recruitment
Jobs may not be guaranteed by relocation says expert
Permanent jobs could still be hard to find for the unemployed despite relocating as part of the coalition's new proposals, claims one expert.
Relocation for a permanent placement does not necessarily guarantee a job, says one expert, despite being the coalition government's latest initiative to get more people into permanent positions.
In a recent interview published in the Sunday Telegraph, Iain Duncan Smith revealed plans to relocate unemployed people to areas where there were jobs. But Phil Flaxton, chief executive of Work Wise UK, warned that relocation does not mean a definite job.
He said: "Overall it is a very sound move. However, I think it could be difficult to implement and it does not necessarily guarantee that they are going to get a job."
Forcing people to relocate could also put them in difficult situations with hard decisions about what to do with dependent family members, he warned.
Figures released this month by the Office of National Statistics showed that unemployment rose again in April to reach 2.47 million, with those having been unemployed for 12 months or more hitting 772,000, the highest since April 1997.
Updated: 29 June 2010.
Categories: jobs, market-and-industry-news, recruitment.
Branding key to 'war on talent', says human resources boss
People in human resources jobs might be interested to read about the significance of "employer branding" to recruiting the brightest talent to their organisations.
Speaking at a meeting of industry practitioners and leaders on Thursday (April 8th), Vera Janssens, vice president of corporate and marketing communications for south-west Europe at Siemens, admitted that previous "bouts of negative publicity" had affected relations with employees.
Ms Janssens commented that the technology giant, whose clients include the IT services of the BBC, was working to maintain a clear vision and strategy that employees and recruits could identify with.
She added: "The important thing is to explain the direction of the company, its core activities and focus for the future and how an employee's career will look in a new structure."
It seems many employers and leading figures in human resources are gearing up for fierce competition to secure talented individuals looking for work.
KPMG's UK head of people Michelle Quest recently told Personnel Today that the recruitment market has "exploded" in the last few months as companies battle to attract promising workers with greater numbers of positions available.
Updated: 13 April 2010.
Categories: human-resources, market-and-industry-news, recruitment.
PWc looking at new ways to fill accounting jobs
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has announced it plans to change the way it recruits people for accounting jobs.
The world's biggest professional services firm is also one of the UK's leading graduate recruiters and has successfully used a formula to identify the best trainees for a number of years.
It will carry on using its tried and tested assessment method, but plans to introduce a second recruitment programme to help fill its accounting jobs.
Rather than relying on the traditional measures such as academic performance, PwC's new scheme will see applicants asked to sit online tests and produce a business case to outline why they should be hired.
Sonja Stockton, PwC's head of recruitment, said she hoped the new assessment programme would identify individuals with potential who had perhaps not been suited to university life.
"People develop at different stage of academic life and those that demonstrate exceptional drive, capacity and entrepreneurial spirit can have great careers with us," she explained.
The Times named PwC as the top graduate employer in 2009, with the popularity of accounting jobs with people leaving university perhaps emphasised by the presence of Deloitte, KPMG and Ernst & Young in the top ten.
Updated: 17 February 2010.
Categories: finance-and-accounting, market-and-industry-news, recruitment.
HR staff starting to focus on recruitment again
People in HR jobs believe the worst of the recession has passed and are now starting to refocus on attracting new employees, a survey has suggested.
The Corporate Learning Priorities Survey 2010 said that HR professionals are feeling more secure about the future of their companies.
"HR professionals . anticipate turning their attention to succession planning and attracting new talent into the business," it said.
Henley Business School, which carried out the research, questioned 119 people in HR jobs and found that 67 per cent of them believe that the development of managers was one of their top two priorities this year, reports Personnel Today.
It was added that so-called "softer skills", including training in leadership styles, would also be a priority for people in HR jobs this year.
But last week, Martin Tiplady, HR chief for the Metropolitan Police, warned people working in the sector that HR needs to shed its "cuddly image" and adapt to the changing economic realities facing the UK.
Updated: 27 January 2010.
Categories: human-resources, jobs, market-and-industry-news, recruitment.
City HR chief - New taxes will make it harder to attract top bankers
It may become harder to attract high-quality staff to senior banking jobs due to the UK's tough tax regime, a London-based HR chief has warned.
Robert Potter, chairman of the City HR Association, told People Management that the introduction of the 50 per cent tax rate for higher earners this April, combined with the 50 per cent levy on banking bonuses, may make banking jobs in London less attractive.
"These changes may well give a negative perception of the City as a place to work," he said.
"Coupled with a potential talent drain, this could lead the City to lose its competitive edge in global markets."
He added that HR jobs and other positions within financial institutions will also be affected if firms feel they are being forced out of London by over-the-top taxation.
Earlier this week, Dan McNicholas, head of Asia financing sales at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, told Bloomberg that those in banking jobs in London and New York may consider a move to Asia as western governments tighten up their regulation of the industry.
