TALiNT International UK Issue 4

SMARTER FORESIGHT

How talent intelligence enables recruiters’ advisory capabilities

AUTHENTIC FRAMEWORK

Q&A with Trinnovo Group, TIARA Awards winners

TALENT INTELLIGENCE

ESSENTIAL INSIGHTS FOR TODAY’S MARKET

From where I sit in TALiNT Towers, I have a very wide view of the talent ecosystem’s challenges and trends. For years now we’ve talked about the challenges that skills shortages have brought to employers from the Americas to the APAC region, and we’re definitely seeing the same trends across most of the first world –more jobs than people to fill them.

This is not the case in Southern Africa, however.

I had the opportunity to visit my home country over the Easter holidays, and it was a bit like being in Alice in Wonderland’s topsy turvy world. In South Africa, there is no shortage of labour, but rather vast shortages of jobs and skills. In our last issue of TALiNT International, we spoke to WilsonHCG’s MD, John Wilson, who’d said that their talent intelligence data pointed them in the direction of the sunny south because of productivity levels of workers there… Now having lived in South Africa for the vast majority of my life I can say without doubt that there is no shortage of people with a huge willingness to work – but a gargantuan shortage of jobs! And with almost 50% unemployment it’s a wonder how it will ever be sorted out.

The workforce has truly become a global one, and talk of upskilling and reskilling continues to dominate the wider market. Perhaps it’s time employers the world over start thinking about widening their hiring nets and utilise talent intelligence to look over the fence – not only in your backyard – for people and skills – and for the opportunity to upskill. This new way of working and employers’ willingness to look more broadly to find skills and facilitate a global workforce really does open doors to a much wider talent pool.

I’m usually the cynical one in the team, so maybe the African sun has baked my brain, but it’s certainly warmed my heart. The market that focussed on getting bums in seats no longer exists, so, I must say that TA leaders are in a unique position to really change and advance people’s lives. And what a wonderful position to be in.

TALiNT Partners brings together a global network of leading employers and solution providers to make better talent and technology decisions by providing intelligence, insight and peer-to-peer networking that drives quality, innovation and improves inclusion across the talent ecosystem.

Our MSP solutions bring you the best talent, reduced costs and transparency over your workforce to ensure compliance, giving you complete peace of mind.

Manage risk and compliance

Reduce costs

Improve visibility and gain control

Ready to discover the benefits of a truly agile workforce?

28 March

HOW CAN RECRUITERS WIN THE WAR FOR THEIR OWN TECH TALENT?

Record low unemployment and a high demand for specialist talent have sustained a recessiondefying boom in recruitment for those with the resources to capitalise on a wealth of opportunities. Yet fierce competition for recruitment talent has been a growth limiter for many, with higher salaries and lower loyalty eroding profitability.

TALiNT Partners went back to one of our favourite venues (it has a pool we are yet to use…) to discuss staffing firms’ war for their own tech talent! It was a great night!

The Westin Grand, Frankfurt

28 March

TALINT PARTNERS AND EIGHTFOLD.AI HOSTED A DINNER ON CREATIVE TALENT ACQUISITION TO TACKLE SKILL SCARCITY IN THE DACH REGION.

We were dining in the UK and dining in Europe. Yes, TALiNT Partners gets around!

This interactive was a roaring success, and our delegates were delighted to take part in discussions about Germany’s highest levels of employment in over thirty years; the unemployment rate remains low at 2.8%. This has profound implications for talent acquisition in a market with 764,000 notified vacancies in January 2023. We can’t wait to go back!

29 March

TALINT PARTNERS AND CORNERSTONE HOSTED A LIVELY AND INTERESTING DINNER IN THE VERY SUAVE PRIVATE DINING ROOM OF THE IVY IN LONDON.

We talked about the essential use of Talent Intelligence when it comes to strategy and workforce planning, the clash of cultures we’re seeing with yet another ‘way of working shift with employers fuelling the return to in person working and of course, ChatGPT and whether it’s aiding or hindering workflows…

The shepherd’s pie was delicious. We always feel as if we’re cheating on the Beaumont’s shepherd’s pie, but both are equally decadent. (If you know, you know!)

20 April

WHAT SHOULD IRELAND’S RECRUITERS PRIORITISE FOR PROFITABLE GROWTH?

After several years of disruption in recruitment – with new expectations from clients, candidates and consultants – how are the best in sector adapting to find and keep the best talent? A full write up of the event will be published in the next issue of TALiNT International.

At this invitation-only event on the Emerald Isle, TALiNT Partners will bring together industry experts, solution providers and award-winning recruitment leaders to enjoy panel debates and roundtable discussions followed by a leaders’ lunch to connect with peers. There was also Guinness drank.

TIARA Talent Solutions Awards 2023 – Open for entries

TALINT PARTNERS HAS ANNOUNCED THAT THE TIARA TALENT SOLUTIONS AWARDS ARE NOW OPEN FOR ENTRIES.

Celebrating the best RPO, MSP and Talent Solutions providers in the UK and Europe, the TIARAs continue to set the standard of excellence for the RPO/MSP and talent solution sector’s crowning achievements.

Ken Brotherston, TALiNT Partners CEO, said that the TIARA Talent Solutions Awards have established themselves as the pre-eminent recognition campaign in the sector and are a perfect platform to showcase the best work the sector has to offer.

Last year’s winners included AMS, Bright Network, Cielo, CPL, Hays, Lorien, PeopleScout, Reed Talent Solutions and RTS People. (View the 2022 winners here.)

There are 11 categories to enter including two new categories: The Talent Solutions Innovation of the Year Award and The Best Talent Attraction Strategy.

All of TALiNT Partners’ TIARA award campaigns are synonymous for the quality, rigour and independence brought by our judging panel of industry experts and Talent Leaders, and all finalists are offered detailed, confidential feedback from the judging panel.

The closing date for entries is Thursday 29th June, and you can enter here.

Most entries are likely to relate to work for specific clients; if you have a particular initiative

that is not client specific but still meets the criteria for the award then this is still eligible for entry.

The shortlist of finalists will be announced on 12th July and the winners will be crowned at a black-tie awards ceremony and gala dinner on 21st September at the beautiful Pan Pacific London.

The TIARA Talent Solutions Awards 2023 campaign is supported by headline sponsor Cornerstone and awards sponsors Giant Group, Parasol, Sonovate and Stratigens.

