Nine ways to attract and retain continuous candidates

Loyalty is one of the most desirable attributes in employees and potential employees. But our recent report, Always Looking: The Rise of Continuous Candidates, found that 30% of UK employees are continuous candidates. They’re always on the lookout for the next job opportunity. As a result, employers under pressure to adapt their talent strategy, to make sure they can attract and retain continuous candidates. Here are nine changes you can make to do just that:

1. Speak fluent advancement

Be proactive and tell your employees about opportunities for advancement. It’s an important component of the employer value proposition (EVP). Offer this information upfront, in a few different locations and interactions. Don’t wait for employees to ask.

2. Walk the walk

Once you’ve mastered step one and embedded ‘advancement’ as a key part of your EVP, you need to follow through on that promise. You need to create a work experience that mirrors the messaging.

3. Spotlight examples of advancement

Now you’re talking the talk and walking the walk, you’re sure to have examples of employees who have risen through the ranks. To retain continuous candidates, tell the rest of the business and prospective employees about them, and bring your messaging to life.

4. Expand the definition of advancement

Compensations and promotions are still important for today’s candidates. But there are lots of other things they’re looking for to. Expanded roles, job variety, higher profile projects – think outside the box, and offer more than the expected.

5. Foster “learnability” to retain continuous candidates

Continuous candidates want continuous education. Upskilling is now part of everyday life. Nurture your employees through providing or reimbursing for professional development programs, internal/external training or advanced degree programmes.

6. Mentor, mentor, mentor

Continuous candidates benefit from a workplace where there is a culture of mentorship. Skill acquisition, regular feedback, teamwork and exposure to successful role models strengthen the bond between an employee and the company they work for.

7. Build a talent community

Make it easy for continuous candidates to add themselves to an employer’s talent community. Whether it is on social media, career sites or the company website – articulate opportunities for candidates to join your database and receive job alerts.

8. Vet and reclassify applicants

The rise of the continuous candidate can mean that you receive a flood of applications and CVs from underqualified people. Treat these cases wisely – how you treat unsuccessful applications has a big impact on your reputation as an employer.

9. Challenge the myth of job-hopping

Educating hiring managers about the continuous candidate phenomenon is important. To properly assess a candidate, hiring managers must dig deep into the reasons for this type of behaviour. Candidates who moved jobs frequently may reflect a desire for geographic mobility or a lack of advancement opportunity… not poor job performance or disloyalty.

Read our new whitepaper to find out more about the rise of the continuous candidate and what your business needs to do to respond.

Learnability: A Scorecard For Success

A couple of weeks ago, with the Olympics in full swing, I read an article about gymnastic champion Simone Biles. It discussed what makes her so good, and one part in particular stood out for me: “According to her coach, she will learn a new skill in three days, while most gymnasts take months or years to master a move”.

This ability to quickly master new moves gives her a real edge over her competitors. There are lots of reasons why Simone has achieved such an impressive haul of medals at Rio 2016. But her heightened ability to learn is a key one.

‘Learnability’ isn’t just important for Olympians though. Having the desire and ability to quickly grow and adapt your skill set is essential, no matter what your job is. After all, higher learnability correlates with being more educated, better prepared for employment, and higher pay. What’s more, people with high learnability tend to continue learning, so the benefits grow over time.

We decided to dig into this a bit deeper. We interviewed 19,000 Millennials, and found that they have varying degrees of desire, capability and commitment to learning. We identified three different levels of learnability – and what you do to motivate and upskill an individual needs to align with the stage they’re at. Let’s look at the three levels of learnability in more detail:

High LearnersThese are workers who are positive about their job prospects, and take responsibility for their own training and development. They’re eager to learn, and would even consider moving jobs for skills training. So employers need to focus on creating opportunities to keep these individuals engaged.Potential LearnersPotential Learners recognise that training and development will lead to career success, but they’re not quite High Learners yet. By offering safe learning environments and regularly talking about their future career, you’ll help them to map out attainable development goals with clear pathways and outcomes. Low LearnersOur research found that 7% of the workforce are ‘Low Learners’. They don’t have much of an appetite for training at all. It may be a challenge to move this group up. So employers should assess learnability factors early-on and make them a part of the initial hiring discussion.

