Future of Sourcing - Employment https://futureofsourcing.com/tags/employment en OPINION: A dreadful lack of professionalism in the hiring process https://futureofsourcing.com/node/739 <div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p>As a seasoned professional with over 25 years in the business, I possess demonstrable experience and expertise, and a professionalism which, when I recently found myself obliged to seek a new role, I expected to see mirrored in the hiring process: I believed the recruitment road to discovery to be a meticulous process underpinned by a rigorous, tried-and-tested methodology where there is due consideration for the predicament (which could, of course, feel like quite a belittling one) the candidate faces. However, I have discovered that, alas, for some people this is very far from the truth.</p> <p>I have been extremely unimpressed by the sheer lack of professionalism displayed by certain global outsourcing providers, in terms of their commitment to the process and, in some cases, their own process itself. Their perception of the candidate&rsquo;s overall ability, and his/her capacity to perform at the highest level, will of course have an effect upon the candidate regardless of the final outcome, and communication with the candidate during the process is not merely courteous but of paramount importance considering that effect: after all, a lack of communication implies a great deal about how the employing organisation views the candidate. At the very least, treat the candidate with the respect s/he has earned (and, indeed, merits regardless as a professional and a human being) and provide him or her with timely updates and, if the application is unsuccessful, with timely closure to the process.</p> <p>Finding oneself in this unenviable predicament can be most disconcerting &ndash; it certainly was in my case &ndash; and being subjected to a sheer lack of timely execution is, I feel, demeaning and utterly unwarranted.</p> <p>Professionally, we pride ourselves on exactly that: professionalism. We strive to sustain excellent working practices and an equally excellent work ethic; we do our utmost to ascend to these heights, and take whatever steps are required to maintain the highest of standards required of us &ndash; and by ourselves. I certainly do not feel it is too much to expect the same of any organisation in this industry or any other seeking to hire a professional; executives in this industry in particular should understand the value of good, timely communication, and courteous conduct, in every situation.</p> <p>I have been truly astonished to find, during my recent search, that this is clearly not the case in a number of organisations (including some of the very biggest names in the business); were it merely a one-off I would put it down to simple bad luck, my having bitten into one bad apple in an otherwise delicious selection, but unfortunately it appears that this malady is endemic.</p> <p>In my opinion suppliers should address this problem head-on and examine their hiring processes to ensure that candidates are treated with the professionalism which these organisations wish to be known for in the marketplace. Once an interview has been completed, the hiring organisation should get back to the candidate within a pre-defined time period to give him or her honest feedback on how the interview went and to outline where in the process they now are, and what the next steps will be. If the organisation has decided not to go any further with this particular candidate, they should inform him/her immediately of this fact, along with any information which can be given as to why his/her candidacy has been unsuccessful this time around.</p> <p>I am not suggesting that the organisation needs to act as an advisory service, but honest feedback of this nature delivered courteously and efficiently can be of great value to the candidate, and any such value derived from the hiring process, even in an unsuccessful application, would invariably be greatly appreciated &ndash; and this appreciation would, over time and via multiple candidates, contribute to significant reputational gains for the organisation in question. Conversely &ndash; as I can testify &ndash; a company which doesn&rsquo;t exhibit the necessary courtesy, and doesn&rsquo;t treat its applicants with the requisite professionalism and respect, does its candidates, itself and our entire industry a disservice, and should expect significant negative reputational impact over the long term.</p> <p><em>The author of this article has requested to remain anonymous; he is well known both to Outsource and within the wider community, and in the opinion of the editor there is no doubt whatsoever regarding his&nbsp;</em>bona fides<em>. Any questions regarding our decision to grant anonymity in this instance can be put to the editor at <a href="mailto:jliddell@sig.org">jliddell@sig.org</a>.</em></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/employment" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Employment</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/hiring" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Hiring</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/human-resources-hr" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Human Resources (HR)</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/talent-acquisition" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Talent Acquisition</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/talent-management" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Talent Management</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-addthis field-type-addthis field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style " addthis:title="OPINION: A dreadful lack of professionalism in the hiring process - Future of Sourcing" addthis:url="https://futureofsourcing.com/node/739"><a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_linkedin"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_facebook"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_twitter"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_googleplus"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_pinterest_share"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_reddit"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_email"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_print"></a> </div> </div></div></div> Mon, 18 Jul 2016 13:07:31 +0000 Jamie Liddell 739 at https://futureofsourcing.com “Making it formal”: how structured development plans drive technology transformation https://futureofsourcing.com/node/873 <div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/articles/xNeil-Bentley-August-2015-1-420x215.jpg.pagespeed.ic_.6-9aYgOJi2.jpg"><a href="https://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/articles/xNeil-Bentley-August-2015-1-420x215.jpg.pagespeed.ic_.6-9aYgOJi2.jpg" title="“Making it formal”: how structured development plans drive technology transformation" class="colorbox" rel="gallery-node-873-KFPSH8pKkAI"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/styles/juicebox_medium/public/articles/xNeil-Bentley-August-2015-1-420x215.jpg.pagespeed.ic_.6-9aYgOJi2.jpg?itok=hzTDTxpC" width="420" height="215" alt="" title="" /></a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p>Recent research by the UK&rsquo;s Tech Partnership into the views and opinions of 1,600 employers across the UK concluded that economic growth is being put at risk due to skills gaps in the tech workforce. Employers reported significant problems in recruitment, with 42% of those recruiting tech specialists saying that they were constrained by &lsquo;hard to fill&rsquo; vacancies.