KEY DATES

To find out more about this year’s award categories please click here.

Only 3% of Brits want to go to the office more often

A fifth of UK employees don’t prioritise meeting colleagues in person, according to new research by TravelPerk, although the research does cite that a healthy 58% feel meeting in person is important because it creates a sense of belonging to the team.

The survey revealed that 69% of workers are required to go into the office a certain number of days per week or month. Of those, 28% work five days a week from the office compared to those who work four days (9%), three days (22%), two days (24%) a week or less (16%).

Only a small minority felt that hybrid working encourages better communication with their team (8%) and a better relationship with their boss (7%). A third use their time in the office for 1-1 meetings with their manager or team, followed by meeting new team members (30%). In-person meetings are also used for brainstorming or strategy sessions (22%), social events (20%), large meetings with multiple people (16%) and workshops or skill development sessions (13%).

The survey is based on a sample of 1,000 UK employees working from an office or home. Almost half of hybrid workers like it because they spend less time commuting and have more quality time. Of those, 34% say they are more productive – 29% enjoy the balance of time at home and interacting with colleagues in the office, 27% say it has a positive impact on their mental and physical health and 15% are comfortable with their workstation setup.

Women in banking and finance earn 22% less than male colleagues

Eight out of ten UK businesses pay men more than women, with a national wage difference of 9.4%, according to a new study.

The BBC survey, based on the difference in pay between the middle-ranking woman and the middle-ranking man, remains at the same level as five years ago, at almost 10% – despite efforts to promote gender equality in business.

The largest difference surfaced from the banking and finance industries, where women earn on average 22% less than their male colleagues – the gap only decreased by 0.5% over the past five years.

The data comes from 13,992 employers, publishing their gender pay gap figures online, in a government initiative to make companies more transparent around pay.

Major corporations, such as easyJet, Lloyds Bank and Savills, were identified as the primary culprits for the difference – appearing to set unambitious targets for getting women into senior positions.

Other traditionally male-dominated sectors, such as construction, have narrowed the gap by 2.7%, better than most technology companies, which saw women earn 78p for every pound a man earns.

PERCENTAGE OF WORKERS WHO WORK IN THE OFFICE

TALENT INTELLIGENCE WORKSHOP

TALiNT Parnters, Strategins and the Talent Intelligence Collective will be holding an interactive Talent Intelligence Workshop hosted by. Toby, author of industry leading book ‘Talent Intelligence’ and Founder of The Talent Intelligence Collective will be leading the workshop with insight from Stratigens and TALiNT Partners.

VENUE: THE KING’S FUND, LONDON 21.06.23 8:30 TO 17:00

The Talent Intelligence Workshop, through bespoke exercises, keynote presentations from industry experts and peer discussions will set you on a unique learning pathway designed to enable you to build and maintain the Talent Intelligence strategy you need to make radically smarter decisions.

Workshop themes include:

• How a can you utilise Talent Intelligence to support strategic decision making?

• How to build a data driven approach, what is the C-suite looking for from TI?

• Best practice in using TI to support TA

• Optimising TI to achieve your DE&I goals

• Influencing outcomes, data visualisation, prioritising data sources and future trends.

With a day packed full of interactive and peer-led discussions delegates will leave the session equipped with knowledge not only

on how to use Talent Intelligence but also how to build the business case to get Talent Intelligence resources.

The faculty delivering the course have many years’ experience of coaching and advising HR, TI and TA leaders and have worked with some of the world’s most sophisticated users of talent intelligence.

All delegates with receive:

• Toby Culshaw’s book – Talent Intelligence: Use Business and People Data to Drive Organizational Performance

• Workbook designed for the workshop for you to take away your learnings

• Workshop completion certificate

Places are limited for this workshop so register early to avoid disappointment.

TALENT INTELLIGENCE – essential insights for today’s market

As the talent agenda grows ever more complex, there are two types of organisations: those that already use Talent Intelligence (TI) and those who are going to start using it very soon…

HR professionals around the globe are faced with the unique challenge of sourcing the skills they need in a market where those skills are scarce; unemployment is low; online job ads outnumber the number of candidates available, and the threat of a recession makes decision making on the part of both corporates and candidates much more risk averse.

To make good decisions it’s important to have quality information, but often a frustrated line manager isn’t willing to budge on what they want in a candidate to fill a role, when talent acquisition leaders are telling them that their particular ‘unicorn’ doesn’t exist. Alison E�ridge, (AE) CEO of Stratigens explains.

AE: “TI is used to make good decisions, but you need good data. Put simply, companies do research on their clients, consumers, competitors and markets all the time – but they don’t do research into their most critical asset – access to the skills and people they need to

deliver this business strategy. Talent intelligence delivers this data.

Or put it another way, if you don’t have any data, you are making a decision based on opinion alone and when is that ever a good thing?”

DOES TI MAGIC REALLY EXIST?

There is a strong case for the use of TI. By leveraging data and insights to inform talent acquisition and wider management strategies, organisations can improve their ability to attract and retain top talent, drive employee performance, and ultimately achieve business goals. With the increasing importance of data-driven decision-making in today’s business environment, TI has become a critical tool for organisations that want to stay ahead of the competition.

But getting organisation buy-in isn’t always easy. Setting up a TI programme with a new client could have its challenges.

AE: “TI is a relatively new term and new market. The most common challenge is helping business leaders understand what TI is, why it is important, the impact it can have and the implications of not having it. That’s why much of what we do is focussed on education.

TI can be used tactically and strategically. In most organisations TI sits within a TA function and can get ‘stuck’ in tactical use alone. Whilst valuable, the wider business impact is lost. We spend significant time working with our TA community to educate them on the broader benefits and buy in.

Toby Culshaw, Global Head of Talent Intelligence: Worldwide Amazon Stores said that TI is a relatively new offering and takes time to build its capabilities. “Currently TI sits in the Talent Acquisition function, but in the next 18 months or so we’ll see a shift towards TI being incorporated across all organisation silos and will evolve into Workforce Science.”

As a new market there is a very small talent pool for TI people. And the pool that is there ranges from those with experience of data science and people analytics, to those with qualitative research skills and everything in between.

Over and above that, as a new market, there are many consultants who ‘jump on the band wagon’ as TI experts who add value but may miss the overall business benefit.”

WHAT DOES THE DATA MEAN?

