The market for Shared Service Centres (SSCs) in India is dynamic. Finding the right people is increasingly challenging due to the rapidly evolving trends that are impacting the supply and demand of talent.
A recent survey by Ernst & Young India highlighted that the expansion of SSCs in India could reach $110 billion (USD) by 2030. That’s a $65 billion (USD) increase from today’s market. As India continues to be a global hotspot for SSCs, addressing the escalating demand for talent becomes a pivotal question.
Navigating talent shortages
In a constantly evolving market, SSCs’ success hinges on being able to react quickly. Whether it is launching a new SSC or expanding the current workforce for a particular project, it is vital to be able to scale talent functions up and down at speed to avoid unnecessary hold ups.
There is a considerable need for talent in the market, as evidenced by the fact that 57% of SSCs in India want to increase their workforce, maybe even doubling it over the course of the next year. In fact, according to a recent NLB Services report, SSCs will add 3.64 lac new jobs over the next year – an approximate 38% growth from the previous year.
An RPO partner can provide the agility a business needs in view of market demands. Hiring managers can source, engage, and acquire the right talent more quickly and effectively, leveraging on the scalability the RPO partner offers during peaks and troughs.
Accessing expertise when you need it
Businesses are shifting away from general positions toward hiring for specific niches. There is currently a great need for employees to retrain and upskill in hard-to-find technology skills. The need for talent with expertise in technical skills such as AI/ML, ERP, advance engineering and cyber security has increased dramatically over the past 12 to 18 months.
When working closely with an RPO partner, businesses can harness decades of market experience across a range of global industries and recruitment campaigns. This includes working with specialist sourcing teams with access to wide talent pools, from entry-level roles to specialist and niche skills.
Leveraging this depth and breadth of expertise and insight, SSCs will be well-supported at every step of the recruitment journey. From sourcing to onboarding, an RPO partner can help design, build, and run a fully optimized talent acquisition function that is tailored to the needs of the business.
However, crafting such a strategy can be challenging. Businesses can partner with RPO providers equipped with expert advisory teams embedded in every aspect of TA – from Employee Value Proposition (EVP), technology, to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and employer branding. With access to their data and market insights, and the ability to tap into a wide client base covering many sectors, this advantage can help businesses create a successful candidate attraction strategy and position themselves as an employer of choice.
Investing in the right technology
Technology is changing the way we work. As SSCs move towards a more technical and data-driven approach to recruitment, many agree that having the right technology in place will deliver better candidate outcomes.
However, it can be overwhelming to choose the best talent technology tools for your business when there are plenty of options available.
An experienced RPO partner will determine the best technology stack for your business goals – evaluating, implementing, deploying, and optimizing the right technology for your specific challenges. They can even train TA teams on using the new technology if businesses opt for in-house integration.
In conclusion, as SSCs navigate the multifaceted challenges of talent acquisition, strategic partnerships with RPO providers can emerge as a linchpin for success, ensuring that SSCs are well-equipped to thrive in the evolving landscape and secure the right talent every time.
Look out for the next article in this series, where we will do a deep dive into each of the above on how AMS can sharpen your hiring strategy.
Earlier this summer AMS continued their “Exploding Digital Myths” series with a final article on Artificial Intelligence (AI) Technology, highlighting that successfully operationalising it within your recruitment function will need some careful thought to avoid some common pitfalls. The article is linked below and includes some expert insights, from a number of thought leaders, on what to consider as we enter “the foothills” of the AI revolution in talent tech.
On the Public Sector Resourcing (PSR) Framework, managed by AMS we are leveraging AI and automation tools across our recruitment processes as well as cautiously piloting how we can increase its use in new recruitment functions.
A few examples include:
Chatbots for candidate and hiring manager interactions. Predictive analysis for forecasting future talent needs, identify potential bottlenecks in the recruitment process, and proactively addressing challenges. Programmatic job advertising to ensure available candidates with the right skills are targeted and applying. AI-powered tools that can quickly sift through large candidate pools to identify the best-fit candidates, streamlining the initial stages of the recruitment process.
