Category: Talent & Market Insights

3 Economic Trends That Will Affect Talent Acquisition in 2020

Posted on by skatz

Every talent acquisition professional is kind of an economic expert. In the process of filling positions, you become aware of local unemployment levels, current rates of compensation, and the competitive landscape in the sectors and markets in which you work. And, while understanding these specific conditions may be essential aspects of successful talent strategies, there are always larger economic forces at work. In this article, we cover three of economic trends and their impact on Talent Acquisition in 2020.

Understanding these economic trends can help develop an effective workforce strategy. To illustrate this point, PeopleScout has identified three economic trends that will affect talent acquisition and workforce management in 2020 – and potential ways to respond to the challenges and opportunities they bring.

Trade Disruption & Uncertainty

Uncertainty over trade due to Brexit, ongoing trade disputes between the U.S. and key trading partners, and other global commerce issues dominated the headlines in 2019. How will these yet-to-be-resolved issues affect talent acquisition?

Flexible Workforce Planning

Imagine planning a budget without knowing the future costs of goods and services. Due to current uncertainty over trade, this is the dilemma that many enterprises are facing. The imposition of tariffs in the U.S.-China trade dispute has caused shifts in both the price and availability of products, according to The New York Times. Uncertainty over whether Brexit will happen – and, if it does, what the consequences will be on nearly every aspect of the UK economy and other nations – remains uncertain. One way to respond to uncertainty is to make flexibility a key component in workforce planning. Flexible workforce planning can include contingent staffing, sourcing strategies that promote rapid onboarding and employee cross-training in anticipation of potential downsizing.

Sourcing Candidates from Alternative Talent Pools

While low unemployment still characterizes many of the world’s leading economies, trade disruption has also led to some job losses and displacement. For example, in Great Britain, a number of companies have closed, moved or are planning to, as reported by Metro in the UK. In both the U.S. and the UK, the manufacturing sector has seen job losses due to tariffs and trade uncertainty. Fortunately, many of those who work in manufacturing possess transferrable skills that can be used in other industries. Employers that can identify and attract this newly available source of talent will have a competitive advantage in tight labour markets.

The Migrant Workforce & Shifting Talent Landscape

The era of growing immigration to many advanced economies has been disrupted. The Guardian reports that thousands of European Union nationals have left the UK since the 2016 Brexit referendum, in large part due to the uncertainty over their legal status after an eventual exit from the EU. And, in the U.S., a tightening of available visas and selective immigration bans have caused the number of legal immigrants to plummet. On the other hand, 29% of Australia’s population is foreign-born, but the economic growth in many Asian countries – the source of much of Australia’s immigrant population – has contributed to its decline in net migration in recent years. 

Know the Affected Sectors

One important way for employers to respond to changing immigration patterns is to know which jobs are most affected and to plan accordingly. The reality is that immigrants comprise a significant portion of workers in a range of sectors. For example, nearly one-third of hotel workers in the U.S. are immigrants, and more than one in 10 healthcare workers in the UK are non-British nationals (half of these are from the EU), according to the Office for National Statistics. Understanding the sectors and markets that are affected by the falling rates of available talent from abroad may play an increasingly important role in developing effective talent acquisition strategies.

Talent Without Borders

The pool of available talent is exponentially expanded when work can be done outside of a fixed location. Advances in technology and communications have greatly reduced the need for many processes to take place in brick-and-mortar workplaces. For this reason, recruitment strategies may increasingly include a review of job descriptions to determine which positions can work from virtual locations, including those that are abroad. By doing so, employers can move beyond the constraints of limited talent pools and the wage pressures that tight labour markets generate.

OK, Boomer?

According to Glassdoor’s Chief Economist, Dr. Andrew Chamberlain, baby boomers, born between 1944 and 1964, are now the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. workforce. Dr. Chamberlain notes that “A ‘gray wave’ of senior citizens will be impacting the workforce in coming years, both in the United States and the United Kingdom.” In Canada, the percentage of workers aged 55 and older more than doubled in a little more than two decades; they are now more than one in five of all Canadian workers. Similarly, the number of Australians aged 65 and older who participated in the workforce in 2018 was 13%, compared to only 8% in 2006. And, in New Zealand, 22% of retirement-age people worked in 2016, an 87% increase in just 10 years.

Candidates with a Silver Lining

Given these striking statistics, an increasing number of applications from older candidates should be expected. In addition to the talent that these older candidates bring in their own right, they also help employers adopt a holistic approach to upskilling.

Take the case of a recent college graduate who has strong technical skills, but lacks industry knowledge and even critical soft skills, such as effective communication. These deficiencies can be offset by pairing this new hire with a seasoned industry veteran. The ensuing mentoring can go both ways; a tech-savvy new hire can help an older worker who may be challenged in this area, while the seasoned worker can guide and instruct the younger employee on important industry knowledge and work skills. This symbiotic pairing can also become an important element in an enterprise’s succession planning strategy.

Partnering for Success

Responding to economic trends can be daunting for those under constant pressure to fill positions and manage talent. However, tracking newly available workers due to shifting tariffs and treaties, knowing how to find candidates in unknown and far-flung locations, and navigating the process of recruiting from a broad range of age groups may seem overwhelming to even the best-equipped team of talent professionals. This is precisely why leveraging the expertise and resources of a talent acquisition partner can be the deciding factor for success in a complex and rapidly changing economic environment.

