September 2017 – ManpowerGroup

Partnering with the NHS to enhance apprenticeship recruitment

In 2017, Manpower partnered with the NHS Black Country Apprenticeship Academy to design and execute an employer proposition and accompanying website to showcase the wide-ranging apprenticeship opportunities available across the seven NHS trusts in the region.

We spoke with Danny Wright, Academy Manager at the NHS Black Country Apprenticeship Academy, regarding the partnership and the solution delivered by Manpower:

Please could you provide us with a brief overview of the NHS Black Country Apprenticeship Academy?

The NHS Black Country Apprenticeship Academy is a partnership of seven NHS trusts in the Black Country, which has the end-goal of delivering a large, robust apprenticeship scheme. Each trust has its own workforce plan, as well as its own missions, statements and priorities. The Academy acts as an umbrella to sit over these different requirements, allowing us to take a more collaborative approach. It is unique within the NHS, and other regions are now looking at setting up similar partnerships.

We wanted this to be an internally delivered scheme, so potential recruits would be speaking with a fully trained NHS member of staff who knows the system inside-out. However, we also wanted to utilise some outside, specialist support from local colleges, training providers and organisations such as Manpower to maximise the Academy’s effectiveness.

What were your primary objectives when partnering with Manpower to build the NHS Black Country Apprenticeship Academy website?

When the Apprenticeship Levy was introduced, we knew we had to significantly increase our number of apprentices. The new legislation meant that 2.3% of our workforce had to be apprentices – almost doubling what we had previously.

Before the Levy came into force, we took a localised approach to recruiting apprentices. We had a really good relationship with local schools and colleges, but there was a glass ceiling in the number of people we could reach through this network. We needed to explore new avenues if we were to increase our number of apprentice recruits by the required amount.

Part of our solution involved developing a compelling proposition which would ‘sell’ the NHS as an employer of choice for apprentices. Why was this important for your organisation?

One of our main challenges was that young people were telling us that they had no idea what apprenticeships we could offer. If they did a Google search for apprenticeships, the NHS doesn’t appear – even though we’re one of the largest employers of apprentices in the country.

As a result, we were concerned that we may not be engaging with young people in the most effective way. The leaflets and promotional materials that we had created were very traditionally NHS-branded. They featured doctors and nurses, but not the full raft of careers that are available at the NHS. Furthermore, we would promote our job opportunities by going out to schools, colleges and job centres to give really inspiring talks, but it was just a one-off hit. There wasn’t a clear way for them to find out more information about the vacancies afterwards. We realised we needed specialist support to ensure we were approaching potential candidates in the right way.

What were the key strengths that you wanted to highlight in your messaging to potential applicants?

It became really important for us to create something new and a little bit different. We needed to stay within the restrictions of the NHS brand, but we needed to reimagine it in a fresh, modern way, so potential applicants could really understand our offering. Our Apprenticeship Academy is so unique, so we wanted to ensure it was presented to the market that way too.

The biggest thing we wanted to emphasise is that this isn’t just a course – it’s an opening to a career pathway. We consistently employ 90% of the people who come through our apprenticeship scheme.

What value has Manpower added to your business through the development of this website?

Before the website launched, there was an occasion where we had 12 apprenticeships to fill. We received 83 applications in total and shortlisted 20 individuals. However, only 15 people turned up for the assessment day and of those, just 10 people passed. It meant we had less people at the end of the pipeline than available roles.

Now the website has launched, it’s completely different. When we had another 12 apprenticeships to fill, we received 143 applications, shortlisted 80, invited 40 to an assessment day, and we ended up interviewing 26 people. We filled all of the positions with high-quality candidates.

How does the website align with your original expectations?

The fact that we got something off the ground that looks so different is quite surprising to me. To be honest, I thought we might end up with ‘just another’ NHS website. I’m pleasantly surprised and very happy that we have created something that is so different, and all evidence suggests that it’s had an immediate, positive effect on our recruitment processes.

