The highlight of my month came last week when I teamed up with Jamie Pirie, AMS Client Solutions Director,and Debra Sparshot, Talent Industry Expert & Analyst from TALiNT Partners, to host a virtual roundtable focusing on the most important topics for early career leaders and organisations across EMEA. It was a great chance to step away from the day-to-day and share insights on key considerations for 2024 when hiring and nurturing early talent.
The roundtable attendees were a fantastic blend of TA professionals, some with highly strategic, well established early career programmes and others at the start of their journey to elevate early careers within their organization. This mix of experience made for a rich discussion across many topics, from authentic attraction methods, diversity, new routes for early talent into organisations, nurturing talent pipelines, hiring for skills and potential and how to bring the business along for the ride!
My key takeaways:
Assessing for skills and potential allows you to remove traditional methods of assessment that can have adverse impact on certain diverse groups, and coupled with educating the business on the benefits and considerations around this change, as well as having a method for reviewing and refining your approach, can lead to strong outcomes that help build your future talent pipelines.
The competition for talent is increasing and early talent candidates are looking for authentic messaging and storytelling to help them decide where to apply. Utilizing existing early talent employees and ambassadors to create meaningful day-in-the-life insights for candidates to get a true picture (the good and the bad) of what it is like to work for your organization can open doors for talent that wouldn’t have previously considered applying and increase the retention of your new hires; ‘shiny’ imagery that paints a perfect picture no longer resonates and leads to disappointment once the candidate joins.
Retention of early talent during, and post-program, is an ongoing challenge that employers must prioritize through robust development, progression and retention strategies. Being clear in your attraction on the possible career pathways, again through real examples and authentic storytelling, as well as the development a person will receive, is something that candidates today are definitely looking out for.
There were so many other takeaways and I look forward to continuing the conversation in further roundtables and conversations. Thank you to all of the participants for an engaging and open discussion and to Debra for another expertly facilitated session. If you would like to be part of future roundtables or want to discuss your early careers talent strategy with myself or other AMS experts please reach out to me at [email protected]
In a world of uncertainty, India’s talent market continues to experience significant growth. Global Capability Centres (GCCs) are successfully navigating the dynamic landscape by embracing new technologies, particularly evident in the recruitment space.
India’s GCCs have acknowledged the benefits of incorporating technology into their hiring processes, with many transitioning towards a more digital and data-driven approach. Notably, 96.5% of recruiters in this market agree that Artificial Intelligence (AI) stands out as one of the best ways to improve recruitment process and eliminate bias.
The transition towards a digitally driven hiring strategy not only conserves time and resources for TA teams, but also streamlines administrative tasks. For instance, the integration of automated chatbots for interview scheduling alleviates the administrative burden on recruiters, enabling them to focus on more critical tasks. Data-led hiring also empowers organisations to source, attract and engage a wider, more diverse pool of candidates globally, leveraging AI-driven skills, intelligence, and mapping.
However, It’s not all smooth sailing!
While it would seem logical to introduce technology into aspects of your recruitment process, it is not as simple as flipping a switch. Many GCCs are recognising that digital transformation poses a significant challenge.
Amidst the myriad of talent technology solutions and tools available in the market, identifying the right option for your unique business needs can be an intense endeavour – not to mention the subsequent challenges of implementation and optimisation.
Building a strong technology stack is not done by simply picking something off the shelf. What might work for one business may not necessarily work for your unique requirements.
This is where partnering with an expert Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) provider can be a game-changer.
Making technology work for you
An expert RPO partner will identify the optimal talent technology stack tailored to your specific business goals, whether it involves streamlining candidate processing, insight-led sourcing, or improving diversity and inclusion.
RPO organisations regularly trial, evaluate and rank new talent technology solutions, providing deep insight into the talent tech landscape. They also train your talent acquisition teams on utilising the resources if your business decides to integrate them into the organisation.
How AMS simplifies your hiring process through technology
Be it utilising AMS’ own technologies or tapping into our extensive partner network, we present the right solution to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of your hiring process.
One such digital solution we offer is AMS Verified. AMS Verified is designed to identify the ideal technology fit from among thousands of available talent technology solutions, optimising your talent technology stack to support your mission of finding the best talent for your business.
AMS One optimises the delivery of RPO talent solutions, enhancing quality of hires, accelerating time-to-hire, improving fairness in the hiring process, and increasing satisfaction among hiring managers and candidates.