Utilising AI as part of PSR’s continuous improvement strategy has allowed us to enhance our efficiency allowing us to focus on building relationships with potential candidates and clients. However, as the article below points out a well-thought-out strategy that addresses potential risks is essential. Here are a few of the risks that we have considered at PSR:
Bias and Fairness:
It’s important to be aware that AI algorithms can inadvertently perpetuate biases present in historical data and so can create discriminatory recruitment practices. As such it is essential to incorporate human oversight and decision-making in the recruitment process and whilst AI can assist, final decisions should always involve human judgment to avoid relying on potentially biased algorithms.
Loss of Human Touch:
Overreliance on AI is likely to lead to a loss of human touch which is essential in building relationships. At PSR, we try to maintain balance by using AI for efficiency whilst reserving meaningful interactions for our talented human recruiters.
Data Privacy and Security:
Safeguarding sensitive candidate and client information is essential in how we govern the use of AI tools, which is why we have robust data protection policies and governance is in place.
Technology Dependence:
On PSR we always want to maintain the capability to revert to manual processes if AI systems encounter technical issues and so we always avoid over reliance on AI tools.
Lack of Adoption:
We have regular training in place to help our staff utilise the AI tools to make sure that it’s being utilised to its maximum potential and to maximum ROI.
By the end of 2024, 75% of organizations will shift from piloting artificial intelligence projects to operationalizing them, according to a report by Gartner. As the AMS article below suggests, finding the right balance between “Tech and Touch” will be key to making talent acquisition strategies successful in the long term as well as effectively harnessing new technology as it develops.
Utilising AI as part of PSR’s continuous improvement strategy has allowed us to enhance our efficiency allowing us to focus on building relationships with potential candidates and clients.
The shift from role-based to skills-based recruitment
The competition for talent in the APAC region is at a melting point. More than ever, finding the right candidates is a major challenge. This skills crisis is transforming talent acquisition (TA) strategies, requiring new technology and fresh approaches to meet workforce demands.
Recently, AMS spoke with TA leaders across the region from some of the world’s leading corporations about how recruitment is evolving to secure and retain tomorrow’s talent. Our conversations revolved around the challenges of skills-based recruitment, and how tech tools are becoming more important in enhancing candidate engagement and loyalty.
Here are some of the key takeaways from the session.
The future is uncertain – is demand planning still relevant?
Most of the panel experts agreed they are struggling to deliver a long-term talent plan. So, how are TA leaders putting together their strategy to hire effectively for tomorrow?
One of the panelists spoke candidly about the challenges of navigating this difficult market. Their approach is to have regular conversations with management around future talent pipelining. By challenging management teams early on what’s needed, and how roles are changing, it allows them to be proactive and create a forecast for the next 6 to 12 months. This means TA can start looking for tomorrow’s people, today.
Another talent leader said they were using new technology to stay ahead. AI talent pooling tools are allowing them to be proactive in finding new roles and skillsets that will meet their business needs – even before they come up. In this way, they are focused on looking ahead, so they can quickly adapt as the skills required to drive their organisation forward begin to change.
Other businesses, however, are simply taking a pause. With so much turbulence in the market, they’ve taken time out to understand what skills will be needed in the future before introducing new technologies to support the process. They’re working closely with their wider business to create talent mapping as they realise that skills requirements are changing. This way, they are allowing for more focused and informed decisions about the kinds of talent technology they would eventually like to bring in.
With so much emphasis on skills, many of the businesses on the panel said they are now shifting their recruitment focus to look at skills, rather than jobs, to ensure they are ready for tomorrow’s talent demands.
Shifting the mindset
To enable a business to start looking at hiring processes differently, a change in mindset is crucial. Not just with one department, but across the entire business. Shifting to skills-based recruitment is no easy task. Everyone has different ideas on what essential skills are. If you ask three hiring managers to define critical roles, for example, you may get three very different answers.
To enable a true shift to a skills-based mindset, recruiters and hiring managers must be educated on looking at roles from a different perspective. As one panel expert put it, “hiring managers can get stuck in this role-based view and don’t really understand what is meant by skills. They tend to focus on roles and responsibilities, and not on the core skills that are needed for the role.”
