The beginning of the end for traditional recruitment?
23 June 2014
I always enjoy our HRD 100 Club dinners – it’s an excellent opportunity to hear the front line issues that HRDs are facing and a chance to talk through the issues and share experiences. As ever, our most recent meeting saw a real mix of sectors around the table, all with a slightly different perspective on an old and familiar problem – finding the best talent.
The theme for our discussion this time was a recent study that we at PwC have carried out with LinkedIn, which looked at the relationship between ‘talent adaptability’ – the willingness and ability of people to apply their skills and experience to new challenges and across sectors – and business performance. This kicked off a fascinating discussion about the skills that organisations are looking for, especially from young recruits.
If our discussion is anything to go by, degree subjects and scores, and even having a university degree at all, are becoming less of a priority for many employers. Participating HRDs talked about looking for and recruiting youngsters with more general qualities, such as decision-making or customer service skills, and then providing an environment in which they can learn everything else they need to know. And they’re recruiting these young people early, before they go to university - apprenticeships are becoming more common, and not just in technical industries.
Our adaptability study argued that employers need to think more imaginatively about finding talent. Many employers are using traditional recruitment channels less and less, in favour of smart use of social networks and other technologies – especially for younger and more junior positions. If our discussion is anything to go by, HRDs are more than willing to take up the challenges but don’t feel that governments, and the education system in many countries, are necessarily with them. It’s a huge debate and no doubt we’ll be returning to it at HRD100 Club events in the future.
To find out more about PwC’s adaptability research, click here.
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