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.
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.
2024 marks the 20th year of the ‘Corporate Knights Global 100’ rankings – a list of the 100 most sustainable companies in the world. This is a list I always want to take a close look at!
The ‘Global 100’ gives insight into which organizations are investing in green solutions such as renewable energy, energy efficiency and the circular economy, how they are performing in terms of diversity, equity and inclusion, taxes paid, and interesting remuneration metrics such as CEO pay versus employee average and contributions to employee pensions. The organizations ranked in the ‘Global 100’ are securing their own sustainable futures as successful, growing organizations in the low-carbon economy of the near future, and already outperforming the All-Country World Index financially.
The ‘Global 100’ are also positioning themselves as highly attractive employers. Principles of fairness, inclusion and purpose are inextricably linked to employer attractiveness, and those listed are very well placed to attract talents that are motivated by purposeful and long-term careers. Given that all the recent research (e.g., the Edelman ‘Trust at Work’ report) points towards the clear majority of talent wanting purpose in their work (71%), this is a competitive differentiator when competing for the best talent available in the market.
According to the CEO of Corporate Knights, when the ‘Global 100’ was launched in 2005, ‘the green economy was a quaint idea’. Sustainability reports were in their infancy, and seen more as a tick-box exercise to help satisfy the ESG agenda. They are now seen as critical business reporting tools to communicate the sustainability strategy of an organization and the audience is not only investors but talent as well. According to the Edelman report more than half (51%) of talent will decide where they want to work based on the stated climate and sustainability strategy of an organization.
Congratulations to all those listed in the ‘Global 100’ and let’s hope that 2024 is a year within which more purposeful careers are offered to the global workforce. You can guarantee that the ‘Global 100’ will have a head-start on many of their competitors for talent!
At AMS, we are committed to progressing our sustainability agenda in the areas of equality, wellbeing, climate change and support to local communities. You can find our 2023 Sustainability report here.
The ‘Global 100’ are positioning themselves as highly attractive employers. Principles of fairness, inclusion and purpose are inextricably linked to employer attractiveness, and those listed are very well placed to attract talents that are motivated by purposeful and long-term careers.
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.
To find out more about how AMS has the expertise to solve your talent challenges, get in touch today.
There are more challenges than ever in hiring hourly and high-volume talent, with 54% of workers quitting in the first few weeks and 45% of candidates “ghosting” recruiters, our ‘The State of Hourly & High Volume Hiring in 2023’ report with Talent Board reveals.
Report data findings include:
The top three challenges for sourcing and attracting qualified candidates are wages (53%), skill gaps (33%), and work schedules (32%)
Almost half (46%) of participants need 1 to 4 weeks longer to fill hourly and high-volume roles compared to a year ago, with 10% needing more than a month extra
The top five technologies for TA teams to improve hiring processes are: Interview scheduling systems — 31%; Applicant tracking systems (ATS) — 26%; Mobile texting — 24%; Candidate relationship management systems (CRM) — 23%; Candidate sourcing systems — 23%
While we cannot control the dynamic nature of the labor market, companies can proactively react to the current environment and gain a competitive talent advantage by integrating proven hiring processes, such as leveraging technologies, services, sources and channels to deliver a great candidate experience.
However, it’s important to realize the importance of continually improving the hiring process given the two million people in the U.S. who have still not returned to work after The Great Resignation.
The report dives into recruiting and hiring results by participant level, company size, top challenges, goals, time-to-fill, applicant volume, candidate experience, and more.
Research shows 87% of candidates will join an organization purely on culture fit, three quarters of candidates will research a company’s reputation before applying for a job and 50% will refuse to work for a company with a bad reputation.
With the talent gap widening, skills in short supply, and the war for talent raging on, a strong, articulate, and distinguishable Employer Brand is arguably more important now than ever.
How can organisations create a tailored, segmented and effective Employer Brand that attracts and engages top talent? I explain in my Catalyst article here.
Four out of five (80%) of pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities are struggling with skills mismatches.
Life sciences has some significant challenges at the moment. As Deloitte says, we’re going from doing digital to being digital. We have all these roles to fill that two years ago didn’t exist. We also know that in five years’ time, there will be more jobs to fill that we currently have no idea about.
So where do we find the people needed to fill these roles?
I spoke with Georgia Pink, an analyst and senior event producer at Hanson Wade, which curates the LEAP HR’s Life Sciences global conferences. We explored artificial intelligence, strategies for growth, employer branding, skills-based hiring, internal mobility, data analysis growing talent pools and being optimisitic about the future.
‘Talent Advisor’. ‘Strategic Partner’. ‘Talent Consultant’. Whatever title you want to give it, organizations are expecting recruiters to function in a different capacity than what has traditionally been the norm. Whereas, historically, the role of the recruiter had been to find, attract, and screen candidates as well as shepherd the interview process and negotiate offers, now they are expected to be ‘ambassadors of the brand’, bring ‘market insights’ to bear, and ‘amass talent pools in advance of need’.