It’s refreshing and really interesting to see how the project has developed. We’re now talking the same language as the people we’re trying to attract to our apprenticeships. And we’re now having discussions about things we’ve never considered using before – like Snapchat filters and Spotify advertising. We wouldn’t have thought about doing that a year ago.

Have you received any feedback about the website from anyone outside of the Apprenticeship Academy?

Yes, the feedback we’ve received has been really positive. Schools and community centres are surprised to hear about the great opportunities we are offering, but we’ve always offered apprenticeships – they just weren’t picking up on it.

We’ve also seen a change in applicant behaviour. They’re visiting the website and finding out if the apprenticeships are right for them before they apply, so we’re getting a much better retention rate. They’re also being much more proactive than they were before – they’re making phone calls and enquiries themselves, which is fantastic. The impact on our audience has been huge; much more than we could have achieved using our previous approach.

What’s next for the NHS Black Country Apprenticeship Academy, and for your partnership with Manpower?

In the first three months since the website launched, we’ve employed 85 apprentices, and we forecast recruiting an additional 400 in the next six months.

Under the Levy, the apprenticeship landscape has changed, and that presents us with some exciting opportunities. For years, you could do a Level 2 or 3 apprenticeship, and that was it. But now, we have a raft of different levels, all the way up to degree-level. Going forward, the dream for the Apprenticeship Academy is for us to recruit someone onto a Level 2 apprenticeship programme, and take them all the way through to Level 5. It’s about building a pathway of progression that could see someone through the first 10 years of their career. And I think our partnership with Manpower will continue as our Academy expands and evolves.

Looking forward

Raffaela Goodby, Chair of the NHS Black Country Apprenticeship Academy, outlines what their future holds:

“It’s such a pleasure to chair the Black Country Apprenticeship Academy Board – with so many passionate people around the table who care about apprenticeships in their organisation. And, more importantly, care about recruiting brilliant people into the NHS. The Apprenticeship Academy is such a success as it’s a trusting partnership with NHS values at its core – with each trust supporting one another to attract, train, develop and retain our people.

“The Academy is developing and changing under the Apprenticeship Levy. Two of our trusts have become accredited training providers, and the Academy will continue to be our ‘front door’ for apprenticeships in the future. We are incredibly excited to be working in partnership across the Black Country in this way, and we’re delighted to be able to show that NHS Collaboration and Innovation is alive and kicking.”

To explore the NHS Black Country Apprenticeship Academy website, created in partnership with Manpower, please visit: nhsapprenticeshipacademy.co.uk.

This article first appeared in the seventh edition of The Human Age Newspaper.

Hiring in the age of automation

There have been many discussions about the potentially negative impact of automation on job losses. However, some organisations have begun to investigate the benefits of introducing Artificial Intelligence (AI) to their hiring processes. Using technology in employment is nothing new, with most recruiters using online job boards and Applicant Tracking Systems as a minimum. The question is whether it can help to streamline the process.

Technology has the potential to help the talent pipeline evolve – reducing, or even eliminating, administrative tasks like manually screening CVs. But is there such a thing as too much automation? Would it be acceptable for a tech professional to start a new role having had no human interaction with their new employer?

Shortlisting candidates and assessing technical capabilities

AI algorithms can be designed to assess CVs for pre-defined skills and experience, send follow up emails and search databases for potential candidates who match roles. This would allow recruiters more time to work directly with clients and candidates, developing a greater understanding of the goals and motivations of both, as well as providing valuable coaching and market intelligence. It could also make the recruitment process more flexible, allowing technical capability assessments and processing to take place remotely and outside of business hours.

Introducing AI to the recruitment process may also benefit less confident individuals – taking some of the focus away from a candidate’s ability to perform well in front of strangers in an interview situation, and refocusing it on the accurate assessment of capabilities.

