Category: Talent Acquisition Strategy

Talking Talent Leadership Profile: Mark Jauregui

Posted on by nfuqua

If you ask Mark Jauregui to describe himself, the PeopleScout senior vice president of client delivery will tell you that he has Idaho roots, but a home in the San Francisco Bay Area; that he has his feet on the ground, but he’s still a dreamer; that he started his career answering phones in technical support, and now, well – he does a lot of video conferences.

Then, he’ll tell you that, at this point in his career, he’s worked almost every job under the customer success umbrella, and he’s here at PeopleScout now to serve his team and our clients. And even though that last bit might sound like a soundbite, it’s 100% true. We talked to Mark from his home about how he sees success in an industry at a time when the only constant is change.

Up until this point, you’ve built your career in technology and services. What opportunities do you see in talent acquisition right now?

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve seen significant changes in the workforce, and now the Great Rehire is here. Going forward, work is going to look different, and HR is going to be a driving force in the recovery for so many organizations.

Working in the talent acquisition space, HR and talent leaders have the opportunity to contribute to getting people back to work and to shape the future of talent acquisition for our customers. Now that workers aren’t necessarily constrained to a physical location, we can focus on how we get the right people into the right roles and the right jobs to be most effective, but also how to leverage HR to guide us through that process.

What lessons from your career are you bringing to PeopleScout?

I’m a customer success geek. I’ve seen, built and scaled a bunch of different business models, as well as services and support structures. One thing I’ve learned is the importance of having a strong culture. The quote that culture will eat strategy for breakfast – it’s true. We have to be all on the same page and building a culture of trust is really key to success.

But, I’ve also learned some lessons along the way. I don’t have all the answers, and that’s why we hire so many smart people and work with them to solve challenges. The people who are closest to a problem generally have the best answers, and so a decision-making framework needs to empower those teams to put solutions into action.

The line between services organizations and tech companies is getting blurrier. What’s driving that?

It’s about efficiency. The old services model that’s about people and relationships is important, but we can use technology to drive more efficiencies – especially at scale. You can’t be just services or just technology in talent acquisition and HR. It’s about the combination of the two.

I think wherever we can leverage technology to help our clients, that’s where we need to be. Whether it’s helping our clients make better decisions on candidates, how they fill roles or where they should be focusing their resources, technology can help us.

At the same time, human resources and talent acquisition is about people, right? You have technology, but you need humans to make decisions. So, our people, their expertise, their ability to engage with talent leaders and address business challenges – that’s what makes us who we are. We are focused on helping our clients navigate the pandemic and post-pandemic waters. We are here to help in rebuilding and growing their businesses.

We’re in the middle of such a unique time. What does a full-service solution look like in 2021?

This isn’t something we’ve come across before; there are so many things coming together at the same time. We have to contend with vaccine distribution, dropping COVID-19 numbers, significant job growth, hybrid workforces, and changing candidate needs and expectations. We all need to think outside the box.

The Great Rehire is happening. There’s a list of things talent leaders need to keep in mind: What roles do we have open? What’s the available talent pool? How are we going to marry those together? What is the best next step for someone’s career? If you’re trying to manage this time with just people or just technology, you’ll fall behind.

You have to have the right blend of people, technology and scalable processes to get this all done. There is a huge opportunity right now to look at your current processes, look at the talent landscape, and reimagine your talent acquisition function to better serve your business needs moving into the future.

What can we expect in the coming years?

We have to get comfortable with the uncomfortable. Last year was unprecedented and certainly nothing any of us had ever lived through before. This year and next year will continue to bring new challenges, including some we may not be able to predict.

So, instead of resisting the changes that are coming, we all need to learn, rapidly adjust and embrace it. Get comfortable with change and fall in love with the problem. When you focus on the problem – instead of being set on the old solution or how you used to do things – we can have fun ‘solutioning’ together. As a strategic partner, we’re here to help figure some of these challenges out together with our clients.

Talking Talent Leadership Profile: Jose Carbia of Change Healthcare

Posted on by nfuqua

Jose Carbia is an effective communicator. That label can mean a lot of things, but in his role as vice president of talent acquisition at Change Healthcare, it means leading a team that spends a lot of time actually talking to candidates. It also means that good news and bad news is delivered quickly, by phone – not through email – and with real recognition of and respect for the time, work and emotional investment that job candidates put into their job search.

Jose is also a transformative leader. In fact, he has more than 25 years of experience in talent acquisition, 21 of which he spent leading and transforming recruiting functions within Fortune 500 companies. Now, at Change Healthcare, he leads a team of 48 and is responsible for more than 3,000 full-time hires and 2,000 flexible, seasonal hires every year. Jose’s latest project has been improving the candidate experience, with a focus on candidate communication, which we spoke with him about from his office in Atlanta.

Where does your passion for the candidate experience come from?

Throughout my 25 years in recruitment, I have volunteered to help job-seekers gain employment. I’ve held speaking engagements where I teach job-seekers how to effectively navigate their reemployment process, and I hear from job-seekers all of the time about the frustrations they experience when they apply to or interview for a job.

There’s nothing more frustrating than going through an interview with an employer and meeting with the recruiter or the hiring manager only to never hear back. We’ve all been through the process. We get excited about an opportunity and share the news with our spouses, friends or family. We tell them about the interview. Then, every day that goes by without hearing from an employer, it becomes torture. Candidates give employers about two or three days to hear back. At that point, friends and family start asking questions and, after a week goes by, the candidate is embarrassed. Then, they blame the employer and see the experience as a reflection of their culture and work environment.

