Protect your revenues and profits event when rejecting applicants Ian Kershaw
Agenda
1. Why we’re here
2. The challenge
3. Improving the odds
4. What next
1 Why we’re here
Are these questions familiar?
‘How do I reject candidates fairly?’
‘How do I ensure my staff are customer focussed?’
‘How can I manage the huge volume of job applications?’
‘How can I create a positive candidate experience?’
‘How do I identify those with a passion for Retail?’
‘How can I build customer loyalty?’
‘How do I ensure staff are motivated & fit with the
culture?’ ‘How can I retain the staff I need?’
‘How do I maximise sales?’
slow repetitive annoying Un-manageable
difficult Tedious
challenging
boring
Sapping
painful
frustrating
Time-consuming
Inefficient inconsistent
Impact of staff turnover
% of organizations reporting that turnover has significant consequences:
48 percent of employers claim that it costs $9,300 to $18,500 to replace an employee. Overall Costs of turnover estimated between 1 and 2 X salary X no. of leavers.
57%
47%
44%
42%
26%
21%
Ongoing recruitment and
Increases the pressure on line
Damages the morale of the
HR burden
Negative impact on business
Negative impact on customer
Ongoing recruitment and associated costs
Increases the pressure on line managers
Damages the morale of the remaining staff
HR burden
Negative impact on business performance
Negative impact on customer services
(Percentage of organizations who said these problems arose as a result of high staff turnover, Talent Q, 2013).
Staff attrition – lost productivity
Productivity losses tied to turnover
Taleo Research White Paper: The Payback from Talent Mobility
Rejecting your customers?
This rejected candidate may also be a customer...
How big might this problem be?
The B&Q Challenge
Recruit 6000 new customer advisor roles within 362 sites across the UK. Handle 150,000 applicants per annum.
“All retailers know that the stakes are high in recruitment because every candidate really is a potential customer. It’s therefore critical for us to provide a positive experience to all applicants, regardless of whether or not we’ll offer them a job.” Jo Leggett, Resourcing Manager B&Q
How many do you reject versus recruit?
From Chief Recruiter to Chief Rejection Officer!
2 The challenge
The vicious circle
“..it was essentially a list of questions that took 45 minutes to complete and we knew it wasn’t very engaging.” Jo Leggett, B&Q
1 in 3 companies state that the length of the recruitment process has led to the loss of potential recruits – CIPD 2011
Talent Q research highlights
Across all industries, volume recruiters are finding life difficult. In a recent survey of some of the biggest volume recruiters in the UK:
62%
37%
(Talent Q, 2013)
said that their biggest challenge is finding the right candidates
are knowingly recruiting the wrong people in a desperate attempt to fill their frontline roles
"I'd rather have a hole than an asshole." Dan Jacobs, Head of Talent, Apple
Talent Q research highlights
31% of recruiters believe hiring the wrong
person for the role is driving turnover.
48% claim that staff are leaving frontline positions because their expectations of the job is not matched to the reality of the role.
Talent Q research highlights
Whatever you do…gets out!
Q: On average, how many people is a bad experience shared with?
The high reality of a poor experience
74% share a poor
recruitment experience
70% research the
recruitment experience of
others
11% will be put off by a bad
experience of others
Employer and consumer brand link
Good consumer
brand
Good employer
brand Top talent
A good consumer brand will ensure the right people apply
A poor employer brand can adversely impact consumer brand
Customer Loyalty
“..those who take meaningful steps to drive consumer loyalty are 88% more profitable than their competitors who do not.”
Deloitte research study – “Serving the Networked Consumer”
Customer centric culture
Passionate employees
Customer loyalty
Value of customer loyalty
Q: What is the revenue value of customer loyalty?
• Average spend per annum?
• Number of years as a loyal customer?
And also - the right candidates are rare
• Talent Q assessment data tells us that...
40% of the population are customer focused 37% of the population are
comfortable up-selling
but only 12% are both
Sony recently reported that, while they were inundated with applicants for their sales roles, they couldn’t find people with both the sales and customer services skills they needed. People who not only loved tech gear but could explain a product to the customer in plain language.
(BBC, 2014 http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20140123-talent-scarcity)
Candidates want feedback
About two-thirds of job seekers expect more personalised communication, including a phone call from a recruiter, according to a 2014 survey by CareerBuilder “If (candidates) hear nothing or get auto-generated responses, they’re disappointed,” said Rosemary Haefner, vice president.
Ali Example"
3 Improving the odds
Reminder of some key issues
• 48% say reality does not meet expectations of the role.
• A limited candidate pool has the preference to be comfortable up-selling as well being customer focussed (for example).
• Feedback is key in driving levels of engagement with a process.