Avoiding bias in AI

Whilst, in theory, machines can be used to remove unconscious bias from the initial stages of recruitment, in practice this is less straightforward. After all, algorithms often reflect the values of those they are created by. And, as the tech industry still has a long way to go when it comes to workforce diversity, businesses must be mindful of these potential design flaws if they look to introduce AI to support with building a talented and diverse workforce. An example of these flaws in practice is a recent study which found that women were targeted with Google ads for high paying jobs just 300 times, compared to 1,800 times for men.

Organisations must also remember that interviews are not just about the candidate proving their capabilities to a potential employer. They are equally an opportunity for businesses to inspire the candidate, offering insights into the business and highlighting what they add to the individual’s career. Whilst you can convey elements of this through digital interactions, it is much more successful through an open dialogue, as this offers the employer or recruiter a stronger platform to ‘sell’ the opportunity and build rapport. This is particularly important for in-demand candidates who have a number of job offers on the table, as it helps businesses to differentiate themselves.

In its current form, AI’s reach is limited to active candidates. However, recruitment is often more focused on uncovering passive candidates who are willing to move for the right opportunities. If companies only use AI, they are potentially missing out on a large slice of the available market.

Striking a balance between humans and machines

As more organisations wake up to the improvements that AI could bring to the recruitment process, and as technology continues to get more sophisticated, machines will begin to play a far greater role in hiring than at present.

AI could help to take away some of the time-consuming admin. But where AI will drive the most value is when it is harnessed as ‘augmented intelligence’ to enhance the human role, rather than replace it. An example of this could be the use of Big Data analysis to identify struggling candidates and match their capabilities to a career path that represents a better fit. This work could take a human several hours to complete, but an AI system would only need seconds.

Organisations should look to enhance their recruitment processes with AI, but remember that finding the candidate with the right cultural fit for the company is just as important as the right skills and experience. And – for the moment, at least – this would be difficult to incorporate into an algorithm, since AI in its current state lacks the emotional intelligence to pick up on these factors. Soft skills and cultural fit will never be an exact science and, as a result, the human element of hiring is, and will continue to be, vital.

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Work placements boost skills and job readiness of UK’s unemployed youth

ManpowerGroup UK has launched a new online platform to power the Movement to Work programme.

Movement to Work is a collaboration of leading UK employers who provide work experience placements and employability skills training to 16-24 year olds to help them enter the workforce. ManpowerGroup has been working in partnership with the programme since 2014.

Before the launch of the online platform, matching young people with suitable work placements through Movement to Work was both frustrating and time-consuming for employers and young people alike.

With no central place for employers to share work placements and no online presence, potential candidates couldn’t see the scope of what was available. This led to little control and choice for young people, who could only register their details and rely on somebody else to manually try to match them with placements in their locality. In 2016, this process led to 5,000 work placements going unfilled.

A more sophisticated technology solution was designed by ManpowerGroup’s digital marketing team to address this issue and create a simplified process for employers and young people.

Jonathan Taylor, Digital Marketing Manager at ManpowerGroup, said: “To create the new online platform, the team focused on the candidate journey with the intent of making the process easier, regardless of the platform or device young people may be using.

“We’ve used our expertise in the world of online recruitment to build a platform that is engaging and mobile-optimised. It allows young people to see what’s on offer, and then select specific work placements they’d like to be put forward for, as if it were a job board.

“Search functionality also means they can narrow results down based on specific locations and clients. In an effort to address concerns before youths apply for placements, we’ve also made this very transparent regarding relevant requirements, policies and pay.”

From an employer’s perspective, they no longer need to be directly involved, with ManpowerGroup taking the lead to manage and simplify the process.

A dedicated ManpowerGroup team communicates directly with each employer regarding all their work placements over the coming six months. The details are entered into the platform and made available to the wider community online. Twice weekly, employers are provided with the details of candidates who have applied. Response times for young people to hear back from employers are within 72 hours.