What role does communication play in the candidate experience?

Once a candidate has a conversation with an employer, the communication channel has been opened and it needs to continue frequently throughout the process. Even if there are no updates, candidates should receive some type of communication. When candidates aren’t selected, there are automated processes that can send emails. But, if a candidate has interviewed with us, they deserve a call thanking them for their time and letting them know the final decision.

We need to treat every candidate like a customer. In the end, they already are – or they could be – a future customer. Proper communication is critical to our brand and our image.

What do you do at Change Healthcare to ensure effective communication with candidates?

We conduct a one-questions NPS – net promoter score – survey that we send to candidates who have directly engaged with us through conversation or who have been eliminated from the selection process. The candidates provide a rating and a comment and we review every comment – both positive and negative. We evaluate this feedback twice monthly and look for opportunities for improvement across the enterprise and individually.

We hold each other accountable for the experience and all of our recruiters have visibility into the data as it comes in. It’s also included as part of our recruiters’ individual performance metrics. We have a quarterly ‘most valuable player’ award that goes to the recruiter with the best experience scores, along with other talent acquisition metrics.

We launched this process back in January of 2020 and, at that time, we had a net promoter score of -50. Now, we’re trending at a score of 36, which is considered a great score, but we want it to be even higher.

It sounds like you’ve really made a cultural shift to achieve this success. Is that how you see it?

Absolutely. We’ve been able to break down barriers to create a culture and environment where we are committed to providing a valuable experience. We started with a campaign and it has really taken shape and evolved. We have a hashtag, #LeaveNoCandidatesBehind, and it has really become a part of our regular conversations. We never take our eyes off of it. We see our numbers improve month after month. It has become part of the DNA of our organization.

What role does technology play in the candidate experience for you?

The applicant tracking systems provide the opportunities for automated communications, and it’s important to ensure that those notifications are clear and that they show connection and empathy with the candidate throughout the process. Technology also allows us to better track the talent pool through the selection process and provides a vehicle for a more organized approach to communication. The NPS survey tool helps us capture the information we need to make better business decisions and, now, we’re exploring artificial intelligence technology to help from a screening standpoint.

With this process, I’d imagine you work with a lot of partners, whether those are technology partners or RPO. What role do these partnerships play in your process?

It’s a critical role. When we have partners like PeopleScout, we treat them as an extension of our team. Their leaders are in my leadership meetings. Their talent acquisition team members are included in our overall team meetings. We align our rewards and recognition programs to ensure that we are consistent in our messaging and overall performance. We want the process to be seamless for candidates and hiring managers – whether they are working with an internal employee or a vendor partner.

Our technology partners are equally important. We don’t just plug in a new technology. Our partners are truly engaged in what we’re trying to accomplish, and they work with us through each challenge. We have to continuously monitor everything to ensure that the process is effective and that we’re achieving our overall goals and objectives as an organization.

What advice do you have for other talent leaders who are looking to make similar changes at their organizations?

Data is king. You need to establish ways to measure experience and performance and then use that data to determine where to place your focus. It’s not something you can improve overnight. It’s a constant process of trial and error. Data is necessary to make those critical decisions in the experience and process.

Also, recognize that, while communication is critical, it’s not the only component in a great candidate experience. There’s also your employer brand and your careers site. Candidates today want to know about your diversity and inclusion programs and your culture. Applications need to be quick and easy to fill out. If any of these pieces are missing, candidates will get lost in the process. With the proper mechanisms in place, you can ensure all of these components are working together to create a great candidate experience.

Talking Talent Leadership Profile: George Tate

Posted on by nfuqua

George Tate is interested in growth. Sometimes, it’s on the big, company-wide scale; other times, it’s growth on the smaller, more personal side, such as developing employees to lead in the business or drive success wherever they land.

That’s good news, because as the senior vice president of business development at PeopleScout, he’s about to lead a lot of growth as the Great Rehire kicks off and employers around the world start adding more workers to their ranks. We spoke to George from his home in Michigan to find out what he’s hearing from talent leaders in 2021.

We’re in the middle of a really unique year. What are talent leaders looking for right now?

I don’t want to say that we’re past COVID-19 because we’re not. But, we are on the downswing when it comes to how severely COVID-19 is impacting businesses. What we’re hearing from talent leaders is that teams are very lean and they need help. They need to hire people back into organizations and we need to help.

The challenges talent leaders are facing are no longer industry-specific. They are widespread. Right now, leaders are concerned that their organizations could experience revenue loss if they can’t get workers in open roles. This is just the start of what we’re going to see related to both challenges for employers and increasing job growth, especially as we move into 2022 and 2023 and these organizations continue to grow.

What do talent leaders want new talent partnerships to look like?

The one thing I keep hearing is, “I need help.” But, what that statement often means is, ‘What do you have to offer? Because I don’t know what questions to ask.’ When COVID-19 hit last March, no one was prepared. Now, we’re in the recovery and it’s still hard to predict what things will look like. So, talent leaders want a partner with the experience to guide them through this time and their specific needs – whether that’s talent advisory, RPO, Recruiter On-Demand, Total Workforce or MSP.

Additionally, a lot of organizations have really lean internal talent acquisition teams at this point. They need a partner who can come in and handle the volume of hires they need to make right now and who can scale with them as volumes change and uncertainty continues. Talent advisory services are also becoming a bigger portion of partnerships, as employers need help building a strong employer brand or designing assessments to identify which candidates out of a mountain of applicants would make the best fit.

