Ramp-up Rathling - High Volume Talent Strategies

Ramp-up recruitment is a niche sector and not for the feint-hearted! I am not talking ten or twenty roles at a time, I am talking hundreds!  This weeks blog has been written to help those companies out there who have seasonal requirements and regularly have to ramp-up their headcount to cope with demand, such as increased call volumes, or winning new contracts meaning a spike in the level of staffing required to deliver for customers.

Expect Talent has become a leading expert in the field of 'Ramp-Up Recruitment' having recently completed a project for a global online retailer in the lead up to Christmas. Over 380 staff were recruited in 12 weeks across 3 languages, and this is a client who has retained us for the last 3 years in a row.  Another project we recently worked on for Bentley Systems in Dublin, saw us ramp-up a brand new Shared Services Centre from 0-130 permanent staff across 14 languages and 8 disciplines.

My top tips for companies looking to increase headcount and ramp-up staffing levels: 

Tip 1 - Know where to locate a high volume of candidates, know your market and the type of candidates you are looking to recruit.  If you have a clear idea of what your target pool of candidates looks like and where to find them, you can generate a strong pipeline of potential recruits.  This applies whether it is for permanent or contract roles.  High-volume recruitment is about just that!  Having a high-volume of people to select from in the first place.  Once you have the volume you can start to select who would be best to hire.  You can use jobsites, social media, forums, your networks, recruitment partners and staff referrals to name a few.

Tip 2 - Have a solid back-office system and internal processes to manage the very high volume of applications that you will receive.  Ramp-up recruitment can be draining on resources, so if you plan to manage a high-volume project internally you need to make sure that you have a full team in place.  They will manage administration, handle applications, responses to candidates, interview/assessment process.  Expect a significant amount of workload and plan for it.  Applications per vacancy are much higher in the current climate and your company reputation is critical in managing future hires.  You don't want to become "the company that never gets back to people".  This can impact on your ability to become an employer of choice and this kind of word of mouth can affect future application levels.

Tip 3 - Have a solid screening process from the outset.  One of the ways to minimise workload is to ask candidates to jump through some hoops before you will consider them, that way you know who is REALLY interested in the job! We use a 2 page application form which over 50% of people never go on to complete.  That saves our team lots of time by only working with those people who are serious about the opportunity.  If the candidate cannot be bothered to complete a 2 page application form then it is a great indication of their work ethic. 

Tip 4 - Assessment Centres can be a fantastic way to determine the best candidates for the position.  When we hired our 380+ candidates in 2010, every single one of them went through a 2 hour+ Assessment Centre and interview process, in fact not only did these people go through the Assessment but the other 600 or so that did not make it through also went through the same process.  Managing this volume of Assessments is time-consuming but essential.  The quality of the candidates hired regardless of how many you are employing is of course paramount.  Having a robust Assessment Centre where candidates can come along, learn about the role and company and then take verbal and written tests to demonstrate their skills is vital.  We usually work with the client's existing format or can design and tailor-make assessment centres for our clients needs.

Tip 5 - Communication with all candidates throughout the project.  Regardless of the stage of their application is vital to maintaining a great reputation in the market.  Even if unsuccessful, it is important to ensure that all candidates are contacted with their feedback as to whether or not they are successful in the position.  Those that you hire will of course be delighted and the onboarding process through to the end of their training period must be handled in the correct way, however those who need to be rejected should also be treated with care.  This goes back to having a great system and great processes internally but can often get lost in the busy hiring period.

As I said at the start, ramp-up recruitment is not for the feint-hearted! It takes patience, expertise, a great project team and access to high numbers of candidates in the first place.  There are very few agencies who specialise in this niche part of the recruitment sector so I hope this blog has given you some insight as to what is involved in hiring quality people in high volumes.  I am starting to get myself the name "Ramp-Up Rathling" which is sticking with those who know me! I am more than happy to help advise and answer questions on this topic, even if you are not in a position to call in the experts.  Please post your comments below.

CV Tips - What Did You Actually Do?

Here at the Expect Talent HQ, we receive hundreds of CV’s every month. Most of the time we are left asking ourselves this question: 

WHAT DID YOU ACTUALLY DO?

Most CV’s are a list of dates along with a job description, or list of responsibilities. That tells us nothing about what you actually did!  This is a common mistake by candidates, and one which, if you can get right, you stand a good chance of securing an interview.  You have less than 10 seconds to impress with your CV as many hiring managers and HR departments will receive hundreds of applications for just one role. 

We are currently working for a large Cork based multinational client in Cork, and we hired over 300 people for them in just 12 weeks, however we received in excess of 4500 CV's for these positions. 

