Recruitment

23 05 2023

UK firms recruit skilled workers from Africa and Asia

Matthew Pinto-Chilcott Blog, General, Recruitment, Rewards & Benefits #outsourcedhumanresources, #outsourcing, #skilledworkers, brexit, Business, Business Owners, HR, HR Advice, HR Consultant, HR Consultants, HR Support, outsourcedHR, Small Business, SME, SME's

Figures seen by Sky News show that UK firms are recruiting skilled workers from Africa and Asia to plug staff shortages. Since January 2021, the new post-Brexit migration system has made it easier for workers outside of Europe to enter the UK. India, South Africa, and Ghana are among the countries that are having success with the new skilled visa route. Businesses are making use of the new post-Brexit migration system to bring in IT professionals, nurses and accountants. The data, which was obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, suggests that businesses are willing to absorb the cost of sponsorship to secure the talent they need, even though the fees levied by the Home Office are high. Louisa Cole, principal associate at Eversheds Sutherland, observed: “Since the UK exited lockdown, we have seen skills shortages exposed and businesses look overseas for talented workers to plug the gaps revealed . . . We knew that UK businesses leaned on international talent, but since leaving the EU many have looked further afield than the EU as freedom of movement ended.” She added: “In some respects there is now a level playing field for those outside of the EU when coming to the UK . . . This has been evident in the likes of the financial services sector where UK firms have brought more talent from countries such as India, China, Nigeria and South Africa post-Brexit.”

Sky News

Our Comments: UK firms recruit skilled workers from Africa and Asia

Matthew Pinto-Chilcott, FCIPD, ACEL, Owner of Consensus HR comments: “This is an interesting article from Sky News and the information they gained under the Freedom of Information Act. Brexit has caused many problems with recruitment for employers and especially areas such as Hospitalities and retail who the option of sponsorship and the costs involved is not a suitable resolution. This article really highlights the importance of looking after your team and retaining talent within the business through successful HR best practice and legal procedures. However, it does not mean though that unproductive team members should be retained if a company has tried to get the best from them through development and other best practice / legal processes.”

IF your company wish to look at your current HR recruitment / retention processes, give us a call today.

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YOUR OUTSOURCED HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT.

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10 05 2023

NHS plans apprenticeship scheme

Matthew Pinto-Chilcott Blog, General, Recruitment #outsourcedhumanresources, Business, Business Owners, HR, HR Advice, HR Consultant, HR Consultants, HR Support, outsourcedHR, Recruitment, Small Business, SME, SME's

Long-term risk to London’s economy from reduced office interactions

The NHS plans to address staff shortages by launching a post-A level apprenticeship scheme that would allow one in 10 doctors and a third of nurses to start work without a traditional medical degree. The scheme, which could begin this autumn, is part of a wider workforce strategy aimed at finding new ways to train and recruit healthcare workers. The “medical doctor degree apprenticeship” would involve the same training and standards as traditional education routes, with the key difference being that apprentice medics will be put on the wards almost immediately, working under supervision and being paid. Amanda Pritchard, the head of the NHS, said: “This radical new approach could see tens of thousands of school-leavers becoming doctors and nurses or other key healthcare roles, after being trained on the job over the next 25 years.” However, some medics have raised concerns that the scheme could create a “two-tier system,” with apprentice degrees being seen as “lesser.”

The Daily Telegraph

HR Comment: NHS plans apprenticeship scheme for doctors and nurses

Matthew Pinto-Chilcott, FCIPD, ACEL, Owner of Consensus HR comments: “This is a very interesting new way of filling the current gaps that exist within the NHS in general at the moment and we are all for, finding new ways to develop employees with the skills required for the role but past experience has shown that Apprenticeships dependent on the business you work for can have varying ranges of success. This will need to be managed correctly and not used as a way to get professional NHS workers on the cheap as it could end up as an hinderance to the rest of the NHS team and patients rather than a help! Apprenticeships are a great scheme if the business owners and management teams ensure they are correctly developed in the Apprentices chosen areas with the skills experience and qualifications required to fulfil the role going forward.

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YOUR OUTSOURCED HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT.

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04 05 2023

Checking a job applicant’s right to work

Matthew Pinto-Chilcott Blog, Employment Law, General, Recruitment #outsourcedhumanresources, #outsourcing, #recruiting, #righttoworkuk, Business, Business Owners, HR, HR Advice, HR Consultant, HR Consultants, HR Support, Small Business, SME, SME's

A news article by the CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development) and Gov.uk shows that following an increase in immigration offences by gig workers in the region, Home Office teams have stepped up action to tackle illegal working and this week arrested drivers working for companies including Deliveroo, JustEat and UberEats.

