Recruitment industry bodies: why so many?

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If there’s one thing the recruitment sector is not short of, it’s industry bodies.

With some professions lucky to even have one, recruitment agencies are supported by the well established (such as the Recruitment & Employment Confederation and APSCo), and the new – including the Association of Recruitment Consultancies (ARC), and the Institute of Recruiters (IOR), launched in 2009 and 2011.

And, this doesn’t include a clutch of other associations; The Association of Graduate Recruiters and Association of Executive Search Consultants being just two of many others.

When one blogger questioned why this was so, one reader joked it was because “most recruiters and agency owners are not very bright”. The truth of the matter though, is that these bodies clearly exist to meet what they see as the very specific needs of their members – whether this be recruiting professionals, or graduates, or exec-level positions and the like.

“We’re obviously very much on the side of giving a distinct voice to recruiters in the professional sector,” says Association of Professional Staffing Companies’ head of communication, Roger Tweedy. And he believes there are specific needs that these people face.

Most recently, it has had a significant impact on the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act (ITEPA) – colloquially known as the ‘Agencies Legislation’, – particularly around the issue of false self-employment (government suspicion is that agencies encourage contractors to declare themselves as self employed for tax purposes).

“As a direct result of a meeting with the HMRC, we have had letters back saying specific changes were made around issues of defenses against recruitment firms or umbrellas,” says Samantha Hurley, its head of external affairs and compliance.

On the specific differences the professional recruiters face, she added: “We had a big win in the first round of consultation on ‘Reforming the Regulatory Framework for Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses’ consultation in the first half of 2013.”

She says: “BIS originally planned to remove the opt out for limited company contractors. After BIS’s Dr Robert Porteous had attended an APSCo members meeting, he said he realised how different the professional market was from other sectors, and this is why [in BIS’s response document published in the summer of 2013], it stated the opt out would be kept.”

APSCo’s lobbying success is perhaps linked to the fact it was founded (then under a different name), specifically to fight government around the taxation of small businesses (IR35). Since then, other bodies say they are taking the cudgel too.

“We like to think we’re here for consultancies who have largely got their business sorted, but are worried about the legislative direction the sector is facing, and what pitfalls they may need to face,” argues ARC chairman, Adrian Marlowe.

According to ARC, it’s the increasing need agencies have for legal advice that saw his body launch – and it has a team of dedicated recruitment specialist lawyers who will give, what he says is “the answers they need straight away, without having to pay extra”.

He adds: “The line we take in our lobbying is that we have consultancy membership only. APSCo represents suppliers too. Our view is that in doing that, they may take a more balanced view rather than support consultants in their entirety.”

It’s evident from Marlow’s views, that in such a crowded market, bodies clearly feel a need to promote where they are different, to ensure agencies join them, and not their ‘competitor’. So, it may be accountancy services (a key offering) that APSCO’s Tweedy says single it out, while it’s legal ones from ARC. At IOR it’s undoubtedly the training materials and learning and development tools on offer.

The benefit from competition of course, is that the main bodies are all keen to demonstrate their ‘benefit’ to members (ARC says membership to it is worth an average of £7,000 – not just from credibility and the badging membership gives, but also from negotiated deals – such as insurance – it brokers). But, there is also a view that this often means there is not much joined up thinking, as each is keen to plough (and then promote) their own individual furrow.

APSCO, for example, has just produced a new standalone ‘standard’ for those recruiting in the area of social work, and while it is likely to roll out others, it is very much its initiative.

“We did this because members wanted something to differentiate themselves with,” says Tweedy. He adds: “It’s true, that while there are lines of commonality, most of the bodies do have their own agenda.”

However, he said this is changing. “We are working on a major initiative, including the likes of the REC, which will be all about standards. We can’t yet reveal it, but this is an example of where the bodies are coming together. You’ll have to watch this space on that one!”

ARC’s Marlowe says he’s not yet “being courted by other bodies”, and says that it was only when bodies from outside the sector – including the Institute of Directors – took an interest in some of its lobbying that other recruitment bodies joined in too.

