3 practical steps to build a skills based talent strategy

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The road to a skills-based future

3 practical steps to build a skills based talent strategy

Contributors:

Author:
Kirstin Schulz
Head of Consulting, Talent Acquisition and Advisory – EMEA, AMS

Author:
Nikki Hall
Chief People Officer, AMS

Editor:
Nicola Matson
Head of Technology and Analytics Advisory – EMEA, AMS

Section 1

What we’ve learned so far

Skills-based approach in talent acquisition and management

A few years into the rise of skills-based approaches in talent acquisition (TA) and talent management (TM), it’s time to reflect: What have we learned? How has the conversation evolved? And most importantly, what tangible results have we seen?

A skills-based approach refers to an increased focus on skills during the hiring process to attract a diverse pool of candidates that can contribute their expertise to valuable work. In our work with many organizations, we have encountered the full range of views: From organizations still undecided on the value of skills-based approaches, to those experimenting in specific areas, and others fully committing to large-scale transformations across the entire talent lifecycle. We’ve also noticed that “skills-based” has become an umbrella term, encompassing different strategies and methods of implementation. Each approach aims to drive impactful change and revolutionize how talent is managed to and achieve organizational outcomes.

In this guide, we’ll share insights from our own skills journey, as well as from our work with other organizations, illustrating how we’ve learned that moving to a skills-based organization is a journey with many twists and turns—a journey that requires thoughtful planning with an ability to pivot and an open mind to learn and adjust along the way.

There is no one way of doing it

In its most transformational form, becoming a skills-based organization means shifting away from “job roles” with fixed remits and responsibilities embedded within a defined organizational structure. Instead, the focus should be placed on identifying, developing and deploying employee skills to deliver work across functional or role boundaries.1,2

For others, a skills-based model emphasizes integrating skills throughout the entire talent lifecycle, providing clearer visibility into the skills required for jobs, assignments or projects. It further emphasizes putting skills at the centre of all HR and talent practices, from hiring through to performance management, reward, mobility, promotion and L&D interventions, while leaving the concept of roles, jobs and organizational hierarchies broadly untouched.

This is not surprising, given that organizations differ in their appetite for change and in how they are impacted by macroeconomic talent trends.

Regardless of your approach, the desired and expected benefits are mostly wide-ranging and transformative, such as the following:

  • Improved ability to identify and re-train employee segments whose skills will become obsolete
  • Improved talent outcomes like retention of high performers
  • Improved diversity outcomes
  • Improved resource and skill utilization
  • Improved organizational agility, effectiveness and ability to ward off the impact of well-documented skill shortages.

What can skills-based hiring look like for organizations?

From a TA perspective, we have seen skills-based approaches applied mostly through challenging a long-held focus on attributes such as education, degree requirements, job title and experience. There has been a lot of valuable discussion about how a shift away from these traditional job requirements and candidate search criteria can help widen the talent pool and have positive impacts on diversity metrics.3,4 For instance, we helped one organization, implement skills-based TA as part of their attraction campaign to foster an inclusive culture.

On the other hand, some organizations put the focus mostly on identifying transferable and adjacent skills during the sourcing process. The pandemic has taught us some interesting lessons here, as flight attendants were quickly retrained to assist medical staff 5, and companies like Unilever reported the redeployment of 8,000 employees and 30,000 employee hours.6 Many of our sourcing teams can showcase their own successes. For example, we have sourced outside-industry talent at scale for one of our Financial Services clients, discovering candidates who wouldn’t have been considered before. Another notable success was hiring talent from entirely different backgrounds, such as hiring watchmakers for hard-to-fill service technician roles for medical devices; though the “object” might be different, the underlying skill set of manual dexterity and the ability to work with fine and delicate machinery is transferable.

In our experiences, the extent of which organizations embed skills-based approaches into their hiring processes and principles can vary significantly: From an increased focus on skills during the hiring process, through to redesigning the operating model (see visual). While many organizations have made progress with the first category of interventions, the second remains ambitious for many.

And a final observation – when approaching skills-based practices through the lens of TA, the perspective of candidates should never be an afterthought: When you “sell” the prospect joining a world of opportunities where you can apply and grow your skills, but instead ending up in a standard role with a defined remit, and no obvious path to ‘what next’ – who is accountable for ensuring that the skills-proposition delivers on its promise?

Keeping focused on the business outcomes you are trying to drive throughout the move to a skills-powered talent journey is critical. It’s easy to lose sight of this when you are in the midst of implementation, especially when evaluating the rapidly changing technology options available, including AI, as well as developing your skills taxonomy. We benefited from a strong PMO and expert consultants to help us evaluate the options available to us.

– Nikki Hall, Chief People Officer, AMS

Section 2:

Three practical steps to build a skills based strategy

1. Choose a starting point

The first question is where do we start? Should we take strategic leaps or focus on specific areas like hiring, talent management or talent marketplace? Implementing skills-based approaches varies by organization. For some organizations, we have started with skills-based hiring initiatives, while for others, we began with a talent marketplace or a skills-driven LMS. Ultimately, the best approach depends on selecting one or several use cases that address a clear business challenge. Once the use case is identified, a solid business case for change is essential: Whether seeking commitment for a small pilot or embarking on a complex transformation with a technology implementation, project sponsors will need to secure buy-in for resources, time and investment. For large-scale initiatives with ambitious goals, clearly defined workstreams, subject matter experts (SMEs), a robust PMO and strong governance will be crucial. Additionally, a well-thought-out change management and adoption strategy is vital: Although integrating skills throughout the entire talent and HR lifecycle feels logical and intuitive, change impacts can feel overwhelming once you get into the operational detail.

Finally, you will need the right technology partner. Whether they are already within your existing tech stack or one you need to procure, it’s important to allocate enough time for a thorough vendor selection process to ensure you choose technology that will evolve and grow with you as you expand. Be clear on your use cases and how they shape your requirements, ask the right questions, and understand the vendors’ product roadmap to ensure long-term alignment. In particular, the foundational skills ontologies and capabilities of AI in identifying relevant skills and skills connections have accelerated in recent years and should now be able to do much of the heavy lifting. However, it’s important to remember that having skills mapped in a technology is only half the battle—getting business leaders and people managers on board is just as critical. This is because considering talent with transferable or adjacent skills often sparks a conversation about trainability, upskilling, time-to-competency and the necessary resource investments, which your HR teams need to be prepared for.

2. Plan and run a skills program

As outlined above, there are a lot of ways to approach a skills program and many methods of running it. In this section, we’ll review some common principles to consider.

  • Understand the broader business context: It may sound obvious, but it is worth spending time fully understanding the wider business context in which you are running the program. How will the program contribute to your organizational business strategy, how will you manage the risk of funding being challenged? Are there any other key change initiatives that could inadvertently create challenges if you send conflicting messages or underestimate the impact of change?
  • Establish strong governance: This project will likely compete with other HR and non-HR projects, so getting early sight of adjacent projects that might affect or impact your skills transformation is useful—as is fully understanding any other changes that may hit the workforce at the same time.
  • Focus beyond technology: Don’t treat this as just a “technology implementation.” While technology is the enabler of change, there are many other crucial elements to consider for success. Understanding how much of the process is system-enabled vs. what will happen offline, and identifying which HR policies, ways of working and embedded behaviors will need to change are all key factors in resource planning and change management. Taking a holistic view will ensure the solution is properly integrated into your organization’s broader objectives.
  • Map out the transformation program: Tackling a large transformation can feel overwhelming, so it’s crucial to clearly outline each element of the program, including launch timelines and target audiences (enterprise vs. pilot groups). Creating small, sprint-like testbeds for new processes or functionalities will help you avoid tunnel vision and help clarify questions that will directly impact user experience and adoption, such as:

    – How will AI improve the accuracy of an individual’s skills profile? – What are the potential side effects of self, manager or peer skill ratings?

    – How will you manage the process for assigning and accepting skills-based gig opportunities?

    – Does the UI feel intuitive and engaging?

    – What language will resonate most with users?

  • Create effective workstreams: Whether the transformation is large or small, creating the right workstreams with the right collaboration approach is important:

    – Technology and systems: Extending or implementing a skills-based approach to hiring or talent management will likely include some kind of technology enabler, either through extending what you already have in place or implementing new ones.

    – Process and experience: SMEs accountable for understanding the depth and breadth of talent process changes must understand the effects on different user groups.

    – Change, communications and adoption: Probably the most critical of all workstreams—SMEs leading on this will need to be well-versed in understanding change impacts and getting to the hearts and minds of all impacted users. Anticipating concerns, signposting change, embedding the initiatives in a compelling narrative and creating a strategy to maximize adoption is critical.

    – Project management and governance: Successfully coordinating all activities, managing and mitigating risks and ensuring you have the right governance in place is the accountability of the PMO. Depending on the size of your program, you may be unlikely to map out the entire journey at the start. Agility is important, especially if you must work in new product releases with changes to assumed features and functionalities that you thought you bought, and other little curveballs that might occur.

  • Always tie decisions back to your core objectives and the KPIs you aim to improve. Whether it’s reducing external hiring costs, identifying workforce segments that will require upskilling or boosting employee sentiment, regularly reviewing your success criteria will help you stay focused and avoid getting distracted by issues that don’t significantly impact your goals.

3. Identify the enablers and obstacles you need to prepare for

  • Your approach to skills – The way you approach skills can significantly impact the success of your project and has the potential to stall the project early on if you get tied up in knots. While some vendors may suggest you “just get started” and let their AI handle the rest, it’s important to critically evaluate how their approach affects key areas, such as skill accuracy and user experience. Here are a few factors to consider:

    – Broad vs. specific skills: Skills can range from general, like “Leadership” or “Communication,” to highly specific, like “Python programming for machine learning.”

    – Customization of skills: The flexibility to add, remove or adjust skills, as well as link skills to others and define skill levels can differ across platforms.

    – Linking skills to roles: Some systems allow skills to be tied directly to roles, while others focus on linking them to individuals. It’s also important to check if skills can be pushed to individuals in key roles.

    – Skill ratings and validation: How skills are rated, validated and used for decisions (such as promotions, hiring decisions or simply deciding which next online course you should take) should be clearly mapped out to ensure accuracy and fairness.

  • Minimum viable product (MVP) – Defining and agreeing on an MVP will help you determine if you are comfortable going live with a piece of functionality. Aiming for perfection from Day 1 is only going to delay the launch—incremental improvements can be tackled in the next stage.
  • Managing change and adoption through pilot groups and feedback – In a global, matrixed organization, different regions and cultural perspectives often influence views on which functionalities are most critical and how best to drive system adoption. Aligning user groups and senior leadership expectations can be challenging. However, establishing a clearly signposted “release roadmap,” testing your assumptions via pilot groups and sounding boards to gather feedback and socializing your plans can significantly improve alignment and adoption.

