PPS' Corporate Blog

May 24, 2013

‘I want to feel the love!’ Candidate experience in recruitment.

Filed under: Applicant tracking, CV, interviews, Job applicants, Poll, Recruitment, Social Media, Talent Pool — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , — ppsworks @ 11:11 am

What communication do you send to your candidates when they apply for a job with you?

Job search

How do you treat your applicants?

Are you proud to boast that they represent your organisation in a great light, and give applicants a great experience of your employer brand?

Often your candidates are also your customers, yet for many organisations they are not afforded the same consideration as a customer would, and we’re not sure why.

We often hear that the ‘volume of applications doesn’t allow us to respond to every applicant – we don’t have time’. Yet organisations expect candidates to take time out of their busy lives to fill in applications forms and answer questions, so these people can be left deflated by the experience and with a negative impression.

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Here at PPS we carefully manage our client’s employer brand by ensuring that ALL candidates receive communications at every step of the recruitment process. We really don’t think it’s hard to do this, our systems are automated on candidate sifting to send the appropriate email or text, however, the communications that do go out are personalised and provide either a thank you or update to those candidates who do apply.

We survey applicants and ask about their recruitment experiences – we want to ensure that we exceed their expectations from a recruitment team.

Here’s the feedback we have received:

“I have been amazed by the application process and how friendly the staff have been, setting a very high bar on what to expect from the brand. If this is just the start I cannot wait to see what working for you is like”

“The whole process throughout has been very simple and has been organised with great thought and depth. It just shows how much COMPANY puts into the recruitment process”

“I had regular contact from the recruitment team. I knew exactly where I stood at each stage of the process”

“Regular contact was received and made me feel that the COMPANY realty were interested in my application”

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debsWritten by Debs Edmondson, Major Accounts Director at PPS Works.

Find Debs:

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May 17, 2013

Six things to look for in an RPO

Filed under: Corporate Blog, Everest RPO, Job applicants, PPS Works, Recruitment, Talent Pool, Temporary recruitment — Tags: , , , , , , , — ppsworks @ 3:39 pm

The recent release of the Everest - Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) – Service Provider Landscape with PEAK Matrix Assessment 2013 gives some useful insight into what RPO is about in an international context, and also gives us an opportunity to ask how it is different at a local level.

rpo

Recruitment Process Outsourcing

Everest Group defines RPO as transfer of ownership of all or part of recruitment processes or activities on an on-going basis rather than “out-tasking” arrangements (typically handled by recruitment agencies, staffing companies, or executive search firms) that are managed on a project-by-project basis.

This distinction is much more blurred when looking at the local level, with plenty of recruitment agencies looking to add RPO type service alongside their more traditional offerings.

So what should you be looking for if you want to “transfer of ownership of all or part of recruitment processes on an on-going basis” to an external provider?

With the help of Everest research, and PPS’ own experience, we propose the following list:

1) Market segments – make sure that the providers that you consider are specialists in your area. RPO is about the process, but it’s mostly about the recruitment, and so doesn’t differ from other services in requiring a knowledge of the market and the candidate.

2) Account Management – make sure that your account manager knows as much or more about recruitment than you do! And that they quickly come to understand exactly what sort of talent your organisation needs. Expect to be challenged in what you are doing – this is what you are paying for.

3) Technology – this needs to fit your process, rather than the other way around. Applicant tracking and talent pool management systems have come a long way recently, but configuration to your requirements is likely to be more relevant than some of the fancy functionality available.

4) Management Information – this should demonstrate how you are recruiting better talent more efficiently than before, and over the length of your contract. Hiring Managers will need to be persuaded by any change, and direct evidence that the RPO is helping them deliver is essential.

5) Resourcefulness – Twitter, Pinterest, Situational Judgement Tests, video assessment – all aspects of sourcing and screening talent that have emerged over the last few years. What will be next? Are you going to hear about it from your RPO once it is relevant to your business? You should!

