Solution: Recruitment Process Outsourcing

Church of England: Full-Scale Recruitment Process Review Through a DE&I Lens

Posted on by akessler
Church of England: Full-Scale Recruitment Process Review Through a DE&I Lens

Church of England: Full-Scale Recruitment Process Review Through a DE&I Lens

The Church of England turned to PeopleScout to help them review and co-create a future-proof recruitment process strategy to support them in recruiting people who reflect the diversity of the communities they serve.

Situation

The Church of England (C of E) and its seven National Church Institutions (NCIs) have made great progress already in creating a diverse, fair, and unbiased recruitment processes. But, like most organizations, they face unique challenges. The main one being the barriers which come with being a faith and mission-based organization, coupled with the external perception of the Church. With the progress they had already made, the C of E were looking to accelerate the pace of change and take this to the next level, which is where PeopleScout came in.

Solution

The Church of England engaged PeopleScout to execute a recruitment process review through a diversity, equality and inclusion lens (DE&I) with the goal of uncovering further opportunities, including:

  • A forensic deep dive of over 80 internal documents spanning role creation, assessment policy, organizational values, and DE&I training.
  • DE&I data analysis of C of E’s recruitment processes focusing on progression and engagement.
  • Deep immersion in the organization and connection with its members to understand what is happening on the ground through discovery interviews and focus groups, winning hearts and minds along the way.
  • Regular consultative check-ins with the core team to ensure they are involved at each step of the way so they can own the recommendations.
  • Co-creating a vision of what the future can look like with an actionable roadmap decided by current C of E employees.

Results

Examples of some of our recommendations include:

  • Create a competency/behavior library and corresponding bank of interview questions to support hiring managers when designing role profiles, job descriptions and interviews for their roles.
  • Revisit the Church of England’s brand visibility, marketing strategy and transparency based on feedback from their new joiners in order to better attract candidates from all backgrounds and religious orientations.
  • Create clarity around instructions for filling out application forms to allow more consistency in response quality from candidates (e.g., using example responses).
  • Keeping interview panels to a maximum of two or three members from C of E to reduce candidate anxiety.
  • Create a central onboarding checklist to ensure everyone receives the same support when joining their role in any of the NCIs.

With the support of PeopleScout, Church of England’s National Church Institutions now have:

  • Clarity over their current strengths in diverse recruitment to roll out wider, as well as opportunities for improvement
  • Actionable, realistic, tailored recommendations for creating change in their unique organization
  • A co-created roadmap with both quick wins and long-term strategy to mobilize change immediately whilst maintaining momentum
  • Out-of-the-box ideas for talent attraction and candidate experience to boost the diversity of new joiners
  • Support and buy in from key stakeholders and employee resource groups so that any actions can have a lasting embedded impact

At a Glance

  • COMPANY
    Church of England
  • INDUSTRY
    Public Sector
  • PEOPLESCOUT SOLUTIONS
    Recruitment Process Outsourcing
  • ABOUT CHURCH OF ENGLAND
    The seven National Church Institutions (NCIs) work together at an international and national level, supporting the ministries of the Church.
Let’s Connect

The Recruitment Handbook for Financial Services Talent

Posted on by akessler

The Recruitment Handbook for Financial Services Talent

The financial services industry faces immense recruitment challenges. With skills gaps persisting, economic uncertainties complicating hiring, and cultural perceptions pushing away young talent, talent leaders need solutions.

That’s why we created The Recruitment Handbook for Financial Services Talent.

In this information-packed guide, you’ll discover:

  • The latest global trends impacting financial services hiring so you can plan accordingly
  • 4 key recruitment strategies to solve your biggest hiring obstacles
  • Real-world examples and case studies of these strategies in action with RPO

Whether you need to build your employer brand, enhance your candidate experience, upskill employees or leverage better sourcing techniques, this handbook has tactics you can implement right away.

Download your copy now.

Talent Trends: 2023 in Review

Posted on by akessler

By Simon Wright, Global Head of Talent Advisory Consulting  

Earlier in 2023, we highlighted six key areas that would impact how companies attract, retain and develop talent. With the year wrapping up, we’re revisiting these critical topics to examine what transpired in the talent landscape and what may be on the horizon for 2024.  

From closing persistent skills gaps to offering more work flexibility, companies continue to face pressing talent challenges. Economic fluctuations have led some employers to pull back on hiring and remote work, while others doubled down on upskilling programs and expanded their talent pools.  

