Australia’s Charles van Heerden’s Shares 30 Years of Staffing Observations
November 30, 2009
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Six Degrees: How many applicants at your present employer do you estimate are hired from your corporate website as compared to how many are hired through referrals?
Charles: Firstly a qualification – in my current consulting role (WaveBox) we refer all recruitment to external recruiters. All my responses regarding present employer will in fact refer to my most recent role as General Manager People & Culture at Warrnambool Cheese and Butter, the only dairy company listed on the ASX. Our strategy has been to leverage off existing job boards rather the corporate web site, which only covers our employer branding and employment conditions. We would employ by far the majority through referrals. There is quite a transactional overhead and getting unsolicited applications can become a real administrative burden.
In a previous role we received 20,000 unsolicited applications per year, which created a contract role just to screen and reply to all these applications. This was an eye opener of the load on TPR’s.
Six Degrees: What is the source of the “Most Hires” collected from at your present employer? (In terms of Quantity #)
Charles: By far the most effective hires would be casuals or seasonal staff that have been appointed in permanent roles. The business is seasonal and being in the dairy industry, there is a strong need for flexibility of labor. Being amongst the top three employers in the region, as well as a reputation as a preferred employer by treating staff very well, means we get a lot of unsolicited applications.
Six Degrees: What is the source of your “LOWEST COST OF HIRES” – (least amount of invested resources for the easiest hires, regardless of quality) at your present employer?
Charles: Developing a proactive approach to recruitment included building a database of applicants, which may have been interviewed but not employed, or that have completed casual or seasonal work. I would regard this as a low cost, as we have done all the work, from advertising, screening and interviewing. The real benefit is being to fill roles extremely fast, sometimes days, as well as at lowest cost.
Six Degrees: What talent niche groups do you target and are these particular talent areas specialized under your review?
Charles: Our core competency is being an efficient manufacturer and we have a strategic focus in building strong supervisory leadership capability, with a deliberate program of moving talented team leaders across different business units.
Six Degrees: What types of training in sourcing/recruitment are available to you and have you taken advantage of?
Charles: There are good training programs available by various providers, but I prefer to bring external trainers spend a half-day with the HR team, focusing on a specific topic or need, such as on assessment, or on-boarding, at least every few months. I would attend specific sessions on a regular basis to get a good feel of new trends and developments, though I prefer shorter sessions, rather than being away for a number of days at a conference. My best source of information is by talking to other HR Managers.
Six Degrees: What recruitment software tools do you use in your day to day recruitment activities & do they translate effectively within all of the different countries where you recruit?
Charles: Job boards would be the main sources of talent, with a targeted approach for different countries or industries. On the odd occasion we would use paper ads for local jobs, as everyone reads the local paper and advertising cost is similar.
Six Degrees: What tools did you first encounter early in your recruitment career?
Charles: The old application form brings back a lot of memories. I remember developing a structured application formal with point scoring to assist with screening. I had a PA that would watch candidates completing forms. Rhonda would check if the candidate would complete the form or his spouse. This was in the mining industry and the wives always wanted to ask heaps of questions about the company housing.
Six Degrees: How did your expectations of being a recruiter compare to the actual, first time you got on the phone or in the cubicle? In your opinion, how do people’s assumptions about our vocation differ from reality?
Charles: I honestly didn’t realize how much paper work is involved with recruitment. As an applicant you only experience the actual interview, without a full understanding of the volume. For many HR people recruitment is just not sexy and they quickly delegate this to a junior staff member. After many years in HR, I am now convinced that if more attention is devoted to recruitment, many of the other HR issues will be easier to manage.
Six Degrees: Worst mistake, biggest goof, lousiest practice you thought would fly but didn’t…and how that was a learning experience?
