Recruitment

Happy Friday y'all!

So this is the second installment in who knows really around Talent Acquisition Transformation; something both very close to my heart and currently in play in my world.

The first part covered what might go wrong during TA transformation; poor leadership, lack of direction or even a disconnected exec/leadership group.

What comes next? Post-it notes and marker pens? Excel project plans? Nope. For me let us take a step back before we actually "do" anything. Mindset; yes you read that correctly. Mindset.

Sadly this article is not about the Transformers. Sorry.

It is about something not as exciting but maybe just as important.

We are seeing more and more organisations looking to “transform” their Talent Acquisition/Resourcing functions, either as part of a wider HR/People programme or maybe simply wanting to try a new piece of tech.

Having been through a few (and still going strong on the current one) I thought I would share a few bits of insight that might assist others, starting with today…why can a transformation often go wrong?

In under 12 months from now, it’s 2020, when all those surveys and white papers that we have read will supposedly come to fruition…yet it’s all feeling very “samey” isn’t it?

It scares me sometimes when I think about the big decisions I’ve made on gut feel and will probably continue to make relying on my instincts.

How many research papers do we need to read or edicts from top class CEOs before we get the message that in every organisation, it all comes down to the people?

One of the challenges involved in building a high performing team is selecting the right people. You can’t build a high performing team with low performing people so who you let into your organisation matters. It is arguably one of the most important decisions you make especially if your team is small.

Hiring someone is supposed to give your team (and you) a great level of capability. You should be able to deliver more. But if you get it wrong and hire the wrong person you will create management challenges that take up your time rather than ‘free up’ your time. 

The traditional role of the CISO is changing.

It is being challenged by emerging new regulations such as GDPR, which are impacting all industry sectors, and the arrival on the scene of the new role of the DPOin many firms.

Once upon a time, ATS systems stored millions of stale resumes of any candidate that happened to cross its path. When new roles opened and well-meaning human beings attempted to apply or refer, these systems would mostly say, “Resume already exists in database.” If one were lucky, the ATS would say, “Hey! New resume. Let me replace the old one” and if luck had truly run out, it would save two versions leaving the poor recruiter confounded. Then suddenly, GDPR happened.

The jobs market is flooded with embellished CVs, fake references and dirty data. 86% of employers have uncovered lies or misrepresentations on a resume, and the other 14% presumably don’t look hard enough. Candidate verification is expensive and slow for the recruiter, and off-putting for the candidate – hence why we are witnessing an upsurge in movements like Hiring Without Whiteboards, and a disdain for HR and recruiters in general.