Content Team

RPO project helps launch major retailer into new market

June 13, 2019 by Content Team

Blogs & Articles

RPO project helps launch major retailer into new market

Content Team

June 13, 2019

We recently helped a major European retailer launch their first store in Central and Eastern Europe.

The retailer’s arrival created 200 new jobs in Slovenia. We helped fill these via a hugely successful RPO project.

The hiring project worked so well that the retailer is now partnering with us to support more store openings in emerging markets, including one in Poland.

Succeeding with RPO projects in a retail environment

RPO projects of this nature are designed to provide a turbocharged engine for urgent hiring. RPO can support hiring projects that need to happen at speed and with impact, particularly when launching into a new market.

That’s exactly what the client required, and what they received, within a compressed time frame.

Despite the client lacking an established presence in Slovenia, we partnered to initially hire a team of managerial staff. We then supported them in hiring general staff.

Over three months, nearly 150 retail assistants were hired.

We also recruited:

134 students in two months
10 managers in two months
13 supervisors in one month

In addition to deploying four specialist recruiters in Slovenia, the team accelerated its growth with remote talent sourcing support from the Centre of Excellence, based in Edinburgh.

Our multilingual recruitment expertise, including Slovenian and other regional languages, allowed us to quickly fill key retail and head office roles.

Elizabeth Williams, Hudson RPO Operations Director, said: “We’re delighted to successfully implement and deliver this project. This is a terrific win for both the client and Hudson RPO. We’re thrilled to have helped ensure a successful launch into this major new market.”

Congratulations to everyone who delivered on this fantastic success story, including all of our project RPO specialists, and the terrific retail leaders who have worked closely with us in this partnership.

Hudson RPO

Content Team

The Hudson RPO Content Team is made up of experts within the Talent Acquisition industry across the Americas, EMEA and APAC regions. They provide educational and critical business insights in the form of research reports, articles, news, videos, podcasts, and more. The team ensures high-quality content that helps all readers make talent decisions with confidence.

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Hudson RPO ranks No. 1 worldwide for best RPO implementation

June 11, 2019 by Content Team

Hudson RPO excels at contract implementation, according to third-party industry research.

In 2018, we ranked No. 1 for RPO implementation on the HRO Today’s Baker’s Dozen Customer Satisfaction Ratings of the top 13 recruitment outsourcing providers worldwide.

In that assessment, 100% of our clients came to the same conclusion: when implementing recruitment process outsourcing (RPO), we perform on time and on budget, with minimal disruption to the client’s business.

Watch the video to learn more. Or, scroll down for text only.

No. 1 for RPO implementation in the Baker’s Dozen (text only)

We are thrilled to share that Hudson RPO was named No. 1 for implementation among global RPO providers in HRO Today’s Baker’s Dozen Customer Satisfaction Ratings for 2018.

Our No. 1 ranking means that 100% of our client agreed that during implementation, Hudson RPO was on time, on budget, and posed minimal disruption to the business.

Discover success with RPO worldwide, or locally

Of course, there’s much to consider when you’re transitioning to an RPO model.

Start planning ahead with five tips for a successful global RPO implementation. You’ll want to focus on people, governance, contracts, trust, and communication. Then, combine a global mindset with local awareness and sensitivity for consistent and custom service delivery.

To ensure project success, make sure you’ve got an implementation toolkit and a phased implementation approach. The right toolkit and approach drive best practice in the RPO world.

Gender diversity in the workplace: practical strategies

June 7, 2019 by Content Team

Blogs & Articles

Gender diversity in the workplace: practical strategies

Content Team

June 7, 2019

The business case is clear on the benefits of workplace diversity. With that comes the competitive challenges around recruiting women in the workplace, given most organizations recognize the business performance benefits of a more diverse workforce.

Now let’s explore a few of the ways in which you can help your workplace achieve gender-diversity goals.

Achieving gender diversity in the workplace is a business challenge, not a talent acquisition team’s problem to solve for the business.

A sustainable solution takes commitment from the all levels of the organization, starting with the highest, writes Talent Acquisition Director Nerida Loth. Progress in this area relies on a number of factors beyond the control of HR.

Too often, the job is squarely placed with HR or Talent Acquisition Teams to “fix” on behalf of the organization which is akin to asking the HR department to “fix” employee engagement.

