NRF Briefing – 2nd November 2017

On 2^nd November Contracting PLUS’ hosted Kevin Green, CEO of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC), who addressed the NRF briefing attendees on “How to Compete Using Customer Excellence”.

The presentation detailed how to optimise work performance using customer feedback as a tool for growth and development. As Kevin explained, in order to get better we need to ask for feedback! In research completed by REC it was found that 80% of candidates were never asked for feedback on the recruitment process.

Kevin explained that candidate’s recruitment experience, if positive, will result in a more appropriate placements so it is imperative that your candidates are kept informed of the process and feel comfortable giving feedback. Clarity on the next stages of the recruitment process is important so the candidate never feels like that are left out of the loop. Greater comfort for the candidate means they can express concerns if they arise, which if let fester too long could prove costly to the client in the future.

Bad hires can occur in business and it is important to know when and why it happens. In research conducted it was found that one in five HR decision-makers admit to not knowing how much a bad hire costs the company. Labour, skill, and talent shortages may contribute to this as companies need to fill positions quickly from a potentially small talent pool. Costs can accumulate with a bad hire, with investments in the candidate covering salary, training, recruitment, productivity, and many more.

Kevin suggested the below as key in ensuring a successful placement:

• Define the required skills and knowledge for the role
• Use different recruitment approaches to reach diverse candidates
• Promote flexible working with adaptive working practices
• Implement soft-skills assessment so interviewers are not the sole method of selection
• Induct new recruits effectively