In the following review, we trace how the 2023 predictions played out amidst an uncertain economy and ever-evolving workplace. 

1. Closing Skills Gaps 

What We Said: 

With rapidly evolving technologies requiring new skills, companies are making upskilling and reskilling their workforce top priorities. Most employees feel unprepared for future jobs, so it’s important for organizations to invest in development to retain employees, build confidence, and help them adapt to changing business priorities. 

What We Saw: 

Skills gaps, and the upskilling and reskilling that must happen in order to close them, are still very much top of mind for HR leaders. The economic slowdown has increased candidate availability, so in the short term there has been more tech talent available, for example. But long term, there is still a skills crisis, and organizations are largely yet to shift to skills-based practices. 

We’ve seen front-runner organizations investing in skills development initiatives to grow the workforce they need. For example, Amazon’s program Career Choice is part of a wider initiative to invest over $1.2 billion by 2025 to provide 300,000 U.S. workers with the training they need to pursue careers in whatever field they choose.  

The average shelf-life of skills is now less than five years. So, the skills conversation is only going to get louder. If the World Economic Forum’s prediction is correct that over 85 million jobs will go unfilled by 2030 due to a lack of skilled talent, resulting in $8.5 trillion (USD) in annual lost revenues, then this is the most pressing issue facing talent leaders today.  

2. Offering More Flexibility 

What We Said: 

Amidst the acceleration of remote work, companies are facing mounting pressure to offer greater location and schedule flexibility to attract and retain talent.  

What We Saw: 

The return to the office debate is still raging. Employees want greater flexibility, but more and more employers are pulling people back into the office. Even Zoom, the video communications company that helps us all work from home, announced in August that it will start tightening its restrictions on remote work. Amazon, Disney and more have all reduced remote-work days. 

While power has shifted back to the employer, this issue won’t go away. If you really think your employees love coming to the office just because you’ve introduced free snacks, you don’t understand what flexibility means to your workers. Flexibility is not just about where you work. True flexibility is about giving more autonomy to your employees about the kinds of work they do and when and where they do it. 

3. Shifting to Contingent Workers 

What We Said: 

As the desire for work flexibility drives more professionals into freelance and contract roles, organizations are increasingly utilizing these temporary workers to fill pressing skills gaps and specific project needs while maintaining financial and strategic workforce flexibility. 

What We Saw: 

The economic uncertainty this year has made organizations less likely to make permanent hires. Plus, freelancers, consultants and contractors have developed into an essential part of the workforce as skills requirements become more complex. Maintaining a mix of traditional and flexible talent is crucial for businesses to stay ahead in today’s dynamic climate. 

With the enormous interest in ChatGPT and generative AI, it’s not a stretch to think the pace of business transformation will only accelerate in 2024. And demand for contingent workers will continue to rise. Indeed, according to Ceridian, 65% of organizations plan to increase their reliance on contingent workers in the next two years. 

Talent Trends 2023

4. Tapping into New Talent Pools 

What We Said: 

Facing workforce shortages, organizations are expanding their applicant pool by targeting untapped talent like Generation Z, unretiring Baby Boomers and boomeranging ex-employees.  

What We Saw: 

In 2023, the UK government launched a “returnership” initiative to inspire those over the age of 50 to come back to work. The goal is to help older workers retrain and learn new skills, providing them with a roadmap back to the workplace and encouraging organizations to hire them.  

We also saw organizations turn their attention to the talent pool sitting right under their noses. Internal mobility was a hot topic for talent leaders in 2023 as recruiting new talent became more and more challenging and costly.  

We were also reintroduced to the concept of labor hoarding, a term coined in the 1960s. This practice refers to organizations forgoing head-count reductions now, so they’re prepared when business picks up. In an era of labor shortages, organizations are keeping their workforces to avoid the risk of losing good talent to a competitor and to skip the costs associated with hiring again. 

5. Rallying Around the Mission 

What We Said: 

Our Inside the Candidate Experience research revealed that for 50% of candidates, an organization’s mission and purpose are a key influence on their decision to apply. Yet, when evaluating career sites, we found details on the mission or purpose of the organization less than half (48%) of the time.  

What We Saw: 

Employees are more dedicated than ever to finding an employer that shares their values and offers them a sense of purpose. However, workers within organizations that lack a sincere commitment to improving the community and supporting climate initiatives often report disengagement.  