Why do employers need to nurture learnability?

In the past, employers had more time, managers and resources to develop people. But that’s not the case anymore. Today, they want faster time-to-value and need to move people on and up from Potential to High Learner quicker.

Understanding an individual’s learnability potential is a key indicator of the support they’ll need to succeed. Employers need to recognise and reward learnability. They need to nurture it, or they’ll risk losing out or lacking critical skills in their workforce.For a more detailed look at learnability and the preferences of Millennials around the world, take a look at our recent report Millennial Careers: 2020 Vision.

Top 3 Benefits of Implementing a Managed Service in Your Organisation

Whilst it may be tempting to baton down the hatches in times of uncertainty, now could be the perfect time to consider implementing a Managed Service to help manage recruitment in your business. And with the increased flexibility that providers now offer, Managed Services are no longer the preserve of enterprise organisations, helping smaller organisations to work on a level playing field by providing services that many couldn’t afford to maintain in-house.

As a market leader in professional resourcing, we’re beginning to see a change taking place in the way organisations want Managed Services to operate. The current model continues to work well for many of our clients, but we’re increasingly being asked for something new to help them drive performance in their businesses. So to help you understand more about the developments, here are 3 of the key benefits a Managed Service can bring to your organisation, and why you should consider taking advantage of the new solutions that the changing world of recruitment has to offer.

1. Value Management

Current

By taking on the management of all of your recruitment suppliers, standardising pricing and consolidating invoicing, a Managed Service should quickly begin to deliver a return on investment for your organisation. Your provider should also offer a single contact model, increasing efficiency across the business and freeing up your in-house resource.

Emerging

Cutting-edge Managed Service solutions build on the foundations of the current approach, looking for increasingly creative measures which will continue to deliver cost efficiencies, without damaging the brand of the organisation. This could include considering new talent markets or identifying talent that meets your organisation’s core competencies and training them in the desired skill sets.

2. Workforce Blends

Current

Whilst managing a variety of different contract types within your business may seem like an administrative headache for the HR team, a Managed Service can take much of the heavy lifting away. They then work to help you to build the perfect workforce blend for your organisation, leaving you to reap the benefits.

Attaining the right blend of permanent (part time and full time) and contingent workers allows your organisation to develop a more proactive approach to talent – bringing in the right skills for the right project, complimenting your existing team and helping you to achieve the best results whilst reducing unnecessary overheads.

Emerging

Emerging Managed Service solutions expand the reach of your blended model – opening up the talent pool and offering access to new markets and specialist skills, as well as diversifying your thinking with new solutions like Employed Consultants and Crowd Sourcing.

3. Data Analytics

Current

A valuable Managed Service partner should provide you with full visibility on the performance of your programme, any time you need it – whether that’s fulfilment rates or project completion. In order to continue to drive the best results for your business, your provider should also be reviewing this data regularly, assessing the performance against targets and looking for ways to improve your recruitment processes and increase efficiencies.

Emerging

Current Managed Services can do a great job of using analytics to assess how to deliver on your current recruitment needs. But to offer the greatest value, providers are beginning to use analytics alongside big data to assess your future workforce needs, allowing your organisation to develop a proactive approach which will enable the development of a talent pipeline based on future requirements, helping you to stay ahead of the competition.

Using a predictive modelling approach will also allow better risk prevention. By continuously assessing the data and forecasting future outcomes, your Managed Service provider can see the problem before it occurs, allowing your organisation to make the necessary changes in advance of any business impact.

 

If you would like to know more about how a Managed Service with Experis could work for your organisation, get in touch today.

Continuous candidates: why are there so many?