The arrests were for offences including illegal working and possession of false documentation, but the operation also led to the seizure of weapons and cash suspected of being linked to criminal activity.

Immigration Enforcement carried out extensive intelligence-gathering ahead of the operation, to identify hotspots for illegal moped delivery drivers. Alongside relevant police forces, the Home Office deployed officers on 6 consecutive days (16 to 21 April), to make the arrests and detentions.

The government is clamping down on illegal working to ensure all companies and workers are contributing to the UK economy by complying with our tax and other regulations. More widely, it can also be a pull factor for illegal migration, often trapping vulnerable people in poor conditions and exploitation while undermining the UK’s labour market.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman said:

“Illegal working damages our communities, cheats honest workers out of employment and defrauds the public purse. As the Prime Minister has set out, we are committed to going further and faster to prevent the abuse of our laws and borders.”

“The British public deserve a labour market that is fair and honest and must have confidence that goods and services they buy are from legitimate businesses.”

Of those arrested, 44 were detained by the Home Office, pending their removal from the UK, with the remaining 16 being released on immigration bail. It is also expected that a number of the arrests will result in voluntary departure from the UK.

The majority of offenders were of Brazilian nationality. Indian and Algerian nationals were also found to be working without the right to do so in the UK.

Following thorough searches of properties linked to the arrests, imitation firearms and other weapons were found, while over £4,500 was seized under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

Director of Enforcement, Compliance and Crime, Eddy Montgomery, added:

“This is a really positive result and shows why the work we do is so important”.

“By raising awareness of the risks and consequences of illegal working, we are helping ensure businesses are complying with the rules. Our enforcement teams are working around the clock to deter immigration offending and change behaviours that compromise public safety.”

Lessons for employers

Employers can be jailed for five years and pay an unlimited fine if they are found guilty of employing someone they knew or had “reasonable cause to believe” did not have the right to work in the UK. This is why it is so important for employers to conduct full and thorough right to work checks on all prospective employees, new starters and existing employees, where a check has not already been conducted or where a time-limited right to work was previously presented.

CIPD

Gov

Matthew Pinto-Chilcott, FCIPD, ACEL, Owner of Consensus HR comments: “Business owners and managers should always ensure that as part of their recruitment process that the right to work within the UK for the applicant is checked and it never harms to ask the new employee to bring a copy of their passport with them for you to take a copy as long as you are treating all employees / applicants the same. When I worked for a major retailer and we were moving to new premises, we asked all members of the team to bring to work their passport or right to work in the UK documentation so that we could take a copy for our HR files. All members were given six weeks to provide this and it resulted in one employee being identified as illegal with no right to work within the UK. Comprehensive recruitment procedures should prevent this and also use of the Governments user friendly ‘Checking a job applicant’s right to work’ interactive website is invaluable. This website also contains a vast amount of information on how to check somebody’s right to work and possible penalties for failure to check.”

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Summer employment issues: a six-point checklist

25 04 2023

CBI hired ‘toxic’ staff

Matthew Pinto-Chilcott Blog, Employment Law, General, Recruitment #CBI, #outsourcedhumanresources, #outsourcing, Business, Business Owners, HR, HR Advice, HR Consultant, HR Consultants, HR Support, outsourcedHR, Small Business, SME, SME's

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has admitted it hired “culturally toxic” staff and failed to fire those guilty of misconduct. The CBI said a failure to act allowed a “very small minority of staff with regressive – and, in some cases, abhorrent – attitudes towards their female colleagues to feel more assured in their behaviour, and more confident of not being detected.” CBI president Brian McBride said the lobby group had been “complacent” and apologised for “mistakes in how we organised the business that led to terrible consequences.” This comes following allegations of sexual misconduct at the CBI, including claims that two women were raped by colleagues. Law firm Fox Williams has been conducting an investigation into the CBI and, in response to its recommendations, the lobby group is hiring a chief people officer and all staff will complete compulsory anti-bullying and harassment training. Both the government and Labour Party have suspended engagement with the CBI, while a number of large companies have cut ties with the group or suspended their membership. Meanwhile, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has said he could not “wait for a reincarnation of the CBI or the CBI itself to get back on its feet to engage with business,” adding “There’s no point engaging with the CBI when their own members have deserted them in droves. So, we want to engage with a body that speaks for business.”