Critical to TI is understanding the ‘so what’ –good data alone is not the answer, it must be overlaid with the insight and the ‘so what’ to add real value.

TI tells a story that isn’t always obvious. For example, if an organisation is looking to recruit web developers in Edinburgh but the TA teams can’t find any, TI is able to paint a picture as to why those roles can’t be filled and where to find the desired talent. Reasons for the seemingly lack of talent can range from low unemployment rates, incorrect or unreasonable salary expectations to commuter distance and age of those employed. Or it could be that the talent pool is just simply not big enough to fill demand.

TI, when analysed and used to support hiring strategies, enables TA teams to find out exactly where the right talent is geographically, match similar skills or job titles in order to find that talent in other industries or even that those skills don’t in fact, exist.

BUILDING A PORTFOLIO OF INSIGHTS

According to Alison there are more than 1,500 professional and social networking sites that feed Stratigens’ labour market data alone. It is critical for them to provide data from niche sites and regional sites to make sure they’re providing the most accurate picture of the talent supply and demand.

AE: “There are more than 32,000 different data points that feed our location and economics insights. Stratigens uses the very latest in machine learning to extract, categorise and label the data to avoid duplication, ensure accuracy and put it into a format that is easy to understand.”

But an organisation will often say that they use LinkedIn Insights… So what is different?

AE: “LinkedIn Insights is a great tool and used by many TA professionals to tactically inform hiring. At Stratigens we believe the impact of TI goes way beyond this application. TI can shape and inform organisation design and workforce planning; in other words, where to grow and consolidate, the shape and skills of a role as well as the footprint of different functions. TI can inform who to hire

from and can tell you about diversity of the external labour market at a role and location level to inform diversity, goal setting and strategy.

Magic happens when you combine internal and external data, your people analytics teams and work with Stratigens on mapped external data feeds to combine the two and creates more holistic solutions for clients.

We believe that to make good workforce planning decisions you need good data and you need to join the dots between the labour market, location and the economy. We join those dots in a way no other tool does. That’s why we refer to ourselves as a decision intelligence software app. So there is a big difference between LinkedIn Insights and a true talent intelligence application!”

There are more than 32,000 different data points that feed Stratigens’ location and economics insights.

DECISION INTELLIGENCE – YOU HAVE THE INTEL, NOW WHAT DO YOU DO WITH IT?

How decision intelligence is applied to the different stages of the hiring process is the ‘so what’, the reason that TI will not only give you a competitive edge over your competitors, but a contextual one, too.

There are tactical and strategic ways to leverage TI across the hiring process:

Stage Workforce planning

Application

Tactical use: By using data on the size of the labour pool, the make up of that pool in terms of years’ experience and skills, the demand for that pool companies can start to ensure growth or consolidation in areas where access to talent is going to be less difficult.

Strategic use: But only by combining the above data with data around locations, infrastructure, economics, tax and costs can workforce planning become strategic.

Stage Role design

Application

Tactical use: Recruiters can dynamically see what happens to the size of the pool as they add certain skill sets. This means they can sit with line managers and discuss the impact on hiring timelines, talent availability and salary.

Strategic use: Understanding the skills that reduce the size of a talent pool can be used to feed talent management and development programmes.

Stage EVP

Application

Tactical use: Using data on which companies in a location have the largest population of people, with the skills you need to hire, can lead to the build of competitor ‘battlecards’ for talent. Armed with fact sheet data on the competition, recruiters can use this during offer management to position your business in the best light.

Strategic use: Including data on locations, commute time, commute cost, cost-of-living and infrastructure (remote working spaces, broadband speed etc.) can feed into your working policy around hybrid, remote or office – a key part of decision making for all talent in today’s world.

Stage DE&I

Application Strategic use: Diversity of workforce is more important than ever today – we know diverse workforce produce better business results and more inclusive cultures.

Yet companies continue to set arbitrary targets for diversity. Stratigens shows the availability of diverse talent in the external market at a role and location level – so targets can be set at achieving at or above market availability.

Stage Job requisition / specification

Application

Tactical use: Recruiters can dynamically see what happens to the size of the pool as they add certain skill sets. This means they can sit with line managers and discuss the impact on hiring timelines, talent availability and salary.

Strategic use: Understanding the skills that reduce the size of a talent pool can be used to feed talent management and development programmes.

Stage Media planning and talent a�raction

Application Strategic use: Stratigens surfaces the source of profile data for every role in every location. This data shows the professional and social networking sites where we have identified profiles, and the top three. This data should be used by TA teams to determine where to focus media spend and sourcing time.

Stage DE&I

Application Tactical use: By seeing the top employers for roles in a location, a sourcing list is generated as key targets for a sourcing team to approach.

Stage DE&I

Application Strategic use: By understanding the average tenure and career moves for a role, companies can understand when they may have an attrition risk in their business. This data can be used as a preventive measure and form part of a wider talent management strategy.

Top tips for getting C-suite buy-in according to Ken Brotherston, CEO at TALiNT Partners

1. Demonstrate the relationship between skills, location and diversity in supporting the business strategy.

2. Highlight the cost of getting your talent strategy wrong/the benefits of getting it right.

3. Show that TI isn’t just a great tactical response to a hiring challenge but sits at the heart of long-term workforce planning.

Not sure where/ how to begin? Join TALiNT Partners, Stratigens and Toby Culshaw Global Head of Talent Intelligence at Worldwide Amazon Stores, Author of industry leading book Talent Intelligence and Founder of The Talent Intelligence Collective.

It’s important to note that it’s not just employers with skin in this particular game: staffing firms and talent solutions providers increasingly rely on talent intelligence and labour market analytics to determine their own approaches to how they can best help their clients, or indeed, even if they can help them at all.

Alex Evans, TALiNT Partners MD commented on the value TI adds to staffing firms. “Talent intelligence helps recruiters to add more value as strategic advisors by providing accurate labour market analytics to support their recommendations – and help clients build business cases for their solutions. It gives recruiters the insight to determine whether a project is worth taking on, or they have the capability to deliver, and to price talent solutions more confidently. It also gives recruiters the confidence to challenge their client’s workforce strategies and suggest new ones.”

It also gives recruiters the confidence to challenge their client’s workforce strategies and suggest new ones.

