Eliana Willis

More stories

  • 88 Shares179 Views

    in Talent Acquisition

    How to Smash Lockdown Recruiting and Retention

    For all of us involved in scaling a business, having the right team is an essential ingredient.  The second half of that is to retain them.  When lockdown first hit businesses, many people looked with horror at both those challenges.  Some are still struggling.  I set out to find the expert secrets of the people who are triumphing.
    Finding people to recruit
    Jimmy Williams is the CEO of the Urban Jungle, which provides insurance to generation rent and millennials.  They doubled their team in 2020 and anticipate doing the same this year. Jimmy finds they are swamped with applications, but not necessarily people with the right qualifications, so they plan to improve their filtering.  They find Zoom works for interviewing, but they like to do practical tests, so they also plan to develop these in exploding formats to prevent sharing between applicants.
    Jimmy says that it is “harder is getting to someone’s personality, so we often ask more direct questions about that. It’s not like anyone has any out of work interests at the moment, so we have to get it out of them!”
    Donald Lindsay is People Operations Director at the hugely successful FreeAgent, which makes award-winning cloud accounting software for small businesses and their accountants. While FreeAgent has had low turnover, when Donald has needed to recruit, he too found a great pool of motivated talent in the market last year and expects to see much the same this.
    Natalie Lewis of Dynamic HR Services also feels that with so many good people who will be made redundant, the talent pool will be large in 2021, but the key will be in the selection.  The choice is even more comprehensive than before. Entrepreneurs worldwide are no longer restricted to employing people locally or even nationally.  A global company in San Francisco might be hiring someone who lives in a remote Cornish cottage.  But pulling precisely the right fish out of a worldwide ocean will challenge everyone in the business of recruitment in 2021.
    Integration post recruiting:
    Both Jimmy and Natalie agree, the biggest challenge is often not the recruitment but integrating them remotely.  “It’s not like it can happen by osmosis or down the pub,” Jimmy points out.  Urban Jungle encourages everyone in their team to bring their personality to work, but Jimmy admits it is hard to do.
    Companies have to create that crucial buy-in to vision, mission, and culture, and this has the crux of the lockdown challenge, which Natalie describes as behavior onboarding.  “Previously, with people in an office together, it was much easier for newbies to pick it the culture and internalize it from the people around them, what they hear and see, embodied in the physical room.”  Without it happening naturally, leaders have to create it.
    Natalie believes it is the companies that have been open to change and adapting that are thriving and cites Gitlab as a perfect example.  They have a flat structure, high accountability, and responsibility.  Natalie believes that even post-pandemic, companies like this will retain hybrid working.
    FreeAgent moved the whole company to remote work in March last year and quickly adapted to virtual recruitment.  Donald says this meant both updating their range of interview guides and processes so they cover online settings and upskilling their staff so they could properly manage and lead this work.
    “Even before the pandemic,” Donald adds, “we were looking at how we could strengthen the employee experience at FreeAgent. 2021 will see us building on these strong foundations.”
    Creating culture and retention from day one
    I asked all three of my experts for their top tips, practices that they find work best to build and retain great teams in new times:
    Jimmy’s top tips:
    Jimmy says that they work “very hard to keep the team both productive and happy.  “We’re trying to maintain our usual levels of transparency, despite being in a physically different space, which makes that difficult.”  One thing they do to maintain transparency is that some of their senior team members now have ‘open 1-2-1s’ with their direct reports so that more junior team members can eavesdrop on what is going on like they would in the office.”
    The second Wednesday in the month is “Workmate Wednesday,” which is just to have non-work chats with colleagues.
    They also use their social budget to send people little treats in the post and include some remote socials. “Remote cocktail making for the Christmas party was brilliant,” Jimmy adds.  In addition, having found that around 20% of their team were suffering from their mental health after lockdowns started in 2020, they replaced their social budget for a mental health fund, offering counseling and yoga session in place of after-work drinks. This does seem to have helped and the team is coping better with this lockdown.”
    Donald’s top tips are:
    Donald believes that “flexible working arrangements will become the new normal going forward when it comes to future recruitment with fewer roles requiring to be based full-time in our HQ.   There will be more of a hybrid split between office-based and remote working from home.”  He believes this kind of flexibility is likely to be an important factor for many applicants in the future, so it’s vital to adapt and meet these expectations as quickly as possible.
    Donald also plans to strengthen FreeAgent’s progression and personal development.  They will offer people the chance to upskill and also to explore other careers within FreeAgent.
    They will also aim to improve things like salary bands, inter-departmental movement, flexible working arrangements, and succession planning “so that employees feel properly valued and nurtured.”
    FreeAgent is also continually reviewing staff benefits packages to ensure they are as strong as possible.  Donald believes that “if our people don’t feel they have a voice or are valued, we simply won’t be able to retain the amazing talent we have here.”
    Natalie’s top tips are:
    For Natalie, it is all about building culture.  One tip is that everyone on a remote team to have google hangouts open all day.  People being able to see each other makes a crucial difference to isolation.  They can always mute for an important call.
    She recommends enforcing virtual coffee meetings a couple of times a day.  Her experience is that people embrace it at first and then lose interest, so you need to really encourage it until they see the benefits – which are huge.
    Natalie says that to retain teams, a culture of compassion and flexibility will be the absolute key in the future.   Many people have to juggle work and family responsibilities in these lockdowns, and they need understanding and flexibility to remain committed and happy.
    Guided by the experts, I conclude that selecting the right talent will be the challenge for 2021 from a vast global pool.  Integration is critical for culture.  And when it comes to retention, the keywords are flexibility, transparency, compassion, and showing you value your team in every way possible.  Just as they have always been, but much more so.
    Jan Cavelle has several decades of founding micro and SME’s behind her and is now a freelance writer and author. Throughout her career, she has worked on various campaigns to support and encourage other entrepreneurs.   Her first book is Scale for Success: Expert Insights into Growing Your Business, Bloomsbury Business, 2021.