BBC

Financial Times

The Guardian

CBI hired ‘toxic’ staff – Our Comments:

Matthew Pinto-Chilcott – FCIPD, ACEL, Owner of Consensus HR comments: “Who would have ever thought that the CBI – Confederation of British Industry would be the main news over the past few days when its used to represent 190,000 businesses and the CBI had been described by the Financial Times as “Britain’s biggest business lobby group”. The news that is currently coming out is alarming that such a key British Confederation as with any UK business can allow such practices to take place. To admit that it hired “culturally toxic” staff and failed to act! Business Owners, Managers, Employees all have a duty of care under the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 to take the correct action for the wellbeing of team members as well as ensuring that the team are managed correctly and according to the Acas Code of Practice whilst acting as a reasonable employer. Poor management within any business will have severe consequences as shown at the CBI for both the business and team. Businesses need to ensure that the correct behaviour and attitudes are present within their businesses whilst carrying out workshops and development for the team so that they gain a thorough understanding of what is expected.

We help businesses with all their outsourced HR and ensure that throughout the employee lifecycle, the employees and business work to the law and best practice.

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If you need support with the management of your team and ensuring you do not hire ‘toxic’ staff, contact us now.

YOUR OUTSOURCED HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT.

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24 04 2023

Gen Z workers press ‘detonate’ on their lives.

Matthew Pinto-Chilcott Employment Law, General, Recruitment #GenZ, #outsourcedhumanresources, #outsourcing, Business, Business Owners, HR, HR Advice, HR Consultant, HR Consultants, HR Support, outsourcedHR, Small Business, SME, SME's

Writing for the Sunday Times, Juliana Piskorz looks at how increasing numbers of young people are “daring to press ‘detonate’ on their lives, quitting stable jobs, ending secure relationships and cutting rental contracts in favour of an uncertain future.” She points to a “growing unease among millennials and Gen Z,” saying it is “nothing new” and has been “bubbling up” since the financial crisis “and the subsequent austerity measures that rendered many economic milestones unattainable.” Ms Piskorz cites Deloitte analysis from 2022 showing that 46% of Gen Z and 38% of millennials report feeling stressed or anxious all the time, with workplace pressures and the cost of living the most prominent factors driving disenchantment. She adds that, despite concern over financial security, 44% of Gen Z and 43% of millennials have recently quit their jobs because of their workloads.

The Sunday Times

Matthew Pinto-Chilcott, FCIPD, ACEL, Owner of Consensus HR comments: “We have written a number of blogs on GenZ and this recent article from the Sunday Times seems to further show what we have been hearing from clients and in general when networking. One of our previous blogs titled UK employers lure Gen Z workers discussed ways to attract GenZ workers such as finish early Fridays. All workers need to be treated as individuals and not as a number whilst ensuring all best practice management and HR is used to make them feel valued and appreciated.”

Further GenZ articles:

· Gen Z workers may be feeling the strain more than anyone

· Young people seek to make friends

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Managing a team is never easy and Gen Z seem to be no different. If you need support, contact us now.

YOUR OUTSOURCED HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT.

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20 04 2023

The Impact of Party Animal Posts

Matthew Pinto-Chilcott Blog, Employment Contracts, General, Recruitment #outsourcedhumanresources, #outsourcing, #socialmedia, Business, Business Owners, HR, HR Advice, HR Consultant, HR Consultants, HR Support, outsourcedHR, Recruitment, Small Business, SME, SME's

71% of hiring decision makers use social media to screen applicants. 54% of companies have eliminated a candidate based on their social media feed alone.

These research findings demonstrate the enormous impact of social media on the recruitment process. The Harris Poll also found that 24% of hiring decision makers are not likely to hire someone without an online presence.

LinkedIn is the platform most employers use to check candidates’ online presence; a LinkedIn profile is often seen as a second CV. However, all social media is usually researched and accounts are often easily visible unless settings are proactively changed to ‘private’.

One employer told The Harris Poll: “I do believe social media is a good screening tool to see how the candidate communicates with others in an informal setting and also as a way to screen for potential red flags.”

Another participant advised: “Work to keep your social media accounts current, especially LinkedIn, to reflect your current work experience and accomplishments. They should be free of profanity and inappropriate photos. Remove any posts that may contain personal attacks. It’s ok to share your views but keep them professional and appropriate.”

