step approach by Hudson RPO, including:

Allocation of dedicated resources based on an initial scoping of client requirements
Deployment of several team members from the Hudson RPO shared services team
Ongoing use of our internal talent pool, managed by our Talent Acquisition Manager

The great benefit for government departments in adopting this ‘partnering approach’ is the opportunity for immediate scalability. They also become highly responsive to the ever-changing business landscape.

Agility is an important part of the picture in government recruitment, but it’s only one part. Continue the journey towards a more effective government recruitment function with three tips for government recruitment success.

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RPO project helps launch major retailer into new market

June 13, 2019 by Content Team

Blogs & Articles

RPO project helps launch major retailer into new market

Content Team

June 13, 2019

We recently helped a major European retailer launch their first store in Central and Eastern Europe.

The retailer’s arrival created 200 new jobs in Slovenia. We helped fill these via a hugely successful RPO project.

The hiring project worked so well that the retailer is now partnering with us to support more store openings in emerging markets, including one in Poland.

Succeeding with RPO projects in a retail environment

RPO projects of this nature are designed to provide a turbocharged engine for urgent hiring. RPO can support hiring projects that need to happen at speed and with impact, particularly when launching into a new market.

That’s exactly what the client required, and what they received, within a compressed time frame.

Despite the client lacking an established presence in Slovenia, we partnered to initially hire a team of managerial staff. We then supported them in hiring general staff.

Over three months, nearly 150 retail assistants were hired.

We also recruited:

134 students in two months
10 managers in two months
13 supervisors in one month

In addition to deploying four specialist recruiters in Slovenia, the team accelerated its growth with remote talent sourcing support from the Centre of Excellence, based in Edinburgh.

Our multilingual recruitment expertise, including Slovenian and other regional languages, allowed us to quickly fill key retail and head office roles.

Elizabeth Williams, Hudson RPO Operations Director, said: “We’re delighted to successfully implement and deliver this project. This is a terrific win for both the client and Hudson RPO. We’re thrilled to have helped ensure a successful launch into this major new market.”

Congratulations to everyone who delivered on this fantastic success story, including all of our project RPO specialists, and the terrific retail leaders who have worked closely with us in this partnership.

Hudson RPO

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Hudson RPO ranks No. 1 worldwide for best RPO implementation

June 11, 2019 by Content Team

Hudson RPO excels at contract implementation, according to third-party industry research.

In 2018, we ranked No. 1 for RPO implementation on the HRO Today’s Baker’s Dozen Customer Satisfaction Ratings of the top 13 recruitment outsourcing providers worldwide.

In that assessment, 100% of our clients came to the same conclusion: when implementing recruitment process outsourcing (RPO), we perform on time and on budget, with minimal disruption to the client’s business.

Watch the video to learn more. Or, scroll down for text only.

No. 1 for RPO implementation in the Baker’s Dozen (text only)

We are thrilled to share that Hudson RPO was named No. 1 for implementation among global RPO providers in HRO Today’s Baker’s Dozen Customer Satisfaction Ratings for 2018.

Our No. 1 ranking means that 100% of our client agreed that during implementation, Hudson RPO was on time, on budget, and posed minimal disruption to the business.

Discover success with RPO worldwide, or locally

Of course, there’s much to consider when you’re transitioning to an RPO model.

Start planning ahead with five tips for a successful global RPO implementation. You’ll want to focus on people, governance, contracts, trust, and communication. Then, combine a global mindset with local awareness and sensitivity for consistent and custom service delivery.

To ensure project success, make sure you’ve got an implementation toolkit and a phased implementation approach. The right toolkit and approach drive best practice in the RPO world.

Gender diversity in the workplace: practical strategies

June 7, 2019 by Content Team

Blogs & Articles

Gender diversity in the workplace: practical strategies

Content Team

June 7, 2019

The business case is clear on the benefits of workplace diversity. With that comes the competitive challenges around recruiting women in the workplace, given most organizations recognize the business performance benefits of a more diverse workforce.

Now let’s explore a few of the ways in which you can help your workplace achieve gender-diversity goals.