According to Gallup data from June 2023, 59% of global workers say they’re not engaged at work. This is worrying as we move into a labor market that favors employers, as they will inevitably become less motivated to keep their employees engaged. Yet, a key reason why someone quiet quits hasn’t changed—and it’s down to a lack of connection to the company culture and purpose. 

A lack of engagement in the workforce is a leading factor in the productivity vacuum. Going into 2024, my hope is HR leaders will go beyond simply thinking about wellbeing to view their employees as whole people—not just workers. Updating your employee value proposition (EVP) to be more human-focused can help strike the right balance between compassion and business interests. Shifting to a Personal Value Proposition (PVP), and customizing offerings so that each employee feels valued as an individual, can help in fostering a positive emotional connection. 

Learn how to evolve your EVP to a human-centric PVP and increase productivity 23%.   

6. Engaging Outside Talent Acquisition Solutions 

What We Said: 

Despite economic uncertainty, business leaders foresee revenue growth in the coming year, but may need flexible and agile workforces achieved through contingent staffing to meet their top challenge of filling critical roles amidst a shifting talent landscape. 

What We Saw: 

We saw an increase in talent acquisition teams looking for quick wins. At PeopleScout, we are investing heavily in talent solutions designed to boost agility for employers of all sizes and across all industries. This includes offerings like our Amplifiers and PeopleScout Accelerate solutions launched this year. 

Amplifiers provide modular, targeted recruitment process outsourcing tailored to specific hiring needs. Clients can implement RPO support for just part of the talent acquisition lifecycle, whether that’s filling the top of the hiring funnel with high volumes of qualified talent or gaining deeper insights to guide strategic workforce decisions. This “as-needed” model is ideal for companies that want to remain nimble. 

Additionally, our PeopleScout Accelerate technology-enhanced RPO solution is purpose-built for fast-scaling organizations that need to ramp up recruiting quickly. We can implement PeopleScout Accelerate in just two weeks, providing access to our proven recruitment methodologies and our industry-leading Affinix talent acquisition technology suite right out of the gate. 

As we close the books on 2023, it’s clear the talent landscape continues to shift in new and uncertain directions. In the coming year, agile organizations that invest in the longevity of their workforce and truly connect with their people on a human level will maintain an edge. Rather than recoiling from change, forward-thinking talent leaders have an opportunity to guide their organization’s evolution. Now is the time to build workforces that can pivot on a dime while staying true to their purpose. 

PeopleScout Jobs Report Analysis—November 2023

Posted on by nfuqua

U.S. employers added 199,000 jobs in November, continuing the slowing pace of hiring. This is only slightly higher than what economists expected and shows the Federal Reserve’s plan to increase interest rates may be working. The unemployment rate fell to 3.7%. Year-over-year wage growth fell to 4.0%.

jobs report infographic

The Numbers

199,000: U.S. employers added 199,000 jobs in November.

3.7%: The unemployment rate fell to 3.7%.

4%: Wages rose 4% over the past year.

The Good

Experts at The Wall Street Journal call November’s jobs report “nearly perfect,” and an indication that a soft-landing for the U.S. economy is taking shape. The 199,000 jobs added to the economy represent a sustainable pace of growth that has remained steady throughout the fall months. The unemployment rate also fell to 3.7% after jumping to 3.9% the previous month. This had raised some red flags on Wall Street, but November’s decrease demonstrates that job growth is likely to continue into 2024. Additionally, wage growth continued to soften, dropping to 4%. The Federal Reserve is looking for wage growth to slow to lower inflation.

The Bad

It’s not easy to find bad news in November’s report, but the New York Times points out that the job growth was not evenly spread across industries. The strongest growth was in healthcare and government hiring, which are two of the sectors least connected to the strength of the economy. While manufacturing did see growth in December, much of that can be attributed to workers returning after the auto strikes. Additionally, the retail industry shed more than 38,000 jobs, showing some weakness in holiday hiring.

The Unknown

The big question is what the latest jobs report trends will mean for interest rates. Marketwatch reports that the Federal Reserve is likely to keep rates high into next spring. However, as the board meets next week, analysts expect the pause on increases to continue. Recent jobs reports have indicated that their strategy is working, and they fear raising rates too high or too quickly could trigger a downturn.  