    Share this post: More

  • 113 Shares179 Views

    in Talent Acquisition

    3 Reasons Why We’ll Continue Remote Interviewing Post Pandemic 

    Interviewing has gone remote. While some think this is temporary, it’s actually the future.
    When the pandemic began, businesses were focused on putting their heads down and weathering an uncertain economic environment. For many, this meant a temporary freeze on hiring. As things thawed, hiring came back; but this time, it was remote.
    A Gartner poll found that “86% of organizations were incorporating new virtual technology to interview candidates” by the second month of the COVID-19 pandemic. This mad scramble to integrate new interviewing tools was, for some, disorienting; but in tech hiring, it’s been a godsend. While we still appreciate face-to-face interaction, the digital nature of remote interviews comes with so many benefits that we won’t be whiteboarding coding challenges with candidates ever again. Here are three reasons why:
    1. Less Work; More Data
    I work in tech and love data. Tech companies evangelize harvesting data wherever possible, but before the pandemic, interviews were a data dark spot. Most of the information conveyed lived either in the mind of the interviewer or via their notes. Even if there were coding assessments that added a quantitative element to the interview, these were often done on whiteboards or pieces of paper that then needed to be digitally transferred. The result was that interviewers often spent an extra 30 minutes simply capturing what had already transpired.
    Today, the entire process is digital, which means that so much more data is automatically captured, and it’s now being put to use. We have transcription tools and video recordings that make reviewing the interview that much easier. According to HackerEarth’s State of Developer Recruiting 2020, 56.9% of recruiters said a major benefit of remote interviewing came from pair programming with a collaborative code editor, as this automatically captures and assesses a candidate’s coding skill in a collaborative, work-like environment. We even have automatic feedback generators that request performance input after specific questions. These are then compiled into an after-action report that simply needs to be edited rather than written from scratch.
    This means that interviewers spend less time writing and more time carefully weighing a candidate’s skill. Starting digitally puts all the data at our fingertips and allows us to make the most informed decision. Instead of a data dark spot, remote interviews are now richer than a resume.
    2. Geographic Flexibility
    There’s no question that tech has a talent shortage. Only 60% of all tech positions are filled. When we were dependent on in-person interviews, we constrained our talent pipeline even further. With tech roles only becoming more important over time, we can’t think locally about tech hiring anymore.
    The pandemic opened up new talent reserves in geographically diverse locations. We can now hire anyone from anywhere. According to HackerEarth’s State of Developer Recruiting 2020, 50.6% of recruiters say that remote interviews are beneficial due to their logistical flexibility. A further 40.4% said they saved significant time. Remote interviews with built-in features like pair-programming and real-time code editing, which now constitute 11.1% of all remote coding interviews conducted, have basically solved the problem of onboarding the most qualified candidates regardless of location.
    There is now a bigger pool of tech talent that can work from anywhere, and assessing them remotely has never been easier. In fact, 30.7% of recruiters said that remote hiring had actually increased their talent funnel. As the global workforce becomes even more accustomed to remote work, this means that remote interviews will be a feature of the hiring process for years to come.
    3. Reduced Bias
    57.6% of enterprises have placed extra emphasis on hiring for diversity in 2020. But as much as we love meeting candidates face-to-face, first impressions are often clouded by personal biases that can unintentionally limit diversity. Recruiters and hiring managers tend to prefer candidates that mirror their own backgrounds in what has been termed by researchers “Looking Glass Merit.” While interpersonal and other soft skills are absolutely important, face-to-face interviews sometimes overvalue them relative to hard skills.
    Thankfully, remote interviews add a layer of separation that gives interviewers input on things like body language without placing undue influence on them. While 10.2% of recruiters at SMEs say that challenging unconscious bias is still a major pain point, and 13% of recruiters are specifically choosing assessment tools that help eliminate bias in the interviewing process.
    One way to combat this problem is to mask personally identifiable information (PII) during remote interviews so a candidate’s skills can speak for themselves. This means things like their name, gender, academic background, etc. are hidden during the interview itself, so the interviewer’s impression of a candidate is solely based on their skills.
    A Remote Interviewing Future
    Even after a vaccine is widely available and things start to return to ‘normal’, we won’t be looking back at how we used to hire. We may still meet candidates for in-person interviews from time to time, but will certainly continue to use digital interviewing tools for a better interviewing experience. Pair programming is just better on a computer, and we shouldn’t want to go back to the days of whiteboards and hand-written notes.
    Today, tech hiring is more competitive and geographically untethered than ever, so we need to make the interviewing process as convenient and flexible for candidates as possible. In the end, remote interviewing saves the company and the candidate time, and more importantly, allows interviewers to limit bias significantly relative to in-person interviews. These more objective interviews are helping managers create the best tech teams where only skills matter.
    By Sachin Gupta, CEO of HackerEarth.