An AMS success story
The challenge
In 2020, a customer services client partnered with AMS to hire 1,200 junior-mid level specialists annually. By 2023, this forecast was predicted to more than double, reaching over 5,000 hires. AMS took on the responsibility to improve the client’s recruitment processes to effectively manage the significant surge in hiring volume.
The solution
AMS initiated a three-month pilot programme to streamline the candidate screening process. This included implementing a new technology that eliminated the need for recruiters to individually test for language skills and conduct assessments on numerous candidates.
AMS also supported the in-house recruitment team to expedite interviews, and managed offer processes to lessen the client team’s involvement – resulting in a weekly time savings of 50 hours.
The results
The partnership achieved significant results:
Processed over 800 candidates during the three-month pilot program
Extended 134 job offers.
Saved 1,667 person-hours through a reduction in client involvement.
Achieved a submission-offer ratio of 17.5%, a substantial increase from the previous 2%.
Enhanced candidate quality and improved hiring manager experience.
To find out more about how AMS can develop the right tech strategy to tackle your talent acquisition challenges, get in touch today.
Technology companies are at a pivotal point of evaluating talent attraction and retention strategies. Historically, tech companies have been quite lucrative for potential talent, having a level of swagger and benefits that were perceived by candidates to be above other industries.
With the sector being faced with some unsettlement and apprehension over the past 12 months, this is the perfect time for technology companies to re-evaluate their talent attraction and retention strategies to make them the destination of choice. This can begin by looking at the Employee Value Proposition, but it goes beyond reconsidering the EVP and creating or refreshing Talent Value Propositions to care for the various worker types at tech companies versus taking a broad brush.
Through scrutinizing the approach at a talent segment level, developing a tailored approach, and being transparent about the market dynamics, tech companies can be the place to be again.
Before layoffs, tech companies were more renowned for workplace cultures that serviced employees with free benefits and premium amenities in state-of-the art offices. But gourmet chefs and meditation rooms weren't introduced just to keep workers on site for as long as possible – they were a means of attracting talent.
With the world turning its attention to the increasing growth of Artificial Intelligence (AI), it is also questioned how this growth impacts priorities such as Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). Upon listening to the podcast episode ‘More than a Glitch’ by the Good Robot, we are aware of the different challenges and perhaps opportunities in aligning AI and DEI. In the first instance, they acknowledge that AI is neither a good or bad thing in itself, but rather, technology defies these binary structures, so we should consider the context in which we use AI to impact DEI efforts and initiatives positively.
The three things that stood out for me in this podcast include:
1. Bias still exists in AI systems. People with their own perceptions, understanding and knowledge still frame these systems. That is why there is a need for more diverse individuals within the AI space to overcome the power imbalances and overall collective unconscious bias.
2. Technology / AI systems are unable to address underlying systemic social and cultural issues. AI is not a magical tool that automatically makes life easier; instead, AI exists from historical data, which allows it to make predictions and suggestions using mathematical and coding patterns. Therefore, if historically, one group is more privileged than another, AI systems reinforce this.
3. When we “design for accessibility, everyone benefits”. Although it is complex and costly to restructure legacy systems to cater for the advancements in the DEI space, when we carefully consider how we build and continue to build AI systems, addressing a problem can benefit the targeted community/group and still have a domino effect on everyone.
So, what does this mean for the Talent industry?
One of the major takeaways from this podcast was the advice to incrementally approach new and changing technologies, with a sense of friction, so as to prevent discriminatory measures along the way. In the HR world, when we are looking at platforms or even the sourcing tools that our team will regularly engage with, it’s worth asking ourselves what are the high risks in using these? We should carefully consider whether the adoption of new technology will increase exclusionary behaviours.
We have more candidates on the market than we have jobs, so driving efficiency is key to productivity. But as we review the AI structures – we need to ask the hard questions. What is the historical data is reinforcing. I would be intrigued to know what are the coding and legacy structures that are scanning job descriptions and resumes. Are you scanning for a particular skillset, education, and is that equitable and supporting in your inclusion strategies? We will start to see more research in coming years.
Ultimately, the message is this. It’s ok to be inquisitive about hiring with the use of technology. Hard questions to ask: are we ensuring that recruiters really take a good look at the short list from the results of these platforms? Are we being considerate of the algorithmic labelling that goes on behind doors? Where are these technology companies getting their data from? What biases are present in the data?
