The pandemic has forced businesses to rapidly rethink the way they operate — from their business models, to working and hiring. As a result of various physical distancing and safety measures, it’s no surprise job interviews have gone virtual.

Virtual interviews were already on the rise before the pandemic, but recent events have sparked a dramatic surge. On the HireVue platform, we have seen a 653 per cent increase in live virtual interviews, across Australia, between July 6 and July 20, when compared to the weekly average between January 15 and March 10. HireVue’s 15 millionth virtual interview was reached this July, just over a year after its 10 millionth was conducted — pointing to a recent and sharp rise.

This is a unique opportunity for companies and hiring managers to take a hard look at their existing hiring processes, and consider how they can make them more efficient and effective.

When businesses do gradually reopen, leaders need to plan for a surge in rehiring as the economy begins its recovery. Investing in top talent will be crucial for companies as they look to build organisational resilience and drive value and profitability. However, given the current climate, it is likely to be a while before in-person activities return to pre-pandemic levels. This presents employers with a chance to rethink their hiring processes, while taking into account the limited ability for in-person interactions. Virtual interviews are not the ‘new normal’ but the ‘only normal’, and there are a few reasons why virtual interviews are helpful in the current environment to reach ideal candidates.

Going virtual allows for recruitment at speed and scale
Since the pandemic, some industries including call centres and delivery services are hiring workers in large numbers to meet unprecedented demands. Most recently, a leading Australian telco also saw 19,000 candidates applying for 1,000 vacant call centre jobs. As companies look to redeploy pandemic layoffs, organisations now face hundreds of applicants per opening, and need to sort through these applications quickly to get key talent back into the workforce, while on reduced resources.

This is a unique opportunity for companies and hiring managers to take a hard look at their existing hiring processes, and consider how they can make them more efficient and effective. Technology can be a great enabler in the situation, such as platforms like HireVue, which offers video interviews; live, person-to-person online interviews, and online assessments, helping employers find and interview candidates remotely, while social distancing rules are still in place.

HireVue also has the capability to allow for structured interviews to take place on-demand, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, from any device. One advantage is the accessibility it affords both the candidates and the hiring managers. Candidates can take the interview from anywhere around the world, at a time that suits them, without needing to travel to physically meet their prospective employers. This is hugely beneficial for those who work full time or serve double duty taking care of children or elderly relatives, to interview for new positions when it’s most convenient for them. It also creates flexibility for the hiring manager to review interviews at a time that also enables them to still accommodate their existing workloads.

In the absence of the physical aspect of job interviews, the use of appropriate functionalities such as introductory videos and branding can still make candidates feel they are part of a personalised interview experience.

Virtual interviews are not the ‘new normal’ but the ‘only normal’, and there are a few reasons why virtual interviews are helpful in the current environment to reach ideal candidates.

Broaden your talent pool with fairer hiring practices
Virtual interviewing is also one way to ensure a level playing field within the talent pool. Using on-demand technology to deliver structured interviews means candidates receive a consistent experience such as being asked the same, competency-based questions during an interview. This way they are not impacted by uncontrollable factors such as the interviewers’ mood or demeanor, immediately improving the fairness of the process for all candidates.

Another way to assess talent is using skills-based pre-hire assessments to narrow down on the ideal candidate. This is done via objective methods of evaluating job-relevant abilities. With skills-based assessments, recruiters rely less on CVs and grades which are rarely predictive of job success and are often where human biases are activated, and instead remain focused on a candidate’s skills that predict success in a specific role.

Investing in top talent will be crucial for companies as they look to build organisational resilience and drive value and profitability.

This in turn breaks down barriers that exist within the current recruitment process. It also helps to uncover talent where employers least expect it — leading to a far more diverse and inclusive talent pool.

Businesses should not view this transition to virtual interviewing as a short-term solution. By taking the first step towards adjusting the recruitment process, companies can take advantage of tools that not only save time, but offer the objectivity and structured interviewing necessary to diversify the way they hire. This has proven to open up the talent pool to candidates that might not have been considered previously, and the benefits of the process will see businesses through the pandemic, and beyond.

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Together with the Netherlands, Denmark and Switzerland, Australia has one of the highest numbers of casual workers in the world, with the OECD Employment Outlook 2019 showing that 25 per cent of workers in Australia are casual.

While many employers emphasise strategies which engage and motivate their permanent employees, they often overlook their casual workforce. A survey recently conducted by Humanforce revealed that only 42 per cent of Australian casual employees feel engaged by their work. Given the fact that a quarter of Australian workers are casual workers, this is a massive oversight and represents significant risk in industries where casual workers are prominent such as hospitality, retail and events.

Global analytics firm, Gallup, recently found that engaged employees and business units realise a 41 per cent reduction in absenteeism and a 17 per cent increase in productivity. In addition, highly engaged business units achieve a 10 per cent increase in customer ratings and 24 per cent less turnover.

Australian employers can achieve better performance and return from getting to know their casual workforce and finding out what engages and motivates them.

Engaging Australia’s casual workers: who are they and what can employers provide?
So, what attracts Australians to casual work? Humanforce’s survey found that the top attractions of casual work are the flexibility of days and hours (75 per cent), maintaining flexibility for family (43 per cent) and study (20 per cent) commitments. Respondents also prioritised a guaranteed number of shifts/hours (60 per cent), yet more than half of Australia’s casual workforce are left without shift/hour assurances (OECD Employment Outlook 2019).

“Workforce solutions help employers to connect and engage more easily, often and more meaningfully with their teams”

Employee engagement is a key factor in retaining staff and is critical to creating a good workplace culture. It can result in numerous benefits for employees, including increased productivity, improved corporate performance and higher customer satisfaction. Furthermore, employee engagement may reduce the 40 per cent of casual workers who will leave the casual workforce and make the move to permanent work.

Casual workers are primarily engaged by:

• Positive and fun work cultures – 54 per cent
• Wage incentives – 52 per cent
• Employee rewards – 45 per cent
• An employer that shows an interest in you – 42 per cent
• A community built through social events, group training and team building exercises (>50 per cent)

The solution
Almost half of casual workers feel disengaged as a result of employers overlooking these key motivational factors. Workforce solutions help employers to connect and engage more easily, often and more meaningfully with their teams.

Explained through increasing technological innovation and the growth of meaningful connectivity, almost three-quarters of survey respondents are interested in tech-based solutions as methods of engagement.