So what can you do to increase your chances of success?

Rather than list your responsibilities, start by listing your key achievements. Think about what you personally achieved that delivered a great result for the business or for one of your customers? Thinking about your CV this way turns a boring responsibility into something that a client or potential employer might actually want in their business!

Example 1:

TURN THIS... "Responsible for Collections on outstanding accounts"

INTO THIS... "Significantly improved bottom line by securing an additional €200,000 in outstanding monies through effective cash collection."

Example 2:

TURN THIS: "Responsible for Customer Service"

INTO THIS: "Increased customer satisfaction levels by 30%, by regularly going above and beyond, which helped the company to retain its biggest client and win new business."

Example 3:

TURN THIS: "Responsible for Admin Procedures.

INTO THIS: "Significantly enhanced internal reporting and admin procedures which saved the team 26 days per annum in un-necessary workload. My ideas for improvements are regularly implemented by senior management."

Every element of your CV should be aimed at securing you an interview.  Your CV is a sales document designed to show off your talents!  It should not just be a chronological history of all the places where you have worked.

If you want a CV professionally written, or you feel you would benefit from careers advice you can now contact our careers team for a free consultation with Patrick Mercie and Expect Careers.  Email sam@expect.ie for more details.

Networking, Social Media & Recruitment

This morning I was interviewed for a national newspaper in Ireland, in relation to Expect Talent and our incredible 2010, a very positive piece of PR thanks to Anne Kiely & Associates.  One of the questions I have been asked to comment on is "How important has networking and relationship building been in your business, and do you think it is important for a recruitment company?".

Whether you are a jobseeker, business owner or hiring manager reading this, my answer has to be that it is CRITICAL.  Your network of contacts should be one of the best sources of help, support and referrals and is absolutely key to your success.  My own business has grown through effective networking, relationship building and word of mouth, through involvement in organisations like BNI.  I learnt how build relationships and grow my network by educating and upskilling myself on referral marketing.  I have always applied "Givers Gain" to all apsects of life and work, which is the key philosophy of BNI.  By helping others to grow their business and giving something back to other people whether it be a referral, testimonial, advice or support is one of the best ways to grow your business and increase your visibility and credibility which leads to more business.

The depth and breadth of your connections in your personal and business life will always play a major role in the development of your career and your business.  Any recruitment business owner who is not upskilling themselves and their recruitment team on networking both face to face and online will find it increasingly difficult to grow their client and candidate base.  Why cold-call when you can learn how to effectively grow a business through relationships and word of mouth?  It still amazes me how many companies are cold-calling rather than really getting to know the people around them who can help.  If you want to learn how to leverage your contacts then I recommend reading "Life, Business and Speedboats" written by my good friend Iain Whyte.

I was also asked the question in my interview - "How has the recruitment sector evolved in the last 18 months?".  The importance of social media and online networking has meant a huge shift in the way that companies now hire and source great talent for their business.  For example, over 95% of companies now use LinkedIn for recruitment.  If you want to learn more amazing stats on social media  and its impact on the recruitment sector,  just take a look at this video from Socionomics. 

Most internal recruiters for large organisations are now trained on how to find great talent through online networking, recruiters in agencies are using these social media tools for recruitment all the time.  If you are looking for a new job then make sure your profile can be found on LinkedIn, and make sure that your Facebook page is professional and represents you well, you never know who might be looking at it.  In 2010 over 60% of our permanent placements were candidates who we found through LinkedIn.   

More than ever, networking and social media play a massive part in the world of recruitment and job-seeking.   I would love to hear how networking and social media has helped you as a job-seeker, hiring manager or business owner.  So why not take action today, and make social media or networking part of your 2011 recruitment or job-seeking strategy. 

Welcome!

Welcome to the official Expect Talent Blog, the place to gain insights and bright ideas on recruitment, job-seeking, and hiring staff of the highest quality.  Whether you are looking to hire the best talent into your company, change careers, or find that dream job having been made redundant, we are here to help.  In this blog we aim to give you that small nugget of advice that might just help you along the way.

If you are frustrated by the recruitment industry then you can join the club!  This was the reason why Expect Talent was started, so forget everything you already know about recruitment, here is where we challenge the typical way of doing things, and flip the recruitment industry on its head.  We are changing the way the world does Recruitment and in our blog you can find out how...

So welcome to first time readers and I hope you enjoy what we have to say.  We welcome your feedback, views, comments on this blog and of course look forward to helping you in some way whether you are a candidate or responsible for hiring in your organisation. 

Thanks for joining us on our blogging journey, and please get in touch, we would love to hear from you.

Samantha Rathling
Managing Director
sam@expect.ie