Matthew Pinto-Chilcott of Consensus HR says: “The job market is so competitive these days. Employers are being very specific on what they want in relation to qualifications and competences and are only taking on the best applicants. That means your social media presence whether it be Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram etc. must be absolutely spotless. The Facebook trawl is becoming standard practice in recruiting and something we use as part of the recruitment process.”

A Positive Impact

Social media profiles can have a favourable impact too. A research participant said: “One candidate’s application wasn’t so great, but her Facebook backed up all the voluntary work she claimed she did. We took her on, and she’s been one of our finest investments.”

Should Social Media Posts Matter?

“A candidate’s qualifications and experience should be an employer’s main focus,” explains Matthew. “However, character and how people portray themselves online are very important too.”

Social media posts can have a negative impact if they involve:

Inappropriate remarks and photos
Grammar and spelling mistakes
Complaining about previous employers
Bullying others online
Inconsistent history of jobs and experience

To summarise, whilst social media content may not be the deciding factor within the recruitment process it is hugely influential.

To discuss how social media can help your recruitment process, contact the Consensus HR team for an initial discussion.

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If you need support with your team this summer, then we are her to help.

YOUR OUTSOURCED HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT.

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29 03 2023

Finding and Keeping Talent

Matthew Pinto-Chilcott Blog, General, Recruitment, Rewards & Benefits #outsourcedhumanresources, #talent, Business, Business Owners, HR, HR Advice, HR Consultant, HR Consultants, HR Support, outsourcedHR, Recruitment, Small Business, SME, SME's

Recruiting and developing employees can be time consuming for companies. In addition, businesses spend an average of £10,000 per employee. So – it’s important to make the most of your employees, helping the business and individuals alike.

Matthew from Consensus HR says “When we talk to businesses we are always highlighting the importance of looking after one of their main assets within business: their team.”

Organisations need to protect their ‘investment’ and retain valued employees.

Here are three tips for finding and retaining the right staff from Consensus HR:

Tip 1: Offer incentives to employees who refer friends

Cash or vouchers for employees who refer successful candidates can be a powerful incentive. Vouchers can be bought individually or via a reward scheme. Employees can use the vouchers for holidays, shopping or clothes with reputable suppliers.

Rewarding those who refer candidates can also take place at various intervals. For example, incentives can be offered when the applicant is recruited or after successful completion of their probationary period. Some employers choose to pay an additional sum should the successful applicant stay with the company for twelve months.

Consensus HR has successfully help client organisations to implement incentive schemes. One client has significantly reduced recruitment costs as a result.

Tip 2: Foster diversity

Allow your team to diversify within their roles and try working in different areas of the business. This could be achieved via internal transfers or promotions. Continual employee development helps retain the talent you have invested in.

“Allowing your team to diversify within the business and continually gain new skills ensures that they remain motivated and productive,” explains Matthew from Consensus HR. “Employees then remain an asset instead of becoming a ‘clone’ to the business and potentially unfulfilled in their role.”

Tip 3: Company benefits

What do you offer your employees in relation to other employers within the same sector? What could make you unique, attracting and retaining your personnel? How about:

Sending birthday cards to employees
Agreeing a discount scheme for employees with local retailers
Introducing a reward scheme for achieving objectives or exceeding expectations

It doesn’t have to be expensive and huge benefits can be gained.

Some of Consensus HR’s clients reward their teams as part of their quarterly performance review process. Team members can obtain financial rewards for achieving set objectives or KPI’s. These are paid through a voucher scheme that can be redeemed with a number of well-known retailers quarterly. Or – they can save the rewards until they wish to spend them. “We’ve seen people save their rewards and use them to purchase wedding rings, a holiday to Las Vegas and their Christmas shopping” explains Matthew.

To summarise…

Following these three tips will help your business to:

Increase sales
Reduce costs
Provide a culture in which people wish to work

“We must remember that this is only one area of retaining the right talent within the business. Another is management,” adds Matthew. “If people are not managed correctly then, even if these three tips are carried out, you still lose them – and their talent.”

Would you like to know more? The team at Consensus HR is happy to offer advice and examples of how to retain employees and become a preferred employer. Contact us for an informal discussion.

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If you want to always keep up with employment law and wish to know more please get in contact now.

YOUR OUTSOURCED HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT.