</p> <p>Yet, the picture is not universally bleak. The majority of UK universities offer computer science degrees and we are seeing a raft of new technology-focused courses coming on stream. There is a greater sense of the importance of linking academic study in technology-based subjects with future business development, and the government has plans in place to support the development of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) graduates and apprenticeships.</p> <p>Businesses themselves often have a critical role to play in this process. The key is the need to be inclusive. In our own sector of highways and infrastructure asset management, we know from experience that it&rsquo;s not just about offering one-off opportunities to the traditional engineering graduate.</p> <p>Prospective employees with engineering degrees are of great interest to us of course. But at the same time, we don&rsquo;t want to be a closed shop and other technology-focused organisations shouldn&rsquo;t be either. Geography graduates with a focus on GIS, for example, have been very successful working for Yotta in the past. Yet, the attitude and enthusiasm that a candidate displays is often just as important as their qualifications. Technology is moving at such a pace today, that increasingly it&rsquo;s about attracting people with a genuine enthusiasm and aptitude for innovation and the latest cutting edge developments. At the same time, all of that also has to be tempered by a modern business acumen and focus with a commitment to the organisation.</p> <p>So, on the one hand businesses need to be open to different kinds of technology-focused talent. On the other, they need to provide an attractive path for their graduate intake rather than just recruiting them directly into the business with little or no support. Increasingly, that means a formal graduate training and recruitment programme. Lots of students in our experience are now looking for a structured process rather than just going out directly into the market and seeking out a job. That&rsquo;s why we have decided to launch our own training and development programme, targeted at graduates who are focused on innovative technology and excited about its potential to transform the engineering and asset management space.</p> <p>We believe the benefits for the worlds of business, academia and for the candidates themselves are clear from this more structured approach. Technology-focused organisations and the institutions that support them gain from working closely together to identify and develop more talented employees.</p> <p>The business gains from having more engaged and committed staff and from being able to train and develop them formally to help fulfil the strategic goals of the organisation. Moreover, the approach also gives the organisation the opportunity to set clear milestones on how staff are progressing through the process.</p> <p>The graduate trainees gain too, benefitting from the greater structure that a formal development programme provides, not least in being able to follow a clear training syllabus and getting clear feedback on their progress as compared to their peers.</p> <p>To deliver optimum benefits, these development programmes should ideally also incorporate a rotational element, so that graduates can get a feel of how the business works across multiple departments. It&rsquo;s about giving them a breadth of experience but it is also a matter of helping both the recruit and the business reach a decision as to what kind of role suits best.</p> <p>At Yotta, we are increasingly moving away from the perception that we are simply an asset management business.&nbsp;As we look to the future, businesses like Yotta will, of course, continue to need engineering talent, but structured graduate development programmes of the type outlined above will become ever more prevalent as organisations increasingly look to build long-term relationships with new employees, and work in conjunction with them to nurture and shape their professional development. Technology graduates in the future will not just need to understand &lsquo;how things work&rsquo;, they will also need to know how they can apply that technology to drive business transformation. Ultimately, it will be the businesses that capture this talent and nurture it through structured training and development programmes that will build genuine value and drive competitive edge.</p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/stem-science" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">STEM (Science</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/technology" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Technology</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/engineering-and-mathematics" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Engineering and Mathematics)</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/talent-acquisition" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Talent Acquisition</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/transformation" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Transformation</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/employment" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Employment</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-addthis field-type-addthis field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style " addthis:title="&amp;ldquo;Making it formal&amp;rdquo;: how structured development plans drive technology transformation - Future of Sourcing" addthis:url="https://futureofsourcing.com/node/873"><a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_linkedin"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_facebook"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_twitter"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_googleplus"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_pinterest_share"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_reddit"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_email"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_print"></a> </div> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-region field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Region:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/regions/global" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Global</a></div></div></div> Wed, 17 Feb 2016 14:23:10 +0000 Anna Morris 873 at https://futureofsourcing.com https://futureofsourcing.com/node/873#comments