Global Recruiting

While there have been some employment gains, and hiring outlooks are cautiously optimistic for the fourth quarter, one U.S. demographic segment is definitely not rebounding as quickly. Women in the workforce are facing unique challenges primarily due to changes in childcare and schooling. Last month, 865,000 women LEFT the workforce. That is FOUR TIMES as many men who dropped out during the same time. Even worse, many of these departures come in jobs and industries that are part of “critical infrastructure” work and are over-represented  by women. In 2019, women made up more than half of the laborforce. There aren’t enough men to fill the gap. Read the rest of this entry »

Manpower Group has released the findings of its quarterly Employment Outlook Survey. Employers in 43 countries took part in this survey. In half of those countries, payroll gains are anticipated for the upcoming quarter. Compared to the previous quarter, hiring plans improve in 37 of the 43 countries. However, these plans are weaker in nearly every country (41 of 43) on a year-over-year basis. On a regional basis, some of the highlights include: Read the rest of this entry »

Our guest blogger today is Kevin Green who led the UK’s leading recruitment organisation, the REC, for 10 years. He is also the best selling author of Competitive People Strategy. Kevin has presented at two NPAworldwide events; one in Portugal in 2019 and again at the 2020 Global Conference in New Orleans.

COVID-19 has created a massive humanitarian challenge, millions of people are ill and many thousands have died. Our economies have been impacted with unemployment soaring, supply chains not functioning and businesses seeking liquidity just to survive and get to the other side of the crisis. This abrupt dislocation has asked a lot of leadership teams. However, as well as challenges come opportunities.

HR leaders have a once in a generational chance to build on their experience and change both their organisational culture and how work gets done. The changes may have been created out of necessity, but they have great potential beyond this crisis.

The changes I’ve been most excited by are happening in most organisations, but the potential impact on our people and business performance are now only just starting to be realised. The shift is from seeing work as a place we go to the things we achieve.

As most of us adapted to a remote way of working, leaders and managers are also having to adapt to this new environment. No longer can they observe their team, they now don’t know what they are doing for most of the day.

I’ve heard story after story of managers asking for data on how long their employees are online each day and even what they are looking at!! Some organisations have even installed surveillance software and always-on webcams why because they don’t trust their people!!

This traditional way of thinking about work, “I need to watch what they do because if I am not around they won’t do anything,” is struggling big time with our new reality. Many of our managers are finding the shift tough to handle.

I don’t want to overstate this, but the shift in what our leaders are beginning to learn and experience can have a huge impact on engagement, productivity and performance. This could be the future of work but delivered today.

Leaders are realising, many of them for the first time, that they have to trust their people and that effort is always given not extracted. This shift has brought about a refreshing new focus on contribution—not the input of hours someone is at work—but by how much gets done or delivered across a month, a quarter or a year.

The shift towards contribution means that managers and leaders must focus more time working with their people on defining outputs and outcomes because we know we can’t manage by observing the inputs any more.

This shift has showcased the managers and leaders who can motivate, inspire and engage their teams because they trust them to deliver defined outputs which are focused on achieving a desired outcome. At long last leaders are starting to behave more like coaches than just task managers. Those that get and will consistently deliver in this new way of working will:

• define the big picture and articulate why what you’re doing is important
• describe a desired outcome which is stretching but achievable
• define outputs as things that if done well, will deliver the desired outcome
• give constructive feedback which reinforces what’s worked or gone well more often than what can be improved
• demonstrate they care for the whole person, they ask how they are doing and more importantly listen to the answer.

If managers learn that, the 5 behaviours (described above) practised every day will deliver results they never thought possible, then we are on the edge of a seismic shift. I hope that business and HR leaders grasp this once in a generational moment to trust their people and encourage and develop their mangers to inspire great performance.

I am optimistic that this shared experience and the biggest work experiment ever will deliver a positive shift in how people are treated at work.

Fingers crossed.

We are in the midst of switching over to a new association management system (AMS) to manage our business. It’s been 10+ years since we were last down this path. Things have changed. Not only have our business, and our business needs, changed: the AMS world has changed significantly as well. I know the same is true in the ATS world. If you are considering an upgrade to your existing recruitment database, here are some basic “data” things to think about. These are all items that have changed for us and need to be done differently moving forward. Read the rest of this entry »

As the global pandemic continues to cause rapid changes in work environments around the world, it’s important for recruiters and employers to stay informed of the latest updates. Here are some recent recruitment news headlines worth reading:

People Analytics Are More Important than Ever During Pandemic — Data-driven decision-making is critical for both recruitment and retention. Companies need to understand how a candidate’s past performance – and how they respond to stressful environments – impacts their success and overall fit within an organization. Performance metrics may need to include soft skills that are sometimes difficult to measure. The right analytics can help you reduce implicit bias in your hiring process – key to building a diverse workforce AND attracting candidates who want to work for organizations that are committed to diversity and inclusion.

5 Ways to Decrease Hiring Costs When the Economy Reopens — Many companies will be faced with smaller budgets when they are finally given the green light to resume hiring activity. Some key ways to decrease hiring costs while maintaining high-quality applicants include promoting from within and establishing employee referral programs. Promoting from within allows you to reduce costs associated with posting jobs, vetting candidates, and running background checks. You already know the employee, and they already know your organization, so the risk of turnover is also lower. Good referral programs can reduce the time you spend on screening interviews and vetting. Look for other hiring-related tasks that can be automated or otherwise streamlined to keep costs in check.

5 Lessons Managers Can Learn from Casinos About Reopening Their Business — As businesses begin to re-open, there is some wisdom to be gained from policies and protocols used by casinos. A good first step is to ensure that clear safety procedures are in place and highly visible. For customers who want to return to your business, they need to feel confident that you are committed to their health and safety. This can include signage, sanitation stations, and extra communication. It is OK to limit activities within your business where social distancing and other guidelines are difficult to meet. For example, many casinos in Las Vegas do not have their poker rooms available yet.

Do you have a recruitment news source that you’re finding especially helpful or valuable right now? Please share it in the comments below!