Recruitment challenges
"When we talk about the new economy, we're talking about a world in which people work with their brains instead of their hands. A world in which communications technology creates global competition - not just for running shoes and laptop computers, but also for bank loans and other services that can't be packed into a crate and shipped. A world in which innovation is more important than mass production. A world in which investment buys new concepts or the means to create them, rather than new machines. A world in which rapid change is a constant. A world at least as different from what came before it as the industrial age was from its agricultural predecessor. A world so different its emergence can only be described as a revolution"
The transition from the front pages of newspapers and articles, to our everyday lives has been so sudden that we are yet to come to terms with the technology explosion of the past few years. Just a few years back we were raving about Bill Gates Business At The Speed Of Thought or Alvin Toffler's Future Thought . However, now we find that these words of wisdom have yet not prepared us for the breakneck speed with which our world changes around us.
The typical characteristics of the new economy are:
- Industrial economy giving way to creative economy
- Economy based on ideas and not on physical capital
- No true ownership of assets, only efforts to retain it
And the current economy is not only about New Economy but also about how the Old Economy is undergoing a paradigm shift under the new dynamics. It has become imperative for Old Economy companies to embrace and act, based on this changed scenario.
The current economy is based on ideas, rather than physical capital. Ideas that are developed can be reproduced at an insignificant cost and the potential profits are huge. The problem is that money is no longer scarce, what is scarce is good ideas. Hence, in the current economy the most important intellectual property is not software or music or movies, but it's the intellect of employees who work in the organisation. When assets are people, there can be no true ownership, the best one can do is to create an environment that makes the best people want to stay.
The knowledge economy has made human capital rather than physical products, the raw material. A vacant seat in a technology company can have a direct impact on revenues by the hour today. Rather than shipping crates of product via ships or airfreight, information, skills and services are now being "shipped" at the speed of light across geographies.
It is no exaggeration to say that many observers of Uganda's companies agree that the performance of the company's response to requests under the current employees in administration is far from satisfactory. It takes more than a month to reply e-mails while for actual postal mail only contributes to paperwork in the offices. They differ, however, in their judgement as to whether the failings of the Company Administration result from poor public relations alone, or from something deeper and more fundamental most probably the human resource.
In the current method of recruitment, information asymmetry is very high. It is also impossible for a potential jobseeker to cover every potential employer and reach in a proper way the right person at a corporation.
From an employers' perspective, search costs are equally high. Skill matching with a wider talent pool is tough. The approximate hiring cost is as high as 10-15% of compensation.
While the print medium does to some extent help reach out to a wider audience, the issues of processing and separating the wheat from the chaff is Herculean. Thus the traditional recruitment process is one, which from a cost standpoint is quite expensive and is coupled with issues of poor quality of matches.
Additionally Temping Uganda Limited as a recruiter today faces the following challenges too:
- Maintaining a database pool that gets continuously updated and serves as the company's reservoir of potential hires.
- Integrating the diverse channels into a single talent pool so that the recruiter can quickly identify the "right" resource and meet the requirement.
- Creating a continual platform of talent sourcing using various channels.
- Triggering multiple channels simultaneously.
- Processing accurately and with less manual involvement.
- Automating and integrating various modes of communication with the candidates and tracking the same.
- Pre-empting certain standard hiring processes (like candidate info, tests, etc) and have evaluation online before meeting/interviewing candidates.
So how does Temping Uganda Limited gear up for this?
The Internet recruitment to a large extent addresses these issues and opens up new horizons to meet the challenges in the current economy. e-recruitment processes and solutions address the above issues and makes the system more efficient, fast and responsive to the current trends.
Benefits of outsourcing Human resource plus so many other services that are not core part of the business.
Knowing where you want to go is easy. Knowing how to get there is essential business are now saving more than 40% to 60% by outsourcing temporary workers. Temping Uganda Ltd is already making a difference in the way hundreds of businesses fill their temporary and temp to hire positions.
From the start, our success has relied on one simple principle: Information is the gateway to work well done . There is only one way to accomplish this, and that is to open the channels of communication, and develop an open and honest working relationship with our clients and applicants.
What is outsourcing?
Outsourcing is the strategic use of outside resources to perform activities traditionally handled by internal staff and resources.
Competition is forcing businesses to focus on becoming the best they can be in their individual market niches. To be the best - they must concentrate & focus on `core activities´ that contribute to their bottom line.
It used to take 20 years to become a $1 billion company. Now it takes as little as 5 years. How do you capture this compression of time in a way that enables your organization to evolve? By becoming a Zero time company "Zero time is about the ability to react instantaneously, to provide value for every customer at every opportunity ." There's no other choice. "Things are moving too fast."
It is an old saying that "time is of the essence". To be strong in a business market being competitive in price and in time seems to be the only way to create job security. Today outsourcing is a part of this work process revolution affecting our jobs, businesses and life styles.
Mentioning restructuring and outsourcing usually creates fear in employee hearts and excites their representatives, the bargaining agent However, these fears can be overcome if we take the time to understand what outsourcing is, what it is trying to achieve and the very necessary contractual relationships negotiated based on the right objectives, with the right attitude and the right results. Indeed, all parties whether management, union or worker can benefit from the increased revenue and savings, building stability and financial security for the future.
Top 10 reasons companies outsource
1. Accelerate reengineering benefits; the company concentrates on the core parts of the business and out sources the rest.
2. Access to world class capabilities-outsourcing providers gain expertise by working with many clients facing similar issues, streamlines technology and work processes-creates new career opportunities for personnel who successfully transition to the outsourcing provider
3. Cash infusion to the business-assets costly to maintain are transferred out-freeing up cash flow and possibly generating new revenue
4. Free resources for other purposes-focus all resources on what company does best
5. Control functions which have proved difficult to manage---once wayward functions are understood then specialists may be able to solve the problems
6. Improve focus of company efforts-allows more effort to focus on client needs
7. Make capital funds available-third party more likely to invest in a company with a clear core competency rather than one distracted by several non-core competencies
8. Reduce operating costs-by focusing on economies of scale, operating costs can be better managed
9. Reduce risk---dealing with a risk in a field you know is easier than dealing with multiple risks in several fields
10. Resources not available internally-Rather than building resources from the ground you contract them from third parties
Conclusion
Visibility of the Human Resource (HR) in the organisation "When you wonder how to 'make HR department exist in people's eyes", you have to look into the mirror. Are you really a strategic development partner of the company bringing profits, or just an administrative function causing costs?
"Do you really want to develop your HR department into a profit generating partner and step into the shoes of a value-adding major role? If you do, a third party should conduct more detailed process, cultural and other analysis. It should be a consulting company who is experienced both in organisational development and business management.
"Organisational development expertise is needed in order to make an accurate analysis of your overall HR situation and design effective corrective actions. Business acumen is needed to talk the language of your general management and understand their point of view. If you or your HR cannot talk about ROI, investments, cash flows, NPVs or cost-of-capital, etc, your general management won't listen and respect your work, I am afraid." But all these can be over come through use of Temping Uganda employer services.
Thank you,
Senyondo Paul
Human Resource Consultant.
