Winner: VHR

VHR’s dedication to the international aviation industry is impressive and made it a worthy winner in the judges’ opinion.

International engineering recruitment organisation VHR employs 80 staff across five global offices, more than 20 different languages are spoken between them – essential as 72% of its £35m turnover derives from outside the UK.

• In 2016, with no clients or presence in the Czech Republic, VHR consulted aerospace businesses on candidate attraction problems. With the lowest unemployment rate in the EU at 2.4%, the country suffers significant labour shortages. VHR established a base there and now leads 100+ Czech employees working for Czech clients.
• The judges were impressed with VHR’s focus on ethical recruitment in the UAE, where instances of modern slavery are rapidly being reported across many industries. By seconding VHR employees onsite in UAE worksites the recruiter has been able to raise the standards of Middle East and global recruitment, client by client.
• As aerospace organisations recruit thousands to meet the demand for aircraft orders, language training for contractors is becoming vital. As well as its VHR Academy, it is embarking on large-scale language programmes for workers of Czech, Romanian and Bulgarian nationalities to seamlessly integrate into German and French facilities for Airbus, for example.
• VHR has also launched Online Aviation Training courses in partnership with Civil Aviation Technical Training Solutions, a leading training provider for major airlines and aviation workers. This was in response to the results of VHR’s annual candidate survey where 250,000 from its global candidate base wanted to develop their skillsets.
• The judges felt there were impressive companies and a diverse range included in the submissions. The case studies provided evidence the great work and innovation that international recruitment agencies have achieved in the last year.

Judges’ comments: “The business focuses on its future talent with the creation of an in-house Academy running successfully for three years. The recruiter realises the importance of multilingual knowledge and capability to be able to provide a great service to candidates and clients.”

Highly commended:

• Amoria Bond
• Talent International

SHORTLIST:

• Fircroft
• Hamlyn Williams
• Leap29
• NES Global Talent
• Opus Talent Solutions
• Robert Walters
• The Green Recruitment Company

Winner: VHR

VHR demonstrated real expertise in its market, commercial understanding of its clients and ability to service huge, multinational companies on an international scale.

VHR is an international engineering recruitment organisation serving the aerospace & aviation, Formula 1 & automotive, engineering & defence and marine industries across 45 countries. It employs 80 staff across five global offices.

• For many clients, VHR has to interview and recruit workers in multiple countries, and so employees across the five offices speak more than 20 languages between them.
• VHR is led by qualified former engineers together with recruitment industry professionals, which means clients are guaranteed industry expertise, technical understanding and service excellence. This leads to many partnerships lasting more than a decade, including Air Mauritius, Etihad Airways, Virgin Atlantic and F1 team Toro Rosso.
• In January 2018 the VHR Academy was launched. This is a bespoke training programme to transform inexperienced individuals into successful recruitment consultants. By training up consultants to VHR’s high standards from the very beginning, VHR ensures that each and every client receives the best levels of service.
• An example of excellent client service is the support VHR gave automotive manufacturer Porsche with its latest car model launch. VHR recruited for five different suppliers across the engineering supply chain to a short timeframe, often in countries with a low unemployment rate and so hard-to-source available candidates. VHR’s recruitment drive enabled Porsche to meet and even exceed the project deadline by two weeks, meaning the new model could be released to the market in plenty of time.

Judges’ comments: “VHR clearly develops long-term partnerships with its clients and has shown innovation in the aviation industry, which has culminated in special recognition from the CEO of a major international airline.”

Highly commended:

• The Green Recruitment Company

SHORTLIST:

• Astute Technical Recruitment
• CarmichaelUK
• Core Talent Recruitment
• Fircroft Engineering Services
• gap technical
• Rullion

 

Winner: Darwin Recruitment

• The winner, Darwin Recruitment, is an international recruitment business focused on recruiting for perm and contract roles within the digital and data fields. The marketing team of five is to use every discipline and tool available to position Darwin as the partner of choice for digital and data recruitment.
• The marketing service offering has three clear strategies: growing and building the Darwin brand; working closely with the consultants to build their personal brands; and partnering with clients to help enhance, protect and promote their employer brand. The team ensures that all marketing initiatives feed into each strategy.
• The judges were impressed with the role events and webinars play in the marketing strategy. All events are livestreamed, and videos feed into a comprehensive content marketing strategy. Monthly whitepapers and reports also offer in-depth market analysis ranging from monthly recruitment market updates and technical whitepapers to relocation guides.
• As a result of automated and verified process, the team knows the source of every single candidate placed. The team is also able to know the outcome of investments and campaigns. Candidates can be tracked through their customer journey whether they came via email marketing, content download, event, job application or direct methods.
• Revenue from marketing channels this year has almost doubled – £1.12m in 2017 to £2.14m in 2018.
• This was a very popular category to enter, said the judges, and it epitomises the great work the sector is doing to promote the recruitment industry and the companies they support. The judges said the wealth and depth of talent used to deliver embracing, cutting-edge media and technology will ensure that the entrants maintain the leading edge performance in highly competitive global markets.