But perhaps a little bit of rivalry between bodies is just a sign that they’re all still working hard to garner favour. Tweedy and Marlow both agree the recruitment agency population at large probably isn’t as aware of the differences between the various bodies as it should be. Many won’t know that APSCO now runs regular trade delegations for members abroad, and has recently opened an office in Singapore to advise on how agencies can grow in Asia.

Networking and member meets are also heavily organised, and new partnerships are forming all the time – such as IOR’s recent one with law firm Eversheds, where they jointly launched ‘Safe Umbrella’ – an audit scheme designed to help recruiters choose a safe umbrella partner.

What Tweedy and Marlow both agree on the most, however, is the fact that there are many agencies out there that will free-ride the wider legislative impact they have for members, because they also benefit the wider sector as a whole.

“That’s something we can’t do anything about, which is a shame,” says Marlowe. “To this, we say the more people join a body, the more impact they can have in discussions with government.”

Ref: http://www.recruitmentagencynow.com/recruitment-industry-bodies-why-so-many/#sthash.O3Byuhcs.dpuf

Recruiting for recruitment: how agencies attract the best talent into the industry

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There’s no other way of saying it – agencies face a big problem,” says Jonathan Graham, founder of Leeds-based IT specialist recruitment firm Inward Revenue.

“Ever since tuition fees, expectations of what a university education will give back to people have escalated; graduates have much higher aims. They’re thinking of banking, finance, accountancy, certainly not entering recruitment.”

For all those agency heads whose business is founded on placing the highest-quality candidates into their client’s companies, it’s perhaps ironic that finding talent to join their own organisations is becoming increasingly difficult.

“We know the industry overall has an image problem,” adds Graham, “but while individuals may aspire to join the larger Hays or Michael Pages of this world, it is clear smaller agencies are struggling to provide the personal identification young people crave from who they work for.”

Invest in staff

So worried was Graham that he actually re-interviewed people that had rejected job offers to join his company to out why.

“What we were surprised to learn was how things we thought would be attractive – like potential for money and having fast-paced environments – was turning people off. It was creating the impression we were an overly tough industry.”

The results have led to the formulation of a year-long training period, to make it clear to people that they are being invested in, and not thrown in at the deep end. Talent is only made client-facing after they have reached certain goals, and there are softer element like Xboxes in the office, team nights and even ‘gamified-style’ league-tables where staff can see their performance (projected onto a screen), almost like a computer game high-score table.

If agencies are to attract and hold onto the best talent for their own organisations, this is just the tip of the iceberg according to experts.

“I don’t believe recruitment firms are doing enough to recruit the best talent,” says Simon Conington, MD of resourcing firm, BPS World.

“What often happens is that the same people simply migrate between similar organisations. This distorts brands’ own individuality as their values are eroded by individuals with different sets of characteristics.”

Conington reflects the oft-held view that agencies are often too quick to hire the same ‘type’ of person – the pushy sales-types, motivated by bonuses and short-term gain rather than long-term business – because that’s what’s worked, and because too many are risk-averse to try something different.

Instead, he says he looks for consultants rather than salespeople, using psychometrics to recruit, before placing them into its Rising Stars Apprenticeship programme which nurtures them into fully-fledged recruitment agents.

Insider knowledge

But even this, say some, means agencies will still cut themselves off from vast pools of untapped talent. This is why one firm, The Candidate, which recruits into the digital media sector, says it does things rather differently. It believes the best talent it needs are those who have previously worked in the areas it places people into – ie digital marketing experts.

Brian Matthews, managing partner, says: “We’re in a talent-shortage sector, yet we manage to hire people with degrees in PR and marketing, and those with digital experience because that’s who we’ve targeted.”

He says not only does having former industry talent mean they know the pressures of the jobs they’ll be placing people into for clients, but clients respond to their former inside knowledge.

“It’s a trust issue,” he says. “Our staff know what our clients need because they’ve done it themselves [he says they’ve only had three people drop-out of placements in three years], and the result is that we are the preferred supplier to the three largest media agencies in Manchester.”