Workforce solutions are facilitators of employee engagement and motivation. Maintaining flexibility and employee retention gives companies a competitive edge in the age of the casualised workforce.

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Organisations get recruitment right “slightly more times than they get it wrong” said Alex Linley, co-founder of Cappfinity, which is a global leader in strengths-based talent acquisition, assessment and development.

“If you look at all the statistics around retention, engagement and satisfaction at work, for example, the overall average is just over 50 per cent when it comes to successful recruitment,” he said.

Hallmarks of organisations which fail at talent acquisition
“There is quite a wide range in there, because some organisations do a really bad job of finding and recruiting the right people, while others do a really good job.”

The first hallmark of organisations which usually fail at recruitment is failing to understand what talent they require in the first place: “if you don’t know who you are looking for then chances of selecting the right person are not good,” said Linley.

The second most common challenge involves selection processes, which can sometimes be subject to personal biases on the part of agencies and hiring managers.

“Sometimes a hiring manager will make a decision based on whoever they feel is the right fit for the culture of the organisation,” he said.

“But if they get the selection process wrong, this can reinforce a culture of command and control because the hiring manager then needs to work extra hard to try and get the new employee to get the job done.

“This then leads to resentment, low performance and disengagement – and ultimately the employee leaves the organisation,” said Linley.

Hallmarks of organisations which succeed at talent acquisition
However, organisations which have a better handle on talent acquisition basically do the opposite of the above.

They have a solid understanding of who they are looking for, what it will take for someone to succeed in a particular role, and who would be a good fit for the organisation.

“They understand what high performers already do well, what their best people are like and what it is that differentiates them,” he said.

“Knowing this, then they can design for consistent, replicable, objective selection processes that allow them to hire more people who are like that.

“I say consistent, replicable and objective because they are likely to use some sort of assessment, structured interview process or group exercise – so they are able to compare like with like and compare people against a standard, as opposed to organisations in which selection processes are forever shifting based on how the hiring manager feels that day.”

“Some organisations do a really bad job of finding and recruiting the right people, while others do a really good job”

Organisations which are good at talent acquisition are typically very good at bringing new starters on board – not just from a process perspective, but also in terms of giving them work which matches their expectations and what they are interested in and want to perform.

“When people are doing things they want to do, they are more likely to enjoy it more and stay with an organisation that enables them to do that,” said Linley.

Hiring based on strengths
Similarly, organisations which understand this tend to perform much better in terms of recruitment, retention, performance and productivity.

“We certainly see across our client organisations that when are recruiting based on strengths, they consistently get it right around 90 per cent of the time,” said Linley.

“There might be a figure of about 10 per cent of attrition in the first year, because 90 per cent would be a very realistic benchmark we could be aiming to meet and exceed.”

With a strengths-based approach to recruitment, Linley said companies spend time understanding what success in a particular role looks like, who they’re looking for and who would be a good fit on a number of levels.

This allows the organisation to recruit based on a success model or framework, in which candidates are screened against exactly what is required to deliver high performance in a role.

“We are looking for an authentic match with consistency and rigour, and this flow through the recruitment process all the way, so there are no surprises,” he said.

Linley observed that a strengths-based approach to recruitment also delivers improved diversity and inclusion outcomes.

“Because strengths are inherently human, we are helping recruit from a wider pool and find people that might have overlooked through traditional methods of recruitments,” he said.

“Using strengths in recruitment goes beyond the surface and looks to find candidates who are going to shine and be successful with an organisation because of their strengths.”

However, there is no “silver bullet” when it comes to effective recruitment, and he said this simply come back to the hallmarks of organisations which are clear about who they are looking for, and steps and processes to find such candidates.

“There is a lot of hype but not a lot of substance in terms of what is actually being delivered and meaningful results”

Pros and cons of technology in recruitment
Technology is playing an increasingly important role in talent acquisition, and Linley observed that it is a “tremendous accelerator of recruitment – when done well”.

“I think the best results will always be achieved through a combination of authentic human experience and technology, and using the data in a way that can make the process more efficient and effective,” he said.

“It’s about the right balance and combination of technology and the human experience; that’s where the magic happens.”

Linley said technology is playing an important role in reducing the amount of administrative work in the recruitment process.

However, one way that technology can get in the way is where biases are unwittingly built into the algorithms, and this can negatively impact the shortlisting and selection process.

“It’s about finding the right ways to deploy technologies and using data in combination with strengths and that human experience to ensure this delivers the best recruitment experience,” he said.

“It should make it more efficient for the organisation, and more immersive and authentic from a candidate experience as well.”

There is a lot of talk about artificial intelligence and machine learning in the recruitment market, said Linley.

“There is a lot of hype but not a lot of substance in terms of what is actually being delivered and meaningful results,” he said.

Ideally technology has to deliver a faster, better and more cost-effective outcome for organisations, however, this can be limited by existing processes which can hamper the full potential of technology in the recruitment process.

“Some larger organisations which have been around for a while try and reposition themselves as digital, tech-focused and ready for the future, but when you get into their recruitment processes they are quite traditional and there is a lot of scope for improvement,” he said.

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“You never get a second chance to make a first impression – Will Rogers”

We think of the drivers of an organisation through these five frames – purpose; strategy; culture and capability; alignment and, finally, execution. People tend to get most exercised about the first four of these, each of which answer fundamental questions of competitive advantage:

• Purpose: what do you stand for? What are you here to do?
• Strategy: is yours differentiated, fluid, reflective of your unique attributes?
• Culture: what are the enduring beliefs that make you who you are?
• Alignment: is every single employee aligned around the many small decisions, not just the few big ones

But all of this – your purpose, your culture, your strategy – only come to life through the actual experience that people have of working in your organisation. From their day to day interactions and experience your people infer the rest – to answer for themselves the questions of whether your purpose is really what you stand for, if the culture is how it was sold, if people believe in the strategy? This is the fifth frame, execution, and the first experience your people have of it is likely to be the onboarding process.

Onboarding is your new employee’s vital first experience. Sadly, turnover in the first year of employment in many organisations continues to be higher than in subsequent years, and most organisations see engagement decline for individuals during their first year – because the reality does not match the promise. Which tells us that onboarding is not being done well.

