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June24619788 September 27, 2018 No Comments

David Tully Joins Resource Solutions as Associate Director

Resource Solutions has appointed David Tully as Associate Director from Global RPO provider Cielo Talent, where he was a New Business Development Director for EMEA.

David has a wealth of experience in business development within the recruitment industry, having also held senior roles at SJB Group (acquired by Experis’ Manpower) and Adecco UK, selling across all their 14 brands, including Spring Technology and Pontoon Solutions.

As Associate Director – Sales, based in the Robert Walters Group Head Office in London, David will be developing business development strategies to drive Resource Solutions’ client-focused ethos and tech-enabled outsourced recruitment solutions. David will spearhead telecommunications, technology and a number of emerging sectors.

Commenting on this recent senior appointment, Joanna Fagbadegun, Resource Solutions’ Sales Director said:

“David’s extensive experience within the RPO and MSP arena will be harnessed to focus on supporting our continuing diversification across a range of sectors. Our long-standing client relationships are at the heart of our business and David will play an instrumental role in generating new business whilst developing deep and lasting relationships with our clients. We are excited to welcome David to the Resource Solutions global family.”

Why Companies Are Turning To Headhunting Firms

There was a time when business leaders resorted to working with headhunters only for the seemingly impossible job searches. Today, companies are changing their perception when it comes to executive search firms with the numbers indicating this trend strengthening over the next decade.

As business and hiring practices continue to evolve, the plight of the headhunter looks to be one of longevity, and business owners may find themselves increasingly reliant on them to fuel their company with fresh talent.

At the same time company leaders are turning an eye towards headhunting firms, they are finding it harder than ever to find good talent using traditional methods. While the value of personnel is better understood and appreciated than ever before, the availability of talent seems more scarce by the minute. Traditionally, internal recruitment teams have filled the vast majority of roles for a company, yet the increasing complexity of today’s job descriptions is proving to be more difficult for corporate recruiters to manage than in years past.

There are simply too many roles at most large companies for a handful of corporate recruiters to adequately recruit for. This is especially true for upper-level positions that may not need to be filled frequently. A corporate recruiter may not have experienced the job search before for these positions.

For a company to have the breadth and range an executive search firm possesses, they would need to employ an entire search firm themselves; fully equipped with the tools, licenses, and operational processes.

Simply put, recruitment firms with specialized teams of recruiters are far more likely to have the experience to find and, more importantly, qualify candidates for specialized roles than corporate recruiters.

Based on the survey responses of nearly 4,000 corporate talent acquisition leaders, 61 percent say their team will stay the same or decrease in size in 2017. One reason for this is companies are warming up to the idea of using search firms for positions that are not commonly filled. While an organization with a large sales team may have no trouble filling average sales roles, the internal recruitment team may struggle to find a director of compensation with the right experience. Not being exposed to the wide range of compensation talent like a headhunter, the internal team is likely to look for individuals with the same job title, and underestimate the importance of the type of experience, varied exposure to both specific and broad-based areas of compensation, and the importance of finding an individual who has worked with a similar company. In the medical field there are general practitioners, and then there are specialists — the headhunter is the specialist.

One clear advantages headhunting firms have over corporate recruiters is the ability to reach out to passive job seekers. Passive job seekers are professionals who are not actively looking for a new job but may be open to new opportunities. Eighty-five percent of professionals in 2017 are open to new opportunities and with recent developments like Linkedin’s “Open Candidate” tool that allows professionals to indicate they are open to conversations with recruiters, the ability to recruit from a company’s competitor is easier than ever for a recruiter. While headhunting firms excel at this, corporate recruiters have limited resources. It takes a much more proactive approach to attract this level of talent than the average active job seeker.

Companies also have a better understanding of the cost of a bad hire these days. Poor hiring decisions can cripple a company’s growth and the data points to bad hires being costlier to an organization than previously thought. Because hiring mistakes are costly, companies are extending their hiring process longer and taking more precautions to guard against making poor personnel choices. This, however, can be a double-edged sword as time-to-hire increases and jobs stay unfilled longer.

While companies are willing to put more effort into finding the right candidate, they still need to fill the jobs in a relatively similar time frame. This is where the speed and efficiency of an executive search firm is attractive to business leaders. The lack of bureaucracy and a focused approach, typically lead to faster time-to-fill and quality candidates.

Top 10 mistakes corporate recruiters make:

Unrealistic job descriptions,
Shotgun approach to marketing jobs,
Recycled job descriptions,
Reliance on dated techniques and processes,
Take time away from hiring managers to explain the job,
Recruit through employees friends,
Too rigid on specs,
Boring communication,
Failure to evolve,
Complacency.

Recruitment Body Looks To Improve Disability Hiring

New data has found that many companies are struggling to source disabled talent – with 70% not knowing where to look.

In response, The Recruitment Industry Disability Initiative (RIDI) has launched RIDI 100 – a directory of recruitment service providers which are committed to the inclusion of disabled jobseekers.