He accepts persuading digital marketers to move into recruitment hasn’t been easy, and the poaching process does reveal the stereotypes people hold of the recruitment sector, but Matthews says the effort is worth it.

“We recognise these people are different, so will design their jobs to be less targets-driven,” he says. “As long as we’re able to facilitate a career for these people, I think that’s all that matters. We encourage them to still have their toe in the sector, by supporting them on placements, so they stay up-to-date with what’s changing in this sector.”

Encourage diversity

Hiring people from the sector agencies place into is one way of getting the best talent, but another step being taken is to attract new people completely into the industry by casting their search nets still wider.

At Barrington Hibbert Associates, founder Michael Barrington-Hibbert is fast developing a track record for hiring from under-represented minority groups, working with an organisation called The Brokerage, which helps provide young people with a pathway into industries they may not have previously considered.

He says: “Hiring people from public school background might be relevant when placing a CEO, but what the recruitment sector really needs most is people that can think differently, not be part of the crowd, and suggest to clients people they may not have been thought of before.”

Barrington-Hibbert recently a new starter, who came from a tough Hackney council estate, but he calls him one of his “best hires,” because he has a will to succeed.

He says: “There is so much more value-add to be had from a diverse talent pool. “We also recently hired a young Muslim girl and during talks with a German client, she spoke fluent German. The client was blown away by this.”

He accepts he still has bills to pay, and there is a typical commission structure in place, but he says having a broader range of people makes for being able to offer more personal rewards – giving someone a few days off for a job well done, or a spa-break, or Selfridges vouchers etc.

“I run a charity in Africa, and I’ve just told the team that if they hit our repeat business targets I’ll take them there,” he adds. “These are the sorts of things we can do to motivate diverse people.”

For all agencies, it seems the perks on offer will merely be the things people expect, and that it’s the bigger picture that needs to be explained to attract them in.

Tony Wilmot, director at Frontline recruitment, says: “Yes, we’ll offer all the usual staff perks – health and life cover, income protection, loyalty cards, private medical insurance and pensions, but what we really look for is people that are willing to grow with us.

“We don’t get engrossed with people’s previous experience, but we’ll assess the similarities that make for good people. By making it clear we want to give people ownership of our brand, we’re tapping into the more entrepreneurially-based talent, who are excited by running their own operations.”

It’s clear that if agencies go the extra mile explaining the benefits of their own organisation, finding and retaining talent for their own businesses will come more easily.

So, what are you waiting for? As you will no doubt tell your clients, talent is out there – you just have to find it, and make them aware of you.

Ref: http://www.recruitmentagencynow.com/recruiting-for-recruitment-how-agencies-attract-the-best-talent-into-the-industry/

 

NEW REC COURSE TACKLES CANDIDATE SHORTAGE CHALLENGES

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The so-called skills shortage which is probably one of the biggest challenges currently facing recruiters is being met head-on through a new course being offered by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC).

Candidates are the lifeblood of the recruitment industry and without them many businesses would not survive so the half-day course will give expert guidance on how to generate potential candidates through existing ‘banks’ of jobseekers.

The course provides easy to follow strategies addressing the reasons why there are candidate and skills shortages. From this, there are tips on managing the candidate “bank”; tracking candidates; pre-selection and handling positive rejection; public relations and its importance in candidate generation and learning about web-based sources which can assist in the process.

Judith Armatage, the REC’s Director of Professional Development, said:

“We have designed this course in response to members’ feedback about their experiences with candidates, or a lack of them. The focus of this course therefore will be to gain and retain candidates through providing an exemplary service.”

REC and The Open University launch new series of skills-based courses for members

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Recruiters now have an opportunity to update their skills and knowledge through the launch of a range of 13 online courses being offered through a new partnership between the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and the Open University’s Centre for Professional Learning and Development (CPLD).

With each of the courses taking around 30 hours to complete, they can be studied at a time and pace to suit each individual. This makes them ideal for those unable to commit to long-term study but want to acquire new skills, knowledge and ideas which can be applied to the workplace.
With the courses come a number of benefits. They include skills development to suit an individual’s personal development and work-based needs. Each has a series of clearly presented and sequenced materials, activities and the support of a expert, who, acting like a personal coach, will respond directly within 24 hours.