Judges’ comments: “The winner in this category has taken events globally to the next level, and with very creative use of data & technology this has enabled them to position themselves in a way that truly drives sales and adds to the bottom line.”

Highly commended:

• Harrington Starr

SHORTLIST:

• Acorn Recruitment
• Fircroft Engineering Services
• Meet Recruitment
• PMP Recruitment
• Rullion
• Talent International

 

Winner: JCB

One of the world’s largest privately-owned construction equipment companies, JCB has 22 plants on four continents and employs more than 15,000 people. The firm is experiencing unprecedented growth – the UK workforce grew by more than 1,000 from Oct 2017-Oct 2018 – and therefore has an increased focus on recruitment.

• The company’s five-year plan for significant growth led to the creation of a new in-house recruitment team in 2016 to directly engage with internal and external talent. Quality of hires and cost-efficiency was to be integral to the strategy. From a starting point of zero, the team now consists of four recruitment experts.
• The team faces a number of challenges. With its headquarters in rural Rocester, Staffordshire, the distance from major UK cities can be a barrier to attracting talent. However, amplifying that challenge is the big industry-wide issue, the significant skills shortage in engineering.
• At the end of 2017, the in-house recruitment team was set a target of recruiting at least 80 new engineers for a specific project within four months. A select group of partners was used to find quality candidates; direct approaches through LinkedIn and social media were used for passive candidates, and regional assessment centres were established. The outcome exceeded all expectations, as the team hired more than 100 trained engineers in the period, and eight months on the retention rate was above the industry average.
• The category showcased a very high standard of some excellent in-house teams, demonstrating best practice in their industry and great value to their organisations. The numbers were very close and the judges considered logistical challenges and solutions to come to their decision.

Judges’ comments: “The location of JCB would be a key factor in the impact of any recruitment process. However, the in-house team overcame this challenge using social media, processes and technology. Keeping the wheels of the company turning and growing.”

SHORTLIST:

• Recruitment Team, Bupa Dental Care
• Careers @Evolution: Internal Recruitment Team, Evolution Recruitment Solutions
• Optimus Search
• Global Employer Brand Team, SAP
• The Sodexo UK Recruitment Team, Sodexo

Winner: Love your everyday: Bupa Dental Care in partnership with Blackbridge Communications

Having a proposition that is non-patient focused and perceived as very corporate presented a clear problem for Bupa Dental Care. The company’s solution left a smile on your face, by developing and executing a highly effective beginning-to-end employer brand plan undertaken with proper research that made them stand out.

• In partnership with Blackbridge Communications, Bupa Dental Care set out to build an employer value proposition (EVP) and create a dedicated employer brand that could be flexed for different audiences. One of the aims was to dispel negative preconceptions about corporate dentistry (ie. more profits-focused than patient-focused) and so to attract diverse people, from surgery receptionists through to highly specialised dentists.
• Design was an important feature of the brand development strategy. The photography of employees wearing dental masks overlaid by an illustrated smile demonstrates how Bupa Dental Care’s aim to deliver brilliant patient care is intrinsically linked to people’s job satisfaction.
• Putting employees at the forefront of the campaign meant the different target audiences could be reached with broad-based visual references combined with carefully nuanced messaging. A new careers website was built, and employee videos were created for the site and social media channels.
• The new careers site has seen a huge spike in traffic and 15,667 applications post-launch (compared to 9,337 during the same period the previous year – a 40% increase). And year-on-year there’s been a 38% increase in new hires, with 2,500 accepted offers since the EVP launch.
• Competition in this category was high, with a number of top quality entries and some very creative marketing briefs delivered that helped a number of the applicants reposition or build their brand strategies. Capability and creativity were high in this category, and the judges felt this bodes well for the wider recruitment sector.

Judges’ comments: “The marketing is highly memorable and clearly helped reposition the brand, and delivered on the brief. A great success story.”

