Category: Candidate Experience

Effectively Leverage Social Media to Improve Your Employer Brand

Posted on by jpatel

Until about 10 years ago, simply posting a job opening to a career site like Indeed or Glassdoor may have been enough to get you the right talent to fulfill your hiring needs. That’s because in economic climates where job-seekers are abundant, active candidates would search open positions, see your job posting, read the description and decide whether they wanted to apply. Often, that job posting might have been the first time a candidate engaged with or even heard of your brand.

Today, candidates can see and engage with your brand at hundreds of touchpoints before ever seeing a job posting or visiting your career page. And millions more people are looking for lasting employment now due to the pandemic. Whereas traditional in-person interviews declined, the importance of virtual hiring and an organization’s online presence have drastically risen. While this may sound daunting at first, digital recruitment marketing and the rise of social media mean organizations today can spread their message and establish a strong knowledge of their employer brand with prospective candidates – often before those candidates even think about looking for a job.

Regardless of the economic climate and whether we are at the lowest unemployment rates experienced in decades or the highest, a strong social media presence is imperative to an employer’s recruitment media mix. Now, more than ever, we are all tuned in to what our networks are saying, sharing and recommending online.

In fact, according to a report by LinkedIn, 72% of recruiting leaders worldwide agree that employer brand has a significant impact on hiring. Moreover Jobvite research showed that 59% of candidates followed companies on social media to gain insight into their company culture – myself included! When I was considering joining PeopleScout, social media was one of the main ways I researched what it would be like to work here.

Specifically, I kept an eye out for engaging content, interesting comments and overall employee engagement. PeopleScout’s active social pages with relevant content and employees passionately sharing their work achievements were one of the deciding factors when I chose to come on board. After all, if an omnichannel recruitment marketing strategy were what I would advise to my clients, I had to work for a company that led with the best examples.

Building Your Brand

When it comes down to the critical moments throughout the candidate’s journey, what an employer presents online could be the deciding factor for whether a candidate joins an organization. Truly, if a candidate is debating between two employers and one has a nearly nonexistent online brand presence while the other showcases personality, culture and industry-related insights, it’s clear who will win the talent.

And, it doesn’t just come down to one quick, last-minute Google search. To improve your employer brand in a candidate’s mind takes a persistent effort. For example, say you’re looking to hire a nurse, but the ideal prospect is located outside of your region. Attracting that candidate will be a huge undertaking that isn’t going to happen overnight.

It’s unlikely that the candidate will apply for a job at your hospital out of the blue, especially if they’ve never heard of you before. But, what if that candidate saw one of your Twitter posts about the “10 Things You Should Know as a New Nurse”? Or, maybe a friend sent them your Instagram post of an uplifting quote about providing patient care?

By reaching prospective candidates at multiple touchpoints throughout the hiring cycle with a consistent brand presence, you’ll have a much higher likelihood of establishing a positive impression of your brand. Then, when it comes time to apply, and eventually accept a position, the persona you portray online will have a huge impact on those decisions.

But, while your ideal nurse might be active on Instagram, not all candidates will be. For instance, if you’re looking for a C-level executive, you’ll have better luck on LinkedIn. Conversely, if you’re hiring an elementary school teacher, you might reach them best on Facebook. Determine which social media platforms make the most sense to engage your prospective candidates and focus your strategies there.

If You Want to Improve Your Employer Brand, Go Beyond “We’re Hiring”

Regardless of the platform, simply posting job openings isn’t going to cut it. Instead, think about how you can best show prospects what it’s truly like to work for your organization – whether that means showcasing how your people engage virtually or what life is like when you’re all in the office. In addition to insightful thought leadership, share employee activities, first-person stories, and anything that shows a candidate how they can contribute and connect to your company in ways beyond their skills.

Let’s look a little deeper into how you can improve your employer brand presence on each of the four largest social media channels and how you can utilize each of their unique features to your benefit.

LinkedIn

As the largest professional network, LinkedIn is unlike most other social media platforms. With more than 660 million registered users, almost half of whom are active on a monthly basis, it’s the number one platform to reach both passive and active prospective candidates.

Reach more candidates by:

  • Posting career advice
  • Promoting posts to employees
  • Targeting your posts
  • Optimizing your company page with keywords

Instagram

With more than 1 billion monthly active users, Instagram has seen a 43% increase in users since 2017. What’s more intriguing is the fact that 90% of users follow a business on the platform – users are likely to keep up with brands and see what people are saying about them. Plus, according to Sprout Social, Instagram is the leading platform when it comes to engagement, with a median engagement of 1.6% across all industries.

What does that mean for you? Essentially, Instagram is a great way to utilize employee brand advocates and visuals to showcase company culture.

Engage employees and candidates with:

  • Instagram stories
  • Story highlights
  • Creative grids
  • Instagram Live
  • Instagram TV
  • Comments and direct messages

Twitter

Twitter has about 330 million active users worldwide, and 79% of them like to discover what’s new. This fast-paced social network encourages the real-time sharing of engaging and relevant content, so post often and with timely responses to showcase your expertise.

Utilize:

  • Interest-based targeting
  • Twitter Ads
  • Twitter Polls
  • Retweets with comments
  • Tweet replies

Facebook

Facebook has 2.5 million monthly active users, and 66% of them say they “like” or “follow” a brand on the platform.

To showcase your industry expertise as well as your company culture, take advantage of:

  • Facebook Insights
  • Facebook Pixel for retargeting advertising
  • Page invites
  • Boosting posts

Social Media as a Recruitment Tool

By taking efforts to improve your employer brand on social media and taking advantage of what all the different platforms have to offer, candidates should already have a good understanding of your brand and what it represents by the time they’re on the job hunt. Ideally, they’ll have connected with some of your posts and already have a positive feeling about your company culture.

Then, when it comes time to create a targeted recruitment campaign, your social media presence will have done some of the work for you. To capitalize on this momentum and start generating a stream of qualified candidates, a trusted talent advisor can help.