While there are many software products currently in or entering the market that claim to “fix” your onboarding experience, this is only a small part of the answer. There is a role to be played by a seamless execution of the mechanical aspects of joining a new employer – laptop ready, log-ins clear, compliance training ready to go … but unless your purpose is to deliver a seamless technical process there is more human work to be done.

“Give your people a buddy and time to reflect on the personal match between what they value and what the organisation does”

So, what are the basics of an exceptional onboarding experience?

1. Be clear on what you stand for, and what you want a new employee’s experience to be
If it is true that your culture is not what you claim on your website, but what you truly believe: then make sure you design an onboarding experience that provides a lived experience of those beliefs. For example, if innovation and creativity are core organisational beliefs – ensure your onboarding processes are not cumbersome, traditional or overly bureaucratic. Give someone the task of examining every key onboarding interaction and asking “what does this experience say about us”?

The onboarding experience shouldn’t be thought of as one-way either. Just as new employees need to understand what drives the organisation, the organisation needs to create space for the new employee to explore their own beliefs and how they match the new workplace. Give your people a buddy and time to reflect on the personal match between what they value and what the organisation does.

2. Deliver a consistent experience
Strategy creation is about the few big decisions an executive team needs to take, to set an organisational direction. Strategy execution, on the other hand, comes through the hundreds of small decisions made by others in the organisation that bring the strategy to life. Consistency and coherence are key. New employees are no different – they need to be clear on what’s important and have the information they need to be able to make decisions that line up from day one. Creating a consistent experience for all new employees that equips them with an understanding of your strategy will accelerate their time to adding value and supporting execution through their day to day actions. Ask your new starters, as early as the end of their first month, if they have all the tools, relationships and information they need to bring the strategy to life. Keep asking them until they say yes.

Our brains are wired to respond as strongly to observing others having a bad experience as they are if are feeling poorly treated ourselves. Just as one of the key reasons seasoned employees leave is because they see underperformers not being managed, so new people will look for what you walk past in the onboarding and treatment of others and judge you accordingly. Focus on ensuring your process is delivered consistently across efficiency, quality and fairness irrespective of the department or hiring manager.

“Consider how you can most quickly build personal connections at the individual and team level to give new starters a clear sense of team and relatedness right from the start”

3. Think about the human involved
Your relationship with a new employee starts way before they actually join your organisation: even before they first see a job ad or contact your recruiters, future employees are forming an idea of what they should expect from you – and what you might expect from them. Irrespective of what you do these perceptions or implicit assumptions form foundations of their psychological contract with you as an employer. Often formal on-boarding processes fail to recognise this – and don’t take the time to explore these implicit assumptions. Don’t just tell new starters what to expect and what their responsibilities are, take the time to understand their needs and expectations and the match with what you are expecting.

Belonging: humans are pack animals; we thrive when we are part of a herd. Mental wellbeing is a key focus for businesses in Australia, and much research points to social isolation and a lack of connection as key causes of this. From our cozy position in an organisation we know it is easy to overlook the level of challenge or stress the new starter is facing. Consider how you can most quickly build personal connections at the individual and team level to give new starters a clear sense of team and relatedness right from the start.

The onboarding process often falls foul of the familiarity bias. Because our experience has allowed us to make sense of the complexity of our own organisation we overestimate the ability of others, without that experience, to do the same. This leaves people – no matter the nobleness of your purpose, brilliance of your strategy or strength of your culture – feeling isolated, confused and ill-equipped to contribute. Unless keep putting yourself in their shoes and asking “if what we say about ourselves is true, is this the experience a new person should be having?”

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When it comes to your recruitment strategy, it’s vitally important to ensure your company culture and employer brand are apparent to job seekers. After all, 99 per cent of Australian job seekers research a company when considering an opportunity there. But, what happens when candidates perceive your employer brand as inauthentic?

Authenticity is becoming more important to job seekers during their job search journey. In fact, according to Indeed’s SVP of Human Resources, Paul Wolfe at this year’s Indeed Interactive, “the most important part of the talent equation is authenticity … on both sides, [for] the employer and the job seeker”.

For job seekers, looking for a new job can be an emotional and stressful journey – the Holmes-Rahe Life Stress Inventory rates career events as having one of the biggest impacts on our stress and happiness. So, it’s no surprise that more job seekers want to truly understand the companies they’re interested in working for. After all, nobody wants to start a new job only to realise it wasn’t the right fit and have to start their job search journey again a few short weeks or months later. So being authentic to job seekers during the recruitment period and beyond is essential for organisations looking to find and retain the right candidates for their open roles.

What happens when organisations don’t have an authentic employer brand?
As insight into a company’s culture becomes more important to job seekers, organisations who don’t have an authentic employer brand risk hiring a candidate who may not be the right fit for the role, team or company. This can result in a negative employee experience and even employee turnover, causing the organisation to have to start their recruitment process all over again.

“Utilise your most engaged employees and create a strategy that incentivises them to review the business online or attend job fairs and networking events”

According to Indeed data, Australian employees are willing to leave a new job if it’s not the right fit. In fact, 40 per cent of those surveyed have left a new job after a short period because they were unhappy in the workplace, and 39 per cent left because the new role didn’t meet their expectations, according to a survey of 1006 Australian jobseekers, conducted by Censuswide on behalf of Indeed.

Tips for creating an authentic employer brand
So, you now know the importance of authenticity in recruiting. But how can you start incorporating this into your employer brand?

Ninety-two per cent of Australian job seekers turn online to find more information about a company they’re interested in, according to a survey of 1033 Australian workers conducted by Lonergan Research for Indeed. As such, ensuring you have an honest and authentic online presence is the first step.

For example, make sure your social media accounts, website and Indeed Company Page provide real and valuable insights into your company. After all, your online presence is often one of the first ways a jobseeker can interact with your company, so ensuring the information online about your organisation is accurate and authentic is essential to attracting the right candidates.

How can HR improve the candidate experience?
From an HR perspective, utilise your most engaged employees and create a strategy that incentivises them to review the business online or attend job fairs and networking events. After all, the next most powerful source of information and influence for candidates is peer-to-peer information, or word of mouth. Positive company reviews will help to solidify and validate an authentic employer brand to both potential candidates and the wider public. Potential candidates are likely to take into consideration the comments and appraisals of existing employees in the same way that many consumers assess product reviews before making a purchase.