Openreach Leadership Program: Finding the Directors of Tomorrow

Posted on by akessler
Openreach Leadership Program: Finding the Directors of Tomorrow

Openreach Leadership Program: Finding the Directors of Tomorrow

One of the world’s largest communication organizations, Openreach, turned to PeopleScout for a sourcing-led recruitment solution including talent assessment design to find eight to 10 future directors for a brand new leadership program.

Situation

Openreach approached PeopleScout to help them stand up and deliver a new senior leadership program which would allow starters to rotate through a series of roles to provide them with the skills needed to be successful in a director position. The roles included:

  • Senior Engineering Area / Regional Manager Fibre Network & Delivery (FND)
  • Chief Engineer – Senior Operations Manager
  • Senior Area Manager – Service Delivery

Openreach wanted PeopleScout to drive the talent assessment process and to source candidates for the program, presenting a list of the most suitable.

The aim of the program was to improve diversity and innovative thinking within the business. The business was concerned about a lack of gender and ethnic diversity, and most of their employees came from a telecoms background. Openreach wanted to bring in candidates from diverse backgrounds with experience managing large operational teams outside of the telecoms sector.

Openreach also wanted to improve career pathways within the business. So, our second aim was to support internal mobility by introducing a new step stone between senior management and director levels.

Our team were given a short time frame of just four weeks to create a solution and design the process. Plus, we then had to present candidates to Openreach for interviews in a competitive market.

Solution

Our team were tasked with attracting and sourcing candidates, designing and supporting the assessment center and completing the recruiter screening.

Advertising Plan

To start, we interviewed senior leaders and heads of resourcing to understand the transferrable skills they were looking for. From this we were able to make a target list of industries and organizations which had similarities. These included field operations and management, logistics, and engineering as well as consumer-centric operations such as retail.

With this intel in hand, we developed a solution which included a candidate attraction marketing campaign, including writing job copy and building a microsite.

Our team devised an inclusive and effective advertising plan. This involved creating a tailor-made job advert and a microsite containing relevant and exciting content about the opportunities available. Using imagery and quotes from their current directors, we brought the Openreach story to life and showed what real employees’ roles looked like. We supported our diversity goal by using both female and male directors in the attraction content.

The microsite played the biggest part in telling the story, taking potential leadership program candidates through their first few years at the company, detailing where they’ll end up.

We partnered with Openreach’s media partner for the campaign strategy for which LinkedIn was predominantly used. Posts from employees were used as well as brand-led posts that recruiters leveraged to highlight roles. We again drove our diversity objectives by using more women in our social media posts to amplify their voices.

A Sourcing-Led Approach

To begin, the recruitment process was sourcing-led, focusing on the candidate experience and the thorough qualification of candidates. We also specifically targeted passive candidates from the industries we identified with key transferrable skills. In order to help bring the roles to life, we directed candidates towards the microsite and video content that PeopleScout created for the campaign.

Talent Assessment

Our team worked with Openreach senior leaders to design an assessment solution, involving job analysis and a competency assessment framework. This enabled us to create a stepwise assessment process to evaluate candidates through cognitive testing and personality profiling. The penultimate stage involved a competency-based interview to identify a shortlist of candidates to present to Openreach for final interviews.

The assessment design included a feedback report from the interview panel for each candidate as well as a feedback interview for candidates who completed the testing stage.

Results

PeopleScout’s assessment design for Openreach led to:

  • Improved diversity amongst new program joiners. Amongst the new joiners, 25% identified as female and another 25% identified as Asian or Black. All selected hires scored highly in both the online test assessment and the interview.
  • 3:1 interview-to-offer acceptance rate. Our detailed assessment process was a good predictor of success. From the 81 candidates who were screened by recruiters, 34 candidates were selected for assessment, with 23 advancing to final interviews. Out of the 23, 10 were offered roles with eight acceptances.

The overall process from start to finish included a collaborative relationship between all teams at Openreach and PeopleScout to successfully deliver a brand new program.

Ten months on from the candidates’ start dates, we can confirm they have all successfully passed probation and are all actively working towards a director position.

“PeopleScout were really thorough, understood our requirements and ensured that they were able to accurately represent our business and the specific roles we were recruiting for. Communication throughout the process was excellent and they delivered the end result we were looking for.  When we surveyed our new joiners about their pre-hire experience, without exception they all held PeopleScout in high regard. We would have no hesitation in using PeopleScout in the future.”

