Digital Innovation
implement something that
could impact on the way we
work significantly.
In general, our
recruitment process was
hindered by technology,
rather than enabled by
“Our
it. It was manual and had
recruitment multiple system touch
process was points and it didn’t show
hindered by well to candidates.
We needed to get our
technology,
rather than employer brand out there,
visible and identifiable,
enabled
as well as ensuring we
by it”
delivered a positive and
affirming recruitment
experience, whether
candidates were successful
or not.
Although, on average,
people come into contact
with Avery Dennison
products 16 times a day, our brand is not well known
as we are a B2B rather than B2C organisation.
The most important factor distinguishing one
company from another is its talent, so we needed
to ensure an authentic, modern and interactive
candidate experience.
We were also mindful of the need to be more
diverse and inclusive. Most of our recruitment is
supply chain and operations professionals, which
has historically been male-dominated. We want to
appeal to a broader audience, and the only way you
can do that is through a highly integrated modern
recruitment platform.
What feedback have you had
from the rest of the business?
We now have more customer relationship
management functionality than ever before
– overall, the user experience for candidates,
recruiters and the hiring managers is far
more positive, enabling collaboration and
communication across the platform.
Our hiring manager community is delighted
that everything is in one portal and that you don’t
have to use multiple systems. They can collaborate
across the tool with people in all parts of the hiring
process (managers, peers and so on). They love
that they have full transparency and realtime
data: being able to give immediate feedback,
having full visibility of where candidates are in the
process, and interview scheduling automatically
connected to their Google Calendars.
alexandermannsolutions.com
58
FUTURE-PROOFING THE TALENT
ACQUISITION FUNCTION
Understand where talent
pools are. Look at emerging
talent markets outside your
instant ‘go to’ places. Engage
with the younger generation
before they become graduates.
Make sure you know how
your organisation works with
local communities.
Be transparent with
potential candidates. Explain
your organisation’s ambitions,
the leadership qualities of your
business and how this relates
to them personally. The less
‘corporate’ you can be with
your messaging (across
social media, your careers
site and your corporate site),
the better – this way, you can
authentically portray the true
voice of your company.
Optimise for mobile. Ensure
your ATS is responsive on
any device so candidates can
interact with you easily and
have the same experience,
anytime, from anywhere.
Be present in strategic
conversations. Attend
strategic planning sessions,
work with R&D leaders to
understand where the company
is trying to innovate and what
the longer term plan is. Be
part of those conversations.
Understand the products
being developed, the markets
you’re targeting and where
the next big customer base
is. Having that insight will help
you build a talent acquisition
function that attracts the talent
pools needed to ensure the
company’s success.
Get to grips with your
organisation’s DNA. How is
your business evolving? What
is the 10-20 year growth
plan? If you can understand
the direction of travel, you can
truly undertake more strategic
workforce planning. If you’re
not part of it, everything you
do will be reactive rather
than proactive.