In conclusion…

The idea of a skills-based organization is very attractive and makes intuitive sense. Whether you are an ardent supporter fully on the journey or experimenting in small pockets, expectations are high. If executed well, it has the potential to truly re-frame how we think about “talent” and how we tackle the talent puzzles many organizations are facing. However, the impact of a skills-based model depends on how it’s implemented—and some may argue, “Haven’t we always hired, promoted and developed talent based on skills?”

Regardless of where you are, our recommendation is to always take it back to the fundamentals: The rationale for why you are pursuing this initiative, what “skills-based” means to your organization and how that translates into clear and compelling use cases is the foundation for success. Maintaining an end-to-end talent lifecycle view in mind helps align the big picture and systemic perspective with the smaller tweaks you are making in parts of the talent process, even if you’re only experimenting in select areas.

Ultimately, success isn’t just measured by ROI but also by the real stories that emerge—hiring top talent that would otherwise not have made it to the shortlist, fostering new connections and collaborations through learning and mentoring platforms or colleagues flourishing in ‘non-traditional’ career trajectories. When done right, this approach can unlock significant value and transform how your organization manages talent.

Sources used:

1 Deloitte (2022) The skills-based organization: A new operating model for work and the workforce
2 The Skills-Powered Organization: The Journey to the Next-Generation Enterprise (Ravin Jesuthasan and Tanuj Kapilashrami, 2024)
3 McKinsey (2022): Taking a skills-based approach to building the future workforce
4 LinkedIn (2023): Skills-First: Reimagining the Labor Market and Breaking Down Barriers
5 Grounded Flight Attendants Are Being Redeployed To Hospitals In Coronavirus Battle
6 Deloitte (2021) , Global Human Capital Trends: The social enterprise disrupted: Leading the shift from thrive to survive


A checklist to guide your AI transformation

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AI-Enabled Talent Acquisition

In today’s competitive job market, leveraging AI in talent acquisition can significantly enhance your recruitment process. However, implementing AI comes with its own set of risks. Like any technology, achieving a return on investment requires careful implementation and proactive change management.

This checklist highlights the key considerations for each stage of your AI journey, from exploration and implementation to optimization in talent acquisition.

Exploring AI

  • Ensure you have a clear understanding of the opportunities and risks of implementing AI in TA 
  • Audit your organizational needs. Where do you have challenges that AI could help solve? 
  • Identify where AI fits in your Talent Acquisition Strategy and where it doesn’t  
  • Define clear goals and objectives for use of AI 
  • Ensure there is a shared understanding of this amongst your senior team in TA and HR 
  • Establish rules around where to limit AI usage
  • Identify nuances where human judgement and final decision making are critical
  • Understand regional and local regulations 
  • Create guidelines about sharing sensitive organization information with AI systems  
  • Identify where training is required for AI adoption 
  • Create a detailed plan outlining the steps needed for AI usage
  • Document KPI, timelines and required resources

Implementing AI

  • Select the right providers that can support your requirements
  • Review how this new technology will fit with your current tech stack 
  • Define clear objectives – with measurable goals like time-to-hire or improving candidate quality
  • Develop a plan to incorporate AI i into your existing workflows and systems
  • Track your KPIs to measure the impact of AI on your TA processes
  • Use data and enhance your feedback loop, to improve your chosen AI tool is still effective over time
  • Secure internal and leadership support, as well as a culture of adoption, with the right change management approaches

Optimizing AI

  • Set up smart training and education to introduce/re-introduce and demystify the tool 
  • Highlight success stories and how recruitment outcomes can be enhanced so team can see tangible benefits
  • Pilot AI in controlled recruitment environments and allow the team to become comfortable with the impacts of technology
  • Show why you have selected the AI you have, and show how intuitive and easy to use it is
  • Create an ecosystem of shared experience and suggestions for future improvements
  • Address concerns around job displacement and privacy, provide reassurance and issue management

How AMS can help

Our TA Consulting team offers a suite of solutions to support you at every stage of your AI journey. No matter where you are with AI, strategic planning can yield a variety of benefits, including:

  • Aligning your team on overall AI strategy
  • Receiving an AI Readiness Review and Roadmap
  • Confidently implementing AI use cases in TA
  • Choosing and implementing AI technology
  • Eliminating AI roadblocks and mitigating risks
  • Upskilling your team and boosting AI adoption
  • Harnessing AI enabled data and insights
  • Enhancing your brand and candidate experience
  • Driving transformation and measure AI’s impact on hiring

How AMS can help

Our TA Consulting team offers a suite of solutions to support you at every stage of your AI journey. No matter where you are with AI, strategic planning can yield a variety of benefits, including:

  • Aligning your team on overall AI strategy
  • Receiving an AI Readiness Review and Roadmap
  • Confidently implementing AI use cases in TA
  • Choosing and implementing AI technology
  • Eliminating AI roadblocks and mitigating risks
  • Upskilling your team and boosting AI adoption
  • Harnessing AI enabled data and insights
  • Enhancing your brand and candidate experience
  • Driving transformation and measure AI’s impact on hiring

To explore Talent Consulting for AI and its benefits,
check out our strategic services overview tailored to align with your business goals.


Contributors:

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RPO & the India Advantage

Contributors:

Josh Bersin

Founder, The Josh Bersin Company

Roop Kaistha

Regional Managing Director, APAC, AMS

Rebecca Wettemann

CEO, Valoir

Long known as the destination for call centers and back-office processing, the outsourcing and offshoring giant is pivoting to R&D, engineering, data analytics and now AI.

Here’s why your organization must join Team India.

When it comes to outsourcing, India remains the gold standard.

Starting around 2000, India’s outsourcing firms have blossomed from a collection of industrious, savvy, and reliable business processing services that oversaw western companies’ call centers and back office operations to become the go-to destination for offshoring, nearshoring and captive sites for major global businesses. And despite the global and regional booms and busts of those past two decades, India remains the top partner for companies seeking to streamline operations, centralize business tasks, and achieve greater savings.

In the years since the global pandemic and the subsequent lockdown, India pivoted to become a center of true technological innovation that is dedicated to the next-wave advancements in programming, research and development, engineering, data analysis and the newly introduced business tools: artificial intelligence and Generative AI. India outsourcing centers also embrace hybrid and office-based working models which help broaden the search for candidates who are entertaining multiple job offers in a tight labor market.

Let’s look at the India RPO advantage by the numbers:

– India’s total labor force is an estimated 437.2 million, i.e., larger than the total population of the United States (338.3 million)

– India’s Global Capability Centers employ up to 70% of the world’s GCC headcount

– Last year, India reported an overall leasing volume of 27.3 million sqft in the offshoring industry, a 26% increase from the previous year

– Demand for AI services could reach $17 billion by 2027, according to a report by IT industry body Nasscom

– Last year, around 45% of high-tech and travel companies, and 43% of telecom, manufacturing, and construction firms, nearshored operations to India, per media reports

In a few short years, India is now not only an exporter of high talent, it’s attracting and retaining talent as well. As forward-thinking talent acquisition leaders looking to expand its recruitment process outsourcing, it’s time to prepare for the next India business revolution.

Why does India continue to remain an attractive offshoring partner especially when it comes to RPO? According to Roop Kaistha, regional managing director of APAC for AMS, it all boils down to India’s advantages as an outsourcing partner. The nation is politically stable (Prime Minister Modi was re-elected in June 2024); its young and well-educated workforce, and investments into infrastructure. The world’s largest democracy also created the 18th largest exclusive economic zones inside the country, and around Asia, Europe, Africa and North and South America.

“It’s not that people are flocking to India without the country doing anything. We all know that India was the back-office call-center hub twenty years ago, but the government and Indian businesses have moved outsourcing up the value chain to offer more services,” says Kaistha.  “India is now a net giver of talent,” she says.

Talent acquisition industry experts have witnessed the same transformation.

“While many call centers and back office operations were staffed in India for cost reduction, companies now use Indian talent for engineering, research, sales, and other design and innovation needs. Professionals in India are well educated and ambitious to succeed, making such teams highly competitive and often much less expensive to hire,” says Josh Bersin, founder of the HR technology consultancy The Josh Bersin Company.

Rebecca Wettemann, CEO of the HR technology market research firm Valoir, says she and her colleagues are seeing organizations look to hire Indian resources to support research and development, data science, and AI, as well as support for cloud applications.

“The growing availability of qualified resources in India is certainly part of this but so is the growth of indigenous Indian technology companies such as Zoho raising awareness of India’s ability to deliver innovation in the tech sector,” says Wettemann.

The India Partnership

 This is not news to AMS customers.

According to Kaistha, roughly 70% of AMS RPO clients have either established GCCs in India or they are in the process of performing due diligence or establishing these centers right now. India recently began offering what Kaistha calls “end-to-end integrated service centers” that handle business tasks ranging from operations to HR.

“Companies in the U.S. and Europe are establishing innovation centers, including sandbox and digital innovation facilities, for this growing market,” she says. She adds that many, well known, financial giants credit India’s centers of excellence (COEs) as a critical part of their tech transformation.

AMS also helped a global pharma giant that operated its tech development center in India. This project requires incorporating IT recruiters and sourcers into the AMS team, while advising on skills availability and salary market insights. AMS also targeted specific talent pools for aspirational candidates to meet salary bandings. Together with AMS guidance, the client hired more than 260 IT and data analytics employees with a 45-day time to offer.

A major European bank that operates a multi-location GCC in India needed sourcing and admin for 6,000 hires across India, including 2,700 technology roles. In 10 weeks, AMS deployed a team of 100 TA experts in less than three months, managing 1,500 requisitions within weeks, optimizing processes and cleansing data to remove backlogs, while reducing agency reliance and improving compliance. This RPO initiative delivered 225 technology hires per month, 44 days time-to-offer, 50 hires per month in all roles, and an 82% offer-to-start ratio.

Skills, Education and Infrastructure: The Right Stuff

When finding talent in India, it comes down to attracting, interviewing and nurturing the right candidate with the right skills. Thanks to India’s young population and their knowledge of English, Mandarin, French and German among other languages, Indian firms have near bottomless offering of highly skilled labor. But there are challenges when it comes to outsourcing to India — as well as other nations.

“The main issues to consider are leadership and alignment with other international teams, as well as the broad time zone differences to manage. Many of the high-performing Indian teams I meet work nights or other hours to align well with their US or European teammates,” adds Bersin. “It’s also important for teams around the world to get to know each other and meet face to face regularly.”

TA leaders looking to hire in India must determine and pinpoint the skills the open positions require currently and in the future. And any organizations looking to hire must budget for a realistic time frame. This is not a rush job, says Kaistha. “Sometimes clients expect that they can simply lift and shift people from one project or division to another,” she says.

Plus, the time-to-productivity must be monitored and addressed. “We find that if clients don’t have the right outsourcing and RPO partner, uncertainty can begin to take root,” says Kaistha. She adds that HR and TA leaders are usually informed by the business divisions about the open roles and the selected skills and then told to “go find them.”

“At AMS we know how talent acquisition processes work,” says Kaistha. “TA searches need to be calibrated so we find sometimes that [filling these roles] is a big challenge.”