Katrina Baillie, Head of Resourcing, Openreach

At a Glance

  • COMPANY
    Openreach
  • PEOPLESCOUT SOLUTIONS
    Recruitment Process Outsourcing
  • ANNUAL HIRES
    10 future leadership program candidates
  • LOCATIONS
    Telecomms & Utilities
  • ABOUT OPENREACH
    Openreach Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of BT Group. The telecomm provider maintains the copper wires and fibre cables that connect homes and businesses to phone and broadband.
Let’s Connect

City of London: Supporting Specialist Recruitment for Niche Roles

Posted on by akessler
City of London: Supporting Specialist Recruitment for Niche Roles

City of London: Supporting Specialist Recruitment for Niche Roles

For several years, City of London Corporation have partnered with PeopleScout to support on a number of recruitment campaigns for hard-to-fill roles.

Situation

PeopleScout have worked as the City of London Corporation’s recruitment marketing media partner for over five years, and during that time, our sourcing team have supported a number of specialist recruitment projects. City of London have used our specialist solutions to find candidates for various unique and hard-to-fill positions, including:

  • Assistant Director – Animal Health and Welfare Service
  • Port Health Assistant Director
  • Port Health Manager
  • Security Manager – Smithfield Market
  • Head of Commissioning
  • Assistant Director – Cemetery and Crematorium
  • Technical Manager
  • Head of Operations – Central Criminal Court

Solution

Our solutions are sourcing-led, acting as an extension of the client’s own team and focusing on amplifying the client’s brand to make passive candidates aware of great opportunities. Our bespoke solution was based on the client’s needs and budget.

Over the years, our recruitment projects have included:

Signposting

Advertising and marketing on LinkedIn with recruiter-led profile matching and messaging to raise awareness and encourage quality applications by signposting talent to your vacancy, advertised on your website. Applications are tracked and all engagement is recorded for an end-of-campaign report.

Search and Selection

Full end-to-end recruitment support including briefing call, sourcing, screening, candidate management, shortlist submission, interview scheduling and offer management. Vacancies are posted on the client site, alongside other media and candidate’s are directed into our ATS for our recruiters to manage. As part of this solution, the client receives regular work-in-progress reports as well as an end-of-campaign report.

Results

Our partnership over the years with City of London has resulted in:

  • Consultative relationships built with hiring managers
  • High response rates from candidate outreach
  • Shortlists of a minimum of five qualified candidates presented for each campaign
  • Market insights compiled and presented back

At a Glance

  • COMPANY
    City of London
  • INDUSTRY
    Government & Public Sector
  • PEOPLESCOUT SOLUTIONS
    Recruitment Process Outsourcing
  • ABOUT CITY OF LONDON
    The City of London, also known as the Square Mile, is the financial district of London. As the governing body of the Square Mile, City of London provides a range of services, from policing to green space maintenance. They offer varied career opportunities to a diverse range of Londoners.
Let’s Connect

PeopleScout Named an RPO Leader in EMEA and APAC on HRO Today’s Baker’s Dozen

Posted on by nfuqua

RPO provider rankings based on customer feedback

LONDON – November 27, 2023 – PeopleScout, a leading global provider of talent solutions, has been recognized as an RPO leader on HRO Today’s 2023 RPO Baker’s Dozen Customer Satisfaction Ratings in EMEA and APAC. This follows the company’s ranking as an enterprise leader on the global 2023 RPO Baker’s Dozen list announced in October.

“At PeopleScout, our clients are at the center of everything we do, and the trust they place in us is paramount,” said Rick Betori, PeopleScout President. “As a dedicated talent partner to organizations across the globe, we are committed to developing flexible and scalable solutions to their toughest talent challenges.”

HRO Today‘s Baker’s Dozen Customer Satisfaction Ratings are based solely on feedback from RPO buyers. The EMEA and APAC lists rank the top RPO providers within each respective region. Providers are evaluated on three sub-categories—breadth of service, size of deal and quality of service—in addition to an overall ranking.

“This recognition as an RPO leader in both EMEA and APAC is validation of our efforts to drive innovation in talent solutions and talent advisory capabilities globally,” said Andrew Wilkinson, Executive Leader and Managing Director in EMEA and APAC. “We remain grateful for the strength of our client partnerships around the world, without which, these rankings would not be possible.”

