With the Covid-19 crisis, more people have been working from
home and, in doing so, have been exposed to more technology than they may have
had to work with prior to the move to home-based working. It was an easier time
back then, when people could avoid technology if they really wanted to, relying
on the IT department to help them with their set-up and passwords. The future
will require more ‘Tech Savvy’ workers so we are looking at how that can become
a reality for your business.
Some tech-friendly workers have left jobs because their company wasn’t willing to supply them with newer digital tools. 40%, according to a Randstad poll. Others have actively avoided those new tools if they were given the chance to work with them. Your business must position itself to retain both of those types of workers, while ensuring it has a good grip on the future technology that can really aid the business goals moving forward.
So what will the strategy be? The new generation of workers are entering the workforce knowing how to code, use photoshop and own social media, while older workers struggle to use their smartphone.
Training must be the first port of call for your strategy. Informal
group training sessions, perhaps over a Zoom call, can be really useful to
identify knowledge gaps. The environment should be fun and light-hearted, so as
not to intimidate those who are fearful of being exposed as luddites. People do
learn better in informal spaces and this can also encourage them to come
forward, later on down the line, and ask for help with something they are
struggling with. This kind of initiative must be baked in to your company’s
ethos and must be continued after the initial excitement has died down. As we
all know, learning never stops, especially in the tech space.
This can come in especially handy when you bring in new tech
to the business. Your future plans should include these up-to-date investments,
as you do not want your business to mirror the actions of the tech fearful
hold-outs, nervous about the next innovation. The more thrifty amongst you may
not see the purpose of upgrading or changing a perfectly good system, but you
must not rest on your laurels and you must keep ahead of the game when it comes
to your competition. If you do this, your workforce will become more used to
having to learn about tech as part of their roles. As we said before, it has to
be part of your business’ ethos and it all starts from the top.
Patience is required. When people learn, they first usually make mistakes. We learn from our mistakes. Everyone has done it, yet no one seems to remember that they did. We must not spook the tech fearful. If, from the training Zoom call, you identify someone who has fallen so far behind that they cannot do simple things, that person must be encouraged and nurtured to learn and embrace technology. It may require extra work but it will be worth it, because if they can do it, and with your help, you can achieve anything together. If they are using it correctly, this can result in a great ROI.
Research becomes a part of the business. If you can
encourage the whole workforce to embrace tech, your ability to anticipate
changes or even diversify how you do business as opposed to the old way you
used to do business, that will stand you in good stead for future competition.
That knowledge base that you grow within your company, just by encouraging
those within it to become less fearful of technology, becomes useful when you
upgrade your systems. It emboldens them to voice their concerns or ideas. You
can learn where the system has been falling short in terms of handling the
day-to-day business, and they can suggest ways to improve it, or innovations
they have been learning about. Never underestimate the value your workforce can
provide your business when they are engaged with technology.
Curious about how Zenshin Talent can help your
organisation? Contact us today
for a no-strings conversation about your needs and our experience.
Finding a recruitment partner is a pretty bright idea
Businesses are moving away from the free-for-all of generalist recruiters and honing in on dedicated recruitment partners. For some companies this is totally new territory, so what should they be looking for when it comes to recruitment partners? Why go down this route and not rely on generalist recruiters, like they normally do?
Specialism
There has been more of a move away from generalism within
recruitment because, with an influx of highly-skilled and much sought-after
roles in disciplines like data science, the generalists just can’t cut it
anymore. It is not that generalists don’t have their place in the recruitment
eco-system but it is about getting what you need in terms of specific
candidates and avoiding the time drain of endlessly approaching prospects who
are vaguely similar to the type you want and spending time interviewing only to
find that they are not the ones you are looking for. This is about recruiting utilising
expertise and experience, not flailing around trying to find just anyone to put
forward to fulfil a contract.
Reputation
Recruiting partners are usually found via word of mouth or
from a strong online presence. They can demonstrate in-depth knowledge of the
specific field you are working within and know how to source the best
candidates. As it should, word of mouth should be the litmus test for
recruiters. As we have said before, it is a bit of a ‘wild west’ out there,
with new agencies and sole traders popping up daily, a lot of whom do not have
a great deal of experience and do not stick around either. A solid reputation
is a great calling card for the specialist recruitment partner.
Exclusivity
The purpose of recruiting partnerships is to build a
relationship based on mutual respect. While generalists are simply trying to
win fulfilment contracts, the specialist understands that the best work can be
done with exclusivity. This can take the form of target stages, where the
successful completion triggers payment. What you get, ultimately, is a
consultant who understands your company and your problem yet has the
flexibility to meet those needs without draining the company’s resources, which
can happen when the hiring is fully in-house. This also stops the recruiter
fatigue that can happen when multiple generalist recruiters are given the same
task and contact the same candidates over and over.
