The best recruiting organisations, and the best recruiters, put effort in to establishing open communication, sharing information, providing appropriate guidance, building confidence and even encouraging risk-taking in candidates. Seeking feedback on candidate experience – providing a platform for applicants to have their voice heard and the space to share their thoughts – supports this too. These are all strategic focuses that an RPO partnership can deliver.
At PeopleScout, we are particularly focused on advocating for candidates throughout the hiring process. I believe this is why we consistently receive high candidate satisfaction scores (like NPS) on the candidate experience we provide for our clients.
Creating Psychological Safety through Candidate Engagement
Applying for a job seems an obvious example of taking a personal risk. Candidates deserve the same level of support as employees; after all, unless your search is poor at least one of them is your next colleague, right?
If a talented candidate does not feel engaged during an application, assessment, interview or any interaction with a recruiting team, what is the result? An inability to express themselves, and their talents fully.
When that talent is blocked, or overlooked, who is at fault? The candidate, or the designers and deliverers of a recruitment experience that failed to consider candidate experience?
It our goal to create a candidate experience in which every candidate can bring their best self to the process and find a new position that will create value for the candidate and the client.
Rethinking Required Skills to Engage More Talent
Through our strategic partnerships, PeopleScout helps a wide audience of candidates think differently about their own potential and skills, and what value they might add to an organisation. That approach reaches and engages talent others might overlook.
Recently our team did some work with Defra to bring to life the purpose of Civil Service Success Profiles. Asking candidates to “show off the true you” is a long way from a job advert (or a recruiter sat behind it) seeking experience in the exact same role or sector as an essential requirement.
A quick question to consider: what do you really need to know about a job applicant? Biographical information, years of education, and even job experience are less predictively valid than other modes of assessment. You’ll get a much better indication of future success from behavioural- and skills-focused interviews and tests. One of our teams recently put together a case for removing CV screening from a customer care recruitment exercise based on this principle.
Here’s to all of them for helping people – particularly those struggling to access employment – to think about skills differently and to put that thinking at the forefront of assessment and recruitment. I’m particularly pleased to see Openreach represented here with the clear message:
“If people have got the right attitude, the right mindset, the right customer service and teamwork ethos, we can train them to be great engineers.”
As a leading, global talent partner for a diverse range of businesses, PeopleScout’s RPO solutions have long been designed to amplify employer brands with a recruitment approach that focuses on an enhanced candidate experience. The missing talent can be won by placing the employee experience at the heart of your talent strategy and I’m proud to say in Q1 2022 we are re-delivering hundreds of employees each month into consumer goods and retail sectors for our client partners in the UK, with fulfilment trending positively each month.
In times of uncertainty, candidate communications can ease job seeker’s anxiety levels significantly when employers are clear and concise about the hiring process instead of sending candidates heading into the unknown. So, what does this mean in internal and external recruitment activity? In this article, we cover how a hybrid hiring strategy can bring stability to the hiring process and benefit candidate engagement in our uncertain job market.
Hybrid Hiring Strategy: The Basics
What is a Hybrid Hiring Strategy?
Hybrid hiring is a talent acquisition strategy that allows employers to maximise the advantages of in-person and virtual recruiting practices. A hybrid hiring strategy allows organisations to leverage the advantages of virtual hiring when it makes sense, while also using strategic, in-person techniques to add value and a human touch to the candidate experience.
Hybrid hiring strategies are not new; many employers deployed a mix of virtual and in-person techniques prior to the pandemic. However, COVID-19 has accelerated the need for safer, more efficient interviewing and hiring models, leading to greater adoption of virtual and hybrid strategies. Now, because employers have seen the advantages of virtual recruiting, the benefits of a hybrid model have become clear. Depending on the type of role you’re hiring for, having a strong hybrid hiring model in place makes it easy to recruit staff 100% virtually if and when it’s needed, or with a blended approach.
Leveraging Hybrid Hiring Strategies
For some, the pandemic has accelerated their organisation’s growth strategies and driven significant hiring volume increases. For others the pandemic has necessitated a deep dive into the most effective way of recruiting in a post-pandemic world – effectively looking under the hood and fine-tuning whilst the engine is stopped.
