Brave new world for Recruitment

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1 Brave new world for Recruitment Climate The UK recruitment sector is currently going through some dramatic changes. According to the CIPD Resourcing and Talent Planning Survey Report 2017 in light of Brexit, organisations expect a 72% increase in competition for well-qualified talent over the next three years, especially for senior and skilled employees. Against this backdrop, the speed of recruitment needs to be increased too, with 41% of HR professionals believing the length of their recruitment process has led to the loss of potential recruits in the last 12 months. The current uncertainty surrounding the economy impacted by Brexit is slowing the rate of migration to the UK, falling 26% in the last year alone, with almost half (44%) of recruiters believing that the UK has become less attractive to candidates from the EU since the referendum. The fallout from this is that skilled, young professionals are now considering other European cities to begin their careers, opposed to taking up roles within the UK. For UK based businesses, they are having to work harder to attract, engage and retain these sought-after individuals. The report is backed up by some startling statistics. EU nationals make up over 7% of the UK s workforce, and the impact of an end to free movement will be a significant challenge for recruiters.

2 The need to attract top talent is confounded by the fact that unemployment is currently at an all time low, so employers do need to do more to attract and then retain their talent. I spoke to a large restaurant chain recently who said they face a staggering 75% shortfall in chef staff, something echoed by Ufi Ibrahim, chief executive of the British Hospitality Association, who said; Some of our members have reported it is becoming harder to hire chefs from outside the UK, as many are being put off by the government s unwillingness to confirm the rights of EU citizens already living here. Other vulnerable industries include construction, engineering, distribution, IT, healthcare according to a report from the Bank of England. Candidates 18-year-olds in all UK nations are more likely than ever to apply to university with applications and graduate numbers at an all time high since records began with 2.32 million students studying in the UK in However in the last year, the number of places taken up at UK based universities has fallen by 2% which may represent a plateau in the rising trend and the small dip in applications has been linked to fewer candidates applying from the European Union. This saturated market of graduates in the UK means that employers are receiving more applications than ever, with employers receiving 9% more graduate job applications year on year. The top candidates are aware of their draw, often applying to multiple roles, placing employer s recruitment processes in direct competition.

3 25% of top graduate employers had gaps in their graduate programs last year as a result of top candidates accepting multiple roles and selecting their chosen employer, leaving others with unfilled positions. With the challenging economic climate, employers quest for the best talent and saturated graduate market, employers are having to work hard to select the right person for the role and working even harder to keep them engaged for the long term, so are turning to new, innovative ways of doing so. Graduates of today have grown up as digital natives from birth, living with technology as a touchpoint throughout their entire lives. They expect technology to be a seamless experience in every aspect. Gen-Z candidates have been active on social media for their entirety, building strong communities and participating in active conversations meaning that their digital influence is a powerful tool when it comes to sharing their experiences, especially life affirming ones, such as applying for and getting a new job. It s important to provide these social beasts with positive and unique experiences that they will be compelled to share with their networks, as they can be instant critics or advocates. In this light the often-repeated fact that customers who have a bad experience are 50% more likely to share it than those who had a good experience takes on a new importance. This is not just true for customer brand experiences but also for all brand experiences. It s important for employers to understand that if you offer a customer product or service, many of your interviewees may be customers.

4 As Tom Hall, co-founder of Contented Brothers said, Today s candidates are not just candidates. They are a potential customer and potential client, each with their own micro-following on social media. 95% of unhappy customers tell others about their experience - These are not the people to piss off. Not acknowledging this was an expensive lesson for Virgin Media, who, according to a widely-publicised report produced by employer branding agency Ph.Attraction, lost 4.4M in 2014 through 7,500 cancelled subscriptions as a result of a poor candidate experience. Referring back to the Resource and Talent Planning survey, there is a shift to improving the perception of an employer s brand. Organisations recognise that values are increasingly important to candidates and employees alike and matching shared values is essential. This generation of candidates expect immediate responses, and expect their commitment to the process to be recognised with feedback, reward or advice. This new generation are conscientious, valuing ethics, work/life balance and fulfilment over more traditional criteria such as salary and perks and they want to share their personal values with a potential employer. A stressful recruitment process can result in skewed results due to capable candidates becoming unnecessarily stressed and their performance during interviews significantly decreases. This may also result in these candidates self-selecting out of the process due to perceived mis-aligned values.