Achieving gender diversity in the workplace is a business challenge, not a talent acquisition team’s problem to solve for the business.

A sustainable solution takes commitment from the all levels of the organization, starting with the highest, writes Talent Acquisition Director Nerida Loth. Progress in this area relies on a number of factors beyond the control of HR.

Too often, the job is squarely placed with HR or Talent Acquisition Teams to “fix” on behalf of the organization which is akin to asking the HR department to “fix” employee engagement.

While it remains every leader’s role to work towards a more diverse workforce, the talent acquisition function works in partnership with the business to support them along this journey.

As leaders, we can employ a range of strategies to improve gender diversity in the workplace.

From creating female-friendly job advertisements, to crafting competitive work policies, small steps can help shift our workplaces towards becoming more gender balanced.

We’ve acknowledged the challenges around recruiting women in the workplace. Now let’s explore a few of the ways in which you can help your workplace achieve gender-diversity goals.

Make your job advertisements more inviting

It’s well recognized that these days, most candidates are viewing job ads on a smart device. With that in mind, a “less is more” approach is more important than ever, regardless of demographic.

In terms of appealing to a female audience, one of the most important things you can do is limit the job ad candidate “wish list” to a maximum of five mandatory criteria. Otherwise, females in particular are more likely to self-select out by being overly critical of their experience match to the person requirements.

As you write your job ads, consider using a “female friendly” voice. Writing tools such as Textio can help.

Communicate supportive HR policies

Female talent is in demand, so ensure your HR policies are market-competitive or market-leading. This applies to parental leave, flexible work, and any other types of leave offered.

These policies should be easy to find by all candidates as they research your company and culture as much as the role itself.

The decision to leave an organization and join a new one is a big one regardless of gender, especially if there’s a fear that hard fought flexibility benefits earned over time will be lost or diminished in the new organization. Having clearly communicated workplace benefits and flexible work options in your job ads or on your corporate careers site will help overcome this fear for candidates.

Bring culture into the interview process

For proactively sourced talent, offer informal meetups such as a coffee catch-up before scheduling a formal interview process.

Casual conversations help candidates learn more about the opportunity and corporate culture before deciding whether to formally apply. People want to know what the workplace norms are, including dress code, flexi-time, etc.

When planning the interview stage, ensure the panel includes female leaders.

Randomly including women onto an interview panel as a façade of diversity, however, is not the answer. The panels must be assembled thoughtfully, with each member able to provide meaningful input, and everyone acknowledging the value of diverse opinions. Otherwise, it is a token gesture and will not achieve the desired result of a better hiring outcome.

Spruiking a culture to candidates where women are valued, supported and treated equally is meaningless if women are noticeably absent during the interview and selection process.

Incentivise leaders on workplace diversity outcomes

Having diversity measures as part of a leader’s scorecard is a powerful way of shifting the dial on gender mix outcomes.

While holding leaders accountable on engagement scores for their teams is not uncommon, setting clear targets on workplace diversity is less so. Meaningful change is likely to follow if leaders’ bonuses are tied to such targets!

Always ensure your policies comply with your country’s hiring laws.

Proactively offer career development opportunities

Want to develop your female leaders and stretch them beyond their comfort zone? Actively seek secondment opportunities for them. This helps develop and diversify skills while building capability in a safe environment.

Providing an internal “Women’s Network” where female employees from across the business can interact, network, and share their experience in an informal setting can be a powerful way of building connections. Support networks can also encourage retention.

Closing the gender pay gap: EnergyAustralia’s story

Ensuring gender pay parity is a powerful message to attract female talent given historically, women have more often fared worse with regard to equal pay for the same work.

Coinciding with International Women’s Day in 2018, EnergyAustralia, a key Hudson RPO client, closed the gender pay gap overnight.

In 2018, EnergyAustralia invested $1.2 million (AUD) to ensure women and men with equivalent experience and skills would receive the same pay for doing the same job.

Interestingly, it wasn’t just women who had their pay adjusted. 20% of the increases were for male employees, but with 80% of the increases being for women, it was clear that the imbalance disproportionately affected women.