To ensure your organisation is well-positioned to capitalise on new talent opportunities, consider bouncing back with a smartly deployed hybrid approach to recruiting. Your hybrid hiring strategy will depend on your organisation’s recruiting needs and what your potential workforce will look like on the other side of the recovery.
If some or all of your employees will work remote, it would make sense to complete the entire recruiting process virtually. As an in-person interview or office tour would waste time and money or may lead to a poor candidate experience. Instead, hiring for talent for these roles completely virtually, and providing opportunities for human interaction and cultural engagement along the way, can help candidates feel like they know what it will be like to work remotely for your organisation.
The Inside Scoop on Hybrid Hiring
PeopleScout met recently with a group of talent leaders for a highly interactive and conversational 60 minutes during which great expertise was shared by talent professionals working within some of the most challenging business sectors.
All agreed that the journey towards greater use of technology in recruiting had been accelerated as a result of the pandemic and that it had yielded positive outcomes. There is no going back, and a mix of technology-enabled in-person and virtual activities is here to stay. A number of examples of technology delivering efficiency and high-value experiences were shared. We also heard about the need to adapt your hiring approach and process relative to factors such as job category, early career versus experienced hire, and geography.
Workforce dynamics was also discussed, and it was interesting to note a shift towards greater internal mobility through the pandemic. However, there was strong agreement on the need to continue to bring in external talent for a variety of reasons, including the need to drive forward diversity and inclusion.
The need to scale and flex to meet unexpected demand is clearly an imperative, and the panel shared their views on how to build this into a delivery model. There were some valuable insights shared around partnering with RPO providers, including how to determine what to outsource, how to select the right partner and how to build out the business case.
Again, a few innovative approaches on how to do this in a hybrid hiring environment were shared. Clearly, recruiters lie at the heart of this and play a critical role in providing clear cultural insight to potential hires. The audience chat also threw up some interesting points around tax implications of hiring anywhere as well as adapting probation period policies for the new world of work.
Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) for specialist Engineering, Transportation, Project Management and Support Function roles
Transport for Wales (TfW) were keen to engage a single recruitment partner who could provide a technology solution, expert resourcing services and expertise to help them not only go to market but engage and leverage their brand, while they built from a small entity to larger organisation with a plan to hire roles from apprentices and graduates to Directors with every level in between.
We’ve worked in partnership with TfW as their sole RPO supplier to build the workforce up from just nine employees to over 140 and growing, most of which are permanent with some temporary staff and contractors.
SOLUTION HIGHLIGHTS
FLEXIBLE AND SCALABLE RPO SUPPORT.
EXPERIENCED RESOURCING BUSINESS PARTNER ON SITE AND DEDICATED OFFSITE TEAM.
CREATING BRAND AWARENESS IN A COMPETITIVE MARKETPLACE.
LANDING PAGE, ATS SOLUTION AND REGISTER YOUR INTEREST PORTAL, WITH KEEP WARM STRATEGY.
PROVIDING RECRUITERS WHO SPEAK BOTH ENGLISH AND WELSH.
SCOPE AND SCALE
Transport for Wales (TfW) was created to drive forward the Welsh Government’s vision for a high quality, safe, integrated, affordable and accessible transport network that the people of Wales would be proud of. As a new rail franchise operator, their initial focus was to grow at speed, recruiting 100 or more key staff within challenging timescales, in preparation for a rail franchise switch over.
SITUATION
As a newly-created organisation, Transport for Wales had no recruitment expertise or technology to support their ambitious resourcing plans for roles at all levels. Our on-site Resourcing Business Partner helped shape the Transport for Wales solution and strategy. The immediate challenge was to identify and hire to key senior positions, starting with the Directors, and working with them to build their teams from the top down in order to deliver on their goals.
Another key requirement was an RPO provider who could work in both English and Welsh.
SOLUTION
A UNIQUE SERVICE MODEL PeopleScout consulted with TfW and using a nimble yet disciplined approach created a strategy and process to swiftly start recruiting key hires. We are client-first not process-first and a unique service model was created providing an on-site senior recruiter , with expertise and industry experience who could consult and provide solutions to market challenges and engage with hiring communities and other key stakeholders. We are focused on delivery and so alongside this, we provided regular updates and insights.
BEST-IN-CLASS SERVICE Our off-site dedicated recruiting team provided full sourcing to onboarding services, making sure that candidates received a best-in-class service right through to their first day and beyond.
