Solution: Technology

Digital Series: Planning for Growth – Why Hybrid Hiring is Critical for Talent Acquisition Leaders

Posted on by mhill

What comes after your essential transition to virtual recruiting, when teams have shrunk and hiring needs are volatile? How do you ensure sufficient capacity and capability as organisations activate renewed growth strategies? The answer is hybrid recruiting.

We are delighted to invite you to join us as we investigate this hiring adaptation.  The first part of the series will be a bite size briefing that will explore the pros and cons of hybrid recruiting and why Human Resource and Talent leaders are turning their focus towards a flexible hybrid approach.

The Bite-Size-Briefing & Panel Debate are now available On-Demand.

Leveraging an Internal Mobility Program to Optimise Your Workforce

Posted on by jpatel

When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, organisations everywhere were forced to fundamentally rethink their talent acquisition strategies. Whether that came in the form of hiring freezes, a dramatically reduced number of new hires, laid off workers or furloughed employees, an internal mobility program can be a cost-effective way to help organisations bounce back in the upcoming recovery phase. 

What’s more, many people will be less inclined to switch jobs in the coming months and might opt to stay with their current employer where they feel their job is secure. It will be increasingly difficult to pull top talent away from their current employers—especially if those employers kept employees on and supported them during a challenging time. 

That said, starting your talent search from within can help you fill gaps quickly and effectively, while also boosting retention rates and saving scarce resources. In this article, we’ll take a deeper look at what an internal mobility program is, the benefits of internal mobility and tips for building an effective internal mobility program in your organisation. 

What is an Internal Mobility Program? 

Internal mobility refers to the movement—both vertically and laterally—of employees within an organisation. An internal mobility program takes this idea a step further by implementing a specific process for moving internal talent between roles. And since the onset of the pandemic, while many organisations have been unable to hire external talent at pre-pandemic rates, internal mobility has become a necessity for filling critical skills gaps left in organisations. 

Benefits of an Internal Mobility Program 

Save Time and Money 

One of the biggest benefits of an internal recruitment strategy is the ability to operate more efficiently—especially during a time where many organisations are operating with leaner teams after scaling down in response to challenges presented by COVID-19.  

Many organisations today are faced with high applicant volumes and a time-consuming selection process for their talent acquisition teams. Moreover, the time and money spent on recruiting externally, like posting job ads, running recruitment marketing campaigns, sourcing and communicating with candidates can take a toll on already limited resources.  

In addition to savings on recruitment costs, external candidates often have higher salary expectations than internal employees—especially if they are hesitant about leaving their current employer. On average, the starting salary of an external hire is 18-20% more than that of internal candidates. 

Leverage Furloughed Employees 

When organisations enter the recovery phase and begin to ramp up hiring, an internal recruitment process can allow you to easily search within your furloughed employees first—targeting the people who know your business and are ready to get back to work.  

By pulling from your pool of furloughed employees, you’ll have a wealth of internal candidates who already possess organisational knowledge and expertise, leading to faster rates of productivity and less time spent on initial trainings. You’ll also have access to this talent almost immediately, allowing you to bounce back quickly and reduce time spent searching for external candidates who fit your needs. 

Retain Top Talent 

By developing internal talent and providing opportunities for mobility within your organisation, employee engagement and morale will increase, leading to higher retention rates and reduced employee turnover that often comes with hiring externally.  

According to data from LinkedIn, companies that excel at internal mobility can retain employees nearly twice as long as companies that struggle with it. In addition, employee willingness to go above and beyond at work is 27% higher and employee intent to stay is 33% higher at organisations with a more vibrant internal labour market, according to a report by Gartner. 

Foster Diversity and Inclusion 

An internal mobility program can be a great way to proactively develop the diverse talent already existing within your organisation. By giving internal employees the opportunity to move up, reskill and take pathways for growth within your organisation, you’ll be fostering a more diverse workforce at all levels, including leadership.  

Plus, according to McKinsey’s Delivering Through Diversity report, companies in the top-quartile for gender diversity on executive teams were 21% more likely to outperform on profitability and companies in the top-quartile for ethnic/cultural diversity on executive teams were 33% more likely to have industry-leading profitability. 

Utilising internal talent and providing opportunities for growth will improve diversity and inclusion at your organisation overall and will consequently aid in your succession planning process as well. 

How to Create an Effective Internal Mobility Program

Build an Internal Mobility Platform  

Organisations should invest in a dedicated internal mobility platform that matches employees with open opportunities within the business. Recruiters can make job postings within the platform, so internal employees can see open opportunities and apply directly in the system.  