And outsourcing is not just for Fortune 500 companies. AMS recently partnered with a modestly-sized Japanese pharmaceutical client that operated in a niche segment. Although it is not a household company name, they were looking to hire around 400 new workers per annum in India. The clock was ticking. Like similarly-sized clients, the pharmaceutical company considered relying on agencies that typically charge less than RPO firms. AMS was able to hire new staff without relying on agencies in what Kaistha called a “commoditized market.”

“Sometimes clients say ‘we’re just going to use agencies because it’s so cheap,’ and they can very easily get into that trap if they cannot find the right TA partner,” she says.

The Future of Outsourcing: India

Even with these challenges, India will remain the top outsourcing provider in the decade to come. Kaistha believes that the technology layoffs that occurred in the U.S. and Europe in late 2022 are not in the India outsourcing forecast.

“My crystal ball is looking very optimistically into the future, and it says that we are going to go back to pandemic hiring numbers. There will be ups and downs in economies and a bit of decoupling has happened globally, like in China, but it can’t be sustained for too long,” she says.

“I truly think that hiring numbers will come back up in the second half of 2024 but going into 2025, we will see pre-COVID hiring numbers thanks to the huge focus on employee skills,” she says. “Unemployment rates are still relatively low and spending is kind of back because interest rates are likely to go down. So just based on those factors, I do think hiring numbers will come back.”

To find the workers in India with the right, cutting-edge skills,
AMS experts will be able to help.

Written by Phil Albinus and reviewed by the Catalyst Editorial Board

with contributions from:

The Future of Outsourcing: India

Even with these challenges, India will remain the top outsourcing provider in the decade to come. Kaistha believes that the technology layoffs that occurred in the U.S. and Europe in late 2022 are not in the India outsourcing forecast.

“My crystal ball is looking very optimistically into the future, and it says that we are going to go back to pandemic hiring numbers. There will be ups and downs in economies and a bit of decoupling has happened globally, like in China, but it can’t be sustained for too long,” she says.

“I truly think that hiring numbers will come back up in the second half of 2024 but going into 2025, we will see pre-COVID hiring numbers thanks to the huge focus on employee skills,” she says. “Unemployment rates are still relatively low and spending is kind of back because interest rates are likely to go down. So just based on those factors, I do think hiring numbers will come back.”

To find the workers in India with the right, cutting-edge skills,
AMS experts will be able to help.

Written by Phil Albinus and reviewed by the Catalyst Editorial Board

with contributions from:

Josh Bersin

Founder, The Josh Bersin Company

Roop Kaistha

Regional Managing Director, APAC, AMS

Rebecca Wettemann

Rebecca Wettemann, CEO, Valoir


The right RPO partnership can give you access to expertise and technology that can revolutionise your talent acquisition capability, in addition to helping you make huge cost savings.

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Are you getting what you need from your current RPO partner?

RPO has evolved significantly, particularly over the past few years. The right RPO partnership can give you access to expertise and technology that can revolutionise your talent acquisition capability, in addition to helping you make huge cost savings.

Our checklist highlights the key areas where an RPO partner should provide support, to ensure you receive the value you deserve.

Reduced costs

  • The built-in agility from your RPO partner should be allowing your business to scale cost up and down in line with demand, and your TA function.
  • Significant savings, especially against the use of a staffing agency, due to improved processes, economies of scale, and the ability to leverage lower cost recruiting channels and technology.

Access to the best talent

  • Your RPO partner should have access to an expanded talent pool. Their extensive network of expert recruiters should be able to quickly source, engage, and hire the right people for the right roles.
  • They should also be providing you with data-led insights on different industries that are ripe with skills-adjacent talent, which your TA team may not have considered before; helping you to tap into hidden talent streams.

Technological expertise

  • Being at the cutting edge of the latest talent technology, including AI and providing advice on the right talent technology stack to support your business objectives.
  • Management of the implementation of new technologies, to ensure you get the best ROI, including technology that leverages AI, to make recruitment better, fairer, and faster.

Talent Strategy

  • Ongoing review of your current TA operating model to ensure ongoing effectiveness and efficiency.
  • Advice on the best channel to secure the talent you need.

Superior candidate experience

  • It’s not just about finding the right talent tech to support your hiring needs, your RPO partner should understand that technology alone will not improve your hiring strategy, it’s all about optimizing the way it’s used, through a careful balance of tech and touch.
  • Expert navigation of candidates through every stage of the hiring process and an expert team dedicated to candidate experience advisory services.

Reduced time to hire

  • With access to a wider, more diverse talent pool, a more streamlined, tech-focused strategy, data-led market insights and up-to-the-minute sourcing methods your time to hire should be significantly reduced working with an RPO partner.

Elevated employer brand

  • Your RPO partner should be improving your employer brand as part of their expert service, developing an authentic and compelling EVP.
  • Communicating your EVP story in a way that is compelling and resonates with candidates.

Internal mobility

  • Any competent RPO partner should be focused on internal mobility, making your employees aware of opportunities, and ensuring a streamlined and efficient internal recruitment process for them.
  • Giving your internal talent the ability to pursue a broader range of opportunities not only boosts employee engagement and satisfaction, but helps you create a more resilient organisation.

Extreme flexibility

  • Support your HR department in managing TA peaks and troughs including hiring surges and employee reduction.
  • Mitigate uncertainty caused by a fluctuating talent landscape by ensuring your RPO partner takes on internal hiring risks.

Innovation

  • Along with innovative talent technology, a good RPO partner should be providing you with original solutions and create sourcing techniques to advise you on the best internal and external talent strategy.

Your RPO partner should always be a valuable extension of your talent team, not only helping you acquire a more diverse and skilled cohort of talent, cut costs, and operate more efficiently, but also helping you to upskill internally and increase internal mobility.

If you’re not getting everything you need from your current RPO partner, it might be time for a re-think. For more information on our RPO approach, or for dedicated support from an outsourcing partner you can trust, contact us today.


The role of Talent Acquisition in closing the green skills gap

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Tackling the skills crisis for a sustainable future

The role of Talent Acquisition in closing the green skills gap

Foreword

As business sustainability management becomes increasingly important, the recruitment industry has a unique opportunity to help organizations adapt by fostering innovative hiring practices that prioritize sustainability and build long-term resilience. Challenges should be seen as opportunities, and resistance to change seen as a problem to be solved.

As a global leader in talent acquisition services, AMS is well positioned to help organizations investigate the challenges ahead and forge a path for success.

To learn more, AMS reached out to talent leaders across a range of industries to examine trends and challenges related to the topic of green skills. We sought to understand the technical skills, knowledge, behaviours, and capabilities required to support a sustainable society, and to measure the extent of the green skills gap. The global survey reveals just how challenging it is to attract talent with green skills today and explores the reasons why. Potential barriers to bridging the green skills gap are investigated in our study. We also uncover the optimism that exists amongst talent leaders regarding bridging the green skills gap and propose critical actions organizations can take to respond to the challenges identified.

David Ingleson

Sector Managing Director, Energy Engineering and Industrials, AMS

Part 1

The rise of green skills

Sustainability is arguably the world’s most pressing concern. Around 1 million plant and animal species are threatened with extinction, many within decades, due to human activities1. Global energy-related CO2 emissions grew by 1.1% in 2023, increasing 410 million tonnes (Mt) to reach a new record high of 37.4 billion tonnes (Gt)2. Forty percent of the world’s population lacks access to clean and safe drinking water3. And in the past 150 years, half of our planet’s agricultural topsoil has been lost4.

It’s not hard to see why, according to recent research conducted by the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training5, working towards a more sustainable future is not only an opportunity for economic advancement, but in our best interests for the future of the planet.

To combat climate change, protect our limited resources, and build social inclusivity and equality, the world is turning its attention to the green economy. The green economy refers to a circular system that aims to bring about sustainable development by reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities. The green economy encompasses various sectors and activities that promote low-carbon, resource-efficient, and inclusive practices.

If we want to address the green skills gap, we need to understand that all future job roles will require green skills.”

– Allen Blue

As the world focuses its efforts, important terms such as green talent, green jobs and green skills have emerged. These terms are often used interchangeably; however, they refer to distinct yet interconnected aspects of the transition to a sustainable economy.

Green jobs are jobs in various sectors that specifically contribute to preserving or restoring the environment6. These jobs aim to reduce the environmental impact of economic activities, enhance energy and resource efficiency, and promote sustainable practices. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), green jobs are those that:

  • Reduce consumption of energy and raw materials – these are jobs that focus on energy efficiency, renewable energy production, and sustainable resource management
  • Limit greenhouse gas emissions – these are positions that involve activities aimed at reducing carbon footprints, such as those in the renewable energy sector
  • Minimize waste and pollution – these are jobs in waste management, recycling, and pollution control
  • Protect and restore ecosystems – these are roles in conservation, reforestation, and sustainable agriculture

Examples of green jobs could include renewable energy technicians who install and maintain solar panels or wind turbines, energy auditors who assess energy use in buildings, or environmental engineers, who develop systems and technologies to reduce pollution and manage waste.

While green jobs remain critically important, the term green skills has risen to prominence over the past few years. Green skills are the building blocks of the transition to a green economy, and refer to the broader set of technical skills, knowledge, behaviors, and capabilities required to tackle the environmental challenges we face7, whether in traditionally green jobs or not. Green skills include capabilities like environmental awareness, sustainability reporting, creativity and innovation, or environmental impact assessment.

Industry perspectives: the increasing importance of green skills

Green skills, unlike traditional green jobs, are now being found – and sought after – in nearly every industry. This shouldn’t come as a surprise, as according to Climate Impact Partners, two-thirds of the Fortune 500 companies now have at least one significant climate commitment to adhere to8.

In our research, we asked business and talent leaders to share their views on the prevalence of and need for green skills in their own industry, and across other sectors. What we found suggests a real shift in the long-held view that green skills are only vital in “green sectors”. The results indicate that leaders now agree that green skills are important or even crucial in the vast majority of industries, see Figure 1.

The original “green sectors” continue to top the list

Not surprisingly, the Energy sector is still deemed to be the sector in which it is most crucial to have green skills (even though the definition specifically stated ‘not renewables’), with nearly 90% of respondents marking it a crucial skillset. The Utilities sector held the second spot with 78% of respondents noting that green skills are crucial. And finally, around three quarters of talent leaders said both Industrials and Materials must have green skills to operate today.

New sector demands for green skills are emerging

While talent and business leaders were clear that green sectors will continue to need green talent, there was a clear indication that new industries are turning their attention to this requirement. More than half noted that the Education sector must have green skills. Likewise in Healthcare, with 47% of respondents marking this industry as having a crucial need. Our research showed that Consumer products, including discretionary products and staples, should be prioritizing this skillset as well, while 41% of respondents deemed that Real Estate must look for green skills to thrive in the future. The sectors deemed least likely to need green skills at this time included Tech, Communications and Financial Services.

These results showcase the rapidly increasing awareness that green skills are important or crucial for every sector of the economy. This is an important recognition of the need for all sectors to think about sustainability seriously, and to consider this through the lens of attracting green talent to build a workforce for the future. It’s a critical shift in the talent landscape with far-reaching implications for TA and HR leaders who are already having to rethink hiring strategies due to a global skills shortage amplified by declining birth rates.