“An honest and open approach is vital for identifying any mismatches between what the candidate is seeking and what the organisation can provide”

When advertising your open roles, make sure you continue being authentic. Unfortunately, 81 per cent of Australian job seekers believe that employers are more likely to “sell” a role than describe it fairly, according to a survey of 1033 Australian workers conducted by Lonergan Research on behalf of Indeed. So, it’s vital to be honest about your roles with candidates.

For example, be transparent when writing your job descriptions, and try to include information that will give insight into what the role will really be like. Things like work-life balance, everyday tasks and career progression are all important factors to job seekers when considering applying to an open role.

When speaking to interested candidates, whether in a formal interview or an informal phone screen, continue being as honest as possible, especially when answering their questions about the role or company. Factuality and transparency during the interview process are critical to ensure candidates take away an accurate picture of the organisation and their potential role within it. It also enables the recruiter to understand the priorities, values and expectations of the candidate, and better assess whether the organisation will be able to meet these – whether it’s working from home or having flexible hours.

While it can sometimes prolong the recruitment process, an honest and open approach is vital for identifying any mismatches between what the candidate is seeking and what the organisation can provide. Plus, more job seekers (71 per cent) are going into interviews with the mindset of determining whether or not the company is the right fit for them, so being inauthentic at this stage could result in hiring someone who may be unhappy in the role.

There’s nothing more frustrating for organisations than hiring someone who seemed like a right fit, only to find them leaving the company after a short period of time. Unfortunately, that is a reality for many organisations, with 22 per cent of new employees churning within the first 45 days of employment. But with an authentic employer brand, not only will both job seekers and employees have a more positive experience with your company, but it could also play a large role in attracting the right candidates to your open roles – helping to make your hiring process more efficient.

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It should come as no surprise that employee engagement is a key factor in retaining staff and creating a good workplace culture. It can result in numerous benefits for employees, including increased productivity, improved corporate performance and higher customer satisfaction. Engaged employees also make the lives of the HR teams much easier, as employees who are engaged are more connected and aligned to corporate objectives, more likely to drive innovation and collaboration with others, and are generally happier. They are more likely to go the extra mile, rather than watching the clock all day waiting for knock-off time, or worse, searching for a new job entirely.

Global analytics firm, Gallup, recently found that engaged employees and business units realise a 41 per cent reduction in absenteeism and a 17 per cent increase in productivity. In addition, highly engaged business units achieve a 10 per cent increase in customer ratings. Gallup also found that in organisations that commonly experienced high turnover, business units with engaged workforces achieved 24 per cent less turnover.

It’s important, however, not to focus solely on permanent fulltime staff when it comes to employee engagement. HR also need to ensure their casuals are engaged, as many businesses (particularly those in hospitality and retail) have a number of casuals making up their workforce.

So how can HR leaders ensure they are engaging the casual workforce?

“Organisations that commonly experienced high turnover, business units with engaged workforces achieved 24 per cent less turnover”

A well-defined on-boarding process is crucial
According to Gartner’s Future of HR survey, 51 per cent of HR leaders claim that improving the employee experience is a priority. And the employee experience starts with the on-boarding process. Having a well-defined on-boarding process ensures casuals feel connected with an organisation’s culture and part of the team right from the start. HR teams who put the time into on-boarding new staff will likely find that they retain a significantly higher number of staff, as employees will feel welcomed and valued from the get-go. This is especially important for those hiring casuals, because it is common for casual attrition to be high, and many casuals to not even show up for their very first shift.

Business solutions allowing a mobile on-boarding experience can assist in engaging casuals with a good experience. An on-boarding process that is paperless – such as an app-based solution that allows candidates to receive and accept offers, complete their on-boarding requirements, agree to company policies, upload photos of required documents and accept shifts immediately – can ensure new casuals are brought into the fold straight away.

In addition to the benefits to casuals, an automated on-boarding process also reduces administration time. With high turnover of casuals, there is every chance one person may return to work multiple times for a business, and with a digital record of staff in the system, they can easily and quickly be re-started at any time.

Have the right workforce management solutions in place
Since casuals are paid differently, receive different benefits and operate under different awards and regulations compared with full-time workers, traditional HR platforms are not necessarily geared to support their varying needs and requirements. With growth and advances in technology, as well as savvy end-users, workforce management solutions catering to casuals’ needs and requirements, can help to build engagement between casuals and their employer.

“Technology can play a big role in facilitating communication and feedback, as well as showing how engaged casuals are”

While companies generally need to have separate administrative systems and records for their casuals, having the right workforce management solution in place can make it easier to report and provide metrics for casuals. This enables HR to monitor casuals to ensure high productivity across the business, but also means that praise can be offered to any employees that are excelling or going above and beyond. By having better real-time visibility of worker performance and hours worked, HR can have a stronger understanding of whether their employees are engaged with their roles, and what to do if they are not.

Encourage communication
A key factor in ensuring you are keeping your casuals engaged is encouraging honest and open communication. This allows casuals to share their thoughts and ideas, receive constructive feedback and be recognised for their work. Communication also helps managers recognise disengagement earlier and resolve issues proactively. Without this, employers leave themselves open to the risk that unhappy or disengaged casuals will simply start searching for work elsewhere, leaving HR to cover their shifts.

With casuals often working in different locations and at varied hours, technology can play a big role in facilitating communication and feedback, as well as showing how engaged casuals are. Workforce management solutions offer HR teams the ability for two-way messaging with casuals, statistics on shift uptake and completion and the ability for casuals to ‘rate their shift’.

Engaging casuals is a must
Engaging with your casuals is not a bonus, it’s a requirement. This is because employees who are not engaged will not hesitate to move on elsewhere, seeking out better engagement. More engaged employees, no matter their employment status, will be happier, more productive and this will make HR managers’ lives much easier too.

Image source: Depositphotos

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Many companies have recognised that embracing neurodiversity is an incredibly powerful way of enabling real diversity of thought and perspective in your organisation, said Alex Linley, co-founder of Cappfinity, which is a global leader in strengths-based talent acquisition, assessment and development.

“Employing people who genuinely ‘think differently’ is guaranteed to bring new perspectives and insights,” he said.

“It allows companies to be more innovative, to spot value and solutions others may have missed, and make better decisions as a result.”

However, there is still room for improvement and Linley predicted that there will be more interesting developments in this space especially with new technology in the future.

