Accountability is the degree to which responsibility is
taken or given. Partnership is a formal agreement between two or more parties.
They’re also two words that can almost always explain why
your recruiter has not delivered what you required. Exclusivity goes a long way
to explaining the difference between the dedicated and the undedicated when it
comes to recruitment.
Before delving deeper it’s important to clear up what
exclusivity means. Yes, a dictionary would define it as something restrictive
or perhaps as exclusionary. Exclusivity means so much more than this and is
also much more positive than that kind of description gives the impression of
it as.
The simple fact is, in recruitment, exclusivity is freeing.
Whilst you are engaging one recruiter for a set period of time with an
agreement to pay portions of the agreed-upon amount when certain targets are
hit, it does mean that more energy is committed to finding you candidates you
need, within that time, and for those payments.
We all know the standard way things are done in this space:
multiple contingency recruiters are set the task with no payment upfront, they
all agree, they weigh up how much time they can dedicate to the task before they
give up because it is costing them money to search and they look, sometimes
successfully, most times unsuccessfully. Rinse and repeat.
In the system above, there is no real accountability. There
is an illusion of accountability. It is an unspoken rule that recruiters will
try, and if they fail, some other recruiters will be found to complete the
task. The impetus is on the employer to organise waves of recruiters, none of
whom can dedicate a lot of time to the search, and to keep going until the job
is done. This leads to a lot of job board searches and communications with
candidates who are actively seeking jobs, as going deeper to find prospects is
a much more time consuming task.
Specialist recruitment partners work in a different way and
they are not afraid of accountability. In fact, they thrive on it. But how do
you select that recruiter?
It comes down to three things:
Specialism
If there is no specialism, how can you differentiate one
recruiter from another? Why go for a recruiter who does not have the time or
inclination to really learn about your business? Knowing a partner has the
knowledge already to operate on the same level as the candidates you are hoping
to hire really gives great peace of mind.
Track Record
With specialism comes a strong track record. The hard
lessons that a contingency recruiter may learn while working for you have
already been learned, so they hit the ground running. They are also operating
on a totally different playing field to the contingency recruiter, in that they
have not ever been allowed to shy away from the challenge, so the experience
they have is genuine and hard won.
Passion
The drive and enjoyment of seeing that job right through to
the end. The love for the sector your company is in. These things cannot be
forced or faked. The candidates you really want, can sense this.
Add to this, the fact that specialist recruitment partners will work with you to perfect job specs and strategy including cooperatively reworking the plan if a course of action is not producing results, means that you will be getting a lot more for your money than you were previously.
Curious about how Zenshin Talent can help your organisation? Contact us today for a no-strings conversation about your needs and our experience.
Running an inquisitive eye over the two types of candidates…
With the power pendulum swinging back from employers to
employees and candidates, the job market has caused many businesses to question
just what it is they are doing and what they want from their team.
One of the major sticking points is the difference between
junior talent and senior experts, and which ones will suit the needs of the
company or fit into the company’s future business plans. Taking on someone with
lots of potential yet little experience, or choosing a track record which is in
serious demand, can be one of the hardest choices in recruitment.
Dwindling supplies of top tier candidates, who are snapped
up almost instantly for well-paying roles has driven organisations to test the
waters of seeking out the untested and the university leavers.
Whether they are straight out of Uni, an apprentice, someone
from the workforce who has retrained or someone who is turning a hobby into a
career, they should never be discounted from these niche roles. Aside from
reasonable salary expectations and a willingness to develop, one of the main
reasons to seriously consider these candidates is that they are usually
extremely up-to-date in terms of the software they use. They may also be
looking for some kind of guarantee of progression within the company.
On the flipside, the experienced candidate will be able to
start working straight away, not needing much help. By this point in their
careers, the experienced candidates will know what they do and don’t want. They
will accept the offer or they will reject it. There will be very little
hesitation or dawdling. If your retention rate is important to you, you may
desire this type of candidate.
If you are looking for a quick impact, go with the
experienced prospect. If you desire a individual who intends to have a deeper
impact, then select a new talent. Where your business is, financially, can have
an impact on who you choose. It is a delicate balancing act because experienced
candidates will cost more in this climate, yet spending time on new blood can
cost more in time, which in turn, costs more in money in the long run.
With most companies, a balance should usually be found
between experience and junior talent. If you choose a new talent, you are
choosing someone who knows about the newest innovations and has energy, ideas
and passion. The experienced hand has been through this stage of their life and
are seeking something more stable where they can use the skills they have
gained to benefit your company.
Efficiency can only be achieved with the right mix and if
your company has little experience of onboarding junior talent or of creating
something like Data Team, you will need to bring in experience consultants or
dedicated specialist recruitment partners, who can utilise their years of
experience to help you get that mix right.
