lessons from the frontline of recruitment
Creativity, resilience, hard work and passion are not just the preserve of narrow elite. These qualities are hidden in all of us and it s the role of employers to work hard to find and develop talent, wherever it exists. Claire Paul, Head of New Talent, BBC
Foreword - Grace Mehanna Back in 2013 when we launched Generation Talent the UK faced unprecedented levels of youth unemployment. Over one million young people were out of work and even more worryingly, the numbers who were long-term unemployed had almost trebled from its pre-recession level. Behind all of these daunting statistics were real lives; young people with talent but lacking the experience or family networks to get their first start. Businesses were beginning to recognise that if the UK was going to prevent a lost generation then they needed to act urgently. In order to make a meaningful impact a partnership with the Department of Work and Pensions was created. It is encouraging to see that youth unemployment is going down however there is much to do. This report shares what we have learned over two years of examining recruitment practice; the barriers we uncovered, and how to remove them. We want all UK companies to make their recruitment processes transparent and accessible to young people entering the jobs market and prevent future unemployment. Companies can do this by: Assessing recruitment channels and criteria for entry level jobs Providing a transparent process so that young candidates are clear about timescales and what is expected of them at each stage Offering feedback to candidates you interview so that they can improve their interview technique I hope this report inspires more businesses use the self assessment tool to reveal the powerful role they have to play in making sure that their recruitment processes are transparent and accessible to all young people taking their first step in entering the job market. Grace Mehanna, Director of Talent & Skills at Business in the Community
Laying the foundations - partnership with DWP The initiative began when the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) seconded two senior engagement managers for two years. This allowed DWP and BITC to build a strong working partnership that is informing new thinking in the Department fundamentally changing the way they interact with business. In turn, DWP are helping BITC members navigate the myriad of Government initiatives signposting extra support through Jobcentres. This crucial connection is a key feature of the initiative, allowing employers who sign-up access to an enhanced level of service from dedicated Jobcentre Plus account managers. The Partnership has provided DWP with an opportunity to interact with companies at board level as well as working with the more customary recruitment teams. DWP has been able to gather business insight both from senior leaders and practitioners which has helped inform future strategies and enabled collaborative working to assist citizens into work Martin Brown, Director for Wales and Employers, DWP Getting started - finding the right champions Building on the DWP partnership, the next step was to convene a diverse group of businesses who would drive the initiative forward. We wanted to create a safe space for organisations to share what was working and where they could do better, giving them the time to drill down to what was really at the root of unemployment, and develop the solutions that were missing. Initially some businesses joined because they were facing pressing skills shortages, others were recruiters or interested in exploring ways they could tackle youth unemployment. It has been the hard work of the Champions Group driving the initiative. It is their willingness to challenge their own assumptions, which maintains its credibility, grounding it in practical action rather than rhetoric. Insider insight - what do the champions get out of it? Whitbread I have found the involvement in Generation Talent very useful. The involvement of DWP has made me realise that there has been a cultural change within this Department and a real desire to engage with businesses to understand their needs and involve businesses in driving changes Liz White, Wise Project Manager, Whitbread Pertemps This opened my eyes and enabled me work on initiatives to bring young people into work for example traineeships and a redesign of the recruitment process. This was instrumental in developing a better relationship with Jobcentre Plus and increasing my perception of the benefits they can provide. Having DWP jointly running this campaign with BITC has been extremely valuable they have provided knowledge and information on topics that would have passed me by Sue Purnell, National Account Manager, Operations, Pertemps
Manpower Being part of the BITC Generation Talent Group has given Manpower the opportunity to share the ideas of the other companies and trust in the ability of Jobcentre Plus/DWP to deliver. In 2014 over 400 young people obtained jobs and part of this is by giving time to support not only the young people into work but also giving time to the JCP job coaches so they can understand businesses better Annie Osborne, Recruitment Manager, Manpower Early successes - two years of achievement With the support of the Generation Talent Champions group and the DWP, we have achieved an incredible amount within a short space of time. In two years we have Engaged and challenged over 113 major companies to assess how they recruit young people Made 124,000 vacancies visible to unemployed people through the Jobcentre Opened a crucial gateway into Jobcentre Plus allowing business access to a professional service and recruitment advice from government departments 16,700 apprenticeships have been pledged 19,700 work experience placements have been offered Perhaps the most significant achievement of the Champions group over the last two years has been the creation of a self-assessment tool. This simple diagnostic tool helps organisations to identify unconscious barriers buried within their recruitment processes. It generates an analysis report highlighting small tweaks in their processes which will have an impact on the number of young unemployed people they can recruit.