Tobias Mills, Operations Director at Manpower UK and sponsor of the Group’s engagement with Movement to Work, commented: “As part of ManpowerGroup’s commitment to helping young people learn skills to prepare them for employment, this has been a great opportunity to draw on our in-house digital capability and create a solution that better matches young people to work placements. Agility has been crucial and we’re particularly proud of the speed of turnaround. From concept to ‘go-live’, our digital team delivered the platform within three months.”

ManpowerGroup is one of six key employers to initially feature work placements on the site. These include: Accenture, British Aerospace (BAE), British Gas, BT and Unilever. There are currently a total of 10 employers involved, with plans to extend the programme to feature as many as 30 different employers on the site.

If your organisation is interested in becoming a member of Movement to Work, we invite you to visit: movementtowork.com/employer-sign-up

This article first appeared in the seventh edition of The Human Age Newspaper.

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ManpowerGroup challenges perceptions of talent with disabilities to unleash full potential

While a growing number of employers have made progress in recognising the benefits of creating a more diverse workforce, talent with disabilities continue to face considerable challenges when it comes to securing and remaining in employment.

Despite the fact that UK Government research has identified disabled people make up 19% of the population, polling from the Centre of Social Justice has highlighted that they are under-represented in the workforce. Two thirds (63%) of HR decision-makers perceive disability as a barrier to hiring, and only a third (33%) have hired a person with a disability in the last year.

In recognition that it is the perceptions themselves that can create the biggest barrier to hiring talent with disabilities, ManpowerGroup partnered with Blind Cricket England and Wales to organise a visually impaired cricket match.

In May 2017, the UK Women’s Visually Impaired cricket team played a team of ManpowerGroup representatives and their clients who wore blindfolds and glasses designed to restrict their vision. The match was used as a platform to challenge the perceptions that exist, initiate conversations about disability and employment in a fun way, and raise awareness of the abilities of disabled people as valuable employees.

Chris Gray, Managing Director of Manpower UK, said: “Everyone should have the opportunity to discover their full potential. But sadly, we are aware that disabled people are frequently prevented from finding work or progressing their careers.

“UK employers must learn to look beyond an individual’s impairment and identify the knowledge, skills and experiences that they offer. Many people would expect that a visual impairment would prevent them from participating in a team sport, like cricket, but the match demonstrated that that needn’t be the case. Small adjustments can allow individuals to unleash their potential in surprising ways.”

Chris continued: “ManpowerGroup has a proud history of connecting people with meaningful work. We see how finding the right match between an individual and an employer can empower individuals, transform businesses and invigorate communities. We would like to encourage more employers to think about how they can facilitate opportunities for this under-tapped talent pool.

“Progressive employers who recognise the benefits of a diverse workforce must consider how they can make a visible commitment to hiring and supporting people with disabilities too. Not only is this the right thing to do, but employers are missing out on a huge pool of skilled talent by not rethinking their perceptions.”

To learn more about challenging perceptions for disabled people in the workplace, please contact: [email protected].

This article first appeared in the seventh edition of The Human Age Newspaper.

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Going Digital in Logistics

The Defining Labour Challenge of our Time

Digitalisation is transforming how the logistics sector operates. We’ve all heard about the ongoing development of driverless cars, and the potential impact this may have on the transport industry. But how else is technology making its mark on the sector? And, importantly, what does this mean for the workforce?

Embracing digitisation in logistics

Many logistics companies are harnessing the power of technology through computerised shipping and tracking systems. By integrating multiple supply chain processes into one system, they can maximise their use of data – allowing them to promptly identify the most efficient transport routes and also anticipate any potential issues in their plans and processes.

Technology is also being used to reduce fuel emissions. It was well publicised last month that Scania are developing a platooning system for heavy vehicles. This will allow several trucks to travel one after the other, in an aerodynamic formation. They hope that this system will cut fuel consumption by as much as 12%.