Employees can also create a profile within the platform outlining their demographics, skills, capabilities, experience and more which enables recruiters to more effectively find and place internal employees in new roles.  

Internal Mobility Platform in Practice  

As a result of COVID-19, this government agency in Australia was operating with a lean workforce and limited resources. They required a solution that allowed them to leverage the skills and competencies of their existing workforce so they could save the time, cost and resources it takes to access the external candidate market. They partnered with PeopleScout to develop and launch a platform which facilitates internal mobility for workers who are potentially impacted by the economic downturn due to COVID-19 or looking to move within their department or other government agencies. This allowed the client to engage their workforce through enhanced workforce mobility, skills development and career opportunities within the department and across government. 

Solution Highlights 

PeopleScout created an internal mobility platform using our proprietary talent technology, AffinixTM, to give the client insight into the scope and experience of their internal talent.  

  • Employees are able to self-manage profiles showcasing employee demographics, education and work history, and specific skills and competencies 
  • Employees who may have been affected by COVID-19 are given priority access and visibility to all job opportunities across the agency before they are advertised externally 
  • Employees can self-rate on key competencies like tech and digital skills
  • AI technology matches candidates to open opportunities across government and provides alerts to candidates on open job opportunities 
  • Increased engagement of existing staff, while reducing the use of expensive contingent labour hire resources 
  • Recruiters have a strong sense of what other positions may be a good fit for internal employees, based on hard and soft skills  

Communicate Transparently 

When officially launching your internal mobility program, it’s important to openly communicate the strategy with employees. Inform employees of the new program and provide clear communications on how the process will work. If you have a specific platform for internal mobility, this can include communicating how to access the platform, create a profile, view job openings and what to expect after applying for a role. 

Failure to explain your internal recruitment strategy clearly can result in employee confusion and a negative sentiment in the future if they misunderstand why they weren’t selected for a specific role or promotion.  

Focus on People at All Levels 

A common mistake organisations make when implementing an internal mobility process is focusing only on the highest performing employees within the business. While these high performers are likely good candidates for lateral and vertical moves within the organisation, they aren’t the only people who you should open the program to. 

Instead, you should focus on people at all levels who are high potentials. These are the employees who you can see having great potential in various roles, and eventually in management and leadership roles. By broadening your internal search to include employees at all levels, you’ll also be increasing the mobility of your diverse talent. 

Educate Management 

Many managers might fear losing an exceptional employee from their department to another area within the business, so it’s important to educate management on the benefits of internal mobility for the organisation as a whole.  

When managers understand the reasons for internal mobility, they will be more likely to encourage their employees to participate in the program and have discussions on what their employees’ goals are for growth within the organisation. This will foster a culture of support and employees will feel comfortable talking with their manager about opportunities for mobility.  

Encourage Endorsements and Referrals 

A key component of a successful internal mobility program is an endorsement and referral system. Managers should be able to rate employees based on the skills and competencies they’ve included on their profile. This can include comments on performance and examples of times employees demonstrated excellent work. 

In addition, managers who see an opening and know someone who might be a great fit, can refer that employee to the recruiter and provide their endorsement. This gives recruiters additional insight into which employees may be the best fit for open roles based on feedback from leaders who have worked directly with the internal candidate. 

Utilise Technology to Support Internal Mobility 

Technology can enhance your internal mobility program and save your talent acquisition team time in a variety of ways through the use of artificial intelligence, automation and more. A few examples of how PeopleScout’s Affinix supports internal mobility include: 

  • Requisition flexibility for posting internally, externally or both 
  • Simplified separation between internal and external candidates for an open role 
  • Sourcing that automatically matches candidates to open roles based on their unique skills, competencies and experiences 
  • Automated, targeted internal mobility campaigns 
  • AI-enabled job recommendations personalized to internal employees 
  • Proactive system recommendation of candidates who may be a good fit for open roles based on their profile 

THE SKILLS CRISIS COUNTDOWN: THE CLOCK IS TICKING ON TACKLING SKILLS GAPS

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An Innovative Strategy for the Future of Work 

As the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic begin to subside and organisations resume hiring, they will be looking to new and innovative ways to recruit and structure their talent acquisition programs for the new world of work. Prioritising diversity and inclusion and flexible work opportunities will remain top of mind as organisations look to the future, but simply attracting talent won’t be enough. Organisations will need to employ a multifaceted approach to talent acquisition and retention to keep top talent with key skills. Adding an internal mobility strategy to the total talent mix will be a necessary focus for organisations looking to build a lasting and resilient workforce for years to come. 