In the talent-scarce world in which we must operate, I think this shift in recruiter accountabilities is positive and one which will give organizations moving in this direction an advantage in today’s competitive market for talent. That said, companies cannot simply drop these new responsibilities into the laps of their recruiters without addressing three critical elements which will enable the success of this new role.
Skill: As the titles suggest, these new accountabilities elevate the role of the recruiter from tactical to strategic. Organizations must determine the skills required for this new role and take inventory of the skill level of each of the recruiters on the current talent acquisition team to identify gaps. From there, the gaps need to be addressed through training, reallocation of resources, or replacement. Additionally, compensation may need to be considered as one might expect that this elevated role warrants an increase in pay.
Capacity: A mistake I see too many companies make is that these new responsibilities become additive to a recruiter’s existing workload. If a recruiter is expected to be 100% dedicated to ‘filling jobs’ and their performance is measured, in part, on this productivity, how can they possibly meet these goals if they are given additional, strategic responsibilities which reduces their capacity to ‘fill jobs’ to something less than 100%? Organizations must either find ways to open capacity to absorb new, strategic responsibilities (technology can help with this) or adjust the goals by which recruiters’ performance is measured.
Tools: In order for a recruiter to achieve success in this new role, s/he must be provided with the necessary tools to bring value. This is where technology plays a major part in enabling recruiters to showcase strategic capabilities. If the expectation is to ‘bring market insights to bear’, how can a recruiter do so without access to an analytics platform such as LinkedIn Insights, Gartner’s Talent Neuron, or Claro Analytics? If the business wants recruiters to build relationships with candidates to ‘amass talent in advance of need’ how can this be done well without a robust candidate relationship management (CRM) platform such as Avature, Phenom or Beamery? These are just two examples of technologies which will bring the ‘strategic recruiter ‘concept to life. More strategic accountabilities will require additional tools.
This change in the role of the recruiter represents a dynamic shift in the talent acquisition operating model. As recruiters take on these new responsibilities, adjustments to the roles of other elements of the model may need to be made. This is the future of the recruiter. Ensure you take the steps necessary to make these new ways of working successful.
Companies cannot simply drop these new responsibilities into the laps of their recruiters without addressing three critical elements which will enable the success of this new role.
EVP is a key concept in today’s Talent Acquisition industry – but what about TVP?
The employee value proposition (EVP) is a part of employer branding, in that it is one of the ways companies attract the skills and employees they desire and keep them engaged. It is how they market their company to prospective talent, and how they retain them in a competitive job market. It is meant to communicate the values and culture of the organization, as well as take the focus off remuneration as the sole reason for working there.
The benefits, when done correctly, are a more committed, happier, and productive workforce at a cheaper cost, which are the main goals of any employee-centred strategy. It may also have the side benefit of improving the company’s perception in the eyes of consumers.
The aspiration for aligned culture, diversity and ethics in a potential employer is important to today’s workers but perhaps for many Technical Contingent workers it goes even further. We understand that IT and Digital Contractors are not only motivated by brand, day-rates, contract longevity and hybrid or remote working, but most importantly by opportunity – what we class as the Talent Value Proposition (TVP).
So how do you connect your employer brand to the right target talent?
Technical skills are evolving at a furious pace and employers often need to look to contingent labour to facilitate new functionality or upgrades. Equally, Technical Contractors need to keep learning to remain viable and indeed employable in both today and tomorrow’s market – they have significant appetite to gain exposure to new technologies and releases.
Unilever recently posted on LinkedIn that “It’s been estimated that skills in the tech sector are now becoming outdated every two and a half years on average.” And in a recent article www.IronHack.com states “As you know, tech is one of the most fast-moving industries and is constantly outdoing itself. In fact, it moves so fast that most university graduates, starting the job search upon graduation, struggle to boast a resume that has the skills for which hiring managers are looking.”
Many non-IT aligned employers find it challenging to attract top technical talent but are utilising bleeding-edge tech with exciting greenfield projects. This is where correct positioning of a TVP and proper marketing can be a game changer.
A Financial Services client can attract calibre Software Engineers if they share their vision of the next evolution of their digital landscape; an Engineering company can offer opportunity within their vision of commercialising data; or a Public Sector Authority can create a roadmap to automate process using AI and be competitive in scope to attract niche talent.
These are all real-life scenarios that our AMS Contingent IT & Digital Hub have faced and successfully filled for our clients.
It is vital that those of us who sit within Talent Acquisition proactively support our clients in identifying these areas of interest and ensure that they are successfully pivoting their employer brand to attract the best in tech talent.
Properly identifying and highlighting the technical scope and therefore opportunity, will enable non-traditionally technically-attractive companies to hire better calibre of IT and Digital contractors.
