The Immersive. team led by Neil, our resident Employer Brand expert is doing some research around 'what next' in talent acquisition. It's partly looking back to how talent leaders and their organisations have survived Covid, what have we all learned and what the future holds.

Neil interviewed Phil Catcheside, Head of Recruitment Marketing and Engagement at Network Rail.

NH: What for you have been the key organisational and people-based learnings from Covid?

PC: First of all, it’s important not to lose sight of just how life changing the last two years have been. Personally, it’s impressed on me to be thankful for what I have, and not to take things for granted.

I think, too, whether we’re looking at this through a personal or professional lens, the need to be agile has never been greater. The labour market has turned on its head perhaps twice since early 2020. Being agile in your thinking and approach and understanding evolving audience sentiment is so important. Throughout everything that’s happened, there’s been a real emphasis on a sense of personal value to our people and our candidates. If there was one positive output from Covid for us, it was around the sense of just how vital rail remains to us all. Many critical sectors, such as aviation were forced to stop overnight, but we were able to keep going and so did our people, many of them on the front line in times of risk, uncertainty and anxiety. We helped keep the country moving, getting essential freight across Britain and making sure key workers could get where they needed to be. The importance of rail was really clear.

The time also gave us a focus on our candidate experience. Within our signaller recruitment, we really went out of our way to make sure people knew where they were, and what the next steps might be when they engaged with us. We were recently highly commended at the Recruiter Awards for best candidate experience for our signaller recruitment. We want people to feel valued, regardless of the recruitment decision. I don’t think there is perfection in candidate experience, but it’s something we are aspiring to.

NH: How do you characterise the labour market now and how has it evolved over during Covid?

PC: There’s really no two ways about it. It’s a tough market out there. Any indicator you look at, any editorial about employment, they are all saying similar things. Great talent is at a premium. From April 2020 we engaged with a lot of major organisations who were facing losing people. A lot of people were moving from one sector to another and it was important for us to emphasise candidates’ transferable skills. For example, the calm, considered decision making of an airline pilot in a safety critical situation is much the same as one of our key operational roles. We have to look up and make the connection between one sector and another really visible. I think it’s a big part of our job to show how those skills can transfer for both our line managers and our candidates.

It’s also important to help candidates understand if they aren’t right for a role, you could be saving them time and emotional effort if you can be honest and transparent about a particular job from the start.

You need to do so much more than simply selling and broadcasting. It’s about educating, informing, clarifying who we are as an organisation, and where we’re going. It’s about providing the right information for people to help in their decision making. Help, don’t sell.

NH: Do you think that candidates today are looking for different things from employers

PC: I think Covid has given many people the opportunity to re-set. Not everyone obviously, but people are changing careers, changing mindsets. Covid has moved on people’s relationships with work. Where they work, how they work and with whom they work. For some it’s about a sense of purpose. What value do I attach to what I’m doing, and what value does an employer attach to me?

We need too to remember that Covid isn’t over. It could be a factor in our lives for some time, and with that comes more uncertainty. Despite the rumblings of the Great Resignation, not everyone wants the additional uncertainty that comes with changing jobs or employers right now. For us in TA, it’s important to keep listening in to how people are feeling and respond from there.

NH: What for you is the greatest challenge that TA faces, what issue do you most want to see the back of?

PC: This might sound strange, but rather than see the back of issues and problems, I’ve really enjoyed how we have gone about finding solutions for them. Those problems have changed regularly and that’s been hugely interesting to deal with. We’ve learnt so much from having to change and adapt. I think we’ll be applying those learnings for years to come. The experiences have been challenging, but challenging in a positive way. It’s about how you respond.

As an industry, we are going through a huge change as part of modernising rail. There is so much happening. The establishment of Great British Rail is about delivering a rail experience for the future, one that’s on the side of passengers and freight, is sustainable and easy to access. But it also brings huge uncertainty at the same time. How we retain and engage colleagues, and also attract new talent during this time is really important. Broader than that, there is the on-going competition for talent. And it’s that competition that should drive us. We can’t stand still, we have to keep on innovating. It’s anything but business as usual and that’s a big part of its appeal.

About
Neil Harrison is recognised as a leading employer brand specialist, creating insights and actionable intelligence around key people audiences. Internal employee communities as well as external talent pools. These are insights which will help drive informed EVPs and their associated employer brands. Factors such as Brexit, as well as a tightening labour market, mean that organisations serious about talent acquisition need to act based on knowledge rather than guesswork.