PeopleScout’s talent solutions combine speed, scalability and industry-leading technology with over 30 years of experience across geographies and industries to provide clients with the competitive edge they need to hire top talent. Backed by its award-winning technology, Affinix™ PeopleScout’s best-in-class RPO solutions take a partnership-oriented approach to provide full-cycle, partial cycle or project-based support to simplify the talent acquisition process, enhance the candidate experience and drive lasting business outcomes.

In addition to its recognition as an industry leader on HRO Today’s RPO Baker’s Dozen annual list for more than 10 years, the company was also named an RPO Leader on Everest Group’s 2023 RPO PEAK Matrix and a Leader in every category of NelsonHall’s 2023 NEAT Vendor Evaluation for RPO.

Learn more about the 2023 RPO Baker’s Dozen in EMEA and APAC on the HRO Today website.

About PeopleScout
PeopleScout, a TrueBlue (NYSE: TBI) company, is a leading RPO provider managing talent solutions that span the global economy, with end-to-end MSP and talent advisory capabilities supporting total workforce needs. PeopleScout boasts over 90% client retention managing the most complex programs in the industry. The company’s thousands of forward-looking talent professionals provide clients with the edge in the people business by consistently delivering now while anticipating what’s next. Affinix™, PeopleScout’s proprietary talent acquisition platform, empowers faster engagement with the best talent through an AI-driven, consumer-like candidate experience and optimizes the talent process through data and actionable insights. Leveraging the power of data gleaned from engaging millions of candidates and contingent associates every year, PeopleScout has served clients in more than 70 countries with headquarters in Chicago, Sydney and London and global delivery centers in Toronto, Montreal, Bristol, Krakow, Gurgaon and Bangalore. For more information, please visit www.peoplescout.com.   
 
Press Contact
Taylor Winchell
Senior Manager, External Communications
pr@trueblue.com
+1-253-680-8291

PeopleScout Jobs Report Analysis—October 2023

Posted on by nfuqua

U.S. employers added 150,000 jobs in October, showing a slowdown after a summer of strong job growth. This is lower than what economists expected and shows the Federal Reserve plan to increase interest rates may be working. The unemployment rate rose slightly to 3.9%. Year-over-year wage growth fell to 4.1%.

The Numbers

150,000: U.S. employers added 150,000 jobs in October.

3.9%: The unemployment rate fell to 3.9%.

4.1%: Wages rose 4.1% over the past year.

The Good

According to the Wall Street Journal, October’s report is the clearest sign we’ve seen that the Federal Reserve strategy of raising interest rates to slow the job market and control inflation may be working. Throughout the summer, job growth remained strong, consistently outperforming analyst expectations. The latest numbers fall into a more sustainable rate of growth. Additionally, wage growth appears to be slowing. Over the past 12 months, year-over-year wage growth has been as high as 4.8%, which makes October’s 4.1% encouraging.

The Bad

While the U.S. saw overall job growth, several industries contracted last month. Some of the most significant losses were in the manufacturing, transportation and warehousing sectors. Although, as the New York Times reported, some of this can be explained by ongoing strikes, particularly in the auto industry. Another concerning sign is that labor force participation decreased in October, shrinking the labor force by 201,000 people. Though experts say not to read too much into monthly fluctuations, they will watch the labor force participation rate in the coming months.

The Unknown

With September’s blockbuster jobs report and October’s slowdown, MarketWatch reports that the U.S. economy is displaying mixed signals, but evidence is mounting that a cooldown is starting. However, experts debate exactly how it will continue to play out. Some say the economy could continue to move forward without any major bumps, just at a slower pace; while others say they’re more concerned. They tend to agree, though, that the latest report makes it less likely that the Federal Reserve will decide to raise rates again at the next meeting in December.

Achieving a 38% Recruitment Cost Reduction for a Multinational Retailer

Posted on by akessler
Achieving a 38% Recruitment Cost Reduction for a Multinational Retailer

Retail RPO

Achieving a 38% Recruitment Cost Reduction for a Multinational Retailer

PeopleScout helped this retailer with their fluctuating high-volume hiring needs in a difficult market with high turnover and non-competitive salaries, resulting in a 38% cost reduction.