What are the biggest challenges employers are facing this year?

I think its three-pronged. One is around using technology to drive applications and attract the right talent. The second relates to employer branding and brand awareness. What does the job look like? Is it meaningful? Is it going to be impactful? The third is, as I mentioned before, managing the large candidate volumes to identify the best talent. I spoke with one leader recently who received 21,000 résumés off a single job posting.

That means that employers need to look for providers that: come in with the right technology to pair with what employers already have in-house; [have] a strong advisory background to help strengthen employer brands; build candidate personas and deploy effective recruitment marketing campaigns, and then [have] the recruiting expertise to identify and hire the best candidates quickly.

You mentioned technology. Many talent acquisition leaders got a crash course in the power of technology at the start of the pandemic. Are those lessons carrying over?

Yes, and part of the reason for that is the staying power of remote work. Employers are now determining what part of their workforce will remain virtual. Some workers have struggled working at home and need to be in an office. Other positions will be more effective if that role remains virtual.

In the past year, employers have been able to build a virtual candidate experience using text or SMS technology, virtual interviewing, and more. I think now we’re seeing that employers want to expand and improve beyond that, especially into virtual onboarding. Some employers have developed ways to handle this at a smaller scale. Now, they need to put those lessons to the test at a larger scale.

What are the biggest opportunities for employers moving forward?

I think the biggest opportunities come when you’re looking to 2022, 2023 and beyond. What are your three-, four- and five-year strategic plans? What does your talent acquisition team need to look like to accomplish that? Who is the right partner to help? Do you have the right technology in place to meet those goals? We’re all going to need answers to questions that we don’t have yet, so the partnership piece is key. At PeopleScout, we’re already hearing different challenges from all different types of organizations. We’re finding solutions and then we’re going to carry those ideas forward. That way, we can continue to set clients up for success when those challenges and opportunities come.

Three Potential Pitfalls of High-Volume Hiring and How to Avoid Them

Posted on by akessler

A fairly large handful of colleagues and clients are aware that my family and I are having some fairly extensive renovation work done on our home. Partly because I have moaned about it on a weekly basis since January. Partly because the endless background sounds of drills, hammers and circular saws— and on one particularly fraught occasion, a builders exposed backside descending from a loft ladder behind me—have all permeated some of my Zoom video calls. 

Now that the work is 90 percent finished, I look back on the project, and there are some aspects of it that I wish we had done differently. In doing such a lot of work at one time, we inevitably compromised on our standards in some small ways when faced with the size of the project ahead. 

Hopefully, you can see where the analogy is leading. When we, or our clients, are faced with a mountain to climb in terms of the complexity or scarcity of required talent in big numbers, it’s easy to deviate away from best practice. And this is never more common than now. 

As organisations switch from hiring freezes to acute growth mode, we are seeing a dramatic shift back towards a candidate-driven market. As the next 12 months play out, I personally believe this will prove to be one of the most dramatic shifts in several decades, and employers will be scratching their heads at just how they are going to close the hiring gap. 

During these impending and inevitably large-scale campaigns, there are three potential risks that stand out to me:

1. Introducing new people will impact the company culture.

Firstly, hiring lots of new people can present a risk to the company culture you’ve spent a lot of effort crafting. This may be more prevalent within smaller organisations or for those hiring at the leadership level, but no organisation is truly immune. With any hiring that significantly impacts a team, you must consider not only the skills and competencies match, but also how the existing cultural makeup of that group will be affected. One way to counter this is through thorough training to help align old and new employees on the same cultural path. This should be led by leadership and serve as a catalyst for people—old and new—to embrace your organisation’s mission and values. 

2. High-volume hiring can increase the risk of compromising on quality.

When it comes to high-volume hiring, hiring managers are more inclined to drop their standards on quality-of-hire. Not so much in terms of matching skills and experience, which tends to be a more objective. Plus, a deviation away from the requisite profile can be harder for the hiring manager to justify in their own mind. However, I’ve seen a “lowering of the bar” when it comes to the softer skills—the personality traits and competency matches which are naturally more subjective. One effective antidote here is robust candidate assessment practices. Backing up your gut feel with a bespoke or even “off the shelf” assessment package can help make your judgement more objective. 

3. Diversity amongst new hires suffers.

Thirdly, there is naturally a risk to diversity in your hiring. We’re all hopefully well-versed on the myriad benefits that fostering a diverse and inclusive workforce can bring. But, what is a valid, primary consideration when hiring one or two team members can begin to feel like an added challenge when filling a large number of openings starts to weigh down on a manager. Is there a temptation to let diversity standards slip if the challenge of filling critical gaps on your team already feels impossible? Is one allowed to be pragmatic in the circumstances and just hire, regardless of the diversity credentials? 

I would argue that you wouldn’t hire someone who has the wrong skills for your team, so you shouldn’t be any more inclined to lower standards on diversity. As we all know, the wrong hiring decision now, only costs us in the long-term when we have to re-hire down the line. Better to get it right first time, whether that be a diversity match or a skills match. 

Ultimately, any short-term concessions we might be tempted to make under pressure to hire at the time will be a source of regret. So, don’t lower your standards and suffer from these pitfalls. Take it from me—the decision not to fit underfloor heating in our family bathroom will likely haunt me for the next decade or two!

PeopleScout Jobs Report Analysis – May 2021

Posted on by nfuqua

The U.S. economy gained 559,000 jobs in May. The numbers improved over April, but still lagged behind expectations. Employers report they struggle to find job candidates, while some economists say that the economy may need time to get into a consistent rhythm. The unemployment rate fell to 5.8%. Year-over-year wage growth was at 2%.

jobs report infographic

The Numbers

559,000: The U.S. economy added 559,000 jobs in May.