Candidate NPS: What are Candidates Saying About You When You’re Not in the Room?

Posted on by akessler

We hear a lot about ‘customer-centricity’, putting the customer at the heart of everything you do. For years, organisations have been using Net Promoter Score (NPS) to measure their customer experience and to generate feedback that boosts data-driven decision making. However, when it comes to measuring the candidate experience, companies are missing out on candidate NPS.

What is NPS?

Net Promoter Score, or NPS, began as way for organisations to measure customer satisfaction and loyalty. By asking one question—“On a scale from 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend this product/company to a friend or colleague?”—organisations can gauge which customers are promoters, and which are detractors.

Graphic depicts how candidate NPS is scored.

Overall NPS score can range between -100 and +100, and the higher the score the better.

Why Candidate NPS?

Why is NPS an important measurement for talent acquisition leaders? Our research into candidate experience revealed that: 

  • Only 5% of candidates rated their experience excellent
  • But 66% of candidates have never been asked to provide feedback on their recruitment experience.
  • Yet, 9 out of 10 have provided feedback when asked.

With such a small percentage of candidates having an excellent recruitment experience, it’s imperative for organisations to start benchmarking their candidate experience in order to make data-driven improvements.

Yet, so few organisations are leveraging Candidate NPS. This week, we hosted the second part of our webinar series, “Early Careers Talent: How to Get Ahead in 2021.” During the broadcast we polled the audience, asking whether they currently use, intend to use or have no plans to use NPS to measure their candidate experience. Our attendees told us the following:

  • 7% currently use NPS
  • 21% don’t plan to 
  • 64% intend to start
  • 7% have other plans

Getting Started with Candidate NPS

Consider adding a communication to your CRM after critical stages in your recruitment process like the assessment centre or hiring manager interview—regardless of outcome. By asking one simple question and the candidate’s reasoning for their rating, you can gather valuable data to drive continuous improvement in your candidate experience.  

After gaining an initial benchmark, you can measure Candidate NPS overtime to see how your process improvements are impacting the candidate experience. Combined with other metrics, you’ll be on your way to understanding the impact of your talent acquisition program and improving your recruitment outcomes.

Sourcing Beyond 2020: Building Global Pipelines for Adaptive Work

Posted on by edyson

This year, many organizations have had to rethink the strategies and methods they leverage to source and recruit talent. As the year ends and good news regarding vaccines brings us all new hope, you might be wondering what talent acquisition success looks like post-2020?

One of the first steps in preparing for the changes ahead in the talent landscape is to establish an efficient method of sourcing talent. Building a global talent pipeline strategy is an effective way to source and recruit the talent you need.  

More technology is available than ever before, designed to making global sourcing and talent acquisition more efficient. Video interviewing makes it simple to interview candidates remotely, virtual reality technology can provide candidates a realistic look at your office without ever stepping foot inside and a variety of solutions for remote work mean that candidates can work from anywhere.  

I recently had the opportunity to join Hiretual for their webinar Sourcing Beyond 2020: Building Global Pipelines for Adaptive Work. During the live Q&A, I discussed how to tap into the global talent pool, ways to attract talent faster during the Great Rehire and how to go about engaging with candidates for current or future roles.

In follow up to the webinar, I wanted to provide some additional insights, observations and takeaways from the current talent sourcing landscape and provide you with actionable advice to help you source talent in 2020 and beyond. You can also watch the recorded webinar on the Hiretual website.

My Three Biggest Sourcing Takeaways from 2020

Maximize Your Investments

At the onset of the pandemic, many organizations had to make hard personnel decisions. As a result, teams are lean, but sourcing systems and contracts are still in place, so companies are looking for ways to use what they have. When you have a lean team, it is really important to invest in sourcing tools that allow them to produce more with fewer people. And, if your team is in a position to have any downtime, they can use it to get the most out of the current systems, processes and plans they have today.

It is becoming more important to reach out to passive job seekers who possess the skills you need, as relying on those actively applying cannot be your only channel. At PeopleScout we have invested heavily in technology and sourcing tools with our proprietary Affinix™ platform. Specifically, it has AI sourcing to find passive candidates through various online channels and match skills against your internal databases as well. This augments your existing team and frees up people to handle the most important tasks.

