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Whilst many in-house recruitment teams may be trying to reduce, or even eliminate, their usage of third party recruiters, our recent Quarterly Recruitment Review showed that consultancies remain a key route to market for over 50% of businesses and 60% of jobseekers.

In this guest post Adrian Kinnersley, Managing Director of Twenty Recruitment Group, looks at five reasons why it pays to still keep them in the talent acquisition mix…

“One of the major objectives for any in house recruiting team is to drive down costs by reducing the reliance on third party recruiters – an objective that many feel can be met more easily in a digital age. My view however, is that a reliance on social media and other networking tools is not only short sighted – it’s a false economy. Recruitment has many business models but I believe that good recruiters will be at the very heart of the corporate future because:

• Talent is not a commodity – it has opinions and options. It can also be unpredictable, irrational, high maintenance and uncommunicative. As recruiters providing a professional service, we can take into account all the intangibles and freedom of thought from all parties which prevents the existence of ‘black box recruiting’
• There is too much margin for error – A bad hire is so much more costly than a recruiters’ fee. A recruiter can help qualify what a client actually needs and market map that role against competitors to avoid clients heading down blind alleys when defining job roles and department structures.
• It’s a labour intensive process – A good recruiter should provide information on what type of candidate a client can expect; what other companies are looking for the same skills; advice on how to position your role and company to appeal to candidates; present multiple candidates and identify what their ‘hot buttons’ are; manage the interview process; manage the offer process….I could go on.
• Recruitment has to be high touch – The mobility and flexibility of talent in the global generation is the most valuable corporate currency of the future. Being able to attract, extract and deliver talent has to a high touch service – being able to just see where it is in a social network just doesn’t cut it.
• Talent has a choice – Candidates want to interact with a recruiter because they want a variety of options; they want to have a clear idea of their market worth; they want background , advice and coaching on interview technique; they want advice on how to go through the resignation process… they want a consultant.”

Adrian Kinnersley is Managing Director of Twenty Recruitment Group, a specialist finance, technology and engineering recruiter with offices in London and New York

We’re looking forward to the Recruiter SMART Resourcing Conference 2013 which takes place in London on 28th February, and promises to be an exciting knowledge sharing event for recruitment professionals.

The event boldly promises to take recruitment leaders ‘two steps beyond the expected’ and offers the opportunity to find out more about:

• How workforce analytics can shape an organisation’s most proactive and effective talent acquisition and management strategies
• How early assessments can dramatically improve retention – with a case study from the British Military
• Educating the new breed of internal recruiter
• The most effective recruitment training for hiring managers
• Devising successful ‘onboarding’ practices tailored to help build bridges for new hires

At this event we are proud to be sponsoring the Keynote Speaker, John Vlastelica – a former recruiting director with Amazon and Expedia, and consultant and trainer to organisations such as Nike, Groupon, Google, Hitachi, Electronic Arts and T-Mobile. In his session ‘Lead or Be Led‘ he’ll be sharing the secrets of what makes an effective recruiting leader, and also disclosing the 8 things that the best recruitment professionals do better than the rest!

He will be supported on the day by an impressive range of speakers from organisations such as LOCOG, Lloyds Banking Group, RAF, Network Rail and the Moving Picture Company.

There are still a small number of tickets available and we have managed to secure Jobsite clients a 10% discount. Just use the code JOBS1T3 when you register on this page.

We hope to see you there!

The Winter 2012-13 Evenbase Quarterly Recruitment Review of changing UK recruiter and jobseeker behaviour is free to download now.

This report is conducted on a quarterly basis by independent brand tracking agency HPI, and shows these key findings since our last report:

• The average number of vacancies advertised has risen to 7.8 per business, the highest figure of 2012
• 54% increase in temporary/contract roles advertised since a year ago
• Almost two-thirds of job vacancies are advertised online
• 83% of jobseekers cite job boards as their most considered job search method
• Mobile shift – 76% of jobseekers now own a smartphone (up from 43% in 2010)
• 13% increase in the number of SME businesses (50-249 employees) looking for staff

Evenbase’s Winter 2012/13 Quarterly Recruitment Review sees a continued trend in the hiring uplift reported in the Autumn Quarterly Recruitment Review, with the average number of vacancies advertised per business back up to 7.8, which was last seen in Nov 2011 and is the highest figure reported in 2012.

The most recent Recruitment Review saw a 13% surge in temporary/contract vacancies being advertised by businesses with 4.3 temporary/contract vacancies per business; this can be linked with the annual trend of seasonal jobs, but it is still a 54% increase in temporary/contract roles year on year.

Almost two-thirds of all vacancies are now advertised online, which has risen since the autumn to an average of 5.1 online vacancies per employer. However, businesses’ consideration of using newspaper ads has leap-frogged job boards for the first time in 2012. This shift in vacancy advertising is likely to be attributed largely to the 13% increase in the number of SME businesses (50-249 employees) looking for staff as smaller businesses with less resources perhaps prefer to stick to traditional mediums of recruitment advertising and their own personal networks.

For businesses looking to hire new staff, the talent pool of candidates can be found online – as 83% of jobseekers cite job boards as their most considered job search method. This is the highest figure on record since Evenbase’s Quarterly Recruitment Review began in 2008 and has increased a further 5% from Autumn 2012.

Another indication of the ongoing strength of digital recruitment is that jobseekers are also considering using company websites to find their next role, which has jumped by 10% this quarter to reach the same level as job boards. Also, the consideration of using social and business networks has reached 50% for the first time – indicating that jobseekers are proactively considering more channels in their job hunt.

