Catalyst Baker Hughes
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10 years
of innovation with Baker Hughes
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In 2020 , AMS celebrated its longstanding partnership with energy technology company Baker Hughes . Here , we talk to Graeme Marshall , Global Vice President HR – Talent Acquisition & Workforce Demand , about the value of workforce dexterity .
Since its inception in 2010 , AMS ’ s relationship with Baker Hughes
has grown from delivering services in the Asia-Pacific region to a global solution with teams serving more than 90 countries worldwide , supported by our centres in Manila and Krakow .
During our partnership , we have placed some 40,000 colleagues into roles , and provided a range of services including Project RPO , RA heads to support Baker Hughes ’ onboarding and immigration-control processes , plus market mapping and brand projects .
An award-winning partnership
Engineering staffing provider NES and AMS were delighted to win the ‘ long-term partnership ’ award at the recent TIARA International Talent Solution Awards , recognising a successful 10-year relationship with Baker Hughes . The TIARAs set a new standard of excellence for the recruitment process outsourcing sector ’ s crowning achievements and aim to shine a spotlight on RPO , managed sector and talent solutions providers , enabling excellence in talent acquisition .
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Around
the world with Baker Hughes
A virtual celebration was attended by more than 120 of our team members and client stakeholders globally on 1 October 2020 .
Graeme Marshall , Global Vice President HR – Talent Acquisition & Workforce Demand , Baker Hughes
How has your award-winning partnership with AMS and NES developed over the past 10 years ?
Initially , we were dealing with a handful of countries ; now , we support an entire hemisphere and beyond . It ’ s not just the service delivery that has evolved ; the tools , technology and support have also developed .
We are more engaged with AMS as a whole and have had good conversations about learning , artificial intelligence ( AI ) and bots , which has influenced our thinking . The partnership has helped us understand our challenges and drive through solutions .
Due to the cyclical nature of our business , we are not an easy customer , so flexibility has been key throughout . We have been able to flex our resources up and down and this has really added value .
Often , we want something done quickly , and with supplier organisations , it can involve a stringent process , but the trust we have built up over 10 years means we can quickly build a solution together and deal with everything else later .
What has the partnership enabled you to do from a people perspective ?
RPO gives us the flexibility to ramp resources up and down . The dedication of the team on the account has given a lot of credibility back to the business . When problems arise , we have found that credibility goes a long way and people are appreciative of the focus given from the whole team .
We ’ ve also been able to try new things , such as deploying new solutions or processes quickly and in certain targeted locations or businesses . The business has been very complimentary about our approach in this space , which has enabled us to move into new markets .
As you look to the future , what are the key areas you want to build on ?
For us , 2021 will be about marrying up the perceptions of the business with the market conditions . We are moving into ‘ industrials and technology ’ and this brings challenges in terms of understanding the landscape . Part of this will be identifying what we need to do as a talent acquisition ( TA ) function , gaining knowledge on where we get skills and talent .
We want to bring our good work to light more to continue to give the business confidence , through tools and technology , market mapping and insights , and developing our employee value proposition and brand perception . We need more knowledge around the talent that is out there and how people view us as an organisation and employer .
In a culture of remote working , will Baker Hughes move to a more location-agnostic approach to talent ?
Yes , absolutely . We have policies ready to launch that will make us less location bound . This will need to be a phased approach , in line with country legislation , tax laws and so on , but it ’ s where we are heading .
The biggest challenge was always whether we were ready for this , but we have now proved it . Remote working is here to stay ; COVID-19 has accelerated the pace of change .
What does true workforce dexterity mean to you ?
It ’ s the old adage of ‘ right people , right place , right time ’. We have to ask ourselves the following questions : Are we geared up to access valuable talent ? Are we assessing contingent and permanent workers on the same basis ? Are we using digitisation to ensure we achieve our goals ? Are we utilising tools and technology to check capacity of talent and share resources across the organisation where applicable ? Are we using the right TA technologies ?
Talent pools are critical ; are we converting these into hires ? We need to ensure that pools don ’ t become stagnant . How do we keep them fresh and engaged ? How can we communicate with them ?
Candidate experience is vital as well . We anticipate that we will receive 500,000 applications this year , so we ’ ll need to be really thoughtful about how we treat applicants . We ’ re reviewing our candidate communications and quality ; while we can ’ t always give individualised feedback , it could be more personalised . For example , if there is a challenge with the quality of an individual ’ s CV , could we embed links to help people understand how to improve ?
As an employer with conscience , we need to ensure that we leverage our experience to point people in the right direction . This is of particular importance now . The impact of the pandemic means that there is a high level of unemployment . How could we help ?