When Vodafone came to PeopleScout in the UK, they asked us to: help position Vodafone with prospective employees at key universities as a youth employer of choice; change the perception of their target audience; and promote Vodafone as a technology company.

After researching the behavior and interests of Vodafone’s target audience, we learned how Gen Z and Millennials want to engage with employers (through short and succinct videos) and what values drive their decisions. We found that they want to work for companies that focus on making the world a better place, as well as promote a social and fun work environment.

This led to Generation Possible – a social media campaign that speaks to Vodafone’s campus and graduate audience, as well as their desire to have a positive influence in the world. The Generation Possible campaign celebrates everyone’s individuality and empowers them to speak from the heart about how to make change for the better.

improve your employer brand
Vodafone Generation Possible Campaign Creative

Conclusion

It’s no secret that candidates are going to research your organization prior to applying for any of your positions or even considering you as a potential employer. By balancing postings on job boards with social media and other touchpoints along the hiring process, you can create a well-respected online presence that accurately represents your employer brand and company culture. So, the next time a candidate researches your company, reads reviews or looks at what current employees are saying online, rest assured that a strong social media presence and strategic recruitment campaign will give you all you need to create a lasting impact in a candidate’s mind.

The Importance of Inclusion in Your Diversity Program

Posted on by jpatel

The seemingly never-ending obstacle course of 2020 has been filled with highs, lows and everything in between — from a landmark ruling for LGBTQ+ workers to an international awakening to systemic racism and a global pandemic that has impacted the lives of millions. As organizations around the world face a future more unpredictable than ever before, one thing remains certain: the business case for diversity and inclusion (D&I) is stronger than ever. 

In order to face unique challenges, organizations will need unique thinking, the kind that only comes with a truly diverse team — whether in age, gender, sexuality, race or otherwise. According to a report from the World Economic Forum, companies with above-average diversity scores report nearly 20% higher revenue due to innovation. Moreover, this article from The Conversation cites research from more than 300 Australian studies that conclusively shows how workplace racism has a direct, detrimental impact on performance, accounting for an estimated 3% loss in average annual gross domestic product. 

That said, the driving motivators for organizations to foster effective D&I programs should not be focused only on performance metrics, but rather the desire to make employees feel represented, understood, respected and cared for. While most companies are able to increase their level of diversity, they struggle with cultivating a culture in which those diverse voices are heard — leaving room for improvement in their inclusion efforts. 

D&I: Defined 

Diversity and inclusion in the workplace has been a hot topic for years, so why does it often seem like minimal meaningful change has occurred? Unfortunately, the downfall for many organizations is the misinterpretation that diversity and inclusion are synonymous. To avoid making this mistake, it is important to understand the difference between diversity and inclusion, to better understand why it’s time to shift focus to the latter. 

The definition for diversity is relatively straightforward, and simple enough for most organizations to achieve by tracking demographics and collecting concrete data to ensure they hire and promote people of varying backgrounds. 

However, the definition for inclusion is more difficult to effectively measure results against because every organization can interpret words like “including” and “accommodating” differently.  

According to Deloitte, “without a shared understanding of inclusion, people are prone to miscommunication, progress cannot be reliably evaluated, leaders can’t be held accountable and organizations default to counting diversity numbers.” 

Deloitte goes a step further by using its research to create a holistic definition comprised of four distinct yet connected elements:  

  • Fairness and respect: The starting point for effective inclusion is ensuring people are treated equitably and with respect — in both nondiscrimination and basic courtesy.  
  • Valued and belonging: People will feel included when they believe their authentic self is valued by others and they feel a sense of connectedness with their peers. 
  • Safe and open: Inclusion is experienced when people feel safe to speak up without any fear of embarrassment or retaliation. 
  • Empowered and growing: True inclusion happens when people feel empowered to grow in their role and do their best work — diversity of thinking can emerge.  

By looking at the depth of these definitions, it’s clear that building and maintaining an effective inclusion program requires considerably more time and effort than it does to reformat a hiring process to increase diversity. While diversity can be measured and those metrics can be used to set and achieve goals, inclusion calls for a continuous cultural reset.  

Inclusion Requires Action 

In a 2020 report by McKinsey & Company, data from three industries with the highest levels of executive-team diversity — financial services, technology and healthcare — showed that “while overall [employee] sentiment on diversity was 52% positive and 31% negative, sentiment on inclusion was markedly worse, at only 29% positive and 61% negative.” Furthermore, the levels of negative sentiment about equality and fairness of opportunity, key indicators of inclusion, were also particularly high — proving that even more diverse companies struggle with effective inclusion.  

So, what are some steps organizations can take toward fostering better inclusion? To gain some insight, LinkedIn asked Black talent leaders their thoughts on what talent acquisition teams can do to accelerate diversity and inclusion. Here are three of their tactics: 

Change how and where you look for talent  

This starts with having diverse recruiting teams. Having recruiters from a wide variety of backgrounds will help employers change the way they think about how and where they find talent — shifting their sourcing beyond the geographies, companies and schools they’ve become accustomed to. 

Make a “top-down investment” in diverse employees 

To build diversity into the succession plan, organizations should invest time, money, training and executive sponsorship into their diversity efforts, ensuring representation across the business. By hiring and promoting diverse talent, an organization sends a message of inclusion that ripples throughout the company and into the industry — positioning you as an inclusive workplace that recognizes the value of diverse talent. 

Leverage the power of remote work  

Continuing distributed work strategies beyond the current crisis will allow recruiting teams to source, engage and hire talent where they are. Organizations will no longer be limited to talent that lives in the same geographies as their physical offices, meaning they can expand their scope to locations that are historically diverse.  

