The changing scope of recruitment

Picture 1: Staffing teams

Picture 2: A typical recruitment process as possible today

 

On Wednesday September 27, I conducted a webinar titled “HR Trends and the implications for Recruitment“. In my preparation, I made two pictures I would like to share with you.

Recruiting: making sure the required capabilities are accessible

There is a shift from recruiting for positions to recruiting to strengthen capability pools (Read: The end of static jobs).
In Picture 1 I have made an attempt to outline the process of staffing teams in organisations.

1. There is a clear view on the required capabilities, today and in the nearby future. Some capabilities are near to the core of the organisation, and often required in teams. These pools (in the picture pools 1,2 and 3) are built as much as possible in the organisation. For some capabilities this is not required, or not possible. For these capabilities, you can rely (partly) on people who are not on the payroll.
2. The recruitment/ staffing team makes sure the required capabilities are timely available. They are supported by tyheir workforce planning systems. The recruitment/staffing team, and broader HR, should also keep an eye on the external pools, in order to have quick access to motivated and connected people.
3. People can be in more than one capability pool, as they often have a mix of capabilities (technical, functional, (project) management, leadership).
4. Per assignment the best possible team is assembled. Looking at the required capabilities, but also the wishes and (development) needs of staff.

The changing recruitment process

Last week I was walking around on Zukunft Personal in Cologne. There were of course many recruitment solutions around. Most of them are still developed around the old recruitment process. You define clearly what you are looking for, mainly in terms of skills, experience and capabilities, and then you try to find matching candidates as quick as possible. In the Netherlands, we would say: this is old wine in new bottles.

In Picture 2 I tried to outline a recruitment process as it is possible today.

1. Based on thorough analysis of your people and business data, and if possible data from other organisations, you can determine the characteristics of top performers. Not only in terms of skills and capabilities, but also concerning their personality and the factors that allow a good cultural fit.
2. You ask your recruitment machine: go out there, and please find me candidates that fit the profile.
3. The longlist with possible candidates is given to your army of friendly chatbots. The chatbots approach the candidates (via their preferred channels, such as Facebook messenger, WhatsApp or WeChat). They check the interest of the candidates, and ask some qualifying questions (“Do you want to work in Manchester?”). The chatbots turn the longlist into a shorter list of qualified candidates.
4. The remaining candidates are invited for an online assessment, which includes some role play and some tests.
5. The candidates that survive the assessments are invited for some interviews and a visit to the organisation. The best people are hired.
6. Onboarding starts immediately, even before the candidates start working.
7. Candidates become employees. They work, learn and develop.
8. Their progress and performance is closely monitored, and the data is used to refine the profile.