Creating a Compelling Employment Offer

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Talent acquisition teams and hiring managers are always on the hunt for candidates who check all of the boxes: the five-star talent with all of the right skills and experience to excel in a role, but who also fits the culture of the employer. When these candidates are screened, interviewed and assessed, they pass each phase of the process with flying colors, leaving hiring managers eager to extend an offer of employment. However, there is one catch: will the candidate accept?

When you make an offer to a candidate, you hope they want the position as much as you want to hire them. But, sometimes, you nurture a great candidate through the entire recruitment process only for them have a change of heart. Candidates declining job offers can be disheartening for recruiting teams – and costly for organisations trying to fill vital open positions. In this article, we’ll cover candidate expectations and key points in the employment offer process, as well as explain how to connect with candidates on a more personal level.

Meeting Candidate Expectations: Then & Now

Candidates Expect an Inviting Company Culture

In the past, candidates applied for positions without knowing or expecting to know much about an organisation’s inner workings or culture. As a result, when candidates were extended an offer, an organisation’s culture played less of a role in whether they would accept the position.

But now, candidates want to know about the work environment and company culture so they can assess whether they think the organisation is a good fit. Help candidates get that information by having a section on your careers page that provides cultural insights into your organisation, and include videos and images that display what it’s like to work for you.

Candidates Expect Greater Transparency

It used to be that a candidate applied for a job, sent in their résumé and waited patiently for a response from the employer. All too often, candidates were left in the dark regarding timelines, with few ways to find out where they were in the hiring process.

Now, candidates expect rapid responses to their inquiries and greater transparency into a potential employer’s hiring process. Therefore, make sure that you inform the candidate about when they can expect an offer or rejection and deliver on it. This shows that the organisation is respectful, responsible and disciplined. Plus, if you make transparency a core piece of your recruitment strategy, you can improve your offer acceptance rate.   

Candidates Expect More from Your Employer Value Proposition

Your employer value proposition (EVP) is the distillation of what you offer candidates and what you expect in return. In the past, organisations relied heavily on brand recognition and compensation as their primary EVP. But, more than ever, candidates expect flexible work options, formal succession planning, mentorship programms, open communication, and real-time feedback to be part of an employer’s value.

Before candidates reach the offer phase, make sure you have clearly communicated what makes you different as an employer. When candidates understand your story and how you view your role as an employer, they can get a picture of what they can expect if they accept your offer.

Plan ahead to ensure that candidates have information about the team they’ll be working with and the types of projects they’ll work on. When appropriate, you can also create an opportunity for the candidates to meet their future coworkers during the recruiting process.

Compensation, Benefits & Perks

Presenting benefits and compensation begins with your job postings. According to a survey conducted by Glassdoor, more than half of the respondents listed salary (67%) and benefits (63%) as top factors they looked for in job ads. By listing the salary range, benefits and perks this early on, you are less likely to lose a candidate at the end of the process solely because the salary and benefits offered are less than they are willing to accept.

When making a job offer, begin with an in-depth discussion with the candidate to determine which benefits and perks they value the most; it may be possible to create an offer package that is personalised enough to meet their needs. Furthermore, it’s important to know the difference between a perk and a benefit, as they are two different categories of non-wage compensation items.

employment offer letter

Benefits: Benefits are best described as a form of non-wage compensation that complements salary. Health insurance, transit assistance, stock options, and retirement contributions are some of the most popular benefits offered by organisations.

Perks: Perks are above-and-beyond offerings that may sway a candidate to value one organisation over another. Think about these as the “icing on the cake.” Perks at work may include a company car; retail discounts; summer hours; gym memberships; standing desks and off-site, team-building activities. These perks can really sweeten an employment offer and increase the likelihood of acceptance.

Non-Traditional Perks & Benefits

A survey released by TriNet found that 91% of respondents at small- and medium-sized businesses view non-traditional benefits as an important aspect of their job satisfaction. According to the survey, non-traditional benefits include perks such as flexible work schedules, commuter benefits, unlimited paid time off, paid volunteer time, remote work options and more. 

If your organisation offers non-traditional perks and benefits, leverage them to sweeten job offers. These days, candidates are becoming less concerned with salary alone and more concerned with overall compensation – including a better work-life balance and greater workplace flexibility. If your organisation offers employees access to a gym, the option to work from home or other alluring perks, make sure to mention these when discussing benefits with candidates.

Entwining Benefits & Employer Branding

Fusing your benefits package with your employer brand gives your benefits programme a distinct identity and purpose aligned with your core values. It’s something that candidates should be able to recognise in every aspect of your benefits presentation. In particular, your benefits mission statement should be clear and concise, but also unique to your organisation. Strive to make it a natural extension of your broader organisational values. For instance, if excellent customer service is an area of focus at your company, craft your benefits mission statement to highlight how your benefits seek to anticipate and meet the needs of employees.