But it’s not just the recruiters that need to adapt, so does the wider business outside of TA. To deliver a change of this magnitude requires buy-in from the top down. Management needs to agree the importance of focusing on skills and understand that day-to-day hiring processes must undergo some change. As one expert put it, “for skills-based to be successful it’s not just the TA team that needs to change, it’s the whole HR eco-system.”
Making skills-based hiring a success
Overall, the panelists agreed that moving towards a skills-based hiring approach was the way forward. The general belief was that “getting stuck in role-based hiring will not bring the right talent for the future”.
But as most businesses have realised, implementing skills-based is a journey, not a switch. And that journey requires small steps rather than big leaps.
For example, many of the panelists in the session had started to slowly introduce skills-based hiring by using a combination of role-based and skills-based approaches, which is working well. Some are shifting to skills-based hiring for some areas of the business where it is clear how those transferable skills are relevant – such as tech. But as skills-based hiring is not a one-size-fits-all approach, other business areas (where the case for change isn’t as obvious) have not yet had the same treatment.
As an alternative view point, one talent expert said they had been using skills-based hiring for only internal mobility. They found this was particularly beneficial, as it gave them the ability to get feedback on the process directly from the employees being moved around the business, and how their skills were being put to use elsewhere.
Driving skills externally
Since making skills-based hiring a success internally is so challenging, some businesses are getting proactive, and taking it beyond their own workplace.
One of the panel experts discussed their focus on talking to colleges and universities about skills-based hiring. They spoke to training institutes about the need for this additional area of education, some of which then implemented new courses to address glaring skills gaps. This was a truly innovative solution to get more future-fit skills taught in the region’s colleges and schools. In this way, the business helped to ensure the right skilled talent would be there when they needed it.
Another panelist highlighted a new way of promoting skills through recruiters themselves. They suggested that recruiters could actively encourage candidates to highlight their skills, and then put them into the assessment notes. This way, when the candidate is applying for roles, the skills they could offer would be available ‘at a glance’.
Better diversity
Another benefit many talent leaders were seeing is that, by making the shift to a skills-based approach, they are able to deliver better against their diversity and inclusion (DEI) ambitions.
Skills-based hiring opens a whole new world of possibilities for talent pools who may have otherwise been overlooked in a focus on role-based hiring. By evaluating candidates (both internal and external) by skillset, rather than by university degrees or specific job experience, this serves to create more opportunities for underrepresented groups in the workforce.
As one expert put it, “just because the person before had 10 years’ experience doesn’t mean the next person requires the same level of experience. When you only focus on the role-based approach you are doing people a disservice.”
It’s time for change
The major takeaway from the webinar session is that everyone is moving towards a skills-based hiring strategy. Some are already far down the road, while others are still on the starting line.
There are many obstacles to overcome – from changing perceptions, to choosing the right initiatives to implement. But one thing was clear, focusing on skills is about mutual ownership and accountability. As one expert said, “It’s not just a TA problem, it’s a joint challenge everyone needs to be involved in.”
Need help in getting the right people for your business? AMS has the expertise to deliver the right long-term talent strategy for your business. Get in touch today.
Recently we held a webinar with some leading industry experts on the topic of multi-generational working. This was part of our DEI Knowledge Exchange Webinar series, where we debate key topics and challenges in DEI and offer up practical tips for how other organisations can adopt and take forward.
Our panel consisted of experts from LinkedIn, Paycor, Chubb Insurance, Rolls-Royce and Uber. We looked at practical steps that organisations could implement to create a successful multi-generational strategy to deliver a truly inclusive workforce.
Our panelists agreed that the following key points would help to deliver a more inclusive workforce:
Connecting generations – Sharing experiences and learning from each other to identify new ideas to help drive the business forward. Also, showing empathy and curiosity, asking people how they feel instead of assuming that they know what they want.
Career development – Providing opportunities to develop skills and deliver the best working experience for everyone.