Many of our clients are sophisticated technology buyers and they are also investing in some best in breed AI sourcing tools. In fact, many of them use Hiretual and so our recruiting teams have had access to use that as well, augmenting our strategy and providing the lift needed as we prepare for continued increases in hiring (The Great Rehire).

Get Ahead Where You Can

Focus on best practice building of consistent, authentic and meaningful communication, identifying talent locations and managing to keep former employees, alumni and prospects engaged. Use the sourcing tools you have, maximize your CRM potential, and keep the conversation going. This will ensure that when you are ready to hire candidates are aware of you and open to talk. On the call, Stockpiling was mentioned. Take a page from Executive search firms – research, map and have your ‘first 50’ calls or communication candidates ready to be engaged. Start with drip marketing on the ones you can.

Push relevant, authentic content to them around the company, its future, plans and opportunities. Make it engaging and not just ‘here’s a job.’ Talk about the company, it’s vision, plans for recovery or success. Looking for a job is a lot like looking for a home – when you decide it’s on, it’s on. It’s not often a constant search. Something triggers it and companies want to be top of mind when it does. Drip marketing and candidate engagement go a long way when the pipeline becomes hiring.

Be Flexible in Your Approach

With uncertainty in the talent market due to COVID-19, recovery efforts and just general unease after a big life-changing event – recruitment has become more unpredictable.

Most companies aren’t providing guidance on revenue and hiring initiatives because of this. Company goals are going to change, and so will hiring efforts to meet those goals. Your sourcing engine needs to be adaptable and ready to go as quickly as you can, but also be nimble enough to flex.

Using automation tools (like those for AI sourcing or lead generation) as well as easy to update marketing and drip marketing campaigns can take the weight off of your sourcers, who can focus on strategy and research for future needs and on how to go to market for these candidates.

How Should Enterprise Hiring Teams Structure Their Global Sourcing Process?

Processes will need to be nimble and teams will need to be tuned in closely to hiring needs. Just like sales teams need clear goals and a plan to execute successfully, the closer talent acquisition is to an organization’s strategic objectives, the ‘tip of the spear’ sourcing team can be ready and focused on building early talent communication and networking.

Now, with the pandemic upending a lot of the traditional norms of work – physical locations, workplace flexibility from home, less commute, and a broader candidate pool for most industries, sourcing has to shift from their traditional method of ‘going where they know’ to rethinking where great candidates are and how to adapt and qualify them. Having more candidates doesn’t make sourcing easier; while it sure helps, it also presents new challenges for teams and organizations.

On the flip side of this coin – companies that cannot have virtual employees – face a different type of challenge. First, combating the notion that work from home is for everyone and sourcing candidates that will want to work onsite. Second, the competition for these individuals will intensify as the ‘Great Rehire’ kicks into full steam. Getting ahead of this and doing everything you can to map that talent and build rapport early will go a long way to getting ahead of a rapid upswing in hiring volumes.

Both scenarios also present a unique opportunity for recruitment and sourcing teams. Often, we source where we know – we look for carbon copies of the person we are replacing or the last people we hired (which is a lot to unpack for another time – diversity, inclusion and attraction anyone?) but with this, there will be large talent groups displaced that have skills and abilities but will not return to their previous roles.

An example of this is Flight Attendants. All major airlines, worldwide, have reduced their staff by enormous numbers. There are hundreds of thousands of candidates looking for work in a new area. For the savviest of sourcing and recruiting teams, there’s a huge opportunity here to bring a new candidate type to the table for roles. Knowing where to find them, how to engage them and how to bring them to the table for your hiring community will be extremely important and a massive opportunity for them.

How Enterprise Recruiters Can Set Themselves Apart from the Competition  

We’re all on the edge of what’s being called the ‘Great Rehire.’ We know that an average of 70% of the workforce has and will continue to work uninterrupted both virtually and in the office. That leaves a large, displaced group of candidates that will either return to their current careers or new ones. When that happens is anyone’s guess.

What teams can do now is a lot of the above – optimise your recruitment channels, build compelling drip marketing and attraction packages, leverage smart scouring tools, and start your research now to be sure you are ready when the hiring begins. To the TA leadership, if you aren’t already involved in future planning, get ahead of it now. This has the potential to be a massive rehire, at least we all hope, and we don’t have a precedent in modern hiring to compare. Be ready to be nimble.

Choosing the Right Scouring Tools and Technology

There has been a lot of debate in sourcing about how technology will either eliminate the need for sourcing (just like it will eliminate the need to interview) or will it augment. I’m firmly in the camp that technology, for the near to mid-future, will be an augmentation of human efforts.