5.8%: The unemployment rate fell to 5.8%.

2%: Wages grew 2% over the past year.

The Good

After a disappointing jobs report in April, May’s job gains show a notable improvement. The biggest job gains occurred in the leisure and hospitality sector, as rising vaccination numbers and falling infection rates drove an increase in dining. The New York Times reports that job postings on Indeed were 27% higher in May of 2021 than February of 2020, before the pandemic hit. However, economists predict job growth to vary greatly month to month, as the economy normalizes after a long period of uncertainty.

The Bad

The Wall Street Journal reports that the jobs numbers fell short of economist expectations, and the jobs numbers continue to lag behind other economic indicators, like consumer spending. Some employers report a shortage of job applicants, and economists say there could be several factors contributing – including early retirements, childcare responsibilities, health concerns, low pay and enhanced unemployment benefits. The labor participation rate changed little, indicating that many workers who were sidelined during the pandemic have not yet reentered the job market.

The Unknown

Though economists agree that the economy is on track to continue growing, there are a number of factors that could impact that rate of growth. MarketWatch reports that key material shortages are causing issues in industries like manufacturing and construction. Experts predict that the labor shortage should improve in the fall, as children return to school and propel more parents back into the workforce. Lingering fears over the coronavirus are expected to abate as vaccinations continue to rise and cases plummet

How an Internal Mobility Skills Audit Can Unlock Hidden Talent

Posted on by edyson

One of the earliest and most important steps in the internal mobility process is identifying which employees within your organization should be targeted for internal roles based on skills, experience and willingness to explore new career paths. But, how can you be sure you know the full extent of the skills available within your organization?

An internal mobility skills audit enables you to understand where employee skills lie, as well as direct your employees’ training and development plans and your overall recruitment strategy.

What is an Internal Mobility Skills Audit?

An internal mobility skills audit is the process of assessing your employees’ skills and then identifying potential internal candidates for open positions based on knowledge, experience, skill sets and flexibility. By assessing the knowledge and skills that already exist within your workforce, you can help develop the careers of existing employees while simultaneously improving your retention rates and filling open roles faster.

Common skills include:

  • Technology and digital skills
  • Research skills
  • Quantitative skills
  • Critical thinking skills
  • Analytical skills
  • Soft skills, such as emotional intelligence
  • Project management
  • Business acumen
  • Project management
  • Teamwork

Who is Responsible for the Internal Mobility Audit?

When it comes to an individual employee who is a candidate for an internal role, team leaders or managers should be responsible for conducting the audit of that employees’ skills. However, larger team analysis for multiple roles is usually done by team leaders, HR or external talent advisors.

Data Collection & Analysis

The goal of data collection and analysis in an internal mobility skills audit is three-fold: 1) to analyze which roles are open now; 2) to rate how important each role is; and 3) to inquire about the skills required to perform the role properly. Data collection and analysis activities can include:

1. Developing job profiles and identifying critical skills needed for each job role:

  • Review current job descriptions as a reference for the skills that are needed.
  • Consider the effect of upcoming organizational changes or future work trends (like AI) on the role.
  • Develop a list of competencies that most clearly and accurately describe what is necessary to do the work.

2. Conducting an inventory of skills in your organization leveraging methods like:

  • Position descriptions
  • Job class specifications
  • Performance evaluations and employee assessments
  • Interviews or focus groups with supervisors, managers and employees 
  • Self-assessments

As you might expect, it can quickly become difficult to manually keep track of each employee’s competencies and skill levels. Fortunately, talent technology can help you with the data collection process. For example, PeopleScout’s Internal Mobility can help you access an internal talent pool all in one place so you can quickly source, leverage, promote and reassign talent from within your organization.

Assessing Internal Candidates

Once internal candidates for open positions have been identified, it’s time for your teams to dive deeper and examine a candidate’s knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs). While the three terms may seem interchangeable, they are actually distinctly different dimensions of a potential internal candidates’ qualifications:

  • Knowledge focuses on the candidate’s understanding of key theoretical concepts important to the role.
  • Skills are the capabilities or hands-on experience needed for the application of theoretical knowledge important for the role.
  • Abilities are the innate traits or talents that a person brings to the role if selected as a successor.

KSAs are the core competencies used when assessing talent and can create a better picture of a potential candidate’s strengths and weaknesses. These are useful in creating your organization’s internal promotion and talent development programs, and it’s essential to develop a KSA profile of each internal candidate to determine whether their attributes align well with a specific role. 

To begin, your internal mobility team can start building KSA profiles by asking these questions:

  • Where does your organization see the role evolving in the next three to five years? What skillsets will be required to evolve with the role? 
  • What unique or specialized competencies are necessary to succeed in the role?
  • What qualities should the internal candidate possesses in order to thrive in the role and meet your organization’s business objectives?

Then, when identifying individual employees as potential internal candidates, consider assessing the following traits:

  • Flexibility and willingness to change roles or work environments
  • Interest in professional development, taking on new projects outside of their duties and learning new skills
  • Good communicators who work well with multiple teams and departments

When completed, the results of a skills audit should be aggregated into a report to obtain a clear view of existing skills and knowledge within your organization. The information you collect during the audit can then be used to support more than just your internal mobility program. It can also be applied to organizational restructuring and internal promotion, as well as help conduct effective succession planning.