Enhanced benefits – Understanding it’s not just ‘one size fits all’ and that benefits need to be tailored for each generation.
Conducting surveys – Getting insights on what people really think to deliver improved inclusivity in the workplace.
Skills-based approach – Hiring people based on skills not job titles and helping to unlock new talent within the business.
Attracting and retaining – Adopting approaches like mentoring, training, communication and workplace design to ensure employees are happy and engaged
For a fuller overview of what was covered, please read this blog on our website.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. There is a lot more that can be done to promote and enhance age diversity at work. Please do reach out if you would like to discuss further.
We live in a competitive and changing business world, with the success of an organization depending heavily on the effectiveness of its employees. My experience in leading people over the past 20 years has taught me that, while providing autonomy and independence is essential, it is equally important for those who lead people to recognize the significance of employee coaching. Coaching employees, as opposed to solely leaving them to perform independently in their roles, is an investment that cultivates a culture of growth, engagement, and continuous improvement. In this article, I explore the reasons why coaching is crucial for unlocking the full potential of employees and driving organizational success.
Coaching plays a pivotal role in honing and developing the skills of employees. Through regular coaching sessions, managers can identify individual strengths and weaknesses, provide constructive feedback, and align appropriate training interventions. By offering guidance and support, leaders empower employees to overcome challenges, enhance their performance, and acquire new skills. This focus on skill development not only improves individual capabilities but also contributes to the overall growth of the organization.
Investing in coaching team members demonstrates a genuine commitment to their growth and professional development. Such investment fosters a sense of engagement, job satisfaction, and loyalty among employees. When employees perceive that their organization is invested in their success, they are more likely to feel valued, motivated, and willing to go the extra mile. Additionally, coaching provides a platform for open communication, where employees can voice their concerns, share ideas, and seek guidance. This collaborative approach strengthens the employee-manager relationship, leading to higher retention ratesand reduced turnover.
In an era of rapid technological advancements and evolving market dynamics, organizations must encourage a culture of continuous learning and adaptability. Coaching serves as a vehicle for knowledge sharing and instills a growth mindset within employees. Leaders who coach can offer insights, share industry trends, and provide resources that help employees stay ahead of the curve. By nurturing a learning environment, organizations can proactively prepare their workforce for new challenges, promote innovation, and ensure long-term sustainability.
Coaching, whether ad hoc or during scheduled meetings provides an opportunity to align individual goals with organizational objectives. Coaches help employees understand how their contributions fit into the bigger picture and guide them towards specific targets. Regular feedback and performance discussions allow for course corrections, ensuring that employees are on track to achieve their goals. This alignment promotes a sense of purpose and direction, enabling employees to work with focus and clarity.
Effective coaching is instrumental in nurturing future leaders within an organization. Through coaching, companies can identify high-potential employees, develop their leadership skills, and create a talent pipeline for future growth. Coaching imparts valuable insights, provides mentorship, and offers guidance that prepares employees for leadership roles big and small. This approach to succession planning minimizes leadership gaps, enhances organizational resilience, and supports long-term success.
Coaching employees is not a luxury; it is an essential investment in their growth and the overall success of an organization. By providing guidance and support though coaching, leaders can unlock the full potential of their employees, foster engagement, and cultivate a culture of continuous improvement. Coaching is an ongoing commitment by those who lead individuals, teams and projects, it is a habit that the best leaders possess, and it propels employees and organizations towards excellence.
While providing autonomy and independence is essential, it is equally important for managers and leaders to recognize the significance of employee coaching.
Universal design refers to the concept of creating products, environments, and systems that are accessible and usable by as many people as possible, regardless of their age, abilities, or disabilities. The goal of universal design is to allow everyone to experience the workplace to the fullest extent possible without the need for adaptations. By incorporating universal design principles into your workplace, you can make it more inclusive and appealing to a diverse range of talent.
Here are a few reasons why universal design can help you attract more talent:
Inclusivity:
Universal design promotes an inclusive work environment that welcomes individuals with diverse backgrounds and abilities. By prioritizing accessibility, demonstrate that your company values diversity and is committed to providing equal opportunities for all employees.