ATTRACTING A WIDER DIVERSITY OF TALENT As an RPO provider with a creative flair and history of expertise, we were able to help TfW move away from more traditional marketing style to something which attracted a wider diversity of talent. As recognised leaders in employer brand and candidate experience this extended into a go-to-market broadcasting strategy that encompassed social solutions, community management and talent pooling. It also maximised the TfW brand and story, and reduced pressure on budgets.
RESULTS
95% offer fulfilment across all levels of roles
Rapid identification and hiring of specialist roles
92% of candidates who are delighted with their hiring experience
Reduction in time on recruitment by hiring managers
Talent pools created for future hiring
A developed and refined future-proof recruitment strategy
PeopleScout have been excellent in the delivery of the recruitment services into Transport for Wales. They are transparent, hardworking and qualitatively focused. All the team have been dedicated to our growth ambition and have represented our brand well to external candidates. I am delighted to work with the whole team as we share our continued success with our partners.
Lisa Yates, Director of People and Organisational Development – Transport for Wales
NAVIGATING SMALL CANDIDATE POOL FOR THE LEADER THE CLIENT NEEDED
IDENTIFYING INDIVIDUALS WHO WERE WILLING TO RELOCATE
SCOPE AND SCALE
The Council’s Housing Delivery Plan identified a need for 800 new affordable homes per year. The Housing Strategy and Enabling Manager provides the strategic leadership to develop, enable and deliver this ambitious annual programme.
This role is all about sharing responsibility for affordable housing strategy across the public and private sectors. We needed to find a professional who could build great relationships in both areas and work collaboratively with partners and local communities. A persuasive advocate of the need for more homes to meet real human needs – today and tomorrow.
SITUATION
We were looking for an individual with in-depth knowledge of town planning policy and regulations; a qualified Chartered Town Planner (RTPI) or Chartered Surveyor (RICS) with membership of a relevant association. Finding an impressive professional working at the scope and scale of a large Unitary Authority was the key challenge. This person had to hit the ground running in a new structure.
SOLUTION
The hiring manager brief highlighted three essential search criteria:
Detailed knowledge of housing and planning legislation in local authority and housing association sectors
Proven leadership track record in a local authority, housing association or housing organisation
Exceptional stakeholder management skills to advocate for the housing sector at a local, regional and national level
Candidates who met the first two criteria were numerous. But most lacked the senior stakeholder experience. So we searched at a national level, positioning Bristol as a city where people could make a real impact on reducing inequality through housing strategy. This message really resonated. And we found good levels of gender diversity in the field. The final shortlist of four had a 50/50 male/female ratio.
RESULTS
We found healthy numbers of potential candidates in similar roles in other councils and housing associations, but few were willing to consider a new role at the time of the search. Nevertheless, and shortlist of four excellent professionals was created and the role was filled with the outstanding candidate. They start in July 2020.
With the CEO of Fife Sports and Leisure Trust retiring within the month of our search, and no handover, we recruited an experienced, dynamic and strategic leader who hit the ground running.
SOLUTION HIGHLIGHTS
EXPERIENCED PROFESSIONAL
NOT A FIRST-TIME MD OR CEO
FINDING CREDIBLE STRATEGIC LEADERS WHO’D MOVED AWAY FROM OPERATIONS ROLES
CANDIDATES UP FOR THE CHALLENGES FACING FSLT
SUCCESSFULLY RECRUITING DURING NATIONAL LOCKDOWN
SCOPE AND SCALE
The Trust manages and operates 14 leisure facilities on behalf of Fife Council. They’re one of the largest employers in the town with 550 staff. Their mission is improving health and wellbeing across the Fife, offering facilities for people of all abilities. The new CEO would need to foster good relationships with the Council and balance the social and economic purposes to develop a sustainable leisure service. This would mean finding further funding and creating and delivering a long-term vision for FSLT, after coming back from a whole industry closure, owing to the Coronavirus outbreak in March 2020.
SITUATION
Finding senior strategic leaders who could lead FSLT through an important stage in their history meant recruiting a current MD or CEO who had held profit and loss accountability for their leisure service. There are a finite number of leisure trusts in the UK so it was vital to present this fascinating opportunity to the sector in a highly engaging manner to attract the highest-calibre candidates.