• Length of process can impact on candidate satisfaction.
Action points. Not just for graduates!
Be prepared
• Understand your employer brand and be clear about why graduates should join your organisation rather than your competitors.
• Consider the best way to market your graduate opportunities, whether this is through university careers fairs, campus recruitment presentations, social media, job boards or advertising.
• Ensure you have the technology in place to handle the volume of the applications you’re likely to receive.
• Use job-relevant assessments to screen candidates quickly and objectively early on in the recruitment process.
Action points. Not just for graduates!
Manage expectations
• Be clear about the type of person you want to attract and the qualities, values and personality characteristics you actually require.
• Provide an accurate overview about the role in question and what the job entails.
• Be clear about the length of the application process and the stages involved.
• Keep your promises to ensure that the reality of the role matches the expectations of graduates.
Action points. Not just for graduates!
Provide ongoing communication and feedback
• Explain why assessments are being used and how they are relevant to success in the role.
• Provide feedback to candidates and keep them informed about their progress.
• Select the best applicants and explain to the others why they were unsuccessful.
Action points. Not just for graduates!
Design an engaging recruitment process
• Plan your recruitment process from the applicant’s point of view.
• Tailor your ‘offering’ to promote the key aspects that graduates really want.
• Always ensure your application process is engaging for candidates.
• Monitor social media channels and career community sites, such as glassdoor.com, thestudentroom.co.uk and wikijob.co.uk, to track what graduates are saying about your organisation.
Customer service stars at B&Q – A working example
Realistic Job Preview
B&Q Realistic Job Preview
The benefits of a realistic job preview
n Screens out 10-15 per cent of
applicants through self de-selection,
saving time and money later in the
process
n No ongoing cost per applicant
n Reinforces interest of good ‘browsers’
n Increases the quality of applicants
n Reflects the organisation’s values and
required competencies.
Benefits to HR
n Applicants receive a realistic preview of
the key challenges and aspects of the
role
n It is quick, easy and fun to complete
n Gives a realistic overview of the values
and culture of the organisation, and the
key activities involved in the job
n Offers advice rather than assessment
n Can motivate to progress application.
Benefits to applicants
Situational Judgement Test
B&Q Situational Judgement
About SJTs
Face valid to the candidate
Configurable to enhance your candidates’ experience
Based on realistic job scenarios
Customisable to your company details, brand and roles
Combine scientific rigor and state-of-the-art technology
Text, video or 2D/3D animation formats available
Benefits of an SJT
n Reflects the values and competencies for a particular role
n Provides realistic insight into the role, reducing later attrition due to mis-matched expectations of the role
n Minimal and acceptable levels of adverse impact caused in line with industry standards
n Pre-determined cut-off score reduces resources for HR
n Increased accuracy – each candidate takes a unique test through adaptive testing method
Benefits to HR n Improved candidate experience
– gives a better idea of future job through realistic job scenarios
n It is quick, easy and fun to complete
n Gives a realistic overview of the values and culture of the organization, and the key activities involved in the job
Benefits to applicants
B&Q Business impact
“We are getting more positive results per head count than before which is great as it makes all the effort running the assessment worthwhile.”
“With the high calibre of candidates coming through we are noticing a much higher retention of staff; we’re making sure we are employing the correct people at the correct time for the correct position.”
Business impact: • 96% of candidates found
the instructions clear & easy to follow
• 77% found the scenarios engaging
• 71% reported that they learnt what it was like to work at the organisation, compared to 45% with the previous provider
Further Considerations
Tone of Voice – Candidate vs Customer
Involve Marketing Dept-not just for the website
Offer discount vouchers or similar
Habitually seek feedback
4 What next
Checklist
ü Does my job description/role profile really reflect the vacancy? ü Does my advert really reflect my job description? ü Does my employer brand match my consumer brand? ü Does my recruitment process reflect my consumer brand? ü To what extent does my applicant pool reflect my customer demographic? ü Does my candidate communications match my customer communications? ü What feedback is provided at every stage of the process? ü How might this feedback be perceived by a customer rather than a candidate? ü What do/can I “give away” to rejected candidates that will help retain their customer loyalty? ü What proportion of candidates remove themselves from the process and when? ü What proportion of new employees leave within the first 3-6 months and why?
Einstein is quoted as having said that if he had one hour to save the world he would spend fifty-five minutes defining the problem and only five minutes finding the solution.
It is not the answer that enlightens, but the question.
Q & A
Which function, if any, is responsible for this number and thereby controls the agenda?
(HR/Finance/Operations?)
What is my true overall cost per hire including assessment of revenue
impact?
[email protected] www.talentqgroup.com +44(0)1844 218980