Attracting diverse talent:
When your workplace embraces universal design, it becomes an attractive option for individuals with disabilities or special needs. These candidates will bring unique perspectives, skills, and problem-solving abilities to your team, contributing to innovation and creativity.
Employee satisfaction:
A universally designed workplace fosters a positive work experience for all employees. When employees feel supported and accommodated, they are more likely to be satisfied and engaged in their work. This, in turn, can lead to higher productivity, lower turnover rates, and a positive employer brand.
Customer appeal:
Universal design extends beyond the workplace to include products and services. By considering the diverse needs of your customers and incorporating universal design principles into your offerings, you can attract a wider customer base. This broader appeal can lead to increased market share and business growth.
Legal compliance:
In many countries, there are laws and regulations in place to promote accessibility and prohibit discrimination based on disabilities. By adopting universal design, you ensure compliance with these legal requirements, minimizing the risk of legal issues or negative publicity.
By embracing universal design, you not only create an inclusive work environment but also tap into a larger talent pool, enhance employee satisfaction, and potentially increase your customer base.
Employers can embrace universal design by taking the following steps:
Accessibility in the workplace:
Ensure that your physical workspace is accessible to employees with disabilities. This includes providing ramps, elevators, accessible restrooms, designated parking spaces, and adjustable workstations. Consider the needs of individuals with mobility challenges, visual impairments, hearing impairments, and other disabilities.
Inclusive policies and practices:
Review your company policies and practices to ensure they are inclusive. This includes policies related to recruitment, hiring, training, career development, and accommodation. Implement practices that promote equal opportunities, such as providing reasonable accommodations during the hiring process and creating mentorship programs for employees with disabilities.
Communication and information accessibility:
Make sure your communication channels and information are accessible to all employees. Provide alternative formats for documents (e.g., large print, Braille, accessible PDFs) and ensure that your website, intranet, and other digital platforms comply with accessibility standards. Consider how meetings and events are conducted and whether these are accessible and take account of all types of thinkers and all types of disabilities.
Training and awareness:
Offer training programs and awareness sessions to educate your employees about disability inclusion and the benefits of universal design. This can help foster a more inclusive and respectful workplace culture, promoting empathy, understanding, and collaboration.
Flexible work arrangements:
Implement flexible work arrangements that accommodate the diverse needs of your employees. This may include options such as telecommuting, flexible working hours, part-time schedules, or job sharing. Recognize that different individuals may have different needs and preferences and be open to discussing and accommodating them on a case-by-case basis.
Collaborate with disability organisations:
Engage with disability organisations or consultants who specialise in accessibility and universal design. They can provide guidance, resources, and insights to help you create a more inclusive workplace.
Remember that embracing universal design is an ongoing process. Regularly assess and evaluate your practices, solicit feedback from employees, and make adjustments as needed. By actively promoting inclusivity, you create a work environment that is attractive to new hires and where all employees can thrive and contribute their best.
If you would like to know more about how AMS can help you build a diverse workforce – then please reach out to me at [email protected]
By embracing universal design, you not only create an inclusive work environment, but also tap into a larger talent pool.
I was invited recently by our Global Property Consultant, Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) together with our industry leaders to talk about the interesting topic nowadays, Flexible Working. It was an interesting panel discussion that focused on best practice sharing and business considerations based on the pulse of the people and the evolving demands of our clients.
Panel speakers shared their experiences on how behavior has shifted coming out of the pandemic and what each organization had to implement to adjust and support these changing needs. Whilst we assume that we are now operating on a BAU mode, we must be cognizant of what is good for our people and the clients that we serve.
There is no one-size-fits-all solution when implementing a hybrid set-up. The use of office space should provide collaborative spaces that foster continued learning, a stronger sense of community and belonging. Working from home is not just about being able to get the job done and having that sense of flexibility when and where we choose to work but having a sense of fulfilment and pride that as employees, we remain to be an integral part of a company’s culture.
