Would you instinctively distrust a hiring algorithm?

New research from the American National Bureau of Economic Research suggests workers hired by computer algorithms stay longer in jobs than those hired by people. Across 15 companies and 300,000 low-skill service-sector hires, the NBER research compared the tenure of those hired based on algorithmic recommendations with those hired by humans. The test asked questions […]

Is it time we treated candidates as consumers?

Much has been written on the subject of employer branding in recent years, especially in the context of its importance for successful talent attraction and acquisition. We know that acute competition for skills (particularly those in short supply) necessitates that HR and resourcing teams be ever more creative in their approach to finding and engaging […]

25 years’ experience, now struggling to find a job

Paul served a short prison sentence earlier this year and is still on probation. Since leaving prison in June he has applied for countless jobs, but is struggling to get past the tick box. Prior to his sentence, Paul worked for over 25 years in the financial industry. Like many others, Paul is qualified, experienced […]

Millennials at work: are we subscribing to a fantasy?

What are some of the commonly held pre-conceptions about millennials in the workplace? They vary from curmudgeonly stereotypes of the under-35s as a bunch of entitled, narcissistic selfie-takers who aren’t capable of staying in the same job for more than five minutes through to more carefully considered research which shows that millennials are in search […]

Six questions to match candidate and employer expectations

Recruitment interviews are pivotal in the selection process and play a crucial part in the assessment of professional expertise, competencies, skills and motivators. Having a goal-oriented conversation, understanding the requirements of a vacant position, bringing this into the interview and extracting the maximum of relevant information needed for making a good choice, is a challenging […]

Twelve steps to shorten time-to-hire

Time-to-hire is an all-important human resource management metric. In 2011, Workforce Management Magazine defined time-to-hire as “a common measure used in human resources to evaluate the average amount of time  it takes to fill an open position.” A short time-to-hire affords minimal business disruption whilst a lengthy time-to-hire may cause loss of morale among the […]

“Top talent are high performers with high potential.”

This is an interview with Ahmed Al Khemeiri, ‎Talent Acquisition Specialist at Abu Dhabi Ports. Ahmed will be speaking at the HR Tech World Congress taking place in Paris on October 27 – 28 Jamie Lawrence, Editor, HRZone: How has the talent landscape changed over the last year – is it harder to recruit the best people? […]

Immersive assessment: a fad or the future?

HR decision-makers are worried about identifying those with the skills needed in a very competitive environment and testing is widely used. But the assessment scene offers a similar landscape to that of five or ten years ago, focused heavily on somewhat dull and traditional personality and ability tests. Other than the move ‘online’, it has […]

Interview: Marie Moynihan, Chief Diversity Officer and VP Talent, Dell

Marie Moynihan is Chief Diversity Officer and VP Talent at global computer company Dell. She is an experienced global HR leader and talent executive whose goal is, in her own words, to create an environment that is uniquely open and inclusive, where individuals and teams are challenged to be their best, and do their best work, […]

Why candidates should write their own job descriptions

At the start of the year I was running a breakfast with a number of CEOs from the Oxfordshire area. We were discussing learnings from the last year. The conversation moved towards recruitment and retaining and attracting talented staff – something that was a top priority for all the attendees, regardless of their business size […]

The impact of big data on HR strategy

HR, and specifically recruiting, is increasingly being asked to use big data sets to be more consultative. Instead of just going on gut-instinct and past experiences, talent acquisition teams are using statistics and trends to be strategic in how they find talent and which potential candidates will make the best fit. According to our own […]

Five steps to take the risk out of recruitment

There’s no such thing as a perfect recruitment process but you can certainly reduce the risk of hiring the wrong people. That can be an expensive mistake. It’s not just the cost of hiring, paying, training and exiting them, there’s also the business opportunities they might miss and the damage they might do to your […]

Top five tough interview questions from across the world

Last year we covered company transparency site Glassdoor’s 2014 report on the wackiest questions asked at interview. They’ve just released this year’s results and this year we’ve got data from United States and Canada to go with the questions asked in the UK. It’s a pretty broad mix of companies asking ‘out there’ questions – […]

The real cost of a bad hiring decision

When it comes to hiring time, more and more organisations are bolstering their recruitment processes with a thorough programme of interviews, relevant workplace tests and internal vetting procedures in an effort to secure the right candidate. Now that we’re coming out of recession it seems there’s even more fierce competition amongst applicants and the selection […]

Tailored recruitment testing – how to make it better

As many have unfortunately experienced, making the wrong hiring decision can carry a significant financial penalty. Industry estimations  put the costs  at up to 15 times annual salary which is why recruiters and HR professionals  alike have looked to mitigate the risk of making a bad hire through the adoption of recruitment testing. The practice […]

“To be successful, we must be tuned into the challenges and expectations of society,” says Shell’s Chief HR Officer

Hugh Mitchell was appointed HR director of Shell in 2005 and in 2007 joined the oil company’s Executive Committee. He joined the HR division at Shell Exploration & Production in Aberdeen a few months after graduating from Edinburgh University and held a variety of HR and business roles across the UK and Brunei, including HR […]

“HR directors must show senior leaders what the root causes are to problems,” says KPMG’s Kate Holt

Kate Holt is KPMG’s Director at their Global HR Centre of Excellence. She helps clients get the most from their workforce in a range of areas including cost optimisation, organisational capability and transformation, employee engagement and uptake of IT platforms. She has been with KPMG since 1999 in a variety of roles including HR director, […]

What digital roles should you hire for in 2015?

With the new year fast approaching, now is the time that people start throwing their two pence in on what’s going to be big in 2015 in terms of new roles that companies will be recruiting for over the next 12 months. This is no different with the digital industry, and is especially important as […]

2015 recruitment trends

The recruitment industry has taken a kicking. In 2007 it was worth £27 billion. By 2009 it had dropped by a third. Not surprising that recruiters get nervous, even though since that period it has now levelled out at £28 billion. That increase is expected to continue but we can’t be complacent. We will be […]

The art of visual cues in video interviewing

“The older I get the less I listen to what people say and the more I look at what they do”. — ANDREW CARNEGIE The vast majority of feedback in organisations is conducted in writing, and yet we as humans are primarily visual communicators.  In everyday conversation our minds rely on facial expression, gestures and […]