There’s a bit of a stigma around job hopping. Many an employer has dismissed a candidate because they quickly moved from one job to the next. But now, the tide’s turning. So much so, that our research found that 30% of employees in the UK are continuous candidates. They’re always on the lookout for their next career move.

In the next few years, continuous candidates will become more prominent in the workplace. So employers need to fully understand what makes them tick if they’re going to attract and keep them. To get under the skin of this new mindset, you first need to know where it originates from. Let’s take a look at a few potential origins:

Emergence of the gig economy

The so-called ‘gig economy’ is dominating the media at the moment. And for good reasons – it’s redefining how people work. People aren’t shackled to a 9 to 5 job anymore. The gig economy gives them to flexibility to dictate when and how they want to work. They can craft a career that works around their life – not the other way around.

The downside of working in the gig economy, is the reduced job security. Whether you’re working via Uber, Airbnb, or TaskRabbit – there’s no guarantee as to when the next job will come along. You have to have your wits about you, be proactive, and search for new opportunities. It’s no wonder its given rise to continuous candidates.

Job security

Looking at the wider employment landscape, the last few years have been turbulent. For example, the global recession and uneven recovery transformed the employment landscape.

During the recession, job losses and layoffs dominated the world’s front pages. And it’s left its mark. It’s imparted a message that job security is not guaranteed anymore. You may be secure in your role today, but who knows what’s around the corner? Cautious candidates are hedging their bets, and keeping their eye on the jobs market – just in case.

Lack of access to quality jobs

More than a third of UK jobseekers told us that their biggest career challenge is a lack of access to quality jobs. That being the case, continuous candidates might be looking to improve their employment situation. This could resonate most with the unemployed, under-employed, or those people seeking greater stability.

Furthermore, candidates have access to more information about job vacancies than ever before. Often, individuals don’t even have to look for a new role – they’re pushed directly at them.

Employers could be encouraging continuous candidates too

The opportunity to advance in their role is increasingly important for candidates. They want to know up-front what opportunities for advancement are available.

Fail to meet candidates’ advancement expectations and they’ll certainly find it somewhere else. Employers must offer this information upfront, in a variety of locations and interactions—and not wait for candidates to ask.

Read our new whitepaper Always Looking: The Rise of the Continuous Candidate to find out more about the continuous candidate mindset, and for practical recommendations on ways to attract and retain in-demand talent.

Always Looking: The Rise of Continuous Candidates

Loyalty is one of the most desirable attributes in employees. Yet the rise of a new group is set to make talent retention more challenging. Continuous candidates who are always searching for their next career move are becoming increasingly prominent in today’s world of work.

Continuous candidates become the new norm

To better understand this new trend in candidate preferences, ManpowerGroup Solutions interviewed 4,500 candidates about their job hunting behaviour, their career preferences, and their expectations of employers.

Our research found 30% of UK jobseekers are continuous candidates, and employers will increasingly be challenged by workforce turnover. The prevalence of continuous candidates can be linked to several factors:

  • The emergence of the ‘gig economy’ creating new ways of getting work done and redefining how people work.
  • Tech firms are leading the way on contract employment worldwide. Because these are the companies many people aspire to work for, there is great acceptance of the new model.
  • Layoffs and job losses experienced in the wake of the recession sent the message to young and old alike that job security is not necessarily guaranteed.

Employee churn is financially costly for companies, so it’s more important than ever for employers to improve their retention efforts and recruitment processes.

Read the full report to find out more about this emerging mindset, and for practical recommendations on ways to attract and retain in-demand talent in today’s world of continuous candidates.

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Improving business agility through Managed Services

Improving business agility through Managed Services

“If you fail to plan, you plan to fail”. It’s an infamous quotation, recited time and time again for all manner of reasons. But it’s flawed. Sometimes it doesn’t matter how much you plan, things simply go wrong. Whether it’s a new project or business as usual, you can prepare and manage your team perfectly, and something can still disrupt your workflow.