TALENT INTELLIGENCE WORKSHOP – learning together

TALiNT Parnters, Strategins and the Talent Intelligence Collective will be holding an interactive Talent Intelligence Workshop hosted by Toby Culshaw, Global Head of Talent Intelligence at Worldwide Amazon Stores. Toby, author of industry leading book ‘Talent Intelligence’ and Founder of The Talent Intelligence Collective will be leading the workshop with insight from Stratigens and TALiNT Partners.

“Building your organisation for the future market is a mindset and imperative for growth and sustainability. If you’re not doing this now using TI, then you’re on the backfoot,” said Toby.

Date: 21 June

Time: 8.30 to 17.00

Venue: The King’s Fund, London

The Talent Intelligence workshop, through bespoke exercises, keynote presentations from industry experts and peer discussions will set you on a unique learning pathway designed to enable you to build and maintain the Talent Intelligence strategy you need to make radically smarter decisions. Workshop themes include:

• How can you utilise Talent Intelligence to support strategic decision making?

• How to build a data driven approach, what is the C-suite looking for from TI?

• Best practice in using TI to support TA

• Optimising TI to achieve your DE&I goals

• Influencing outcomes, data visualisation, prioritising data sources and future trends

With a day packed full of interactive and peer-led discussions delegates will leave the session equipped with knowledge not only on how to use Talent Intelligence but also how to build the business case to get Talent Intelligence resources.

The faculty delivering the course have many years’ experience of coaching and advising HR, TI and TA leaders and have worked with some of the world’s most sophisticated users of talent intelligence. All delegates with receive:

• Toby Culshaw’s book – Talent Intelligence: Use Business and People Data to Drive Organizational Performance

• Workbook designed for the workshop for you to take away your learnings

• Workshop completion certificate

Places are limited for this workshop so register early to avoid disappointment. Register Now

Smarter foresight

What

Changing client and candidate expectations are transforming recruitment, so where are the best new opportunities for growth for recruiters and what will give them a competitive edge?

On 9th March, TALiNT Partners brought together 100 senior executives from the sector’s biggest and best staffing and talent solution firms to hear insights and predictions from a panel of industry leaders, experts, advisors and a renowned global futurist.

The first panel looked at the models and solutions recruiters should prioritise in 2023 and kicked off with Annelise Smith, MD of Lorien, which has invested heavily in its analytics advisory service. “Employers need to understand the market faster and with less resource,” she explained. “Insight is core to our business in helping employers understand where the right candidates are, what’s stopping people applying to them, or barriers in their process.

Clients aren’t looking for static retrospective data or time to hire anymore. They want data to support more agile tactical and strategic decisions about their internal workforce, external labour trends, demand planning or pay rates.

FUNDING GROWTH

As employer appetite increases for talent intelligence and a wider range of services, recruiters of all sizes are looking for funding solutions to build capability.

Sonovate has lent £2 billion to recruiters in the last eighteen months to help them develop and deliver new solutions like analytics - but which opportunities should they be investing in?

Mark Thompson, Group Head of Sales at Sonovate, highlighted some key findings from its recent Future World of Work report.

“With high inflation, low unemployment and rising wages, we’re seeing some key trends

converging to create new opportunities for recruiters,” he explained. “To attract and retain multi-generational workforces, including the over-fifties, employers and recruiters need to think about new models. More employees are looking at contracting opportunities as employers explore more flexible and outsourced options – so the future is a larger contingent workforce.”

Recruiters should be using talent intelligence to help employers build the business case for talent solutions and price their services more competitively. More accurate labour market analytics are also helping recruiters to identify niches they can grow into.

Talent Works is a market leader in content and employer brand services but has recently launched a contingent workforce solution for its mid-market niche. “Our RPO is for hiring sub-500, a space we have been successful in for some time,” explained CEO Neil Purcell. “The opportunity is for companies who may not have considered a different strategy, but they may have 10, 15 or even 20 suppliers putting in

contractors on crazily different pay rates. The audit and compliance capability supporting our solution de-risks that, but we also have more actionable data and insights to make better workforce decisions.”

Umbrella providers like the Parasol Group are levelling the playing field for staffing and talent solutions firms challenging the larger incumbents, particularly those targeting SMEs and mid-market clients, with compliance, payroll and onboarding services at scale.

“The legacy of the pandemic is both employers and recruiters treating contractors more like permanent employees as competition for talent has intensified,” said Parasol Group Key Account Director, Kieler Berry. “Umbrella companies need to add value beyond payroll, developing technologies and solutions to embed themselves in the onboarding process and make it more streamlined for recruiters to re-deploy contractors more quickly. We have developed a benefits package for contractors focusing on their health and wellbeing, which we offer to agencies to differentiate their service.”

More employees are looking at contracting opportunities.

Actionable insight tends to be the first piece.

Analytics are also helping recruiters with their employer brand and EVP offerings, as Neil Purcell explained. “Actionable insight tends to be the first piece in the jigsaw of any EVP project, whether it’s validation on process, role segmentation or translating employer brand for new markets. This helps to determine recruitment marketing tactics and the best media platforms to use – but you need a talent intelligence platform that pulls from multiple sources.”

TALiNT Partners recently announced its partnership with talent intelligence platform Stratigens to offer this capability to its recruiter network to help them determine whether projects are worth taking on or price solutions like train and deploy more confidently.

“More of our customers, particularly the larger end of the scale, are talking to us about how they can leverage train and deploy, which we’re pursuing actively within Lorien and across the Impellam Group,” said Annelise Smith. “This is a huge opportunity, where we can accurately price and help clients build the business case with analytics.”

GLOBAL GROWTH

Recruiters of all sizes are looking at funding solutions to capitalise on new opportunities, not just in terms of service but in new territories like the US.

“We fund around 3,000 agencies lending about 150million a month, and our fastest growing agencies in the mid-market or enterprise have opened an international office, principally in the US,” said Sonovate’s Mark Thompson. “We all know the US market is massive. The margins don’t really seem to have compressed as much as the UK, and if you can find the right niche then the potential for accelerated growth is huge. We’re seeing agencies in the US growing around 70% faster than businesses that aren’t.”

Why are more recruiters looking to expand into the US? “The US generates four times the revenue that the UK does, with higher

recruitment margins, but it’s also one of the most complex markets in the world to operate in,” said Amy Davis, MD of PGC Group. “It has a multi-dimensional tax and legislative system and you need to have the mindset that you’re entering 50 countries. The most successful agencies have gone in with a niche strategy and built up from there.