So, now is the time to look at your sourcing tools and tech stack and eliminate waste and optimize your process and efforts. Take your sourcing tools and position them for the future, look at your organization and your needs and choose the tools that will help accelerate your hiring teams through the process.

We have to assume, as we always do in recruiting, that hiring will come faster than we can prepare for. Choose and implement tools that maximize your sourcing ability and help the team be faster, better and smarter. Tools have the ability to augment your team, integrate with your CRM to ensure you can automate attraction and marketing, and report back on the success rate of your efforts.

Look at your reporting state now – can you measure each key piece of the process to see where you can tweak, adjust, or shift to get better results? Best in class TA teams have learned to measure the entire funnel – not just for speed of process but also for efficiency or ‘friction.’ The faster you can get to market, identify and/or attract, and bring that candidate through an impactful experience will help you both hire and retain great people. To do that, you need to focus on the holistic view of your process and be sure you can measure it effectively.

Planning Your Future Workforce and Building Robust Talent Pipelines

At PeopleScout, we see it across our client base and I’m hearing it from friends and former colleagues; we know we need to prepare; we know we need to get ahead, but how? What are we hiring for? When does it start?

The best practices we’ve seen and some of the lessons we learned after the Great Recession in 2008 was that the closer recruiting is to sales and to executive planning, the better we can be prepared to not just find candidates but to strategise on what roles are needed to help the business rebuild, and then where to find them and how to engage them.

Planning ahead will be critical but I would say more importantly, given resource constraints, cost constraints and the level of uncertainty, sourcing will need to ensure they have a clear understanding beyond just the number of hires and what’s in your funnel. This is a time for talent acquisition as a whole to show how strategic we really are. We have been solving company problems for a long time, and this will be a huge opportunity to get in the mix of future state analysis, building the plan for what type of candidate is both needed and available and then delivering on that plan.

Building future proof talent pipelines requires both a plan and sourcing tools to help you source, track and communicate with your Great Rehire talent. Starting earlier will be well worth it when it begins. It won’t be as simple as knowing where the right talent is when you need them. You will need to be sure you track and build rapport consistently given the uncertainty of the market.

Bouncing Back with the Best Talent: Creating a Hybrid Hiring Strategy

Posted on by akessler

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.

Texting Talent: Driving Engagement and Candidate Communication

Posted on by edyson

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.   

Staying COVID-Safe: Are You Ready to be a Health Business?

Posted on by akessler

This week in the UK, many businesses are considering how to safely return their employees to construction sites, field work and offices in larger numbers. Schools, nurseries and—dare we hope—shops, bars and restaurants may follow in June and July.

What does your workplace look like today? Is it an empty office or a packed manufacturing facility? Wherever your employees and colleagues are, their health and safety have never been more important.

Post-pandemic, the vigilance around employee care will move from wellness to health. I don’t want to downplay a strong wellbeing policy, and it’s cool to have a yoga studio, but it’s essential to provide protection from harm. Government guidelines will likely mean it’s not a matter of choice, but it’s not legislation alone that will drive this cultural change. 

Some new examples of business responses are highlighted in a recent article from the BBC, from onsite medical teams to implementing temperature checks for employees and customers.

“We used to say every business will be a digital business. But today we say every business will be a health business.”

Gianfranco Casati, Chief Executive for Growth markets, Accenture

Businesses with high-risk environments have recognised the importance of keeping employees safe and healthy for a long time. I worked with an offshore drilling company who set ‘Safety’ as a cultural objective for all employees. It’s  sound reasoning—a payroll clerk doing their job with unerring accuracy gives someone on the drilling platform one less distraction on the job.

So, how does this impact recruitment and talent acquisition?

Candidate Experience 

In your communications plan, information on health and wellbeing should be mandatory information, not just positioned as a benefit. Recruiters and interviewers must demonstrate higher levels of responsibility and care to candidates, including guidance on safely accessing your sites.

Technology 

Implementing virtual hiring solutions can help to protect your employees and candidates by eliminating face-to-face interactions while allowing you to continue moving forward with your recruiting needs.

Employer Brand 

In late 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, prospective employees who wanted to understand a company’s culture and values asked their interviewers how they and their colleagues were treated, and how well they were cared for.

In a way, that shouldn’t feel new. People and culture are most companies’ greatest assets. Leading organisations recognise this and demonstrate it to their employees and candidates. Protecting your people must be more serious now, but it’s likely always been a priority.  