Sources
Where and how a recruiter finds their candidates illustrates where they are within the recruitment eco-system. Generalist recruiters will sometimes post fake job ads in order to find candidates for the future. This is not best practice but it is not illegal either. What it does do, is serve to alienate possible candidates, who, when they discover the ploy, lose trust in that recruiter. A recruitment partner will be building relationships with candidates, and possibly targeting and approaching those passively looking for a new role. And because they have in-depth knowledge of the sector, they are definitely targeting the correct prospects and they can speak knowledgably about that industry and role.
Curious about how Zenshin Talent can help your organisation? Contact us today for a no-strings conversation about your needs and our experience.
Companies are realising that Cloud Data Analytics are within their reach
Cloud-skilled candidates are in huge demand and a deficit of
those skills within a company is the main stumbling block holding back the next
stages after successful adoption of Cloud within businesses today. To remain
competitive, how can a business ensure that it has a team ready for the Cloud initiatives
that will spell success in your future?
Experience
The major factor which boosts a Cloud professional’s
desirability to a business is, of course, experience. Those who have worked on
large-scale Cloud projects are much more likely to be hired. The Cloud has been
around for many years, but Cloud Data Analytics is relatively new and its
growth is now outstripping that of AI or ML. The number of skilled individuals
is minimal compared to those two disciplines at the moment, so this means they
are at a premium, with companies making real efforts to keep their existing
Cloud experts. You must support these individuals as feeling like they are not
making a difference is one of the main reasons for them looking for another
role.
Certificates
There is a lot of value being placed on candidates holding
the right certificates and qualifications. The vast majority of those who are
moving into Cloud Analytics swear by the need for correct certs. If they do not
hold one, they should at least be working towards one, in order to make sure
that they stand out amongst the competition. Over half of candidates will hold
a cert and just under a fifth are currently studying for one.
Development
Whilst Covid-19 has been a terrible time for most, some
people have used the time to upskill, including Cloud Data Analysts have been
using the time to upskill and sometimes work on their own Cloud data projects
to gain a greater understanding of the parameters of Cloud. With new projects
starting up after lockdown uncertainty, it is the perfect time to find eager
new Cloud experts, ready to drive your progress forward.
Salary
Companies should value that experience, additional training
and the thirst for knowledge, and quite a lot of them do, with a third of firms
increasing pay for those who earned a certificate. Not just that, but around
two thirds of those companies actually contributed to the cost of those
certificates. This reveals both the need for appropriately skilled individuals
and how important those companies are treating their Cloud-based future. You
will need to offer competitive pay if you are to attract experience.
Team
Building a team with experience first, means you will down
risk, with problems like data loss, cost, time and lack of efficiency, dealt
with. When growing the team, newer talent should then be brought in. You can
make sure these team members receive the correct training, investing in them to
show them that they are valued and there is progression in the future in the
positive culture of your company.
Building a team isn’t easy but if you engage the services of an expert recruitment partner, the hard part of finding those experience individuals is done for you.
Curious about how Zenshin Talent can help your organisation? Contact us today for a no-strings conversation about your needs and our experience.
Empty offices may soon fill up again but is everyone happy?
With the recent report finding that UK employees are the
most reluctant in Europe to return to the office, it raises interesting thoughts
about the changing attitude towards employers in this country but also poses the
question: what is the correct course of action now that lockdown seems to be
easing?
Personio Software, recently conducted a survey of employees
and found that a third of those surveyed had returned to an office environment
as opposed to almost two thirds who had returned there, on the continent.
This news comes on the heels of Andrew Bailey, Governor of
the Bank of England, confessing his doubts that workers will return to a daily
commute once the working from home guidance subsides.
Interestingly, just over a third of those surveyed by
Personio shared that they felt that their employer was resisting a more mixed
working solution in favour of an insistence on office attendance. There is a
clear divide between employees’ and employers’ visions for the future.
It may come as a surprise to some employers that 25%
admitted that they plan to resign if made to work from the office. Workers are
eager for more control of their working conditions.
Yes, finding the correct balance is tough and those who have
already gone through it have found it a steep learning curve. Many workers are
noting a decline in productivity when not in close proximity to their
colleagues. Being in close proximity is, of course, one of the barriers halting
a return to normality. There are two diametrically opposed needs, which cancel
each other out. People need to be around people for productivity’s sake but
also for mental wellbeing.
It is now just over a year since the lockdown came into
force, and we are seemingly trapped in a low morale conundrum. If employees
feel a lack of control over their safety and destiny, they will leave that job,
or feel unhappy within it, which will affect productivity and if they work from
home, away from co-workers, they feel alone and that affects productivity. This
leaves managers with an unenviable task.