The impact of the pandemic on the US is that clients hire differently and talent is moving around more. Some states have introduced tax incentives so big companies are migrating from California and New York to Texas, Florida or Georgia. Talent has followed for higher salaries and lower income tax, so employers need to offer flexible and remote options. Pre pandemic, one in ten workers in the US were contractors. Now it’s one in five. So, there is major opportunity in the contract space in the US.

NES Fircroft has seen huge success with its global strategy and won the TIARA International Growth Award for the third time in a row last year. How has its strategy evolved, and where does it see the best prospects for growth?

“Back in 2009, NES was predominantly an oil and gas recruiter, but we have evolved, in line with our clients, as they look to reduce the environmental impact of traditional energy assets, as well as develop renewable energy sources,” explains Keith Jones, Sales Director EMEA at NES Fircroft. “About 90% of our business historically was contract, but we have moved to a more balanced business including a sizable permanent and managed solutions offering over the last decade.”

As legislation evolves, new markets are opening up. 6CATSPro covers 75 countries across the world helping clients including NES Fircroft to expand compliantly. “The countries that are the most difficult to get into are often the best for growth,” said MD Jon Clarke. “In terms of legislation, every country has its own version of IR35 or employment regulation with varying degrees of severity, for example, it’s a criminal offence to misclassify a worker in Germany. So it’s not just about finding the right workers and skills but helping to protect clients and

contractors, especially in DACH and Benelux, which offer growth opportunities.”

We’re definitely seeing more flexibility on where and how people work, and contractors delivering services remotely in places like Belgium, for example, where it would have been unheard of three or fout years ago. Now those same clients want hybrid for talent in different countries, which means having to think about right to work and dual tax treaties. Compliance is an important value add that recruiters can offer to manage these complexities.

Partnership is an important element in minimising risk and maximising reward, whether it’s funding, technology, compliance services, or talent intelligence.

The impact of the pandemic on the US is that clients hire differently and talent is moving around more.

PART TWO: THE FUTURE OF RECRUITMENT

After roundtable discussions to drill into themes from the first two panels, we kicked off the second half of the summit with an exploration of the new drivers of transformation in recruitment.

“If you look at the 20 biggest companies in the world at the beginning of the century, only one of them is still in the top 20; whereas in the recruitment industry, it’s 19 – so is it lacking in disruption or just really good at adapting to transformation?”, asked TALiNT Partners CEO Ken Brotherston. “Despite the ‘threats’ of job boards and LinkedIn, the industry has done very well to stay agile, but how will it adapt to AI and new client demands over the next decade?”

Mike McNally, Director Enterprise Solutions at Hays, predicted that recruiters will need to offer a much wider range of services – with RPOs already moving into BPO in response to demand.

“More providers are able to offer DEI, EVP, employer brand and train and deploy (T&D) services, with talent insight helping to

determine cost and benefit, and this is helping to change clients’ perception of recruitment as a more strategic service,” he observed, “but it all requires substantial investment, so you have to be confident in demand and be able to differentiate beyond price.”

ManpowerGroup has a wide range of offerings, but how does it manage the organisational complexity to join up teams and solutions? “We do it phenomenally well of course,” said Steph O’Connor, who heads up ManpowerGroup’s Centre of Recruitment Excellence (CORE). “As a global organisation, having a standardised platform is very important to get the right data and insight. The World Economic Forum reported last November that there will be 150 million new jobs in digital by 2025, and over 50% of the existing workforce will need to re-skill to fulfil demand. Our platform gives us the insight we need to develop solutions for these problems - not just in the UK, but globally.”

But are clients prepared to pay for BPO or a wider range of advisory services? “We’ve seen a 200% increase in demand for our train to fit programmes,” adds Steph, “but it’s less about

try before you buy and more a partnership with clients, candidates and other specialist training partners to be able to fulfil it.”

Rising demand for tech talent has driven more T&D solutions. NashTech, part of Nash Squared, provides outsourced tech development services, and its CEO Nick Lonsdale was asked how demand will evolve over the next few years. “What employers need now, and will continue to expect, is access to tech talent, certainty of outcomes and stable teams,” he explained. “They want a partner who understands their business and who can deliver success across different tech talent models. Long-term relationships with stable happy teams and candidates gives more certainty, and today no amount of money can buy time spent on re-building teams that have disintegrated.”

NashTech has made some strategic acquisitions to access tech talent to support its clients around the world. “Added to our 300 developers in India, we have 2,000 developers in Vietnam across three centres,” Nick added. “NashTech is the largest foreign-owned technology employer in that market; we’re not perceived as a

corporate, but we offer a great culture and real career development opportunities, leading to a lot of tech talent choosing us over sweating years in an uncertain start-up.”

ROLE OF TALENT TECH

What new drivers of transformati on are emerging, parti cularly with AI and automati on enabling new ways of working for recruiters and their clients?

“Our recruitment clients are asking us to help them sell a wider range of services to employers, but also deliver the experience their candidates want as well,” said Shaun Weise, VP Enterprise Internati onal at Bullhorn. “It’s addressing the basics to speed things up and keep people engaged. Like candidates being updated on applicati ons; being told why they didn’t get the job and highlighti ng other opportuniti es; prepopulati ng informati on to speed up compliance checks, assessment and onboarding. Automate the admin, enhance the human element and enable recruiters to differenti ate their service and approach.”

NashTech is the largest foreign-owned technology employer in that market.

“We will all have to be able to offer something unique to compete for clients and candidates,” predicted Mike McNally from Hays. “Whether it’s breadth of services or the ecosystem of partners that help you deliver them, we still need to demonstrate why we are the best at finding and placing the best talent.”

“Talent intelligence and partnerships that give us access to different locations, geographies and skill sets will become even more important because we can’t be specialists in all things on our own,” added Steph from Manpower. “Partnerships will help us add value by derisking for clients, with Statement of Work, or supporting with compliance services.”

So how are employer expectations changing and what does this mean for the future of recruitment?

Kathryn Herrington, CPO of SUSE, the global software solutions provider, has worked with inhouse teams and RPOs in her career running global teams in tech and financial services.

“What I’m looking for is horizon scanning, not necessarily ten years ahead because the pace of change for all of us is just so rapid,” she explained. “What is the market doing in 6, 12, or 18 months? What does our business need to do to get ahead of those talent challenges? I want my internal and external recruiters to be thinking strategically with me about how we are resourcing in an added value way, for cultural fit.”