The green skills gap: urgent need, short supply, unclear path

Unfortunately, while the appetite for green talent is in high demand, we found through our research that it remains in extremely limited supply. It is projected there will be a shortage of 7 million green energy workers by 20309. Likewise, LinkedIn recently found that growth in demand for green skills is outpacing the increase in supply10. Our research shows that organizations are keenly aware that current approaches will not close the urgent gap (see Figure 2).

Figure 2: How quickly do you think the green skills gap needs to be bridged so business and government can deliver on their stated targets? 0-5 years - 84%, 6-10 years - 9%, 11-15 years - 4%, 16-20 years - 1%, never - 1%. How quickly do you think the green skills gap will be bridged as things stand, with the current stated policies and commitments by government and business? 0-5 years - 7%, 6-10 years - 20%, 11-15 years - 32%, 16-20 years - 24%, never - 9%.

When respondents were asked how quickly they felt the green skills gap needed to be bridged so that we can deliver on our stated targets (e.g., keeping global temperatures in line with the Paris Agreement), 84% felt this needed to be done in the next 5 years, whilst only 7% felt that this would be achieved in 5 years with the current policies and commitments by government and business.

84% of respondents said something needs to be done urgently to address the green skills gap, but only 7% think something will

Barriers to closing the green skills gap

Given this disconnect, it’s vital to understand the barriers to bridging the gap. We asked our respondents which of several factors they believe most hinders the widespread adoption of green skills in the global workforce. Talent leaders were widely split in their responses (see Figure 3).

Figure 3:Which factor below hinders the widespread adoption of green skills in the global workforce? Lack of collaboration between business, government and education sectors - 24%, High initial costs and investment required - 20%,  Insufficient training and educational programs - 20%, Resistant to change from traditional practices - 20%,  Lack of government initiatives and policies - 17%

Insufficient partnerships, limited training opportunities, high investment costs, resistance to change, and a general lack of effective collaboration are all cited as potential barriers, with a nearly even split across each. With such a spread of issues at play, there clearly needs to be a multi-faceted approach to addressing the green skills gap. In the next section, we examine approaches that encapsulate holistic collaboration, a willingness to invest with a longer timeframe in mind for returns, more training and educational programmes linked to the development of green skills, more willingness to accept change, and policies and initiatives in government that directly address the problem at hand.

1 UN Report: Nature’s Dangerous Decline ‘Unprecedented’; Species Extinction Rates ‘Accelerating’ – United Nations Sustainable Development
2 CO2 Emissions in 2023 (iea.blob.core.windows.net)
3UN Report: Nature’s Dangerous Decline ‘Unprecedented’; Species Extinction Rates ‘Accelerating’ – United Nations Sustainable Development
4Impact of Sustainable Agriculture and Farming Practices (worldwildlife.org)
5Cedefop; OECD (2015). Green skills and innovation for inclusive growth. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union.
6What is a green job ? | International Labour Organization (ilo.org)
7IEMA – IEMA – Defining Green Skills
8Fortune Global 500 Climate Commitments | Climate Impact Partners
9Will a Green Skills Gap Put Climate Goals at Risk? | BCG
10Global Green Skills Report 2023 | LinkedIn

Part 2

Building green skills momentum

With the scale, complexity and scope of the challenge abundantly clear, our research turns to the opportunities and strategies that can help address the gap. Our findings are clear: there will not be a one-size-fits all solution for a global workforce to solve a global issue. Instead, there are multiple paths that leading companies are forging to build a foundation of green skills.

This section explores three key themes that emerged from our respondents – these are the activities that are gaining momentum among organizations and across industries. Our research uncovers the effectiveness of each today and presents several prospective opportunities to take the work further.

I. Promoting collaboration

Collaboration is essential to bridge the green skills gap. Moreover, effective collaboration needs to happen not only between government, business and the education sector but also with society at large (including the public and the media). Simply put, without holistic collaboration across all parties we will not solve the problem of the green skills gap and therefore climate change.

Effectiveness of partnerships today

Our research reveals that only 8% of organizations rate the collaboration between government, business and education as extremely effective today. On the flipside, nearly half of all respondents marked the current state of partnerships as only slightly effective, and a worrying 21% tell us it is not effective at all. See Figure 4.

Figure 4: How highly would you rate the collaboration between government, business and education in bridging the green skills gap? Extremely effective - 8%, moderately ffective - 14%, slightly effective - 56%, not effective at all - 21%.

What’s needed: Educational partnerships

Digging further, we asked organizations about the role that educational institutions play in today’s efforts to close the green skills gap. We specifically wanted to understand if tailored curricula could help strengthen the partnership model. A staggering 88% of talent leaders say this would be effective (see Figure 5). This is a significant call to action to all talent leaders to build strong connections with education providers and start influencing the content of curricula, so they align more closely to evolving industry needs.

Figure 5: How effective do you think it is to collaborate with educational institutions for tailored curricula to help in attracting and retaining talent with green skills? Highly effective - 47%, somewhat effective - 41%, not very effective - 11%, ineffective - 1%.

What’s needed: Influence on policy

Similarly, we found that collaborating with government to influence the policy agenda is a key piece of the solution. 83% of talent leaders felt it would be effective to engage much more with government departments in an attempt to proactively shape the policies pertaining to the green skills agenda, rather than work in retrospect (see Figure 6). While it is not unusual to see large organizations influencing the policy agenda of government, talent leaders should think very carefully in terms of how they may be able to shape the green skills agenda, or at least encourage their executive committees to become involved.

Figure 6: How effective do you think it is for your organisation to collaborate closely with government to influence the policy agenda to help in bridging the green skills gap? Highly effective - 31%, somewhat effective - 52%, not very effective - 11%, ineffective - 7%.

II. Nurturing a green skills pipeline

Building green talent requires the training and development of green skills – the skills, knowledge, and competencies that enable individuals to contribute to sustainable development and environmental conservation. The concepts of green education and eco-schools have begun to take root around the world, with dedicated programming aimed at cultivating citizens and leaders who are equipped to make meaningful and sustainable shifts in their communities and countries.

Most of these initiatives incorporate a three-pillar approach, which focuses on a reduced environmental impact of the campus itself, increased health and wellbeing among the school and parent community and increased environmental literacy for students . Schools that are recognized for their innovative approaches include The Green School in Bali and the University of California in USA .
However, beyond these localized efforts, our research shows that a significant disparity still exists between the current state of broad green skills education and what is required for the future. Most existing educational programs fall short of equipping the population with the necessary knowledge and abilities.

Effectiveness of green education today

When it comes to the topic of how effective current educational programs are in equipping individuals with the green skills required for the labour market today, there seems to be a significant mismatch between what industry needs, and what educators are actually providing. We found that only 3% of talent leaders believe that mainstream educational programs are highly effective in preparing candidates for the green labour market. A staggering 59% of respondents gave a failing mark to current educational programs in their ability to prepare learners with adequate green skills. See Figure 7.

Figure 7: How effective do you consider current educational programmes in preparing individuals with adequate green skills for the labour market?  Highly effective - 3%, somewhat effective - 39%, not very effective - 48%, ineffective - 11%.

What’s needed: Green skills for everyone

Part of the challenge with green education today is its limited reach. As we noted above, there are several schools that embrace the principles of green education and provide high quality green skill building for their students. Our research clearly shows, however, that a much more global, democratized approach is vital. We asked respondents to tell us which demographic groups should be prioritized for green skills education, and the results are very clear: all groups need this training (see Figure 8).

Figure 8: Which Demographic Groups to Prioritize for Green Skills Education? All demographic groups equally - 56%, College and university students pursuing relevant degrees - 12%, Current professionals seeking reskilling/upskilling opportunities - 13%, Other approach - 7%, Young students in primary and secondary education - 12%.

While about 10% of our respondents argued that specific groups of learners would benefit most, nearly 60% agreed that green skills education is critical across all learner groups – from primary students in their earliest educational experiences through secondary students, college and university students, and through to current professionals.

With the short-term need increasing rapidly but with a long-term vision required, I don’t see any other choice than to tackle all demographics. All require attention.”

II. Nurturing a green skills pipeline

Building green talent requires the training and development of green skills – the skills, knowledge, and competencies that enable individuals to contribute to sustainable development and environmental conservation. The concepts of green education and eco-schools have begun to take root around the world, with dedicated programming aimed at cultivating citizens and leaders who are equipped to make meaningful and sustainable shifts in their communities and countries.

Most of these initiatives incorporate a three-pillar approach, which focuses on a reduced environmental impact of the campus itself, increased health and wellbeing among the school and parent community and increased environmental literacy for students . Schools that are recognized for their innovative approaches include The Green School in Bali and the University of California in USA .
However, beyond these localized efforts, our research shows that a significant disparity still exists between the current state of broad green skills education and what is required for the future. Most existing educational programs fall short of equipping the population with the necessary knowledge and abilities.

Effectiveness of green education today

When it comes to the topic of how effective current educational programs are in equipping individuals with the green skills required for the labour market today, there seems to be a significant mismatch between what industry needs, and what educators are actually providing. We found that only 3% of talent leaders believe that mainstream educational programs are highly effective in preparing candidates for the green labour market. A staggering 59% of respondents gave a failing mark to current educational programs in their ability to prepare learners with adequate green skills. See Figure 7.

Figure 7: How effective do you consider current educational programmes in preparing individuals with adequate green skills for the labour market?  Highly effective - 3%, somewhat effective - 39%, not very effective - 48%, ineffective - 11%.

What’s needed: Green skills for everyone

Part of the challenge with green education today is its limited reach. As we noted above, there are several schools that embrace the principles of green education and provide high quality green skill building for their students. Our research clearly shows, however, that a much more global, democratized approach is vital. We asked respondents to tell us which demographic groups should be prioritized for green skills education, and the results are very clear: all groups need this training (see Figure 8).

Figure 8: Which Demographic Groups to Prioritize for Green Skills Education? All demographic groups equally - 56%, College and university students pursuing relevant degrees - 12%, Current professionals seeking reskilling/upskilling opportunities - 13%, Other approach - 7%, Young students in primary and secondary education - 12%.

While about 10% of our respondents argued that specific groups of learners would benefit most, nearly 60% agreed that green skills education is critical across all learner groups – from primary students in their earliest educational experiences through secondary students, college and university students, and through to current professionals.

With the short-term need increasing rapidly but with a long-term vision required, I don’t see any other choice than to tackle all demographics. All require attention.”

III. Finding (and keeping) green skills in your organization

There is no doubt that the green skills gap – similar in ways to the digital skills gap of the past few years – is here and will only continue to widen. According to the World Economic Forum, the global number of green roles has grown 8% per year for the last five years. However, LinkedIn’s most recent research shows that only 1 in 8 people on the platform currently have green skills listed in their profile . And the talent numbers aren’t picking up – over the last five years, while green jobs and roles with green skill requirements rose by 8%, the number of people listing green skills in their LinkedIn profiles only grew 6%.