These tactics may seem like large feats, and that’s because they are. Building an organization that is truly diverse and inclusive is a huge undertaking that takes time, effort and serious commitment. While you work on the organizational overhaul, keep in mind that there are also some smaller steps you can take along the way: 

  • Provide resources. Inclusion can’t be mandated; it requires the “changing of hearts and minds.” Organizations can do their part by encouraging open dialogue and providing educational resources, like this anti-racist reading list from DiversityInc. 
  • Break up cliques. We are naturally drawn toward others who are like us, which can often result in cliques. Create opportunities to position employees outside of their comfort zone and into work groups made up of people with various backgrounds. 
  • Form inclusive groups. Create a dedicated task force focused on updating policies that promote your company’s values. Project Include offers more suggestions for creating systemic inclusion here. 
  • Offer professional development. Offering development programs and mentorship opportunities to underrepresented employees who may have a steeper hill to climb can help them in their career ascent.  
  • Showcase diverse talent. Representation matters, and employees and candidates will understand how you value diverse talent when you celebrate and share their stories. 

A Continuous Journey 

It can be easy to get lost in the mindset that inclusion is a “one and done” activity. That mindset has a certain allure, because it would mean we could all rest assured knowing we’ve created a workforce that is 100% diverse and effectively inclusive. In reality, inclusion is a continuous journey that requires a concerted effort, focus and determination to effect meaningful change. You can think of it like a long road trip — one that requires multiple checkpoints, refuels and stops to check you’re still going in the right direction. To ensure you’re always on the correct path, it can be helpful to perform a regular inclusion audit that asks: 

  • Does the organization have a continuous representation of diverse talent? 
  • Is diverse talent represented in leadership roles? 
  • Is there room to remove bias in the hiring process? Promotion process? 
  • Are we listening to employee concerns? 
  • Are we regularly surveying employee sentiment on D&I? 
  • Do we know what’s working? What isn’t? 
  • Have we asked employees what they want and need? 

It’s clear that simply hiring diverse talent is not enough. While it’s a start, it’s only part of the solution. Workplace experience and true inclusion is what will help employees feel represented and valued, leading to diverse hires that stay, grow and thrive. The road ahead is a long one, but by implementing the strategies outlined in this article, your organization will be well on its way toward a better diverse and inclusive workplace. 

Transport for Wales: Growing the Workforce of a Newly-Created Organization

Posted on by akessler
Transport for Wales: Growing the Workforce of a Newly-Created Organization

Transport for Wales: Growing the Workforce of a Newly-Created Organization

Supporting the launch of Transport for Wales with recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) for specialist engineering, transportation, project management and support roles.

92 % of Candidate Rated the Experience as Excellent
Grew Workforce from 9 employees to 140 During the Initial Engagement
Grew Workforce from 9 employees to 140 During the Initial Engagement
2 Languages, English and Welsh

Situation

Transport for Wales (TfW) was created to drive forward the Welsh Government’s vision for a high quality, safe, integrated, affordable and accessible transport network that the people of Wales would be proud of. As a new rail franchise operator, their initial focus was to grow at speed, recruiting 100 or more key staff within challenging timescales, in preparation for a rail franchise switch over.

As a newly-created organisation, Transport for Wales had no recruitment expertise or talent technology to support their ambitious resourcing plans for roles at all levels, from apprentices and graduates to Directors with every level in between.

TfW selected PeopleScout as their sole RPO partner to build their workforce from just nine employees to over 140 and growing, most of which are permanent with some temporary staff and contractors. Another key requirement was to work in both English and Welsh.

Solution

A Unique Service Model

To establish the Transport for Wales recruitment strategy, we placed a senior recruiter on site with expertise and industry experience who could consult and provide solutions to market challenges and engage with hiring communities and other key stakeholders. The immediate challenge was to identify and hire for key senior positions, starting with the Directors. We then worked with these leaders to build their teams from the top down in order to deliver on their goals.

Best-In-Class Candidate Experience

Our off-site recruiting team provided full-cycle RPO, from sourcing to onboarding services, to ensure that candidates received a best-in-class experience right through to their first day and beyond.

Attracting a Wider Talent Pool

As an RPO provider with a creative flair, we were able to help TfW move away from a more traditional marketing style to something which attracted diverse talent. As leaders in employer brand and candidate experience, this extended into a go-to-market broadcasting strategy that encompassed social media, community management and talent pooling. It also maximized the TfW employer brand story and reduced pressure on budgets.

Results

  • 95% offer fulfilment across all levels of roles
  • Rapid identification and hiring of crucial roles
  • 92% of candidates rated their hiring experience as excellent
  • Talent pools created for future hiring
  • A developed and refined future-proof recruitment strategy

PeopleScout have been excellent in the delivery of the recruitment services into Transport for Wales. They are transparent, hardworking and qualitatively focused. All the team have been dedicated to our growth ambition and have represented our brand well to external candidates. I am delighted to work with the whole team as we share our continued success with our partners.

Recruitment Leader, Transport for Wales

At a Glance

  • COMPANY
    Transport for Wales (TfW)
  • INDUSTRY
    Public Transportation
  • PEOPLESCOUT SOLUTIONS
    Recruitment Process Outsourcing, Affinix
  • ANNUAL HIRES
    100+ roles across specialist engineering, transportation, project management and admin support
  • ABOUT TfW
    Founded in 2016, Transport for Wales (TfW) was set up by the Welsh Government to make sustainable travel a reality in Wales. Their multimodal, integrated transport network aims to increase the number of journeys on public transport by 40% by 2040.
Let’s Connect

The Future of Graduate Recruitment is Digital

Posted on by nfuqua

The graduate recruitment process has grown increasingly digital in the past few years, but the entire process for 2020 was held online due to the pandemic. However, the virus didn’t create this change; it simply sped up a process that was already happening.

As a graduate resourcing consultant, 2020 is my fourth graduate recruitment cycle. I currently work on the Lendlease team at PeopleScout, supporting our client by sourcing bright minded graduates who will help to shape and deliver the future of the construction and property industry.

And, despite the uncertainty in the world right now, I am confident that this move to digital graduate recruitment will stick.