Our findings
The self-assessment tool - What have we learned? Analysing the results of the Self- Assessment Tool, allows us to gain insight into what has been going on behind the scenes. The data confirms that while there are still challenges hidden out there, the self-assessment tool s bespoke advice to employers is clearly beginning to bear fruit. Here are four of the more interesting findings: 1. There is growing confidence amongst businesses in Jobcentre Plus services 2. Businesses are beginning to understand the importance of providing feedback to young people at all stages of the recruitment process 3. An Experience trap is preventing many young people from starting their career 4. Young people struggle to get to grips with recruitment processes and there is a need for transparency Finding 1 - growing confidence in the Jobcentre Plus service Jobcentres work with thousands of motivated, aspirational young people who are just looking to get their foot on the career ladder. As the economy improves it is good to see that 86% of respondents advertise some of their jobs with Jobcentre Plus to tap into that talent. This includes 30% who advertise all their jobs with Jobcentre Plus. Working with their local Jobcentre Plus is a great way to open up your opportunities rather than falling back on informal recruitment methods like word of mouth recommendations. Gala Coral are a great example of this shift back to working with Jobcentres Gala Coral how they responded "For a number of years we steered away from using the JCP due to below par results and the shift in the recruitment industry to predominantly use online sourcing tools. Since re-engaging with the Jobcentre Plus we ve seen incremental success/improvements in both results and processes with the key being much more flexibility than we d seen previously. Our local relationships have allowed us to target key locations and start to work a true partnership strategy. Mark Salvador, Operational Resourcing Manager
Finding 2 - Feedback is crucial Not feeding-back to job candidates knocks their confidence and stops them improving their interview technique this is particularly relevant for young people. However 58% of organisations are giving feedback to interviewed candidates upon request, whilst 23% of organisations provide feedback to any candidate upon request. Finding 3 - A need for transparent processes Young people are often unclear of the different stages ahead of them in the recruitment process and what is expected at each. A year ago we reported that 37% of organisations provide a transparent recruitment process, the latest figures show this has increased to 56% which is great progress. However, only 35% of respondents involve the current job holder in designing their job adverts. It is good practice to test adverts out on young people to ensure they are relevant. The BBC are a great example of how creating clear advertising without industry jargon is helping them to appeal to a much wider and more diverse audience BBC - how they responded The BBC believes passionately that talented people come from all walks of life. Whilst it is relatively easy for us to find well developed, university educated talent, the BBC also wants to reach out to anybody, irrespective of background, who has the raw potential to succeed in our industry. Claire Paul, Head of New Talent at the BBC
Finding 4 - The experience trap Many young people are attempting to enter the job market with little or no work experience, however we found that 61% of employers are still asking for work experience for entry level jobs -which by definition require none- leaving young people caught in an Experience trap. However the data shows that company requirements for work experience are slowly changing with 42% now allowing candidates to demonstrate transferable skills not necessarily gained through work. There is obviously more to do in terms of getting recruitment to the point where businesses are employing young people on the basis of aptitude and attitude, rather than experience. Hospitality business Whitbread is a good example of the benefits that come from putting the emphasis on what really matters to your business Whitbread - how they responded By shifting focus to attitude and aptitude rather than just experience, working more closely with Jobcentre Plus, and by making our recruitment process person-focused rather than automated we have massively expanded the pool of talent open to us. Amanda Brady, Director of HR for Premier Inn and Shared Services, Whitbread While Morgan Sindell s example shows the impact from offering young people the chance to develop employability skills on work experience. Morgan Sindall - how they responded Construction Company Morgan Sindall has been working in partnership with Jobcentre Plus. Together they identified that young people were especially vulnerable as their lack of job-specific skills and work experience affected their employability. For these young people the opportunity to undertake quality work experience can make a real difference and help get them one step closer to a job. I am really enjoying being part of a team, and everyone is very supportive. Getting to know the subcontractors is important to hear about job opportunities and with a good reference from Morgan Sindall I m very positive about my future. Michael Hockin, Work Experience Candidate
What can my organisation do? three simple steps We want all UK companies to take three simple steps to make their recruitment processes transparent and accessible to young people entering the jobs market: 1. Assess your recruitment channels and criteria for entry level jobs 2. Provide a transparent recruitment process so that young candidates are clear about timescales and what is expected of them at each stage 3. Offer feedback to interviewed candidates so that they can improve their interview technique These 3 simple changes will have a huge impact on young people s chances in the job market. Now is the time for more businesses to take action on creating accessible and sustainable employment for young people. Take the short Self-Assessment test to help identify any barriers your organisation has in the recruitment process: www.bitc.org.uk/generationtalent and if you are interested in learning more, please contact Caroline Wynn-Davies caroline.wynn-davies@bitc.org.uk. The Generation Talent Champions Group
"Having left school with just a handful of qualifications myself, I know how important this can be. It's crucial that we all work together to inspire and nurture the next generation of talent and tackle this issue head on." Andy Clarke, CEO, ASDA