Linley’s comments come off the back of recent CIPD research which found that just 10 per cent of HR professionals say consideration of neurodiversity is included in their organisation’s people management practices.

Neurodiversity refers to the natural range of differences in human brain function, and among employers, it’s become the term used to describe alternative thinking styles including dyslexia, autism, ADHD and dyspraxia as they relate to diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

These can have unique strengths, ranging from data-driven thinking to sustained focus over long periods, an ability to spot patterns and trends, and the capacity to process information at extraordinary speeds.

However, due to a lack of awareness within organisations and the way that most organisations are physically and structurally set up for ‘neurotypicals’, many workplaces do not enable neurodiverse individuals to perform to their full potential.

“There are real opportunities for forward-thinking employers which want to embrace and celebrate the value that people who ‘think differently’ can bring”

For example, the CIPD research found that 72 per cent of HR professionals said that consideration of neurodiversity wasn’t included in their people management practices, and 17 per cent said that they didn’t know.

Neurodiverse candidate challenges
Linley, who has a PhD in Psychology, observed that the number one challenge for organisations and neurodiverse candidates is always going to be a lack of resources.

“Oftentimes, those people who are neurodiverse tend to need extra care and attention during the interview stages and even into onboarding and beyond,” he said.

“That isn’t to say that there’s not a plethora of solutions to overcome this; it’s just that companies need to take the time to educate themselves and become more aware of best practices when it comes to people who are neurodiverse, which in turn will benefit culture across the board.”

As neurodiversity becomes more widely recognised and understood, Linley said there is no excuse for being left behind.

“Instead, there are real opportunities for forward-thinking employers which want to embrace and celebrate the value that people who ‘think differently’ can bring,” he said.

Neurodiversity and improving recruitment
To embrace neurodiversity, organisations need to consider both their recruitment practices and how they enable neurodiverse people to perform at their best once they are in the role.

A starting point for HR is to use multiple ways of assessment to find candidates, so that people who are neurodiverse have an opportunity to showcase their strengths.

At the interview stage, for example, it is important to account for neurodiverse candidates by giving candidates the option of a one-on-one interview rather than a panel, avoiding hypothetical ‘what if’ questions and allowing reasonable adjustments and extra time.

“It’s important to accommodate neurodiverse employees through strengths-based practices to allow them to focus on what they are best at”

“Moving forward, it’s important to accommodate neurodiverse employees through strengths-based practices to allow them to focus on what they are best at and what they enjoy most while aligning with these abilities to company goals,” said Linley.

“This might incorporate a mixture of flexible working arrangements like varied hours or working from home days.”

Linley said it’s also a good idea is to develop a neurodiversity policy which sets out the company’s position in relation to neurodiversity, how people who are neurodiverse are supported, and how this plays through into recruitment, performance management and progression practices – and why this is important.

Neurodiversity trends and advice
There are a number of important trends on the horizon for HR, and Linley explained that the biggest shift will be in relation to awareness, acceptance and active embracing of neurodiversity in the workplace.

“We are increasingly aware and accepting today in 2019, and more and more companies are moving to actively embracing the benefits that neurodiverse employees can bring to their business,” he said.

“As this active embrace of neurodiversity progresses, we are likely to see a shift in what becomes standard policy and practice for managing neurodiversity and enabling neurodiverse team members to use their talents to best effect.”

Linley also said that HR can take a more strategic approach to hiring neurodiverse candidates in three key ways – the first of which is building awareness and acceptance for neurodiversity right across the business.

The second step involves actively embracing neurodiversity as a talent priority for making the most of people who ‘think differently’ – in order to bring different value to the business.

A third step is to design HR systems, policies and procedures to account for these potential differences.

“This is often best done by talking to people who are affected, understanding what would make a difference for them, and then implementing this across the HR lifecycle,” he said.

“We are likely to see a shift in what becomes standard policy and practice for managing neurodiversity and enabling neurodiverse team members to use their talents to best effect”

Guidelines for employers
The CIPD has released a guide for employers to help improve neurodiversity within organisations, and said there are four areas organisations need to focus on:

Recruitment

• Ensure job descriptions are jargon-free and clearly signal that your organisation welcomes neurodivergent individuals
• Many recruitment practices often rely on competency frameworks where people are filtered out if they don’t meet minimum standards on a set of wide-ranging capabilities – review your recruitment approach to ensure you’re not screening out talented individuals
• Ensure interviewers are informed about neurodiversity so they are fair and empathetic in the interview process (such as by choosing a quiet interview space, avoiding rapid-fire questions and understanding why some people might not make direct eye contact)

Workplaces

• Avoid really bright lights in your office that can be distracting or lead to sensory overload
• Consider how noisy open-plan environments can be distracting or lead to individuals feeling overwhelmed
• Complete a desk assessment for any new joiners, helping them make sure their computer screen isn’t too bright and they have everything they need to aid personal organisation (such as trays and filing drawers)

Management

• Train line managers so that they feel confident and able to assist neurodiverse employees at work and help them make the most of their skills
• Encourage regular one-to-ones and feedback between line managers and their reports to keep communication channels open and help motivate and support all employees
• Make sure neurodiversity is welcomed and championed by senior leaders and that a culture of celebrating difference is encouraged throughout the organisation

HR

• Highlight employee support networks and similar resources clearly in the on-boarding process and on the company intranet for anyone who needs them
• Ensure individualised support is available to all, from access to mentoring, coaching and counselling – make sure that support is clearly signposted
• Address comfort at work on a regular basis through workspace preference questionnaires and broader employee satisfaction surveys

Image source: Depositphotos

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While the process of recruiting the right people is far from a perfect science, many companies would do well to rethink their approach to talent acquisition, said Banks.

“I’ve always found it amazing that we can send probes to Mars and land people on the moon,” he said.

“But something that is so intrinsically important to people – finding a career that is best suited to them so they can earn a good living and feel safe and secure – seems to elude us.

“The lack of frameworks and frankly science around how people look for and find the right jobs for themselves, and how companies go about recruiting, has always stunned me,” he said.

Banks, who has spent decades building successful businesses in the recruiting profession, said he followed a “100-point check” approach to assessing and recruiting the right candidates for roles.

The first 20 points comprise a thorough and well-rounded interview, Banks explained: “A good interview means dialogue both ways, so the candidate asks the right questions, and the interviewer asks the right questions,” he said.

