TRU Conferences

I love working as part of the Stopgap Group, not least because it’s a values driven business that places the welfare of its people and the quality of service given to clients and candidates at the very top of its priorities. Consultants have always been rewarded on feedback – since the day the business was launched 17 years ago – and we always look for consultants with who have compassion, a real interest in people and a genuine desire to make a difference, rather than just sales skills.

We’re empowered too, and all encouraged to contribute to the future direction of the business…a group of us will be embarking on a series of Blue Ocean Strategy planning exercises with the management team, and a similar group have recently been entrusted with redefining our core values.

That’s right, no-one is hitting us with harder targets, tightening KPIs and threats over not making fee forecasts…they’re asking us to help shape everything that the business stands for and how it will operate in the future.

And we’re now looking to the future with a new set of Guiding Principles which I believe should be at the heart and soul of a successful modern recruitment business:

Daring

Passionate

Integrity

Collaborative

Agile

Here’s my view of how we can use them in recruitment:

Daring – Audacious and bold, not afraid to challenge, be it career expectations or a client brief. Actively taking a path less travelled if it helps you get where you want to be and not being afraid of change if it is needed to help you get there.

Passionate – Need to feel a passion about the whole process, candidates’ careers and clients businesses and be committed to finding the right cultural fit and the right career development. Always be prepared to go the extra mile and have the drive and determination to succeed.

Integrity – A genuine interest in people as human beings, and appreciation of the need for honesty, openness and respect. Brave enough to challenge but in a sensitive, caring way. Building lasting, sustainable relationships. Basically, it’s about genuinely caring.

Collaborative – Our Company isn’t a place that is interested in ranking boards, competitiveness or egos but is an inclusive, all-embracing culture which helps us communicate. Whether dealing with a client, candidate or colleague, there should be a commitment to an unfaltering, consultative approach.

Agile – Adapting, evolving, flexible and not tied to any tired processes.  Ready to respond to any issue. This constant evolution is needed to meet the demands of clients, candidates and colleagues in a fluctuating, demanding market.

So what do you think?

What principles have you adopted, and what principles would you like your recruiters to adopt?

I’ll be co-hosting the ‘Future of Recruitment’ track at TruLondon and it would be good to share your thoughts.

As you may know in around 10 days time I’ll be co-track-leading at Bill Boorman and Geoff Webb’s Recruitment Unconference.  One of the tracks I”m leading is titled “Who Cares What the Candidate Thinks?” a subject close to my heart as I’ve spent many years working with and advising businesses on the Candidate Experience.  However, as the MD of my own business, it’s been a long time since I’ve experienced being a candidate myself.

So it’s with this in mind that I’m writing.

Around Christmas time I got my CV up to date (slapped wrists as it had been a little longer than I advise others…) and started to research and apply for one or two roles that matched my skill set and expertise.  These varied from in-house roles to Consultant projects across the UK.  I wanted to see what the experience of being a candidate was actually like.

And do you know what…

…It was TERRIBLE!!!!!!!

It really does seems that noone cares what the candidate thinks!  From HR departments to Recruitment Agencies, I was staggered by the response that I got to my application for jobs!  Here’s a few titbits of what happened:

• I was invited to attend an interview for a job I didn’t apply for by a well known US company – Data Protection???
• One job application form, to be completed prior to any contact with the business, was so longwinded I gave up after 20 minutes trying to complete it
• I was promised a call back from one very well known recruitment agency which failed to happen … ever
• When scheduling an interview for another company, the lady took my availability and then didn’t get back in contact for 10 days – even then this was by email with one slot that was the following day.
• Spot the reason why this email I received was below par from another recruitment consultant:
  

  “Hi Michelle
  Could you send through your interview availability for this week”

  Erm… Have I gone bananas?  Where’s the “How are you…”  ”Please could you…”

So, in a nutshell my experience was rather different to what I was expecting!  Goodness knows how those out of work feel when subjected to such bad practise if this is a reflection of the way things work in this job-poor climate.

If you’re a job seeker reading this and you have any feedback for me on your job hunting experience then please post your comments here.  Recruiters I’d like to hear examples from you too of what you’re doing when it comes to managing the Candidate Experience.

Let’s kick the candidate experience back into touch!

I have a confession to make, and it makes me feel guilty. It’s been over 2 weeks since my last blog. I promised my readers that I would blog every 2 – 3 days and I failed in this, which after a great #HRCarnival has lost the momentum. I will be announcing the results of the votes over the next few days, as well as running the remaining 2 videos. (Mine included!)
The reality is I have been a bit distracted pulling together the final plans for #trulondon. I’m most excited by the potential to live up to the billing of “The Global Mashup,” as well as plotting how we can involve everyone that can’t make it to the event, either through time, availability, work commitments or pure geography.

My view is that I want #tru events to be as inclusive as possible, so that everyone can be involved in the learning and the conversation. I want as many countries as possible involved in all we do, and social media enables us to not only reach out globally, but to make the event accessible, and that #trulondon is about much more than just what goes on here in the U.K.