    Share this post: More

  • 75 Shares159 Views

    in Talent Acquisition

    3 Common Misbeliefs About Video Interviews

    As someone new to the HR industry, I’ve been spending the past month familiarizing myself with commonly-used recruitment processes and technologies among HR professionals and hiring managers. A particular process that sparked my interest was video interviewing to screen candidates and determine their suitability for an available role.
    Video-interviews are pre-recorded, self-conducted interviews submitted by candidates alongside their job applications. Candidates are provided with a set of questions and are required to film their response within a specific time period. Video interviews are not to be confused with live-online videos conducted in real-time between a candidate and HR/hiring manager, via video-communication platforms such as Zoom or Microsoft Teams.
    While learning about all the benefits, efficiencies, and capabilities of video-interviews, I thought to myself – Why don’t all recruiters use them?
    After a quick Google search – I found my answer.
    What’s the consensus?
    I came across copious amounts of news articles and Reddit threads condemning one-way video interviews. These sources, which were written by both job-seekers and HR professionals, referred to the video interview process as ‘impersonal,’ ‘dehumanizing,’ ‘awkward’ and even ‘disgusting’ that employers aren’t giving candidates the ‘courtesy’ to meet with them in-person or on a live-call.
    After reading these negative perceptions, it’s fair to assume that many HR managers feel deterred from incorporating video interviews into their recruitment process out of fear that it will be poorly-received by candidates and relevant stakeholders.
    This caused me to question; If a candidate feels this way after a video interview, doesn’t that say more about the company implementing the process rather than the process itself? It’s the classic saying that ‘a bad workman always blames his tools’. HR managers need to learn how to implement video interviews correctly and how they are intended to be used.
    I’m going to debunk common misbeliefs regarding video-interview technology and discuss why they are so valuable in the recruiting process – if used correctly!
    Misbelief #1: They don’t allow candidates to express themselves
    Of course, if candidates are asked run-of-the-mill interview questions (think ‘what are your strengths and weaknesses’ and ‘where do you see yourself in 5 years’), they won’t be able to authentically express who they are and what makes them unique to every other candidate. Asking these typical questions also leads candidates to believe that there is a predetermined ‘right or wrong’ answer, hindering their ability to speak freely.
    HR managers need to ask themselves – Does this question warrant a video response? Or is there a question that would better showcase the candidate’s potential?
    Video interview questions should require candidates to think outside the box and show (not just tell) the hiring manager why they’d be a great fit. The process should be interactive and engaging! Hiring a salesperson? Ask them to sell you a random object in their house. Hiring a bartender? Ask them to make their signature cocktail. Hiring a marketing specialist? Ask them to pitch a creative campaign idea. The questions asked during video interviews make all the difference when getting the most out of the candidate.
    Misbelief #2: They’re more of a gimmick than a necessity
    In my research, I saw articles that referred to video interviews as a gimmicky ‘recruitment trend’ rather than a legitimate, viable method to assist managers with making recruitment decisions. This could not be further from the truth!
    Video-interviews are a handy tool to assist with candidate screening. They are designed as an insurance method to rule-out candidates who may seem great on paper but aren’t the right cultural fit for the company or role.
    So, why not just stick to the ultra-familiar phone call screenings? As HR professionals, we need to leverage the available technology to our advantage! Video interviews have the capability to use artificial intelligence to analyze additional factors such as body language and eye-contact to determine who could be a good fit in only a couple of minutes.
    Once the interview is completed, hiring managers can view the responses and an AI-generated report outlining candidate insights such as personality type, emotional intelligence, and soft skills. With the help of technology, hours of manual work can be eliminated. As a result, the time-to-hire is slashed, recruitment-costs are reduced, and the overall efficiency of the candidate-screening process is maximized.
    Misbelief #3: They result in a negative candidate experience
    There’s no denying that many implementations of video-interviews have resulted in a poor candidate experience. Common candidate pain-points of poorly-implemented video interviews are that the process feels:
    Uncomfortable, and
    Impersonal
    These negative associations can be dispelled with just a few minor adjustments.
    Modern recruiting software allows managers to adjust the video interview guidelines. For instance, users can allow applicants to refilm their video interviews more than once if they aren’t happy with the outcome. Additionally, the time allocated to answer each question can be adjusted, reducing pressure on the candidate. It’s important to understand that video-interviews are not the same as live interviews; candidates cannot converse with the interviewee to ask questions or clarify their answers. Giving candidates a little extra time or the option to have a do-over can instantly relieve stress and discomfort – resulting in a better candidate experience!
    Incorporating a human-voice can also add to the personalization of video interviews. Let’s be honest; video interviews, in-essence, aren’t as personal as live interviews. Including a quick ‘introduction’ video from the recruitment team or even having a company representative read the interview instructions can add a personal touch, boosting the candidate experience.
    Concluding thoughts
    Video interviews aren’t designed to determine exactly who gets the job. Instead, they should be used as a supporting act, helping hiring managers to decide which candidates are worth investing time and energy into and which candidates aren’t. Yes, the technology is incredibly advanced, but it needs to be used correctly if employers want to reap the time and cost-saving benefits and provide their candidates with a seamless and enjoyable experience. So, if you aren’t using video interviews to their full potential, you’re missing out on finding the best-possible candidates!
    Lucy Hill is the marketing specialist at MyRecruitment+.

