Josh Graff UK Country Manager & VP EMEA, LinkedIn CBI Conference 2018
Lynne Atkins, HR director of Barclays UK & group head of
employee engagement, explained that their policy of looking at untapped markets for new talent was now paying dividends. This included young people with no qualifications and people wanting to go back into the workplace, including women. Being very open minded to talent had really helped Barclays to keep the talent pipeline alive and the quality of hire has improved. Their life skills survey of 10,000 individuals helped to better predict seven core skills which were relevant across all businesses. Schools are not delivering against these and there is move away from job titles to a focus on capabilities. These are the skills that robots can’t do better than humans, she explained. Claire Valoti, vice president international of Snapchat, agreed
that focusing on women at different life stages was a good talent strategy. They looked for people with initiative but who would also have the confidence and life skills to ask for help if they got stuck. She found that young people want to know more about a business, about its culture and how it makes decisions and therefore it was important to create a leadership culture of transparency. Valerie Todd, talent & resources director of Siemens, agreed
global supply chains, including the Co-op supermarket, Sainsbury’s and Unilever. They were the first to apply blockchain technology to supply chain in 2013. Now they are on trend with the increasing demand from consumers for traceability and ethical origins. She shared views with Steve Murrells, CEO of the Co-op who has responsibility for the Co-op’s varied businesses. Steve Murrells said, “having social conscience is really good for
business – doing good in local communities and in social areas and being successful commercially are achievable.” “Customers are more savvy, the younger generation require us
to do social good,” he said. At the Co-op he encouraged colleagues to make sure they walk the talk. Jessi Baker explained how important it was for companies to
make information accessible where it can be seen on a website at the point of sale, which requires a certain amount of bravery. She sees transparency as the way forward for companies to substantiate their credibility and she invited more organisations to adopt this approach. Steve Murrells described how the Co-op work locally with
suppliers and that cooperation works well particularly in times of uncertainty. The Co-op also runs academy schools where young people learn about the Co-op work and ethics and this also helps them to see what an apprenticeship with the organisation can offer.
Insights on the next generation of talent A lively panel discussion of representatives from leading global businesses provided tips for employers grappling with talent issues and present and future. For Warren East, chief executive of Rolls-Royce, retention was
more of an issue than recruitment, with Brexit causing uncertainty and triggering employees to leave the company and return to their home countries. Providing challenging jobs that people like doing was a critical. He pointed out that curiosity was one of the key foundations of science and engineering but they were also looking for engineers who can interact with people. They train managers on the importance of diversity of thought which flows from understanding the importance of an inclusive workplace. Part of their challenge was competing with all the new digital
companies that are attracting the young talent that Rolls-Royce wants.
saying that how we treat our people has to change. Flexibility is at the heart of that and how we keep pace with workload and change. She felt people often focus too much on the here and now but they have to take time out to plan for the future and this was particularly important for the leadership team. Romana Abdin, chief executive at SimplyHealth, explained how
employees are very purpose driven and their people want to know that what they do will make a difference. When they recruit they look for personal purpose and are looking for people who are going to care. The organisation is over 100 years old and is concerned there won’t be medical staff to service the NHS, particularly accessing GP services. Health impacts everyone in the UK she pointed out.
The Future Workforce Alistair Cox, as CEO of Hays the global recruitment company, was in a position to reflect on the future workforce and address some popular fears and misconceptions. Many in the global mobility community would agree with his view that the three drivers of workforce transformation would be:
• Technological evolution – AI, robotics and automation • Aging Workforces • Acute skills shortages in key areas
“The companies that can navigate these things well, will stand to win. Collectively these issues make tomorrow’s talent agenda the most complex talent agenda we will ever face in our business lives,” he said. “I think that technology alongside people investment is the route
to solving the stagnant productivity that we have continued to struggle with in the UK. In many businesses the human touch will become ever more valuable and non more so than in recruitment.” Citing Hays as an example he explained how the organisation had
invested in technology that can quickly identify those individuals with the skills to do any particular job. However, he emphasised that the number one reason for a failed recruitment is a lack of cultural fit between a new employee and their new organisation. Matching the right cultural fit for employer and employee is difficult to replicate in an algorithm but by combining human aptitude plus technology investment and focusing where humans have value, productivity at Hays had been increased by 10% over the last few years.
8 | Relocate | January 2019
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