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28 03 2023

Finding the Right Freelancer

Matthew Pinto-Chilcott Blog, General, Recruitment #freelancer, #outsourcedhumanresources, Business, Business Owners, HR, HR Advice, HR Consultant, HR Consultants, HR Support, outsourcedHR, Small Business, SME, SME's

Many businesses like to work with freelancers. It’s easy to see why; they offer the expertise, flexibility and cost effectiveness that businesses want – fast.

When outsourcing, it’s important to work with someone who understands you and your oragnisation. This includes your goals, your culture and any budget or timescale involved.

Harvard Business Review suggested that clarity and transparency are essential if outsourcing is to be successful. It underlines what is important to Consensus HR when meeting new clients.

“It’s all about communication,“ says Matthew of Consensus HR. “Businesses outsource their HR requirements to us so that they have immediate input and know that their requirements will be met quickly and expertly.

“From the very beginning, we need to know about goals, budget and timescale – and that’s just the beginning. Our expertise covers everything from recruitment, and Full HR Services to discipline and redundancy. Good HR practices can be used to increase sales and the overall turnover of the business.”

According to Harvard Business Review, five factors influence successful outsourcing:

Be transparent about your willingness to work with freelancers
Determine the level of contribution required
Define what essential skills and experience you are looking for – and the ‘nice to haves’
Allow all those will depend upon the freelancer to be involved with the selection process
Plan frequent reviews to make sure that the relationship delivers results

“A business owner must ensure that the freelancer they choose is the right fit for the business and that the level of management required is acknowledged’” adds Matthew. “At Consensus HR we get to know the business and become the company’s HR Dept. Many of our clients request us to visit them to implement performance management processes, to help with recruitment and when dealing with organisational structure changes.

“We work closely with our clients to find the best way to implement the many HR tools available and ensure they are seen as a proactive rather than reactive businesses.”

To find out more, contact Matthew for an informal discussion.

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If you want to always keep up with employment law and wish to know more please get in contact now.

YOUR OUTSOURCED HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT.

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22 03 2023

The Hard Facts of Recruitment

Matthew Pinto-Chilcott Blog, General, Recruitment #outsourcedHR, #outsourcedhumanresources, #recruitment, Business, Business Owners, HR, HR Advice, HR Consultant, HR Consultants, HR Support, Small Business, SME

Employers must be aware of the actual numbers involved with recruiting new people and looks at options that can significantly reduce those costs.

What is the average cost of turnover assuming a salary of £40,000 average salary and average hiring costs of 12% per head, 20% attrition in first 12 months?

The cost of repeat hire: £960, Cost of productivity loss (11 weeks) £5,617 and management time £1,456.

Total cost of turnover per head using an agency of in-house averages £8.033 and using an in-house talent pool or ‘recommend a friend’ scheme, £955.

The real cost of recruitment is not just how much you pay for your recruiters, agency fees and adverts (see our earlier blog and the true cost involved).

A fairly typical £40,000 hire can cost well over twice that in combined headline and hidden costs, even based on average figures. Whether you use agencies, in-house recruiters or an RPO provider the bottom line is the same; hiring costs are approximately double the salary involved.

Only by using proactive sourcing and Talent Warehousing can employers drive down:

Time to hire
Management resources demanded
Attrition whilst bolstering productivity

Now, businesses can address the fundamental issue of recruitment costs.

Matthew from Consensus HR explains: “We are often heavily involved with the recruitment process, which often drives down the actual recruitment costs and timescales involved. We advise that the company retains all suitable applicants’ CVs. Our detailed recruitment process, including interview questions & selection criteria, is provided for future use. These steps ensure a reduction in costs.”

Matthew adds “The logistical cost of replacing an employee will probably come as not surprise to businesses. The financial impact of training replacement workers is a real cost which is often missed. Productivity will be affected whilst the necessary experience is gained. This is also a cost that most businesses have not considered before.”

Costs for recruiting new talent can be startling.

Consensus HR encourages businesses to place more emphasis on:

Retaining talent in the workplace
Continually performance managing the team
Developing employees in the skills required for their role
Actively encouraging team members to progress within the business and their roles

Good members of the team stay with employers who demonstrate that they value and care for their employees. Companies should operate – or ‘live’ – their values, which should be documented within their policies and procedures.

Financial reward is not always the answer.

To keep the perfect match for company roles, employers need to look at the overall benefits package offered such as pensions, gym membership and additional holidays.

How can you retain your employees and drive down your recruitment costs?