Maintaining the gender pay balance is an ongoing focus. With every annual salary review, the Rewards Team undertake analysis to ensure a gap has not returned as a result of new hires or internal promotions within the previous year.

Since 2014, EnergyAustralia has been actively working to reduce or remove gender bias in:

recruitment
working arrangements
succession planning
internal appointments and promotions
performance assessment
remuneration and reward

As a Talent Acquisition Director who has been onsite with EnergyAustralia for more than 6 years, I’m pleased to be part of a team that believes in a fairer, more equitable workplace, and is actively committed to achieving this.

Hudson RPO

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How to select the best talent delivery model, from experience

June 6, 2019 by Content Team

Blogs & Articles

How to select the best talent delivery model, from experience

Content Team

June 6, 2019

With a track record that includes client-side recruitment, Mark Rogers understands well what it’s like to be in the HR decision-maker’s hot seat.

In particular, he can appreciate the many factors that go into selecting an optimal talent-delivery model.

After all, Mark currently serves as Senior Account Director for Bausch Health, one of our key clients. He has also led the in-house recruitment function at multiple large pharmaceuticals.

We asked Mark to reveal his thoughts on how to select the best talent delivery model.

HR maturity: one indicator shaping talent delivery

When evaluating an in-house recruitment option, vs. full RPO, vs. a blended model, Mark recommends that you first consider the maturity of your HR function.

He says: “Is your talent acquisition function at the same level of maturity, or similar to the rest of the HR functions? Identifying your current resources and capabilities will help you choose the best route.

“Second, are key stakeholders willing to invest in developing an in-house team? If the business is investing in ancillary functions, such as L&D or talent acquisition, this may signal support for an in-house recruitment function.”

However, in-house recruitment isn’t always an ideal solution for every company.

Mark explains: “If the company has an established talent acquisition function, but doesn’t want or need to invest in further enhancing internal TA capabilities to support long-term talent needs, you might want to consider a blended model.

“Augmenting in-house talent acquisition with the flexibility and speed of an RPO can work really well for organizations that need to ramp up hiring quickly.”

It’s also important for the RPO provider to have expertise in your industry and/or the functions where you have critical hiring needs.

Mark says: “In my experience, many larger enterprises with more mature HR and talent acquisition functions might outsource to an RPO, but the internal talent acquisition leader will continue to own the strategy piece, with the RPO owning the delivery and execution of the strategy.”

Don’t start the talent race flatfooted

So, what is the ideal scenario for a fully outsourced RPO?

In Mark’s view, this is when a company has just begun building its internal HR model and lacks the recruiting resources and processes to deliver on its critical hiring needs.

“Having been on both the client side and the RPO provider side,” Mark says, “I’ve had the opportunity to see RPO outsourcing done well and not so well. The organizations that understand the long-term health of their workforce, including talent needs, gaps in skills and talent, succession-planning requirements, etc. are best positioned to outsource successfully to an RPO.”

Workforce planning is an essential HR function, but can sometimes suffer from a lack of focus.

Mark says: “In my experience, few companies invest adequate time and resources into the necessary scope of workforce planning. If they plan to outsource, they assume the RPO will handle it for them. Yes, an RPO can guide you through the process to understand your workforce. However, the more information you offer from the beginning, the faster the RPO can begin pipelining and fulfilling your hiring needs.”

Learn more about our RPO Services.

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CEO views: is employer branding worth the time and effort?

June 5, 2019 by Content Team

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CEO views: is employer branding worth the time and effort?

Content Team

June 5, 2019

Positive candidate engagement is the precursor to employer brand engagement.

But in a world saturated with impersonal interactions, how do you ensure your candidate experience includes a personal touch?

There are at least two routes to consider: AI and L&D. Let’s start by establishing why they matter. We’ll then explore how you can use them to transform the candidate experience.

First, think like a candidate.

You’re on your umpteenth application. You’ve uploaded your CV and are ready to hit send. You’ll repeat the process with another company as soon as this application’s away.

Now, think like a hiring manager.