While it remains every leader’s role to work towards a more diverse workforce, the talent acquisition function works in partnership with the business to support them along this journey.

As leaders, we can employ a range of strategies to improve gender diversity in the workplace.

From creating female-friendly job advertisements, to crafting competitive work policies, small steps can help shift our workplaces towards becoming more gender balanced.

We’ve acknowledged the challenges around recruiting women in the workplace. Now let’s explore a few of the ways in which you can help your workplace achieve gender-diversity goals.

Make your job advertisements more inviting

It’s well recognized that these days, most candidates are viewing job ads on a smart device. With that in mind, a “less is more” approach is more important than ever, regardless of demographic.

In terms of appealing to a female audience, one of the most important things you can do is limit the job ad candidate “wish list” to a maximum of five mandatory criteria. Otherwise, females in particular are more likely to self-select out by being overly critical of their experience match to the person requirements.

As you write your job ads, consider using a “female friendly” voice. Writing tools such as Textio can help.

Communicate supportive HR policies

Female talent is in demand, so ensure your HR policies are market-competitive or market-leading. This applies to parental leave, flexible work, and any other types of leave offered.

These policies should be easy to find by all candidates as they research your company and culture as much as the role itself.

The decision to leave an organization and join a new one is a big one regardless of gender, especially if there’s a fear that hard fought flexibility benefits earned over time will be lost or diminished in the new organization. Having clearly communicated workplace benefits and flexible work options in your job ads or on your corporate careers site will help overcome this fear for candidates.

Bring culture into the interview process

For proactively sourced talent, offer informal meetups such as a coffee catch-up before scheduling a formal interview process.

Casual conversations help candidates learn more about the opportunity and corporate culture before deciding whether to formally apply. People want to know what the workplace norms are, including dress code, flexi-time, etc.

When planning the interview stage, ensure the panel includes female leaders.

Randomly including women onto an interview panel as a façade of diversity, however, is not the answer. The panels must be assembled thoughtfully, with each member able to provide meaningful input, and everyone acknowledging the value of diverse opinions. Otherwise, it is a token gesture and will not achieve the desired result of a better hiring outcome.

Spruiking a culture to candidates where women are valued, supported and treated equally is meaningless if women are noticeably absent during the interview and selection process.

Incentivise leaders on workplace diversity outcomes

Having diversity measures as part of a leader’s scorecard is a powerful way of shifting the dial on gender mix outcomes.

While holding leaders accountable on engagement scores for their teams is not uncommon, setting clear targets on workplace diversity is less so. Meaningful change is likely to follow if leaders’ bonuses are tied to such targets!

Always ensure your policies comply with your country’s hiring laws.

Proactively offer career development opportunities

Want to develop your female leaders and stretch them beyond their comfort zone? Actively seek secondment opportunities for them. This helps develop and diversify skills while building capability in a safe environment.

Providing an internal “Women’s Network” where female employees from across the business can interact, network, and share their experience in an informal setting can be a powerful way of building connections. Support networks can also encourage retention.

Closing the gender pay gap: EnergyAustralia’s story

Ensuring gender pay parity is a powerful message to attract female talent given historically, women have more often fared worse with regard to equal pay for the same work.

Coinciding with International Women’s Day in 2018, EnergyAustralia, a key Hudson RPO client, closed the gender pay gap overnight.

In 2018, EnergyAustralia invested $1.2 million (AUD) to ensure women and men with equivalent experience and skills would receive the same pay for doing the same job.

Interestingly, it wasn’t just women who had their pay adjusted. 20% of the increases were for male employees, but with 80% of the increases being for women, it was clear that the imbalance disproportionately affected women.

Maintaining the gender pay balance is an ongoing focus. With every annual salary review, the Rewards Team undertake analysis to ensure a gap has not returned as a result of new hires or internal promotions within the previous year.

Since 2014, EnergyAustralia has been actively working to reduce or remove gender bias in:

recruitment
working arrangements
succession planning
internal appointments and promotions
performance assessment
remuneration and reward

As a Talent Acquisition Director who has been onsite with EnergyAustralia for more than 6 years, I’m pleased to be part of a team that believes in a fairer, more equitable workplace, and is actively committed to achieving this.