A financial services client of PeopleScout’s is one example of blending employer branding and benefits. Specifically, the client provided a comprehensive and generous maternity leave policy for expecting mothers. However, when communicating its maternity leave policy, the benefit wasn’t featured in a way that effectively highlighted the company’s commitment to supporting new parents. While informative and to the point, this approach to educating employees about the policy was misaligned with the client’s employer brand of empowerment.

PeopleScout worked with this client to craft new and more brand-aligned communications about the maternity leave policy. The new messaging shared in the excitement of expecting employees, while also highlighting the challenges expecting mothers face in the workplace. Employee communications about the maternity leave policy centered on the values of empowerment and support for employees – inside and outside of the organisation’s walls.

Engaging & Communicating With Candidates During the Employment Offer Process

Initial Conversations

Once you’ve decided on a candidate, don’t waste time reaching out and sharing the good news. Otherwise, the candidate may accept a position elsewhere or develop a negative attitude about your organisation if they are left waiting too long.

When you contact the candidate, discuss the details of the job offer. If the candidate is satisfied with your offer, ask for verbal acceptance and let them know a formal offer of employment will be sent shortly.

Follow Up & Keeping Candidates Warm

After verbal acceptance of your offer, stay in contact with the candidate to keep them engaged and interested in the role. When following up, don’t be overly eager or too pushy; instead, allow the candidate some time to think about your offer. While the candidate considers your job offer, stay in touch through the candidate’s preferred method of communication. The purpose of your follow-up correspondence should be to reinforce your enthusiasm about having the candidate join your team.

Follow-ups with new details about the offer, like “You will be working at X location” or “Would you prefer to work on a Mac or a PC?” allow you to stay connected while relaying information that is relevant to the candidate. What’s more, keeping in touch enables you to continue to build a positive relationship with candidates after the offer.

The Official Offer Letter

An offer letter represents the final stage in your recruiting process and is the legal document that defines the employment relationship between your organisation and the candidate. For those reasons, it is critical to get it right.

Think of the offer letter as a formal invitation for the candidate to become an employee of your organisation. Like any invitation, your offer letter should send a warm and positive message to the candidate. Articulate a friendly, welcoming tone and indicate your anticipation of the candidate’s future contributions to your organisation. The offer letter should inform candidates of their compensation and benefits, as well as include a description of their role and responsibilities.

Consider creating multiple templates for offer letters, especially if you have distinct categories of employees. Then, personalise them to match the candidate and to ensure that each candidate receives the right information for their situation.

Organisations that want to fill open roles with qualified and talented employees need to approach recruitment in the same way that sales and marketing teams approach engaging and closing clients. Look for creative ways to show why your organisation is a great place to work.

And, finally, solicit and provide feedback to candidates; this communicates that you value their input and that your organisation – like the candidate – is using the exchange as a teachable moment meant to foster growth, which is an indicator of positive workplace culture. By focusing on your brand, culture, and benefits, as well as keeping in touch with candidates, you’ll maximise your ability to land – and keep – the best talent.

PeopleScout UK Jobs Report Analysis – October 2019

Posted on by skatz

The October Labour Market Report released by the Office for National Statistics, which includes the quarter covering June through August 2019, reported that 56,000 jobs were lost as the unemployment rate rose to 3.9%. Nominal wages showed an annual increase of 3.8%.

UK Jobs Report October 2019

Notable figures from the September report include:

  • The UK employment rate fell to 75.9%, higher than a year earlier (75.6%) but 0.2 percentage points lower than the previous quarter.
  • The number of job vacancies fell to 813,000, the lowest level since autumn 2017.
  • Estimated annual growth in average weekly earnings for employees was 3.8% for both total pay (including bonuses) and regular pay (excluding bonuses).

Job Losses and Rising Unemployment

The number of those working in the three months ending in August unexpectedly decreased by 56,000. The decline was driven by those employed part-time and self-employed workers, young people and women. The Office for National Statistics noted that while there were changes in the employment numbers for both men and women, “The number of women entering employment has been a strong contributing factor to the current high employment levels, so a fall in their number in employment has had a larger impact on the current level of employment.”

The number of people who are out of work rose by 22,000 to slightly more than 1.31 million. The decrease in jobs combined with a lack of increased participation drove the unemployment rate up to 3.9%.

The level of those who are economically inactive also rose. Inactivity measures people without a job but who are not classified as unemployed because they have not been actively seeking work within the last four weeks and/or they are unable to start work within the next two weeks. The inactivity rate reported was 21%, 0.2 percentage points lower than a year earlier but 0.1% higher than the last quarter.

The Looming Brexit Deadline…Again

For the third time this year, UK businesses have had to consider their recruitment plans while facing an approaching date for leaving the European Union. And, even though Parliament has voted to constrain the possibility of a no-deal Brexit, there is still no agreement in place with a little over two weeks to go until the October 31 deadline. The job losses and the increased unemployment rate are being blamed on the lack of clarity in the nation’s immediate economic future combined with an extended tight labour market, as Tej Parikh, chief economist at the Institute of Directors, an employer’s group, noted:

“Challenging economic conditions are starting to take the shine off the UK’s job boom. Business leaders’ long-lasting drive to expand their workforce has put the labour market in a strong position. However, firms are now increasingly coming up against uncertainty and the shrinking supply of available talent.”