Logistics companies are utilising technology as a way to better align with the demands of consumers, too. These days, customers don’t want to wait several days for their items to be delivered. There’s a growing ‘I want it now’ mentality, where people expect to receive their deliveries in hours, not days. This expectation is putting logistics firms under pressure to deliver a quicker service than ever before. In response, some companies are looking to introduce drone deliveries. One example of this is Amazon. In trialling the use of drones to make deliveries, they aim to deliver packages to their customers within 30 minutes or less. At the same time, they hope to increase the overall safety and efficiency of their transportation system. While drone deliveries are still in their infancy, it will certainly be interesting to see how this develops in the years ahead.

How will this impact the workforce?

Historically, the transport industry hasn’t always been open to embracing technology. But they’re being driven to by necessity. After all, as driver shortages worsen and demand on the industry continues to grow, technology presents a way for organisations to make their operations more efficient, cost effective and productive. But, from a workforce perspective, the growth of digitisation in logistics presents employers with a number of issues to contend with.

As I’ve spoken about in a previous blog, too few young people are entering the industry. And, with the threat of automation on the horizon, this issue could be exacerbated. If young people are unable to see the long-term prospects logistics can offer, it’s unlikely that they will consider this as a career path. With this in mind, it’s important that employers are clear about the long-term opportunities they can provide, to mitigate any concerns.

Digitisation also means the value employers place on skills will change. Industry-wide, it’s likely that technology will replace both cognitive and manual routine tasks. This will leave people to take on non-routine and more fulfilling roles. As a result, skills that employers value today may not hold the same value in the years to come. At the same time, new skill requirements will emerge. This means employers will need to focus on reskilling and upskilling the workforce, to address today’s talent shortages and anticipate the demands of tomorrow.

Responsive and responsible leadership: the time is now

Now is the time for logistics leaders to be responsive and responsible. We cannot slow the rate of technological advance. And we cannot predict exactly how digitisation will affect logistics in the years to come. But we can invest in employees’ skills to increase the resilience of our people and organisations.

As an industry, we need to take immediate action to fast track the upskilling and reskilling of existing employees, to ensure we have a workforce with the skills required for the future. We also need to draw in those groups of individuals that are not fully participating in the workforce, such as young people. After all, finding the right balance of technology, talent and human connection will enable both people and businesses to succeed.

To find out more about our expertise in warehouse and logistics recruitment and workforce planning, visit manpower.co.uk/warehouse-and-logistics or email us at [email protected]

Introducing our new ‘Ready for Work’ Award

In May 2017, ManpowerGroup launched a new ‘Ready for Work’ award with Junior Achievement, celebrating students across Europe who are building the skills required to be work-ready upon graduation.

Known as Young Enterprise in the UK, the three-year partnership across 31 countries will recognise different aspects of work readiness each year, starting with learnability – the desire and ability to continually learn new skills to stay employable for the long term.

Ninety-three percent of Millennials see ongoing skills development as being so important that they would give up their own time and money to upskill. ManpowerGroup is also providing access to the proprietary Learnability Quotient assessment to all students so they can find out what type of learner they are.

“Plenty has been written predicting the future of work and the impact of digitisation and automation, but our most pressing issue is telling young people that they will need new skills and they will need them more often, to stay employable for the long term,” said Jonas Prising, ManpowerGroup Chairman and CEO.

“In this Skills Revolution, 65% of children will do jobs that do not even exist yet. Helping young people upskill and adapt to a fast-changing world of work will be the defining challenge of our time. Their ability to learn, apply and adapt will be critical.

Developing entrepreneurship and employability

“As employers, we have a responsibility to help young people become work-ready, not just graduate-ready. We’re delighted to continue our longstanding relationship with Junior Achievement to build learnability for thousands and get young people across Europe ready for work.”

The ManpowerGroup Signature award is part of Junior Achievement Europe’s flagship ‘Company of the Year’ competition. This encourages youths to develop business skills by setting up and running a mini company for a year. ManpowerGroup leaders in more than 20 countries have committed time and resources to run work-readiness programmes. They also lead judging panels celebrating the skills of more than 30,000 young people across the region.