PeopleScout Jobs Report Analysis – April 2021

Posted on by nfuqua

The U.S. economy gained 226,000 jobs in April. The numbers fell far below economist expectations, even as vaccinations increase, and COVID-19 cases decrease across the country. The report comes one year after the economy shed 20.5 million jobs in April 2020, at the start of the pandemic. The unemployment rate rose to 6.1%. Year-over-year wage growth was at .3%.

jobs report infographic

The Numbers

+266,000: Employers added 266,000 jobs to the U.S. economy in April.

6.1%: The unemployment rate rose to 6.1%

.3%: Wages rose just .3% over the past year.

The Good

April’s jobs report was largely disappointing. As the New York Times reports, economists had expected job growth as high as one million. However, there are a few bright points. leisure and hospitality, the sector hit hardest by the pandemic, led job growth with 331,000 new jobs. Additionally, labor force participation increased to 61.7% in April, marking the second straight month of growth, and suggesting that more Americans are reentering the workforce.

The Bad

Despite COVID-19 numbers trending positively, the Wall Street Journal reports that many employers are still cautious about ramping up hiring. Additionally, sectors that grew during the pandemic saw some job losses in April, including temporary work and transportation and warehousing. Manufacturing shed 18,000 jobs due to supply chain issues in the auto industry.

Additionally, year-over-year wage growth fell sharply in April, however these numbers come exactly one year after more than 20 million jobs were lost. At that point, wage growth increased drastically, as higher wage workers were more likely to retain their jobs, while lower wage workers were more likely to experience layoffs. That shift caused the average wage to rise, and the trend will impact wage growth numbers for months to come.

The Unknown

Economists disagree on the cause of April’s disappointing report. According to NBC, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen ascribes the low numbers to the volatility of a recovering economy. Others have argued that enhanced unemployment benefits may be keeping some people at home, while yet another group argues those benefits have been necessary to keeping food on the table for many families. The New York Times reports a more complicated story, particularly in the restaurant industry, as some workers look to change careers for more stable industries, or express health and safety concerns.

Your Guide to Virtual Interviewing Solutions

Posted on by nfuqua

As we move forward in 2021, it’s clear that safety, flexibility and a positive candidate experience are still the most critical factors in the interview process. Additionally, many talent acquisition teams are still running lean, but will see increasing hiring volumes as the COVID-19 recovery continues. Consequently, these factors necessitate an effective technology solution to support the interview process.

When the pandemic hit, many organizations fully transitioned to or increased their use of virtual interviewing technology. But now, just one year later, it’s an essential part of a long-term hiring strategy. Specifically, virtual interviewing solutions speed up the hiring process; provide a great experience for candidates and hiring managers; and save on travel budgets – in addition to the safety benefits.

So, consider this article your guide for designing the right virtual interviewing solution for your organization and the types of roles you’re hiring for.

What is a Virtual Solution?

virtual solution infographic

Before we focus on specific tools, it’s important to recognize where the virtual interview falls in your overall recruitment process. This graphic demonstrates an ideal virtual solution. At PeopleScout, we believe that the candidate experience should be at the core of your recruitment process, and a strong candidate experience should be part of each aspect.

In an all-encompassing virtual solution, we start with recruitment marketing. This is your opportunity to share your employer value proposition and employer branding materials with candidates. For example, you can do this virtually with a tool that allows you to send automated and personalized messages to candidates through email, social media and text messaging.

Then, candidates move to the application. Here, they expect a mobile-first process that can be completed quickly – preferably within just 10 to 15 questions. The mobile-first nature of the application is especially important as most candidates search for jobs on their smartphones and tablets. In fact, one of our clients sees more than half of applicants come in through a mobile device.

Next, consider assessment as an extension of your application or the start of your interview process. One option is to prescreen individuals via text to identify top-tier candidates. Then, candidates can drive the process forward themselves by self-scheduling their interview, which can be completed through a variety of virtual interviewing tools. All of this ends with the hiring and onboarding process.

Virtual Interviewing Tools

There are five main options for virtual interviewing technology, which can be mixed and matched depending on your organization and the types of roles you’re hiring for.

On-Demand Text or SMS Interviews

cell phone

What is it?

Candidates answer a series of yes/no, multiple choice or short-answer questions via text on their own time.

How does it work?

After completing an application, candidates receive a text message or email asking if they’d like to opt in to a text or SMS interview. Then, they’re sent a series of questions that they can answer on their own time. This process is customized and automated to move candidates quickly to the next step of the process.

What is it best for?

We recommend this option for entry-level or hourly roles. It also works well as an initial screener for high-volume roles.

Why should you consider it?

Candidates are unlikely to answer phone calls from unknown numbers – which turns an initial phone screen into a long game of phone tag. Alternatively, text interviews are quick and have high rates of completion, with some PeopleScout clients seeing completion rates as high as 80%.

On-Demand Audio Interview

cellphone recording audio

What is it?

Candidates answer a series of questions by submitting audio recordings on their own time.

How does it work?

Candidates receive a link to complete the on-demand interview, in which they can respond to questions that are simply printed or recorded by the recruiter or hiring manager. Then, when the candidate is finished, they submit their answers to the recruiter for review.

What is it best for?

We recommend on-demand audio interviews for high-volume call center roles, for example, or for positions in which candidates may be currently working in non-typical shifts.

Why should you consider it?

On-demand audio interviews provide more flexibility for both the recruiter and the candidate; there’s no need to schedule a time when the recruiter and candidate are both available.