Even with the uncertainties that would come in the event of a “no deal Brexit,” less than one third of larger UK firms reported that they are planning to reduce their recruitment plans, while a small percentage plan to increase them, according to a recent survey by the British Chambers of Commerce:

“22% of businesses surveyed said they would revise recruitment plans down in the event of no-deal, while 3% would revise up. 73% of respondents did not state that they would revise investment plans.

Larger businesses surveyed (firms with more than 50 employees) were more likely to report that they will revise investment (33%) and recruitment (31%) plans downwards in a ‘no deal’ scenario. 5% of surveyed businesses reported they would revise investment and recruitment upwards, respectively.”

Keep Calm and Consider the Context

While the data released today could be interpreted as the beginning of the end of an expanding labour market, it is far too early to make this prediction. Consider two of the headline factors of today’s report: the employment rate and number of job vacancies. The employment rate fell from last month’s report but this rate of 76.1% was tied for the highest rate on record since records began in 1971. Job openings are slowly decreasing, but the current level of 813,000 still demonstrates robust demand for talent. Unemployment remains near historic lows. And, while news about job losses may be unfamiliar and troubling, employers should not drastically alter their recruitment plans on the basis of a single labour market report.

What’s Next in Talent Acquisition

Posted on by skatz

Let’s face it – we live in an ever-changing world, where one of the biggest challenges is keeping up with the latest trend.

For an update on talent acquisition trends, PeopleScout hosted Madeline Laurano, talent analyst and founder of Aptitude Research, at our North American Talent Summit. Laurano spoke on the top trends she is seeing through her qualitative and quantitative research, and provided clarity on the crowded market.

Laurano shared that the current state of talent acquisition has fundamentally shifted due to the record increase in job openings and decrease in the available talent pool. This contributes to the rise of competition for talent across industries and the tremendous pressure organisations face to find the right talent.

Laurano presented a few key solutions to aid in managing this overarching challenge, including strengthening employer branding, simplifying your talent strategy with technology, improving candidate communication, using data to drive decisions and exploring total workforce solutions.

In this article, we’ll walk through Laurano’s report on the current state of talent acquisition, and dive into how a focus on employer branding can help you stay on top of the trends in talent acquisition.

Current State & Challenges

Laurano’s research shows a fundamental shift in talent acquisition over the past few years, which she attributes to changing market conditions. The numbers prove it – there’s a high demand for skills and a low supply of candidates, which increases both competition for talent and the cost of a quality hire.

High Demand for Skills

Nearly half of U.S. employers attribute unfilled job openings to a lack of qualified candidates. Additionally, 75% of human resource professionals who have recruiting difficulty say there is a shortage of skills in candidates for job openings. However, 74% of organisations are investing just $500 per employee on training and development between upskilling and reskilling.

The skills gap is widening particularly for IT, healthcare, manufacturing and really any industry that has specialised or technical roles. Based on her research, Laurano recommends that organisations invest in technology and digital roles to foster ideas and monitor industry trends. More than 5 million jobs in information technology are expected to be added globally by 2027.

Low Supply of Candidates

“Statistics show employers are having a difficult time filling job openings and are competing across industries for talent, which is a major challenge in the industry and one we haven’t seen before,” Laurano said.

A 2017 PWC survey of CEOs found that 77% said the greatest threat to organisations was the availability of talent. The unemployment rate is at a record-low 3.7% in the U.S., with 106 months of continuous job growth – the longest stretch in the nation’s history. Canada ended the first half of the year with an unemployment rate of 5.5%, and many leading European and Asia Pacific economies posted strong job gains and continued low unemployment.

Quality of Hires

Laurano’s 2019 Quality of Hire Trends Report states that only 26% of organisations in her study have a formal methodology for defining quality of hire; one in three of those organisations said that they’re interested in tracking quality of hire, but they don’t know how to start. Therefore, there’s a lot of opportunity to improve how we calculate quality of hire.

Ultimately, organisations have to rethink their strategies and technology to attract the right candidates for them. So, how do organisations stay on top of these trends? Laurano says strengthening employer branding is one important way.

Strengthening Employer Branding

As a reminder, your employer brand is the perception and lived experiences of what it’s like to work for your organisation. It also incorporates your employee value proposition (EVP), which captures the essence of your uniqueness as an employer and the give and get between you and your employees.

In her presentation, Laurano discussed the importance of strengthening employer branding as one way to stand out in the crowded market. As research shows, many organisations are investing plenty of resources into employer branding, but there is still room for improvement. As Laurano’s research shows, 62% of organisations invest in employer branding, however:

  • One out of four organisations is unsure about its employer branding.
  • 50% of organisations are unhappy with their employer branding tools.
  • 37% of talent acquisition and recruitment specialists consider their knowledge of their employer brand as “weak” or “getting by” – despite it being identified as an area of critical importance.

Industry research agrees with Laurano, as one study shows that companies with stronger employer brands see a 43% decrease on average in the cost per candidate they hire, compared to their competitors. Additionally, when organisations specifically in the U.S. live up to their marketed EVP, new employees arrive with a higher level of commitment at 38%, compared to organisations that do not live up to their marketed EVP, which is at just 9%.