Firstly, that means including track leaders from the U.S, Singapore, Canada, Netherlands as well as the U.K. Thats real access to global knowledge and best practice, which means we can share  and compare what works where, and really dig in to the differences and similarities between cultures. The trackleaders have been flown in and accommodated by the platinum sponsor of #tru events, Tempworks Software.

Tempworks are a staffing and enterprise software business run by C.E.O. Gregg Dourgarian. Gregg is based in Eagan,Minnesota and first heard about #trulondon through twitter. Gregg shares my view that technology is shrinking the world, and that geography is irrelevant when it comes to best practice. Gregg is in the process of truly integrating social media in to his products and will be exploring this further from a users perspective in the track “Twitter Automation: The good, the bad and the ugly.” In addition to software, Tempworks automate and fund the payroll operation of both temp and contract recruiting businesses offering a very different whole solution. If you are in this sector, contact me to arrange a meeting with Gregg. (He is over from the 15th Feb.) Gregg shares my excitement at the prospect of the global mashup of views, opinions and cultures, and really made this possible. It’s not exaggerating to say that Gregg made the international element of #trulondon a reality. Thanks Gregg, for all your support and continued involvement. It’s about much more than the money.

I’m especially looking forward to the “Culture Clash” track for this. The live event has been further enhanced by the use of live video streaming. We will be including live streaming from China and a few other continents to give an understanding of how recruiting and HR work there. Keep your eyes out for times and connections. The feed is live, so there will be plenty of opportunity to question and leave your own comments.

One of the best examples I’ve seen recently in social recruiting is the live events run on Facebook by Deloittes NZ. This forms the center of their graduate recruitment programme and involves last year’s intake sharing their experiences with potential new graduate recruits. I snooped in on the first live event and was very impressed by both the use of the social channels and the real conversation that was going on.

At 10.00a.m. G.M.T. /6.00a.m. E.S.T.on Friday 19th Feb, we will be linking in to the fan page to see how it works, and hear the story from some of those involved in building and maintaining a real social recruiting community. You will be able to link in, leave comments and ask questions via the fan page, exactly as if you were a potential recruit.

On the 18th and the 19th, between 2.00 and 3.00 G.M.T./10.00a.m. E.S.T., Paul Harrison of Carve Consulting will be opening up #trulondon to the world via his live lab session. The live lab involves questions, answers and conversation taken from the twitter feed by the tracks, with conversation fed back by a micro-blogger in each track. There will be a live lab #hashtag coming out soon, as well as a twub so that you can join the conversation wherever you are.

Each day we will be broadcasting live video streamed episodes of Careercast and Recruitercast live from #trulondon. The episodes are an hour in length and hosted by Keith Robinson. (@siteadvisor.) Each will feature a panel discussion around a recruiting or HR theme. Anyone attending #trulondon can take part, don’t wait to be asked, just reach out and suggest your subject. In the gaps between shows we will also be streaming some of the tracks live including social media circus and the culture clash. Jump in to the twitter stream to take part.

I’m also excited at the involvment of Recruitingblogs.com. The RBC community is now the worlds largest recruiting and HR community. Theres over 100,000 members on linked in alone. I’m delighted that Jason Davis (@slouch), the founder and inspiration behind RBC and the inimitable Maren Hogan are joining us to share both their experience and thoughts in the “Community Builder” track. Jason normally hosts the bloggers and lets others take the spotlight and do the talking, so it’s great that he has chosen to share his unique insight.

I believe there is a place for both local communities and a global one. A time when you need local insight and expertise, and a time to take a wider perspective and take the best practice, learning and thinking from a wider audience. The conversation will include the views of respected community builders Alan Whitford from RCEuro and representatives from U.K. Recruiter. Be a part of this conversation on-line or in person to help shape the future of the communities we spend our time in.

Jobsite.co.uk have recently conducted extensive research in to Job Seekers on a range of key areas and will be using this as the basis for conversation, based on fact during #trulondon. All attendees will be sent a copy of the research prior to the event to prepare for the conversation. External attendees (thats those following on line), will also be able to request a copy of the research via our website – www.thetruconferences.com.

#Trulondon track leader Lucian Tarnowski (@lucianT)  is taking part in his own global mashup this week as London plays host to the worlds largest youth leadership summit. Through his business, Brave New Talent, Lucian has been responsible for managing the global social media outreach that has identified and helped select the attendees. Thats 1500 young leaders from 192 countries. A real, global, social recruiting project.

Lucian will be sharing how they have achieved this and talking what really matters to the net-generation in the track “Gen Why.” Can’t wait to hear first hand what will come out of this weeks summit and all that has gone on in social recruiting terms to locate and find the best young leaders.

I will be writing later in the week about the global blogging line up, the social media circus  and what I think is important to those conversations. I hope that you will join in the conversation in any way you can, in person, on twitter, facebook, google wave, blogtalk radio or internet TV. Be ambassadors of global recruiting.

I can’t wait!

Bill