Feature insight - talent management
The philosophy of hiring talent
Lisa Gillespie, human resources director at Moorepay, discusses our soul, our nature, our motivation, and offers advice and ideas
T hose of you who have read previous articles will know I believe nothing is really new in this world and that frequently I draw from history in my approach to human resources topics. On this occasion I am going to refer to Plato’s philosophy that human beings have a ‘tripartite soul’, in which the individual human psyche is noticeably composed of three aspects: ● wisdom/logic ● spirited/will, and ● appetite/desire. There are some quite complex constructions behind this philosophy; however, in the simplest interpretation, human nature and what motivates us to excel can be linked to our desire for learning and rational systems in any society or organisation, the motivation to pursue tangible goals and the appetite to achieve them. How does this assist in attracting and growing the best talent in candidate- driven markets? Well, let’s start with attracting them. It is probably fair to say that the digital world is the market stall for most companies whether it’s advertising positions or searching for suitable candidates. There are some interesting studies on how we attract talent. One I recently saw stated that company careers pages achieved only around 5% conversion rate to hiring. There will be several reasons for this, such as difficult-to-navigate web pages, to onerous online application processes, but the starting point is to play to human nature and make your roles stand out; we humans love shiny objects. Just re-naming the page ‘careers’ as opposed to ‘jobs’ is a good starting point –
decreased in our digital world to around ten to fourteen minutes.
there is a difference! And before getting to the nitty-gritty of the role, what about the whole experience of working for your organisation? Why would anyone want to pursue the opportunity?
Attention span and momentum Having attracted candidates, bear in mind that unless you keep them up to date on their application, you may well lose out to an organisation with a more intuitive hiring process. I always recommend keeping third party recruiters on their toes. Set clear service level agreements and make sure short-listing and interviews maintain a healthy momentum. I would ensure candidates and recruiters have clear dates throughout the recruitment process. This serves a dual purpose as the recruiter needs to keep the pace up and communicate quickly to organise interviews and the candidate, and helps the candidate mentally prepare for a proposed start date. Thinking through logistics, changes to routine and what the opportunity entails is all part of building enthusiasm for succeeding in the application. n Advice Whilst the General Data Protection Regulation means we have to rethink how we retain candidate data, there is nothing wrong in expressly gaining consent from unsuccessful candidates to retain their data for a longer period if you have gotten them genuinely fired-up about working for you. This is a great way to build networks and a succession of talent in the market – link with them on professional websites, keep in touch and let them know when new opportunities are arising. Remember that humans are sociable creatures and we love to network.
...linked to our desire for learning and
Apply the philosophy How is the motivation and appetite to pursue the opportunity articulated – sell your role. What is life like at your company? Why should candidates be excited about the role? Are your company values resonating with the talent pool you are targeting? What learning and rational systems (career paths) will the candidate understand from your advertisement i.e. what is the culture like and have you asked employees for testimonials? Their career journeys? What challenges will stretch interested candidates? Do you have progression to tangible goals and are these clear in the role description? Whether you choose to attract candidates directly or use third party websites/recruiters, all the above applies. When using third parties make sure they don’t saddle your candidates with an online process which takes more than ten minutes. The average attention span has rational systems in any society or organisation...
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Issue 41 | June 2018
| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward |
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