Graduate Roles are Still Important

Graduates are the future of every business. Lendlease has a two-year graduate program, and the people hired for those roles use that program to grow their skills and experience before moving on to other roles within the business. We have even seen some of those graduate hires grow to become senior leaders at Lendlease.

Furthermore, it is critically important to continue recruiting for graduate roles during this uncertain time. Graduates futureproof the business by bringing in diverse, new talent with different perspectives, new ideas and an understanding of current trends. By actively filling these roles, we are preparing for the future beyond COVID-19.

But, the Graduate Recruitment Process Needs to Change

Normally, the planning for a graduate recruitment cycle begins in the previous year. For 2020, we started planning in November and December of 2019. We prepare through January and February, and then the campaign goes live in March. In previous years, we would attend career fairs, flying to different universities and presenting information about Lendlease in person. Throughout the next few months, candidates would apply and interview online, and finally attend an in-person assessment center.

But, in 2020, we needed to adapt rapidly. We stuck with our normal timeframes, but moved the entire process online – career fairs and assessment centers included. Earlier this year, I attended one of the virtual career fairs.

The fair was run by a university, and nearly 1,500 students registered. We advertised on social media to get students excited to speak with Lendlease. On the day of the fair, about 300 students visited the digital booth – making it one of the most popular. I was able to present to larger groups of students at once – something that isn’t possible at a traditional booth. Students also came with questions, which I was able to answer and talk with them about one-on-one.

The virtual fair I attended was held using Zoom video technology, along with the help of a third-party provider to ensure everything ran smoothly on the day of the event. Each employer had a unique booth and logo, so students could easily identify them and talk with employer representatives. Many graduates registered to come talk with us, allowing us to target hundreds of students in just three hours without having to travel.

Best Practices to Make the Transition Smooth

For the process to be successful, consider the types of technology you use. For virtual career fairs, the university may already have a preferred platform. However, you will still need to consider virtual interviews and virtual assessments. At PeopleScout, we use Affinix™, our proprietary talent technology. With Affinix, we can schedule and conduct virtual interviews – live or recorded – on a candidate’s own time.

Likewise, it is important to focus on communication. Graduates want to hear from you. Something as simple as a message to check in can be powerful. Communicating with candidates, even if it means admitting you don’t have all the answers, builds trust in an uncertain time.

Graduate Recruitment Won’t Go Back

With the COVID-19 crisis, we are always facing new surprises. However, with graduate recruitment, the surprise was how well the process worked – even with changes taking place under a tight timeline. We had to adapt quickly, but we saw that the digital process works. Students responded well to online career fairs. We saved money by avoiding air travel and lodging. We communicated with and assessed candidates in ways that kept everyone safe.

Based on our experience, 2020 won’t be a one-off year in which graduate recruitment looks different than normal. It will be the first year where digital graduate recruitment is normal.

Texting Talent: Driving Engagement and Candidate Communication

Posted on by edyson

In light of the workforce disruptions caused by the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus, talent leaders are quickly adapting and transforming their organization’s talent function to match our present reality. 

The current crisis gives talent leaders the opportunity to assess and fine-tune recruiting practices in a way that will keep both candidates and recruiters safe while better positioning their organization for the future working conditions.  

Technologies such as text messaging tools built for recruiters offer enormous opportunities to improve recruiter efficiency, time to hire and build stronger relationships with candidates. What’s more, text messaging, when paired with a virtual hiring solution, is a safer alternative to traditional recruiting.   

Before you implement a texting solution, you need a solid understanding of use cases and best practices that can help ensure success and mitigate risk. In this article, we will outline the case for texting and share best practices for leveraging texting in your recruiting program.  

The Case For Text Recruitment

Recruiters and talent leaders understand that good recruiting begins and ends with building strong relationships with candidates. So, why add yet another communications channel to the recruiting mix?  

The answer is simple: Times keep changing, and so do the ways we communicate. As that happens, the effectiveness of tried and true methods also changes as demographics and preferences shift. 

Texting Recruitment is Straightforward: Text messages are typically short and to the point, which makes them easier to read and respond to than email messages. Texting also carries with it an expectation of informality which makes it easier to communicate. For example, saying “yes” instead of “Yes.” is totally acceptable via a text exchange. 

Text Recruitment is Convenient: Candidates can respond to texts whenever and wherever while they are running errands, on break at work or home watching a movie.  

Text Recruitment Has Greater Reach: Many hourly and elderly workers don’t own or have access to a computer and rely on their mobile devices exclusively for job searches. Texting is also more accessible for job seekers who don’t have unlimited data plans or who do not have a smart phone, making your application process more accessible to a broader population.

Text Recruitment Builds Dialogue: The nature of conversation is constantly evolving. That means candidates are becoming increasingly open to beginning conversations via text.   

Use Cases for Text Recruitment  

There are as many ways to integrate texting into your recruiting process as there are topics to communicate about. Below, we cover some of the best use cases for text recruitment. 

Automating Candidate Reengagement 

Many organizations already have a large database of candidates in their ATS. Sending automated text messages is an extremely effective way to reach out to those contacts at scale to rapidly generate interest in new positions. You can also use automation to reach out to previous employees, if they have opted-in for texting. To gain that opt in, you could ask for consent as part of the off-boarding process for departing employees. 

Automated Updates  

Sending automated texts to candidates to confirm that their job application has been received and is under review can be a great way to keep them engaged in the process. What’s more, you can set up automated messages that are triggered at each phase of the hiring process to keep candidates up to date with their status. This makes the recruiting process feel more personal and less like their application was sent down a black hole. 

Automated Scheduling 

Interview coordination is ideally suited to texting. Your organization can send text links for candidate self-scheduling to streamline interviews.  

Enhanced Screening Capabilities 

When handling a high volume of applicants, it can be difficult for recruiters to respond quickly and individually to each candidate. Using texts, you can qualify applicants faster using response templates and automated screening questions. Recruitment texting platforms can be programmed to send back follow up questions, job application links, or other content based on candidate responses. 