“This is not simply asking questions about what the candidate has done; it’s more about ‘What are you really looking for?’, ‘Why are you looking at this moment?’, ‘What gets the best out of you?’, What kind of boss makes you successful?’, What kind of culture works best for you?’ – and then ask about strengths and weaknesses.”

Reference checking is worth another 40 points, and Banks said this needs to be correlated to past performance and drill down into key insights gathered about the candidate during the interview process.

“This is not simply asking the questions ‘Would you re-employ them?’, but rather asking ‘What are they really good at?’, ‘What are their weaknesses?’, and ‘Where do you think they could have done better?’ for example,” he said.

“Something that is so intrinsically important to people – finding a career that is best suited to them so they can earn a good living and feel safe and secure – seems to elude us”

A strong behavioural assessment is worth an additional 20 points, Banks said.

“This needs to go deeper than just asking ‘What’s your IQ?’; it should be a sensible and well-rounded behavioural assessment about how the candidate thinks and how they critically problem solve,” he said.

The final 20 points comes down to cultural fit for the organisation, which Banks said is typically harder to assess.

“Every candidate is different; you can take someone who is successful in one environment and put them into a different one, but if that environment isn’t suited to them it is very hard to get a good match and the high performance that comes with this,” said Banks, who observed that this last 20 per cent factor has historically been very elusive.

“Now, on a good day, if you get all of this right and the candidate is being honest about their own thoughts and the employer is really in the moment and not just rushing doing an interview in-between two business appointments, if the reference checking is thorough, if the behavioural assessment is honest and open, and if you get a cultural match – then that is 100/100,” he said.

“We both know that that is probably idealistic in the real world, but the aim of the game is to get 70-80/100 most of the time, and hope that this starts to work for the organisation and for the individual as they start to grow into the role,” said Banks.

The role of technology in recruiting
Banks also said technology is playing an increasingly important role in recruiting, and observed that it can help enormously in the recruitment process – however, it can also be a two-edged sword.

“Technology can amplify, speed up and make accessible clever tools, but like anything else, in the hands of a good practitioner it can add value, but in the hands of a bad practitioner, it can be awful,” he said.

“For example, I’m wary of technology that tends to label people and paint them into a corner and label them as X.

“Technology can amplify, speed up and make accessible clever tools, but like anything else, in the hands of a good practitioner it can add value, but in the hands of a bad practitioner, it can be awful”

“I’ll use Myers Briggs as an example, which I think is a very useful teambuilding tool, but I don’t accept that it is a very good recruiting tool because being an ENTJ (or whatever type you are) doesn’t tell you exactly how you will work,” he said.

Technology can assist at both ends of the recruitment process, from screening and shortlisting, through to assessing culture fit, according to Banks, who has recently invested in a new platform called Shortlyster, which is a hiring optimisation platform that matches and ranks candidates and businesses together through smart data.

“This comes back to the point about the 20 per cent out of 100 on the cultural mix; it’s not about judging candidates or employers but rather objectively assessing the likely real cultural fit between the two,” said Banks, who explained that the platform requires employers to answer 15-20 questions about what it’s really like to work in their company from a values and culture perspective (such as how they like to manage and delegate, or how decision making is carried out).

“It forces the company to think about these things and for all the line managers – presumably signed off by the HR and potentially the CEO – to agree what those cultural factors look like.

“We aren’t telling them what it looks like, but they decide what it looks like for company X or Y.

“And then on the applicant side – whether they be a seasoned professional or an inexperienced job hunter, we simply ask them to look at the same questions but from the other side of that coin, to see which cultural factors they relate to best.”

“So now we have an inexpensive, online filter that I couldn’t have possibly offered to my clients in the 90s, because the technology wasn’t there.

“So this technology is able to help identify culture matches on top of all the other moving parts of skills, competence, passion and personality – and it simply improves the chances that candidates will do well in your company if everything else works out,” said Banks.

Banks observed that there is a general scepticism about online psychometric testing and said it can be hard to convince everyone about which test is going to be right or wrong, but for companies looking to establish a benchmark around culture fit then Shortlyster can be helpful as it is unique to the company.

“If you and I were sitting in a room with 20 people and we wanted to agree on 15 labels that we all agree on with regards to makes this company tick in terms of culture, teamwork and management, for example, then that’s how we get agreement on real and consistent insights into a company’s culture,” he said.

“This is a much better approach than a rambling conversation with a line manager who might be describing their company’s culture versus another manager in a different part of the company who might be describing it slightly differently; the candidate would not be hearing it in the same way.”

“It’s always important to remember that size does matter, because different approaches are required based on company size and also geographic dispersion”

The future of recruitment for HR
From a global perspective, Banks also said there was room for improvement in how most Australian organisations go about recruiting the right candidates.

“Recruitment is a challenge,” he said.

“I spend a lot of time in the US, and not many Australian CEOs have to cope with employing 100,000-300,000 people which they do in the States.

“When comparing ourselves to the States or to Europe it’s always important to remember that size does matter, because different approaches are required based on company size and also geographic dispersion.”

Australians companies are generally “quite sophisticated” being part a smaller society with a workforce of only 12-14 million people, though Banks said Australia is an expensive workforce and it is important for companies to keep up with the latest recruiting and HR trends in order to remain competitive.

“I think the one thing that companies need to take more seriously – and this is including Australia, Europe and the US, from Board and executive team levels down – is thinking deeply about the frameworks they use for matching talent against what they need as a business,” said Banks.

“They throw different bits at it, like talent pooling and outsourcing, and they understand churn and the issues associated with that, but rarely do I hear that CEOs have got their finger on the pulse across the whole range of issues that need to have if you’re going to get that right.”

Workforce models are also changing, with the permanent jobs market fading and the rise of the gig economy and other employment models, he added.

“Five to ten years from now, particularly with AI coming into play, we need to stop thinking about work from a traditional jobs and careers perspective, but more about types of work in terms of things that we are passionate about,” said Banks, who predicted employment models will become more and more fragmented.

“Companies will start to isolate work to be done, and not necessarily jobs and careers. That’s the first thing,” he said.

“That might sound awful because people want security in a job, but on the other hand it will offer remote work and flexibility on scales not seen before – far more than my parents had and we had.

“If you told my grandmother, who was born in 1901, that you would take your intellectual property and load it into this digital document that goes into the thing called the World Wide Web – and then jobs can find you, she would have laughed. We now take that for granted.”