6) Your brand – An applicant sourced and screened by PPS for one of our RPO clients recently fed back to us that though they were disappointed to not have been selected for the role, they were so impressed with the company, that they had gone out and bought one of their products. Make sure you select an RPO that guarantees to uphold your brand 100%.

So what do you think? Disagree with any of these? Think that another aspect of RPO provision should have made the top 6? We would love to discuss it with you.

willWritten by Will Shepherd – Managing Director of PPS Works Ltd

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March 8, 2013

Homeworkers – was Yahoo right?

Filed under: Corporate Blog, CV, PPS Works, Recruitment — Tags: — ppsworks @ 11:59 am

Last week, Yahoo’s CEO implemented a pretty tough strategy.

Marissa Mayer told all of her thousands of staff that they are officially banned from working “remotely”. Hundreds of staff already work from home and will have to make the difficult move back to the Yahoo offices by June 2013 or resign.

But what’s so wrong with working from home?

Ms Mayer stated that there are restrictions on communication if staff work outside the office, however here at PPS we believe that home workers are a vital asset.

We now employ over 15 individuals who work for us from home for typically 15 – 25 hours per week. They are all experienced HR or recruitment professionals who spend their time conducting telephone interviews with our Client’s applicants.

Although under-tapped, they’re an excellent asset - experienced, motivated, flexible and professional. We certainly never worry about lack of good quality applicants when we advertise for new homeworkers.

Does your business use homeworkers? How do you find the resource?

If your business uses home workers, drivers, demonstrators or any other field based staff, we have the recruitment expertise to help. Contact me at hannah.adkins@ppsworks.com for more information.

yammaWritten by Hannah Adkins, Marketing Executive at PPS Works

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January 4, 2013

A response to ‘How Helpful are References?’

Filed under: CV, Job applicants, PPS Works, Recruitment, Social Media, Talent Pool, Temporary recruitment — Tags: , — ppsworks @ 4:42 pm

PPS’s George Rouse responds to our previous blog post on: ‘How Helpful Are References?’

Having worked on referencing for a social housing organisation, I feel there are advantages to obtaining employment references, but at the same time there is definitely room for improvement.

It can be difficult and time consuming obtaining references for a full 3 year period, especially considering that within some industries such as Care

Are you overwhelmed by references?

Are you overwhelmed by references?

and Support, several candidates will have worked in range of temporary / bank positions. It is not always simple contacting each individual employer to verify what could even been as short as a week’s work. This however is still essential, and it needs to be done. The reason being; from experience, several candidates don’t tell the truth about employment dates, and often claim to have worked for longer than they have. Contacting employers to verify dates of employment clarifies these issues, and provides an accurate reflection of employment duration.

We used an electronic system for completing reference requests. Some employers were happy to cooperate and complete the references using our system (direct or by email), which saved loads of time. Other employers go by the traditional paper post method, and this can delay the reference being received significantly (sometimes by months), and ultimately this will delay the offer process (which is unfair on both the candidate and the potential employer). I definitely feel the way in which references are obtained needs to be more flexible, and if an electronic reference is requested, this should be readily available (it is quick and easy for both parties).

With regards to reference content, this is an area which can cause problems. It should go without saying that employers’ personal opinions on an individual’s personality should be disregarded and should not be included on an employment reference. Judgements and comments on work performance however should be included. The employer would need to tread carefully in this instance and ensure opinions and factual observation would not clash or overlap. From my experience, most employers just give a start and end date, and comment on the amount of sick days and whether the candidate has been through any disciplinary procedures. This does shed some light on reliability, and it is in my opinion beneficial for disciplinary matters and attendance to be disclosed.

I generally agree with the point “I don’t believe references give a good indication of likely performance nor how reliable a person will be, there needs to be recognition that the type of job applied for will determine the type of information required and therefore what the reference should look like” (Adam Abdulla, HR Customer Operations Manager, Turning Point). Aside from attendance and disciplinary matters, the employment references I have obtained give no reflection of an individual’s previous performance at work. There should be a more consistent approach to accounting for and recording work performance on an employment reference. The solution would need to be standardised. A more comprehensive employment reference would need to steer clear of comments regarding a candidate’s personality or an employer’s perception of an individual which can easily be overlapped with factual observation of work.