If the pandemic has shown us anything, it is that investment in the future has been neglected in favour of the hunger for short term gains. Now that organisations are waking up to that fact, one of the ways they are making up for it is by dedicating resources towards junior talent. Hiring them, yes, but also investing in their future in order to retain the talent. They will come to the business trained in a certain discipline with an aptitude with certain programs, but their skillset must be developed so that their soft skills are on point for the company’s future.
Curious about how Zenshin Talent can help your organisation? Contact us today for a no-strings conversation about your needs and our experience.
It really adds up to treat your team like human beings
A business which conducts itself with purpose and
professionalism naturally elevates itself above the competition. A relentless
drive to increase in size in order to satisfy shareholders can serve to reduce
the people who work there to figures, robots even.
Whether a company chooses to take this route or not, will
define its future. Thankfully, more companies are adopting the path towards a
mission that is not just based on money, but on treating employees with
respect, acknowledging that they hold the keys to the future of the business.
Seeking meaning through actions is what humans do, and work
is no different. Yes, we all want to be sufficiently recompensed for our time,
and perks are nice to have too, but the realising of potential and a sense of
contributing meaningfully are major factors in the long-term mental well-being
of employees. Allowing workers to learn and grow means the good of the company
goes beyond fulfilling the goals of the business but can emerge out into the
society around it, benefitting those who may be outside of the immediate area
of influence.
When it comes to recruitment, it is easy to spot employers
who are engaged. It can be as simple as hiring managers replying to emails or
responding to candidate resumes in a timely fashion. For all the sound and fury
surrounding the search for new prospects to fill job roles, if what follows the
flurry of activity is the metaphorical sound of crickets, a specialist
recruitment partner starts to begin to understand why the hiring has been a long
drawn out process so far.
But just because an employer isn’t engaged with these issues
doesn’t mean they don’t want to be. It can be difficult asking for help when
you don’t really know what kind of help you need or how to go about starting
the process.
Finding support throughout this can be hard, if you are
starting from scratch, as an organisation has either made steps towards being
responsive and responsible, or it hasn’t. If it hasn’t, then it can feel like
an uphill struggle. All companies make noises about listening to their
employees but the difference between intending to do something and actually
going through with it, is huge.
Processes and systems need to be in place, and putting them
there takes time. Companies can and do change but change is often slow-paced.
Relationships can be complex and there may be a lot to unpack.
Having an experienced specialist recruitment expert onside
can help greatly. They will have experience of sorting the strategy for
onboarding new candidates within your sector, will possess knowledge of the
values shared by all of the different generations you may be recruiting and
they can promote your new way of doing things to the candidates as if they are
an external observer.
Within Data, AI and Cloud, it is important to view new
technology as a way to enhance the potential of your workforce rather than a
way of enslaving them to an omnipresent company presence. There will always be
doubters who misunderstand the aims, or those who are old-school who attempt to
mould what is happening to fit their standard worldview. Specialist recruitment
partners are outside and have a better overview of how things are going and
where things may be going wrong.
Responsive businesses will treat all the people in and
around the business with dignity, pays fairly, challenges and reassesses its
values in the face of criticism, develops an environment of accountability and nurturing
where people can thrive and will help the company thrive, in return.
Companies must adapt during these times. Showing
appreciation, encouragement and consideration is not a weakness. Getting fully
involved in the recruitment should not draw you away from your current
responsibilities. If you have the right help on your side, these problems will
not even be a concern anymore.
Curious about how Zenshin Talent can help your organisation? Contact us today for a no-strings conversation about your needs and our experience.
With recruiting budgets increasing and priorities shifting,
2022 looks set to be another wild ride.
Will the talent shortage continue? Will the demand continue
unabated? We thought we would look into the predicted trends for the year
ahead.
The drive to hire the very best during a time when all of
the obvious quality candidates have been snapped up, means that there is a
reassessment of what makes a prospect suitable. Qualifications that are
relevant but not necessarily degree level are now causing recruiters to
reprioritise what is really important. This may include years of experience and
the requisite soft skills, the latter being regarded as unimportant by most
recruiters in exchange for hard skills.
Diversity is also coming into focus as it has been found
that those who are underrepresented usually have great soft skills and the
diversity happens naturally when this is taken into account, so it is a win-win
for everyone to view recruiting like this. Add to that, the fact that those
without a degree are likely to remain with a company for a third longer than
those who do.
Diversity should always be an integral business strategy
component. DEI is important to job seekers and they expect to read about it on
job specs or hear about it during preliminary chats. Businesses should expect
to answer tough questions from candidates who are no longer accepting a little
bit of ill-thought out corporate text regarding this issue. They want to know
where the investment is going.
