Wednesday, April 18, 2007

::Recruiting from non-traditional source

The poaching of private bankers and a drying pool of good relationship managers have prompted at least one bank to start recruiting older Singaporeans with no experience in banking.
In what is believed to be an industry first, HSBC is now eyeing professionals aged between 38 and 50 years old for its premier banking arm. The Hong Kong-based bank is wooing them on the premise that they know enough people — and have enough life experience — to bring in the money - todayonline.com

I guess this was exactly what the hiring managers at one of the leading investment bank were trying to impress upon us when we were invited to attend a presentation on a new talent management solutions which the bank was implementing.

Recruiting from non-traditional source using non-conventional methods are increasingly becoming more of a reality rather than a fad. This practice however could increasingly find relevance in many industries wherever there is a scarcity of talents.

Take for instance, as most investment banks prepares to move their development and application support to APAC and India the economy of demand-supply will come to play at some point in time. To counter this imbalance hiring managers will be increasingly compel to scout for resources outside of the common pool.

The key here is to “Hire for Attitude and Train for Skills” – this cliché generally does not go wrong.

Some examples which may be applicable within the investment bank are –
  • Level1 support engineers: Instead of looking for 5-6 years banking IT project experience hire 2-3 years if not fresher with good attitude and communication skills and provide an in-house training on the business domain.Reasoning: Since L1 involves mainly phone and email support one does not require a seasoned software programmer to man the desk.
  • C/C++ systems programmers: There is a huge shortage of good C/C++ programmers and that’s true even for India. The solution here is to recruit fresh graduates and provide them training for a year or two before putting them onto projects. Reasoning: Instead of relying on a market pool which is drying up it is rather sensible to proactively train fresh minds and incubate them for any eventuality.
  • Business Analyst(BA): BA’s are breeds apart. Not everyone can be a successful BA. And not many BA’s are available in the market. To excel in this role one must have a combination of good business knowledge and understands full SDLC and at the same time communicate with stake holders and translates business requirements into technical specs, etc. Reasoning: Instead of wasting months trying to find the perfect BA which does not exist, hire someone with good BA experience from industry/domain that is relatively closer and train her on the required business domain.

These are just few examples off the cuff, I am sure options are aplenty if only we, meaning hiring managers are prepared to think outside of their comfort zone and explore the available talent pools around them.

As for us recruiters, we need to progressively partner our clients and manage their expectations at every single stage of the recruitment process and constantly provide our clients with realistic market feedbacks.

This will in turn give them the required time to make necessary changes in their talent management strategies and streamline their effort to the options that are viable and prudent and most of all in line with the current market condition thus allowing them to stay ahead of competition.

*** Happy Hunting folks***

Thursday, April 05, 2007

::Two out of five workers in Singapore are foreigners

Singapore – Two out of every five workers in Singapore are foreigners, according to the latest research by Watson Wyatt.

The survey found that 19% out of the 43% foreigners in the workforce comprised permanent residents. While the poll made no distinction between S-pass holders and employment pass holders, the survey had a total headcount of 80,000, and is said to be “representative of the larger working population in Singapore”.
Out of the 79 companies surveyed, only 14% of companies had a different pay structure for foreigners, with a percentage of premium increase of 10% to 20%.
Source: By Lisa Cheong Human Resources Online

Sunday, April 01, 2007

::10 keys to being a successful recruiter

I. Focus on relationship-building rather than on resumes
In recruiting, who you know is as important as what you know – and the more people who know, like, trust, and respect you, the better the reputation you’ll build for yourself and your company. That reputation will translate, down the road, into more great candidates and successful hires. So cultivate your candidates and your contacts, treat them fairly and courteously, and do good turns for them wherever you can. Base your relationships on sincere good will and long-term cooperation, rather than on short-term gains, and you’ll establish relationships that will benefit you for years to come.

II. Establish a network of top-notch candidates
You won’t find the people you need simply by depending on job boards and resume banks. Instead, build your own network of great candidates, and add to it weekly. Your network will provide you with three essentials: great employees to satisfy your demanding hiring managers, referrals to other stellar candidates, and valuable information when you have questions.

III. Use technology in as many ways as you can
To recruit effectively, one must embrace technology. In today’s recruitment scene the importance of technology cannot be said enough. From drafting JD’s to posting jobs to sourcing, shortlisting and arranging interviews to networking on the internet we can see the use of technology at every stage and sans technology it becomes rather difficult to even imagine, considering the pace of recruitment needs these days.
IV. Understand the need for speed at all levels of the recruiting process
A successful recruiter posts open jobs quickly, begins networking with contacts immediately, schedules phone screens and interviews with top candidates right away, and extends offers to winning candidates without delay. Every day you shave off your hiring process doubles or triples your chances of success.

V. Recruit all the time
There’s no such thing as a 40-hour week in recruiting! Instead, be willing to spend extra time and effort to research where the talent is hiding, and then go there to start building relationships. This means talking to people every where – airplanes, professional events, conferences, you name it. It means hanging out at happy hours, attending charity events, maybe even going to karaoke bars. It also means joining recruiting groups, and using recruiting forums where you can network with others willing to share advice and offer help.

VI. Develop and in-depth understanding of your company and the jobs you need to fill
When you know your stuff, your candidates will see you s smart and savvy – and they’ll get a good impression of your company as well. Develop an extensive knowledge of your company’s (and your competitors’) products and customers, as well as your (and their) strengths and weaknesses.

VII. Get everyone involved in the recruiting process
A successful recruiter enlists hiring managers and other employees in the effort to get jobs filled. How? By encouraging every employee to spread the word about how great the company is, and by educating hiring managers on the current job marketplace, the market value of certain skill sets, and the need to move quickly to capture good employees.
VIII. Measure your efforts
To refine your recruiting efforts, you need to know what’s working and what isn’t. How many positions did you fill last month? What was the time to fill? How many interviews did you conduct? What was your interview-to-hire ration? Use your results to fine-tune your recruiting process and make changes where they’re needed.

IX. Develop strong, sales, marketing, and communication skills
Huge part of recruiting involves marketing your company and your job openings to your candidates, and marketing your candidates to your hiring managers. As such it is very important that one understand the art of sales opening, negotiating and closing.
X. Use multiple recruiting resources
A successful recruiter doesn’t rely on a single source to find the best talent. By combining an in-house database, employee referral programs, outside recruiting agencies, advertising, campus recruiting efforts, and online recruiting, you’ll maximize your recruiting power.

Source: Recruiting & Retaining Employees for Dummies by Jennifer Brugh and Paula Manning

::Cartoon series 1

"We are never going to reach our recruitment targets if we let a little thing like death get in the way.."
Cartoon source:
www.cartoonstock.com