This exchange is an example of not just interview scheduling, but also actual interviewing over text. At PeopleScout, we have seen client’s receive an 85% response rate for this type of question and answer exchange, which is higher than other communication channels. 

Better Interview Completion Rate  

Recruiters know that coordinating with the candidate is only half the hiring battle. Recruiting teams can use texts to send automated interview reminders to hiring managers and colleagues, so nothing slips through the cracks. Fewer missed or reschedule interviews means a shorter time to hire. 

Field Recruiting 

Retail, hospitality and other employers with large physical footprints can also utilize text short codes to capitalize on walk-in applicants. Signage placed on doors, at the register, or elsewhere connects job seekers directly to the online job application forms and minimizes distractions for managers in the field.  

SMS short codes are five to six-digit numbers that are often paired with keywords for use in text recruitment (e.g. ‘Text JOBS to 123456’). You can utilize them on signage at job events to maximize ROI.  

Best Practices for Text Recruitment  

While mobile phones and texting have become ubiquitous tools in everyday life, it is important to realize that communication preferences vary from individual to individual. It is also critical to recognize that the attributes that makes texting such a powerful recruiting tool – that’s it is direct, convenient and personal – are the same things that make observing best practices so important. 

Secure Permission from Candidates 

Text messages are governed by different laws and standards than email. Employers in the U.S. will want to consider how the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), or similar laws such as the European Union regulations regarding electronic communications, namely the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), apply to different types of recruitment texting activity. Talent leaders should consult their legal counsel and get comfortable with the ins and outs of the TCPA when formulating a text recruitment strategy and all related policies.   

Before you text candidates, you must first obtain express consent from the candidate and it must be easy for them to opt-out of communications. As a starting point, review your organization’s website and application process and add simple, clear language stating that phone numbers may be used to message applicants. The notice should be placed near the phone number entry field, rather than buried in lengthy terms of service statement and privacy policy should also be updated.  

Consider Compliance Requirements 

Even if your organization does not have a text recruitment platform, chances are that some recruiters are using personal devices to communicate with candidates via text. This may produce positive results, but places you at greater compliance risk because there is no centralized record of communications. Using personal devices, or even dedicated company devices, also makes it difficult to exercise effective oversight to ensure that organizational guidelines are followed. 

Text messaging activity is increasingly likely to be included in compliance audits, so make sure your bases are covered. Follow all of the same protocols – business and legal – that you would in writing, email or telephone conversations. 

Define Messaging Guidelines for Recruiters 

Texting should be professional and consistent with your employer brand, just like any other type of communication. So, it’s helpful to provide high-level guidelines to your recruiting team to ensure that everyone is on the same page about internal text messaging practices. 

Communicate Clearly with Candidates 

The best text outreach messages get straight to the point. In any initial conversations, the recruiter should answer a few key questions candidates may have to get the best possible response: 

Who are you and why you are reaching out? 
 

Text recruitment

What are the next steps? 
 

Setting context and expectations up front maximizes engagement. What’s more, these questions can be set up as automated responses, so recruiters may only have to step in once the initial screening questions have been asked and answered.  

Timing is Everything  

Text only during the workday, from 8 a.m. at the candidate’s local time to 5 or 6 p.m. Texting a candidate during off-hours, may lead them to do the same and set an expectation of a response from your team. If job seekers do reach out on weekends or evenings and you do not want your recruiters to engage, you can steer their communications back to the normal business hours. For example, if you receive a text on Saturday, you might set up an automated response that you will follow up first thing Monday. 

Texting is Not Always Appropriate  

Some aspects of the recruiting process require a more personal touch than others. While many consider messaging “personal” and “immediate,” you may want to deliver important information (ex. “you didn’t get the job”) or discuss sensitive topics like salary using other means such as a phone call or email depending on the situation. 

Closing Thoughts  

Automation of the recruiting process is where the candidate experience is headed. As a result, it is going to free up time for your recruiters and allow them to seamlessly connect one-on-one with candidates and holding meaningful conversations.  

Texting has become such a big large part of modern life that embracing it can make your organization an employer of choice to top candidates in your industry.   

Positioning a National Healthcare Provider to Become a World-Class Leader

Posted on by nfuqua
Positioning a National Healthcare Provider to Become a World-Class Leader

Positioning a National Healthcare Provider to Become a World-Class Leader

PeopleScout partnered with Australia’s largest non-government community services provider to perform a recruitment diagnostic of their current recruitment function to help position them as a world-class leader.

PeopleScout partnered with Australia’s largest non-government community services provider to perform a diagnostic overview of their 1,600 sites across Australia that employ a network of 40,000 employees and 30,000 volunteers nationally.

Scope and Scale

The client provides services to children, young people and families, people with disabilities and older Australians in urban, rural and remote communities, including residential and community care, child care, homelessness prevention and support, family support, domestic violence and disability services.

Situation

PeopleScout performed a recruitment diagnostic of the client’s current recruitment function including a review of recruitment tools and technology, recruitment team structure, process and allocation of recruitment costs.

The purpose of the review was to provide the client with a road map to transform the current transactional recruitment function into one that reduced risk and cost while increasing quality and efficiency.

We were also tasked with providing a recommendation on a future-state recruitment model that positioned this
client for aggressive growth targets.

Solution

PeopleScout’s solution addressed the provider’s core objectives and embraced their values of challenging convention, exploring new possibilities and daring to dream for a better future.

The recommended model combined a dedicated service line with the latest technology and sophisticated recruitment processes to source market-leading talent.

The model viewed talent holistically – including both internal and external talent – creating pipelines that increased the speed and access to talent, leveraged talent across business units, facilitated internal mobility and retained core talent while reducing the time-to-hire.

