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Why would anyone want to work for you?
If you want to ensure that you can attract the best people, before you start putting out ads or hiring third party recruiters, ask yourself this question. "Why would anyone want to work for you?"Hiring new staff is a risky, expensive and time consuming business, especially in a downturn. Recruiting the right kind of employees can either make or break your employer brand. So, how do you ensure that you have a motivated and productive talent pool working for your organisation? It always pays to remember, even in a buyers market, that the recruitment process is a two-way street, and there are some important issues that everyone needs to consider about the quality and constitution of our available workforce now and in the future.
Our employment challenges
- The number of available younger people is falling dramatically - the demographic time bomb we have in the UK (i.e. we have more people retiring than we have younger people to work and pay taxes) is scarily close to detonation. In Europe in 1940, 48% of the workforce was under 30, whereas that number had dropped to 22% by the year 2000. By 2030, it is estimated that 34% of the working population will be over 50 and less than 20% under 30. The number of young people currently classed as NEET's in the UK (Not in Employment or Education) stands at 1.24m - that's a terrific waste! What is the age profile of your organisation? Is it well balanced or a time bomb?
- More women are working - thirty years ago 15.4 million men were in work in the UK and only 9.4 million women. Now, there are still 15.4 million men in work but the number of women in work has shot up to 13.2 million. It means paying more attention to flexible working arrangements and getting access to reliable childcare without compromising our childrens' future. How parent friendly is your working culture?
- Skills shortages - literacy levels continue to be a problem; recent research showed that IT graduates are more likely to struggle to find new jobs than any other group; we don't have enough maths and science teachers to fill the number of posts required in schools to lead our next generation of talent; many highly qualified women struggle to get back into the workforce after a career break; over 2000 people in the UK are made redundant every working day; experienced managers, professionals and eExecutives often fail to find suitable jobs after they have been made redundant. Are you really looking for talent in the right places? Could your company be building networks with local schools, colleges, business and parenting groups?
- Logistical and environmental considerations - our national transport infrastructure is inadequate and we need to cut down carbon emissions, yet too few companies have an enlightened attitude towards facilitating remote working for their staff. Do you allow flexible working contracts and remote working or operate a car pool?
- Changing attitudes to work - a study by the Prudential found that 17 million Britons (61% of working adults) would happily give up money and material wealth for a better lifestyle, whether it be to get away from city life, find a more fulfilling career, or build a new life abroad. Those most likely to be seeking a change are aged 35 to 44 with children, in well paid jobs and with a home. A third of workers said that money was not their key motivator and a good work-life balance is the most important aspect of any job for a quarter of the nation. Are you in tune with today's changing attitudes? Are candidates turned on or off by your culture? Download a copy of the Happiness 2007 Index courtesy of Chiumento at the bottom of the page.
- New staff are more likely to quit - employees are twice as likely to quit their job if they have been with the company for less than two years, according to new research by Sirota Survey Intelligence (which is pretty consistent with the findings of a similar survey carried out by the CIPD). The survey of 47,000 employees showed that 60% of all workers that leave an organisation within any given year, have been there for less than two years. "During the first two years on the job, employees are confirming that their actual jobs meet their expectations, as well as those that their employers led them to believe during the recruitment process. It is commonly estimated that it costs one and a half times the salary of a departing employee to replace him or her when factoring in recruitment and training costs and lost productivity". Robert Half Finance and Accounting put the average cost of replacing an employee at £8,200. If you've gone to a lot of trouble to hire someone, at least make sure that you look after them when they arrive. Induction programmes can be either non-existent, only consist of a basic 'tea and toilets' routines or an HR department 'death by Powerpoint' experience. How good is your induction process?
- Recruitment standards - recruitment company Jobsite reported, that the British jobs market is hampered by lazy and unimaginative recruitment methods, bad interviewing techniques and candidates failing to be completely truthful. In two thirds of all cases, personality differences and clashes in cultural fit were the key reasons for someone leaving. Job interviews too often created a disconnect between employers and candidates with 54% of job seekers complaining of not receiving enough information from employers to make informed decisions about a company or a position. More than a quarter said that employers asked too few questions, used an often inappropriate 'one size fits all' methodology, and 91% admitted to answering questions according to what they thought employers wanted to hear. The consequence is that candidates fail to to understand the roles they are applying for and their own workplace desires, and employers routinely have a false impression of candidates. Effective recruitment training is not a luxury, it is a necessity and the cost of providing it will pay for itself many times over. Do you train your managers to recruit effectively?
What does your organisation really have to offer a new hire?
All of these issues mean that the organisations and companies that manage new employees constructively, offer innovative compensation packages, invest in their recruitment processes, offer effective induction procedures, training opportunities and continuing professional development, allow flexible working scenarios, have a mature attitude to corporate social responsibility and a culture that encourages innovation and success, will win out over those that don't. So, how does your company stack up?
Having worked in marketing for many years, examining the way that customer insight can be used to build successful brands and profitable customer relationships, I can see that the organisations that adapt this type of approach and apply it in a strategic way to building profitable relationships with employees - both current and prospective - will be the more successful ones.
Good marketing professionals sell pertinent values and benefit packages to customers. They attempt to deliver their products and services through the channels that the customer requires. They anticipate their needs (and many they might not have known they could have), they pay attention to the detail of every aspect of the customer experience, they get feedback, they monitor the key indicators of acquisition, retention and profitability to see if it's working. They don't rest on their laurels, and they don't let their competitors steal their best customers. The same principles can and are increasingly being applied to employee management.
As I work with different companies running training and development programmes, it doesn't matter what the topic is, people issues are always top of the list of concerns. Amazingly, the solutions that we generate applying marketing concepts rather than a more traditional HR approach, are generally the ones that work the best. There is nothing sophisticated about it, it's not rocket science and it isn't about feather bedding employees or creating a culture that rewards difficult and demanding divas. Managing people well today simply needs a more creative approach.
So, what can you do?
- Start by being honest about about your attractiveness as an employer - not just as regards pay, but other aspects of your proposition such as your location, your values, training policies and the culture of your working environment. It may be a buyers market at the moment but that doesn't mean that talented people will accept being short changed.
- Understand your processes and deliver what you say you will - having a 'Investors in People' or 'Times - Best Company to work for' plaque above the doorway just isn't enough. You have to live it like you mean it.
- Listen to your own staff - good management consultants will often tell clients that their staff often already know the answers when it comes to improving performance. They sometimes just don't think that they have the permission or credibility to say or do anything about it.
- Finally, be passionate about success and excellence - Sir Philip Green says "Successful companies have parties. Unsuccessful ones have meetings". What do you have? Is it working? Cross your heart and hope to die? Or, could it be better? Make sure that your company isn't prime fodder for a Dilbert or an Alex cartoon but a fantastic organisation that people are proud to work for.
If you know that your organisation needs to change but doesn't know how to go about it or even where to start, just contact us for a no obligation discussion. We'd be very happy to help.
Happy hunting!
Janet Davies
Editor and founder
The New Life Network
Happy hunting!
Janet Davies
Editor and founder
The New Life Network
Directory
 | Recruitment and Employment Federation Code of Practice 2006 - 194kb Download this file |
| Happiness_at_work_index_2007.pdf - 452kb Download this file |
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