Hudson RPO

Content Team

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How to select the best talent delivery model, from experience

June 6, 2019 by Content Team

Blogs & Articles

How to select the best talent delivery model, from experience

Content Team

June 6, 2019

With a track record that includes client-side recruitment, Mark Rogers understands well what it’s like to be in the HR decision-maker’s hot seat.

In particular, he can appreciate the many factors that go into selecting an optimal talent-delivery model.

After all, Mark currently serves as Senior Account Director for Bausch Health, one of our key clients. He has also led the in-house recruitment function at multiple large pharmaceuticals.

We asked Mark to reveal his thoughts on how to select the best talent delivery model.

HR maturity: one indicator shaping talent delivery

When evaluating an in-house recruitment option, vs. full RPO, vs. a blended model, Mark recommends that you first consider the maturity of your HR function.

He says: “Is your talent acquisition function at the same level of maturity, or similar to the rest of the HR functions? Identifying your current resources and capabilities will help you choose the best route.

“Second, are key stakeholders willing to invest in developing an in-house team? If the business is investing in ancillary functions, such as L&D or talent acquisition, this may signal support for an in-house recruitment function.”

However, in-house recruitment isn’t always an ideal solution for every company.

Mark explains: “If the company has an established talent acquisition function, but doesn’t want or need to invest in further enhancing internal TA capabilities to support long-term talent needs, you might want to consider a blended model.

“Augmenting in-house talent acquisition with the flexibility and speed of an RPO can work really well for organizations that need to ramp up hiring quickly.”

It’s also important for the RPO provider to have expertise in your industry and/or the functions where you have critical hiring needs.

Mark says: “In my experience, many larger enterprises with more mature HR and talent acquisition functions might outsource to an RPO, but the internal talent acquisition leader will continue to own the strategy piece, with the RPO owning the delivery and execution of the strategy.”

Don’t start the talent race flatfooted

So, what is the ideal scenario for a fully outsourced RPO?

In Mark’s view, this is when a company has just begun building its internal HR model and lacks the recruiting resources and processes to deliver on its critical hiring needs.

“Having been on both the client side and the RPO provider side,” Mark says, “I’ve had the opportunity to see RPO outsourcing done well and not so well. The organizations that understand the long-term health of their workforce, including talent needs, gaps in skills and talent, succession-planning requirements, etc. are best positioned to outsource successfully to an RPO.”

Workforce planning is an essential HR function, but can sometimes suffer from a lack of focus.

Mark says: “In my experience, few companies invest adequate time and resources into the necessary scope of workforce planning. If they plan to outsource, they assume the RPO will handle it for them. Yes, an RPO can guide you through the process to understand your workforce. However, the more information you offer from the beginning, the faster the RPO can begin pipelining and fulfilling your hiring needs.”

Learn more about our RPO Services.

Hudson RPO

Content Team

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5 strategy-shaping tips you can put to work from SourceCon 2019

May 30, 2019 by Content Team

When you attend a SourceCon conference, it’s easy to get swept up in the experience of sharing talent-sourcing knowledge while bonding with passionate recruiters.

We come from many countries and industries, united by our zeal for being super creative and highly technical in order to source top talent.

For anyone who wants to better understand the talent-sourcing culture, think of it like this:

Some people are mad about football. Others spend hours seeking the high score of a popular video game, competing virtually with players around the world. As talent sourcers, we too enjoy the thrill of competition for great talent. We’re also incredibly dedicated to building up our community.

In this respect, we believe in the value of knowledge-sharing, which allows each of us to improve our individual abilities while strengthening the wider talent sector.

Jessie Caudron and Amandine Picard, representing our multilingual recruitment specialists, recently returned from SourceCon. Watch their video to discover some of the best recruitment insights from SourceCon 2019. You can also scroll down to read five brilliant insights from the event.

Five brilliant insights from SourceCon 2019

So then, here are five great tips we took away from the SourceCon conference. Get ready to put them into action!

1.) You don’t need to speak the local language to recruit in foreign markets. However, you do need local language keywords to identify great candidates, according to SourceCon GrandMaster Iker Jusué.

If you don’t use the local language in keywords, you might be missing out on candidates who haven’t created an English-language profile, despite possessing strong English skills.