In the current world of work, it’s even more difficult for candidates and recruiters to complete an interview during a typical 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. window. Alternatively, the on-demand audio option typically takes candidates 15 to 30 minutes to complete and takes recruiters just five to six minutes to review. At PeopleScout, our proprietary talent technology – Affinix – also allows you to calibrate your interview scoring process to ensure the right numbers of candidates make it through. On-demand interviews have a completion rate of between 40% and 60%.

On-Demand Video Interview

cell phone recording video

What is it?

Candidates answer a series of questions by submitting video recordings on their own time.

How does it work?

Similar to an on-demand audio interview, candidates receive a link to complete the interview and answer questions that are written or recorded by the recruiter or hiring manager. Then, once the candidate records their answers on video, they submit them to the recruiter for review.

What is it best for?

We recommend on-demand video interviews for roles in which candidates must demonstrate their professionalism in person, such as customer service roles or flight attendants.

Why should you consider it?

Similar to on-demand audio interviews, on-demand video interviews provide flexibility for both the recruiter and the candidate. Video interviews also allow you to see how a candidate demonstrates their professionalism “in person.” In this way, it’s an ideal choice for customer-facing roles. Much like their audio counterparts, on-demand video interviews have a completion rate of between 40% and 60%.

Live Audio Interview

live audio interview cellphone

What is it?

Similar to a phone interview, candidates speak directly with a recruiter or hiring manager to answer a series of questions.

How does it work?

Think of the live audio interview as a phone interview with extra features. Candidates can dial in, and hiring managers and recruiters can use a conference line to bring in either multiple candidates or a panel of interviewers. The interview can also be recorded. Plus, automated reminders can be scheduled and sent out using the tool so that no one loses the number or shows up late.

What is it best for?

We recommend this for later-stage interviews with top candidates – especially when most of their work will be completed on the phone, like call center or virtual customer service roles.

Why should you consider it?

Compared to a traditional phone interview, you gain extra features and increased privacy for both candidates and interviewers with this option.

Live Video Interview

live video interview

What is it?

A live video interview is the best replacement for an in-person interview. In this situation, candidates speak on camera with a recruiter, hiring manager or panel of interviewers.

How does it work?

A candidate receives a link to the virtual interviewing platform. With Affinix, candidates don’t have to download or install any applications; they simply click to join the interview. Recruiters and hiring managers can also program automated reminders for interviewers and candidates.

What is it best for?

We recommend live video interviews for professional- or executive-level roles, or as a replacement for a final, in-person interview.

Why should you consider it?

With so many safety and travel concerns, live video provides a safe option for a variety of interviews that were previously in-person. In this case, the interviews can be one-on-one; with a panel of interviewers; or with a group of interviewees. Some PeopleScout clients have also used the technology for virtual job fairs. Plus, in the event of multiple participants, it also provides additional privacy protections so that candidates can’t see the contact information of other candidates, for example.

Affinix also includes chat and screen-share options, as well as the ability to record interviews. Going forward, live video interviews also provide an alternative to travel.

Interview Scheduling

While many of these options allow candidates to complete the interviews on their own time, the live options still require the process of scheduling. Fortunately, instead of the time-consuming back-and-forth, candidates can now self-schedule interviews.

An invitation to self-schedule an interview can be automated after an application or SMS interview; it can also be initiated by a recruiter. It works by allowing recruiters and hiring managers to sync their calendars with a scheduling tool or provide certain timeslots for candidates to choose from. This allows candidates to move the process forward themselves, thereby enhancing the candidate experience and saving time for the recruiter.

Putting It All Together

Depending on your organization and the roles you’re hiring for, your virtual interview process will likely include a number of stages and tools. This graphic shows one way that these can fit together.

interview funnel infographic

Implementing a Virtual Interview Solution

At PeopleScout, we recommend four steps for implementing a virtual interviewing solution. The process can be quick; in fact, in some cases, we can set up a virtual interviewing solution in as few as 72 hours.

  1. Evaluate what you need. What portions of your process are already virtual?
  2. Work with your RPO provider to implement the technology tools you need.
  3. Gather branding materials and questions you need.
  4. Train your hiring managers and talent acquisition team.

Once your virtual interviewing solution is up and running, it’s important to keep evaluating the process and testing to find the right workflow for your recruiters, hiring managers and candidates. In particular, your solution should meet the needs you have now, as well as evolve for the future.

Leveraging Technology to Improve Recruiting Efficiency and Candidate Experience

Posted on by jpatel
Leveraging Technology to Improve Recruiting Efficiency and Candidate Experience

Candidate Experience | RPO in Manufacturing

Leveraging Technology to Improve Recruiting Efficiency and Candidate Experience

This multinational manufacturing company turned to PeopleScout for full life-cycle recruiting support and a technology-based solution to hire of hundreds of retail store and service positions across the U.S. and Canada.

4,400 Total Annual Hires
77 % Increase in Annual Hires Across Commercial Service Centers
232 % Increase in Annual Hires Across Manufacturing Plants

Situation 

The client experienced less than desirable outcomes from their previous RPO provider and chose PeopleScout as a partner because of our exemplary reputation and proven winning record in volume hiring in their industry. In addition, PeopleScout provided what had been lacking in their talent acquisition strategy: technology-based solutions, market intelligence and analytics, talent consultation, and standard reporting and compliance protection precautions.

Solution 

Even with a stellar recruiting process, it would take the power of an integrated candidate management technology stack to make sure that hiring targets were being met with fewer human administrative tasks. 