The solution addressed these key recruitment and sourcing challenges into six core deliverables that underpinned their critical success factors:

  • Quality of talent
  • Quality of service
  • Innovation
  • Process efficiencies
  • Analytics and reporting
  • Cost

At a Glance

  • COMPANY
    Australia’s largest non-government community services provider
  • INDUSTRY
    Healthcare
  • PEOPLESCOUT SOLUTIONS
    Talent Advisory
  • LOCATIONS
    1,600 sites across Australia
Let’s Connect

Hiring Solutions for Healthcare Providers with Krista Sullivan de Torres

Posted on by jpatel

As organizations around the globe confront talent scarcity challenges, even the most seasoned talent leaders find themselves in uncharted territory. This profile shares insights from PeopleScout Global Leader of Solutions Design, Krista Sullivan de Torres. Krista is a seasoned professional with more than a decade of human resources and talent acquisition experience. While Krista’s professional experience spans many industries, she has a passion for and deep expertise in healthcare recruitment. Her experience includes launching RPO programs for healthcare startup organizations, managing RPO operations for managed care, population health, behavioral health, and healthcare system clients. Krista’s specialties include global talent acquisition team design, talent acquisition operations, analytics and reporting, recruiting, sourcing and retention. Krista holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from the University of California, Santa Cruz. 

Krista shared her insights about hiring solutions for healthcare providers from her home office in Florida. 

Ebook

How RPO Can Solve The Top Challenges In Healthcare Talent Acquisition

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What are some of the hiring challenges facing the healthcare industry right now? 

Prior to the COVID-19 crisis, there were already many challenges around healthcare hiring. We all hear about the shortage of nurses, but there’s also a shortage of clinicians across the board. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, we’ve seen an increased number of patients, so these shortages have become even more acute — particularly in the areas that have been hit hardest with the disease. In addition, some challenges arise when clinicians who have COVID-19 risk factors, or live with someone who does, are now unable or unwilling to work in order to protect themselves and their families — causing a large strain in hiring for these specialized roles.  

Hiring for a healthcare role, clinical or nonclinical, is much more difficult than hiring in many of the other essential industries right now. How and why is that? 

Regardless of whether we’re hiring for a role that is clinical or nonclinical, there are a lot of additional requirements for working in healthcare than there are in most other fields. If a candidate is going to be working directly with patients, particularly those that are most vulnerable, an extremely thorough background check is necessary to protect the safety of patients. So, rather than a traditional pre-hire online form and standard background check, healthcare candidates will undergo additional criminal history checks, fingerprinting and more. These critical checks tend to slow down the hiring process and can add a layer of complexity when we’re looking at the available workforce. 

Another factor affecting hiring is that a lot of people are a little afraid to work in the healthcare industry right now. As I mentioned earlier, people may be cautious about taking a job in healthcare in order to protect themselves or high-risk family members against COVID-19. In addition to there being a challenge in the number of candidates available to start, we are faced with the challenge of selecting the right people for the job and ensuring we have a pool of candidates who are excited and available to work during this unusual time.  

Lastly, a major factor we consider in the healthcare industry — particularly in a clinical setting — is ensuring healthcare workers are extremely customer-focused. We look for people who are very focused on the patient and the patient’s family. We’re facing challenges in the spike in the number of people who are severely ill, so ensuring we have workers who are correctly educating and caring for patients is of the utmost importance.  

What sort of hiring solution for healthcare providers are available right now? 

A lot of healthcare organizations are really trying to get creative during this critical hiring time due to the healthcare talent shortage. They’re looking to potentially bring back previously retired workers, flexing up hours for part-time associates and bringing in traveling nurses or clinicians to support them where their internal teams are at capacity. Many organizations are also interested in implementing a recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) solution to quickly get short-term support in locations that are particularly hard-hit.  

How do these RPO solutions work in practice? What are some of their benefits? 

That’s a great question. One of the many benefits of healthcare RPO is that we’re able to ramp up very quickly to meet client needs. For example, a client came to PeopleScout when they needed to rapidly scale up hiring to support their hospitals. We spoke with the client, came up with a solution and worked through the contracting phase all within three days. It helps that PeopleScout has a large team of clinical and nonclinical healthcare recruiters who are trained to know the industry and can identify high-quality candidates to get the pipeline filled quickly. 

When it comes to on-demand recruitment support, the beauty lies in rapid engagement and disengagement. Once immediate hiring needs are fulfilled, an RPO provider can pull recruiters back in-house and assign them to a new project. This is a great benefit for clients — they don’t need to deal with the stress of layoffs and furloughs because they’re able to engage and disengage experienced recruiters as needed.  

The most important thing right now is to keep everyone safe and healthy. What is the best kind of solution for that? 

One important way to keep people safe while still meeting critical talent needs is to use a virtual hiring solution for healthcare providers. PeopleScout has a bit of an advantage here because we were a virtually based culture even prior to the COVID-19 crisis, so many of our recruiters were already working from home. Our virtual solution allows us to conduct digital interviews — on-demand or live — so we can continue to safely service our clients without interruption. We’ve been able to effectively maintain — and in some cases exceed — productivity while also minimizing the risk for our clients, candidates and internal teams. 

Are there any final thoughts on hiring solutions healthcare providers you’d like to leave us with? 

We’re all going through a really challenging time right now and trying to support one another. We’re all in this together and PeopleScout is here to support our clients, candidates, teams and prospects in any way we can. 

Keeping Candidates and Employees Safe with a Virtual Hiring Solution with Allison Brigden

Posted on by edyson

As organizations around the globe confront the challenges presented by the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, even the most seasoned talent leaders find themselves in uncharted territory. We’re creating a mini-series with our experts here at PeopleScout about the issues that are most pressing during this uncertain time.

This profile shares insights from PeopleScout Global Leader of Affinix Client Success and Strategy, Allison Brigden, on transitioning to a virtual talent acquisition solution. Allison leads the Affinix Client Success Team and our strategic technology partnerships.

Allison shared her insights about virtual hiring solutions from her home in Chicago.

Allison, we know that things are hard right now, but a lot of organizations that provide essential goods and services need to keep hiring and it’s important to keep both employees and candidates safe during the process. What’s the best way to do this?