“We need to stop thinking about work from a traditional jobs and careers perspective, but more about types of work in terms of things that we are passionate about”

Banks also said that the traditional resume will change, with individuals piecing together their career history and interests to look more like a “digital Rubik’s Cube” with multifaceted sides detailing different kinds of career experience and other interests including social media.

This digital information would then be indexed by systems which specialise in matching the right talent with open opportunities – and the process of reaching out to people would be automated and ask individuals: “Have you thought about doing an assignment for us, or a piece of work? We have a job here that is perfect for you,” he predicted.

“So, technology will continue to play an important role in matching supply and demand.”

In the process, Banks advised HR leaders to remain current and open-minded about what technology can do for them.

“It’s not going away, so be part of it,” he said.

“I think I’d like HR practitioners can be both quantitative than qualitative; it’s always great to know your net promoter score and to have digital platforms for talent pooling – but we need to get better at assessing soft skills, aspirations and passion, and not just skills, experience and knowledge.

“In my experience, people are getting hired because of their skills or knowledge, and are failing because they are a bad match on their culture and attributes – and that’s where technology can now play a role in helping to improve fit in a meaningful and objective way,” he said.

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Creating a superior candidate experience starts from the top of an organisation and needs to be sustained through putting in enough time, effort, training and consistency in order to deliver for both candidates and the business, said Dr Matthew Neale, chief psychology officer for Revelian.

“Most organisations don’t fare very well in doing this,” said Dr Neale, who explained that the most common issue in providing a great candidate experience is not communicating effectively with candidates.

“Candidates want to know right from the beginning what is going to be involved in the recruitment and selection process, how long it will take, what sort of things they need to do and when they need to do them,” said Dr Neale.

“Some organisations are quite poor at anything other than acknowledging receipt of the application, so effective communication is a key gap in terms of managing and improving the candidate experience.”

Lack of communication is possibly the most common complaint from candidates, who want clear and timely information about the process and their progress, according to Revelian’s new eBook, Enhancing the Candidate Experience for Better Business Results.

It cited a study from Phenom People which found that only 2 per cent of Fortune 500 companies are communicating the status of a candidate’s application throughout the entire duration of the hiring process.

“The problem exists in all stages of the candidate journey, from learning more about a company to accepting a job or not being considered any further,” the eBook said.

“It can have serious repercussions for your organisation, from having top candidates drop out to wasting recruitment team time as they answer questions that could have been proactively addressed in communications to the candidate.”

Pros (and cons) of candidate engagement
Dr Neale observed that another common issue for organisations is making sure that candidates who are unsuccessful in their application feel like they have had adequate opportunity to make their case for employment.

“Candidates need to feel like their case has been heard and their skills and capabilities recognised”

“Candidates need to feel like their case has been heard and their skills and capabilities recognised,” said Dr Neale.

“This goes back to the organisation and its ability to provide a feeling of respect for candidates as part of the selection process, recognising and acknowledging that candidates put a lot of time and effort into the process.”

A related issue for candidates is that questions asked or processes in the application are fair or actually relevant to the job they are applying for.

“If questions are not clearly linked to the job, or application forms or assessments can’t be linked back to the job, this can have quite a negative impact as well,” he added.

The eBook cited a flagship study of Virgin Media, which found they were losing approximately 7500 customers per year: people who had applied for jobs with them and were unhappy about their experience, including how they were rejected.

Once they improved their application process, they began to claw back some of the estimated £4.4 million ($8.1 million) per year they were losing due to poor candidate experiences.

Steps for improvement
There are a number of steps organisations can take to improve the candidate experience, according to Dr Neale – the first of which is having the right guidelines and systems in place for recruiters and hiring managers to communicate effectively.

“Most applications are conducted online these days, and there are some relatively easy ways to communicate with candidates through messaging services, e-mail and other processes, so deploying the right kind of systems and providing the right kind of training around effective communication with candidates is critical,” he said.

Part of this process can be automated as well, with organisations increasingly using chatbots to provide basic information to candidates about the recruitment process and the status of their application.

“Communication doesn’t always need to come from a human,” said Dr Neale, “so there are a lot of organisations which are starting to invest in this kind of technology to improve the quality of communication.”

“Make that entry point into your assessment process as short, simple and brief as possible, with just enough information to commence a conversation”

Another important consideration for HR is to think about candidates as customers and as people who they want to develop a positive relationship with.

The eBook cited an IBM WorkTrends survey, which found that people who had a good candidate experience had a stronger desire to become a customer of the recruiting organisation than those who had a poor experience.

And while 31 per cent didn’t want to become a customer despite being satisfied with the process, this increased to 60 per cent when people were dissatisfied with their treatment.

Furthermore, Dr Neale said it is important to ensure the right questions are asked and all the steps in the hiring process are necessary.

“Are you asking the right questions and avoiding time-wasting material? Are you getting the most out of the candidate and providing an experience that reflects well on your organisation?” asked Dr Neale, who explained that The eBook are one engaging way that can help assess candidates’ abilities around problem-solving, working effectively with data, good communication as well as understanding emotions.

He explained that game-based assessments provide short, effective and reliable tests which are interesting, engaging and more enjoyable to complete.

Another important step for HR is to get feedback from candidates on the recruitment process, in order to understand areas for improvement and what can be done to provide a better experience for future candidates.

The eBook pointed to a study by Future Workplace, which found that 78 per cent of jobseekers said they’d never been asked for feedback on their experience, and only 25 per cent of employers said they regularly asked for feedback.

Candidate experience advice for HR
As HR is front and centre of the candidate management process, Dr Neale suggested that a starting point for HR is to look very carefully at what is on their application form.

“When people design an application form, they think that every possible bit of information they might need to employ this person should be on there,” said Dr Neale.

“It’s worth looking very carefully at your process and whether you are doing something that is new, interesting and different, which help candidates think positive things about the organisation”

“Sometimes this list is quite extensive, with documents to upload, full details of all the different names a candidate might have held and so on – but you actually need very little information to get that communication going.”

“My key advice would be to make that entry point into your assessment process as short, simple and brief as possible, with just enough information to commence a conversation.”

It is a good idea to think about how the organisation is differentiating itself from others, and whether it is providing a typical application/resume/interview/reference check process – or an experience which provides a genuine sense of interest and engagement from candidates, he added.