You’ve working with marketing, operations, possibly a partner, to identify what makes your enterprise a fantastic place to work. That message is the heart of your employer value proposition (EVP).

The EVP cuts beautifully across your employer brand, including a careers page, website, employee videos, social media, etc.

Here’s where the two perspectives, candidate and hiring manager, fall out of sync: Unless your enterprise includes a level of personal engagement early in the application process, many candidates will never reach the stage of fully discovering your employer brand.

We can all acknowledge that active candidates are becoming increasingly disillusioned by the job application process. Some candidates take a ‘spray and pray’ approach when applying for jobs. These candidates apply to vast numbers of vacancies in the hope of at least receiving a personal response.

But as we all know, when you’ve got 100 candidates applying for one job, the level of personal response that the majority of those candidates can expect, is limited.

For the most part, they get no response beyond an automated one. So they keep applying. They send a CV to many businesses, never discovering what sets any of them apart as an employer.

The ‘spray and pray’ approach affords no connection to your employer brand.

It begs the question: Is employer branding worth the time and effort?

I believe the answer is yes. Candidates can become engaged with your employer brand, but only after personal contact is established.

Pursuing new routes into candidate engagement

Engagement comes from interaction. Interaction follows an interesting path.

The path used to be limited to the traditional interactions of a recruiter. If a personal message was sent, it was only personalised to the extent that it included a candidate’s name in an otherwise generic message.

But with the use of AI and recruitment tech, interaction can go deeper, further, closer.

Consider chat bots. Chat bots can be designed to talk with your prospective candidate at any stage, from research, to application, to follow-up. They can improve the overall communication experience. They can reduce the amount of administration facing recruiters and hiring managers, thus freeing them to focus on relationships and strategy.

Leadership and development (L&D) material can also drive candidate engagement. Think about it like this: by giving something to a candidate, you enable an immediate buy-in to your employer brand.

But how do you go about embedding an L&D component into the application process? Naturally, employers are protective of confidential collateral, so let’s take an example:

Perhaps you’re a technology company recruiting for a growth hacker. Your application process may include an exercise based on the company’s stated growth strategy, or the highlights of one, such as a North Star metric. However, the exercise should be designed with made-up data points. The candidate will be asked to present insights and recommendations. In exchange, he or she will be allowed to question the interviewer about his or her recommended approach.

As you develop an employer brand, keep an open mind to using AI and L&D for better candidate engagement.

Candidates will think much more positively about you as an employer, if you offer value in exchange for effort and interest. This matters regardless of whether a candidate is successful in applying. A positive experience can be the difference in whether the candidate refers other candidates to your enterprise.

How you go about implementing is the question. All employers face this challenge, but the leading brands will seize the opportunity and execute.

Watch the video below to glimpse the pace of change coming from recruitment technology.

Darren Lancaster serves as CEO of EMEA and the Americas. He welcomes the chance to explore new concepts and innovations, and encourages his leadership team to practice a people-led approach. Learn more about Darren here.

Content Team

Government recruitment and the case for agility: adapt and flow

Become a champion of agile government recruitment

Explore an example of government recruitment agility

Content Team

What is RPO?

What is MSP?

Related articles

RPO project helps launch major retailer into new market

Succeeding with RPO projects in a retail environment

Content Team

What is RPO?

What is MSP?

Related articles

No. 1 for RPO implementation in the Baker’s Dozen (text only)

Discover success with RPO worldwide, or locally

Gender diversity in the workplace: practical strategies

Make your job advertisements more inviting

Communicate supportive HR policies

Bring culture into the interview process

Incentivise leaders on workplace diversity outcomes

Proactively offer career development opportunities

Closing the gender pay gap: EnergyAustralia’s story

Content Team

What is RPO?

What is MSP?

Related articles

How to select the best talent delivery model, from experience

HR maturity: one indicator shaping talent delivery

Don’t start the talent race flatfooted

Content Team

What is RPO?

What is MSP?

Related articles

CEO views: is employer branding worth the time and effort?

Pursuing new routes into candidate engagement

Content Team

What is RPO?

What is MSP?

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