Hoggett Bowers, an executive search firm who recruit for seniuor hires, has been confirmed as the first partner.

Paralympian sets up rec firm to bridge disability employment gap

Karen Wilson, CEO of Hoggett Bowers, RIDI’s commented on why the recruitment firm signed up to the RIDI scheme.

She said: “As Hoggett Bowers, we have been active supporters of the D&I initiative for many years, having worked with some major organisations to help them face challenges as early as the mid 1990’s. We are delighted to be the first RIDI 100 partner; we are also actively participating with The Clear Company as Clear Assured Foundation members.”

Kate Headley, spokesperson for RIDI and subject matter expert, added that recruitment can play a starring role in helping firms find the talent they need.

She added: “We have long known that businesses, while open to hiring disabled individuals, often feel that they ‘don’t know where to start’ when it comes to engaging with disabled candidates.

“However, our latest research underlines the fact that many hiring managers simply don’t know where to turn to even access this valuable talent pool.”

“By creating a dedicated directory of Disability Confident recruiters, we believe we can help businesses to overcome this crucial hurdle.”

June24619788 September 26, 2018 No Comments

Almost 50% Of Candidates Confused About Own Skillset

Over a third of UK workers are put off from applying for new jobs because they don’t understand what skills they need for the role.

New research from recruitment giant Michael Page also discovered that almost half (46%) of workers don’t know which of their skills to show off in job applications.

Nicholas Kirk, UK Managing Director, Michael Page explained that employers – potentially aided by recruiters – could be doing more to stop jobseekers feeling confused.

He said: “It’s clear businesses could be doing more to clarify the skills required for a role.

“Employers are potentially missing out on talent as a result of unclear job listings and must ensure they’re hiring in the most efficient way by listing the specific skills needed for each role.”

According to the US-founded recruitment firm, confusion about what skills are needed has caused a lack of confidence amongst jobseekers.

A third don’t think they would stand out at interview whilst over four in ten leave an interview worried about how they performed.

John Lees, a career strategist and author of How to Get a Job You Love, added Michael Page’s research shows candidates need guiding to understand their own potential.

He said: “These findings demonstrate the need for candidates to not only understand which skills they currently possess, but also be able to do two things: match these skills to the needs of organisations, and talk confidently about them at interview.”

June24619788 September 10, 2018 No Comments

Brexit Strikes: Panasonic To Move Europe Headquarters From UK To Amsterdam

In the run-up to March 2019, a number of multinational firms have said they plan to move jobs out of the UK, including several Japanese financial companies who intend to move their main EU bases away from London.

Panasonic’s decision was driven by a fear that Japan could start considering the UK a tax haven if it cuts corporate tax rates to attract business said Laurent Abadie, Panasonic Europe’s Chief Executive.

If Panasonic ends up paying less tax in the UK, that could in turn make the firm liable for a bigger tax bill in Japan.

Mr Abadie told the Nikkei Asian Review that Panasonic had been considering the move for 15 months, because of Brexit-related concerns such as access to free flow of goods and people.

Panasonic Europe later issued an official statement confirming that it was transferring its regional headquarters from Bracknell in the UK to Amsterdam from 1 October.

The reasons for the move include “improved efficiency and cost competitiveness”.

It said “fewer than approximately 10” people would be affected out of a staff of 30.

“No Panasonic UK business operations will be affected by the EU headquarters move,” the statement added.

Britain voted to leave the EU in 2016, but with less than a year to go, the UK and the EU are struggling to reach consensus on the terms of the exit.

Japan is a major investor in the UK, with over 800 Japanese companies employing more than 100,000 people.

However, financial firms including Nomura, Sumitomo Mitsui and Daiwa have already said they will no longer maintain their EU headquarters in London.

Employers should implement a 4-day work week – and staff should be paid more too

TUC argues that employees – not just bosses and shareholders – should benefit from technological advances in the workplace.

TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady is urging that the working week should be cut to four days as new technology continues to make our jobs more efficient. O’Grady says employees across the country are deserving of a longer weekend and higher pay because too many firms are using technological advances to treat people unfairly. She stresses that bosses and shareholders “must not be allowed to hoover up all the gains from new tech”, and that the benefits should instead allow companies to increase wages and give workers more time with their families.

Research by the TUC, which represents most UK trade unions, shows that most workers expect managers and shareholders will reap the benefits of new technology.

Ms O’Grady will tell the TUC Congress in Manchester today that the results of the survey show that change is needed to ensure workers remain motivated.

“In the 19th century, unions campaigned for an eight-hour day. In the 20th century, we won the right to a two-day weekend and paid holidays,” she will say.

“So, for the 21st century, let’s lift our ambition again. I believe that in this century we can win a four-day working week, with decent pay for everyone.