Is there enough focus on the social impact of technology in hiring? With profitability as a priority for many, can we shift to more of a balanced approach between profitability and fairness?
I presume our answers to these questions, will come in due course as our engagement and ‘friction’ with AI increases.
When we design for accessibility, everyone benefits.
2023 saw a significant decline in hiring rate across the globe with LinkedIn noting a 24% decline across markets such as the UK and USA. Despite that weakening of hiring volumes, LinkedIn Chief Economist states that there was evidence the rate of decline was slowing. As a result, it is their view 2024 would see a return to stabilisation and potential for a cautious return to hiring at the back end of the year. This decline and stabilisation coincide with a noted increase in candidates applying to jobs across the year.
In their Global talent trends article, LinkedIn report a 23% increase in the rate at which candidates have been applying for jobs in the UK as an example. The final factor that continues to cause a challenge is the impact of layoffs across multiple industries but particularly in the technology space. So far in 2024, at the time of writing, we have seen 213 different tech companies announce layoffs with approx. 45,052 people impacted, 1,251 people per day.
With reduced opportunities and increasing applications this causes some fundamental challenges to TA teams to ensure top talent is considered for the right roles.
“Hiring Challenges noted by The Josh Bersin Company. Time to Hire:45 days (1-2 days longer in 2023 vs 2022). Applicants up by 20-25%”
Given that backdrop there are number of steps companies will have to take to mature their application management processes and limit impacts in the short to long term.
Potential Solutions
There are many ways to pivot your existing strategy to help solve for this challenge. Below are some of the most effective to support your organisation, from fully utilising your existing technology stack, all the way through to tech that may require further investment but supports an improved candidate and hiring manager experience.
Fully utilise your ATS Many of the leading application tracking systems have features that are regularly ignored or forgotten about that can help solve for this challenge. One such feature is sometimes known as the killer questions. These can be custom built key questions that can support qualifying an application, to ensure it has the most relevant experience necessary to support the role. Turning this feature on can support a reduction of profiles for your Sourcing team to review and increase the likelihood that the most relevant candidates are identified and supported much more quickly.
Build nurtured Talent Communities In periods of high applicant numbers, a well segmented Talent Community strategy, which is supported by best-in-class content regularly, will deliver a reduction in Time to offer and Recruitment Agency spend. The objective of any Talent pool is to create a warm, engaged, and relevant community of talent against job families that are recurring and critical in nature. Through carefully curated content released consistently, “fans of the brand” are created, which should perform more reliably through your hiring process. With application rates rising you can utilise the Talent Community strategy to offer a much better candidate experience when not selected to move forward in the role. As a result, you will build pipelines of future talent, engaged with rich relevant content, to support speed in the process later when additional roles become available.
Invest in further technology solutions In addition to the two pragmatic and sensible strategies above there are increasing volumes of tech solutions that can support a best-in-class candidate experience in addition to supporting a seamless and speedy recruitment process.
Top of funnel chat bot Applications like RoboRecruiter or Paradox AI plugged into the very beginning of the application process, supercharge the candidate application process, asking key screening questions, serving up relevant job roles and essentially automating the response handling process in an easy and convenient way for the candidate. Removing this activity from a Sourcers capacity, will provide more opportunity to perform the necessary headhunting activities on those critical and challenging positions that are not impacted by this surge in applications.
Technology enabled Screening. A huge amount of lost time in a process is always in the organisation of a suitable time for all parties to partake in a meeting. This can occur during screening but also across every stage of interviews. A remarkably simple introduction of a calendar matching software like Calendly solves this issue instantly and again supports candidates with a best-in-class experience eliminating needless wastage in an already time restrictive process flow.
Once we have a date and time, we can focus on improving the screening experience. Another potential byproduct of having Generative AI built into the Sourcers toolkit would be accurate instantaneous note taking, whilst conducting a verbal screening call. This allows the Sourcer to focus on engaging the suitable candidate instead of having to dual focus on note taking as well as having an interesting conversation.
Integrated Recruitment Operating Systems Having a consistent Recruitment operating system like AMSOne that integrates across your ATS, CRM and HCIS, with Stack and rank technology built in, enables your sourcing function to get to the most relevant and suitable candidates in a much quicker fashion. eliminating wastage in reviewing profiles that just do not meet the spec. In addition, time saved in having a system that overlays across your talent ecosystem, enables seamless disposition of candidates into Talent pools or more suitable live vacancies again supporting time efficiency.