Digital Transformation

As Laurano noted, the digital space is a major aspect to consider in talent acquisition and employer branding. Whether it’s introducing digital or data specialist roles, the skills associated with those jobs assist organisations in recognising their weaker areas and providing innovative ideas to capture their intended audiences. Laurano recommends incorporating the digital role heavily in your talent solution and to improve messaging.  “Go where your candidates are,” she says. And, for the most part, that is the digital space. Research confirms this concept:

Reactive vs. Proactive Recruiting Strategy

In Laurano’s presentation, she emphasised the value of organisations nurturing talent before they apply, or a proactive versus reactive approach:

Reactive

“If we were to take the reactive recruiting approach and turn it into a funnel, it might look something like the diagram above. Sourcers fill up the talent pipeline while recruiters manage the selection process on behalf of the organisation. However, there is no one working on behalf of the candidate and no real engagement process at the top of the funnel. As a result, the recruiter spends more time on screening résumés, phone screens, etc.”

Proactive

“If we flip the time allocation where recruiters spend less time on screening and focus on ensuring they have targeted, qualified candidates to begin with, the results would differ. There would be a higher rate of effectiveness by investing in relationship-building with targeted pools of talent, as opposed to a reactive, start-stop recruiting approach.”

Additional research only reinforces the proactive method, as 67% of employed American adults agree that the application, interview or offer process would make or break their decision on whether to take a job.

Global Aspect

Employer branding is difficult for global organisations, as it’s not always about the organisation, but also the specific location, as well, which can get complicated. The core of your employer brand should start with a universal truth, but effective employers will also create messaging that speaks directly to different audiences and geographies. Laurano suggests a need for transparency for global organisations, as well as local flexibility and solutions to strengthen your employer branding.

What’s Next for Your Talent Solution?

Keeping up with the latest trends can be challenging to say the least, especially in the talent industry. Laurano’s research into the fundamental shift in talent acquisition provided some key insights and solutions that are beneficial when combating such rapid changes.

About the Expert

Madeline Laurano’s primary focus during the last 12+ years has been on the talent management market, specialising in talent acquisition. Her insights are based on her work as an analyst and advisor in the human capital space and her latest research with HR and talent acquisition practitioners. Laurano’s work helps companies both validate and reevaluate their strategies and understand the role technology can play in driving business outcomes. Before Aptitude Research, Laurano held research roles at Aberdeen, Bersin by Deloitte, ERE Media and Brandon Hall Group. She is co-author of “Best Practices in Leading a Global Workforce,” and has been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe, Yahoo News, and The Financial Times. She is a frequent presenter at industry conferences, including the HR Technology Conference and Exposition, SHRM, IHRIM, HCI’s Strategic Talent Acquisition conference, GDS International’s HCM Summit, and HRO Today. Visit her website at https://www.aptituderesearch.com.

Fife Council: Bringing Deeper Understanding to Fill Pivotal Role

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Head of Children, Families and Criminal Justice

Filling this socially and strategically important leadership role challenged our research capabilities. The role is pivotal in shaping the future of children and families· services in Fife – an area where 1 in 4 children are living in poverty. Understanding and communicating the role’s interesting remit, combined with the criminal justice element, proved essential to successfully filling the role.

SOLUTION HIGHLIGHTS

  • An ‘ideal’ person brief
  • Extensive deep search tactics
  • Non-traditional sources

SCOPE & SCALE

Fife Council brought this role to us a few months before the current incumbent was due to retire. We were tasked with identifying individuals with a strong background in leading services within children and families social care and already on the social work register in England or Scotland, or able to register. The role covered a wide remit, including Criminal Justice, and had also been merged with the Chief Social Work Officer role. We felt that this was a good selling point as it added interest to those who were looking to increase their responsibilities.

SITUATION

The role could not be filled internally, and it was a challenging location to recruit for, making search a much more viable option than pure media. Even with sourcing, 35% of individuals who engaged with us were not interested because of the location and a further 30% were not interested due to timings.

SOLUTION

RESEARCH

Following preliminary research, a briefing with the Executive Director of Education and Children’s Services provided further context and insight into children and family services in Fife. A version of the Directorate Improvement Plan was also shared with us to bring the role and its challenges to life. It was agreed that the ideal candidate would be working at
Head of Service level in a smaller Scottish Local Authority.

STRATEGY

We agreed on a project plan during the briefing. Timebound goals including benchmarking and work in progress updates were to be sent. Our search encompassed telephone, Linked In, referrals, CV databases and deep web searching.

OUTCOME

By using an intensive search for council documentation, and examining historical freedom of information requests, we were able to identify names of individuals who were otherwise absent from traditional sources – including their own council website.

RESULTS

Fife Council appointed an Acting Head of Service from a smaller Scottish local authority- as per their “ideal person” brief. In the candidate’s own words, she was delighted
to be offered the role and excited to be joining Fife Council. She also thanked us for contacting her as she was not looking for a new role and would have over looked this opportunity.

I was impressed with the extent of the knowledge of what Fife was looking for and the ability from our conversations to absolutely understand what type of person we wished to recruit. The process most definitely found us candidates who would not have otherwise applied and although there was still a small number of applicants we were able to appoint a suitable candidate to the post. This was my first time in using this service and would consider it for future senior appointments.