Interaction through the screen or even when it through done face-to-face meetings generate different outcomes. We can still be productive and perform our tasks by staying virtual. But often, it is the human and personal interaction that becomes de-prioritized in lieu of being flexible. But can we stay engaged with reduced face-to-face socialization? Is it sustainable?
Engagement is not about being in the office and participating in team activities. It is about what motivates a person to perform well and start with understanding what sustains employee satisfaction. But how do we balance driving engagement with onsite initiatives and keeping meaningful connections regardless of where we work?
Gone are the days when it is acceptable to embrace what skills we currently have. The business is ever evolving, our mindsets should be forward-thinking and open to keep up with the changing times. This type of growth mindset thrives when we encourage continued learning. While online training remains accessible, surely, learning together with other colleagues through workshops, role-plays, face-to-face and in-classroom trainings also offers a different impact. To re-skill and to upskill enables our teams to increase their confidence in facing challenges head-on. Paired with the support of line managers who partner with our teams has grown more essential in making hybrid working to succeed.
What is great about how AMS drives the new ways of working is that it continues to promote the meaningful connection and achieving the balance of what is right for our employees and our clients. We do what we think is best, whenever and wherever we are working.
In today’s uncertain talent climate, both employees and employers are seeking ways to improve job satisfaction and well-being. ‘Job crafting’ has emerged as a powerful tool that empowers individuals to reshape and customize their work experiences, fostering a positive and fulfilling work-life balance. By recognizing the benefits of job crafting, employees can enhance their engagement and productivity, while employers can enjoy the advantages of a motivated and resilient workforce. In this article, we consider the concept of job crafting and explore how it can be leveraged to create a mutually beneficial workplace ecosystem.
Job crafting is a proactive approach that enables employees to restructure their job tasks, relationships, and perceptions to align with their skills, interests, and values. It involves employees taking the initiative to shape their work environment and responsibilities, transforming their roles into more meaningful and fulfilling experiences. Where individuals are able to personalize their work, they will achieve more autonomy and be more creative.
Whilst an employee displaying self-awareness is pre-requisite to succeeding at job crafting, harnessing it means leads to the following benefits for them:
Increased Job Satisfaction:
Job crafting allows employees to align their roles with their strengths and passions, resulting in a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction. By focusing on tasks that energize them and leveraging their unique skills, employees can experience a greater sense of purpose and engagement.
Enhanced Well-being:
When employees have the autonomy to shape their work, it leads to reduced stress levels and improved psychological well-being. Job crafting enables individuals to reduce or eliminate tasks that cause excessive strain while increasing opportunities for growth and personal development.
Improved Work-Life Balance:
Job crafting offers flexibility in tailoring work responsibilities to better suit personal circumstances. By aligning their work with their personal values and priorities, employees can strike a healthier work-life balance, leading to increased overall happiness and reduced burnout.
Benefits for Employers:
Improved job performance:
Engaged employees who are able to customize their work tend to be more motivated and committed. Job crafting empowers individuals to focus on areas where they excel, resulting in higher productivity and better quality of work.
Enhanced retention:
When employees have the freedom to craft their jobs, they develop a stronger sense of ownership and commitment to their roles. This increased autonomy and job satisfaction can significantly reduce turnover rates, saving employers time and resources associated with recruitment and training.
Innovation:
Job crafting encourages employees to explore new ideas, experiment with different approaches, and take calculated risks. This increased creativity and innovation can have a profound impact on an organization’s growth and competitiveness.
To foster job crafting within an organization, employers can consider the following strategies:
Encourage Open Communication:
Establish a culture of open dialogue, where employees feel comfortable discussing their work preferences, strengths, and aspirations. Regular feedback sessions can help identify opportunities for job crafting.
Provide Autonomy:
Empower employees with the autonomy to make decisions regarding their work processes, schedules, and task allocation. Offering flexibility and trust encourages job crafting and empowers individuals to take ownership of their roles.
Support Skills Development:
Offer training and development opportunities that enable employees to expand their skill sets and explore new areas of interest. This will provide them with the tools to craft their jobs effectively.
Recognize and Reward Job Crafting Efforts:
Acknowledge and reward employees who actively engage in job crafting. This reinforces the importance of personalization and encourages others to follow suit.