Overall, 2024 looks to bring with it a diverse set of challenges than the year that proceeded it, but with some tweaks to using your existing tech as well as some further investment, your organisation can come out on top with the best available talent in your market.
While we’re still seeing a year-over-year decline in hiring, the rate of decline is slowing in certain regions and countries, which we can take as a sign of stabilization.
At AMS our early careers and campus experts understand the significance of providing vital information and fostering engagement within our student populations. For many, this is their first time entering into a formal selection process, making the provision of guidance and structure pivotal for a positive outcome for them – benefiting both the individuals and your employer brand.
According to a recent talent team survey candidates who are happy with the selection process are 38% more likely to accept an offer. We also know that by actively involving your entire talent pool in upskilling and preparation, the quality and diversity of your offer base increases – enabling a more even candidate baseline going into selection.
The pandemic has profoundly affected the development of our future talent, taking away opportunities to engage in the ‘real life’ work experience that traditionally equipped them for selection processes and future career paths. Empowering this demographic with accessible and relevant content in a social-style format, coupled with the expertise of face-to-face virtual coaching sessions, becomes a powerful strategy for success in a competitive marketplace.
In our extensive work with early careers clients, we have found there is a real need for employers to upskill and retain valuable candidates in the selection process and through to day one. Continuous communication in a blended digital and face to face format enables them to feel a real sense of belonging and connection to your brand from the early stages of the process, countering the challenge of reneges. Beyond this ensuring a positive view of your employer brand by all candidates who touch your organisation, irrespective of the final outcome, is also critical to brand advocacy.
Our coaching products enable you to make meaningful connections during application and pre–join stages, nurturing them during the selection phases, educating and inspiring them to be part of your organisation, increasing the likelihood of retaining candidates. This inclusive approach not only reduced drop-out rates, it improves the probability of candidates accepting an offer and contributes to a positive and lasting relationship with your organisation.
In today’s competitive talent market, attracting and retaining talent poses a significant challenge for organisations. This is where employer branding plays a key role. Your Employer Value Proposition (EVP) or Talent Value Proposition (TVP) should take centre stage in acquiring and retaining the right talent.
But the world is changing at a fast pace. The flexible work arrangements and global talent accessibility are prompting organisations to rethink how they can deliver a consistent employer brand proposition to engage the talent they need.
Recently, AMS held a discussion with talent acquisition leaders across the APAC region to explore strategies for building a compelling employer brand, and the nuances of customizing brand messages for different audiences.
Here are some of the key takeaways from the session.
Moving from EVP to TVP
Organisations are now moving away from the comprehensive EVP model and towards creating targeted TVPs.
Traditionally, EVPs look across an organisation’s entire group – its audiences, locations etc. – and communicate (to both internal and external talent) the values of the organisation, what it offers to candidates, and what is expected of them. Crafting a robust, all-encompassing EVP can requires a lot of investment, both in financial cost and resources.
In contrast, TVPs focus on specific core priorities, whether it be a location where talent is lacking, or a specific skill set needed to fill a skills gap. So, rather than trying to tackle the whole EVP, crafting a TVP allows the organisation to understand a particular talent segment and develop a messaging platform that speaks directly to them.
This targeted approach enables organisations to analyse their TVPs to identify collective patterns and candidate responses. This valuable insight can subsequently shape their EVP. As one expert put it, “It’s basically building your EVP from the ground up, instead of a big pie in the sky idea and trying to make it fit for each of your audiences.”
Getting the balance right
There were varied opinions from the roundtable panel on whether a business’ TVP should be the same for both internal and external candidates.
Many panellists emphasised the importance of brand consistency, especially when communicating the organisation’s values. Nonetheless, all experts agreed it was crucial to have the ability to adapt a TVP messages flexibly when targeting specific markets.
One panellist shared their strategy of developing tailored TVP ‘personas’ to create targeted messaging, focusing on candidates with specific degrees. Another speaker seconded this approach, highlighting the necessity to adapt strategies for various global locations, resulting in a more niche and targeted TVP messaging. As one panellist aptly put it, “The concept of a brand needs to evolve over time depending on your needs”.
This was no different when it came to internal staff. One expert highlighted that most of the talent in their organisation is under 35, hence they have tailored their TVP messaging specifically for Generation Y and Z workers.
The key takeaway is, regardless of the message, organisations must be clear on the connective tissue in their TVP. Understanding the fundamentals that align with the business’ core values and culture remains paramount.