Safran Nacelles: Reducing Time-to-Hire by a Third for Critical Engineering Talent

Posted on by rharris

CHALLENGE

With increased litigation and fear around aeroplane safety, stress engineers have become an essential part of the design and test processes. Consequently, Nacelle’s were keen to attract experienced stress engineers to join in permanent roles. This had proved difficult to say the least, as experienced stress engineers are in very short supply. The aerospace market is highly competitive and the best candidates opt for contracts rather than permanent positions. All of which demands substantial time and focus for resourcers. So after 18 unsatisfying months trying to fill roles with their previous supplier, Nacelles approached PeopleScout for help.

APPROACH

Four things defined our approach: rigour, innovation, relationships and brand unity.

To assess in detail, the skills, experience and behaviors that typified an excellent candidate for Nacelles, we held a detailed briefing with the hiring manager and other stakeholders. Next, we devised an innovative sourcing strategy, including deep web searching, competitor mapping and tapping into online forums, reaching out to candidates from Romania, India and the UK.

A unified employer brand simplifies life. But more than that, it’s a reason for candidates to gravitate to us over traditional agencies. So we worked in the Nacelles headquarters to build great relationships with the hiring managers. And the unity behind the scenes extended to candidate communications. Every contact by the PeopleScout team was made under the Nacelles name, whether sourcing candidates, conducting interviews or leading tours of the factory. Nacelles and PeopleScout were as one.

‘The agreed time per hire is 45 days, while our average is just 30 days. That’s a reduction of 33%.’

RESULTS

Because we manage every part of the process we’ve substantially streamlined Nacelle’s resourcing, yielding fantastic results. Within a month, we filled the first 3 roles. Then we placed nine more stress engineers in permanent roles at Nacelle: an unheard-of achievement in the aerospace industry. And the good results continue to build as we help with the client’s ongoing recruitment needs. The agreed time per hire is 45 days, while our average is just 30 days. That’s a reduction of 33%. And we’ve managed to halve the cost per hire.

The AA: Rigorous Market Mapping for Contact Centre Roles

Posted on by rharris

CHALLENGE

The AA had identified an opportunity to significantly expand the capacity of a Midlands contact centre. At the same time, they wanted to shift focus away from customer service to more sales-oriented roles. But first, they wanted to understand if the location and available talent could support the proposal. If the AA was going to commit to the expansion they needed to be confident that the investment would pay off. So they teamed up with PeopleScout to find answers.

APPROACH

The view at PeopleScout was that the assessment could only be undertaken with robust and transparent evidence of the local employment market.

Using a mixture of online research and big data tools, we sourced detailed, comprehensive data, covering market capability, salary, talent distribution and competitor analysis including site size and skill capability.

‘The client was able to demonstrate effective manpower planning – winning the support of key stakeholders.’

RESULTS

Armed with the in-depth insight into local labour and hiring potential that we provided, the client was able to demonstrate effective manpower planning – winning the support of key stakeholders.

Bombardier: Keeping the World Moving with a Global Employer Brand

Posted on by rharris

A worldwide leader in rail technology, Bombardier Transportation had no global employer brand presence. So they approached us to develop a recruitment value proposition. Launched initially in the UK, and now rolling out to other territories, our global messaging framework and toolkit has already helped them recruit to previously hard-to-fill roles, as well as meet diversity objectives.

SOLUTION HIGHLIGHTS
• GLOBAL PRESENCE
• SUCCESSFUL MEDIA CAMPAIGN
• FILLING CRITICAL ROLES
• IMPROVED DIVERSITY

SCOPE AND SCALE

With no global employer brand presence, Bombardier Transportation was keen to develop a recruitment value proposition (RVP). The RVP was not only to be used to push out the overall brand message, but also to underpin specific propositions for, and support recruitment activity in, each of their territories around the world.

SITUATION

Bombardier Transportation had to tackle a negative market perception of redundancies and lost orders. The truth was that they had a full order book and some new and exciting contracts to deliver in the future. With this positive story to share, they realised they had a great opportunity to enhance their position within the market.

SOLUTION

RESEARCH & DISCOVERY
We began with extensive research in all key Bombardier Transportation global territories. As well as conducting interviews with a mixture of senior stakeholders and employees from the main talent groups they needed to recruit from, we also carried out external sessions with relevant talent groups.

FOUNDATION & FRAMEWORK
Using the insights we’d gained, we developed a set of RVP pillars capturing the key themes from the research. This provided the framework for creating our global messaging platform and design.

OUTCOME: GUIDELINES & TOOLKIT
Working closely with Bombardier Transportation’s Centre of Excellence, Branding and Communications teams, we produced a set of guidelines and toolkit of materials that could be used globally and nuanced for each individual territory.

RESULTS

GLOBAL PRESENCE
Initially launched within the UK, the RVP continues to be rolled out to other territories around the world.

SUCCESSFUL MEDIA CAMPAIGN
Bombardier Transportation also launched its first media campaign using the RVP in the UK, with encouraging results. The campaign used a variety of digital and outdoor media in key hiring locations, which was a first for Bombardier Transportation.

SUCCESS IN HIRING CRITICAL, HARD-TO-FILL ROLES
Across the whole campaign, they received over 500 applications and made hires into critical roles that they had struggled to recruit to previously.