SOLUTION
We took a detailed brief from the outgoing CEO, and it became very clear that FSLT needed an accomplished new leader capable of creating an immediate impact. We searched the whole of the UK, engaging with the CEO at Community Leisure UK, the industry association, who shared the requirement in her network. It’s a close-knit community and the Trust has a good reputation. We leveraged the expertise in the sector to ensure we had a comprehensive shortlist of the most recommended professionals.
RESULTS
The results were very positive:
We achieved 72% engagement of passive ‘candidates’
Four candidates were invited for interview (75/25 male/female split)
Two candidates were invited for second interview (50/50 male/female split)
One great hire was made (female candidate appointed)
The newly established Centre for Fashion Business & Innovation Research operates at the intersection of fashion business and the economy, culture and society. We helped them recruit their first professor, who would lead the direction of research, funding and collaboration.
SOLUTION HIGHLIGHTS
FINDING RARE CANDIDATES WITH RESEARCH EXPERTISE
IN-DEPTH CANDIDATE RESEARCH PHASE
BLENDED MEDIA CAMPAIGN AND INTERNATIONAL SEARCH TO ATTRACT ACTIVE AND PASSIVE CANDIDATES
SCOPE AND SCALE
London College of Fashion has been nurturing creative talent for over a century. They offer courses in all things fashion, from business to design and fashion curation. The Centre for Fashion Business & Innovation Research is an exciting new addition in the Fashion Business School and this role will lead its development and success. As the chosen candidate will set the direction for the Centre, they wanted very high-calibre candidates to shortlist from.
SITUATION
Challenge: Professors could come from different disciplines but would need relevant research interests aligned with the Centre.
Approach: Extensive international candidate research to ensure they met the criteria.
Challenge: Professors needed experience in motivating and mobilising other researchers. Approach: All candidates were consulted on their REF leadership and co-ordination experience.
Challenge: London College of Fashion has a leadership team that is open, creative and generous. This Professor would need to thrive in that culture. Approach: All candidates were consulted on their leadership style and culture preferences to ascertain their fit.
SOLUTION
An in-depth, face-to-face brief was taken, followed by profiles benchmarking to explore the parameters of the brief in more depth. Exhaustive research built an international target which was approved before engagement commenced.= WIP reports and calls were diarised weekly so everyone was fully informed on progress and could contribute to the direction of activity. Strong, professional relationships were fostered with candidates ensuring they had an excellent experience whether they applied or not.
RESULTS
Our comprehensive solution created results the client was delighted with:
16 final applications
Four shortlisted for interview & assessment
One offer accepted
The successful candidate was a referral from another passive candidate on the target list. If we hadn’t undertaken the research, she wouldn’t have been aware of the opportunity.
We have been a key recruitment partner in helping Transport for Wales to grow their headcount from their inception in 2018. They needed support to build all five directorates, which encompass some niche and specialist positions, including a Tax Accountant to support the management of their finances. They needed a VAT subject matter expert to help them reclaim VAT they would invest in the Welsh transport sector.
SOLUTION HIGHLIGHTS
SUCCESSFULLY RECRUITING IN A LIMITED TALENT POOL OF VAT SPECIALIST TAX ANALYSTS IN WALES – WE RESEARCHED THE PASSIVE MARKET EXTENSIVELY
ENSURING A GOOD CULTURAL FIT BY CONDUCTING AN IN-DEPTH SCREENING PROCESS BEFORE PRESENTING CANDIDATES
ENGAGING AND SOURCING THE BEST TALENT IN A GLOBAL PANDEMIC
SCOPE AND SCALE
Transport for Wales are on a mission: to deliver an integrated travel system across Wales and revolutionise travel. So they are quickly growing and expanding their workforce. They were now looking for a qualified VAT subject matter expert to provide advice and guidelines in line with legislation to help TFW reclaim VAT to reinvest into the transport network. This is a highly competitive sector and the new Tax Analyst needed niche market skills. The sector is known for its low turnover; tax professionals are risk-averse and require significant consultation before considering a new opportunity.
SITUATION
This was a particularly challenging role to recruit. There is a very small talent pool of qualified candidates in Wales. This market is competitive, and many candidates are reluctant to move jobs unless for a significant increase in salary. In addition, the global pandemic was at its height – a climate that made candidates even more reluctant to change jobs.