This is before we have even mentioned health issues or
home-schooling, which certainly have an impact on time and energy and can lead
to serious fatigue.
With the roll-out of vaccines, it looks like we are really
turning a corner. The optimists amongst us hope for this to be completed around
summer, but the realist knows that this may drag on until the new year. A lot
of businesses, struggling to stay above water, need this to happen sooner
rather than later and their desperation is palpable.
Companies need to be realistic and seriously consider
adopting hybrid working styles, when it is safe to do so. Any who have been
stalling on investment in technology, should notice the sea change amongst
their employees and recognise that things have truly changed. It took Covid-19
to accelerate the uptake of remote working aided by new software services which
make it possible to perform group tasks outside of the office. Obviously, as we
mentioned before, people need face-to-face interaction, so the tech side is not
a silver bullet, but until Covid-19 has been vanquished, senior managers must
make decisions to preserve their workforce and, ultimately, their business.
What this really comes down to is communication. Employers must listen to their employees’ concerns. With communication comes understanding and discussion and resolution. One thing that definitely negatively impacts quality and quantity of an employee’s work is their feeling that they are not valued or listened to. A thing that should come out of this crisis, it is that we should not lose sight of the fact that there is always time to listen.
Curious about how Zenshin Talent can help your organisation? Contact us today for a no-strings conversation about your needs and our experience.
We have been thinking lately about the differences between a
good recruiter and a bad recruiter. Now we are not saying that bad recruiters
aren’t trying hard at their job, but as we have said in the past, not all
recruiters are made equal. So, what are the tell-tale signs of a bad recruiter?
Social media is a great tool if used correctly and can
really help your message reach further, yet a lot of recruiters seem to
misunderstand its uses. Advertising open job roles in a scattergun approach
across all social media is a sign of a bad recruiter. It is spam and it is a
waste of time. A targeted approach should be adopted, prioritising research and
real connection as opposed to generic messages. Also, creating content with
real value is a neat way to boost credibility.
Speaking of generic, generic emails are another area in
which the bad recruiter excels, and we don’t mean that in a good way. From the
outside, the bad recruiter is using their time productively. Sending out
generic emails means the message will hit a lot of inboxes. The problem is that
unless the message is tailored and candidate-centric, this approach is likely
to alienate prospects. The message is clear: I don’t spend much time on my
emails so I won’t spend much time on you. And for most candidates who are
looking for work, they will have witnessed those two things align more than
once in the past. Having an understanding of candidates, and which candidate would
fit the role perfectly, is a skill not all recruiters possess and having the
time to craft that email which will show them that they matter, is the mark of
a recruiter with time management skills and real business acumen.
A recruiter is essentially tasked with communicating the
needs of the business to the candidate and communicating the suitability of the
candidate to the business. One must be adept at communication but bad
recruiters fail in this task again and again. The bad recruiter, once a
candidate is found to be unsuitable, will likely drop them like a hot potato.
No follow up email or call. No feedback on areas for improvement. No please, no
thank you, just silence. And in fields such as data, where the skillset
required is so specific, this attitude makes zero sense. Once the candidate has
outlived their usefulness to the bad recruiter, they are cast aside. This
one-sided relationship is infuriating to the job seeker and it is completely
understandable why recruiters get a bad name because of it. The bad recruiter
does not empathise and put themselves in the shoes of the candidate. It is made
clear: this is transactional and you could just be anybody. Aside from being
quite cruel, it is also a very short-term mindset. Treating people with respect
can pay dividends in the future, it just takes a little more of your time. Companies
are missing out on the perfect candidate because of this course of action. If
you were a candidate who was treated like nothing by a specific recruiter in
the past, would you bother to answer their call or email next time?
Adding to the lack of trust, the bad recruiter works in
fakery and falsehoods. This can come in the form of fake job ads, telling lies
and false social media communication. An obvious trick that they employ is
posting a fake job ad in order to capture new prospects for the future.
Companies are impressed by a large database of potential hires but how many
companies ask the question about how the bad recruiter came by these prospects?
At every turn, the bad recruiter erodes trust. Every action is driven by
short-term results. Similar to the fake job ad scam, is the fake Linkedin
connection. Claiming that a mutual connection recommended them, the bad
recruiter gains another name for their database, but how many do they lose by
being quite obviously shady? Lying to a candidate about their suitability in
order to deliver a set number of candidates and meet a target is basically a
double lie, once for the prospect and once for the client. At every turn, bad
recruiters are covering their inadequacies, their lack of organisation, their
short-term mindset, their lack of empathy, their poor people skills. We know
what this means for those seeking jobs, but consider what this means for
companies who just want the best candidates to fill their job vacancies.