DATA-LED BUSINESS CASES

But what are employers prepared to pay for higher value services and how are recruiters helping CPOs and CHROs to build the business case?

“The shift is linking it back to business outcomes and helping to demonstrate the ROI,” said Simon Wright, Global Head of Talent Advisory Consulting at Peoplescout. “Employer brand, EVP and DEI have moved from talent acquisition to the CHRO and the boardroom because the CEO needs to know how to get everyone in the organisation facing the same direction. It’s taking the conversation from tactical and demand led to strategic – and that requires talent intelligence. The CMO uses data and insight to present a business case, and recruiters can help CPOs to do that as well.

“We’ve got to be able to convert talent solutions language into the revenue conversation, like how IT supports transformation, so it’s not about how many candidates we generate but how it’s driving productivity and performance within the business.”

What part will recruitment tech play in the evolution of recruitment? “Candidates do want an element of self-service, and recruiters need

to provide the option, but as we learned from the banking sector and mobile apps it’s the customer service that differentiates,” said James Lawton, Enterprise Accounts at Mployee, which automates and integrates front, middle and back office for recruiters. “Ultimately, data quality and how it’s managed and optimised will be the new battleground to help candidates find the right recruiters - and the right roles find the right candidates.”

So what will tomorrow’s talent landscape look like and how can recruiters prepare for it?

“Employers have got to be more flexible about work patterns and work locations to attract and retain the right talent,” added Mployee’s James Lawton. “There are a lot of people over 50 who have stepped out of the market in this country who are brilliant but don’t want to work five days a week – and younger workers who want flexibility as well. Accurate data is key to finding and re-deploying the best candidates and contractors.”

The final piece of foresight came from our keynote speaker – renowned global futurist Rohit Talwar, CEO of Fast Future. Will AI pose an existential threat to recruiters?

“ChatGPT is only smart in the right hands,” he explained. “Recruiters need leaders who are able to use foresight and build teams with the right mindset. What we really need is people who have the capacity to think very flexibly. There’s a real opportunity to think differently about the talent we need and how we deploy it, whether it’s skills marketplaces, plural careers or pay as you go models. Just ask yourself, if you were designing a recruitment business for today’s market and what employers and candidates want, how would your model stack up?”

The future of recruitment is a more flexible, dispersed workforce and better use of talent intelligence to future-proof strategic decisions and build stronger business cases for new solutions. To successfully navigate rapid change and manage transformation, leaders need to know how to use insight and foresight to make better tactical and strategic decisions.

ChatGPT is only smart in the right hands.

O U R T E C H N O L O G Y W O R K S

H A R D F O R Y O U . A N D S O D O W E .

F o r u s , i t ' s a l l a b o u t l o n g - t e r m p a r t n e r s h i p s a n d s o l u t i o n s .

T a i l o r i n g o u r b a c k - o f f i c e , f u n d i n g a n d s u p p o r t s e c u r e l y ,

a l l o w i n g y o u t o s c a l e w i t h c o n f i d e n c e .

E a s y i n t e g r a t i o n w i t h l e a d i n g C R M & a c c o u n t i n g s o f t w a r e

F u l l y a u t o m a t e d t i m e s h e e t a u t h o r i s a t i o n s , i n v o i c i n g a n d p a y r o l l

1 0 0 % a c c u r a t e , d a i l y c o n t r a c t o r p a y r o l l – n o t i m e s h e e t d e a d l i n e s

C l i e n t d e b t r e p o r t i n g a n d c r e d i t l i m i t m a n a g e m e n t m a d e e a s y

1 0 0 % i n v o i c e f u n d i n g t a i l o r e d t o y o u r c l i e n t s – n o h i d d e n f e e s

O u r e x p e r i e n c e d , s e r v i c e - d r i v e n t e a m

k n o w t h a t w h e n o u r c u s t o m e r s s u c c e e d ,

w e d o t o o . W e ’ r e i n i t t o g e t h e r .

Perfect partners

3R is one of the most complete recruitment agency start-up providers in the UK offering a unique solution for top-billing recruitment consultants to experience all the financial benefits of owning a business, yet still experience the support and infrastructure that they would expect if they were working for an agency. With a dedicated focus on growing true partnerships with its clients, 3R is proving to be a small tech company that packs a big punch!

Having worked in the recruitment sector for over 12 years, Kim De’Ath is passionate about supporting new recruitment start-ups to launch and scale, as well as partnering with SMEs to deliver back-office technology and funding solutions.

DW: The market today is a challenging one with skill shortages and a apparent increase of employee expectations of their employer.

: Typically, in this kind of uncertain market, permanent recruitment struggles. Businesses are hunkering down and using the resources that they’ve got already within their organisation. So, often, what we see is that perm businesses can start to level out and go down slightly. This is something that clients with a perm-only offering should take into consideration.

DW: Does this mean that employers hire temp and contract workers to bridge that skills gap until the permanent market improves?

KD: Definitely. Contractors tend to do better in a recession, regardless of what is going on in

the industry and economic climate. There’s always pressure on businesses to source the right talent, particularly in highly skilled tech and stem sectors - where in those industries there is still a massive skills shortage.

DW: We keep talking about the recession that never comes, but the market is behaving as if we are in one with cost-of-living and inflation so high. How does 3R support its existing clients to manage these challenges?

KD: Recruitment is a people-led industry. We can bring out as much brilliant technology that we want to, but people are at the heart of it. The great thing about the tech we provide to our clients is that it does enable them to have clear visibility of real-time data in relation to their clients and their workforce. They can use that data to help make tiny changes, homing in on every single step to ensure you’re being as efficient as possible and cutting costs where you can without losing efficiencies. That’s something we’re good at it.

DW: Can you give an example of how tech enables you to help your clients?

KD: We’re supporting clients with monitoring the creditworthiness of their client base. From a compliance and risk point of view, it’s imperative that they’re working with businesses that are sustainable and can pay, as well as businesses that are growing. We’re doing more of a deeper dive on creditworthiness considering the current market.

DW: What sets 3R apart from its competitors?

KD: We’re in partnership with our clients and we’re experiencing clients coming to us from other providers who are looking for more support from experienced people operating and working within their industry. With 3R, we’re not just a random person at the end of the phone, we’re all wellestablished within the business and the majority of us have worked in recruitment as well. We have a deep understanding of the industry and offer our clients a true partnership. We’ve even attended board meetings with some clients!

