Blueprint for success

The first PointSix event of 2022 explored the talent challenges and solutions that will enable recruiters and RPOs to differentiate and prosper this year

As skills and talent shortages continue to drive recruitment demand, the question for recruiters is not simply how long will high demand last, but how quickly will training and technology transform the industry to solve the skills crisis?

On the 27th of January, TALiNT Partners and Odro co-hosted the first PointSix event of the year in Manchester, bringing together 30 staffing and talent solutions leaders to debate some key questions. How are they attracting and retaining their own top performers to supply their clients with the talent they need? How can they differentiate as both an employer and partner of choice to capitalise on market opportunities? What new models and services will support more profitable growth this year? And what part will technology play?

Adoption of AI, automation and a range of talent tech solutions has sky-rocketed in the last two years but recruiters and RPOs have also demonstrated new value.

“We are not automating away the recruiting function – quite the opposite,” commented HR industry analyst Josh Bersin at the end of 2021. “Recruiters have shown the value they bring in understanding cultural fit, adjacent candidate skills, pay equity and refining job specs with hiring managers. They are the tip of the spear of all these HR practices.”

This is borne out by two new reports from TALiNT Partners which ranked the top 500 UK staffing firms by turnover (Recruitment Power List) and benchmarked some of the world’s top RPOs (Talent Solutions Power List).

The total turnover of the top 500 recruiters in 2020 was £36.8bn, down only 10% from £40.8 billion in 2019, as they offered new services including RPO and MSP (which saw 25% and 13% growth respectively according to the WEC).

Asked what their clients most value and what they expect to see more demand for, 79.4% of

Alex Evans Managing Director TALiNT Partners the benchmarked talent solutions providers said Assessment and Deployment of Technology, followed by Screening and Assessment (76.1%), and Employer Brand and Candidate Attraction (74.5%).

PROFITABLE GROWTH

This was explored further in a panel that looked at the risks and rewards of new talent solutions models. Debbie Davenport, Executive Director of award-winning RPO / MSP provider, Rullion, explained that the key to profitability is taking a commercial view over the lifetime of contractual agreements, fully understanding the level of investment required, and identifying opportunities for additional services – which can enhance your core offering and provide additional sources of revenue from new and existing customers.

“Price will certainly be a key contributor to success, so work closely with your finance team so the business case for investment is made in line with the expected returns,” she explained. “Utilise a range of market indicators to ensure you are well positioned to spot growth waves such as modular, on-demand talent solutions accelerated by the pandemic as customers seek ‘plug and play’ resourcing models that will give them more agility, flexibility, scalability and cost benefit.”

David Lynchehaun, Group Sales Director of Morson Group - which won Best New Talent Solution Provider at the 2021 TIARA Talent Solution Awards – observed that D&I services are a basic requirement from clients who expect more diverse pools of candidates – but demand is growing for more support around inclusion and retention of talent.

This latter point was echoed by Louise Shaw MCIPD, Director of Resourcing Transformation at Omni, which was Highly Commended for Tech Transformation at the 2021 TIARA Recruitment Awards. A former inhouse recruiter, she observed that internal mobility and upskilling are priorities

for clients who are looking for partners who can help with skills-mapping and training – of both permanent and contingent workers.

Train and Deploy is addressing talent shortages and creating a major new opportunity for recruiters and RPOs. “Time to skill is becoming as important as time to hire as a measure of success,” commented Martin Ewings, Brand Director at Experis, who observed that candidates are being trained, upskilled and engaged as employees and offered careers with client partners.

BEST RECRUITMENT COMPANY TO WORK FOR

To adapt to these new client demands, recruiters and RPOs must find, keep and develop their own talent.

Kate McCarthy-Booth, founder and chair of McCarthy Recruitment, has won numerous best place to work awards, attained Investors in People Gold and announced an MBO just as COVID-19 hit. Commenting on the LinkedIn stat that twice as many recruiters are looking for experienced consultants and fewer are recruiting from outside the industry, she said: “For me, a degree is not important and neither is a specific background. We have always hired on skills and attitude, with training to hone their approach and coaching to help them become better managers and leaders, which ultimately made an MBO an option.”

Alison Humphries, an award-winning NED, board advisor and executive coach to recruitment leaders, observed that founders and CEOs who had a crisis plan before the pandemic were able to respond quickly and fairly. The best had then taken the time to find out who their top performers were - and how they contributed value beyond sales.

“Business leaders have to genuinely understand and integrate marketing and tech to their offering and this, in turn, was part of their own offering to attract staff. Those who enhanced

Martin Ewings Brand Director Experis

Debbie Davenport Executive Director Rullion

Kate McCarthy-Booth Founder & Chair McCarthy Recruitment their company brand and built relationships during hiring freezes are the ones who are growing the business.”

Video technology has helped consultants to build and enhance their own personal brands whilst automating more personalised touchpoints throughout the recruitment process to keep candidates engaged. Ryan McCabe, CEO of Odro, explained that video technology has evolved to scale the human touch, to reduce drop-offs and no shows and to help recruiters create better connections with their candidates and clients.

“Being able to scale personalisation enables larger recruiters and RPOs to keep candidates engaged throughout the process, while also freeing up consultants to build better relationships and gather greater insight for clients,” he commented. “Using video to enhance your process, from the first touchpoint onwards, can really help you humanise your recruitment at scale – both from a brand perspective and instantly improving the experience for candidates and clients as you move through the different stages of the hiring process.

“It also provides data to remove barriers to diversity, with recruiters able to monitor which videos hiring managers have given most and least attention to.”

So what were the key takeaways from this PointSix session? Employers are looking for recruitment partners who can add more value around choosing and deploying the right technology, whether its video interviewing solutions like Odro, D&I tools or solutions for monitoring performance and wellbeing.

As employers prioritise the retention of key talent, they are also looking for support with internal mobility, skills mapping and upskilling.

A focus on these areas should become the blueprint for success for agencies looking to enhance their service offering in 2022.