The best way to do that is to continue your recruiting process, but do it virtually. Recruiting has undergone a digital transformation and essentially all of the recruiting steps can be handled virtually. By moving to this type of process, you can provide access to jobs in a completely safe environment without contact for both the employer and the job seeker. Of course, candidates have been able to apply online for a long time and recruiters can review resumes online, but most interviews have still been done in person. 

Interviews can be done virtually through technology that allows you to have a live, two-way video or a pre-recorded video that the candidate can do on their timeline, at their convenience. Later, the audio or video recording can be reviewed by both the recruiter and the hiring manager.

This technology can easily support a process that can be fully virtual from the time candidates apply through the offer and onboarding. As I said, the technology has been available for a while, but it hasn’t been fully adopted. This is an opportune time for us to use the available technology. 

A virtual hiring solution allows us to put health and safety first, but also provide access to jobs for those who need one during this challenging time. There’s also been a huge spike in jobs for remote workers in the past few weeks. A virtual hiring solution is directly aligned to that remote work environment as well, so it’s a very good time to introduce that and transition to a virtual process for your recruiting.

So, what does a virtual talent acquisition solution look like?

A virtual hiring solution leverages technology, but it can also have a highly personal touch. By using technologies to their full advantage, recruiters can and will have more time to spend with applicants. Technology can engage one applicant with multiple interviewers and live two-way video engagement. You can even have a panel interview with five different interviewers connecting with a candidate at the same time.

You should strive to make your virtual conversations feel more personal, just because you are leveraging technology doesn’t mean that you have to lose that personal touch as part of the process.

To further answer this question, I think a virtual hiring solution should involve the following components:

First, you should have an easy application that can be done on a mobile phone. It should feel like an online shopping experience and should only take four to eight minutes. There should also be an immediate next step, so that the applicant can drive the process.

This could be a text exchange where you’re asking questions about the interview schedule or the requirements of the job, or it can be a video exchange or a candidate-friendly assessment process. All this can be done on their mobile phone. 

Another really important component is automated self-scheduling. This allows the candidate to look at the available interview times and select one for themselves, either via text or via an online web experience. This also allows candidates to drive that next step – whether it’s a phone interview with the recruiter or a live video interview. Giving the candidate the ability to drive forward in the process is also a very important component of a virtual hiring solution.

The offer and the post-offer process can also be done virtually. This has been done over the phone for a long time, but there are also more options for a personalized and engaging onboarding experience, which can help right now when people are feeling a little bit isolated or disconnected. 

As an example, after someone has accepted an offer have a welcome video sent to their phone or preferred device where you welcome them and tell them what to expect on their first day. 

The entire virtual hiring process can be fully branded to elevate your employer brand and the connection you have with applicants. These are the components you’d want to have in place while building your virtual process.

In summary, a virtual hiring solution can be very safe while still being highly effective. It doesn’t require contact, but it also gives you that chance to connect with potential new employees and provide them a personalized experience.

Can you tell me some of the short-term and long-term benefits that people would see with a virtual hiring solution?

Things are changing quickly and it’s very important to remember that we’re all in this together and we need to be understanding and flexible as things develop. PeopleScout can definitely help with both short-term benefits for the job seeker as well as long-term benefits for the company. 

Short-term benefits are fairly clear. The virtual interview and scheduling process provides a completely safe, no-contact method to further the recruiting process, which is a clear short-term benefit. Another short-term benefit is speed-to-hire. We typically see a reduction of four to eight days in the time it takes to fill a job.

Virtual interviews and automated scheduling reduce the amount of time it takes to fill a job and that’s a short-term benefit in getting an essential worker on the job sooner. By providing a more automated applicant-driven process, you can enhance the candidate experience and lead to acquiring better talent faster. 

Virtual interviews and automated scheduling are also a long-term benefit because companies will see improvements in their business outcomes as people reach productivity faster.  A few additional benefits include saving money and travel costs for interviews, if you would normally have candidates travel in for an interview and a lower overall cost-per-hire.

Once you have a virtual process in place, you don’t need to return to previous hiring practices, you can continue the virtual process and reap the same benefits.

Giving candidates more control in the process, whether that be the option to record an on-demand video or audio interview, or scheduling an interview themselves, puts them in a position of controlling the process, or driving the next step, which is a great improvement in the candidate experience. If you implement this virtual process today, you’ll see these short-term and long-term benefits that you can carry forward as the future unfolds.

How do you transition or implement a virtual hiring solution?

The good news here is that this transition is more of a light lift than a heavy lift. Most likely, a large part of an employer’s process is already virtual. Everyone can apply online. Recruiters can work online to interact with the systems already in place.

Mostly you need to focus on the steps that are traditionally face-to-face, like the interview itself or some parts of the onboarding process. You probably don’t need to overhaul the whole application and hiring process, but rather just introduce this virtual interviewing and scheduling component. And, if you’re working with a provider, like a recruitment process outsourcing partner, they can actually handle much of that transition for you. Even if you just have an in-house team, it’s not a very difficult transition to make.

The biggest challenge will be the adoption and training. I would definitely want to have an employer focus their efforts on helping the hiring managers understand the process and share the short-term and long-term benefits so that they can drive adoption within their organization.

For a lot of organizations, hiring face-to-face may be deeply ingrained into the culture. How can you make virtual interviewing work in a way that still feels authentic and personal for both the hiring manager and the candidate?

A big part of this is comfort level. And the only way to truly get comfortable with something is to start using it. So, the comfort level will increase for everyone involved as they continue to use the technology. This is true for candidates too. The first time they do an interview like this, they might have increased nervousness. 

After they’ve been through it once, we’ve seen that the next time they become more comfortable. But there are things you can do to make it the best experience possible, and to make it feel authentic and personal.