“So, it’s worth looking very carefully at your process and whether you are doing something that is new, interesting and different, which help candidates think positive things about the organisation,” said Dr Neale.

6 quick wins for creating a better candidate experience
The eBook said there are a few things HR can do to quickly improve the way their organisation interacts with candidates through six quick wins:

1. Start collecting candidate feedback: Begin their collecting feedback easily by setting up a simple survey and including the link in all of the comms you send to your candidates.

2. Add a bot to your careers site: Adding a bot that answers FAQs can free up their time and reduce candidate frustration by offering them timely and accurate responses to their questions.
3. Record some employee testimonials: They don’t have to be a top-quality production; in fact, more candid, less polished videos have an authentic edge.
4. Give candidates a timeline: As a first step, ensure that all applicants have a timeline of your recruitment process, so they know what to expect and when the important dates are.
5. Send rejections, offer closure: While it might be more appropriate to phone candidates who have made it to the interview stage, an email to candidates who haven’t progressed that far is a quick win that closes the loop for candidates and demonstrates that you appreciate their time and effort in applying.
6. Find some champions: If your senior leaders understand the (extensive) business implications of improving the candidate experience, they’ll be more likely to embrace projects that improve it and likely to promote it across the organisation.

For more information on how to create a great candidate experience and specific steps HR can take to improve talent attraction, selection and acquisition strategies and outcomes, Revelian’s Enhancing the Candidate Experience for Better Business Results is available for download here.

Image source: Depositphotos

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You’ve probably heard the ancient Indian fable about the blind wise men and the elephant. In it, each of the men touch an elephant in a different spot – trunk, tusk, ear, leg, tail, etc. Unsurprisingly, each comes away with an incomplete and inaccurate description of the beast. Trying to design and manage employee rewards from a functional silo presents a similar challenge.

When rewards professionals isolate themselves in a silo, they are, in essence, choosing to work with blinders on. They can’t see the full picture – missing critical details and nuances regarding how rewards can support talent acquisition and retention, and drive employee productivity and business results, among other things.

Consequently, the rewards that they design, which often add up to the largest expenses on a company’s P&L, don’t generate the return that they could and should, and their definition of “rewards” may be missing key elements of their employer’s value proposition, such as learning and development opportunities and much more.

Where rewards strategies are falling short
Is this the case in your company? Bersin’s latest research into High-Impact Rewards suggests that approximately 80 percent of organisations are struggling to meet the expectations of their employees around rewards and are failing to drive high levels of maturity in their rewards function.

In many of these organisations, there is no or little collaboration between the rewards function and other HR functions, including talent acquisition, people analytics, learning and development, and diversity and inclusion. Moreover, when cross-functional communication does occur it tends to be uni-directional, with rewards functions sharing data, program, or policy information as needed and in a manner that does not generate or support true collaboration.

To help remedy this, the HR suite as a whole should look to embed regular communication across the suite, whether that means check-ins between functional leaders on a recurring cadence or, for more fluidity, deploying an online collaboration space.

“When rewards professionals isolate themselves in a silo, they are, in essence, choosing to work with blinders on”

The other 20 percent of organisations have more mature rewards functions. In these companies, rewards professionals collaborate consistently with their colleagues in other HR functions – especially talent acquisition – and throughout the broader organisation. Information sharing is a two-way street through which rewards teams not only share information, but also receive it from these other functions. Using such an approach with collaboration as a regular practice helps surface insights that can help rewards professionals design and deploy a compelling rewards offering, while also supporting the strategic mandates of other HR functions.

The “symphonic C-suite”
This cross-functional collaboration is a logical extension of the teaming trend that is increasingly evident in global human capital. These days, teaming extends all the way up to the C-suite – we call it the “symphonic C-suite,” because by working together in a more harmonious and synchronous way, senior leaders achieve better overall results for their companies. The same thing happens when the leaders of the various HR functions work together as a team.

And there is a big payoff associated with a more mature and collaborative rewards function: Our research revealed that organisations with high levels of rewards maturity have 28 percent higher revenues per employee and 7 percent higher change in profit margins than their low-maturity competitors over a three-year period.

Capturing the benefits of collaboration
One promising starting point for rewards leaders who want to begin capturing the benefits of greater collaboration is forging a closer relationship with the talent acquisition function. Of 12 functions and departments we surveyed in Bersin’s High-Impact Rewards research, this particular collaboration showed the strongest relationship to level of rewards maturity in our model. Unfortunately, only 38 percent of the companies we studied report a high level of collaboration between their rewards and talent acquisition functions.

Savvy rewards leaders can use talent acquisition as their ears on the street – providing valuable insight into the needs and wants of candidates that can inform the design of more effective rewards. In return, the talent acquisition function (both leaders and line recruiters) can gain a deep understanding of the rewards space and offerings.

“By working together in a more harmonious and synchronous way, senior leaders achieve better overall results for their companies”

Rewards professionals are naturally well versed about rewards offerings; however, this expertise does not always extend broadly across HR. When talent acquisition teams are able to harness more compelling data and insights about the total rewards offering at their organisation, they have another key selling point at their disposal when trying to engage and hire top talent.  In today’s competitive labor market, such tools are invaluable.

The role of diversity and inclusion
Another functional collaboration that may offer out-sized benefits is between rewards and diversity and inclusion. Rewards/diversity and inclusion collaboration is the least common of all we studied – with only 21 percent of companies reporting that there is a high level of collaboration between these two functions. But this collaboration is 5.5 times more likely to exist in high-performing companies than in low-performing companies.

Diversity and inclusion can help rewards professionals understand and identify the conscious and unconscious biases that can impact pay levels and decisions. And together these functions can work to create an environment in which no employee is held back or compensated differently because of their identity.

Savvy rewards leaders won’t stop pursuing collaboration at just talent acquisition and diversity and inclusion. There are payoffs to be gained from greater collaboration with performance management, people analytics, learning and development, and other functions, too.

For decades, designing rewards programs was a relatively straightforward exercise of finding the right mix of compensation and traditional benefits, such as health insurance and vacation time, based primarily on external benchmark data.

Today, however, we are in a new rewards environment, in which employees are looking for more than the same old standardised rewards programs. Collaboration is an essential part of designing and deploying personalised, differentiated, agile, holistic rewards packages needed to attract, motivate, and develop top talent.

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