Recent weeks have underscored the need for companies to be more agile. We’re all operating in an uncertain business environment, with plenty of obstacles along the way – some predictable, others not. Today, more than ever before, success is measured by how well an organisation can continue to execute business strategy in the face of changing market conditions.

How to enhance business agility

Creating a more nimble workforce is one way to improve business agility. In a fast-changing business environment, hiring managers need quick access to the specialist skills required to drive their business initiatives. To achieve this, many organisations are opting for a blended workforce. They’re enhancing the capabilities of their permanent workforce by enlisting the specialist skills of contractors and freelancers.

Access to specialist contractors is the key to organisational growth and innovation. However, operating with large numbers of contractors can be a challenge, particularly when you’re engaging with a number of different recruitment agencies at the same time.

From auditing to managing cost, when you’re engaging with lots of recruitment suppliers, everything can become much more difficult to keep on top of. Business leaders are realising this. They know that their organisation relies on steady access to contractors, but they also recognise that they need greater control, efficiencies, and cost savings in their contingent workforce.

More visibility, less risk

One solution is a Managed Service. By outsourcing their contingent workforce requirements, organisations reap all the rewards that contractors offer, with none of the burden. They provide organisations with direct access to the contractors they need, and streamline processes on their behalf too.

It’s a win-win. Managed Services combine talent attraction, supplier optimisation, compliance, technology, analytics, and employee engagement, and much more (depending on your business requirements), into a single programme. In turn, businesses benefit from greater workforce visibility and mitigated risk.

Most importantly, their organisation is equipped with the agility it needs to compete in an ever-changing business world.

We are all operating in an environment which changes in a flash. And that’s not going to change any time soon. Nowadays, the world of work is a rollercoaster – and it’s leaders who establish and maintain business agility who will withstand the ride.

5 Common Misconceptions about Managed Services

managed serviceWith the increasing potential complexities that come with managing a business, we’re seeing a rise in the number of companies moving their recruitment activities to a Managed Service approach. There are many reasons why – to support them with rapidly changing business developments, cost management, and advances in technology, to name just a few. Yet, despite this increase in take up, there are still a few common misconceptions that stop some from considering this option.

To help you separate the fact from the fiction, here are five of the most common Managed Service myths – and the truth behind them:

Myth 1 – A Managed Service contract is more expensive

Many IT leaders believe that hiring contractors is more expensive than hiring permanent members of staff. But what’s often not considered is the cost of training and upskilling existing teams, to allow the business to keep up with the rapid developments and technological changes. Ultimately this can be more expensive over the long-term and can affect operational efficiencies, with staff often out of the business for long periods of time or unable to action projects. In addition, businesses are faced with the challenges of retaining existing employees, by needing to ensure that they keep them happy in terms of growth, career development and opportunities, as well as financially.

Investing in qualified contractors can be a more cost and time-effective solution, ensuring that the job is carried out by experts with the specialist skills required. Recruiting and managing these contractors through a Managed Service creates additional process and cost efficiencies.

Myth 2 – The Managed Service will drive the direction of the business

Some believe that a Managed Service will take away some of the strategic drivers from the organisation influencing its direction of travel. However, in reality it is more like having a close partnership, where the Managed Service providers are able to help businesses align their strategies with their business goals and priorities.

Businesses typically define what services they’d like to have outsourced and how they would like them to operate, alongside agreeing the service levels and costs. The Managed Service provider then takes the time to understand the organisations’ objectives and provide flexible services as the business continues to develop, whilst maintaining an open dialogue around how to make further improvements to take advantage of new opportunities.

Myth 3 – Service levels will not be as good as in-house

With today’s technologies and communication advances, Managed Service providers can easily operate off-site and at lower costs. Some even offer 24/7 support. And on top of this, in-house resources may not always have the necessary skills and experience needed to provide suitable resolution and guidance on issues, which may lead to further downtime and costs for the business.