    Share this post: More

  • 138 Shares199 Views

    in Talent Acquisition

    5 Ways Recruiting Leaders Can Help their Teams Beat WFH Fatigue

    For the majority of the UK workforce, December now marks almost eight months of continuously working from home, for thousands of us this has been a shock to the system and a real shift from the norm.
    The balance between a healthy home and work life, for some, may have been blurred and now Google trends data suggests searches for ‘burnout’ peaking as the UK entered a second national lockdown earlier in November and with no respite to the working from home guidance as of yet, this trend is likely to increase.
    So with more people now experiencing a form of ‘work from home fatigue’, Sam Hill, Head of People and Culture at BizSpace shares tips on how business leaders can help to combat this unique form of burnout.
    1. COMMUNICATION IS KEY TO MAINTAINING A CULTURE
    Communication is a vital part of this strategy – with every element of running a business or managing a team, communication is the key to success in morale and for recruiters, a pivotal part in the day-to-day job. Many office workers across the country may be living alone, in shared accommodation, or having to juggle the added pressures of being at home more often, like childcare for example.
    All of this can lead to feeling a sense of isolation from the team and the company, something that can come as a shock to the system. Especially when concerned with the recruitment industry, where camaraderie and an office environment where feeling a sense of striving for targets is instilled and allows employees to excel. While many won’t have a choice but to be working from home, team leaders could encourage the use of instant messaging like Slack and Google Chat. While daily huddles and weekly catch-ups with a line manager/mentor using a mixture of video and voice calls help to keep updated and on top of targets, with managers offering a steer and guidance. Keeping this constant open door to communication can replicate that feeling of being in the office where teams can so easily communicate and celebrate wins.
    2. TRUST YOUR TEAM AND PROVE IT THROUGH YOUR ACTIONS
    Recruiters can work sporadic hours day-to-day but with working hours now no longer ‘normal’, this can lead to many feeling like they need to prove they’re doing the work, leading to overworking and in turn, burnout. Thousands of us are defined by the 9-5, taking lunch at the same time each day and having a physical presence in front of colleagues to prove we are actually working. At home, we don’t have this way of ‘proving’ ourselves.
    So team leads must show that they trust their team, they can do this by being flexible and less formal, where meetings are required, keeping these streamlined and avoiding typical lunch hours or times early in the morning where some may be taking advantage of the new hours. Setting attainable and broad deadlines with a lot of notice will allow flexibility and give enough time to be met.
    3. DEFINING THE PURPOSE FOR EVERY TEAM MEMBER
    Despite many recruiters and talent acquisition specialists having a clearly defined goal and working towards a commission-based salary, the peculiar times we’re living in can still see many questioning their purpose. It is vital that every member of the team is aware of what they’re doing and why they’re doing it, aside from simply logging the hours and getting through the day. Senior management, team leaders, and line managers must be communicating this from the top down through the likes of company-wide communication, keeping teams updated on business progress, any wins, challenges, and opportunities.
    This communication then needs to filter down through the hierarchy with each level of the team being aware of how their work contributes to the overall goal of the company. No role in a team is obsolete and everyone contributes to the success of the overall goal and defining this purpose, more now than ever before, is vital to give your team a sense of purpose and being.
    4. BE CLEAR ON THE PRIORITIES
    When delegating work, be absolutely clear of the deadlines and what the top priorities are. For the more inexperienced members of the team, being in the office has a monumental impact on their progression and will allow them to pick up skills and lean on peers for guidance. As a team leader or manager, making workload priorities explicit from the offset and checking in once a week on progress can help to guide the workload without micromanaging and guide those that may need more of a steer.
    5. ENCOURAGE MOVEMENT AND GET EVERYONE INVOLVED
    Taking a break from the dining room table or home office is key to keeping a clear and focussed mind throughout the day. Workers are likely to be spending more time at their screens with no need to leave the house, whereas heading out to get lunch is the norm when in an office setting. With longer nights, we must get the most out of the short amount of daylight we have. But how do you ensure your team is not neglecting their own need for fresh air and daylight?
    Using instant messaging, a social chat can be an escape for many employees to talk about everything that isn’t work. Encouraging a weekly thread where the team can share photos of their week and something they have done might be a nice way to encourage people to do more other than stay in the house. Apps like Strava that track exercise can also be a great team-building activity that encourages movement. Creating a leaderboard for the number of miles each person logs in exercise outside should encourage competition amongst the team. It doesn’t have to be strenuous exercise either, so whether they’re walking or in a wheelchair, riding or running, it encourages the team to get outside and spend time away from the screen.
    Sam Hill has been with BizSpace since 2017 and is the Head of People and Culture. She has over 10 years’ experience in HR roles and previously worked at The Football Association, Produban (a part of Santander), and Ascential PLC. Sam is a Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