The tech gives you more time and efficiencies within your business. It gives you automation, but relationships are key. The human touch element is so important. We are seeing a real shift in people moving across to work with us because they see value in that level of support and guidance that we can offer for no additional cost. It’s a premium service.

DW: What size of business would be your ideal client?

KD: Anything from start-up to SME, so it could be a business at the very beginning of their journey, and we are giving them the infrastructure to hit the ground running and create that level playing field within the market. We also partner with multimillion pound recruitment companies with 1,000 plus staff who are looking to grow and continue working with us.

We have a deep understanding of the industry and offer our clients a true partnership. We’ve even a�ended board meetings with some clients!

DW: Let’s talk about back office support and funding. Obviously, payroll is a very big and growing area. What is your view and your offering here?

KD: Well, we can be very flexible. So that’s a key a differentiator for us. Again we are a smaller business and have the ability to be flexible within the industry and move where our clients need us most. We provide a fully outsourced back office solution for businesses. It deals with the compliance and risk up front so we can ensure they are operating securely and safely, which is imperative to growth.

A big corporation could take a hit of somebody not paying an invoice, but for a small business, it will shut you down. So we really want our clients to be operate securely and safely, and we do a lot of analysis and work up front (on credit worthiness for example) before they even get to the placement stage, to help our clients to be in a position to work with the best of their sector, ensuring that not only the contractors and recruiters are paid, but that we are paid too. In the instances where aged-debt creeps in we provide real-time reporting and recovery.

DW: What role do women play in your company?

KD: We’re proud to be leading the way with women in technology and in STEM. Within our own business this strategy is reflected as well. We’ve got a 2:1 female to male ratio of senior members of staff within the company and a 50% female workforce.

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We’re proud to be leading the way with women in STEM.

Buzzing

Mervyn Dinnen, analyst, writer and WorkTech trends expert sat down with Debbie Walton, Editor at TALiNT International, to discuss the rise of “quiet hiring,” internal mobility and upskilling in talent acquisition. He also addressed the potential of the four-day work week and the significance of a culture of engagement in driving productivity. As a TIARA Talent Acquisition Awards judge, Mervyn is eager to see innovative approaches to hiring and improved candidate experiences.

TI: Last year the buzz phrase was “quiet qui�ng” but now it’s “quiet hiring”. Gartner has released its 9 Future of Work Trends for 2023 report; quiet hiring was top of the list. This trend supports upskilling and internal mobility. Do you think it’s something that will take off?

MD: I think it’s already taken off! For a few years now I’ve been writing about how internal mobility is a talent acquisition priority rather than an L&D or HR concern. The top thing people look for in a new employer is the opportunity to grow, develop and learn new skills, and there’s no better way of showing our people that we can meet their expectations and support them than by enabling them to learn and develop with us.

The top thing people look for in a new employer is the opportunity to grow, develop and learn new skills.

TI: There is a lot of buzz about the four-day working week. I’m not entirely sold on it. Do you think it will gain momentum and become the norm?

MD: I think we need to differentiate between those who have historically chosen to work a four-day week so that they have a free day for personal pursuits or caring responsibilities and hence earn 80% of their salary, and the more recent trialling of a four-day working week with five days’ pay to help improve employees’ mental, physical and intellectual wellbeing. If trials show that there is no drop in output or results from the latter, then I see no reason why it won’t become more widespread. Bearing in mind that there are some sectors and industries where this might not be possible.

TI: In the face of a four-day work week, and fewer productive hours in the week… In the UK, where work hours are high, but this doesn’t match economic output, what is the best way to support people and improve productivity?

MD: Through culture. I believe that a culture of engagement in which people feel supported and enabled, with access to tools and learning as and when they need it, should help drive retention and boost productivity.

TI: What technology do you think really supports TA teams, especially in times of crises we’re seeing now?

MD: It might yet be too early for meaningful results, but I suspect AI chatbots such as the ubiquitous ChatGPT will have a huge impact and will help teams in many ways. Access to talent analytics platforms is now crucial for making informed decisions. Any technology that can be used to help personalise the candidate experience, and keep people better informed about their application journey.

A culture of engagement in which people feel supported and enabled should help drive retention and boost productivity.

TI: Looking to the horizon, what can TA teams do to solidify their workforce planning strategies?

MD: Hiring must be aligned with business goals, so there needs to be a close cooperation with the rest of the organisation to understand and map both short- and long-term talent needs and gaps.

Also there needs to be close analysis of workforce data to identi fy what have been the most successful strategies and where others may have failed. Hiring processes should be streamlined, and predicti ve analyti cs streamlined used to help identi fy appropriate candidates and/or sources.

TI: You’ve previously been a judge at the TIARA Talent Acquisition Awards and are returning this year. What innovations/solutions do you predict to see in this year’s entries?

MD: I would expect to see an increase in the use of talent intelligence platforms and talent mobility platforms. Also, an increasing use of data/analytics platforms to help support decision making. I hope to see an increasing personalisation of the attraction and interview stage i.e. improving the candidate experience!

TI: What does being a judge at the TIARAs mean to you?

MD: It is an honour! It gives me the chance to see what new and innovative approaches TA teams are taking to help address their hiring challenges, and to understand what best practice currently looks like. It also means that I can help recognise and celebrate the achievements of all the hard-working recruiters in the UK!

TI: What do you think is the next buzz phrase we’ll be hearing as the year progresses?

MD: Career experience! The whole talent journey, from application to retention, through hiring, onboarding, development, mobility, wellbeing and support, will fall under the heading of career experience – and Head of Career Experience will be one the most sought-after roles!

Authentic framework

Multiple TIARA award winners, the Trinnovo Group, are best-in-class when it comes DE&I. They strive to create a fairer future for all by pu�ng diversity, equity and inclusion at the heart of everything they do. They sat down with TALiNT International to talk about their 2022 win at the TIARA Recruitment Awards and the people-first strategies that drive their organisation.

TI: Can you tell us more about the Trinnovo Group and how it integrates your staffing specialists and community groups to promote DE&I in the talent cycle?

TG: Our specialist staffing brands work closely with our communities to ensure that people from underrepresented backgrounds are given the opportunity they need to excel in the professional world. Diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEI&B) are vital components of our recruiting methodology and our vision for the future of the company. Through DEI&B, we can continue to reshape what recruitment can be and create a fairer future for all – in order to do this, every employee must embody the business values of passion, collaboration and innovation.