As an example, a recent study by PwC shows that while the UK will need 400,000 jobs filled to help drive new energy sectors, estimates highlight a shortage of around 200,000 workers with the appropriate expertise and knowledge required .

With this gap ahead, organizations recognize that it will become increasingly difficult to attract, hire and retain green talent. In our study, more than three-quarters of our respondents say that it is already a challenge to bring in talent with green skills (see Figure 9).

More than ¾ of organizations say it’s a challenge to bring in talent with green skills.

Figure 7: How effective is it to offer specialised green training and development programmes to help in attracting and retaining talent with green skills? Highly effective - 31%, somewhat effective - 56%, not very effective - 12%, ineffective - 1%.

Availability of green skills not the only problem

While the lack of available green skills in the market is a big part of the challenge, there appears to be more at play. Our analysis shows that beyond the primary reason of the shortage in supply of sufficiently skilled candidates (43% of talent leaders posited this as the primary reason), there are other factors to consider. See Figure 10.

The results indicate that the availability of development programs, strong competition from other industries, and lack of competitive remuneration and reward are less important for attracting talent with green skills. Many might find this encouraging right now, but it’s worth noting that the digital skills story started in a similar way, with companies outside the tech sector forced to catch up and salaries for digital skills skyrocketing as the war for digital talent heated up rapidly.

Figure 10: Which factor below hinders the widespread adoption of green skills in the global workforce? Insufficient availability of qualified candidates/skills in the labour market - 43%;  Limited awareness from candidates of the organization’s green initiatives and sustainability agenda overall (branding) - 32%, Lack of internal development programs to upskill and reskill talent - 11%, Strong competition from other companies or industries offering better opportunities - 8%, Lack of competitve salary and benefits compared to other industries - 7%.

And perhaps most interesting is the finding that talent leaders believe much more could be done by their organizations from a branding perspective when attracting green candidates. In fact, nearly a third of talent leaders felt the primary reason for not finding green talent was because their organization was not sufficiently bringing to life some of the green initiatives and the sustainability agenda of their organizations.

82% of talent leaders feel that hiring talent with green skills in moderately or extremely challenging

What’s needed: Green EVP

Harnessing the power of employer branding should help alleviate some of the challenges. Take the energy sector as an example. Arguably the biggest impact an aspiring engineer who is keen to decarbonize the world can make right now would be to help a fossil fuel organization with their transition to renewable energy and to decarbonize their oil and gas operations, but it will require some compelling storytelling and employer branding to convince those people not to go straight into the renewable energy sector.

And as companies look to attract the next generations to the workforce, it’s worth remembering that Gen Z has been labelled the “sustainability generation”, building on a trend established by their Millennial peers. Research by Deloitte in 2023 revealed that half of all Millennial and Gen Z candidates scrutinize a company’s environmental practices before even applying, and 1 in 6 have recently moved jobs due to climate concerns.

11https://www.ecoschools.global/how-does-it-work
12https://sustainabilitymag.com/articles/top-10-most-sustainable-schools-in-the-world
13Global Green Skills Report 2023 (linkedin.com)
14https://www.pwc.co.uk/press-room/press-releases/Energy-transition-constrained-by-c200000-jobs-PwC-GJB.html#:~:text=New%20PwC%20analysis%20reveals%20a,meet%20its%20energy%20transition%20targets.

Part 3

Closing the gap:
strategies and
recommendations

To be sure, solving the green skills challenge will not be an easy task. It will require concerted effort and action from across an extended network of leaders from industry, education, public policy and economic development entities. However, organizations can and should take the lead, with innovative skilling, hiring, attraction and retention initiatives.

Our research has examined the challenge from multiple angles, and our analysis has revealed several opportunities for talent leaders to act. From this research, several key recommendations surface as critical to the green skills conversation. Organizations should consider how best to apply each of these actions within the context of the unique culture, workforce, leadership and business strategy of your company.

1. Embrace a long-term mindset. As a talent leader, educate yourself and your team about local and global issues. Encourage your organization to focus on critical planetary issues. Continuously listen to your workforce and the labour market to ensure deep visibility of essential green skills. Set up innovation hubs or labs to experiment with new technologies and approaches to sustainability, involving employees, partners, and stakeholders. Foster a culture of perpetual learning that rewards green skills development.

2. Champion collaboration. Work with government agencies to advocate for policies that support green skills education and workforce development. Work with schools, colleges, and universities to create programs and courses that focus on green skills and sustainability. Form partnerships with non-governmental organizations to support community-based sustainability initiatives and training programs. Inside the organization, establish cross-functional teams within the organization to work on sustainability projects and initiatives. Establish internship and apprenticeship programs that allow students to gain hands-on experience in green jobs.

3. Apply green skills with a fresh lens. Build clear, consistent awareness of what green skills mean in your organization. Identify the green skills that exist today in your workforce. Look at core and adjacent green skills, including capabilities like project management, data analysis, and communication that enhance green initiatives. Understand the size and scope of your green skills deficit. Examine opportunities to “re-badge” traditional non-green skills. Regularly review your green skills framework as these emerging skills are changing and shifting all the time. Look outside of typical “green jobs” to apply green skills across roles and work in your organization. Consider the transferability of green skills across technical and non-technical roles.

4. Let your green show. Align your core values with your sustainability efforts and commitments. Involve your employees in sustainability efforts by actively listening and engaging them to participate in local and global initiatives. Be transparent about your company’s sustainability goals, challenges, and achievements. Highlight your sustainability programs and achievements and publicize employee stories with an omni-channel approach. Showcase environmental and social responsibility in recruitment materials and employer branding to attract like-minded talent.

5. Prioritize specialized training and development. Ensure that your green skills strategy aligns with the overall sustainability objectives of your organization. Create a multi-modal development program for green skills. Partner with local or national educational institutions, environmental organizations, or third-party training providers to offer specialized courses and certifications in relevant green skills. Provide access to online courses and e-learning platforms that offer green skills training. Develop training that focuses on specific green skills required by your organization. Establish green skill mentorship programs so experienced employees can guide others in developing green skills. Offer gig or project opportunities where employees can apply green skills in real-world settings.

We need a collaborative approach to support closing the green skills gap.”

Conclusion

Bridging the green skills gap is of critical importance. While the task may seem daunting, HR and talent leaders are uniquely positioned to be a powerful force in closing the green skills gap and supporting sustainability efforts.

The results shared in this whitepaper show a clear indication that there is real concern amongst talent leaders that not enough is being done quickly enough. However, optimism remains. Our study shows that most leaders believe we still have time to bridge the green skills gap to hit our collective sustainability targets.

The challenges of a sustainable economy of course go beyond skills and talent, but it is our work and our people that will help us solve them. It is for this reason that talent leaders should lead from the front and champion collaboration to bridge the green skills gap.

The status quo is not an option – the time to act is now.

About AMS

We are a talent solutions business

Working with clients across the globe, we have learnt what it takes to build a high performing employer. It starts with talent; sourcing, selecting and keeping the right people in the right jobs.

To do this well, you need unmatched expertise in digital innovation, and a deep understanding of the complex needs of the talent you are seeking to engage – whether that talent is external to your business or already inside it. Taking a holistic approach to the HR value chain and to attracting and retaining a world class workforce enables business success.

10,000+ experts, across 120+ countries, speaking more than 50 languages, delivering projects for the world’s most admired companies.

We are AMS. This is what we do.

Talent is our world.

We are AMS. This is what we do.

Talent is our world.

Our approach to sustainability

We are proud of the comprehensive approach we take to the environment, our impact on society, global corporate citizenship, and governance. For us, these are not just some of the most pressing issues of the day. They are at the very heart of how we conduct business. They always have been – and they always will be.

Across AMS, we focus our activities on the six United Nations Sustainable Development Goals where we believe we can have most impact: gender equality; reduced inequalities; decent work and economic growth; good health and wellbeing; affordable and clean energy and climate action. For more information, please read our Corporate Report.

The Energy Engineering and Industrials Sector at AMS

The Energy, Engineering and Industrials (EE&I) Sector in AMS constitutes a significant part of AMS’ global business. We work with many of the world’s leading EE&I organizations providing services from global transformative RPO, through to talent consulting services and digital solutions. Our strategy focuses on supporting organizations that are responding to the megatrends at play in the sector such as the decarbonization of industry, the energy transition, digitalization, and electrification. We collaborate and innovate in true partnership with organizations that are working towards a sustainable future for us all.


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AI in HR:

Leap over hiring hurdles and get straight to the right candidates

Get on track with talent technology

Today’s talent acquisition teams are grappling with an increasingly complex and rapidly changing market.

In the face of a prolonged time-to-hire cycle that is averaging 42 days, the current recruitment landscape presents numerous hurdles that hinder swift and precise hiring – from sourcing brand new skills, to higher candidate rejection rates, and increased competition for top talent.

Right now, the importance of finding a suitable candidate fit cannot be overstated. Both employers and job seekers benefit immensely from targeted candidate matches that are fuelled by skills and expertise.

Enter: Artificial Intelligence (AI).

AI can transform the approach to job hunting and recruitment. Harnessing its power can provide a strategic advantage, enabling companies to pivot towards agility, data-driven decision-making, and enhanced efficiency.

While leveraging this technology’s diverse capabilities to overcome barriers requires thought and planning, once successfully done, it can streamline recruitment efforts for faster, fairer outcomes.

This article delves into strategies for navigating this exciting new technology in its many forms. It addresses the hiring hurdles facing TA teams right now and explores how AI-driven talent tools can make all the difference in getting you straight to the right candidates.

Feeling the ambition to hire with AI?

Looking to integrate AI into your business and start overcoming the hiring hurdles in your organization? Here are some tips to help embrace the power of AI:

– Invest in AI-powered platforms tailored to your organizational needs, objectives and values.

– Foster collaboration between HR, IT, and AI specialists, and incorporate feedback into the strategy.

– Develop clear guidelines for AI implementation in recruitment processes.

– Provide comprehensive training on AI tools and methodologies.

– Cultivate a culture of learning, innovation, experimentation, and adaptability of AI applications.

– Emphasize data privacy and ethical considerations in AI usage.

Talent teams shared with us how they are gearing up to use AI

29%

Said customized outreach emails could be made more compelling by AI

31%

Said targeted job descriptions could be made creative with the use of AI

53%

Said automating interview notes with AI could help create concise summaries

41%

Said AI can strengthen hiring by creating faster short lists of candidates

*Results from four AI LinkedIn polls during April 2024

Overcoming your hurdles: common hiring obstacles and how AI can help

Examining your current hiring process from a bird’s eye view can pinpoint the areas that are consuming the most time and creating an unnecessarily long candidate journey.

It could be that Sourcers are multi-tasking multiple steps upfront with a candidate, or that recruiters are targeting the wrong individuals. Whatever is creating this friction, it’s vital to figure out what is stopping your talent team from reaching their end goals.