Delivering the proposition
Discussing the new TVP approach is one thing, but executing it is a whole different challenge.
Many panellists faced the same dilemma: creating a consistent brand message while retaining the flexibility to tailor it when necessary.
A solution proposed by the panel was having access to strong and consistent toolkits in local markets. These toolkits empower organisations to target specific talent groups with adaptable key messages. This might include using different imagery or pulling out sub-key messages that are relevant to the targeted audience.
Understanding the audience is key, and having a toolkit that sets your TVP benchmark makes it much easier to flex and shape around different groups. Without one, ensuring brand consistency can be challenging.
As one panellist said, “The key to success is to prioritise the exact talent segment you need to talk to, focusing on the niche or business-critical ones, or the ones that meet your diversity targets.”
Showing people what you’re made of
Telling compelling stories about the business is one great way to bring in new talent. Many panellists shared how they are creating new and engaging video content based on the day-to-day life of the organisation. This has proven to be successful in attracting candidates. “It’s an authentic way of showing people what it’s really like to work at the business. It helps people see what they could be doing within the business,” said one speaker.
However, the panel emphasised the importance of keeping it real. Though authentic testimonials may not always have the most polished look and feel, they contribute to the content’s authenticity. One panellist said, “Having content that’s believable is far more important than having something that costs a lot or takes time to produce.”
Listening to your teams
At the heart of any business are the people that work there. Listening to internal teams is crucial when crafting a TVP or any related content. Understanding the reality of everyday life in the business is essential for accurate representation. As one panellist highlighted, “You don’t want to be selling something that’s not true about the business. Because when people join, if it’s not the reality, then attrition starts.”
Setting the guardrails
There was extensive discussion on maintaining control of TVP content. When executing brand activities online (creating video content or writing social media posts), you open yourself up to the risk of negative posts or comments. Establishing some ground rules is a good idea to mitigate potential damage.
Industries such as Pharma/Life Sciences and Finance, being highly regulated industries, need some rules in place. Many organisations will create simple one-page user guides with helpful hints on how and what to post on the business social media platforms.
Utilising technology is extremely useful for creating controlled, consistent TVP content. Some panellists said they use platform or apps that allow internal ‘brand ambassadors’ to easily film videos on their phones, edit them using pre-determined brand guidelines, and publish directly. It’s about creating a framework that represents the brand and is user-centric.
One organisation even formed a team to track the content and adapt anything that wasn’t ‘on-brand’. However, as one panellist said, “People will post what they want, and you can’t verify everything that goes out.”
The challenges ahead
TThe talent landscape is evolving rapidly, with new factors impacting the ability to attract and retain talent each day.
The panel experts agreed that the ability to pivot needs to be accelerated. Candidate and employee expectations, especially for Gen-Z talent, are shifting. An organisation’s TVPs must align clearly with and articulate its values and aspirations. Businesses must be prepared to be agile, creative and genuine in communicating their brand to this new world of talent.
Need help building a compelling brand both externally and integrally? AMS has the expertise to deliver the right talent strategy for your business, today and tomorrow. Get in touch today.
For Parts 1, 2, and 3 of this series, visit here – Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3
Pillars of Resilience 4: Structures
Having examined three key pillars of organisational resilience, we arrive at the fourth and final pillar. After attitudes, beliefs, and agility, structures are the final major component whose embedding into a business ensures it emerges stronger from times of crisis.
An Example: Talent Structures
Robust talent structures are often highlighted for the pivotal role they play in resilience, particularly following the Great Resignation and accompanying ‘War for Talent’ in which many businesses are caught. The Great Resignation, otherwise known as the Great Attrition or even the Great Reshuffle, is an economic trend that has, since the start of 2021, seen unprecedented numbers of employees resigning from their posts. Major motivations include poor company culture, lack of growth opportunities, inadequate flexible working models, childcare issues, and low salaries. Perhaps not too surprisingly, surveys have revealed that those who have found new employment are experiencing improved pay, opportunities, flexibility, and work-life balance than they had been offered by their previous post.
The message from PwC’s latest Global Workforce Hopes and Fears Survey is clear; the Great Resignation is not over. 26% of the global workforce intends to resign in the next 12 months, compared to 19% last year, with employees feeling stifled and unfulfilled. Albeit that, as we saw earlier in this series, many global CEOs are anticipating a five-day return to offices, the data point in the opposing direction, towards the need for reinvention and the cooperant energy and support of the workforce.