Haven’t you always been a health business?

Virgin Media: A Virtual Approach to Call Centre Hiring

Posted on by mhill

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

TALENT SOLUTIONS

SCOPE AND SCALE

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.

Tiara Awards Judge

Keeping Candidates and Employees Safe with a Virtual Hiring Solution with Allison Brigden

Posted on by edyson

As organisations around the globe confront the challenges presented by the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, even the most seasoned talent leaders find themselves in uncharted territory. We’re creating a mini-series with our experts here at PeopleScout about the issues that are most pressing during this uncertain time.

This profile shares insights from PeopleScout Global Leader of Affinix Client Success and Strategy, Allison Brigden, on transitioning to a virtual talent acquisition solution. Allison leads the Affinix Client Success Team and our strategic technology partnerships.

Allison shared her insights about virtual hiring solutions from her home in Chicago.

Allison, we know that things are hard right now, but a lot of organisations that provide essential goods and services need to keep hiring and it’s important to keep both employees and candidates safe during the process. What’s the best way to do this?

The best way to do that is to continue your recruiting process, but do it virtually. Recruiting has undergone a digital transformation and essentially all of the recruiting steps can be handled virtually. By moving to this type of process, you can provide access to jobs in a completely safe environment without contact for both the employer and the job seeker. Of course, candidates have been able to apply online for a long time and recruiters can review resumes online, but most interviews have still been done in person. 

Interviews can be done virtually through technology that allows you to have a live, two-way video or a pre-recorded video that the candidate can do on their timeline, at their convenience. Later, the audio or video recording can be reviewed by both the recruiter and the hiring manager.

This technology can easily support a process that can be fully virtual from the time candidates apply through the offer and onboarding. As I said, the technology has been available for a while, but it hasn’t been fully adopted. This is an opportune time for us to use the available technology. 

A virtual hiring solution allows us to put health and safety first, but also provide access to jobs for those who need one during this challenging time. There’s also been a huge spike in jobs for remote workers in the past few weeks. A virtual hiring solution is directly aligned to that remote work environment as well, so it’s a very good time to introduce that and transition to a virtual process for your recruiting.

So, what does a virtual talent acquisition solution look like?

A virtual hiring solution leverages technology, but it can also have a highly personal touch. By using technologies to their full advantage, recruiters can and will have more time to spend with applicants. Technology can engage one applicant with multiple interviewers and live two-way video engagement. You can even have a panel interview with five different interviewers connecting with a candidate at the same time.

You should strive to make your virtual conversations feel more personal, just because you are leveraging technology doesn’t mean that you have to lose that personal touch as part of the process.

To further answer this question, I think a virtual hiring solution should involve the following components:

First, you should have an easy application that can be done on a mobile phone. It should feel like an online shopping experience and should only take four to eight minutes. There should also be an immediate next step, so that the applicant can drive the process.

This could be a text exchange where you’re asking questions about the interview schedule or the requirements of the job, or it can be a video exchange or a candidate-friendly assessment process. All this can be done on their mobile phone. 

Another really important component is automated self-scheduling. This allows the candidate to look at the available interview times and select one for themselves, either via text or via an online web experience. This also allows candidates to drive that next step – whether it’s a phone interview with the recruiter or a live video interview. Giving the candidate the ability to drive forward in the process is also a very important component of a virtual hiring solution.

The offer and the post-offer process can also be done virtually. This has been done over the phone for a long time, but there are also more options for a personalised and engaging onboarding experience, which can help right now when people are feeling a little bit isolated or disconnected. 

As an example, after someone has accepted an offer have a welcome video sent to their phone or preferred device where you welcome them and tell them what to expect on their first day. 

The entire virtual hiring process can be fully branded to elevate your employer brand and the connection you have with applicants. These are the components you’d want to have in place while building your virtual process.

In summary, a virtual hiring solution can be very safe while still being highly effective. It doesn’t require contact, but it also gives you that chance to connect with potential new employees and provide them a personalised experience.

Can you tell me some of the short-term and long-term benefits that people would see with a virtual hiring solution?

Things are changing quickly and it’s very important to remember that we’re all in this together and we need to be understanding and flexible as things develop. PeopleScout can definitely help with both short-term benefits for the job seeker as well as long-term benefits for the company. 