    Share this post: More

  • 125 Shares99 Views

    in Talent Acquisition

    Seven Tips to Measure If Your Talent Acquisition is Working

    Attracting the best people into a business is one of the biggest challenges facing many companies, however, while most employers understand the need for an effective talent acquisition process to attract and hire the right people, many haven’t developed a way for evaluating its effectiveness.
    If companies fail to measure the success of their recruitment strategy, they will waste time and money recruiting people with the wrong skills and attitudes, but not understand why.
    As we move through the COVID-19 pandemic it is going to be essential to have the right people in roles to ensure the business can recover quickly.
    According to Gartner one of the top three priorities for HR leaders in 2021 is to build critical skills and competencies. Other data from Gartner TalentNeuron™ shows that the total number of skills required for a single job is increasing by 10% year over year, and one-third of the skills present in an average 2017 job posting won’t be needed by 2021.
    Here are seven metrics, which can give businesses deep insight into the performance and impact of their talent acquisition process:
    1. Time to hire
    This is the number of days between the start of the recruitment process and the moment a candidate gets hired. Most talented people are off the market in 10 days, so having a shorter process gives companies a better chance at attracting and hiring top talent.
    To optimize the time to hire, companies need to break down the hiring process and measure how much time it took to move candidates from one stage to another.
    2. Cost per Hire
    Companies need to understand the money they are spending to make a new hire including all costs related to recruitment, such as the purchase of equipment, onboarding, administration, and benefits. It can vary enormously depending on the company’s size, the seniority of the position, and the number of recruitment channels used.
    There are many strategies companies can use to reduce their cost per hire and optimize the recruitment process such as building a talent pipeline; allowing employee referrals; using social media to create a strong employer brand, and using an ATS to streamline and expedite the recruitment process.
    3. Qualified Candidates per Opening
    A “qualified candidate” is anyone who passes the application screening process and moves to the next stage of the recruitment process. This metric is more meaningful than the number of applicants, as it shows recruiters how good the candidates they are attracting are. This is an important metric because if a company is attracting unsuitable candidates, they will not fill a position but can set new strategies to attract better candidates.
    4. Sourcing
    This refers to the performance of the channels, job boards, or social media platforms where jobs are advertised. Companies need to understand which channels work best. To calculate this, candidates need to be tagged according to the acquisition source when they submit their application or to where the recruiter found the profile (LinkedIn, Employee referral, Internal, Facebook, Indeed, etc). Understanding the most effective source of talent ensures the best ROI on time and investment spent on recruiting.
    5. Quality of Hire
    Quality of hire is at the top of the list of useful performance KPIs for most companies, as it measures the value new hires bring to a company. Hiring quality employees means less turnover, more productivity, better culture, and greater overall success for the company.
    As quality is quite hard to evaluate, some quantifiable recruitment metrics can be used, such as new hire performance metrics such as sales targets or achieving good customer satisfaction ratings, turnover and retention metrics, hiring manager satisfaction ratings, or the percentage of new hires promoted within a certain time frame.
    Improving the quality of hire requires alignment with leadership to define the factors that make a quality hire and to set the strategies that will help hire the right people.
    6. Offer-Acceptance Rate
    The percentage of job offers accepted is a good indicator of how well the hiring practices are working. Although candidates can decline a job offer due to external reasons (counteroffer from a current employer, etc.), they can also refuse the company’s offer due to reasons related to the company culture, unattractive compensation, or job duties mismatch which could have been detected and managed by the recruitment team. It can be useful to send out a survey to candidates about their specific reasons behind their refusal.
    7. Satisfaction Rate
    Although this metric often gets ignored, satisfaction ratings allow companies to understand how candidates are experiencing the hiring process. To measure it, companies can survey candidates and new recruits. It is essential to understand what may be causing high numbers of interview cancellations, no shows, or high turnover rates in new hires.
    Build a survey that is easy and quick to answer, focusing only on key satisfaction aspects regarding the recruitment process, to get more answers. Also, do not forget to protect the candidates’ privacy.
    To Conclude
    Evaluating a talent acquisition strategy with a data-driven approach will give companies a more holistic view of how talent acquisition is impacting the business strategy and how they can improve it so that they can consistently attract and hire the best talent.
    By Nicolas Speeckaert, co-founder and director of skeeled. 

    Share this post: More

  • 113 Shares159 Views

    in Talent Acquisition

    Why the Recruiting Industry May Never Be the Same

    2020 has presented recruiters and job seekers with unimaginable circumstances and significant societal challenges, leading to the transition of key processes toward more virtual recruiting. As a result, this shift has created a profound change in industry concerns, challenges, and investments of recruiters, with many believing that recruiting may never be the same.