Charles: The story I always share with managers is my worst mistake, appointing a receptionist/typist. She worked at the airport company as a telex operator and it was October 1981. We had snow that year (unusual for Johannesburg) and I am convinced I was suffering from some illness as on the very first day she started, after a couple of hours, it became evident that she couldn’t type or format a letter to safe her life. I encouraged her the next day to check if her previous role was still vacant. It was and I paid her notice and she was gone on the third day. What a lucky break as she was not able to do the role, though she was a nice person! I learned to be much more thorough, often inviting a new team member twice for an interview.
Six Degrees: How do you personally expect to facilitate change within our industry, and/or at your place of work? If you started that process, outline the problem, your solutions, and the vision.
Charles: Being an HR Change expert, the essence of change is being a role model and through visionary leadership, by providing a clear focus and direction of making a company a great place to work. This includes communicating and sharing information on best practices and to engage all stakeholders, though a transparent process of consultation. Once the change has been effectively achieved, it is important to take time to celebrate the journey (the process) and the destination (the outcome).
Using this positive change process, which we at WaveBox refer to as the 4C model, the recruitment industry needs to become talent managers and move from the traditional recruitment model, to become involved in talent sourcing, but in a more value added basis. The current model means TPR’s are only involved on an assignment basis, rather than on a more strategic basis.
Six Degrees: “Best practice” you are most proud of developing (now or in the past) in your recruiting career?
Charles: This is an easy answer as I have been privileged in developing a recognized best practice system, working with Management Search International as a recruitment partner whilst working as GM of HR at Feltex Group. We reduced recruitment costs by 30% and improved the quality of recruitment processes, improved retention rates and great feedback from candidates, hiring managers and the business.
A number of companies have asked us to share our journey with them, culminating in doing a joint presentation at a major conference. This was also profiled as a case study by Benchmark Communications.
Six Degrees: What are some of the frustrating aspects/obstacles to your day to day as a staffing professional and in general?
Charles: As a corporate recruiter, I have come to realize that arguably the most difficult decision a manager has to make is to decide which candidate to appoint. Some managers really procrastinate by asking to see more candidates. Some managers don’t do a lot of recruitment. But they often think they are recruitment experts as most managers do interviewing (often badly). I promise not to tell them how to do make cheese if they promise not to tell me how to do recruiting. Mutual respect goes a long way.
Six Degrees: What are the most common themes of strategic and/or tactical mishaps involving past or present HR/Staffing org?
Charles: Employer branding is again becoming a key focus, though HR is so much at the mercy of other parts of the business. Two examples in Australia – the recent iSnack 2.0 saga, which has really backfired for Kraft; another is the massive reaction after Pacific Brands move a number of operations to China resulting in major job losses. In both cases serious damage has occurred not only to the brand, but also to the brand as an employer.
Six Degrees: Considering all of the frustrations you have experienced in your career as a recruiter, what inspires you as you continue in your career?
Charles: There is some great talent in any company. The challenge is how we unlock and discover that talent. I am not here referring to the top talent, but those that have the potential to grow into more senior roles. We had a young girl who worked as a casual since year 10 (age 16) at the retail store. After school she studied full-time at the local university in chemistry whilst working every weekend. After 5 years we appointed her into a Lab assistant role. What inspires me is creating enterprise-wide systems and processes that enable ordinary people to grow to their full potential.
Six Degrees: What one thing do you ideally hope to accomplish in 2009?
Charles: My biggest goal this year is to position my company as a thought leader in talent management. We are working hard on using a combination of knowledge streams to deliver some creative strategies to companies. Having operated on an international basis, we are able to take an UFO view looking at issues from a different perspective.
Six Degrees: Anything you want to plug?
Charles: Thanks, great time to profile WaveBox. I am the founder and we are working with companies to implement and deliver positive change. WAVEBOX has developed a powerful strategic change process that delivers positive change. Tried and tested in organizations in different industries and various sizes, the 4C model has consistently resulted in successful and sustainable strategic change. The benefits for clients are that the 4C model delivers change faster, with higher employee engagement and improved business results.