The courses comprise a series of activities and cases studies that allow the student to reflect upon and assess current practice, and plan for development. There is also a final end of course assessed work-based activity, which is forwarded to the Learning Advisor who provides personal feedback.

On successful completion of the course, the participant will receive an Open University certificate which can be used as proof of continuing professional development to the REC or an employer, or can be simply added to a personal portfolio of learning.

The 13 courses, for which a ten per cent discount has been negotiated for REC members, range from Managing Performance Through People; Applying Strategic Thinking to Understanding Stress at Work.

Judith Armatage, the REC’s Director of Professional Development, said:

“This is an extremely exciting development for us to be able to offer continuing professional development courses with the Open University, ranked the top UK university for student satisfaction.¹

“Through this partnership, we hope even more members, especially those who cannot commit to longer-term courses, will be able to continue their own personal development programmes so that they are able to acquire new skills knowing that they have both the full support of the OU and of course, the REC.”

Charles Edwards, Acting Director of the OU’s Centre for Professional Learning and Development said of the launch:

“We are delighted to be working with the REC and supporting members with our online CPD courses. Our expertise in flexible, work-based, supported open learning also lends itself superbly to meet the ongoing needs of professionals and our CPD certification distinguishes us from other training courses – it provides the evidence of the quality, relevance and application to practice of CPD activity.”

Full details of the new courses are now available through the REC website, www.rec.uk.com.

Picture shows: Charles Edwards, Acting Director of The Open University’s Centre for Professional Learning and Development and Judith Armatage, the REC’s Director of Professional Development at the launch of the new series of 13 online courses are being offered to REC members through the OU.

3 Benefits of Continuous Recruitment

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If your company doesn’t have any open positions, what’s the point of recruiting?

It’s a question worth considering, and most companies seem to agree with the sentiment: there is no point in recruiting when there aren’t any open positions. In fact, a recent study by CareerBuilder found only 38 percent of employers continuously recruit throughout the year for positions that may open up down the line.

However, having and leaving open vacancies can have a big impact on a company, costing time and money and impacting current employees in a negative way. To avoid this, your company should always be recruiting. Although it may seem like overkill, a company that continuously recruits builds what is called a ‘talent pipeline,’ or a community of qualified, interested candidates with the skills and experience to meet your organization’s unique needs.

Ref: http://recruitmentbuzz.co.uk/3-benefits-of-continuous-recruitment/

Trends That Will Shape Recruitment in 2015

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Come 2015, recruiting leaders globally will have higher budgets and even higher hiring volumes, with a strong need to focus on “quality of hire”. 

They will also need a much stronger focus on social networks, and will need to structure a strategy for passive candidate recruiting, which currently only 61% of global companies have.

These are the global trends highlighted in LinkedIn’s latest recruitment trends report, which gathered input from more than 4,000 recruiting leaders across 31 countries.

The findings outlined that for the first time in four years, 63% of leaders expect hiring volumes to rise, as well as 46% who anticipate an increase in hiring budgets.

It also found that a significant 38% expect to source talent from social professional networks – a number that has increased by 78% since 2013 – second only to internet job boards at 42%.

Ref: http://recruitmentbuzz.co.uk/trends-that-will-shape-recruitment-in-2015/

Aldi set to Create 35,000 Jobs

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Aldi has revealed that it plans to create 35,000 new jobs in Britain as it almost doubles the total number of stores over the next eight years.

The popular discount supermarket will open 54 stores by the end of this year, 60 to 65 next year and also aims to have 1,000 stores by 2022.

The details of Aldi’s big job boost were announced during a visit  by David Cameron to the firm’s UK headquarters in Warwickshire on Monday.

Aldi confirmed plans, first announced in September, to invest £600m as it expanded operations in Britain.

Although Aldi’s intention to create 35,000 jobs will aid those seeking work, retail analyst Nick Bubb has cast some doubt over the total number of jobs that would be made.