5 1 in 4 graduates quit within a year which raises the issue that the graduates either accepted the role without fully realising what the position entails, or that the recruitment process was not indicative of the reality of the role. This is not only true for graduates. Findings show that the induction or onboarding process is the period where employers see most drop off from new employees, with up to 30% leaving within the first three months. This reinforces the need for the recruitment process to be streamlined, aligning with the ongoing training and development journey; represent good value, as they re experiencing a growth in candidate numbers, and representative of the company values, to create an authentic experience. Workplace As more Intelligence Quotient (IQ) and manual tasks get seeded to AI and automated processes, Emotional Quotient (EQ) Adversity Quotient (AQ) are becoming more of a relevant skill to hone for employees of the future. Not only are companies using more automated services such as AI resume screening services and even facial recognition to analyse candidate s micro facial expressions, many businesses are using AI as a beginning-to-end recruitment process, only physically meeting in person at the final stages of the selection process. A refreshing approach to recruitment comes from one of the most innovative employer brands, Unilever. Flipping the traditional idea of recruitment on it s head, Unilever uses tech to match applicants to the right job. So, rather than applying for a particular role, graduates are matched by the AI system to the best role for them.

6 However, interestingly First Direct are adopting a back to basics approach, taking the recruitment experience offline by hosting speed dating cocktails and careers evenings to help the recruitment team discover more about candidates personalities. The evenings combine an intro to First Direct, speed-dating anc cocktail making, each experience allowing different aspects of the candidates personality and skills to shine in an unconventional setting. It s a strategy that has seen First Direct make several hires. Technology will free up employees to be more productive, creative and strategic, giving them more time to offer tailored solutions and develop a wider understanding of the market. At Contented Brothers we believe that the natural curve towards automation of certain roles through science and technology is a positive movement, complementing the human element in the workplace. Tools which replicate life-like experiences for the user without using up employees time and energy, providing that experience on a one-on-one basis, freeing people up to provide better value elsewhere in the recruitment and training process. We believe that immersive solutions are not only revolutionising the recruitment process, but also for ongoing training and development. It s important to keep your employees engaged and always learning, long after they ve been inducted to the company.

7 Peter Jackson, chief data officer at Southern Water, agreed that employers should develop their team to become holistic members of the brand saying: At the moment, I m trying to up-skill the team in house, because these are people who ve been in the company for a number of years. Jackson added that existing employees already have a comprehensive knowledge of the data: Up-skilling them is a faster route for me than recruiting. This reinforces that in-house training is becoming more valued by employers, up-skilling their existing teams, rather than go through the lengthy and expensive process of recruiting a new team member. It can cost up 6,000+ to hire a graduate (dependant on sector and role) with the average graduate staying in that role for just 18 months. Progressive businesses have always been at the cutting edge or communicating their messages through new and innovative techniques such as video, which has been proven over the years to be powerful in revealing the excitement of working at a firm. However, now virtual reality simulations are clearly a much superior way to reveal the excitement of a job and a company. VR is able to provide a much higher level of excitement, realism and detail to build their employer brand and to excite prospects. Using virtual reality also sends a message to recruiting prospects that the firm is on the leading edge of technology.

8 Recruitment Solutions As more Intelligence Quotient (IQ) and manual tasks get seeded to AI and automated processes, Emotional Quotient (EQ) Adversity Quotient (AQ) are becoming more of a relevant skill to hone for employees of the future. Jaguar and the virtual band Gorillaz partnered up to build fun, skills-based recruiting games as part of a drive to fill more than a thousand electronics and software engineering roles, via a mixed reality app which included code breaking puzzles to, according to Jaguar, test their curiosity, persistence, lateral thinking and problem-solving skills. People who performed well at the code-breaking games were fast-tracked through the recruiting process. Online shopping platform Jet.com used virtual reality to immerse candidates in their company culture, from sitting in on a meeting with CEO Marc Lore, to enjoying the joys of Jet s happy hour and company band - along with some games.. The British Army saw its recruitment applications rise by 66% after offering VR experiences at events across the UK, giving candidates an experience to engage in missions including driving a tank, parachuting, and mountaineering. Even the banking sector has been experimenting, with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) using virtual reality to attract innovative technical talent by positioning itself as an innovative, agile company. At jobs fairs, the bank put users through a series of challenges and decision-making processes which had corresponding benefits and consequences.

9 The Future of Recruitment & Beyond Contented Brothers have developed an Assessment Tool that immerses the candidate in a hyper-real workplace environment and introduces real staff and working practices, which could not be replicated in real life for each and every candidate. We ve been on a journey of discovery creating our immersive assessment platform, learning that the recruitment industry and all businesses recruiting new employees is a barometer of the economic climate, reacting to changes before they impact the rest of the business landscape in many cases. The candidate s needs and behaviours are changing, and businesses are immediately reacting, adjusting and revolutionising their attraction and engagement strategies in response. The Future of Recruitment Meet-Up Wednesday 12th September Central London Register your interest here