What is your opinion? Comment and share!

george

Written by George Rouse, Account Co-ordinator at PPS Works.

Find George on LinkedIn

If you would like to attend the next #SocialCareConnect roundtable event, where we will discuss CQC guidelines in relation to referencing and other issues, please contact our Marketing Team and email Hannah Adkins at: hannah.adkins@ppsworks.com for more information.

December 31, 2012

Housing professionals: 10 tips for getting the most out of LinkedIn

Filed under: Corporate Blog, Recruitment, Social Media, Uncategorized — Tags: , , , , , — ppsworks @ 11:54 am

LinkedIn boasts more than 150 million users around the world, making it one of the world’s largest social networks and the world’s leading professional networking website. It offers users a chance to access knowledge, insight and opportunities within their profession. But are you using it to its full extent?

LinkedIn screenshot

Investing time into your LinkedIn profile can be tremendously beneficial.

Whether you’re new to LinkedIn and have only just signed up, have an old account lying dormant or just worry that you’re not making the most of the opportunities it offers, here are a few basics tips to bring yourself up to speed.

1. Invest time in creating a complete profile

Complete means filling in every single section: skills and expertise, career history, adding an appropriate photo, a link to your company website and recommendations from the people who know you and your work best. Import your email contacts. This will help you to build your immediate network quickly and with relevant, interested people.

2. Join groups based on your interests.

Try these three for starters: UK Social Housing Professionals, CIH Housing 2012 and Social Housing Group UK. Post a discussion topic in each of these groups, whether it’s asking for advice for a problem you need help with, or some best practice from your job that you would like to share with others. When people respond, make sure you acknowledge their replies, and if you could be useful to one another in the future then send a connection request.

Assuming you got this far, there are other ways that you can really get the benefit of having an active and engaging LinkedIn profile. You need to learn how to build networks that deliver more value – and how you can become a more useful connection to others.

3. Build contacts through LinkedIn Signal

LinkedIn Signal can help you build new contacts with shared interests. Change the search box option from ‘People’ to ‘Updates’ and type in “Grant Shapps” to find out who else shares views on the housing minister.

4. Have a voice.

Regularly commenting on and sharing interesting and useful updates helps you keep in touch and be useful. Doing the same with second and third connections will help you engage and build new contacts in no time. When you’ve joined a Guardian Housing Network discussion, share that with your LinkedIn contacts too.

5. Use the ‘People-you-may-know’ feature.

Click the ‘See more’ tab and seek introductions to relevant connections through your network. Be absolutely clear about why you would like to be introduced and what added value you bring by being part of their contact group.

6. Earn credibility by sharing your knowledge.

LinkedIn Answers is a good way of building credibility with new connections. Change the search box option from ‘People’ to ‘Answers’, enter keywords such as social housing and see if there are any questions posed which you feel you can answer. The person asking the question gets to vote on the best answer; if this is you, that’s also highlighted on your profile.

7. Make announcements through your status bar.

When you are going to an industry event, announce it on LinkedIn. Ask who else is going, arrange to meet up at the event and remember to add these new connections to your network for future reference.

8. Share content quickly using LinkedIn today.

Use LinkedIn Today to read the latest news relevant to your specific interests. This is a surefire way of sharing content from a rich variety of sources, which will position you as a more interesting connection to your network.

9. Personalise your LinkedIn address.

Make the link to your profile more memorable by personalising it. Click on ‘Edit profile’, scroll down to public profile section and insert your name for a link which is now easier for people you meet to remember.

10. Research your industry.

If you are looking for a career move, it’s a great idea to use LinkedIn to research organisations you have applied to and look at the skills and experience of the people that they recruit. Follow the company to receive company updates and news feeds and use your network to get introduced to connections who can give you a personal insight into what it’s like to work there.

Lee Burman is business solutions manager at PPS. He also runs #HousingConnect, a regular tweetup event for the housing sector. He can be found on LinkedIn and on Twitter at @leeburman

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