SHORTLIST:

• The Audley Way – Forget cocoa. Think Mojito…: Audley in partnership with Omni RMS & Ca3
• This is world moving – Employer Brand: Bombardier Transportation in partnership with TMP Worldwide
• Clearly Hastings Direct: Hastings Direct in partnership with That Little Agency
• Roc Search EVP: Roc Search
• SAP Employer Brand: SAP
• Ready for ANYTHING?: The AA in partnership with PeopleScout

 

Winner: Student Recruitment Reimagined – PwC in partnership with Amberjack

The application of technology to the process and the thought applied to how this could make the company more strategic in its approach led to the judges to conclude this was the stand-out winner in this category. The use of innovation that centred on the candidate proposition was outstanding.

• Working alongside Amberjack, PwC upgraded a process that hadn’t really changed in 10-15 years, making it commercially efficient, exciting and immersive to meet the consumer-centric demands of today’s candidates.
• In identifying the Workforce of the Future, PwC recognised that it is impossible to predict exactly the skills that will be needed even five years from now, so the organisation – and business in general – need to be ready to adapt the skills they assess. And future employees also need to be agile to adapt to the fast-moving world of work.
• The selection process features the latest emerging technology combining AI, machine learning, automation, data-driven insights and predictions to form an immersive, seamless, candidate journey. It is highly personalised, highly tailored and truly insightful.
• Results are a 68% increase in applications compared with the previous year; a projected 400% reduction in time-to-hire; over 5,000 hours of chargeable staff time saved.
• The judges were impressed with the quality of submissions in this category. The three shortlisted companies have all delivered effective solutions to support their business and the wider markets they serve.

Judges’ comments: “This company delivered an all-round answer to a complex recruitment process, which did the job well, delivered significant results, not just on talent attraction, but also significant cost savings.”

SHORTLIST:

• Community Values and Giving Back: New Directions
• SAP Employer Brand Team Sponsors Rob Cross: SAP

Winner: Greene King

Major pub retailer and brewer Greene King’s programme has had a significant impact, not just in business but on the local community. As such this has led to higher retention rates within the apprenticeship population and higher engagement scores in the business.

• The hospitality sector is facing a severe skills shortage, with a shrinking pool of home-grown talent. The result has been to look overseas and rely on migrant workers. The Brexit uncertainty has also had an adverse effect on the sector. So like many employers Greene King has had to refine its apprenticeship programme to attract, retain and develop its future talent pipeline.
• Greene King invested heavily in its attraction strategy, employing two school and college engagement officers. Their partnerships with the educational establishments have led to work experience opportunities, where students can get a real taste of what it is like to work in the hospitality industry.
• Around 50% of the apprentices are 16-24-year-olds, so Greene King upskilled its managers, who traditionally feel more comfortable employing candidates with previous experience. All managers are equipped with a Talent Toolkit, which provides them with all the information they need to nurture and develop their talent.
• The 12-month retention rate for apprentices is 47% higher than for non-apprentices, and the 90-day retention rate is 35% better. All of which lead to increased customer satisfaction, which is linked to higher sales for the business.
• A few examples of the strategy’s success: 15,268 applications, 95% increase on previous year; a 94% increase in recruited apprentices on last year; recognition from organisations that work with school and college leavers, highlighting that it has increased the awareness of the hospitality industry amongst their students.

Judges’ comments: “Greene King clearly has a long-term vision for their business and appear to be taking a large number of apprentices on this journey.”

SHORTLIST:

• Able to Enable – Barclays in Partnership with Capp & Co
• DATS Apprenticeship Scheme – DATS Recruitment
• Purple People Academy – Learning Curve Group

 

Winner: Discovery Portal: Accenture in partnership with Capp & Co

A category with strength in submission, according to the judges. Working in partnership with companies means there needs to be a blend of understanding of the market and the business requirement, providing the right solution to deploy the programme and drive success.

• Partnering with Capp, Accenture created an immersive recruitment experience, which transforms the journey for the candidate, putting them in control of how they explore and complete the assessment, and providing them with a developmental learning experience.
• The Accenture Discovery Portal has been created with best in-class design to make it appealing to candidates, and its narratives tell stories that are informative and useful to all potential Accenture employees.
• Capp’s Virtual Reality (VR) Platform at the Assessment Centre delivers consistent, natural responses, as well as an outstanding experience for candidates.
• Candidates said they placed great value on feedback and learning how they can improve for their future applications. So after completing the Accenture Discovery Portal, every candidate, successful or unsuccessful, receives a personalised feedback report on their strengths and what could be built on. This is repeated after the Assessment Centre and the VR exercises, with every candidate receiving a report on how they have performed.
• Candidates were also encouraged to answer a survey and give feedback on both stages of the assessment process to ensure Accenture continued to meet its objectives. Feedback shows that Accenture and Capp have succeeded in breaking new ground with the Discovery Portal, with 90% of candidates saying they did not feel they were taking a traditional recruitment test.