Talent Hurdle #1

Misuse of valuable time

Many TA departments are spending hours of their precious time and resource on admin-intensive jobs, such as interview scheduling and transcription, when they could be focusing on more valuable areas like improving the candidate experience and creating meaningful connections with applicants.

AI Action

Give small processes to AI

Tech-powered interview transcription and summarization capabilities allow recruiters to gather information quickly and store data effectively. And by automatically scheduling candidate interviews using agile and dynamic AI – problem solving will naturally improve and can help enrich the recruiter and candidate relationship. Taking these tasks away from recruiters ultimately allows them to interview more people per role, and in more depth.

Talent Hurdle #2

Disjointed candidate experiences

From job posting to acceptance, this multi-step journey requires careful assessment. A target audience need to feel engaged with your brand. They want to engage in a conversation in their language, using digital channels to ensure there is a cohesive experience throughout. But recruiters could benefit from more time focusing on their tasks while AI handles creation of a more engaging and consistent process.

AI Action

Elevate their journey with AI

AI can be used to create more compelling job descriptions, as well as more personalized and relevant outreach emails. Using chatbots and other AI-powered communication tools will offer candidates an experience that is highly personalized to them. This interactive and multi-channel candidate communication experience will benefit hiring prospects and require less manual effort from recruiters.

Talent Hurdle #3

High numbers of applicants

Providing every candidate with a great experience can be challenging, especially when recruiter resource is scarce and applicant volumes are overwhelmingly high in some cases. Without the right support and consistent communication, candidates could become disillusioned and drop out of the process to find other opportunities.

AI Action

Let AI tailor your talent pool

Skills mapping tools driven by AI create a more accurate skills fit between open roles and candidates. It means recruiters spend less time on the wrong individuals, providing a clearer path to candidates who are truly fit for the job. With a smaller but significantly more relevant talent pool to work from, recruiters can focus their energy on engaging the right people, effectively.

Talent Hurdle #4

Missing out on strong candidates

Many of today’s TA teams don’t have the ability to create skills profiles and global skills maps – or if they do there might be constraints around the processes here. This means that more diverse and underrepresented candidate groups, or remote-based candidates are often overlooked. As a result, the talent pool for open roles may be considerably limited.

AI Action

Cast your net wider with AI

As well as removing the wrong candidates from your hiring process, AI-powered skills mapping tools can also help to widen the original candidate search from which to create your finessed shortlist. AI technology can improve access to skills insights and pinpoint skilled individuals (both local and global) who may never have been seen or considered before, helping to create a more diverse talent pool.

Talent Hurdle #5

HR’s internal performance and talent management needs a boost

Is your helpdesk not functioning the way it was intended? Service centre functions could use an over haul? Are you finding costs are getting sunk into internal tech tools that don’t integrate and make sense for the business?

AI Action

Enhance your performance management with AI

Utilizing AI can help teams to run their internal processes more smoothly and uncovers areas of opportunity for internal mobility, workshopping, brainstorming etc. It can also identify areas where employees can be upskilled to perform new tasks.

Staying on course with ethical and compliant AI

While pinpointing ways in which AI can refine your hiring process is important, it’s also vital to ensure your AI solutions are rooted in compliance.

At the moment, there are many legislations and partnerships underway to formalize the process for leveraging AI as it finds its place in our world. With a near-daily influx of new AI-driven tools, staying up to date on these ever-shifting AI trends and legalities is crucial. But it can also be overwhelming.

So, where to start?

As a first stop in hiring safely with AI, consider how you’re using it. Do you need talent development in the AI space to enhance your workforce’s AI and talent tech capabilities, would you like machine learning and AI to support you in finding hires, or are you on the hunt for talent technology? Then understand what is happening in the AI safety regulations within your region. Will key announcements in global legislation impact your plans to adopt or leverage AI?

You may also consider working with an expert technology advisory partner with hands-on experience in a wide variety of AI tools. Organizations, like AMS, specialize in implementing and optimizing AI for businesses – from setting clear business goals that AI can support with, to upskilling internal teams and ensure readiness for AI adoption.

“While AI in recruiting has enormous potential, teams should validate the recommendations and work with their vendor partners, like AMS, to make sure these systems are trained on relevant data – and make sure real-world recruiters are involved.”

– Josh Bersin, The Josh Bersin Company

Questions to ask to avoid improper use of AI:

– Who has audited this tool or AI model and what were their findings?

– What data does this tool require to operate and does that data pose a risk?

– Are data points too limited? Is the system transparent?

– What processing is happening outside of the AI? Is other technology being used anywhere? Has it been tested?

– Are my candidates using AI to apply? How is this impacting hiring as well?

AI in talent: achieved! What’s next?

You’ve set out on this AI course, witnessed the transformative power it brings to your hiring game. Checked that box, conquered those obstacles. But let’s pause for a moment: did you truly reach the right candidates?

AI in talent acquisition isn’t a one-and-done deal; it’s an ongoing adventure that will require innovative and adaptive mindsets. To thrive, you’ll need to embrace change with the resilience and agility of a talent trailblazer. Because let’s face it, the employee of tomorrow isn’t just skilled—they’re open-minded, and ready to unleash AI’s true potential.

In this tech-forward hiring game, data reigns supreme. AI’s expertise hinges on its access to the key information. Without a steady stream of insights, trends, and patterns, its potential is limited and so is your ability to keep up with the talent you need.

The future of talent success lies in the willingness to adapt to tech.

The future of recruitment will present novel capabilities – such as around audio and video – that are likely to play a role in your hiring.

Prepare for big change ahead. AI demands a reimagining of your operational playbook and an overhaul to your team’s skills. It’s not just about compliance; it’s about unleashing the full potential of your tech-savvy workforce.

“By leveraging the opportunities tech-enabled RPO will bring to automation, administrative tasks and predictive insights, it allows people to do what they do best – transforming the candidate experience.”

Nikki Hall, Chief People Officer, AMS 

Ready to start overcoming your hiring obstacles with AI?

Need help getting started with Artificial Intelligence in Talent Acquisition?

Talk to AMS today.


Steps talent leaders can take to help Early Careers hires make an impact

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Are Gen Z ready for the world of work?

Ensuring candidates are ‘work ready’ is something businesses have been championing for many years. After all, new employees that can hit the ground running contribute greatly to business success.

But the last three-to-four years have brought this requirement to the forefront of people’s minds. The latest generation to enter the workforce haven’t had access to the same opportunities to learning as previous generations, thanks in part to the pandemic, when education and businesses were in lockdown for nearly two years. This has had a knock-on effect – something today’s employers need to empathise with and understand the impact.

Today’s early talent is not as ‘work ready’ as previous generations. In fact, according to research conducted by Intelligent.com, 40% of business leaders believe that Generation Z graduates are unprepared for today’s workplace.

So, what else has changed? And why is this new generation more in need of a clear and informative work-readiness approach than ever before?

Nearly one third (32%) of graduates feel unprepared for getting a job.

-Prospects Survey, June 2023

New generation, new issues

Here are some identifiable causes for a lack of ‘work readiness’ among today’s Early Careers candidates.

Virtual isolation

As well as the isolating impact of COVID-19 in the workplace, virtual environments have made things challenging for candidates and businesses. Many Gen Z candidates know nothing of being in a workplace environment. They haven’t had the luxury of an internship or done any in-person work experience therefore they don’t have many of the skills previous cohorts may have naturally possessed.

Office etiquette

Gen Z are the first digitally native generation so they are more than capable with digital interaction, but what about when it comes to going to work in the office? With interactions happening mostly online, work etiquette has become a big issue. Practices that are acceptable at home are not appreciated in the office. Company codes such as punctuality for meetings, how to dress in the office – Gen Z has less awareness of how business operates and expectations within specific environments. 

Different attitudes to work

Candidates’ attitude to work has also changed. Today’s cohorts want more from work, they want purpose, a feeling of belonging, they want to work for a company that aligns to their values. This has lead Gen Z to be more open with their employers. The new generation know that it’s a candidate driven market so are not afraid to tell employers what they think, whether this could be how to improve, what they like or don’t like about working in that environment.  This is why drop-out rates and retention rates are rising in some cases, as employers don’t understand the changing expectations of new hires and how they want to be communicated with or what they want from work.

Hybrid hopes

Lastly, hybrid working is still here. Our new generation is used to working when and where they want to. A recent survey by Handshake showed that 73% of Gen Z employees valued a flexible-working schedule. Remote, hybrid and other forms of flexible working are some of the wellbeing initiatives they expect from employers. Cost of living pressures require flexibility to work remotely, people don’t expect to commute 5 days a week, and candidates will require flexibility in any role offered to be a competitive option.

Over a quarter (26%) of Early Careers candidates cited ‘getting work experience’ as their biggest challenge over the past year.

– Prospects Survey, June 2023

How to make Generation Z ‘work ready’

The good news for employers and hiring managers is that our future talent are keen to learn. Nearly half (47%) of Gen Z professionals say they’re spending more time on learning and development to get ahead in their careers. This gives businesses a good platform to build on.

Here are some of the ways you can support your newest employees and keep them with you for longer.

Get back to basics

Many Early Careers employees may need to be taught basic business etiquette, including how to write a business email. This generation uses social media to communicate, often in shorthand. Consider setting up some bite-sized training for your new employees, to help them get off to a good start.

As well as teaching them how best to communicate and interact, it’s also crucial to demonstrate the importance of working as a team. This helps to encourage personal growth and improve resilience, providing young talent with the skills to adapt in the face of future obstacles.

Buddy them up

A great way to establish expectations and expose them to etiquette and nuances is to team new candidates with a mentor or work buddy. Mentorship is a powerful way to engage, upskill and support students and recent graduates, not least because they’ll probably have experienced the concept before in an educational setting.

Make it more engaging

Providing helpful onboarding information is important, but it needs be delivered in a way that sticks. Using digital content and webinars to educate and upskill people can be more effective than written information, for example, as can onsite preview events to showcase what comes next and network.

Giving feedback in an empathetic and personal way will also have greater effect. Instead of talking across a table, for example, try sitting side-by-side. Breaking down barriers is the most important objective before a candidate joins, make them feel part of your business from point of application or offer.

Review your flexibility

Many businesses are set in their ways of working. (If it works, why change it?) But, with the latest generation of candidates, flexibility will be key to success.

Talk with your candidates about how they like to work. What may look unproductive could be just a different way of doing things. For example, typing on a phone doesn’t necessarily mean a candidate is playing games or texting friends; many Gen Z professionals use their phone to write notes. Progressive employers will get – and keep – the best talent by listening to their candidates’ opinions and adapting the way they work.

Flexibility will also include those all-important working-from-home options.

Be upfront about career prospects

Leaving things to the last minute rarely works. It’s the same when talking about career prospects. If you want to avoid candidates jumping ship, show them where they can go in the business. This will give them focus and meaning, helping them see the bigger picture.  Providing role models who can illustrate varied career paths are impactful and authentic, being able to create learning journeys that are broad and fulfilling is key.