PeopleScout’s proprietary talent technology, AffinixTM was implemented to accelerate recruiter efficiency and enhance the candidate experience. The recruiting team leveraged Affinix Automation to do much of the repetitive heavy lifting in the process and relied on robust analytics that turned historical data into actionable insights to identify opportunities for process optimization. 

Affinix End–to–End Process 

The Affinix experience begins with a requisition feed from the client’s HRIS, where all hiring needs are approved. 

The jobs are integrated into the Affinix Applicant Tracking System which provides: 

  • An interface to edit the job to prepare it for posting/advertising 
  • The platform that posts the job to the client’s Affinix career website and creates a job description and job page to post the job to media 
  • The platform for recruiters to manage all candidates during the hiring journey 

Once posted, jobs are live on the client’s Affinix career website which allows candidates to:  

  • Quickly find the job they are looking for based on keyword, location or job family through intelligent and responsive search technology 
  • Join the talent community by quickly submitting their profile information if they are not ready to complete a job application  
  • Apply for a job through Affinix’s Quick Apply application, which captures all required candidate information and consent on one continuous and seamless page 
  • Automatically create a candidate dashboard to update their information, upload a new resume or change their communication preferences   

The Affinix Quick Apply application sends the candidate data to the Affinix ATS and CRM which creates a candidate record. With knockout questions built into the application, Affinix processes candidates who are qualified and sends a text or email message to the candidate inviting them to complete a pre-screen. 

Affinix Digital Interview then sends pre-screen questions by text and email. With hundreds of requisitions open concurrently, the power of Affinix Automation saves the recruiter the time it takes to pre-screen a candidate before the interview process. Having the option for candidates to answer pre-screen questions by SMS improves submission rate. Additionally, the recruiting team created a sophisticated scoring rubric for the technology to score the candidate based on their response.

Affinix Digital Interview then automatically advances the candidate to be invited to a phone interview if they meet or exceed the score threshold. The event scheduling functionality in the Affinix Digital Interview platform gives invited candidates the opportunity to choose a time on their own from the recruiter’s calendar availability.
Candidate information, activity and status automatically flow through to Affinix CRM. Because of the volume of qualified candidates who do not get hired, recruiters can classify candidates as silver or gold medalists, manage them in pipeline folders, and engage them with robust email campaigns. Some markets or jobs are urgent and when candidate traffic does not happen organically, the recruiters leverage Affinix Talent Matching, a sourcing platform built in the CRM.

Sourcing from hundreds of social and lifestyle sites, Affinix Talent Matching unleashes the requisition out on the open web to find relevant candidates whose profiles match the job requirements.

Since this sourcing tool is built into the CRM, sourced candidates can be added directly to pipeline folders. The recruiting team can also quickly build landing pages from Affinix CRM to be used as destination pages for pipeline-building campaigns like diversity and inclusion or new grads.

Affinix Analytics gives visibility to the historic recruiting performance by job class, requisition, location and hiring manager. Most importantly, it provides predictive analysis so that the recruiting team can take action and make corrections if needed.

Results 

The PeopleScout recruiting team meets and exceeds the client’s hiring targets because of how they masterfully leverage Affinix and its one mission—to improve candidate experience and recruiter efficiency. With Affinix:  

  • Candidates find jobs and complete job applications faster 
  • Candidates feel they are being given proper attention by getting quick responses with pre-screen questions and interview invitation, all swiftly done with automation 
  • Recruiters do less administrative tasks with Affinix managing the screening and scheduling process 
  • Recruiters can source, pipeline and engage candidates in the CRM to boost requisitions that are getting slow candidate traffic 

Affinix Success with the Client: 

  • 4,400 Total Annual Hires
  • At 265 Commercial Service Centers:
    • 1,300+ Annual Hires—77% increase from 2019 to 2020 
    • 16,000 Annual Applicants—14% increase from 2019 to 2020 
  • At 19 Manufacturing Plants Across North America:
    • 1,300+ Annual Hires—232% increase from 2019 to 2020 
    • 25,000 Annual Applicants—48% increase from 2019 to 2020 
  • Time from interview to offer decreased from 9 days to 3.4 days 

At a Glance

  • COMPANY
    Tire manufacturer
  • INDUSTRY
    Consumer Goods
  • PEOPLESCOUT SOLUTIONS
    Recruitment Process Outsourcing, Affinix
  • ANNUAL HIRES
    4,400
  • LOCATIONS
    265 retailer service centers and 19 manufacturing plants
  • ABOUT THE CLIENT
    This multinational manufacturing client specialized in rubber and tire manufacturing. It has multiple manufacturing plants across the U.S. and Canada as well as hundreds of retail service centers.
Let’s Connect

 

Feedback Loop: The Key to a Strong Employer Brand (That You’re Probably Missing)

Posted on by nfuqua

A good candidate experience is based on a strong employer brand. But, many employers are missing basic steps that can have a drastic influence on how candidates perceive those organizations. In particular, they’re lacking processes to provide feedback to candidates and gather feedback from candidates.

In the recruitment process, feedback should go both ways. Employers should gather feedback from candidates about the experience, but they should also provide feedback – especially to candidates who make it deep into the selection process.

The Candidate Experience Gap

When employers around the globe rate the candidate experience they provide, they often give themselves good scores. However, when candidates are asked to rate their experience, they often have a very different opinion.

For example, in recent surveys by HRO Today and PeopleScout, 65% of companies in North America; 59% in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA); and 84% in Asia-Pacific (APAC) rated their candidate experience as “good” or “excellent.” At the same time, only 5% of candidates in both regions rated their experience as excellent.