IMPROVED DIVERSITY
They were also able to recruit several females into these positions addressing their global diversity objectives.

FUTURE FOUNDATION
The RVP and media performance have been well received within Bombardier Transportation as they continue to plan their activities.

2018 Q3 Global Economic Snapshot

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The strong job growth which characterized the first half of 2018 continued in the third quarter for many of the world’s leading economies. Tangible evidence of rising wages spurred by the tight job markets began to appear in the U.S. and the UK. Employers continued to be challenged by the decreasing pool of available talent which has added to the urgency to successfully recruit and retain talent.

Solid Job Growth and Low Unemployment in Many of the World’s Largest Economies


In Q3 in the United States there were more job openings than unemployed workers to fill them, and in September, the unemployment rate plunged to its lowest level since 1969. In the UK, unemployment rates were at their lowest in more than 40 years. The U.S., UK, China, Germany and Japan all posted unemployment rates under 4 percent during the quarter. Unemployment in Australia dropped to 5.3 percent in July and held steady in August. The euro area (EA19) seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 8.1 percent in August. This is the lowest rate recorded in the euro area since November 2008. Individual European economies however, such as France and Italy, continued to post unemployment rates above 9 percent.


For other major economies, the results were more mixed. Canada, which had experienced healthy job growth during much of the last year, had a rise in unemployment in August which was followed by job gains in September driven by part-time employment. Brazil, Latin America’s largest economy, had an unemployment rate above 12 percent during the third quarter. While Brazil’s unemployment rate is among the highest in the Americas, it is still an improvement over the 13.1 percent rate average during the first quarter of 2018.

U.S. and the UK: Possible Signals of Wage Growth are Not Shared Worldwide


In June, the New York Times noted “The rise in consumer prices over the last year has effectively wiped out any wage increases for nonsupervisory workers…That is odd for an economy with a tight labor market, with unemployment running at a 3.8 percent…the benefits of a hot economy have not yet translated into a significant wage increase for workers.” While this article was specifically referring to the United States, slow wage growth has been the norm for the world’s wealthiest countries despite sustained low unemployment.


Wage data released during the third quarter in the U.S. and the UK suggests that real wage growth may have finally arrived. In the U.S., average hourly earnings rose by 0.4 percent in August, pushing the annual rate of increase to 2.9 percent – the fastest pace since June 2009. And in the UK, wage growth accelerated over the summer with the lowest jobless rate in more than four decades. The Office for National Statistics reported that earnings excluding bonuses rose an annual 2.9 percent in the quarter including May, June and July. In July alone, basic wages rose 3.1 percent, the most since 2015. The wage increases in both the U.S. and the UK outpaced the rate of inflation, which may have a positive impact on their overall economies.


By contrast, Canada actually saw a decrease in year-over-year wage increases during the third quarter. In August the growth rate slid to 2.9 percent after expanding to 3.2 percent in July and 3.5 percent in June. In Australia, wage data for the third quarter has yet to be reported. However, the Australian Bureau of Statistics announced that consumer prices and wage price indexes both rose by an identical 2.1 percent from the start of the year to June.

Brexit, Tariffs and the End of NAFTA


While the third quarter ended without any new clarity regarding the details of the UK’s exit from the European Union, a number of businesses, including those in the financial sector, have continued planning to move operations and employees out of the UK. The composition of the UK workforce has also started to change in response to Brexit. In August, The Office of National Statistics reported the number of European Union nationals working in the UK fell by 86,000, a record amount. This decrease was the largest annual amount since records began in 1997 and continues a trend seen since the 2016 Brexit vote. This contrasts with a rise in the number of non-EU nationals working in the UK. That number is now 1.27 million, which is 74,000 more than a year earlier. Without determining the status of EU nationals working in Britain after a final Brexit settlement, the composition of the UK workforce in both the near and long-term remains unclear.


The U.S. imposed tariffs on China before and during the third quarter. In the United States, the tariffs have led to some job losses, but when balanced against impressive domestic job gains, the extent of the impact of these tariffs on both countries remains to be seen.


Uncertainty over the future of the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, has been a challenge for many employers in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico. Changes to NAFTA could have potentially altered the price and availability of many goods and services. After extensive negotiations among the three countries, a new trade agreement known as the U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement, or USMCA, was announced just after the end of the quarter. The agreement must still be ratified by each country’s legislatures, but the announced new terms and rules will allow employers to resume planning and hiring forecasts which may have stalled during uncertainty over NAFTA in the 1.2 trillion dollar North American market comprised of Canada, Mexico and the U.S.

Addressing the Skills Gap: Upskilling Employees


Upskilling, or teaching new skills to current employees, is one way to address the skills shortage and current economic conditions faced by many employers. Upskilling not only provides additional skills to valued workers, it can also support their retention. As a recent article in Forbes notes:


“With the job market booming, employers should make every effort to prevent employees from job hopping their way up the corporate ladder, forcing companies to backfill positions and costing thousands in recruiting expenses and lost productivity. By investing in their employees’ education and skills training, employers not only increase employees’ value to the company but also send them the message that they are worth the investment and have a place in the company’s future.”