SOLUTION
We adopted a fully consultative approach and took a detailed brief from the hiring manager. We started by using a blended approach of media and sourcing the passive market, advertising further across a number of well-known recruitment websites to drive applications. Attraction did not produce results, so we conducted a thorough search of the passive market to find that one perfect candidate that our recruiter knew straight away would be a good fit for the team. This candidate had worked as a Tax subject matter expert for a similar government body, they understood government processes and culturally they were a strong fit for Transport For Wales.
RESULTS
We approached over 100 qualified professionals in South Wales and beyond. Our strategic search produced an ideal candidate who is moving into the Tax Analyst role.
For the past few years, the recruitment and staffing industry have been under constant pressure to reevaluate their service delivery strategies. Despite the recent turbulence we’ve been experiencing due to COVID-19, recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) offers organisations the opportunity to augment their recruitment functions to support growth in other regions.
Business Growth in Europe
For the past 10 years, the offshoring market in countries like Poland has beenan increasingly large component of the global business operations. Offshoring certain business functions offers savings, and enterprises have become more comfortable with managing remote teams—whether through an outsourced provider or their own offshore service centers.
In addition, global businesses are looking to other countries to access a wider, well-educated and experienced talent pool. Some jobs require highly skilled talent, and in order to fulfill all their requirements, expanding to a new region—and acquiring the best skills at a lower operating cost—will become a kay component of organisational resilience going forward.
5 Ways RPO Can Support Your European Expansion
Europe is made up of 44 countries, all with their own distinct traditions and languages. A homogenous approach won’t delivery against your European talent acquisition goals. An RPO partner can help you navigate these differences and find talent as rich as the cultures this continent has to offer.
Here are five ways a global RPO partner can help your organisation expand in Europe.
Access local recruitment expertise. With a regional presence and experience, your RPO partners can provide insights into local labour markets and what matters to talent in different areas of expertise or the region.
Expand your talent pool. Whether you’re opening a new factory or looking for top software engineers, RPO can open up a whole new pool of talent for your organisation.
Gain efficiency and agility. Access to flexible teams and leading recruitment technology means your RPO can help optimise your processes and reduce the burden on local hiring managers.
Adapt your approach to cultural nuances. Global RPO partners have multilingual teams who can tailor your recruitment processes to account for the location and role.
Ensure compliance. Each country has its own recruitment regulations and laws, and an RPO partner can help you stay compliant and mitigate risk.
Need an RPO Partner in Europe?
Looking for help with talent acquisition in Europe? Contact us to learn more about our talent acquisition solutions in EMEA.
In light of the workforce disruptions caused by the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus, talent leaders are quickly adapting and transforming their organisation’s talent function to match our present reality.
The current crisis gives talent leaders the opportunity to assess and fine-tune recruiting practices in a way that will keep both candidates and recruiters safe while better positioning their organisation for the future working conditions.
Technologies such as text messaging tools built for recruiters offer enormous opportunities to improve recruiter efficiency, time to hire and build stronger relationships with candidates. What’s more, text messaging, when paired with a virtual hiring solution, is a safer alternative to traditional recruiting.
Before you implement a texting solution, you need a solid understanding of use cases and best practices that can help ensure success and mitigate risk. In this article, we will outline the case for texting and share best practices for leveraging texting in your recruiting programme.
The Case For Text Recruitment
Recruiters and talent leaders understand that good recruiting begins and ends with building strong relationships with candidates. So, why add yet another communications channel to the recruiting mix?
The answer is simple: Times keep changing, and so do the ways we communicate. As that happens, the effectiveness of tried and true methods also changes as demographics and preferences shift.
Texting is
Straightforward: Text messages
are typically short and to the point, which makes them easier to read and
respond to than email messages. Texting also
carries with it an expectation of informality which makes it easier to
communicate. For example, saying “yes” instead of “Yes.” is totally
acceptable via a text exchange.
Texting is Convenient: Candidates can respond
to texts
whenever and wherever while they are running errands, on break at work or home
watching a movie.
Texting Has Greater Reach: Many hourly and elderly workers don’t own or have access to a computer and rely on their mobile devices exclusively for job searches. Texting is also more accessible for job seekers who don’t have unlimited data plans or who do not have a smart phone, making your application process more accessible to a broader population.