    These industry concerns were recently revealed in a new survey by Jobvite, which includes responses from more than 800 recruiters and HR professionals from hundreds of companies. It provides an in-depth look at the state of recruiting today and the challenges and opportunities facing recruiters as they continue to navigate the ongoing pandemic.
    Many professionals surveyed believe that these shifts brought forth this year – from investments and priorities to virtual interviewing and onboarding methods – are here to stay, and need to be considered by talent acquisition teams as they begin planning for the new year.
    Industry challenges, priorities, and investments
    Since the onset of the pandemic, stress levels at work have increased for the majority of recruiters, with one in five reporting a drastic increase in stress, according to Jobvite’s 2020 Recruiter Nation Survey. The impact of COVID-19 has also led to diminished headcount and hiring for about one-third of organizations, adding to the stress level.
    Beyond that, recruiting priorities have also changed, with growing the talent pipeline and improving time-to-hire fading and quality of hires growing in importance. Seventy-one percent of recruiters also revealed their recruiting priorities for the next 12 months are different from those they had in the past year.
    Regarding investments, nearly 80% of recruiters said social media is the area most likely to see increased financial investments in the next 12 months. No surprise, since social media has risen over the last three years for recruiting purposes. Untraditional social media channels such as TikTok and Snapchat have also been added to the recruiting mix, presumably for roles that might appeal to younger candidates.
    All in all, these industry insights are valuable and help recruiters understand that conditions are changing, so the strategy should too. Recruiters need to start outlining areas of priorities and financial investments for the upcoming year, so they can confidently navigate this new reality, gain job seekers’ attention, and hire highly-skilled talent the right way.
    Interviews will never be remotely the same
    Three-quarters of surveyed recruiters still believe in-person interviews are the most effective interview mode. However, recruiters have had to adapt with social distancing being enforced across the globe, especially as COVID-19 cases begin to see an uptick in many areas. Currently, the majority of recruiters conduct 50% or more of their interviews via video, and 40% believe virtual interviews will be the default moving forward.
    To some recruiters, video conferencing may seem more casual, but they should always be prepared and trained to properly conduct a professional video interview to ensure a positive candidate experience – the same as if it was conducted in-person.
    Any interview via video should be organized and well-planned, with a quiet space and professional appearance. The 2020 Recruiter Nation Survey also revealed that the biggest video interview mistakes made by candidates are poor connectivity, inappropriate attire, and poor eye contact, so recruiters should not develop the same negative habits.
    Diversity and inclusion initiatives gaining in importance
    With this year prompting many Americans to reflect on what is important to them and what their values are, it is fitting that those beliefs and priorities are being brought into the job search. One major shift is the increased importance of an organizations’ diversity and inclusion (D&I) initiatives, as one-third of recruiters reported that job seekers are inquiring about these initiatives more than they did last year.
    Companies are embracing this by placing a higher emphasis on developing D&I strategies, with it being listed as a top recruiting priority, according to the report. This is primarily in respect to race/ethnicity and gender, but also as it relates to age, veteran status, and other factors.
    While this shows the value for talent acquisition teams to have D&I initiatives in place, it’s important to remember that accomplishing these goals is a journey, not a destination. It requires people, process, and technology to work together to mitigate conscious and unconscious bias where possible, create opportunities for underrepresented communities, and build strong teams based on talent wherever it is found.
    To start or continue this journey, talent teams should work to revisit their existing strategies and implement technology and services where necessary, that are designed to attract and engage more diverse job seekers. Organizations are being held to higher standards for how they source, recruit, hire, and employ with increased diversity, so recruiters should use technology to reduce unconscious bias during the candidate resume review process. They should also track and measure progress within their D&I recruitment marketing initiatives.
    Looking forward to 2021
    Every year comes a new set of challenges for recruiters. While the recruiting industry reacted to dramatic changes in markets brought on by a worldwide crisis, it’s evident that these shifts will only continue to accelerate and represent the current reality of the industry. By following these best practices and making a concise effort to be nimble in the new year, talent acquisition teams will be able to further adapt to future complexities with ease and meet candidates where they are.
    Jeffrey K. Rohrs is the Chief Marketing Officer of Jobvite, the leading end-to-end talent acquisition suite provider. With more than 15 years of SaaS marketing experience, Jeffrey previously served as CMO of Yext during a period of rapid growth and a successful initial public offering in 2017. He also served as VP of Marketing Insights for Salesforce and VP of Marketing at ExactTarget during their IPO and acquisition by Salesforce in 2013.

