Inspiraঞon
Carmen Watson, Pertemps D&I has never been so criঞcal to our industry. It’s
crucial to the UK’s economic recovery, and for those hardest hit by the pandemic. Plus recruiters want to be seen as important in helping clients achieve their strategic objec ves – and many clients now have this as their number one on their agenda. There is no point having unrealisঞc targets. We take a simple approach, working very closely with clients and focusing on three basic ques ons: what’s the current challenge, what does good look like and what can we jointly commit to. It’s all about communica on and ac on – ensuring the client’s workforce mirrors the local
www.rec.uk.com
RM_Jan_Feb-NEW.indd 7
community in which they operate. You need to train and support your consultants so they know what’s expected of them. It’s where the next big challenge lies, as recruiters’ involvement can’t stop at the placement. The added value we can offer is to ensure clients genuinely understand the concept of inclusivity, otherwise the successful candidates don’t stay and you’re back to square one. We need to expand into progression and reten on. It sঞll has to be about finding the best person for the job, but how do you know you’ve got them unless you pull from the widest possible talent pool?
Q&A
What I know
Behind the scenes with REC Professionals on diversity and inclusion
Graham Brown, Forces
Recruitment Services Why do ex-military personnel make good hires?
The values drilled into them: loyalty, integrity, a can do a tude, leadership, management. Taking a topical example, they are what makes it possible to build seven Nigh ngale hospitals in 10 days.
So why can it be challenging to get a job on civvy street?
It’s easy to match skills when you’re talking about engineering, logis cs and leadership, and military qualifica ons can now be mapped across to their civilian equivalents. But an infantryman, without a trade skill, can find it all
a bit bewildering – they need help to see what they can bring to a new role. A lot of it boils down to joining the dots on transferable skills. On the employer side, those who get it, get it. But there’s a big educa on piece needed to help buy-in become much more mainstream. I’m a firm believer that behaviours should be a bigger factor in hires, than always just looking for the closest match on skills. It might take a few months to train someone up in exactly what you require, but the grounding they’ve had and the behaviours they demonstrate can make them the best hire for the long term.
January - February 2021 Recruitment Ma ers
7
13/01/2021 15:28