Six Degrees: How Are You Going To Change The Recruitment Industry?
Charles: I like to question the status quo, as well as looking at different ways of doing things, by combining my background as VP of HR, experienced consultant and senior line manager. With technology we have widened the pool of talent; with the changes in how we work we have changed the type of roles we are recruiting for. Doing recruitment differently and doing it well is the real challenge and working on an international basis with clients would a great opportunity.
Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-11-29
November 30, 2009
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Leadership in Hyper-Linked Times
November 30, 2009
As organizations get more and more linked to external stakeholders, and their people become unofficial spokespeople on social networks like Twitter and Facebook and become marketers whether or not it is their role.
In such times – specially for organizations that are living in this hyper-linked worlds – what are the leadership behaviors that should be adopted.
Not surprisingly, these behaviors are not new. As I mentioned earlier, the tools of web 2.0 promise real organization development, and therefore, the behaviors of leaders must reflect the tenets of OD and these times.
They are:
- Openness and Transparency – In the web 2.0 world there is little there is hidden, even vague terms of services cannot be changed without people noticing. A leader always has to remember and more importantly live this with the utmost sincerity – both within and externally
- Conversation – It is not just about being transparent, leaders should also engage with employees and external stakeholders about what issues they face and if nothing else – they should acknowledge it, and if needed communicate what they are willing to do about it. Of course, sometimes legal and stockmarket requirements can require executives not to make forward looking statements. In earlier non-internet times I reckon this was known simply within the organization as MBWA
- Content - Leaders must realise that their organizational brand and product brands are what users interpret – and that they cannot control it. Indeed, they must actively work to give it away – understanding that there is nothing so powerful as an idea owned by the users. How can you as a leader encourage content and conversation creation, both within and externally to the organization.
- Collaboration – Leaders of hyperlinked organizations know that people and groups cannot do things independently anymore- they have to collaborate with partners, other employees, other stakeholders to create lasting impact. Their own behavior sets the tone for all their employees, so they must be and be seen to be collaborative.
- Communities – Leaders understand that people -internally and outside the organization – are part of shared interest groups – around various ‘social objects‘. For employees that could be “how we use this cool tool to solve problems” to “employees who like football” – and externally it could be “people interested in the benefit our product gives” – and if you’re Apple, Google, Lego, Harley-Davidson you could have communities around your product too. As a leader you have to understand the deep universal desire of people to connect around a certain shared passion. Identify what ties in to your objectives, and then understand how to facilitate it – give it sustenance. What are the tribes who you will align with?
- Collective Intelligence – Leaders know that when communities have conversations and collaborate, new and better ideas get generated. They might be better than the ideas the firm comes up on its own, and there is no shame in admitting it and embracing it. This is the pinnacle of giving up control and becoming part of the community yourself.
salary tax calculator for financial year 2009-2010
November 30, 2009
Kindly help me for salary tax calculation for provisional tax liablity for financial year 2009-2010.
thanks & regards,
Arun
Recruitment
November 30, 2009
this attachment on recruitment may help you.
Jst chk it out.
Regards
rimpy
Unethical office issues
November 30, 2009
excess use of internet for personsl use
November 30, 2009
Friends in my company there are many employees are found to be excess use of internet for own personal use like downloading of movies ,album songs.As a hr executive i want to gave a notice of these employee so please help me by which official language i can gave notice .
Thanks & Regards
Sapna Saini
is provident fund mandatory for free lancers
November 30, 2009
1. Tell me about free lancers-how can you count them,
some body is there for 10 days while the other for 3 months
it depends on the assignment
2. is PF applicable during a) trainig period
b) probation period
3. few organisations used to keep people for max 3 months or so and then used to replace them with a new lot to avoid PF hassles- is that true?
regards
signetcomm
Pf account balance
November 30, 2009
indemnity bond
November 30, 2009