Finalists in each participating country met in Brussels in July 2017 at the ‘Company of the Year’ competition to compete in front of a global panel. Jonas Prising announced the winner and presented ManpowerGroup’s ‘Ready for Work’ award. The 2017 winner was Team Flair from Malta. Their innovative product, ‘A Cards’, are revision flashcards incorporating psychological self-testing. These are designed to build employability, and are endorsed by the Ministry of Education. The winning students will continue to develop their skills and nurture learnability through work experience and coaching offered by ManpowerGroup volunteers across Europe.

“Collaborating with leading companies such as ManpowerGroup enables us to develop entrepreneurship and employability programmes, helping students to understand the relevance of what they are studying in school,” said Caroline Jenner, CEO for Junior Achievement Europe.

“Thanks to ManpowerGroup volunteers, students get insights from experts in the field and the mutual give-and-take is a big part of the learning process.”

This article first appeared in the seventh edition of The Human Age Newspaper.

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ManpowerGroup Supports UN Sustainable Development Goals and Celebrates One Year Anniversary of Sustainability Plan

ManpowerGroup today kicks off global Sustainability Week across 80 countries celebrating the first anniversary of its Sustainability Plan. The plan supports four of the UN Sustainable Development Goals – 4, 5, 8 and 10 – contributing to making progress in education, decent work, gender equality and inclusive growth. ManpowerGroup’s new Work to Change the World sustainability website showcases what companies and individuals can do to get ready for work, upskill to remain employable and create inclusive workplaces.

The Human Age Newspaper – Seventh Edition

Navigating the changing dynamics of today’s workforce can be unpredictable. Faced with growing economic and environmental uncertainty, companies need to keep the business running smoothly with one hand, while preparing for a different and unclear future with the other.

An organisation’s true strength is tested when it’s presented with challenging situations. Just as each storm at sea presents the chance to test the strength of a vessel and its crew; the challenges organisations face provide opportunities to explore new ways of working and potentially soar to new heights.

Preparing for the Future of Work

By anticipating potential change and planning for uncertainty, employers can develop a flexible, yet resilient, workforce strategy to futureproof their business. As part of this, collaboration with experienced, trustworthy workforce partners is crucial – to help steer the course of change and manage transformation in a way that can deliver long-term benefit to all stakeholders.

The Human Age newspaper is our overview of the workforce trends which are challenging employers to think differently about their workforce, and the ways in which we’re helping employers prepare for the future of work. In this seventh edition, we focus specifically on the ways in which we’re contributing to society through meaningful, sustainable employment.

Highlights from the latest edition of the Human Age newspaper include:

Enhancing NHS apprenticeship recruitment
Exploring the reality: the journey to Total Talent Management
Contributing to society through sustainable employment
Driving digital transformation through effective end user services
The Amazon Web Services’ Re:Start programme
How will the GDPR impact your workforce?

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ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey – Q4 2017

The survey results for this quarter report that:

Construction sector confidence also up, boosted by social housing repairs
Skills shortage time-bomb lurks on the horizon
Hotels and restaurants sector slumps as consumer spending dips

Yorkshire and the Humber

Yorkshire and the Humber

ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey Infographic – Q4 2017

Every quarter, we survey a representative sample of 2,000 UK employers, asking them how they anticipate employment changes in their location over the next three months. This infographic highlights the key takeaways from the Q4 2017 report, including a regional heat map of jobs outlook.

Click here to download the pdf.

What do the percentages mean?

The % of employers anticipating an increase in headcount – the % of employers expecting to decrease in headcount = Outlook Percentage

Seasonally adjusted – Seasonal adjustments are applied to research data to remove employment fluctuations that normally occur at the same time each year, such as the end of a school term or a change in season.

For all the data, download the full ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey report.

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