Short-term benefits are fairly clear. The virtual interview and scheduling process provides a completely safe, no-contact method to further the recruiting process, which is a clear short-term benefit. Another short-term benefit is speed-to-hire. We typically see a reduction of four to eight days in the time it takes to fill a job.

Virtual interviews and automated scheduling reduce the amount of time it takes to fill a job and that’s a short-term benefit in getting an essential worker on the job sooner. By providing a more automated applicant-driven process, you can enhance the candidate experience and lead to acquiring better talent faster. 

Virtual interviews and automated scheduling are also a long-term benefit because companies will see improvements in their business outcomes as people reach productivity faster.  A few additional benefits include saving money and travel costs for interviews, if you would normally have candidates travel in for an interview and a lower overall cost-per-hire.

Once you have a virtual process in place, you don’t need to return to previous hiring practices, you can continue the virtual process and reap the same benefits.

Giving candidates more control in the process, whether that be the option to record an on-demand video or audio interview, or scheduling an interview themselves, puts them in a position of controlling the process, or driving the next step, which is a great improvement in the candidate experience. If you implement this virtual process today, you’ll see these short-term and long-term benefits that you can carry forward as the future unfolds.

How do you transition or implement a virtual hiring solution?

The good news here is that this transition is more of a light lift than a heavy lift. Most likely, a large part of an employer’s process is already virtual. Everyone can apply online. Recruiters can work online to interact with the systems already in place.

Mostly you need to focus on the steps that are traditionally face-to-face, like the interview itself or some parts of the onboarding process. You probably don’t need to overhaul the whole application and hiring process, but rather just introduce this virtual interviewing and scheduling component. And, if you’re working with a provider, like a recruitment process outsourcing partner, they can actually handle much of that transition for you. Even if you just have an in-house team, it’s not a very difficult transition to make.

The biggest challenge will be the adoption and training. I would definitely want to have an employer focus their efforts on helping the hiring managers understand the process and share the short-term and long-term benefits so that they can drive adoption within their organisation.

For a lot of organisations, hiring face-to-face may be deeply ingrained into the culture. How can you make virtual interviewing work in a way that still feels authentic and personal for both the hiring manager and the candidate?

A big part of this is comfort level. And the only way to truly get comfortable with something is to start using it. So, the comfort level will increase for everyone involved as they continue to use the technology. This is true for candidates too. The first time they do an interview like this, they might have increased nervousness. 

After they’ve been through it once, we’ve seen that the next time they become more comfortable. But there are things you can do to make it the best experience possible, and to make it feel authentic and personal.

Even though this is a virtual interview, as a recruiter, you want to be prepared so that you have meaningful questions to ask. Make sure you have pertinent information about the job on-hand, and make sure you’ve reviewed the resumes so you’re not going in cold to this interview experience.

As a candidate, you want to be sure that you have the same level of professionalism that you would have in a face-to-face environment. This extends to not just how you dress for the interview, but making sure that you have a quiet place to participate, etc. Another best practice would be to test the technology first. Most virtual interviewing technologies allow you to test your video and your sound, so you’re able to see what the video looks like before you begin the process. 

For employers, I also recommend testing your connections and making sure everything looks and sounds good. Once the video interviews begins you should also reinforce your employer brand by letting the candidate know unique things about your company culture that may appeal to the candidate. Displaying your company culture is important during the virtual hiring process, as candidates do not have to opportunity to visit your facility.

Beyond displaying your company culture and employer brand, you need to make sure you ask the right questions during the interview to better understand a candidate’s experience and competencies, and very importantly, communicate openly and authentically about the role and your expectations. 

After the interview is done, it’s important to provide some sort of feedback to the candidate, and let them know what the next step is in the process. Whether or not a candidate is moving forward in the process or not, provide them that information in a timely way so they’re not left wondering and feeling disconnected from your brand and keep all of the interactions warm. 

Are there any final thoughts you’d like to leave us with?

I would just say that it is important for those essential workers that we need in the healthcare industry and front line retail and essential goods industries to be able to hire at this time. Being able to move forward with this process and keep recruiters busy and employed to fill these critical jobs is very important and it’s a great way to help in this uncertain time. And then lastly, I would just say keep safe everyone. Follow the recommendations of the CDC and the world health organisation and we will all come through this challenging time together.

To learn more about ways employers can respond to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, visit our Resource Centre. 

Building a Modern Business Continuity Plan

Posted on by jpatel

With the outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19), many companies have had to put their business continuity plans to the test — shedding light into areas where their plans may not have been as complete or effective as expected. Without a solid and tested business continuity plan in place, organisations may find themselves confused — which can lead to delayed response time and in some cases, a negative impact to the services or products a business provides. 