With a Managed Service provider, businesses can be sure that they can access specialist skills which they don’t have in-house, allowing for more scalability. Moreover, their applications and processes are managed more proactively. Issues are not only handled as they occur, but they can often be prevented before something goes wrong. As a result, businesses can afford to be more aggressive with the Managed Services, as they are paying for a service and expect it to deliver against the agreed SLA’s – so the pressure is on.

Myth 4 – Only large companies can afford to outsource recruitment

It’s understandable that many smaller companies believe that taking on a Managed Service will mean spending large amounts of money to manage recruitment services. But one of the main benefits of a Managed Service is that it provides scalability to the business. Smaller companies can remain competitive by bringing in contractors with specialist skills when required, without the need for investing in additional head count that may not be needed full-time. SME’s in particular can benefit from using Managed Services, as outsourcing can lead to cost savings as well as helping them to make processes and operations more efficient.

Myth 5 – All of the services have to be outsourced

Just because you decide to outsource, it doesn’t mean that 100% of your contingent workforce requirements have to be handled by the Managed Service. Managed Service providers can offer support across the board or businesses can choose to focus their Managed Service on specific business areas to help streamline operations with significant numbers of contractors. A Managed Service provider should understand that different organisations have bespoke requirements and therefore offer various solutions and levels of support to help businesses achieve greater control, efficiencies and cost savings – allowing them to take a pick and mix approach when selecting the services they require.

Looking for a Managed Service Provider? Find out more about what Experis can offer here.

New ways of working: Millennials want in

“Thank you”. “Well done”. “Congratulations”. It doesn’t take a lot of time or effort to show your appreciation for someone. Whether they went beyond the call of duty, or always deliver exactly what’s needed – making people feel valued goes a long way.

For Millennials, the need to feel appreciated runs deep. They’ve grown up in a fast-paced world of sharing, rating, and instant feedback. So they want to see their careers through the same lens. Half of Millennials would even consider leaving their job because of a lack of appreciation.

Lots of employers have already recognised this. They know that feedback and recognition is a low-cost, effective way of engaging people in their role. So they’re making changes to make sure it’s embedded into their company culture. It’s a win-win. Their employees are happier in their roles, while the employer enhances their future talent pool.

Change is afoot

But challenges lie ahead. Nowadays, most Millennials are working in a 9-to-5 role. Their boss can expect them to be in the same place, at the same time, every week. Of course there are people who work in a more flexible way, but even today they’re a minority. This is set to change.

Our research found that more than half of Millennials are open to moving into non-traditional forms of employment in the future. They’re open to freelancing, gig work, portfolio careers, and more. New ways of working will become the new norm.

The ability to harness talent in new ways will create new opportunities for employers. It will drive greater productivity, at competitive costs. But it will still be important that all workers feel engaged and appreciated. Employers will need to keep pace. They’ll need to work harder, if they are going to drive engagement across a workforce that’s split into many different employment models.

Millennials are looking for regular change, new challenges, and advancement. But they still want to know that they’re valued and appreciated. It’s the responsibility of employers to make sure this happens, no matter how they’re getting the job done.

Find out more about the preferences and motivators of Millennials in our new report: Millennial Careers: 2020 Vision.

4 ways the technological revolution will impact on your hiring process

Automation, artificial intelligence and robotics have already made a big impact on the world of work – and we’re only just at the beginning of the technological revolution.

Though some jobs will be eliminated by technology, this doesn’t have to be a battle of human vs. robot. Technological revolutions are creating new opportunities, and new ways of getting work done. Nonetheless, employers need to adapt their approach to talent, if they’re to succeed in the Human Age.

Here are 4 ways the technological revolution will impact on your talent strategies, and some straightforward steps you can take to adapt:

The technological revolution means nurturing your team is even more important

Career success is increasingly being determined by a person’s learnability—their ability to grow their skills throughout their working life. It comes as no surprise. After all, technological innovations continually change the way work gets done. So we all need to be able to grow and evolve our skill set, if we’re to remain employable.