Judges’ comments: “The winning team demonstrated some cutting-edge blending of the business outcome, deep understanding of the candidate experience in a difficult environment and used some great technology in alignment to the selection process, making it smooth and visibility better for everyone.”

SHORTLIST:

• Take Centre Stage: Chivas Brothers in partnership with Pink Squid
• Beat the Game Changers: Vodafone in partnership with Pink Squid

Winner: Building What Matters: Engineering Exceptional Candidate Experience – Atkins in partnership with Amberjack

To become the world’s premier engineering partner, Atkins, in partnership with Amberjack, understood that the true definition of ‘candidate’ experience was to have an effect on all interactions during recruitment.

• Atkins listened to feedback and transformed recruitment at every step, to exceed the expectations of a new, tech-savvy workforce, consumer-centric millennials – the first people brought up with constant-contact as the norm. As a result, it re-engineered its candidate journey into six stages.
• This six-stage candidate journey recruited 282 graduates from 13,431 candidates for seven different talent streams. For those hires there was a 98% first-year retention, underlying the impressive candidate experience throughout the recruitment process.
• The metrics were impressive: 20,000+ human interactions; 8,864 emails, 1,694 calls managed; 100% calls answered in three rings; 100% candidate issues solved same day; 14,710 personalised candidate emails sent; 3,201 coaching/feedback calls.
• The recruitment process is designed to assess candidate fit to Atkins roles, values and culture. It features video and is highly engaging. Every candidate interaction – from the exercises used, to how the company communicates – reinforces the Atkins values. Candidates are not only listened to, but respected. The exceptional experience delivered has been rated highly by candidates (Net Promoter Score of +57.35 against the industry average of +24).
• A great category, said the judging panel, full of innovation and partnering, which illustrates the recruitment industry staying at the front end of modern recruitment techniques and technologies.

Judges’ comments: “The work that Atkins did delivered strong results with clear metrics and clear results. It was easy to see how their investment had paid off.”

SHORTLIST:

• MRL Academy Programme: MRL Consulting
• Strategic People

 

Winner: Toby Babb: CEO, Harrington Starr

The winner illustrated a real advocacy and promotion of the recruitment industry within his client space with the creation of thought leadership channels both print and digital.

• The judges praised Toby for being a serial innovator, constantly thinking from his customer’s perspective, doing things differently, solving challenges with effective solutions and fostering a keen spirit of entrepreneurialism from within his Harrington Starr business.
• In the judging period – and uncertain times with Brexit and the UK’s relationship with the EU – Toby expanded on the newly launched (2017) sister company, North Starr, opening two offices in New York and San Francisco during 2018. He launched Harrington Starr Executive Search in late 2017 and Harrington Starr Tech Consulting, to support the growing use of technology and AI.
• Believing ‘you are only as good as your team’, Toby has fostered a spirit of entrepreneurialism, giving ownership, freedom and responsibility to like-minded employees. Early 2018 saw him instigate ‘Faster, Better, Stronger’, a career programme to inspire and encourage consultants to become the best they can.
• Toby masterminded Harrington Starr’s customer marketing programme, which embeds the company firmly at the core of its customer communities at all levels. He also launched Harrington Starr’s own industry magazine, The Financial Technologist Magazine, which really sets Harrington Starr apart for its competition.
• The consistent growth of the Harrington Starr Group over the past 10 years (over 30% year-on-year) is a good indicator of Toby’s forward-thinking strategy, and pays testimony to the fact that his approach is robust, sustainable and visionary.

Judges’ comments: “He has elevated the perception of recruitment within his marketplace and collaborated widely with both big corporates and start-ups.”

HIGHLY COMMENDED:

• Robert Chingwalu: Owner / Manager, East Point Care
• Nina Lockwood: Founder / Director, Intuitive Interim & Exec Search

SHORTLIST:

• Nicholas Barton: Founder / CEO, The Barton Partnership
• Mark Beavan: Head of Agency, That Little Agency
• Danny Brooks: CEO, VHR
• Richard Cooke: Managing Director, Seven Resourcing