Texting Builds Dialogue: The nature of conversation is constantly evolving. That means candidates are becoming increasingly open to beginning conversations via text.
Use Cases for Text Recruitment
There are as many ways to integrate texting into your recruiting process as there are topics to communicate about. Below, we cover some of the best use cases for text recruitment.
Automating Candidate Reengagement
Many organisations already have a large database of candidates in their ATS. Sending automated text messages is an extremely effective way to reach out to those contacts at scale to rapidly generate interest in new positions. You can also use automation to reach out to previous employees, if they have opted-in for texting. To gain that opt in, you could ask for consent as part of the off-boarding process for departing employees.
Automated Updates
Sending automated texts to candidates to confirm that their job application has been received and is under review can be a great way to keep them engaged in the process. What’s more, you can set up automated messages that are triggered at each phase of the hiring process to keep candidates up to date with their status. This makes the recruiting process feel more personal and less like their application was sent down a black hole.
Automated Scheduling
Interview coordination is ideally suited to texting. Your organisation can send text links for candidate self-scheduling to streamline interviews.
Enhanced Screening Capabilities
When handling a high volume of applicants, it can be difficult for recruiters to respond quickly and individually to each candidate. Using texts, you can qualify applicants faster using response templates and automated screening questions. Recruitment texting platforms can be programmed to send back follow up questions, job application links, or other content based on candidate responses.
This exchange is an example of not just interview scheduling, but also actual interviewing over text. At PeopleScout, we have seen client’s receive an 85% response rate for this type of question and answer exchange, which is higher than other communication channels.
Better Interview Completion Rate
Recruiters know that coordinating with the candidate is only half the hiring battle. Recruiting teams can use texts to send automated interview reminders to hiring managers and colleagues, so nothing slips through the cracks. Fewer missed or reschedule interviews means a shorter time to hire.
Field Recruiting
Retail, hospitality and other employers with large physical footprints can also utilise text short codes to capitalise on walk-in applicants. Signage placed on doors, at the register, or elsewhere connects job seekers directly to the online job application forms and minimises distractions for managers in the field.
SMS short codes are five to six-digit numbers that are often paired with keywords for use in text recruiting (e.g. ‘Text JOBS to 123456’). You can utilise them on signage at job events to maximise ROI.
Best Practices for Text Recruitment
While mobile phones and texting have become ubiquitous tools in everyday life, it is important to realise that communication preferences vary from individual to individual. It is also critical to recognise that the attributes that makes texting such a powerful recruiting tool – that’s it is direct, convenient and personal – are the same things that make observing best practices so important.
Secure Permission from Candidates
Text messages
are governed by different laws and standards than email. Employers in the U.S.
will want to consider how the Telephone
Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), or similar laws such as the European Union
regulations regarding electronic communications, namely the General
Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), apply to different types of recruitment texting activity. Talent leaders should consult their
legal counsel and get comfortable with the ins and outs of the TCPA when
formulating a text recruiting
strategy and all related policies.
Before you text candidates, you must first obtain express consent from the candidate and it must be easy for them to opt-out of communications. As a starting point, review your organisation’s website and application process and add simple, clear language stating that phone numbers may be used to message applicants. The notice should be placed near the phone number entry field, rather than buried in lengthy terms of service statement and privacy policy should also be updated.
Consider Compliance Requirements
Even if your organisation does not have a text recruitment platform, chances are that some recruiters are using personal devices to communicate with candidates via text. This may produce positive results, but places you at greater compliance risk because there is no centralised record of communications. Using personal devices, or even dedicated company devices, also makes it difficult to exercise effective oversight to ensure that organisational guidelines are followed.
Text messaging activity is increasingly likely to be included in compliance audits, so make sure your bases are covered. Follow all of the same protocols – business and legal – that you would in writing, email or telephone conversations.
Define Messaging Guidelines for Recruiters
Texting should be professional and consistent with your employer brand, just like any other type of communication. So, it’s helpful to provide high-level guidelines to your recruiting team to ensure that everyone is on the same page about internal text messaging practices.
Communicate Clearly with Candidates
The best text outreach messages get straight to the point. In
any initial conversations, the recruiter should answer a few key questions
candidates may have to get the best possible response:
Who are you and why you are reaching out?
What are the next steps?