The War for Talent is an intertwined subject, referring to the increasingly competitive climate in which organisations are trying to retain and recruit employees. The most significant predictor of industry-adjusted attrition is toxic corporate culture, with job insecurity and failure to recognise employee performance among the top five. Interestingly, very high levels of innovation are counted as a dissuasive factor for employees, suggesting that innovation must not come at the expense of culture; business leaders must find a healthy medium.
The Life Sciences industry is not a neutral party in the War for Talent; while it has always experienced attrition, there is today a higher proportion of talent migrating out of the sector altogether, forcing business leaders to rethink talent strategies that address not just attrition but an ever-widening skills gap. 80% of pharmaceutical companies reports a skills mismatch, indicating that, particularly in this climate, senior leaders need to re-evaluate recruitment and prioritise upskilling.
Equipping leadership
Executive education
Similarly to what we have seen in regard to the first three pillars, executive education programmes can help to develop senior management as they embed certain structures and frameworks into their organisations. A course like Mastering Talent Management: Hiring, Engaging, and Rewarding A+ Talent offered by Wharton equips talent leaders with methods, strategies, and tools for employee engagement, increased people analytics competency, and knowledge of incentive and reward frameworks. However, structures for resilience are by no means limited to talent. The Asian Institute of Management offered the course Crisis Leadership in November 2023, which aimed to empower learners to build crisis management structures into their leadership and businesses, including frameworks for situational assessment and crisis communication plans.
Rotational assignments
In the last instalment, I highlighted how rotational assignments can play a part in furnishing leaders and emerging leaders with cognitive agility. Indeed, a survey of 143 CHROs, conducted by the Darla Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina, found that providing rotational assignments for emerging leaders ranked highly for importance as a practice for developing future C-Suite, higher even than leadership development programmes or mentoring. The extent of their perceived importance is likely down to the truly empirical insight such assignments offer into different business areas, locations, project types, and indeed structures. Rotational assignments within business units and their varying working models and structures enhances a leader or aspirant leader’s comprehension of the entire organisation and equips her to then create and tailor the right frameworks for resilience.
Do you want to discuss your leadership talent strategy, or need help identifying and attracting the right leaders for your business?
A collaboration with AMS Executive Search means an holistic and nuanced approach to securing the best individuals for your life sciences organisation, from Drug Programme Leaders to Chief Commercial Officers. To have a conversation, please get in touch via LinkedIn or email.
With the current state of the global economy and the drop in hiring numbers, it’s difficult to imagine that a hiring surge might be on its way. The LinkedIn Global talent trends report states that France has hired 17% less in 2023 than in 2022, with Germany at 18% less and Spain at 20% less. But recruitment is cyclical, and the uptick will come – not necessarily because of an improvement to the economy. As we’ve seen in recent years, political, health, technological, and cultural factors can all play a part in demand for talent and roles.
Whilst TA leaders may be used to fluctuations in talent demand, the scale of disruptions these days make hiring surges more and more difficult to deal with.
Pressures building in the workforce
Younger workers want to work where they choose, in the way that suits them. Money isn’t always the driving factor behind who they want to work for, and they prefer to move jobs frequently. In contrast, economic uncertainty means some people further along in their careers are averse to moving to new employment for fear of putting their stability at risk.
It means more choice for the mobile, and fewer candidates for the best jobs, a tension that’s building in the workforce. TA professionals need to be prepared to pivot and scale with speed against this backdrop.
What can TA teams do to prepare?
Over the last few years, we’ve seen TA leaders navigating wild extremes. Some markets have swung from ‘no hiring’ to ‘accelerated hiring’ and back again. During the last hiring surge, TA leaders hired recruiters however and wherever they could. Recruiters were at one point more sought after than software engineers, and we saw average salaries driven up.
For many companies, a way of introducing stability has been to keep their in-house TA teams ‘topped up’ to a certain level in preparation for the next upswing. The lack of flex brings cost implication, and inconsistencies in process make it hard to scale TA models from there.
So, what steps can TA take today? Here are some pointers.
Talent pooling and strategic talent sourcing
One solution is to start building a talent pool in advance of the next surge. It’s a discreet piece of work that you can outsource to a dedicated team, leaving your team to focus on business as usual.