No matter how high a company’s retention rate may be, retirement and corporate growth require an effective recruitment strategy to attract new talent. Employers that promote the development of their employees’ skills provides a competitive advantage in attracting motivated candidates, and ultimately productive and successful employees.

Workforce Planning: Leveraging Workforce Analytics for Deeper Insights

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To stay competitive in the modern and complex business landscape, organisations need to leverage technology to make more strategic decisions. Many are using big data and analytics to achieve these aims. In fact, 80 percent of executives say their big data investments have been successful, and almost half say their organisations can measure the benefits from their projects.

What’s more, according to Harvard Business Review, organisations that excel in data-driven decision-making are more productive and more profitable than their competitors on average.

Workforce analytics combines statistical analysis and predictive modeling to help organisations make fact-based talent acquisition and management decisions. In this post, we outline how to leverage analytics as part of the workforce planning process.

What is Workforce Planning and What Role do Analytics Play in the Process?

Traditionally, workforce planning has been a reactive way of assessing workforce needs. Organisations typically make annual talent forecasts for how many hires are needed in a role, and those estimates happen before the end of a fiscal year as part of the budget-planning process. This approach to workforce planning lacks the flexibility needed to remain agile and competitive in an evolving and dynamic labour market.

Modern, data-driven workforce planning focuses on the future by assessing current hiring needs and modeling how those needs will evolve. Workforce analytics is the cornerstone of modern workforce planning.

Workforce analytics gathers and analyses data to better inform decisions made in of the process of workforce planning, resulting in the formation of a strategic plan to address workforce challenges. This data-focused approach can assist organisations to match talent forecasts with analysis of the talent pool to create a realistic view of the labour market.

When workforce planning is combined with workforce analytics, organisations are better able to predict future leaders within the organisation, craft succession plans for critical positions and recruit the right talent.

Types of Workforce Analytics

Data analytics has become common across many business functions, from logistics to finance. As organisations look to overcome the skills gap, full-employment and record retirement, they need to develop a systematic process for identifying workforce needs, develop strategies to meet those requirements and implementing them effectively. Below we list three data analytics techniques essential to workforce planning that can help organisations meet changing demands now and in the future.

Predictive Analytics 

Predictive analytics leverages historical data to create predictive models that anticipate what is likely to happen in areas such as employee turnover, skills shortages and shifts in the labour market. By incorporating predictive analytics into workforce planning, techniques such as regression analysis, forecasting, multivariate statistics and pattern matching enable an organisation’s leadership to understand likely talent outcomes and needs of the future.

Diagnostic Analytics

Diagnostic analytics helps contextualise past performance by evaluating performance-based metrics in an attempt to discover the reasons behind past workforce successes or failures. Diagnostic analytics is essential in workforce planning because it can provide organisations with a clearer picture of key workforce performance metrics and trends. The data can then be leveraged to identify unseen workforce performance issues. Armed with insights gleaned from diagnostic analytics organisations can better optimise their workforce plan to align with performance goals.

Prescriptive Analytics 

Similar to predictive analytics, prescriptive analytics uses the same sets of historical workforce data to anticipate the likelihood of specific results or events. What makes prescriptive analytics different is that the data is then leveraged to plan the best next actions based on those predictions. Prescriptive analytics is extremely valuable in workforce planning because it uses available data to recommend measures that could increase the likelihood of desired business and staffing outcomes occurring.

These techniques can provide organisations with concrete and actionable insights on workforce data and help drive better talent strategies. Talent technology solutions such as PeopleScout’s propriety technology, Affinixtm, can help organisations better leverage these techniques and deliver additional value to workforce planning.

Benefits of Workforce Analytics

While the most obvious benefits of workforce analytics are related to time savings, dollars saved and earned, percentage changes, and proof of ROI, there are less tangible benefits of workforce analytics that HR leaders often discover after they have started with their solution. These are benefits related to organisational alignment, team cohesion and company culture. While these benefits are more difficult to measure in concrete terms, they are definitely connected to business outcomes. In the following section, we outline two ways workforce analytics can improve and organisations talent management and recruiting programmes.

Improving Retention and Employee Performance

Workforce analytics can help organisations identify top performers, foster successful employee retention and talent recruitment programmes and ensure the proper workforce is in place to accomplish business goals and objectives.

Furthermore, an employee’s performance data could be used by hiring managers to identify what motivates an organisation’s top talents. This data not only provides more insights about the employees but also shape the strategies to boost the employee morale, retention and engagement.

Improved Hiring Decision With

Workforce analytics make predictive analysis easier and helps HR to make a better choice based on historical data. A great HR analytics tool can make the difference by making the HR easily derive the best candidate to hire from the historical data.

For example, if an organisation hired 20 candidates and 10 out of them are from a particular background failed at it, organisations can avoid hiring candidates from a similar background. Moreover, workforce analytics also allows recruiters to learn more about candidates through an online resume database, applications, social media profiles to learn which traits and attributes are associated with top performers in a certain role.

Conclusion

Today, HR leaders make use of analytics solutions to realise deeper insight into the workforce in order to fuel evidence-based decisions and improve business outcomes. An experienced RPO partner with a consultative approach can help organisations better understand their workforce and tailor talent acquisition strategies to match the client’s goals and objectives and which metrics can best determine the desired impact.