Setting context and expectations up front maximises engagement. What’s more, these questions can be set up as automated responses, so recruiters may only have to step in once the initial screening questions have been asked and answered.
Timing is Everything
Text only during the workday, from 8 a.m. at the candidate’s local time to 5 or 6 p.m. Texting a candidate during off-hours, may lead them to do the same and set an expectation of a response from your team. If job seekers do reach out on weekends or evenings and you do not want your recruiters to engage, you can steer their communications back to the normal business hours. For example, if you receive a text on Saturday, you might set up an automated response that you will follow up first thing Monday.
Texting is Not Always Appropriate
Some aspects of the recruiting process require a more personal touch than others. While many consider messaging “personal” and “immediate,” you may want to deliver important information (ex. “you didn’t get the job”) or discuss sensitive topics like salary using other means such as a phone call or email depending on the situation.
Closing Thoughts
Automation
of the recruiting process is where the candidate experience is headed. As a
result, it is going to free up time for your recruiters and allow them to
seamlessly connect one-on-one with candidates and holding meaningful conversations.
Texting has become such a big large part of modern life that embracing it can make your organisation an employer of choice to top candidates in your industry.
Like many other businesses, Virgin Media was receiving very high customer call volumes and needed to draft in extra resources to their call centres to answer phones and solve customer queries. 500 new jobs were created at locations across the country on both a permanent and fixed-term basis. This gave staff job security and created flexible employment opportunities for people who needed to find work in the short to medium term. The roles were based in Birmingham, Sheffield, Manchester and Teesside.
SOLUTION HIGHLIGHTS
WITHIN 2 WEEKS, DESIGNED A VIRTUAL INTERVIEW PROCESS FROM SCRATCH
IN THE FIRST 4 WEEKS, WE DELIVERED 5,500 NEW APPLICATIONS, ASSESSED 1,800 ONLINE VIDEO INTERVIEWS, INSTIGATED 400 FINAL STAGE QUALIFICATION CALLS AND MADE NEARLY 300 OFFERS
BUILT AND DELIVERED A COMMS STRATEGY THAT GENERATED APPLICANTS, IMPROVED THE QUALITY OF CANDIDATES AND EXPEDITED THE APPLICATION PROCESS
As the UK entered lockdown for COVID-19, downstream traffic to Virgin Media contact centres increased by around 50% during daytime hours, but was still below evening peak levels. Upstream traffic – including customer video calls – increased by up to 95% during daytime hours. To maintain excellent service, Virgin Media created more than 500 new contact centre jobs in the UK, to help keep customers connected during this critical time.
SITUATION
500 starters were needed within 2 months of launch, using a completely redesigned process taking account social distancing measures. Candidates could not attend assessment centres and interviews onsite, contact centre managers would not have capacity to interview while maintaining stringent service levels and right to work/onboarding checks could not go ahead as a visual review of original documentation as normal. Additionally, Virgin Media introduced a number of measures to ensure its people remained as safe as possible while continuing to help answer customer calls and queries. This included providing remote working capabilities, where possible, and flexible working patterns. All of this onboarding and training experience needed to be brought-to-life for candidates at the outset of their application to ensure swift hiring of the right calibre people.
THE SOLUTION
An agile working group was formed and this met twice daily, to track project implementation and delivery progress. A new virtual hiring process was designed and implemented in less than 2 weeks. PeopleScout fast-tracked application and assessment by using video interviews, dramatically reducing the processing time and allowing staff to be selected within days and start within weeks. To generate candidates we built a new page on the Virgin Media careers site and created an enhanced attraction plan to drive applicants there. We diverted existing candidates (whose roles had been cancelled) into the new process. We created two microsites to improve quality of applications and speed-up hiring; a hints and tips site and a site illustrating the overall application process. Hiring capacity was ramped up, utilising our global delivery centres to score nearly 5,000 video interviews and to support onboarding of successful candidates without delay.
RESULTS
Within 2 weeks of launch PeopleScout’s RPO team had:
Designed a virtual interview process from scratch
Delivered 5,500 new applications
Conducted over 1,800 online video interviews
Instigated 400 final stage qualification calls
Made nearly 300 offers within 4 weeks of brief
Created a Hiring Manager audit step – with 95% of qualified candidates approved for hire
We have built a strong and effective partnership with PeopleScout, shown through the complexities brought about by the pandemic and then a large merger.