Ref: http://recruitmentbuzz.co.uk/aldi-set-to-create-35000-jobs/

APSCo Outlines the Top Trends in Global Recruitment

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Speaking at the recent NPA Conference in Bali, Chief Executive of APSCo Ann Swain urged delegates to adapt and capitalise on the five key trends affecting the global recruitment market.

Delegates from the NPA – a global network of independent recruiters – enjoyed an insightful presentation covering the challenges facing recruitment firms in what is an ever evolving global landscape.

As well as globalisation, the other key trends include political and economic instability, the growth of the RPO and MSP model, continued technological evolution and of course, demographic change. As if that’s not enough our profession also has to contend with complex legislation, an increasingly sophisticated customer base and of course –the growth of in house recruitment,” said Swain.

43% of organisations have some form of centralised recruitment function – and in fact between 80 and 95% of roles at Cap-gemini are sourced by staff referral schemes.That’s food for thought and so recruitment firms need to be proving how they are adding value by being innovative around resourcing and making sure that their teams really understand – and can sell – the benefits of external supply.

Concluding her presentation, Swain made the point that while during the recession we focussed on efficiency, post-recession, we need to focus on effectiveness and differentiation. “The global market is evolving rapidly – if change on the outside is faster than change on the inside – we are in trouble.

Ref: http://recruitmentbuzz.co.uk/apsco-outlines-the-top-trends-in-global-recruitment/

Nominations are now open for the Onrec Online Recruitment Awards 2015

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Nominations close on the 14th December 2014. Don’t miss out. Nominate your company today.

We are delighted to announce that the 2015 Onrec online recruitment Awards – the online recruitment industry’s most prestigious Awards Ceremony – will take place in London on 19th March 2015. The evening starts at 7:15pm, and will end at 11pm.

Celebrating the success, growth, innovation, talent and achievements within the Online Recruitment Industry, the Awards are now in their 11th year and are firmly marked in the calendar as the industry’s must attend event. They are not only a fantastic opportunity to celebrate but also a networking opportunity not to be missed! Last year, we had over 400 people in attendance to the Onrec Awards.

Ref: http://www.onrec.com/news/news-archive/nominations-are-now-open-for-the-onrec-online-recruitment-awards-2015-1

Greencore Hungary recruitment plan ‘not the answer’

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Work is under way to build Greencore’s new £30m factory in Moulton Park

Bringing workers in from Hungary is not the answer to a sandwich firm’s recruitment problems, according to the leader of Northampton Borough Council.

Conservative David Mackintosh said employing workers from abroad would only increase the pressure on schools and health facilities in the town.

Greencore Group have already made moves to recruit staff from Hungary due to “very low unemployment” locally.

The firm has now said it still intends to recruit in Northampton.

‘Not enough people’

Mr Mackintosh said the borough council would be looking to meet with Greencore, Jobcentre Plus and colleges.

He said: “Public services are already under enormous pressure in Northampton and bringing additional people from Hungary is not the answer.

“We already have problems in Northampton with access to healthcare, schools and other public services, and this would just add to that.”

Greencore’s human resources director Allyson Russell had said staff would have to be recruited from abroad.

The firm, which supplies Tesco and Marks & Spencer, made the move after failing to attract enough job applicants.

“There aren’t enough people around and it is not always the kind of work people have wanted to do,” she said.

 

Every year Greencore makes:

A sandwich

• 430 million sandwiches

• 150 million ready meals

• 200 million bottles of cooking sauces

• 42 million quiches

• Three million Christmas cakes

• 530 million Yorkshire puddings

Source: Greencore Group

Greencore said it would continue to look abroad but was also attempting to find people locally.

A spokesman said the company had started a range of recruitment initiatives, but would also be looking at applicants from further afield, including Hungary.

Greencore is constructing a new £30m site on Deer Park Road in Moulton Park which will employ 250 people. It is due to open in the spring of 2016.

The company has already taking part in the Northampton Jobs Fair in September, recruited 50 staff from an event in Corby and participated in a scheme with Jobcentre Plus to offer work experience to unemployed people.