In this article, I’ll outline the importance of having a business continuity plan, tips for creating a thorough plan and who should be involved in the planning process. 

The Importance of Having a Business Continuity Plan 

Before I highlight its purpose, let’s start with the basic definition of a business continuity plan. It can be defined as: 

A step-by-step business strategy built to be executed at a time when there is a disruption in services to protect people and assets and have the ability to resume operations in an expedient and controlled fashion. In addition, it identifies requirements and an execution strategy related to business operations and people.  

It’s important to have a thorough and complete plan because it’s the only way to ensure organisations are effectively prepared for a business interruption. A solid plan enables organisations to continue critical business processes to minimise the impacts to customers and employees. 

As an example, our business continuity plans at PeopleScout allow us to continue service delivery to clients in any type of adverse condition and lower the overall cost of disruption from incidents, all while ensuring we are meeting our contractual obligations. When it comes to our clients, we always make sure we have a current, tested business continuity plan in place to effectively support their business in any situation.  

Creating a Thorough and Complete Plan 

What should the business continuity plan look like? 

First, it’s important to note that “thorough and complete” does not necessarily mean “complicated” or “difficult to understand.” Also, the technology used to capture the details of the plan is less important than the accessibility of the details that are included along with the plan itself. 

An effective business continuity plan should clearly define: 

  • What to do 
  • How to do it 
  • Who will do it 
  • When to do it 

In addition, a business continuity plan should be easy to use and be detailed enough for any team member to successfully execute. When putting your plan together, take these components into consideration: 

  • Identification of the planning team 
  • Defined processes 
  • Employee list/call list to reach out to 
  • Vital records associated with the process 
  • Telecom needs 
  • Work area recovery strategies 
  • Applications (software, equipment, supplies) 

What steps should an organisation take when building the plan? 

While certain events cannot be planned for, the optimum scenario is to build the business continuity plan when there isn’t an event or disaster happening. Attempting to develop real-time responses during a crisis situation is much more difficult than following a plan that was already created.  

When building your plan, it is important to evaluate, identify and ask questions. 

  • Evaluate your organisation. Understand the unique needs based on location, technology that’s used, number of employees, processes that are completed, etc.   
  • Identify the key participants to be included in the planning effort. This should include a combination of leaders and subject matter experts.  
  • Ask questions! It’s in the answers to those questions that you will truly understand what is needed to build an effective plan. 

After you do those three things, the basic methodology that a company should use to finalise their plan includes: 

Strategic Planning Phase: This is the phase that prepares us for the incident. It includes risk analysis (what could go wrong?), business impact analysis (what are the maximum acceptable downtimes?), requirements analysis (what do we need to recover?) and recovery options (how will we recover?).  

Tactical Planning Phase: This phase tells us how to respond to the incident. The organisation should ensure effective documentation of how to engage the recovery option when the time comes. Lay the groundwork for what you would need to do in the event you need to execute your plan. 

Consider these tips for building a thorough and complete business continuity plan: 

  • Always look for opportunities to improve your plan. The plan should be a living, breathing document that is reviewed on a regular cadence. 
  • Consider hypothetical situations and plan accordingly. If you change how you do things today, consider how it impacts your business continuity strategies. Do they also need to change? 
  • Ask yourself: Is your plan detailed enough to allow junior-level team members to execute the plan at time of incident if your planning team is compromised? 
  • Lead tabletop exercises to discover other opportunities to improve your programme and plans. Does everyone on your team know what is expected of them during a business interruption incident?  

For more information on tabletop exercises and who should be involved in them, listen to this article’s accompanying podcast.  

Advice for Developing Your First Business Continuity Plan 

When you think about developing a business continuity plan, especially for the first time, it’s very easy to get paralysed when you’re starting with a blank sheet of paper. One thing to remember is that the primary objective is planning — this is what creates the ability to recover.  

So, physically writing the plan or documenting specific instructions is the secondary objective. Look at your plan and ask: 

  • Does it clearly state what to do? 
  • Does it indicate how to do it? 
  • Does it reflect who does it? 
  • Does it identify when to do it? 

If the answer to those four questions is yes, and you verify that to be true through the process of testing, then you’re sure to have a plan that should serve you well in the event of an incident and ensure you are prepared for any event that may occur.  

To learn more about ways employers can respond to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, visit our Resource Centre.