Continue reading “Recruitment Review of 2012 – significant disconnect between jobseekers’ and employers’ needs & desires from their online resources” »

Jobsite’s January 2013 newsletter contains news of our New Year TV campaign, plus great advice blogs including:

• Are your employees projecting the right image?
• Why implement a mentoring programme?
• How to set up an apprenticeship scheme

Read the online edition of the newsletter here.

Continue reading “Recruiter News, January 2013” »

This Thursday (31st January) we are sponsoring the 11th Annual Online Recruitment Conference in London. As in previous years it will be held at the prestigious Royal Geographical Society.

Over 400 delegates will be in attendance at the daylong event listening to a range of presentations. We are particularly looking forward to:

• Virgin Atlantic – Brand, people & Social Media
• Nestle – Nestle Employer Brand Proposition, Development & Market Implementation
• Telefonica – Harnessing the power of the employer brand to drive transformational change
• ContentETC – Using words to attract

We will also be presenting a session on ‘Trends in Online Recruitment’ which will look at our latest Quarterly Recruitment Review into jobseeker and recruiter behaviour as well a review of the emerging trends of the last four years, dating back to our first quarterly research.

Come and meet us in the Education Centre – you can pick up a copy of our latest research and test drive our CV Database.

There are a small number of tickets left. If you want to get one then we are pleased to have secured Jobsite clients a 5% discount on tickets. Just register here and use the code EMCFZ00511J – we look forward to seeing you there.

We will also be tweeting some of the key learning points during the day. You can join us in the Twitter conversation by following #emconf

A couple of weeks ago HR Blogger (and HR Director) Alison Chisnell shared on her site a heartfelt and startlingly honest piece about mental illness by an anonymous writer. This created quite a stir within the HR and L&D communities, with the overwhelming response being one of positivity and gratitude to Alison for bringing the issue to the fore.

Over the two weeks since that first post there have been a number of further posts from members of the community and a commitment to take more action to put this topic firmly on to the HR and business agenda, particularly as it relates to the workplace.

We asked Niki Rosenbaum, founding partner of HR and Wellbeing consultancy Treacletiger, to explain more about what employers can do…

“Consequent discussions (following the sharing of the original post) have highlighted the fact that often it is not a mental health issue itself that creates concern for employers, but not knowing what to do about it. Employers I’ve worked with have confessed to a lack of understanding which has either led them to make a knee-jerk decision over how to handle matters, or stymied their efforts to ‘do the right thing’.

There are varying causes of mental illness, including outside influences (social, environmental, economic and political), bereavement and so on. While these can create a ‘shift’ in behaviour and so affect an employee’s performance, they must be viewed differently from chemical imbalances causing inherent behaviour changes. ‘Situational’ or ‘responsive’ depression to a traumatic life event or stress should be viewed very differently to a diagnosed condition such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder (both of which can be managed very successfully with the right combination of support and appropriate medication.)

Mental ill-health is a sensitive subject, and frightening for many – including those experiencing it. They may not tell their employer about it if they feel it will damage their standing, prospects for promotion or new challenges. Likewise, it doesn’t mean they’re hiding something. They may not realise or want to recognise that they’re in the grip of something more than a ‘blip.’

So what can you do? Firstly, there should be no such thing as a ‘Mental Health Policy.’ A generic, blanket approach can’t be relied upon due to the complexity and variety of issues; tailored support for individuals and targeted training for managers will help develop a better understanding than any ‘policy’ that kicks in should an employee share information about their mental wellbeing.

Employers can:

Work harder on developing communication. Don’t be afraid. With 1 in 4 of us experiencing some form of mental ill-health at some stage in our lives, it’s essential this is high on the agenda. It can also add clarity and create a space for people to open up without fear or judgment.

It’s OK to share. Over the years, it’s astonished me how many feel the need to share their story to help others, and how many are able to take something positive from their experiences and use it to strengthen their character and resolve.

Get the facts and challenge misconceptions. If we hope to defeat the stigma around this, we must challenge and cease using negative language such as “loony” and “ga-ga”. Someone who’s depressed because of a relationship breakdown or death of a loved one will not recognise themselves or their pain in this kind of abuse. We must also be cautious of treating people as if they’re made of spun glass: there’s nothing to be gained in assuming everyone who’s depressed is automatically suicidal and ‘nannying’ them to the point where they cannot breathe. Don’t smother them or ignore the issue. Yes, it is a balancing act, but where the wellbeing of others is concerned, it usually is.

Get good information. Organisations such as Mind have launched campaigns to encourage open communication and tackle the stigma around mental health. Talk to experts – there are people within the HR and recruitment fields who specialise in this. But most of all, talk to your employees.

People who have faced mental ill-health or disturbance don’t have two heads, half a brain or thick skin. They are not immediately obvious to you, somehow ‘changed’ or less capable, or impervious to negative attitudes and language. They’re still who they were- they just have something happening to them right now. Don’t react like they’re suddenly a stranger. Be mindful not to shut them out because you don’t understand.

As the writer of the original blog says- “Please remember that I live amongst you.”

Niki Rosenbaum set up Treacletiger in 2011 with her partner Steve McGrane to offer practical, effective HR, mediation and workplace wellbeing support to small to medium-sized businesses. They have worked to promote better understanding of mental wellbeing at work for many years.

If you would like to know more about the issue of mental health in the workplace visit Mind’s website and check out their excellent corporate resources – and also check out the ‘time to change’ pledge