In the past, employers had more time, managers and resources to develop people. Sometimes that’s not the case anymore – but it needs to be firmly back on the agenda. Employers need to recognise and reward learnability. By nurturing the workforce in this way, employers will ensure their people keep up with changing skill requirements. This will ensure their organisation is equipped with the critical skills it requires in the long-term.

You’ll need to be more flexible

From the Airbnb landlord to the Uber taxi driver – the so-called ‘Gig Economy’ is now a daily phenomenon. Technology platforms are transforming how all kinds of day-to-day tasks are completed. And this new way of getting work done is giving candidates the power to decide how, where, and when they want to work.

For employers, this is opening up new ways of harnessing talent locally and virtually. It can’t be ignored; the end of the traditional 9 to 5 is nigh. And it’s those organisations that adapt, become more flexible, and are open to alternative employment models, who will win.

It’s time to really consider the competition

The technological revolution has opened up countless new candidate attraction channels – PPC campaigns, geo-targeted advertising, SEO-optimised microsites, online job boards and much more. Never before has there been so many different ways of identifying and engaging with jobseekers.

This has created a new challenge: standing out from the competition. If your pay, benefits and culture aren’t competitive and appealing, then tough luck. In-demand candidates will have plenty of other opportunities waiting in their inbox to choose from. As a result, it’s time to compare how your remuneration package compares to others in your industry and local area, and adjust accordingly.

Start selling your organisation to candidates

Today’s jobseekers will spend most of their lives at work. So they want to know well in advance what their return on investment. From online review sites to social media – as technology has evolved, jobseekers are being given more ways to find out what it’s really like to work at an organisation.

All of this means that an employer’s brand isn’t limited to the marketing team anymore. Therefore you need to ensure every step of your application process sells your organisation as an employer of choice. Ask yourself this: why do you like working at your company? Cement this into your attraction strategy, and you’ll be well placed to attract in-demand candidates to your business.

Watch our new YouTube series to find out more about the technological revolution Human Age trends which are driving changes in today’s world of work.

The robots are coming

Robots are creating jobs, not removing them

Time and again history has shown that modernisation and progress can disrupt the status quo of the workforce, and can revalue skills in the marketplace. And in our generation, that’s exactly what we’re seeing. The highest priority skills now revolve around digital know-how, creativity, leadership and management ability, as well as complex problem-solving.

Recent research estimates that around 35% of jobs in the UK are at a high risk of automation within the next 20 years. According to a report by Deloitte and Oxford University, over the past 15 years technology has contributed to a loss of over 800,000 jobs within the UK. That’s proving to be a major cause for concern for both companies and employees – this revolution favours the tech-savvy, which leaves many in repetitive, mechanical jobs nervous.

But let’s not forget, there’s also evidence to suggest the tech revolution has aided the creation of nearly 3.5 million new jobs in place of those 800,000 lost. With new technology comes fresh opportunities and newly emerging job categories. But are businesses ready for these?

Resistance is futile

It would be foolish to try and resist the rising tide of automation technology. From self-regulating smart meters to mechanical barmen, automation is changing the work landscape across nearly every industry and the pace of change is rapid. So what can be done to weather the storm of this revolution? Businesses need to be flexible enough to evolve with it.

At the World Economic Forum in January 2016, ManpowerGroup’s CEO Jonas Prising was confident about the role companies can play in supporting the workforce through this “Fourth Industrial Revolution”. His solution to the pace of change is a clear training plan and investment in talent.

Future workforce planning is more vital than ever before. In its recent report The Future of Jobs, the WEF found that investment in reskilling and upskilling current employees was the highest-ranked strategy among companies to tackle the automation challenge. It’s not about displacing jobs but finding the right balance. Companies need to ask themselves: what to automate and what not to? Automation can be a great cost-cutting technique, but a personalised, customised experience is still preferential for many consumers – and this could prove to be a key differentiator in the future.

The winners in this new world will be those who can adapt to the changing market and evolve their business models to match. Organisations need to put talent development and future-proofing of skills at the forefront. But crucially the time for action is today – not tomorrow.