    Share this post: More

  • 125 Shares119 Views

    in Talent Acquisition

    What Student Job Seekers Really Want from Recruitment Post COVID-19

    A new report reveals how marketing and recruitment processes should be organized to ensure your business is attractive to student job seekers. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the class of 2020 are facing unprecedented challenges when it comes to trying to secure their place on the career ladder. Debut and the Institute of Student Employers (ISE) came together to survey 2,000 students about what they wanted to find from employers, their attitudes to COVID-19, and how they feel about their career prospects.
    One of the stand-out findings from the report shows that despite the pandemic and all of its challenges, 94% of students are excited to start work, with 42% still confident they will find their dream job upon completion of education.
    A rapidly changing world has led to rapidly changing career paths
    Before the pandemic hit, most students had a solid idea of how they would like their careers to go, including the paths they were going to take to get there. Now, 6 months on from the start of the pandemic, 57% of students say they are changing their ideas around their careers in light of the new challenges. Students are still determined to make the most of the opportunities presented to them though, with 74% still strongly focused on their career path, even if it’s not in the direction they originally thought it would take.
    Fair treatment is the most important factor when choosing a job
    For 98% of young job seekers and students surveyed, receiving fair treatment in the workplace was the most important factor when choosing a job or employer to work for. Being fair to your employees and mindful of the struggles they have faced in this over-competitive job market will go a long way to help them feel valued.
    Many have also stated how they would like to work for an organization that would allow them to ‘have it all’. Simply put they would like to work for an organization that provides a clear career path, work/life balance, interesting work, decent pay, and a strong stance on ethical standards while working alongside like-minded people.
    Communication and the recruitment process
    Students and young job seekers prefer formal methods of communication such as email and LinkedIn to be used when talking to prospective employers about their employment choices, with 95% and 90% respectively, in agreement with these channels. Some students said they would be comfortable with employers communicating with them through blogs (37%), Instagram (36%), Twitter (33%), or Facebook (28%) however most are skeptical about this approach as they feel it encroaches on their more personal platforms. Make sure you’re approachable yet professional in your communication methods with prospective employees, as the wrong type of method could turn them away from your organization.
    During the recruitment process itself, 91% of respondents said they preferred a face-to-face approach, but with the limitations on face-to-face interactions the pandemic has set on people, there is a greater emphasis on calls and video interviews. Luckily 86% said they were comfortable with an online approach where it was necessary, but the main concern was that a third of students don’t trust employers to actually treat them fairly during the recruitment process. We’re all going through a difficult time right now and it’s worth remembering that these students are potentially facing challenges no other generation has done before them, so empathy could go a long way during your recruitment process.
    Job seekers are hungry for information
    When communicating with potential employees, make sure you are providing them with as much information as possible about how to succeed in the recruitment process and what information you’re looking for in applications. Remember, when someone is looking for a job they aren’t just selling themselves to you, you’ve got to sell yourself to them too to make them want to work for you. Providing information on your company’s culture, including testimonials from current employees, career prospects, training, and social opportunities are key things to communicate during the recruitment process.
    Now more than ever though, students and job seekers are interested in what an organization is doing for charities and community work. They are looking for opportunities to get involved in volunteering as part of the positions they are applying for, to help the initiatives throughout the company.
    Excitement and enthusiasm are high despite the challenges
    Overall, despite everything that 2020 has thrown at them, 94% of students are excited to get started in the world of work, with 93% even willing to start remotely if they need to. There seems to be a great understanding amongst students that they need to be flexible and adaptable in the current climate, even if that means starting off their careers at home, getting involved in online inductions, and remote working for now if needed.
    The main worry seems to be focused on finding the opportunities available to them rather than making the most of the opportunities that are presented to them.
    Michele Trusolino is co-founder and chief operating officer of Debut, the student careers app that is revolutionizing the recruitment sector.