Assuming employers and employees have good alignment on expected goals and outputs, job crafting has the potential to revolutionize the way individuals perceive and experience their work. By empowering employees to shape their roles according to their strengths, interests, and values, organizations can foster a more engaged, productive, and satisfied workforce. Employers who embrace job crafting create an environment that encourages personal growth, diversity of thought, innovation, and improved well-being.
External Links with more on Job Crafting and on becoming more self-aware.
Where individuals are able to personalize their work, they will achieve more autonomy and be more creative.
By Richard Clough, Media Strategy Manager – Employer Brand Advisory
When things are going well, everything seems easy. From the phone calls you make to every interaction, they all feel positive. For many, this is how it was for years, yet what we didn’t know at the time was this was just ‘normal’. Hitting targets, being rewarded, taking holidays – it’s what we did. Then in 2019 Covid struck, and everything changed. Fast forward three years, and we’re all paying a heavy price.
Costs are rising, wages are static, our mental health has been compromised and what once came easily to us feels like a distant memory. This, coupled with the exponential amount of pressure on everyone, means people’s behaviour can quickly change.
Previously high-performing and cohesive teams can become fragmented. Dissatisfaction can become an all-consuming focus, and a constant distraction. In isolation, these things might not appear to matter and could simply be misconstrued as ‘people being people’. But it’s not the case. Do not underestimate the power of the grapevine; once an actual ‘chat’ during breaks, is now something that only takes place on Teams.
At times of uncertainty, employee engagement must be carefully nurtured. It’s important to be aware of and focus on what you can control, not on what you can’t. Here, we explore six ways you can easily achieve better employee engagement:
Gratitude – Whether collectively or individually, you can thank everyone for their contribution, reminding them of how valued they are. It might seem trite, but the underused word ‘thank you’ goes a long way to making people feel differently towards their work.
Openness – Give your teams an open forum for discussion where nothing is off-limits, and nothing is recorded. Where they can share their concerns and opinions in a group environment. We’ve done this at AMS, calling it ‘Frank Fridays’, where the whole team is invited and encouraged to be frank. It’s fun, but sometimes there’s a serious undertone: ‘If we’re doing well against our budget, how come we aren’t backfilling Dave’s role?’, for example. But it’s these kinds of conversations that, if left, can breed anxiety. So, open the debate.
Recognition – When the opportunity for hiring comes, always aim to promote from within. Recognising and rewarding existing talent sends a clear and positive message, which exalts the values of the business.
Development – For those who have unsuccessfully applied for internal roles, it sets up the perfect opportunity to create a development plan based on a tangible outcome. By identifying gaps in an individual’s skillset and providing targeted training, it will close the gap and increase their chance of success for future applications.
Training – At AMS, we have a dedicated training resource platform we can draw upon at any time. But for those that don’t, the web has a wealth of training material (some accredited) that can be tapped into, providing employees with skills to be even better at their jobs. Employees often need these resources to be signposted and given ‘permission’ to pursue the training as part of their working week. My team have recently upskilled and improved their outputs after completing LinkedIn accredited training courses in running successful paid media campaigns.
Flexibility – We all like a bit of flex, but is everyone aware of the extent of flexibility existing within your organisation? At AMS, we’re fortunate to be able to work almost anywhere. For most, this means working at home or being around for school pick-up and not having a commute home. But what if you took it further? You could ‘Air BnB’ your home for a month in the summer, leaving to ‘live’ overseas. Or, with a global footprint, you could encourage staff to do a house-swap. Australia anyone?! There’s nothing particularly ground-breaking here but getting people to think differently about the benefits they enjoy can help them re-evaluate their feelings towards them, and how important they are.
This list is by no means exhaustive, but rather an example of just some of the things we can all do as managers to help people feel more engaged. There is no financial investment required, only time, which is something we’re all short of but that we all have. It’s just a case of carving out some of it for your people, and their engagement.
Ultimately, it’s about creating a deeper sense of belonging. Helping your teams to feel that they are part of a thriving community. A place where their contribution really matters, and where they feel truly valued for the work that they do.
