The judges at the Personnel Today Awards 2022 agreed that Saville Assessment had successfully created flexible solutions that materially impacted their clients, and had adapted its service for a post-pandemic world, calling its approach ‘in-depth, structured and holistic approach’. We also outline the other shortlisted Talent Acquisition Partner of the Year submissions, in a very competitive field.
WINNER
Saville Assessment, a WTW Company
Many organisations have faced high turnover of employees due to the after-effects of the pandemic, meaning thousands of roles remain unfilled and there is increased competition for candidates. Saville Assessment argues that to remain competitive, organisations need to think carefully about “job fit” and prioritise diversity, equity and inclusion.
The company has developed an agile selection approach based on mixing and matching its tools and services. This means clients can evaluate holistically whether a candidate is a good fit, reduce the risk of adversely impacting under-represented groups and have more confidence in shortlisting candidates. This includes tailored workshops based on Work Roles assessments, flexible development and coaching solutions individually or in teams, or onboarding reports designed to help new starters work effectively in hybrid working arrangements.
An example of success is where a global insurance company adopted a mix and match “fit score” including situational judgement tests (SJTs) and behavioural assessments, where stronger role alignment meant new recruits were more likely to stay longer. Another client combined SJTs with aptitude tests and this resulted in an increase in applications progressed from candidates in ethnic minority groups. Saville has also used a Leadership Impact Framework to help a traditional organisation plan for its future board pipeline.
RUNNERS-UP
Capital Modular People Solutions
After the exit of an external supplier, Capita Modular People Solutions’ client was left without testing resources to perform quality assurance. The company had planned to build an internal team to do this going forward, but time was short. Capita deployed a team of 12 testing specialists who would eventually transition to become permanent members of staff, and who could be scaled up or down depending on client demand.
The model deployed for the client has delivered on average 30% lower costs per person. Furthermore, all specialist and graduate consultants are supported by a structured learning and development programme with clear HR and welfare contact points, meaning the business can focus entirely on delivering its services.
Keep updated on the Personnel Today Awards
Capita Modular People Solutions has provided the client with ongoing access to a diverse and flexible workforce, actively recruiting from under-represented groups and successfully placing a number of neurodiverse candidates. Remote working means there are no restrictions on candidates geographically, and employees qualify for Capita benefits from day one of their employment until they transfer to the client.
New Street Consulting Group
New Street Consulting Group began life as specialist recruiter Interim Partners but has since expanded into executive search and agile talent solutions, as well as consultancy services such as leadership assessment and development. Last year the company launched its first NSCG Consulting Academy designed to develop and grow its own consultant pipeline. Consultants build sector specialisms and expand on this through industry partnerships.
The company has also recently conducted research into clients’ needs, building a blueprint that helps it hire the right people to meet this demand. It can expand clients’ pools of available talent through a research-led approach, often meaning they gain access to candidates that might have been overlooked. The consultative nature of its service means clients can benefit from longer-term, more sustainable solutions. A recent project to hire contractors for a Big Four professional services company saved the client more than £500,000 in annual costs, had a 92% conversion rate and a 93% retention rate.
Ninety-six percent of NSCG’s clients say they would recommend or highly recommend the company, 95% of candidates placed by the company are still in permanent roles after a year, and 98% of clients say its assessments deliver a return on investment.
Resource Solutions
Resource Solutions is part of Robert Walters Group and offers recruitment process outsourcing and consultancy services. One of its services is a recruitment inclusivity audit, which helps clients analyse and reduce bias at every stage of the recruitment process. Resource Solutions recently supported King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust to identify any areas where it could improve.
The audit looked at 257 candidate touchpoints over 122 hours of auditing and research. The findings were played back to senior stakeholders, with 49 actionable recommendations on how the Trust could minimise bias. These included eight recommendations for reducing gender bias, nine for ethnicity inclusion, 11 that would improve accessibility for neurodiverse talent or those with a disability, and 16 relating to LGBTQ+, age and faith.
Associate director of workforce operations at the Trust Peter Absalom said the audit had been a “wonderful opportunity” to understand what it did well but also what it could do better. Funmi Onamusi, director of equality, diversity and inclusion, added that the insights provided by the audit would give the trust “the ability to grow”.
Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance
Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday
In association with