    Share this post: More

  • 75 Shares149 Views

    in Talent Acquisition

    How to Hire a Data Engineer

    Data Engineering is one of the fastest-growing job roles in the tech industry with LinkedIn Talent Insights categorizing demand for these roles as ‘very high’. This means that it’s harder than ever for firms to attract and retain talent in this pivotal role. Estimates on the number of unfilled positions last year range from as much as 33-50%.
    One of the reasons for the shortage is the rate at which the discipline is moving, with tools and technologies emerging and evolving rapidly. This leads to the absence of a standardized toolset and means that the definition of the role can be dramatically different across companies.
    Based on research with 50 Data Engineers, and in conversation with Dani Solà Lagares (Director of Data at Simply Business) research from technology recruiting firm Stott and May reveals what Data Engineers are looking for, and what potential employers can be doing to increase their chances of snagging top talent. Here are the four top tips to come out of the research.
    1. Give them a clearly defined role.
    When looking for a new role, Data Engineers need to see a detailed and realistic job description. 72% testified that this was the most important factor in whether or not they will apply. If an employer doesn’t have this nailed down, then Data Engineers will pass up the opportunity in favor of an employer who has a clear idea of what needs to be done. ‘Give candidates a sense of the projects they will be working on and the stakeholders they will be engaging with,’ says Dani Sola. ‘Even more importantly, provide some narrative on the type of impact you expect key initiatives to make.’
    2. Provide the right technology stack.
    48% of Data Engineers stated that the technology stack they will be working with is the most important consideration in accepting a role. Because the technology stack has so much to do with what their day-to-day work will look like, it’s important that the fit is right. ‘Technical skillsets could vary dramatically from Kafka, Kafka Streams, Scala, Kotlin knowledge, advanced SQL, data warehousing skills, Python, the list goes on,’ says Dani. ‘It is important, however, to paint a picture of your requirements without asking candidates to tick every skillset that’s ever existed in data engineering.’
    3. Benchmark to ensure you’re offering a competitive salary.
    According to the research, 42% of Data Engineers say they are most likely to jump ship because their salary and benefits are below market rate. It’s important to make sure you are benchmarking your salaries against your competitors, and offering a competitive compensation package if you want to retain in-demand talent. ‘In my view, one of the major reasons engineers move on is that the initial value proposition of the role in that organization has not lived up to expectations,’ says Dani. ‘Don’t sell a dream and deliver a nightmare. If you’re authentic and invest in your team’s personal development that can go a long way.’
    4. Don’t wear them out with excessive interview steps.
    Data Engineers’ time is very important, so if they are being asked to jump through too many hoops, they are liable to simply look elsewhere. If you’re looking to recruit a Data Engineer, try to streamline the recruitment process as much as possible so that you can make an assessment of their fit without losing momentum. ‘Keep talent engaged during the hiring process,’ says Dani. ‘Create a sense of your culture and values. Make great first impressions as a potential employer. Interviewing should be about making the candidate feel at ease and creating an environment where they can show themselves at their best.’
    David Struth is Head of Marketing at Stott and May.

    Share this post: More