97 % success retaining new hires
62 hiring events hosted in a three-month period
38 % reduction in cost per application

Situation

This multinational retailer required a high volume, flexible RPO solution to ramp hiring up and down based on their seasonal peaks. This included hiring for a variety of positions such as in-store hourly roles, supply chain, security, alterations and restaurant staff.  

Solution

PeopleScout created a scalable solution that meets the retailer’s unique needs and seasonal requirements.  

  • A full-cycle hiring program including sourcing, screening, interviewing, background checks and offer decisions 
  • Seasoned recruiting experts across the U.S., UK, India and Poland to augment the client’s team 
  • Introduced a streamlined high-tech application process with quick apply and screening via automated text using Affinix Digital Interview Management, Affinix CRM and Affinix Analytics 
  • Comprehensive training for all new PeopleScout account team members, including classroom learning, shadowing and certifications to ensure full understanding of the client culture and values before officially starting client recruiting support  
  • Talent Advisory solutions including creation and management of automated recruitment marketing campaigns leveraging Google Display Network, Indeed One-Click and AppCast,  a tool that analyzes highest performing channels and adjusts budget usage accordingly 
  • In addition to the high-volume RPO efforts, PeopleScout created niche, specialized recruitment teams for various hard-to-fill job functions 

Results

  • Achieved 97% success in retaining new hires to ensure those who accepted the offer showed up to the first day on the job, above the client’s goal of 95% 
  • 995,000 clicks and 202,600 applications to sponsored jobs on Indeed in a three-month period 
  • Hosted 62 physical and virtual hiring events, receiving 12,000 RSVPs and making 1,800 offers at virtual events within a three-month period 
  • 41,000 clicks and 2,800 applications to jobs promoted on a variety of job boards in a three-month period 
  • 38% reduction in cost per application 
  • Ramped internal team up and down based on fluctuations in requisitions, as illustrated in the hiring graph below 
retail RPO

At a Glance

  • COMPANY
    Multinational Retailer
  • INDUSTRY
    Retail & Consumer Goods
  • PEOPLESCOUT SOLUTIONS
    Recruitment Process Outsourcing, Talent Advisory, Affinix
  • ANNUAL HIRES
    60,000+
Let’s Connect

The Gender Gap in Energy and Utilities: 3 Strategies for Powering Change

Posted on by nfuqua

The energy and utilities sector has a gender problem. The field is overwhelmingly male-dominated, and if providers are going to be able to meet the global demand in the future, talent leaders in the industry must bring in more women to tackle the gender gap in energy and utilities. 

Women make up 39% of the global workforce, but only 16% of the traditional energy sector. This varies by location and job type. In the U.S., natural gas and nuclear energy have the highest percentage of female workers, at 35% and 34%, respectively. But in some countries, like Japan, women make up only 3% of the energy workforce.  

According to Deloitte, over two-thirds of executives rate DE&I as an important issue. And for good reason. Diversity is strongly tied to innovation. Diverse teams—including women, neurodivergent individuals and professionals from underrepresented backgrounds—are more creative, make better decisions and solve problems more efficiently. 

Additionally, the energy and utilities industry is facing a massive talent shortage. According to McKinsey, the global renewables industry will need 1.1 million blue-collar workers to develop and construct wind and solar projects and another 1.7 million workers to operate them, including laborers, electricians and operating engineers. On top of that, an additional 1.3 million white-collar workers will be needed to install, operate and maintain these facilities, including wind and solar project developers, project managers, finance experts, legal staff and many other roles. 

If talent leaders in the sector stick to the same recruiting strategies aimed at the same talent pools, providers will be understaffed, customers could see more energy service disruptions and workers could experience more incidents and accidents. 

In this article, we provide three strategies for increasing the number of female workers in energy and utilities to close the gender gap. 

1. Address Barriers for Women  

In order to effectively recruit women into the industry, talent leaders need to understand what is keeping them away and work to remove those barriers to entry.  

One important issue is pay. Globally, women in the sector face a wage gap that is more than twice as large as it is in non-energy jobs. According to the World Economic Forum, women in energy make about 20% less than their male coworkers. Their research shows that the wage gap stays the same when accounting for ability, education and potential experience, indicating that the gap is not because of differences in skill levels. 

This leads to women in the industry being more likely to leave their positions than men, creating a challenge for employers looking to retain their female workforce.  