He said that his company is currently in the process of helping to establish a dozen new hedge funds in the region.
Updated: 26 January 2010.
Categories: banking-and-financial-services, career, human-resources, market-and-industry-news, recruitment.
Professionalism and consistent quality of service from the outset
"Professionalism, consistent quality of service and wanting to understand our organisation from the outset" were the three key elements which David Bettles, Human Resources Manager for International Transport Workers' Federation highlighted regarding his relationship with Poolia.
"My relationship with Poolia is fairly recent in terms of length of time but in the last five months I have had regular interaction with the team at Poolia and we've done quite a lot of business together across Training, Finance and Office Support."
David explained how the relationship has developed and how Poolia has developed its knowledge of ITF.
"From the beginning it was clear that the all consultants I met were looking to understand what we were about and our culture. Each of my points of contact has met with me personally and has taken time probe into the precise details of the job specifications we have provided. This has meant that the quality of CVs I receive is very good and I can clearly see that they have shortlisted on our behalf. As a busy HR Manager I prefer to have strong relationships in place with a small number of agencies who I can rely upon and I've been impressed with the fact that Poolia have always done what they said they are going to do; I'm still surprised at the number of recruitment consultants that don't do this!
I've also noticed that everything that I was told about at our initial meeting regarding the way in which Poolia conducts the recruitment process, such as pre-interview meetings, has clearly happened in practice. The candidates I have met from Poolia are well prepared in terms of their knowledge of the ITF and importantly whether it is an organisation that they want to be part of. Again this demonstrates a strong knowledge of what we are looking for and effective screening by the consultants"
David sums up his feedback saying "Poolia has done well in a short period of time; they have demonstrated that they are a professional organisation and that they are committed to building long term relationships. I look forward to continuing this partnership."
Updated: 25 September 2009.
Categories: recruitment, what-our-client-say-about-us.
The first meeting is the most important
Elisabeth Dellner, HR-specialist at Stockholms Hamnar
Ports of Stockholm began the process of hiring two managers before Christmas.
"A prerequisite of achieving good results is having good personal chemistry between us and the recruitment consultant," says Elisabeth Dellner, who is an HR specialist at the company.
"Ports of Stockholm operates in an exciting environment, and the company has an easy time attracting, motivating and keeping employees. We are a modern company with many interesting jobs to offer, and we are involved in everything from renovating the Skeppsbron Pier to events like the Volvo Ocean Race," says Dellner.
The company is currently involved in a number of major projects, such as Stockholm-Nynäshamn, Norvikudden (an expanded port in Nynäshamn) and the development of a new city district in Värtan-Frihamnen, where they are adding a new pier and cruise ship terminal.
The company has collaborated with Poolia on recruitment over the years, and contacted them again when the time came to find an Operations Manager and a Procurement Manager.
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About Ports of Stockholm |
"We brought a draft of our requirement specifications to the very first meeting with Poolia. We had in-depth discussions all morning about what the job profile should look like, and how the announcement and advertising process should proceed," she says.
What is important to bear in mind at the first meeting?
"The first meeting is the most important. That is when you define the profiles for the positions. It is important to put all your cards on the table with regards to the position in question. It is important to be very open. Another prerequisite of achieving good results is having good personal chemistry between us and the recruitment consultant."
Why did you enlist a recruiting firm?
"We do a good deal of recruiting ourselves when we know the market and the position is a relatively easy one to find candidates for. But specialists and various types of managers can be hard to find. We do not always know the market. Sometimes we ask ourselves if a replacement for someone who is leaving the company after 20-30 years even exists, given the particular profile that employee had. And sometimes it may be that the new person shouldn't have the same profile as the person being replaced. In such a discussion, it is great to have a sounding board."
Can you describe the recruiting process?
"Once the requirement profile is set, Poolia provides three or four candidates for us to meet and conduct traditional job interviews with. We call one or two of them back for a second interview, and then collect references and give them a test."
How do you think Poolia differs from other recruiting firms?
"They have tremendous reach within the service sector. They have recruited everything from harbourmasters to a variety of other management positions. They are also fast, and it is important that the process be a short one, because potential applicants are generally searching for several positions simultaneously. They also keep us up to date on the candidates that they are finding. They are sensitive to how we want things done, and I am also impressed by the candidates they find, that they maintain such a high level of quality."
About Poolia and Ports of Stockholm
Ports of Stockholm has collaborated with Poolia on recruitment for many years. The current project involves the recruitment of an Operations Manager and a Procurement Manager.
Recruiting consultant Margot Estlander has a degree in accounting, and has previously headed financial departments and worked in accounting at a number of companies. She has been working at Poolia for 10 years, and has been key account manager for Ports of Stockholm for several years.
Updated: 23 September 2009.
Categories: international, recruitment, what-our-client-say-about-us.
