Recruitment in the modern world

Ola Younis is a data scientist who recently moved from work in the conveyancing sector to working for ACCA, the global body for professional accountants. In this interview, Ola reflects explicitly on the learning points that make for success in negotiating the application and selection processes in order to win a much-desired professional role.  Her sophisticated insights take us far beyond the st...

Anthony Haynes writes : This episode focuses on two concepts - outsourced employment and  employers of record - that have become increasingly important in the landscapes of employment and recruitment.  To guide us through the terrain, we access the expertise of Janet De-Havilland , Founder and CEO of Pendragon PEO . Janet first maps out the key concepts (and distinguishing them from umbrella emplo...

Anthony Haynes writes : Matthew Redford, the General Osteopathic Council's CEO and Registrar, tells the story of how the General Osteopathic Council (GOsC) went about improving its talent acquisition from the perspective of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Focusing on the appointment of non-executives, Matthew recounts how the GOsC moved from making appointments that were predominantly...

Anthony Haynes writes : On this podcast, we've tended to focus on talent acquisition and career development, especially in relation to our core market - which comprises professional organisation (membership bodies, awarding bodies, and learning providers). But we've been intending for some time now to pivot occasionally to feature the work of our clients more broadly. In this, the first...

Anthony Haynes writes : Welcome to a new season (our 7th)! In this episode, I had the pleasure of interviewing Olivia Hill, People Director of Association of Accounting Technicians ( AAT ).  We discussed the initiatives that AAT have embedded concerning diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). In particular, we focused on: the role of data - its collection and reporting - in providing the foundatio...

Anthony Haynes writes : Our experience of working with organisations for professionals (membership organisations, learning providers, and awarding bodies) shows that there is a long-term and still growing trend of wishing to recruit people who can help the employer develop a sharper commercial edge. In this episode, Fiona Wilson (MD of FJ Wilson Talent Services) provides detailed guidance on where...

Anthony Haynes writes : Once a recruitment agency has been engaged and briefed on a role, the question arises of how to conduct the search for potential candidates. This entails two entwined considerations, namely how to conduct the search efficiently and how to ensure that the search aligns with DEI factors. Here Sherah Beckley interviews FJWTS Managing Director, Fiona Wilson, on both aspects of...

Anthony Haynes writes : 'Being passionate' has become a cliché of management speech - but in the case of Vanessa Harwood-Whitcher (CEO, Institute of Occupational Safety and Health), the culture of coaching is genuinely a passion.   Our conversation explores, in the context of IOSH's culture, the relation of coaching to a range of concepts - notably empowerment learning culture learn...

Anthony Haynes writes : There's plenty of guidance on how to construct job advertisements - but much of it has little to say about considerations of diversity, equity, and inclusion. In this episode, Sherah Beckley and I focus on these considerations. There are several widely occurring pitfalls. Simply anticipating them can help to improve your advertisements in terms of DEI. Here we identify...

Anthony Haynes writes : Many organisations - employers and talent agencies - are reviewing their policies regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). In this, the first episode in our occasional series on the topic, Fiona Wilson (MD of FJWTS), Sherah Beckley, and I begin with a broad perspective: how can we lay the foundations for effective policy? And, in particular, what are the pitfalls t...

Anthony Haynes writes : Though the majority of our episodes concern talent acquisition, we also cover wider aspects of human resources - notably talent development. That is our focus here.  In particular, drawing on Fiona Wilson's experience of providing coaching services, we reflect on the nature of coaching. In particular, we explore: who benefits most from coaching - and how which contexts...

Anthony Haynes writes : My impression from attending Recruitment Expo a couple of weeks ago was that a couple of themes were dominating discussion - one was technology, especially AI, and the other was diversity, equality, and inclusion (DEI). When it comes to the latter, we think there's a premium on discussion that is rooted in experience and deals with specifics. In this episode, our retur...

