Talented Digital Mum's & Dad's - Why you should be recruiting them into your Digital teams...

If you ever read my ramblings you will normally hear moaning about the biggest problem in digital recruitment… Not enough candidates for all the jobs we have available. PPC, SEO, Display, Biddable, Performance, Mobile etc. So many jobs so few candidates…

So with a lack of talent why do some agencies not utilise a group of talented people that can do a job for them and solve their recruitment problems? I’m talking about the growing group of women (and men!) who have brilliant digital experience but have children and are keen to work on a part time basis and, crucially, from home. I know some of these parents and they possesses amazing talent, but they no longer want the agency lifestyle and need something that gives them the chance to earn money, stay in the game keeping their careers moving forward whilst still being there for their kids. If you leave Digital for 5 years you are dead in the water, it is an industry that changes so quickly you need to keep a foot in, stay up to date with the technology and even the gossip! So why are so many businesses excluding this talented bunch of experts from the current job market, leaving them to go stale and un-employable by the time they are ready to jump back in full time?

Agency land is the classic work hard, play hard arena. People often doing 12 hour days and then going out partying until the sun comes up and back at their desks shortly after. Nothing wrong with that if it suits your personal life and keeps you on top of your workload, but I do think ‘some people’ still are more focused on the amount of hours spent at a desk rather than the work you actually get done.

“I used to love the agency life when I was in my twenties, single and fiercely ambitious. Working 12 or 15 hour days and making the most of the social perks as well as spending every day in a fancy city centre office were what I loved about the industry. Now that I’m in my thirties and have three young children, it’s just not that simple. Part of me still wants to work long hours and go out with my colleagues after work but on a practical level it’s just impossible. But I have 15 years’ experience, am great at what I do and am valued by my clients so it’s frustrating that to get the work/life balance I need, my employer is prepared to sacrifice the skills and qualities that I can still offer. In fact, I’m the one who can now cover the office the night after a team night out whilst everyone else is staring bleary eyed into their double espresso!” Megan, PPC Account Director (and mum of 3).

This is not a rant at Agencies, I love the industry, the characters and the perks that go with it. However when one of the key problems facing the industry is sourcing good people to help support the people they already have who are often stressed and struggling from working in under resourced teams then looking at offering more flexible working schemes such as working from home, part time hours or job sharing, should be explored. Especially when it’s the more experienced candidates, who you really want to be a part of your business, that this flexibility would most suit.

Many agencies I have spoken with say they would be open to recruiting someone who wants to work from home or part time but they are just not set up for that and need people in the office. Surely we can easily sort out these issues? Many agencies have people working from home already and with the technology we have at our disposal such as skype, VPN, conference calling etc, why does it matter so much where someone is actually based?

For me it is simple, recruitment has to be about the best candidate. If the best candidate can only work 3 days and it needs to be from home that person should be seriously considered. Often people who work from home get more done. This is not a disenfranchised group I’m talking about, I’m not appealing on their behalf, I simply think some employers are missing a trick by not taking advantage of this growing group of talent in an industry that is desperate for talent.

If you are looking for a new digital job, or looking to hire people for digital roles give me a shout anytime simon@digital-minds.co.uk

The War For Digital Talent

WAR FOR DIGITAL TALENT

Digital is not a normal recruitment sector; it is devoid of reality compared to the general recruitment market. Digital is the football equivalent of Manchester City, operating by a unique set of rules in the employment industry.

As the country constantly sits on the brink of another recession, digital basks in the sun of job security and often incredible salary increases. And this situation is not likely to stop anytime soon. The fact remains that Digital is rapidly expanding as quickly as skilled people can be trained/hired. The war for Digital talent is the most eagerly fought of any recruitment sector.

The rapid rise of Digital has created a job vacuum and the industry has far more jobs available than skilled people to take them, this has generated a candidate driven market in which everyone is hunting for talent.

Taking this into account, it is fascinating that so few employers have created any innovative recruitment strategies other than ‘let’s offer them more money’. In fact it is strange to see so many companies scrambling for talent but investing little into a strategy of how to secure and retain it. 

So here are a few points I believe can help you improve your conversion rate and win the war for talent.

1. Don't rely on the power of your brand; often it is not as powerful as you think! Believe it or not your brand does not sell itself as I have been told several times. The key is to ensure the people who are running the interviews can actively sell and promote your business but equally promote the benefits of working for them as an individual: people buy into people and the people who run the best interviews secure more talent than the people who don’t sell and let the company speak for itself.

2. Research! So few companies ask me what does the candidate specifically want? Is it progression, is it training, is it money etc. It’s vital before a candidate attends an interview that you have a grasp of what you need to specifically promote in order to secure that individual if you decide they are right for your business.

3. The recruitment process in digital is often expedited; it has to be because the best candidates go on and off the market so quickly. Nothing frustrates a candidate more than a company not being able to officially offer a job because HR have no sign off. Don’t win the battle for the candidate but lose the war internally to hire them.

4. The most perilous stage of the recruitment process is the time between a candidate accepting a role and starting the role. Often companies think job done and wait for the candidate to start. But this is Digital - the company the candidate is leaving is well aware of the cost associated with replacing them and so often go to work during this time trying various methods to try and get the candidate to stay and renege on the new job. If only one party is talking to the candidate for potentially upwards of a 3 month notice period, this can have a devastating effect. As a recruiter I spend a lot time educating clients on methods of keeping in touch with candidates after they have been offered and including them when possible in social events, creating buy in to the new business.

5. Shameless plug I know… But work with good recruiters! A recruiter’s value is not sourcing candidates; anyone can go onto LinkedIN nowadays and compile a list of Digital ADs for example but a recruiter manages every part of the recruitment process. They flag up concerns, they personally get involved in ensuring a candidate starts and they educate your line managers. The difference between a good recruiter and average one can define the war for talent in Digital.

These are just some of the things I believe are useful to implement in order to maximise your chances of winning the war for talent, for further information on Digital Minds and how we can help you as a candidate or client give me a shout. simon@digital-minds.co.uk