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THE challenge of change is driving NMS Recruit to open up new doors to handling the skills gap agenda.

Finding, keeping and growing have become the business’ major focus as it sees change in its own industry as a model for clients seeking hiring solutions.

Lisa Carew, Operations Manager at the Bromborough-headquartered business, explained:  “Recruitment is one of those industries where changes in operational practices have been monumental.

“Historically, our businesses are based on old methods – in many cases going back to the 1950s and 1960s when the post-war boom’s rise in white-collar workers resulted in the creation of the country’s first recruitment agencies.

“Those were the days of letters in the post, faxes and the weeks of waiting for job offers and acceptances. But fortunately, a whole world of technological advance and innovation has made us one of the most efficient operations in commerce and industry, with rapid turnaround – particularly at NMS – allowing us to fill vacancies and place people in employment in only a matter of days.

“Personal experience of managing change in their own fast-paced environment means recruiters are now able to speedily find the right candidates so that clients hiring have the perfect match of employees, ones they can keep and grow with them.

“With the skills gap at the top of most business’ agenda, nothing is more important today than sourcing the right workforce for them so they can retain people and build their skills to achieve economic growth.”

As Lisa continues driving the NMS Recruit operation forward in its growing marketplace, she looks back on the major changes within the recruitment industry that have impacted on its delivery of quality service.

From post box to inbox

Recruiting timelines have been unimaginably cut since the days of job seekers responding by letter to apply for vacancies then employers posting out their offers and waiting for replies. 

Thanks to email, post and fax are now a thing of the past and there’s a constant direct line of rapid communication between recruiter, client and candidate. NMS Recruit was, in one particular case, at the CV stage of recruitment on the Monday, interviewing the following day and the candidate starting work on the Wednesday.

In the current candidate-driven market, speed can be essential to getting skilled candidates in place as good quality people – those who are in high demand - looking for new employment. 

Chances are a candidate may have a couple of other job offers in the pipeline so a client cannot afford to sit back and wait throughout a long selection process. If companies aren’t quick to hire the talent they want, someone else will get in there first.

Technology: the greatest change 

This has been the area of greatest change for recruitment. Thirty years ago, the only technical means of communication between a recruitment agency and an employer would have been by post, telephone, fax or telex. There was no email then and no mobile phones. Employers advertised vacancies in local or national newspapers, trade press or job directories and there were no job boards, no websites and no social media.

A survey has shown that social media for hiring purposes is now at an all-time high with 92 percent of companies using platforms such as Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook for recruitment.

Customer relationship management software, using data analysis about customers' history to improve business relationships, allows recruiting to become faster, better and more efficient. Video interviews, conference calls and Skype all contribute to quicker recruitment with no barriers to time or location.

Candidates in driving seat

Candidates are today the ones often in the driving seat and able to command more than just the best salary they can get but the whole jobs package, such as flexible working and career development plans. Some are often receiving multiple job offers and, if an employer can’t offer what they are looking for, they’ll ultimately lose them to a competitor that can.

With unemployment at an all-time low, candidate attraction is high on the agenda for many businesses. The speed of the interview process and information provided to the candidate prior to interview is therefore crucial. A lot of potential employers lose candidates due to their hiring process taking too long between each stage as top candidates are being offered something better elsewhere.

In a slow recruitment operation, it’s obvious that the top candidates are going to be the ones who quickly withdraw from the process, leaving only the weaker ones behind. Also, every day that a job vacancy is left unfilled can mean a company experiencing a reduction in productivity. 

However, fast turnaround should never mean quality of candidate selection becomes compromised. It is important that the recruiter knows the specific requirements of its clients and candidates in equal measure so that the right person can be put in place as quickly as possible.

Technology is obviously a boon here but, in the end, everything focuses on having a real personal rapport with the hiring business and those looking for employment. Communication is key so that every detail is in place at the outset – such as the candidate being briefed on the client company’s operation and the hirer having full knowledge of the candidate CV - to make sure the whole process is seamless and rapid.