That is a massive gap and, at the end of the day, it’s the candidate’s opinion that matters. That’s because the effect of a bad experience can be severe. In fact, research by Deloitte shows that 80% of disappointed candidates will share their experience – and that has serious consequences for an organization’s employer brand.

Additionally, candidates are consumers. In research we completed with one of our telecom clients, we found that disappointed candidates actually canceled the service of that employer – and the potential impact of this was was worth millions of dollars to the bottom line based on the number of applications received in a typical year.

Finally, a bad candidate experience can also mean that employers miss out on the best talent. If another company offers a strong candidate a better experience, that candidate will likely choose that employer. This gap also illustrates that, while employers need to provide a good candidate experience, they also need the right metrics to determine just how good their experience is. And, where should that data be coming from? Candidate feedback.

Gathering Candidate Feedback

In the same HRO Today and PeopleScout surveys, employers reported significant challenges in capturing candidate feedback. In EMEA, 39% of employers said that one of their top candidate experience challenges was that they had “no formal way to capture candidate feedback.” On the flip side, only 26% of respondents in EMEA always ask for candidate feedback, whereas 44% never ask for it.

In North America, the numbers are only slightly better. In that survey, 31% of respondents rated “no way to capture candidate feedback” as a top challenge. And, while 32% reported that they never asked for feedback, only 21% claimed that they always did.

Similarly, in APAC, 23% of respondents cited “no way to capture candidate feedback” as a top challenge. However, far more employers in the region said they already collected feedback. Specifically, 46% said that they always did, while just 10% reported that they never did.

no formal way to capture canddiate feedback grahp
frequency of measuring candidate experience graph

Why is this so important? At PeopleScout, we work with clients to develop and test authentic employer value propositions and employer branding materials based on research, and a critical component of that research is understanding how candidates perceive an organization. A strong employer brand evolves over time as talent acquisition teams constantly test small adjustments; without candidate feedback, employers won’t know if those adjustments resonate with candidates.

We all know the process for providing feedback in the consumer space. After we get food delivered, we get a pop-up on our phone asking if we liked the food and how the driver did. Likewise, if we purchase a new pair of jeans or a television, we receive an email asking us to write a review of the product. Companies can then use that information to improve their products and services.

In the same way, the practice of asking for feedback should be integrated throughout the candidate experience. This can mean a screen at the end of an application asking the candidate to rate the application. Or, it can be a short text sent to a candidate asking them to rate their virtual interviewing experience after they complete an on-demand interview. It could also be a short questionnaire sent after a candidate completes a final interview – asking if the interviewer was on time and prepared, or if the candidate felt as though they were able to showcase their strengths.

Providing Feedback

As important as it is to gather candidate feedback, the feedback flow can’t just move in one direction. Employers should also provide feedback – especially to candidates who make it to the final round of interviewing. Unfortunately, the likelihood of that is greatly dependent on location.

The HRO Today and PeopleScout survey found that, in EMEA, more than half of respondents made it standard practice to provide feedback after a face-to-face interview, while only 13% of employers never provided it. However, the situation is vastly different in North America, where only 21% of employers reported that they always provided feedback, while 39% never did. In APAC, the numbers landed in the middle, with 38% of employers stating that they always provided feedback and 12% saying that they never did.

feedback to candidates after face to face interviews

This is a significant missed opportunity for employers. By the time a candidate reaches the final interview stage, not only have they invested a considerable amount of time and effort into an organization, but the employer has also poured a considerable amount of time, effort and money into recruiting this candidate. As such, a candidate who has invested so much time and effort into an employer can only feel an even deeper sting from a rejection, as compared to a candidate who failed to advance earlier in the process. Plus, in Europe, one survey found that candidates ranked providing feedback and providing a reason for rejection as two of the top three most important components in delivering a positive candidate experience. The only other factor in the top three was providing a short, easy application.

Additionally, by the time a candidate reaches the final interview, the recruiter and hiring manager have clearly seen potential for that candidate to be a great employee. And, while a candidate who finishes in second or third place in the recruitment process may not be the best fit for that role at that time, the candidate still has the potential to be a great employee at some point in the future. This makes it even more critical to provide meaningful feedback.

More precisely, providing feedback at this point in the process accomplishes two major things for candidates: First, it provides candidates with something in exchange for the time and effort they’ve put into your organization. While the candidate may or may not have received a job offer, feedback that they can use as they move forward in their career is the next-best outcome; often, candidates may receive a generic email or – even worse – no communication at all. Additionally, the feedback provides candidates with actionable steps that they can take going forward if they want to apply to your company again in the future. If the candidate was a close match, the feedback you provide after this interview could help them become the ideal candidate the next time they apply.

Feedback Loop

These surveys reveal critical information about the importance of feedback – both gathering it from candidates and providing it to candidates – at a critical time for employers. With high unemployment across the globe due to COVID-19 and the upcoming “Great Rehire” as world economies recover, employers are already seeing large application volumes and will soon see increased competition for talent.

That combination makes a good candidate experience especially important: When a large number of candidates have a bad experience, it can do significant damage to an organization’s employer brand. Furthermore, the best candidates won’t stay on the job market for long. A poor experience can mean losing out on the best talent at a time when the right people can aid in a strong recovery. Therefore, now is the best time for employers to develop their processes for giving and receiving feedback.

Check out the full report from HRO Today and PeopleScout, How HR’s Response Defines Employer Brand.