Remember: these potential candidates might be interested in your opportunities. Ramp up your foreign language keywords to connect with more multilingual candidates!

2.) Authenticity rules! So does humour. Let’s give it a shot: What did the penguin say to the HR manager?… Let’s take a dip in the talent pool!*

Cringing now? Fair enough. But in a market full of noise, we need to find our voice if we stand a chance of being heard.

Authenticity drives candidate engagement, according to presenters Glen Cathey, Angie Verro, and Tris Revill.

3.) Great storytelling evokes emotion. Stories capture candidates’ imaginations. Facts are forgotten.

Did you know that narrative storytelling is 22 times more memorable than facts?

Wow! Now that’s an interesting fact, although one you may soon forget, according to the nature of the fact itself, which we heard from Glen Cathey.

But if you don’t remember that fact, perhaps you will remember this quirky idea shared by Guillaume Alexandre: “An experienced sourcer is like a tea bag: they spread the knowledge.”

No matter what you want to share, no matter what level you are, someone, somewhere, will benefit from your knowledge. Dov Zavadskis offered this advice.

With that in mind, take time to infuse a fresh pot of knowledge with your own blend of wisdom. Sip and enjoy, possibly with a biscuit or two, and always in the company of fellow sourcers.

4.) Basic search is a good starting point, but with a bit of creativity you can do more. If you add typos to your search, you’ll get more results, according to Jan Tegze. Remember Iker’s advice to include keywords in the local language.

Unfortunately, many recruiters only use basic techniques to find candidates.

On the positive, this creates a significant opportunity for skilled talent sourcers to reach candidates who wouldn’t otherwise be found, helping improve response rates.

5.) Automation has a time and place, but it’s not with candidate outreach. Keep it personal.

To ensure your candidate outreach hits the mark, follow the three Rs: keep it researched, relevant, and referenced.

That advice comes from the well-noted sourcing expert Bill Boorman. Filmed at SourceCon 2019, be sure to watch our exclusive interview with Bill now:

Until our next sourcing meet-up, we look forward to staying connected. Follow us on Twitter for more actionable sourcing advice. Or, take it to the next level and browse some of our fantastic recruitment jobs today. After all, who wants to wait a whole year for the next SourceCon, when we could be working together sooner?

*Please don’t blame our sourcers for the possibly pitiful penguin pun… that quip comes from our global digital marketing manager, Patrice Burnside, who has previously written on the dangers of a poor workplace culture.

Recruitment terminology 101: your guide to different types of hiring

May 24, 2019 by Content Team

Blogs & Articles

Recruitment terminology 101: your guide to different types of hiring

Content Team

May 24, 2019

As you set out to find a talent partner or learn more about the talent industry, does it feel like it’s raining recruitment terminology?

Fear not: we’ve developed a glossary of recruitment lingo.

It’s designed to help you understand the staffing industry — no umbrellas or raincoats required.

Let’s get started.

Temporary staffing

Temporary staffing agencies provide employees for short-term assignments. Temporary employees are typically included on the staffing organization’s payroll.

This option may be suitable when a new project arises. Or, it may be worth considering if you require a certain skill set for a designated period of time (such as the holiday season), and the need doesn’t justify a new full-time position.

Contract-to-hire

Some recruitment agencies will source and recruit for contract-to-hire roles. The contract-to-hire scenario allows both the employee and the hiring company to evaluate whether the candidate is a good match before the role becomes permanent.

A typical contract lasts about three months. The contract can expire if the match doesn’t suit the candidate and business. It’s important to note, however, that not all candidates are willing to leave a stable job for a riskier contract-to-hire scenario.

Direct (permanent) hire

Direct hires are for permanent, full-time positions. Permanent roles tend to offer company benefits.

Hiring a recruitment firm for a direct hire is ideal for unexpected vacancies. A recruitment firm can also help if your internal team lacks the time or resources to fill the role. It may also be a good solution for hard-to-fill roles.

The recruiting firm will be involved during the initial sourcing, recruiting, and hiring process. Once an offer is accepted, the employee is added to the client’s payroll.

Types of recruitment offerings

Recruiting also comes in different shapes and sizes to accommodate your varying candidate needs.

Read on to discover the standard types of recruitment offerings. These solutions can help solve your immediate hiring challenges, while laying the groundwork for longer-term growth.