Talk to the team at Consensus HR

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If you want to always keep up with employment law and wish to know more please get in contact now.

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21 03 2023

Recruitment: finding the perfect match…

Blog 2 of 3 – Recruitment: finding the perfect match…

For long-term success within the job market, employers should ask them selves these key questions:

Who is your vacancy reaching?

Almost all recruitment solutions are reactive, sourcing candidates when the need arises. This means that companies are entirely reliant on candidates already in the market: signed up with agencies, looking at ads, on job sites or on databases.

Studies have shown that this only represents around 20% of the qualified candidates in the marketplace. To access all of that 20% you have to use every agency, database and advertising medium. In fact, companies often access just 2-3% of the available talent pool to fill any given vacancy.

Having access to only people who really want or need a new job can have a major effect on the quality of hire. This situation can only be improved by having a company database of previous applicants. (Those who have specifically applied for a role with the company through choice whilst employed, or via a company employee recommendation scheme.) This offers a clear improvement in quality of hire and, as a result, a demonstrable increase in productivity per head of between 10-30%.

Are you keeping your new starters?

Up to half of new hires leave within the first 12 months, with an average of 20% leaving within this crucial period. The reasons are simple. A standard recruitment process involves six – eight weeks of contact time. This simply isn’t long enough to develop a cultural rapport between candidate and company.

In short, the ‘new hire’ can only finds out if they ‘fit’ after they’ve started in their new role. Plus – the pressure of the new job amplifies any concerns.

Longer engagement with candidates – allowing them to understand the culture and raise any concerns – can reduce the 12-month drop out rate by up to 90%.

Are you recruiting proactively?

Engaging with Talent Warehousing or recruiting employee recommendations are the only ways of tackling this.

What does your recruitment process involve? Could it be cheaper, quicker or more effective? Have an informal chat with Consensus HR and see how you can find the perfect match for your next vacancy.

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If you want to always keep up with employment law and wish to know more please get in contact now.

YOUR OUTSOURCED HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT.

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20 03 2023

The True Cost of Recruitment

Matthew Pinto-Chilcott Blog, General, Handbook, Recruitment #outsourcedhumanresources, Business, Business Owners, HR, HR Advice, HR Consultant, HR Consultants, HR Support, outsourcedHR, Recruitment, Small Business, SME, SME's

Blog 1 of 3

People often believe that the cost of recruiting is purely the cost for advertising or using a recruitment agency. They rarely consider the other common costs such as management time or loss in production.

Unfortunately most companies underestimate the cost of recruitment by 90-95%. This can often lead to terrible decisions that can increase costs, even when the original intention was to reduce them.

What are the costs involved with recruitment?

Main Costs:

External expenditure such as recruitment agency costs. These can 15%-30% of salary involved – higher using an executive search company.
Advertising
Subscriptions to social media and database aggregators
Attendance at recruitment shows
In-house recruiters

Many companies seek to reduce their headline costs by taking recruitment in-house, hoping to avoid agency costs. They often deliver 8-15% costs compared to salaries – less of a saving than intended. Over 70% of in-house solutions fail to source all – this can reach 90% placement failure. This subsequently leads to working with agencies, driving the average cost up to 12-20%.

Cost of Recruitment

Assumes £40,000 average salary

Agency led solution (22% average)	£8,800 per head
In-house solution (12% average)	£4,800 per head

When is the right time to hire?

Many companies record how long it takes to recruit new members to the team, but fail to recognise it as a cost. Actually this is a huge business overhead.

The average hiring time is 10-12 weeks (from job opening to an accepted offer), during which time the role is unfilled. For that period there is either no productivity, or it is provided by diverting someone else, (if possible).

All these options have a tangible cost, plus if the hiring timeline slips the cost goes up. In-house recruitment teams take longer to hire with an average 12-16 weeks. This is due to a lack of extensive databases and wider industry contacts. This has a significant impact on the cost involved.

How can hire costs be reduced?

Proactive recruitment planning

Move away from the purely reactive model and understanding your recruitment demand. This can reduce the typical hiring times by 4-6 weeks. For the best results, operate a Talent Warehouse. By pro-actively sourcing and managing candidates before they are needed, hiring times can be cut by to 3-4 weeks.

“This approach offers a huge saving,” says Matthew from Consensus HR. “We actively encourage our clients to maintain a database of applicants – people who have been recruited and interviewed previously, but not offered a role at that time. These applicants should be told that that their details will be maintained on a database and contacted immediately should a suitable vacancy arise.”

