One of the most common things people in talent ask me is, “what are others doing?”
It reflects the learning and open nature of our community and as well as a desire for constant improvement.
I get to speak with Talent Leaders across the globe daily, all who have valuable insights and lessons to share. The following interview is a thought-provoking conversation I had with Daniel Stockdale of Omnicom Media Group.
About Daniel Stockdale
Daniel brings a unique and refreshingly pragmatic view to Talent Acquisition and is the National Talent Manager for Omnicom Media Group as part of an RPO with PeopleScout. Currently leading a team of six to recruit into Media across ANZ, Daniel and I sat down to talk about the future of talent and for candidates.
What does Talent Acquisition look like for Omnicom Media Group?
For a strong brand group like Omnicom Media Group (OMG), their most frequently recruited positions could attract up to 100 candidates each time. Due to time and resources, these candidates would be screened for relevant experience in their CV to ensure that a manageable number could be phoned for an interview. The top candidates would then be offered the opportunity to sit a test to assess their suitability.
While this process was effective, it wasn’t scalable. It also eliminated lots of candidates early on who could have been a great addition to the team. As a result, Daniel searched for two years for an online solution where he could use OMG’s tests to be issued and automatically graded so that lots of candidates could have an opportunity to be considered.
Why competency-based testing?
Daniel explains that their decision to pursue competency-based assessments was due to the unreliable nature of other methods of testing, such as psychographic and cognitive, which can be impacted by our emotional state.
Core competencies are mapped against roles to ensure lots of candidates are tested for specific skills they will need to engage daily on the job. It also helps to ensure that candidates can see an alignment to their strengths in the opportunity.
Daniel believes that emotional satisfaction is found through being capable and successful at your job, as well as enjoying it. As a result, sharing with the candidate the relevant tasks and qualities they will be engaging with, allows them to shine, as well as opt-out if it doesn’t suit their expectations or desires.
Why Vervoe for OMG?
Vervoe is valuable for OMG due to its ability to be customized. Depending on the application, Vervoe allows assessments that are as simple or as complex as needed.
A reduction in costs is also an advantage. Where psychometric assessments and behavioral assessments are too expensive to use at the top of the hiring funnel, Vervoe’s scalable pricing model means OMG has the flexibility to screen all candidates with skills-based assessments.
Top four advantages OMG sees in using Vervoe:
- Automating candidate communications. This will be critical and difficult as mass unemployment floods the market with candidates.
- Allowing employers to do more with less. Employers could have smaller teams to deal with more candidates. Vervoe will enable them to bypass manual screening, and surface the best talent.
- Reducing face to face contact. While this is a critical factor at the moment, it allows the OMG team to speed up the recruitment process in the future.
- Vervoe is customizable. This means assessments can be as complex as needed, depending on the role you’re hiring for.
“We want to be putting ourselves in the position where everyone wants to work for us, not self-selecting out. You don’t need to screen out or make the assessment harder; the AI will identify the best performers, focus on improving the quality of the candidate experience, simplicity can give you the best results.”
Daniel Stockdale
What will recruitment look like in the future?
Daniel notes that much of what’s currently discussed in talent is reactive to the present situation. But now is the time that talent teams can set themselves up for success against the challenges they will face in three, six, or 12 months.
Where it has been a candidate-led market for many years, marked by a shortage of available skilled talent, the roles are about to change. Employers should expect floods of candidate applications, in volumes they haven’t seen in the past.
Daniel says that talent leaders need to consider the tools and processes in place, and question whether they can scale to deal with this volume.
Learn more
You can learn more about Vervoe here, or get in touch for a demo.