Skills-based hiring is a recruitment strategy that focuses on identifying and hiring candidates based on their skills and abilities, rather than their educational background or work experience. One of the main advantages of skills-based hiring is that it helps to reduce bias in the recruitment process. Traditional hiring methods often rely on factors such as educational background, work experience, and personal connections, which can lead to discrimination against certain groups of people. By focusing on skills, employers can ensure that they are hiring the most qualified candidates, regardless of their background.
Another benefit of skills-based hiring is that it allows employers to identify candidates who have transferable skills. Transferable skills are those that can be applied to different jobs and industries, such as communication, problem-solving, and teamwork. By hiring candidates with transferable skills, employers can build a more diverse and adaptable workforce that can easily transition between different roles and projects.
Skills-based hiring also benefits job seekers, particularly those who may not have a traditional educational background or work experience. By focusing on skills, employers can provide opportunities for individuals who may have been overlooked in the past due to their lack of formal qualifications. This can help to promote social mobility and create a more inclusive workforce.
To effectively implement this strategy, employers need to use a variety of tools and techniques to assess candidates’ skills and identify the most qualified candidates. Some of the most important tools for skills-based hiring are:
1. Skills assessments: These assessments can be used to evaluate candidates’ skills in a variety of areas, such as communication, problem-solving, and technical skills. Skills assessments can be conducted online or in-person, and can be customized to fit the specific needs of the employer.
2. Behavioral interviews: These interviews focus on asking candidates about their past experiences and how they have demonstrated specific skills in the past. Behavioral interviews can help employers to identify candidates who have the necessary skills and experience to perform the job successfully.
3. Reference checks: Employers can contact previous employers or colleagues to ask about the candidate’s skills and work performance. This can help to confirm that the candidate has the necessary skills and experience to perform the job successfully.
4. Online portfolios: Online portfolios are becoming increasingly popular as a tool for skills-based hiring. Candidates can create online portfolios that showcase their skills and work experience, including examples of their work and projects they have completed. Employers can review these portfolios to get a better sense of the candidate’s skills and experience.
5. Applicant tracking systems: Applicant tracking systems (ATS) are software tools that can help employers to manage the recruitment process more efficiently. ATS can be used to screen resumes, track candidate progress, and schedule interviews. This can help to streamline the recruitment process and identify the most qualified candidates more quickly.
The role of AI in skills-based hiring
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming the recruitment industry, and its role in skills-based hiring is becoming increasingly important. AI can help employers to identify and assess candidates’ skills more accurately and efficiently, making the recruitment process faster and more effective.
One of the main benefits of AI in skills-based hiring is that it can help to reduce bias in the recruitment process. AI algorithms can be programmed to focus solely on a candidate’s skills and abilities, without being influenced by factors such as gender, race, or age. This can help to create a more diverse and inclusive workforce, as candidates are evaluated solely on their skills and not on any other irrelevant factors.
AI can also help to identify candidates with transferable skills. By analyzing a candidate’s work history, education, and other relevant data, AI algorithms can identify skills that are transferable to different roles and industries. This can help employers to build a more adaptable and diverse workforce, as candidates with transferable skills can easily transition between different roles and projects.
Another benefit of AI in skills-based hiring is that it can help to automate the recruitment process. AI algorithms can be used to screen resumes, conduct initial interviews, and even evaluate candidates’ skills through online assessments. This can save employers time and resources, as they can quickly identify the most qualified candidates without having to manually review hundreds of resumes or conduct multiple interviews.
However, there are also some challenges associated with AI in skills-based hiring. One of the main challenges is that AI algorithms can be biased if they are not programmed correctly. For example, if the algorithm is trained on data that is biased towards a certain group of people, it may inadvertently discriminate against other groups. To avoid this, employers need to ensure that their AI algorithms are trained on unbiased data and are regularly audited to ensure that they are not discriminating against any particular group.
Overall, AI has the potential to revolutionize the recruitment industry and make skills-based hiring more efficient and effective.