TI: How do you ensure that DEI&B are integrated at every stage of the talent cycle?

TG: For an authentic DEI&B framework to thrive, it must permeate every corner of an organisation. A DEI&B-led philosophy exists in our strategies, policies, products, and our people’s core values. It’s enabled through our people-first policies, employee engagement groups (EEGs), bias training, messaging, our communities and our advocates. We regularly host internal events to raise awareness for DEIB-related challenges, and to celebrate

excellence in underrepresented communities and demographics from around the world. DEIB is an integral part of our employee experience – our impact metrics help us hold ourselves accountable to our internal representation targets, illuminating areas for improvement as we look towards a fairer future.

TI: Can you discuss your unique approach to unlocking high performance through DEI&B initiatives and how it differs from other staffing agencies?

TG: Diverse teams represent the diversity of thought needed to solve tomorrow’s challenges. Not only are inclusive, psychologically safe teams happier, but they’re more productive. We recognise DEI&B as being both a moral and a business necessity, provided people are always put first. One of the ways we put this philosophy into practice is

through our vast community network – it enables us to help create opportunities for underrepresented groups while enabling our clients to access hard-to-reach talent. Our communities are safe spaces for people to form meaningful connections, meet with leaders and decision makers and gain valuable insight into the latest industry trends. We make this possible by hosting events all over the world, from interview workshops to panel discussions, hackathons and more.

TI: How do you work with clients to understand their DEI&B goals? How do you tailor your solutions to meet their specific needs?

TG: Our specialist consultants are equipped with the training, tools and passion needed to offer clients actionable advice on how to improve their existing DEI&B framework. We also have a full-service in-house business consultancy that can provide our clients with the support they need to create and sustain more inclusive cultures, implement a DEI&Bled strategy and successfully attract and retain their staff. Our community networks also provide us with constant updates, insights and answers into the latest trends, enabling us to take a proactive approach to support the needs of our clients’ DEI&B goals.

TI: Do you use Talent Intelligence in order to improve and evolve your DE&I strategies? How?

TG: We’re a data-driven business. From our personalised KPIs to our long-term targets and DEIB strategy, progress is only possible when you can measure it – our evolution and progression depend on it. Our talent database is highly detailed, and it allows us to uncover areas of improvement that align with our five-year strategy.

TI: How do you measure the effectiveness of your DE&I initiatives and their impact on client organisations?

TG: We have established a set of transparent key metrics to hold ourselves accountable to our word and our mission progress. These key metrics are diversity, partnerships, thought leadership, organic growth and customer engagement. We established these areas to help us track where exactly our business is making an impact, and where we could be improving. These key metrics act as the pillars that support our mission, enabling us to track and benchmark progress across both our internal workforce and our external placements. We share these results with our clients to ensure that we remain transparent at all times.

For an authentic DEI&B framework to thrive, it must permeate every corner of an organisation.

TI: You openly publish your DE&I progress in your impact report. Do you find that leading by example has encouraged your clients to do the same?

TG: Our impact report has given our clients the confidence that with SMART targets, we can all move in the right direction. Most clients will be doing something similar already, and this will just back that up for them. All of our recruitment consultants are equipped to support clients with developing a more inclusive, candidate-ready workplace. We encourage clients to make decisions that will impact their people for the better, and that means helping them evolve their DEIB strategy alongside their growing headcount.

TI: In 2022, the Trinnovo Group won the Workwell Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at the TIARA Recruitment Awards. What did winning mean to you?

TG: We were over the moon to win the Tiara’s Workwell Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Award in 2022! As a passionate, purpose-driven business, receiving recognition through the prestigious award meant the world to us – it’s an achievement we’re incredibly proud of, and it’s a superb motivator for all of our extraordinary people who continue to represent the values we stand for, day in, day out. We recognise the responsibility that comes with winning this award, and it’s one we’re striving to take on and continue into the future.

It’s not funny, it’s inclusion!

Back in 2003 I was Chairman of a recruitment company called Morgan McKinley. The MD and I gave an interview to Recruitment International (yes, the forerunner to TALiNT Internaional). Here’s what we said about our approach to ways of working:

“We appreciate that to get the best from our people we have to be open to the ways in which they want to work and the environment in which they operate. This is why we encourage diversity and continual self-development.

Sabbaticals, flexible hours and remote working are actively encouraged. We don’t want to miss out on great people just because they would rather not work five days a week.”

And indeed since then, I have tried to keep up with the times regarding inclusion with varying degrees of success. At TALiNT Partners we had a distributed and flexible approach to work before the pandemic, our social interactions aren’t just based around alcohol consumption

and at the beginning of this year we introduced a Weekly Pulse survey which is a great way of checking in with the team on how they are feeling about things.

Pretty forward thinking (if I say so myself), but my recent experience at Boston’s Logan Airport was a salutary lesson in how things evolve and that, personally, I still have things to learn.

I have to confess, my first reaction to seeing ‘doggie rest rooms’ was along the lines of ‘what

on earth is the world coming to’ and ‘do we really need toilets for guide dogs?’ But as I walked towards my gate I saw a couple of young people with their service dogs. One young woman was struggling, and her service dog was clearly having a calming and positive effect.

And then it struck me: being airside you can still be affected by delays and having somewhere for dogs to do their business is actually pretty important. These facilities make absolutely no difference

This is why we encourage diversity and continual self-development.

to anyone else’s experience at the airport and were a great example of a practical response to help people who would ordinarily find it incredibly difficult to travel.

Contrast this with the recent furore over Budweiser’s campaign featuring Dylan Mulvaney. The comparison I would make is that engaging with underrepresented communities needs to be about so much more than a photo opportunity. The Budweiser campaign seems to say nothing more than ‘Hey, trans people can drink beer too’ which a) we all know already, and b) seems to trivialise the many real issues that group have in trying to live their day-to-day lives.

For employers, improving inclusion is not about high-profile campaigns, but rather in addressing the mundane but often complex issues of helping people find and keep a job they enjoy. Things such as flexible working, better understanding of childcare challenges, more awareness of the impact of menopause or the challenges of getting older people back into work or the challenges of young people finding decent housing don’t really make for great headlines but, like our canine companions having access to facilities when they need them, it can make such a difference to your ability to retain the talent that you need.

seems to trivialise the many real issues that group have in trying to live their day-to-day lives.

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