“It’s time to share the wealth from new technology. Not allow those at the top to grab it for themselves. We need strong unions with the right to go into every workplace – starting with Amazon’s warehouses here in the UK.”

Amazon – which recently became only the second company to reach a market value of $1trn (£779.3bn) – is among the firms to have been accused by the TUC of using technology to take advantage of employees.

The ‘always on’ culture is partly to blame as employers are alleged to be making staff work unpredictable hours. Over 1.4 million people are working on seven days of the week and 3.3 million working more than 45 hours a week.

Stress and long hours were identified by the TUC as workers’ biggest concerns after pay, although more and more jobs are feared to be at risk as artificial intelligence improves.

Experts are worried about a “big bang” moment, where a large number of jobs are automated within a short space of time, with manufacturing, transportation, retail and wholesale the industries thought to be most at risk.

UK wage growth picks up to 2.6%

UK wage growth picked up by more than expected in July, official statistics showed on Tuesday.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported that average total pay in the three months to July rose by 2.6 per cent on the same period a year earlier.

That was up from the previous reading of 2.4 per cent and higher than the 2.4 per cent City of London analysts had expected.

Excluding volatile bonuses, pay was up 2.9 per cent.

In the single month of July regular pay was up 3.1 per cent, the most rapid in three years.

The rise in wages will likely reassure the Bank of England that its key judgement about the UK economy – that slack is almost gone and that this will result in inflationary wage pressure – is correct.

The Bank raised interest rates to 0.75 per cent in August, forecasting that wage growth this year would be 2.5 per cent, rising to 3.25 per cent in 2019.

“The labour market figures suggest that competition for workers is finally starting to provide greater support to wages,” said Andrew Wishart of Capital Economics.

“Surveys of wage growth suggest that it will sustain a pace of about 3 per cent over the remainder of the year.”

The ONS also reported on Tuesday that the UK’s strong employment growth this year is levelling off, with a quarterly rise in the numbers in work of just 3,000.

However, the employment rate remained at 75.5 per cent, close to a record high.

And the jobless rate was steady at 4.1 per cent.

“With the number of people in work little changed, employment growth has weakened. However, the labour market remains robust, with the number of people working still at historically high levels, unemployment down on the year and a record number of vacancies,” said David Freeman of the ONS.

Recruiting and Retaining Top Talent Remains Biggest HR Challenge

In an environment plagued by skills shortages, finding and retaining talent remains the biggest HR challenge in 2018: half (51%) of HR managers say they struggle to find people with the right skills to do the job, according to a new survey by AXELOS, custodian of some of the world’s most sought-after certifications.

Adding to the pressure is an awareness that hiring the wrong external candidate now costs in the region of £17,000* (£16,843, to be precise), according to the 500 HR managers questioned by AXELOS. That sum covers recruitment fees, advertising, assessment of applications, interviews, induction and training (onboarding), and the first three months of salary (£7810); it also factors in such negatives as poor work outputs, loss of productivity, disruption to projects and then the cost of putting things right by recruiting someone new (£9033).

To address the skills gap and prepare their workforce for the digital economy, 41% of businesses now favour training and up-skilling existing employees for new roles, while a similar proportion (41%) say they will recruit entry-level candidates who will receive training once they are in place.

But one-fifth (21%) of businesses say they find it difficult to find the budget to train and up-skill existing employees to meet their needs, and 22% say that it is a struggle to get employees to participate in continued professional development (CPD). Bearing these challenges in mind, 42% of businesses say that promotions for existing employees with relevant skills will be conditional upon no need for further training, while just over a third (36%) of businesses will continue to recruit talent externally.

While these measures might seem expedient, AXELOS warns that organisations that fail to invest in training and CPD for their staff could be damaging their employee brands and even their human capital. This assertion is supported by a separate survey of 1,000 employees, also conducted by AXELOS: over half (55%) of respondents say they would prefer to remain with their current employer, but only if new career and training opportunities are on offer.

Fortunately, digital badges for qualifications and CPD provide some new hope when it comes to both recruitment and retention. In fact, their growing adoption is bringing multiple benefits on both sides of the employer/employee equation.

By engaging in CPD and adopting digital badging for new certifications, employees are demonstrating a commitment to growth and development that will favour their internal mobility. At the same time, digital badges can showcase an individual to existing and potential employers, emphasising the credibility and currency of their professional qualifications. 55% of employees will take a more favourable view of businesses offering CPD and digital badges, saying that they are more likely to remain loyal to an employer that invests in CPD; if it comes to finding a new job, they are likely to see an organisation offering CPD as more attractive.

For the employer, digital badges represent a proven and effective way for HR departments, hiring managers and recruiters to ensure that candidates have up-to-date skills which are relevant to the job in question. At the same time, digital badges enhance employee satisfaction, since they demonstrate the employer’s commitment to investing in improving the skills of its workforce and encouraging loyalty among its employees. 30% of HR managers agree that digital badges motivate employees to participate in CPD.

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