Anthony Haynes writes : So, you've completed the selection process and offered the job to your favoured candidate: how does the journey progress from there? This episode focuses on two key, inter-locking, processes: onboarding and induction. To guide us through the journey, we interview expert HR consultant Dawn Pike of New Dawn PR (logo featured here). With the help of a positive case study...

Anthony Haynes writes : Our work at FJ Wilson Talent Services is concerned with social media in two ways. The first (perhaps more minor way) concerns our own use of social media; the second concerns our stakeholders'. In this episode, we reflect on the characteristics of effective use of social media. In particular, we consider: the significance of opportunity cost and the need for discipline...

Anthony Haynes writes : Talent agencies contribute most effectively to talent acquisition when there's an empathy between agencies and their stakeholders. Our series, How Talent Acquisition Works, is designed to contribute to the development of such empathy. We explore the work of an agency by exploring in turn each of the roles involved. In addition to the client-facing and candidate-facing...

Anthony Haynes writes : Talent agencies contribute most effectively to talent acquisition when there's an empathy between agencies and their stakeholders. Our series, How Talent Acquisition Works, is designed to contribute to the development of such empathy. We explore the work of an agency by exploring in turn each of the roles involved. In addition to the client-facing and candidate-facing...

Anthony Haynes writes : Talent agencies contribute most effectively to talent acquisition when there's an empathy between agencies and their stakeholders. Our series, How Talent Acquisition Works, is designed to contribute to the development of such empathy. In the previous interviews, we've focused on one role at a time. Now, in this interview with FJWTS's Managing Director, Fiona...

Anthony Haynes writes : Talent agencies contribute most effectively to talent acquisition when there's an empathy between agencies and their stakeholders. Our series, How Talent Acquisition Works, is designed to contribute to the development of such empathy. Here, in the fifth interview in the series, I'm interviewed by Sherah Beckley about the role of Communications Director. We discuss...

Anthony Haynes writes : Talent agencies contribute most effectively to talent acquisition when there's an empathy between agencies and their stakeholders. Our series, How Talent Acquisition Works, is designed to contribute to the development of such empathy. Here, in the fourth interview in the series, we interview Josh Turner , about the role of Administrator. Everyone knows roughly what an...

Anthony Haynes writes : Talent agencies contribute most effectively to talent acquisition when there's an empathy between agencies and their stakeholders. Our series, How Talent Acquisition Works, is designed to contribute to the development of such empathy. Here, in the third interview in the series, we ask our in-house experts, Lina Beynar and Olga Lupu, about the role of Researcher. Olga a...

Anthony Haynes writes : Talent agencies contribute most effectively to talent acquisition when there's an empathy between agencies and their stakeholders. This series, How Talent Acquisition Work, is designed to contribute to the development of such empathy. In this, the second interview in the series, we ask  Maria McNiven about the role of Resourcing Partner. Maria explains the purpose of t...

Anthony Haynes writes : Talent agencies contribute most effectively to talent acquisition when there's an empathy between agencies and their stakeholders. This series, How Talent Acquisition Work, is designed to contribute to the development of such empathy. In this, the first interview in our series, we ask  Andrea Montgomery about the role of Account Manager. Andrea explores the purpose of...

Anthony Haynes writes : Talent agencies contribute most effectively to talent acquisition when there's an empathy between agencies and their stakeholders. In particular, it really helps when employers and individuals (job-seekers, candidates) are given a window into how an agency works - and what factors make successful fulfilment of a job brief. This new series, How talent agencies work&apos...

Anthony Haynes writes : Hearing how organizations have worked to improve their recruitment practices can be both fascinating and instructive. Savera UK is a leading charity working to end ‘honour’-based abuse (HBA) and other culturally specific abuse and harmful practices in the UK. It campaigns to eliminate all such practices for good, while also providing life-saving direct intervention services...

Anthony Haynes (pictured) writes: As part of our work with clients and prospective clients, we study employers' websites carefully. One clear conclusion: the quality and user-friendliness of employers' websites varies hugely! In this episode we outline some straightforward criteria that non-technical staff can use to assess their organisation's websites. They concern: provision for...