Contingent recruiting

With contingent recruitment more than one company competes to fill an open position for your company. The contingency organization collects a fee only if your company hires their candidate.

Contingent recruitment can be attractive to businesses due to the low initial investment. However, the placement fees are typically more expensive, and contingent recruiters are unlikely to take on hard-to-fill roles.

Since the contingent recruiter is financially motivated, the focus may lean towards candidate quantity over quality.

Managed Service Provider (MSP)

An MSP is an outsourced company that manages their clients’ temporary staffing programs.

MSPs provide a small team of recruiters or coordinators who manage all the requirements to ensure a smooth operation. This team will use a vendor management system (VMS), which is a technical platform, to run the program.

Large organizations that hire thousands of contractors and hundreds of staffing agencies typically MSPs.

Learn more about managed services.

Recruitment Process Outsourcing

Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) agencies manage an organization’s permanent recruiting efforts enterprise wide, within a specific department or for a specific short-term project (such as hiring sales people for a new product launch).

RPO recruiters effectively become part of your company. They function as an extension of your team and may even be based onsite at your company’s offices.

The RPO team owns the design and execution of the recruitment process. They drive continuous improvement and assume responsibility for results. Companies of all sizes turn to RPO solutions for their scalability and flexibility. RPO solutions are also valued for their ability to disseminate best practices.

RPO can be delivered as a short-term project, or even as an end-to-end solution. Learn more about the differences between project RPO vs. end-to-end RPO.

Learn more about RPO services.

Recruitment tracking terminology

Recruitment tracking terminology is also nuanced. Whether you’re a talent sourcer, recruiter, or hiring manager, these phrases help keep everyone on the same page.

Using the right term for each step of the hiring process enables you to accurately track and report progress. This process can also help you identify gaps which may require further review or additional support.

With the right terminology driving the process, you can help ensure hiring targets are achieved and business partners remain satisfied.

Talent-pooling

This refers to market and talent mapping. A talent sourcer is typically responsible for talent pooling. This information is then offered to the recruiter or hiring manager.

When building a talent pool, the sourcer does not yet contact candidates. The list of possible candidates may be given to the onsite team, or another recruiter, for candidate screening.

Long-listing candidates

This is the list of candidates who have been screened by a talent sourcer. The sourcer will have identified these candidates as suitable for further consideration, typically by the on-site recruiter.

Short-listing candidates

This refers to the number of candidates from your long-list who are recommended to the hiring manager. The recruiter typically makes a recommendation on who to short-list.

Here’s an example of recruitment-tracking, phrase by phrase

The talent sourcer begins by building a talent pool. From the talent pool, she or he then identifies and screens 10 candidates. She or he identifies six as being suitable for the role. These six candidates are forwarded as a long-list to the onsite recruiter. Next, that recruiter decides to short-list five of them. Finally, these five candidates are recommended to the hiring manager.

If a talent sourcer is also managing the relationship with the hiring manager, the short-list and long-list numbers will be the same.

Content Team

RPO project helps launch major retailer into new market

Succeeding with RPO projects in a retail environment

Content Team

What is RPO?

What is MSP?

Related articles

No. 1 for RPO implementation in the Baker’s Dozen (text only)

Discover success with RPO worldwide, or locally

Gender diversity in the workplace: practical strategies

Make your job advertisements more inviting

Communicate supportive HR policies

Bring culture into the interview process

Incentivise leaders on workplace diversity outcomes

Proactively offer career development opportunities

Closing the gender pay gap: EnergyAustralia’s story

Content Team

What is RPO?

What is MSP?

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How to select the best talent delivery model, from experience

HR maturity: one indicator shaping talent delivery

Don’t start the talent race flatfooted

Content Team

What is RPO?

What is MSP?

Related articles

Five brilliant insights from SourceCon 2019

Recruitment terminology 101: your guide to different types of hiring

Temporary staffing

Contract-to-hire

Direct (permanent) hire

Types of recruitment offerings

Contingent recruiting

Managed Service Provider (MSP)

Recruitment Process Outsourcing

Recruitment tracking terminology

Talent-pooling

Long-listing candidates

Short-listing candidates

Here’s an example of recruitment-tracking, phrase by phrase

Content Team

What is RPO?

What is MSP?

Related articles

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