Even though this is a virtual interview, as a recruiter, you want to be prepared so that you have meaningful questions to ask. Make sure you have pertinent information about the job on-hand, and make sure you’ve reviewed the resumes so you’re not going in cold to this interview experience.

As a candidate, you want to be sure that you have the same level of professionalism that you would have in a face-to-face environment. This extends to not just how you dress for the interview, but making sure that you have a quiet place to participate, etc. Another best practice would be to test the technology first. Most virtual interviewing technologies allow you to test your video and your sound, so you’re able to see what the video looks like before you begin the process. 

For employers, I also recommend testing your connections and making sure everything looks and sounds good. Once the video interviews begins you should also reinforce your employer brand by letting the candidate know unique things about your company culture that may appeal to the candidate. Displaying your company culture is important during the virtual hiring process, as candidates do not have to opportunity to visit your facility.

Beyond displaying your company culture and employer brand, you need to make sure you ask the right questions during the interview to better understand a candidate’s experience and competencies, and very importantly, communicate openly and authentically about the role and your expectations. 

After the interview is done, it’s important to provide some sort of feedback to the candidate, and let them know what the next step is in the process. Whether or not a candidate is moving forward in the process or not, provide them that information in a timely way so they’re not left wondering and feeling disconnected from your brand and keep all of the interactions warm. 

Are there any final thoughts you’d like to leave us with?

I would just say that it is important for those essential workers that we need in the healthcare industry and front line retail and essential goods industries to be able to hire at this time. Being able to move forward with this process and keep recruiters busy and employed to fill these critical jobs is very important and it’s a great way to help in this uncertain time. And then lastly, I would just say keep safe everyone. Follow the recommendations of the CDC and the world health organization and we will all come through this challenging time together.

To learn more about ways employers can respond to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, visit our Resource Center. 

COVID-19 Series: Keeping Candidates and Employees Safe with a Virtual Hiring Solution

Posted on by nfuqua

As organizations around the globe confront the challenges presented by the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, even the most seasoned talent leaders find themselves in uncharted territory. We’re creating a miniseries with our experts here at PeopleScout about the issues that are most pressing during this uncertain time.

We are focused on the safety of our employees and clients, friends, families and loved ones. However, it is important for many organizations to keep their talent acquisition functions moving – whether to provide essential services or to serve our communities by providing jobs. Many organizations are also now adapting to a newly virtual workforce.

In that spirit, in this podcast, we share insights from PeopleScout Global Leader of Affinix Client Success and Strategy Allison Brigden on transitioning to a virtual talent acquisition solution.

Allison has been with PeopleScout since 1995 and has served in roles related to implementing and managing complex RPO programs as well as operations and technology. In her current role, Allison focuses on leveraging technology to elevate the talent strategy and client success through Affinix, PeopleScout’s proprietary talent technology platform. Allison leads an Affinix Client Success Team and our strategic technology partnerships. The Affinix Client Success Team is focused on understanding our clients’ objectives with Affinix and creating positive outcomes. She also possesses a deep commitment to corporate social responsibility, with an emphasis on military veteran advocacy. Allison holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Utah.

At PeopleScout, we’re all dealing with the same changes—working from home and recording these podcasts from a distance, so things may sound a bit different than you’re used to hearing.

2020 TALENT TECH TRENDS

Posted on by suhlarik
Talent Tech

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE includes machine learning, deep learning and automation. Talent tech platforms integrate AI to streamline time-intensive tasks. Through AI, recruiters can find candidates faster, while candidates can receive consumer-like branded employer experiences.

87% of senior executives believe AI is important to achieving overall business objectives.

Source: Forbes Insights

AUTOMATION continues to grow, replacing low-value, manual tasks with more strategic ones. How can employers achieve the right balance between automation and human interaction?

For more on automation, watch our webinar, “The Dos and Don’ts of Automating Your Candidate Experience” on-demand at peoplescout.com/webinars.

BEHAVIORAL ANALYTICS helps explain why people take certain actions. This form of analytics can target passive candidates, as well as help predict candidates’ future success.

Organizations that use behavioral insights outperform peers by 85% in sales growth.

Source: McKinsey sales growth.

The CANDIDATE EXPERIENCE differentiates and bolsters employers’ brands. Organizations that do not improve their candidate experience may negatively affect their ability to hire talent.

27% of candidates who have a bad experience would “actively discourage others to apply.”

Source: LinkedIn

PRIVACY in the digital age and the way organizations handle candidate information is an ongoing concern made more complex across the digital and international world.

GDPR’s Effect Since Implementation: Large UK companies spent $1.1 billion collectively on GDPR prep. Large American companies spent $7.8 billion on GDPR prep.

Source: www.varonis.com/blog/gdpr-effect-review/

IN 2020, THE INFLUENCE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TALENT ACQUISITION WILL CONTINUE TO GROW IN EACH STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT CYCLE.

Many in the industry expect talent tech to play an increasingly large role in recruiting activities in the next three years.

Source: Deloitte Global Human Capital Trends survey, 2019.

WHILE THE CROWDED TALENT TECH WORLD EXPANDS, A FEW TECHNOLOGIES WILL CONTINUE TO DOMINATE THE RECRUITMENT CYCLE THIS YEAR: ANALYTICS, AI, BLOCKCHAIN AND RPA.

RPO service providers are creating a digital ecosystem using third-party technology providers to provide a seamless experience to hiring managers and candidates.

Source: Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) Annual Report 2019: Steering 3D Growth on the Tides of Talent Shortage, RPO Annual Report, page 50, August 2019, Everest Group.

MAKE SURE TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT TALENT TECH PROVIDER FOR YOUR ORGANIZATION’S NEEDS

Talent tech growth is driven by the competitive job market and new AI-based solutions.

As an industry, talent acquisition is mid-way through a massive replacement of legacy systems and looking at more nimble models.

When choosing a talent tech provider for your project, ask questions, understand the vision of the project, ask for a road map and agree on the support model.

Source: HR Technology Market 2019: Disruption Ahead, Josh Bersin, Page 50