Steve Dyke , Global Head of Talent Acquisition , Nestlé
Michael Deane , Corporate Head of Recruitment Marketing , Nestlé
Faced with complex global and regional recruitment requirements and the continuing challenges of attracting talent , food giant Nestlé needed a rethink . Innovative new global and regional structures , enhanced talent acquisition capability and a relentless focus on talent sourcing , marketing and industry insight have made all the difference . Here ’ s the story :
It ’ s almost beyond cliché to say that the process of finding and hiring talent has been transformed in recent years . Those now-familiar shifts in workplace dynamics , the need for new – and often hard to find - skills and roles and changing candidate profiles and expectations show no signs of slowing down . It ’ s an environment that requires a healthy dose of strategic , innovative and pragmatic thinking . And that ’ s precisely the approach taken by the global talent acquisition team at Nestlé .
Like many multinational , multibrand companies , Nestlé ’ s talent management and recruitment structures and processes are , of necessity , inherently complex . Nestlé ’ s 270,000 employees are based in more than 180 countries , each operating semi-independently , from regional CEOs down , including responsibility for HR and talent . This has the advantage of giving each market the opportunity to recruit according to local culture and custom . But it also makes it hard , at the global level , to support and marshal a diverse range of local functions , with a variety of needs and expertise , and in the face of shifting talent dynamics .
To address this dilemma , Nestlé looked again at its talent acquisition operating model . The result : a global HR transformation programme that oversaw the creation of regional above-market structures across the talent function with the explicit aim of supporting and adding value for the local teams .
Creating community
It ’ s a set-up designed to provide resources that the local markets can access to supplement their existing ways of working . For Steve Dyke , Global Head of Talent Acquisition , “ the above-market teams help our colleagues to take a more proactive approach to talent focused on candidate engagement , brand awareness and market trends ”. But the challenge , of course , is so much more than just getting the right structures in place . Nestlé ’ s TA function is 500-strong around the world , each team facing a unique set of demands . The strategy is also about creating a community for this group , to enable the sharing of ideas , best practice and organic capability building .
We see sourcing as the core recruitment skill of the future
Steve Dyke , Global Head of Talent Acquisition , Nestlé
It ’ s that community that enables Dyke , through a “ small but mighty ” global team , to lead the deployment of strategies , supplier partnerships and best practice , aimed at giving each local team access to relevant , varied and globally designed solutions to support their particular needs . These are established through the community frameworks , where real-life challenges and stories are heard first-hand . For example , the buying power of the global team means that local teams have access to some of the most advanced ( and often expensive ) technologies , alongside support with global compliance and contractual processes . The result is that markets can simply pick up and “ turn on ” some of the very best technologies and solutions as they need them .
Nestlé has also driven the evolution of the above-market teams to focus on three key areas : talent sourcing , recruitment marketing and employer brand , and market insight . In-house teams deliver the first two , with AMS supporting on sourcing and , crucially , offering datadriven market insight .
What makes the model especially compelling is its focus on sourcing . Dyke adds : “ Sourcing roles used to be perceived as a junior function within TA . We want to invert that model . We see sourcing as the core recruitment skill of the future . Everything we ’ re doing is about professionalising it , training our people to operate more strategically , to deliver more efficiently through a more consultative style .” For him , the art of TA is increasingly about finding and engaging with potential candidates , managing talent pipelines and building those crucial relationships .
It ’ s a mindset change also filtering down to Nestlé ’ s local TA teams . Dyke ’ s team is supporting them to see TA as a long game , as much about managing change as just filling existing roles . Having a central resource and access to local market insights is building capability and experience on the ground .
We have a story that is relevant for , and appealing to , candidates from the boardroom to the factory floor . Our job is to make sure our local recruitment teams and hiring managers have the tools to use it to best effect
Mike Deane , Corporate Head of Recruitment Marketing and Supplier Partnerships , Nestlé
The value of market insights
Market insight reporting covers a wide range of topics , from labour market trends and hard-to-fill positions to how to adopt different strategies for different projects , roles and functions . This insight is playing a crucial role as the business expands and diversifies into new areas such as health science and nutrition , bringing significant changes to the profile of people the organisation needs to attract and pitting them against new , competitive sectors such as pharma .
According to Mike Deane , Corporate Head of Recruitment Marketing and Supplier Partnerships , “ the insight service from AMS has been a stand-out success . The speed of change is such that being able to use data-driven insights on labour markets , skills availability and even employer attractiveness has helped us to make smarter decisions and deploy impactful strategies at both a micro and macro level .”
The final piece of the strategy is recruitment marketing , with a new employer brand built and launched explicitly to support talent attraction and engagement . Deane explains : “ Our ‘ Be a force for good ’ strapline sits atop a whole host of initiatives designed to create a coherent and attractive proposition for potential candidates .” It ’ s an approach closely aligned with Nestlé strategic imperatives around sustainability , community impact and nutrition .
Deane gives the example of the recent launch of a vegan KitKat as evidence of how the organisation is “ putting every product under the microscope ” in terms of meeting consumer preferences , sourcing responsibly , and leveraging sustainable packaging . For Deane , that provides a powerful narrative that feeds into candidate expectations around purpose and contribution . “ We have a story that is relevant for , and appealing to , candidates from the boardroom to the factory floor . Our job is to make sure our local recruitment teams and hiring managers have the tools to use it to best effect ,” he says .
So , has it worked ? The journey began in 2018 and Dyke has no doubt that it ’ s been a journey well worth taking : “ Focusing on the key areas where we can add value for our colleagues has definitely had a positive impact . We ’ re now in a position to identify and attract even scarce talent to an organisation that is confident about meeting candidate expectations . Our TA community is the strongest it has ever been , with the above-market and corporate structures providing unique and meaningful support to our fantastic local TA teams ”. With the platform in place and a determination to build on such inspiring community spirit , that ’ s not a bad foundation for the next evolution of talent acquisition .
The view from AMS : Charles Atherton ,
Client Operations Director
One of the reasons the partnership with Nestlé has worked so well is because we take the same view of the primacy of sourcing in recruitment . We have developed new career paths that support precisely that professionalisation Steve Dyke is championing at Nestlé . Sourcing used to be seen as a stepping-stone to a career in recruiting . Now , we see it as a career in its own right , one of the most challenging and important skills in talent acquisition . It ’ s meant that we can provide flexible and scalable sourcing support for clients such as Nestlé at all levels and on a global basis .