Of course, remote work or hybrid work are still going to be
a reality for a lot of workers in 2022. Amongst those seeking jobs, flexibility
is the emerging priority. More and more job ads are including the amount of
flexibility. With hybridity came fatigue, with workers struggling to adapt and
adaptation is now becoming a major focus. It has been a steep learning curve
and it will level off in the near future.
Data, AI, Cloud and IT demand will continue to be very much
in demand. Job vacancies are still rising and going unfilled. UK tech
investment was at £18bn during the middle of 2021 and that will remain.
Companies will, however, be ready for the uncertainty as opposed to the way
things were in 2020 and 2021. Long term planning is the name of the game now
and, as ever, it will be interesting to see where we are at the end of the
year.
Reskilling was something that was on few organisations’ radar
before the pandemic but it is now important due to factors such as power
swinging to the employees rather than the employers when it comes to the job
market, the need for more skills especially within IT, Data and digital realms
and the ethos of the new generations who want to stay with companies and make a
difference, seeing a focus on professional development as a step in the right
direction.
Companies benefit from lower turnover of staff, with those
who are committed and mobile within a company staying twice as long as those who
are not. This is a job for recruiters, whether internal or external recruitment
partners, and also HR, who need to find ways that make sense for internal
mobility.
Companies being genuine is something a lot of candidates are looking for. In response to the pandemic, candidates have reprioritised and are now no longer tolerating being seen as robots. In the past, businesses have been able to push this to the limit of acceptability and now there is pushback. Looking after an employees mental well-being was a hot button issue during the lockdowns and now we are out of lockdown, those employees are asking why they have tolerated this. Genuine care, attention and support show them that they are not just a number in a company.
Curious about how Zenshin Talent can help your organisation? Contact us today for a no-strings conversation about your needs and our experience.
Open up to a bright new way of doing things this year
In this new year, it is important to remember that we can
only move forward if we are willing to think differently, question and even
reject the old ways of doing things. Change is a hard challenge but if the past
two years have taught us anything, it is that things left to chance will not
get you to the point you need to be at quickly enough.
The need to separate past, present and future is paramount
if a company has any ambition for the future. As the old L.P. Hartley quote
goes: the past is a foreign country, they do things differently there. When you
look at how you used to do business or you used to do recruitment maybe five,
ten, twenty years ago, you wouldn’t recognise the organisation.
Things move on, sometimes on purpose, sometimes accidentally
and sometimes forced by external pressure, but always necessarily. If your
company is striving to be in control of its destiny, everything it should be
doing should be on purpose, or at least in anticipation of market forces.
Whilst it is not always possible to tell what shape your
team will be in the future based on where it is in the present, strategy is
key. It has been known for some organisations to hire double the amount of
workers within a role, under the misbegotten expectation that the role’s
workload will double in the near future.
This is usually based on the misunderstanding of what is
required and how these data teams work. This can be based on panic from
management who wish to make sure they have enough support and not wishing to
show their lack of knowledge of that specific field. It can also happen due to
a misguided idea that resources will be saved if there is a double hire during
interviewing. Either way, it usually isn’t necessary and necessitates a need
for deeper understanding of teams. Resources may be better spent on an external
expert or a specialist recruitment consultant used to building data teams.
Starting a team small makes it more manoeuvrable.With
ever-shifting priorities, more agile teams are required within businesses,
especially start-ups. The hiring should also be agile. Scaling-up, one expert
team member at a time, is the way to go for smaller teams.
However you feel about data teams, or whatever your beliefs,
one thing is crystal clear: the old ways don’t work for data teams. The idea,
which can be prevalent amongst management, that a one-size-fits-all
multi-disciplinarian in data science will solve all your problems, is wrong.
Firstly, someone like that who is a genius is as rare as
hen’s teeth and, thus, totally in-demand and earning the big bucks. Secondly,
if they are not a genius, they are a jack-of-all-trades and a master of none.
Doing the opposite and just hiring a large team can result
in an unwieldy process. The natural instinct to cover all bases is
understandable but can waste time and money, and create bigger problems further
on down the road. There can be no more burying of heads in the sand.
The prime plan should involve a younger, diverse and, most
importantly to start off with, small team. The team’s skills should all
complement each other and there can always be external help brought in. Skill
development should be baked into the plan as these young prospects will be
looking to stay with a company that values them, and the company will reap the
value in the long term.
Information on their oft skills and passion should be sought after during their interviews and it all boils down to slotting them into the team you are building. There are experts out there who are adept at building data teams and if you need help, just ask for it.
Curious about how Zenshin Talent can help your organisation? Contact us today for a no-strings conversation about your needs and our experience.