Make the effort to meet them in person

Even though a lot of the onboarding process is virtual, making the effort to meet candidates face-to-face can make a difference. By connecting with someone, whether that’s a recruiter or line manager, they start to feel part of the business. Forming those relationships early on means bonds are made, making candidates want to stay with a business.

Make sure everyone has a positive experience

Your employer brand is everything. Make a bad impression and it can affect how many candidates you attract. Make sure everyone who touches your organisation has a positive experience, whether they’re successful or not.

Candidates who are happy with the selection process and engagement are 38% more likely to accept an offer.

– AMS Talent Team survey

Need some help?

Changing the way you do your onboarding can be a big step. That’s where an Early Careers  recruitment partner can help.

They can provide the expertise and technology to educate, engage and upskill candidates with everything they need to join your business, making them feel part of your business before they even accept an offer. It’s work-readiness training that works for your business.

At AMS, our Early Careers coaching products enable you to make meaningful connections during application and pre–join stages, nurturing candidates during the selection phases, educating and inspiring them to be part of your organisation, and increasing the likelihood of retention. This inclusive approach not only reduces drop-out rates, but also improves the probability of candidates accepting an offer, and contributes to a positive and lasting relationship with your organisation. Learn more in the video below.

Need help in providing onboarding that provides a positive outcome for you and your Early Careers candidates? Talk to AMS today.



When ChatGPT made its debut in late 2022, the initial reaction was varied to say the least. Some technology experts predicted a bold new future of automation and innovation, business leaders predicted massive savings due to the elimination of huge swaths of jobs for millions of people while doomsayers predicted the end of the world when AI becomes self-aware.

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AI by 2025:
The urgent need for Training and Skilling

Contributors:

Allyn Bailey

Senior Director, SmartRecruiters

Julian Thomas

Managing Director of Digital Product, AMS

Rebecca Wettemann

CEO & Principal Analyst, Valoir

Generative AI (Gen AI) is an important part of the future of work but what does that mean for talent leaders?

Our experts agree that a new approach to skilling current and future employees in the ethical use of artificial intelligence is a must.

When ChatGPT made its debut in late 2022, the initial reaction was varied to say the least. Some technology experts predicted a bold new future of automation and innovation, business leaders predicted massive savings due to the elimination of huge swaths of jobs for millions of people while doomsayers predicted the end of the world when AI becomes self-aware. Thankfully, the more dire predictions haven’t materialized as organizations have proceeded with caution when it comes to handing the keys over to a tool that some critics have called “spicy autocomplete” in online memes.   

Talent leaders and their human resource counterparts have taken a keen interest in using Generative AI in their operations with plans to expand its use by 2025. And they are taking steps right now to make the promise of Gen AI in the organization a productive and profitable reality. To achieve these goals, TA leaders will need to focus on AI training so that current and future employees have the right skills to use AI as effectively and as ethically as possible.

Unfortunately, most modern talent acquisition teams have not adequately addressed skilling for using AI in the coming year, according to “Is HR Ready for AI,” a new report from market research firm Valoir.

In a study of 150 global HR leaders, Valoir found that nearly one quarter of businesses have adopted some form of Gen AI for talent acquisition, making it the leading area for Gen AI adoption to date. Meanwhile, 30 percent plan to adopt it in the next 24 months. In terms of training employees for using AI, however, only 14 percent have an established training policy, and a shockingly low eight percent have a skills development program in place for workers whose positions could be made extinct by machine learning.

According to Rebecca Wettemann, CEO and principal analyst for the Arlington, Virginia-based Valoir, TA leaders and their HR counterparts need to establish policies that provide guardrails for the safe and effective use of AI for all employees including their recruitment teams.

“Given how rapidly the field is evolving, TA leaders are going to have to look beyond their traditional training strategies to deliver effective AI training that is tailored to individual roles and existing skills levels,” says Wettemann.

And today’s Gen AI tools can help create the training and skilling programs for new and current employees. “Talent leaders need to move to a skills-based approach — if they haven’t already — to identify opportunities for retraining and upskilling as well as skills gaps,” adds Wettemann. “The good news (and irony) is that AI is well suited to helping them build dynamic skills taxonomies and map skills to learning and development opportunities.”

Gen AI Training Needs for Today and Tomorrow

TA leaders and their recruiting teams using machine learning is fairly old news. TA solutions have used AI to scour resumes, cover letters and job applications in recent years, but with the release of ChatGPT and similar tools that use large language models (LLMs), some recruiters are relying on Gen AI tools to craft interview questions and candidate emails, power chatbots that interact with candidates and guide them through the application and interview process, as well as establish that the hiring process complies with DEI mandates and current employment laws.

Along with this innovation, greater use of AI is coming to the hiring process and the training required may never stop, says Allyn Bailey, senior director of customer marketing for TA solution provider SmartRecruiters and a former global recruiter for Intel Corp.

“This technology isn’t just tinkering around the edges; it’s poised to fundamentally overhaul key aspects of the recruitment process,” says Bailey. “From recruitment marketing to candidate communication, assessment, and even the aggregation of hiring manager feedback, the potential for change is enormous.”

That said, Bailey says that machine learning’s most significant impact will come from businesses that don’t just stop at implementing Gen AI solutions. “The real game-changers will be those that strategically integrate these AI capabilities with a wide range of automation solutions, creating a seamless, efficient, and highly effective recruitment ecosystem,” she says.

“This holistic approach is where the future of talent acquisition lies, and we’re on the cusp of that exciting frontier,” adds Bailey.

Julian Thomas, Managing Director of Digital Product for AMS, paraphrases the advice that Uncle Ben gave Peter Parker in the origin story of Spider-Man: With great power comes great responsibility. And this means training employees with a new set of AI skills for the future.

“The training must focus on judgment and knowing the limitations of the technology. The people that are going to win are those who understand the limitations of this new technology as well as the opportunities,” he says. “The market is moving very fast and the technology’s moving even faster, so we need good training.”

One key area for training is data. SmartRecruiters’s Bailey predicts that TA professionals who use Gen AI will have to become data experts or become more comfortable with gathering and analyzing reams of information.

“In the Gen AI-driven hiring landscape, recruiters need to become maestros of tech, data, ethics, and experience design,” she says. “It’s about getting smart with automation tools to streamline TA operations, diving deep into data analytics for sharper insights, and navigating the ethical maze of AI with a clear compass.”

This new data generated by AI can be analyzed for greater insights into the organization and the people who use these tools. “While we have reports on time to hire and things like that, AI is applying a large language model to the structured data we generate. This will make a much more natural way of reading insight from our process and the data we generate,” says Thomas.

One of those insights is the candidate experience in the recruitment process, or what Bailey calls the “secret sauce” in creating “journeys” through the hiring process that resonate with candidates and TA teams alike to make every touchpoint meaningful with AI.

“Savvy recruiters will weave these elements together, creating a recruitment symphony that’s both efficient and human-centric,” she says. “As companies catch the beat, those leading the charge in blending these skills will not just fill positions but will shape the future of work itself. It’s time to remix recruitment with a blend of tech, heart, and art.”

Avoiding AI Hallucinations and Other Traps

But not all is wine and roses when using current ChatGPT and similar tools. Ask anyone who has used ChatGPT to write their obituary; the results are often ludicrous. The current batch of machine-learning tools have a propensity to generate responses that are flat-out false when given low-quality data;  improper or misleading prompts; or unique interpretations of different AI systems. These are called “AI Hallucinations” when a Gen AI tool fabricates answers from whole cloth.

And there are real-world repercussions when AI Hallucinations occur. ChatGPT, for example, inferred that an Australian politician was guilty in a bribery scandal when he was in fact the whistleblower. In the summer of 2023, a U.S. judge fined two New York lawyers who submitted a legal brief that included six fabricated case citations generated by the same Gen AI platform. This illicit action came at a price: a fine of $5,000.

“TA leaders need to be thinking about training beyond the technical use of AI in areas like critical thinking, so employees will be prepared to evaluate and interpret recommendations that AI delivers,” advises Wettemann.

Thomas agrees. “TA teams also need measurement of the effectiveness and outcomes of their work. We need to establish controls to understand the efficacy and ensure everyone is using it in the same way,” he says. “The organizations that do that will be successful.”

Right now, challenges have emerged in adopting policies and practices for AI training. Valoir found that the biggest hurdle inside organizations is a lack of AI skills and expertise (26 percent), followed by the fear of risk or compliance issues (23 percent), and lack of resources or budget (22 percent).

Training for Using AI Ethically

Employees using AI must also be trained in its ethical use, especially in terms of achieving DEI mandates and complying with government regulations. The current iteration of Gen AI may be a modern, cutting-edge tool that is less than two years old, employers cannot ignore anti-discrimination employment laws that have been on the book for decades. But the potential is there, warns AMS’ Thomas. These large language models (LLMs) based on public Internet content and data gathered inside an organization has the potential to, in his words, “institutionalize corporate biases.” In short, recruiters using AI may inadvertently end up interviewing and recruiting people who look like them and share their backgrounds.

At the same time, recruiters must train for the day when recruiters will allow Gen AI to make hiring decisions, even if this reality could be years in the future.

AI will indeed take the reins in hiring decisions, predicts Bailey. “While we’re often hesitant to sideline human judgment, the reality is that humans bring biases, delays, and inconsistencies to the table,” she says. “AI, on the other hand, offers a path to more objective, efficient, and streamlined recruitment processes.”

Despite what Bailey calls “popular resistance” to the idea that a machine will eventually hire human beings, she believes that the future of hiring leans heavily towards AI-driven decisions. “The question isn’t if AI will lead in hiring, but when and how we’ll adapt to this shift,” she says.

Thomas agrees that it would be naive for TA leaders to assume that Gen AI hiring new workers won’t happen in the near future in the same way that medical AI tools won’t diagnose illnesses and prescribe medications. Not only will AI hire new workers, Thomas believes it will decide which AI technology to deploy inside an enterprise.

“Will AI recruit people? If it does, it’ll be because it’s trusted, understood and measured to be more effective than a human recruiter. But while it isn’t measured and known to be more effective right now, then it shouldn’t do so,” he says.

“This is one reason that recruiters should be trained and not currently hand over the hiring of a candidate to Generative AI, no matter how smart it appears to be,” advises Thomas.

Ultimately, employees and especially TA teams must be trained in the potential power of Gen AI as a productive and potentially disruptive form of workplace technology. At the same time, everyone who trains employees in using this new gear must not lose sight of the people it is designed to serve.

“This is really about putting human factors first and understanding that while there’s plenty of potential benefit from AI, there’s also a lot of fear and it’s not all unfounded,” warns Wettemann. “Rather than taking a technology-first generative AI strategy, leaders will need to take a human-first approach, giving employees both the guardrails and incentives they need to maximize value and minimize risk from AI.”

 written by Phil Albinus and reviewed by Catalyst Editorial Board

with contribution from:

Training for Using AI Ethically

Employees using AI must also be trained in its ethical use, especially in terms of achieving DEI mandates and complying with government regulations. The current iteration of Gen AI may be a modern, cutting-edge tool that is less than two years old, employers cannot ignore anti-discrimination employment laws that have been on the book for decades. But the potential is there, warns AMS’ Thomas. These large language models (LLMs) based on public Internet content and data gathered inside an organization has the potential to, in his words, “institutionalize corporate biases.” In short, recruiters using AI may inadvertently end up interviewing and recruiting people who look like them and share their backgrounds.