Experience tells us that candidates who are being contacted early and engaged with are more likely to step into a role with that company when the time comes. So, if you know the skills you will need but you don’t know how many people you’ll have to hire, then finding the right people and keeping them warm and engaged with your brand makes sense.
Outsourcing and blended models
An additional approach is to build scalable resources into your team by outsourcing tasks you don’t need to hold on to in-house. Time-consuming but essential responsibilities like writing job ads, applicant screening, interview scheduling, candidate support and expense management can be passed to qualified professionals, giving your TA experts more time to dive into your business needs and be ready to accelerate when the time comes.
Checking your value proposition
Working on your employee value proposition ahead of time is another measure you can put in place. Look at the candidate experience before, during, and after recruitment, and consider the different needs of internal and external candidates. Think about how you communicate your organization’s values and culture to different target groups, and whether you come across as authentic and effective throughout the candidate journey through your hiring process.
Workforce strategy and planning
Being close to your company strategy is essential, so that you understand the business challenges, as well as the skills you’re going to need. Concentrating on building up an effective bank of data on the skills within your business will be an enabler for both technological intervention and insight for you. There may also be work you can do to identify where else you might potentially find candidates: not just across sectors, but through looking closer and cross functionally at internal mobility, upskilling, location strategies and considering skills-based hiring.
Working with a talent partner can help you build a blended and scalable model that will put you on the front foot when the surge happens and save you money in agency fees for direct external hires, in hiring manager time, and in retaining high numbers of recruiters in-house. Outsourcing is about providing talent teams with valuable quality outcomes, with scalability, and with flexibility to pivot and always be ready for what’s next.
In the late 90’s to the early 2000’s, India witnessed the emergence of numerous Business Process Outsourcing (BPOs) and Information Technology Enabled Services (ITES) firms across the country. This period saw a significant influx of talent, primarily for low to semi-skilled, white-collared roles.
Fast forward to today, India has solidified its position as a hub for Shared Services Centres (SSCs), hosting 45% of global SSCs. According to a Nasscom-Zinnov report, India had 1,580 SSCs with 1.66 million employees as of 2022-23, with projections indicating the establishment of another 1,000 by 2030. That is an astounding average of 140 new centres each year.
Over the last decade, the talent landscape within SSCs has undergone a transformative shift. While these centres initially handled basic and tech-related tasks, the expectations from corporate headquarters have evolved rapidly. CEOs of these SSCs unanimously opined, “Our corporate HQs expect us to lead the way with deeper insights into business, requiring more advisory and consultancy services from our teams.”
This paradigm shift in expectations is reshaping the workforce significantly. A new baseline is emerging, ushering positive changes. However, this evolution also presents talent challenges, posing difficulties for SSCs to attract and retain the necessary workforce.
A time for change
To thrive in the rapidly expanding SSC market, companies are revaluating their talent strategies. A notable shift from generic hiring to specialised skills, particularly in technology (e.g., AI, Advanced Engineering, cybersecurity), is evident.
To meet the surging demand for tech-savvy talent, SSCs must establish a robust long-term strategy. A crucial element in this endeavor is a seasoned Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) partner. Armed with extensive market experience, the right RPO provider can adeptly address talent challenges, understand diverse industries and global markets.
With access to detailed market mapping tools, RPO organisations significantly contribute to identifying specialist skills, offering a distinct advantage for India’s SSCs. This strategic partnership enhances SSCs’ success in adapting to the evolving technology landscape.
How AMS can be the right partner for you
SSCs require a dependable RPO partner for swift and efficient talent acquisition. As a market leader with decades of cross-industry experience, AMS offers comprehensive talent solutions. Drawing on our expertise, we seamlessly design, build, and manage customised Talent Acquisition capabilities, ensuring a sustainable talent pipeline from sourcing to onboarding.
An AMS success story
The challenge
The client, a global expert coatings company, had a decentralised hiring process involving multiple vendors to manage recruitment across various business units including its Global Shared Service (GBS) division in Pune and Sales division pan India.
The Solution
AMS partnered with the client since March 2023 and implemented diverse talent acquisition solutions that best fit the client’s needs. This approach not only enabled the client to attract and secure the best talent in the industry, but also optimise their overall hiring process.
The partnership has achieved great success:
Successfully closed 65+ mandates within six months.
Closed all mandates with reduced turnaround time, ensuring high client satisfaction.
Filled roles from Maharashtra, mitigating relocation dropouts.
Attained the exclusive status as the RPO partner for the GBS vertical.