Effective management involvement

Management time within the recruitment process is a major cost. This typically involves:

Specifying roles
Reviewing CVs
Interviewing
Repeating the process as over 50% of offers made are rejected

This cost is the same whether candidates are sourced by agency or in-house. A Talent Warehousing approach is the only cost-cutting option, reducing management time invested in recruiting by an average of 70%. Consensus HR offers effective recruitment support by:

Writing a detailed job description and advertisement for the role
Reviewing CVs received
Producing a detailed recruitment process and selection criteria
Attending interviews as required

These activities significantly reduce the management costs involved within the hiring process.

How could you reduce the recruitment costs in your business? How could you introduce Talent Warehousing?

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If you want to always keep up with employment law and wish to know more please get in contact now.

YOUR OUTSOURCED HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT.

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15 03 2023

How to make employees your most valuable marketing asset

Matthew Pinto-Chilcott Blog, General, Recruitment #asset, #outsourcedhumanresources, Business, Business Owners, HR, HR Advice, HR Consultant, HR Consultants, HR Support, outsourcedHR, Small Business, SME, SME's

It’s becoming increasingly true that there is no longer such thing as a job for life.

The average worker today stays at their job for 4.4 years, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and younger people only stay in their roles for only half that time.

In fact 91% of people born between 1977 and 1997 expect to stay in their job for less than three years and will probably undertake 15-20 different jobs in their lifetime.

So – how do employers offer value and retain employees, turning them into valuable company ambassadors?

Three steps to turning employees into marketing assets:

1. Attract employees

There are numerous ways to attract new employees to a business, and most of these centre around putting people first…

Offer a great working environment
Offer plenty of rewards in terms of pay, benefits and bonuses
Offer plenty of other smaller perks too, something like free breakfast and lunch can be just as beneficial to your staff morale as the above
Encourage creativity and personality
Listen to ideas
Be transparent about operations
Be entirely visible about career development and promotion opportunities

These will of course help you to retain staff over time as well, however there is one area that will become even more vital as our attitudes towards employee turnover changes…

2. Training and skills development

By offering training in a variety of relevant disciplines, you increase your attractiveness as a prospective place to work.

If a person can come into your organisation and after two years be able to say that they have developed their skills to the point where they have become a more marketable employee and accelerate their career, then this is only going to reflect well on your organisation.

As Bough explains: “I don’t care if you can go double your salary elsewhere, in fact I want you to double your salary and tell every single person the reason you were able to double it is because you worked for Mondelez.”

3. Gain insight from the workforce

For ground-level opinions, various employees working in digital were asked about their thoughts and feelings on the subject. The results confirmed that today’s workforce is mobile – and fully aware of the options available.

Participant’s quotes included:

If a company does not offer skills and development training then personally I could not see myself staying in that role for more than two years.
In the private sector, I would take every opportunity given and would not feel guilty in the slightest. I feel it should be understood that an employer is taking a risk by up-skilling but not providing job security.
Two years is definitely the timeframe you need to assess what your next steps are. There has to be clear progression path for me to stay.
If a company offered continuous training and development throughout your career, that could be worth more in the long run than a 2% bonus scheme and free beer on Fridays.

These opinions are indicative of today’s workforce’s views. This is something modern organisations need to be aware of. Of course any skills development and training needs to be aligned to up-to-date industry practices, otherwise the training itself is pointless.

This will also benefit industry as a whole. As more skilled workers flood the market, this enables an even faster process of transformation for companies that would otherwise be struggling.

Employers need to understand that the world of recruiting & managing employees is shifting. The days where employees stayed with you for long periods / service are changing. The younger generations expect to work for a wide range of employers rather than one specific one.

With the changes that are happening in the workplace and with employees, you must ensure the correct and relevant policies & procedures are in place.

Why should your company invest money into a new employee for the benefit of the business and the employee’s development but then the employee leaves upon completion of the development?

Why should your company be paying for people’s development but not rewarding any long term benefit from the investment?

A well written Professional & Academic Policy helps to ensure that should they leave, then they have to repay a percentage of the financial investment that was invested in them so that these funds can be used for another member of the team?

At Consensus HR we work with businesses to ensure that their investment in HR and its team has a return on that investment whether it be the amount of time given or money spent.

Why not call Consensus HR now? Talk to us and see how we can help your business.

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YOUR OUTSOURCED HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT.

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