At the same time, recruiters must train for the day when recruiters will allow Gen AI to make hiring decisions, even if this reality could be years in the future.

AI will indeed take the reins in hiring decisions, predicts Bailey. “While we’re often hesitant to sideline human judgment, the reality is that humans bring biases, delays, and inconsistencies to the table,” she says. “AI, on the other hand, offers a path to more objective, efficient, and streamlined recruitment processes.”

Despite what Bailey calls “popular resistance” to the idea that a machine will eventually hire human beings, she believes that the future of hiring leans heavily towards AI-driven decisions. “The question isn’t if AI will lead in hiring, but when and how we’ll adapt to this shift,” she says.

Thomas agrees that it would be naive for TA leaders to assume that Gen AI hiring new workers won’t happen in the near future in the same way that medical AI tools won’t diagnose illnesses and prescribe medications. Not only will AI hire new workers, Thomas believes it will decide which AI technology to deploy inside an enterprise.

“Will AI recruit people? If it does, it’ll be because it’s trusted, understood and measured to be more effective than a human recruiter. But while it isn’t measured and known to be more effective right now, then it shouldn’t do so,” he says.

“This is one reason that recruiters should be trained and not currently hand over the hiring of a candidate to Generative AI, no matter how smart it appears to be,” advises Thomas.

Ultimately, employees and especially TA teams must be trained in the potential power of Gen AI as a productive and potentially disruptive form of workplace technology. At the same time, everyone who trains employees in using this new gear must not lose sight of the people it is designed to serve.

“This is really about putting human factors first and understanding that while there’s plenty of potential benefit from AI, there’s also a lot of fear and it’s not all unfounded,” warns Wettemann. “Rather than taking a technology-first generative AI strategy, leaders will need to take a human-first approach, giving employees both the guardrails and incentives they need to maximize value and minimize risk from AI.”

 written by Phil Albinus and reviewed by Catalyst Editorial Board

with contribution from:

Allyn Bailey

Senior Director, SmartRecruiters

Julian Thomas

Managing Director of Digital Product, AMS

Rebecca Wettemann

CEO & Principal Analyst, Valoir


Learn how you can build a business case for Recruitment Process Outsourcing

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TEST: Get your complete guide to Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO), from the experts (COPY) (COPY)

Get the business case for Recruitment Process Outsourcing now

It’s time to take a closer look at how an RPO partner can help your organization optimize hiring in a competitive market.

Get your copy of the paper for insights into how an RPO partner can help you:

  • Build a talent pipeline to fulfil today’s talent needs as well as what you might need in the future.
  • Develop and communicate an authentic employee value proposition.
  • Embed DEI at every level of your organization.
  • Streamline your recruitment process with the latest and greatest technology.

  • Understanding when to delegate tasks and let go is a challenge for all business leaders, but it is especially difficult for those running startups and small to medium size enterprises.

    View the story

    Why small/ medium businesses in the DACH region should consider RPO

    Commentators:

    Josh Bersin

    Founder and CEO of The Josh Bersin Company and HR and TA technology analyst

    Tanja Lahaye

    Client Solutions Director DACH, AMS

    Rebecca Wettemann

    Founder and CEO of market analysis firm, Valoir

    Understanding when to delegate tasks and let go is a challenge for all business leaders, but it is especially difficult for those running startups and small to medium size enterprises.

    When is the right time to hand over the reins to an expert and focus on something different? How do you know when you need help? Most importantly, when will the benefits of outsourcing outweigh the costs?

    Germany alone is home to more than 2.6 million small / medium enterprises employing 19 million people, approximately half of its entire workforce. Hundreds of thousands of new small firms are created each year, boosting the economy and building new jobs. Yet finding, attracting and onboarding quality talent can be a problem for small businesses.

    There is a misconception in talent acquisition that recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) is only for big businesses with big turnovers. However, RPO can be hugely effective for SMEs and mid-size companies who are growing rapidly in scale and geographic reach.

    Expertise and access

    This is because RPO isn’t just about delivering quality recruits at a reduced cost. It’s also about tapping into expertise, talent pools and capacity that you might not otherwise have access to.

    “In SMEs there is a feeling that what makes you great is that you do everything. They are concerned that when they leverage a company like AMS they will lose control of what makes their business theirs,” says Tanja Lahaye, Client Solutions Director EMEA, at AMS.

    “In reality, when we partner with SMEs we are an extension of their organization. We aren’t AMS, we are them,” she adds.

    Lahaye gives three ways that a RPO provider can help small and midsize companies develop talent acquisition.

    “Right now, hiring is on the side of corporations, not talent. There is a deluge of people coming in, but they aren’t always the right people with the right skills.

    “Hiring managers are misusing their time as they can’t get through all the candidates applying for roles. The knock-on effect of this is that the candidate experience is really bad as hiring managers are spread too thin. Candidates don’t get responses and this erodes the company’s brand,” says Lahaye.

    As the talent market fluctuates and becomes a candidate market again, these brands become less desirable as candidates recall previous poor experiences and share them with other potential recruits. Working with a RPO provider allows SMEs to consistently offer candidates a good experience while also identifying the right talent to pursue.

    Your voice and brand

    Secondly, outsourcing recruitment to an RPO provider gives SMEs better agility and creativity in the talent market.

    “We’re often able to help clients by taking on a portion of their business so that they can focus on other areas,” says Lahaye.

    “They can choose to invest in training their people to get better in certain areas, whether sourcing, skills development or identifying more diverse candidates, or simply focus on what they are best at from a talent acquisition perspective,” she adds.

    Finally, recruitment process outsourcing allows businesses to access expertise, knowledge and experience in a way they wouldn’t be able to do so in-house – while retaining control of their business.

    “Dependent on size, some small to mid-sized businesses might not even have a ‘true’ recruitment function. Their talent teams might do benefits, employee relations and recruitment all as part of the same job, pulling people in different directions and taking them away from what they are good at,” says Lahaye.

    “When SMEs work with us, they control the process. They can choose to purchase the piece where they need expertise, whether that’s people who understand how to use recruitment technology, know where to find people or develop procedures – and they do it efficiently in the client’s mechanisms.”

    According to HR and TA technology analyst Josh Bersin, recruiting has grown more challenging thanks to a labor shortage and the high demand for skilled candidates.  Not only are highly-skilled roles in great demand, but recruiting technologies, tools, and systems are radically changing, according to the founder and CEO of The Josh Bersin Company.

    “By working with a deeply experienced RPO firm, regardless of size, companies can quickly upgrade their process and technology, and take advantage of deep expertise in this complex area”, he tells AMS Catalyst.  “I see RPO as a steady and increasingly important part of the HR marketplace, growing in importance over time.”

    Your voice and brand

    Secondly, outsourcing recruitment to an RPO provider gives SMEs better agility and creativity in the talent market.

    “We’re often able to help clients by taking on a portion of their business so that they can focus on other areas,” says Lahaye.

    “They can choose to invest in training their people to get better in certain areas, whether sourcing, skills development or identifying more diverse candidates, or simply focus on what they are best at from a talent acquisition perspective,” she adds.

    Finally, recruitment process outsourcing allows businesses to access expertise, knowledge and experience in a way they wouldn’t be able to do so in-house – while retaining control of their business.

    “Dependent on size, some small to mid-sized businesses might not even have a ‘true’ recruitment function. Their talent teams might do benefits, employee relations and recruitment all as part of the same job, pulling people in different directions and taking them away from what they are good at,” says Lahaye.

    “When SMEs work with us, they control the process. They can choose to purchase the piece where they need expertise, whether that’s people who understand how to use recruitment technology, know where to find people or develop procedures – and they do it efficiently in the client’s mechanisms.”

    According to HR and TA technology analyst Josh Bersin, recruiting has grown more challenging thanks to a labor shortage and the high demand for skilled candidates.  Not only are highly-skilled roles in great demand, but recruiting technologies, tools, and systems are radically changing, according to the founder and CEO of The Josh Bersin Company.

    “By working with a deeply experienced RPO firm, regardless of size, companies can quickly upgrade their process and technology, and take advantage of deep expertise in this complex area”, he tells AMS Catalyst.  “I see RPO as a steady and increasingly important part of the HR marketplace, growing in importance over time.”

    Project RPO

    Recruitment is a labor intensive process that takes time and effort, often with specialist knowledge. Very few mid-sized businesses have the finances and desire to employ a single recruitment specialist, let alone an entire team. Partnering with a RPO provider gives expanding organizations access to expertise at a fraction of the cost. Effectively, SMEs can get recruitment expertise on a pay-per-use model.

    This can be particularly useful to businesses that are expanding rapidly into new geographies and sectors. Buying region-specific recruitment knowledge around hiring laws and talent expectations can be invaluable in moving quickly and effectively.

    This leads to another misconception around RPO. Many talent professionals believe that RPO is only effective for long-term, complex recruitment challenges. In reality, RPO can be hugely helpful in managing capacity gaps and talent acquisition capability on a project by project basis and Rebecca Wettemann, founder and CEO of market analysis firm Valoir, supports this view. 

    “For HR and talent acquisition teams with limited bandwidth, which is almost everyone, RPO is more than just an augmentation of existing resources. RPO can enable HR and talent leaders to scale up and down their recruitment efforts as needed while maintaining access to a broader and diverse field of talent.”

    Wettemann went on to explain that “because RPO’s are focused specifically on the talent acquisition process, they can bring up to date knowledge to talent pools and the most effective means to reach them. This is particularly important in areas of new demand or high specialization, or hard-to-find candidates. And of course, RPO’s provide strategic advice and develop recruiting strategies based on in-depth and up-to-date knowledge of evolving regulations and different compliance requirements for different locations, industries, and job roles. Critically, RPO’s are able to leverage their investments and knowledge in people analytics and other cutting-edge technologies to deliver their benefits to their clients without clients having to tackle investments.”

    So why should smaller companies consider partnering with a recruitment process outsourcing company to deal with their talent acquisition needs?

    By providing access to expert, experienced recruiters, RPO providers can improve your recruitment processes and outcomes, allowing you to focus more on the day-to-day requirements of your business. It can save you money in the long-term on recruitment, while also bringing you better and more diverse candidates. It can also help you develop better internal processes and procedures, all while maintaining your voice and branding.

    “If you embrace walking shoulder to shoulder with an RPO provider on the journey of talent attraction, it can only make your talent acquisition team stronger,” smiles Lahaye.

    written by the Catalyst Editorial Board

    with contribution from:

    Josh Bersin

    Founder and CEO, The Josh Bersin Company and HR and TA technology analyst

    Tanja Lahaye

    Client Solutions Director DACH, AMS

    Rebecca Wettemann

    Founder and CEO of market analysis firm, Valoir