One step employers can take is to complete a pay equity audit. According to the Harvard Business Review, a pay equity audit involves comparing the pay of employees doing “like for like” work in an organization. To complete this effectively, you will need each employee’s length of service, job classification and demographic information. From there, auditors can perform a regression analysis to account for pay differences based on factors like experience, education and training to identify differences based on gender, race or age.  

With that data, experts recommend a two-pronged response. One is remediation, or adjusting the pay of any employees that may qualify. The next step is to identify what led to salary discrepancies in the first place. Were there incorrect job classifications? Or does the hiring process allow for wide differences in starting salaries? This will help create a fair and equitable process going forward.  

Additionally, companies shouldn’t be shy or secretive about the work they are doing to build a better workplace environment for women. Workers value that transparency. In fact, several large organizations have made headlines for announcing when they’ve reached gender pay equity, like Adobe and Intel.  

2. Invest in Diverse Sourcing Strategies 

Once talent leaders confirm that their organization provides a fair and equitable environment for female workers, the next step is finding them. The energy and utilities industry is not alone in this need. Across all science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) jobs, women only account for 28% of the workforce. 

Energy employers should invest in sourcing strategies aimed at underrepresented workers. Consider adding an AI sourcing tool that can identify passive candidates with the skills needed to succeed at your organization.  

Some recruitment CRMs have automated talent matching capabilities that search candidate databases to find qualified candidates for any role. Candidates are then ranked by how closely they fit the role requirements, how likely they are to leave their current position, and their average tenure. Unlike a manual sourcing process, automated talent matching can help fill the top of your funnel in seconds.   

Notably, in PeopleScout’s Affinix® CRM, Talent Finder can find and filter qualified candidates. The Diversity Boost feature also amplifies diverse candidates to help you reach your DE&I goals. It even allows talent leaders to identify what diversity means at their organization, including the goal of identifying qualified female candidates.  

Also consider low-tech approaches to sourcing more female candidates. Attend “Women in STEM” hiring events, and partner with colleges and universities. The energy sector has become a hard sell for young workers, especially in fossil fuels. One study found that only 44% of millennials and Gen Z in STEM programs would be interested in working in the sector, but 77% were interested in tech. Identifying potential candidates and intervening early can help change minds and bring in more candidates.  

3. Update your Employer Brand 

Finally, talent leaders in the energy and utilities sector need to make sure that their employer brands appeal to female workers. Are DE&I efforts advertised? Do women appear in careers site imagery? What about company leadership?  Are women represented? 

Your employer brand is your most powerful tool in attracting top talent. The energy industry lags behind in employer branding and digital recruitment marketing, two factors that appeal to millennial and Gen Z workers and can attract more women. Showcase and celebrate female workers and leaders in places like your careers site and social media. Share the progress you’re making toward diversity and inclusion goals. Advertise benefits like mentorship programs and leadership training.  

Also consider your job postings. Do they include gendered language? Words like “competitive, dominant or leader” may discourage women from applying. One survey found that male-dominated fields tend to use more masculine words in job descriptions, at 97%. 

These changes can make a real impact. For example, a manufacturing client that operates in an industry that has historically been male-dominated partnered with PeopleScout with the goal of increasing the number of female applicants and hires. PeopleScout worked with the client to develop the Women in Manufacturing campaign. PeopleScout interviewed nearly 20 women who work in roles across the company and who love their jobs. Using this information, PeopleScout built candidate personas to target women interested in the industry, and created a campaign featuring real women who work for the client. 

Using our proprietary total talent suite Affinix, we built a dedicated landing page and talent community for female candidates. The four-week Women in Manufacturing campaign launched on International Women’s Day and showcased the company’s woman-friendly, inclusive culture. The campaign featured employee spotlights, videos and stories to showcase how women are integrated into the corporate culture and are integral to the company’s success. This increased the number of women who visited to the employer’s careers site and is moving the needle on the company’s DE&I goals.  

Think Long Term to Close the Gender Gap in Energy and Utilities 

As with many male-dominated industries, progress won’t happen overnight, but employers should set reasonable and achievable goals to close the gender gap in energy and utilities. With the staffing challenges facing the industry, building a more diverse workforce for the future isn’t an option—it’s a necessity.  An RPO partner brings industry expertise, recruitment technology and talent advisory solutions to the table, providing employers the tools they need to find and hire more diverse talent.  

For more insights on recruiting in the energy and utilities sector, download our ebook, The Recruitment Handbook for Energy and Utilities.