Following a year of successful growth, Malaysia is looking forward to a profitable 2018. However, if there is a figurative grey cloud on the otherwise clear horizon, it would be the historical skills shortages and mismatches that threatens to hinder growth for companies unable to source necessary talent. One increasingly successful solution is in turning to Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) services that can, when implemented well, be more successful, efficient and cost effective than traditional agency recruitment. The most advanced and in-depth RPO on the market is Hays Talent Solutions (HTS).
“Many people assume that RPO is just sourcing and recruiting for open roles, but Hays Talent Solutions is much more elaborate than that,” explains Tom Osborne, Regional Director for Hays Malaysia. “Of course, it deals with the fundamentals of the recruitment industry: sourcing, shortlisting, candidate selection and assessments, but it also covers workforce planning, employee value proposition and company brand awareness. “Additionally, we manage the employee life cycle and the entire recruitment life cycle, as well as all research pertaining to job role market mapping, ensuring that we understand positions to such a degree that we can place the most relevant candidate in each and every role.”
Hays realises that recruitment is not solely about candidate sourcing, but it can also involve persuading the candidate that the company is the correct fit for them. To this end, HTS focuses a great deal on candidate attraction strategies. “One considerable aspect of what we do is in the development of improved brand awareness,” says Tom. “By interviewing both candidates and staff members, we achieve a more involved understanding of an organisation’s brand and how it is perceived. From there, we can work on a strategy in terms of how jobs are advertised to the market, through which media and targeting preferred demographics, in doing so making the company more appealing.”
One of the major problems that the HTS team faces is that in Malaysia, there is little understanding of the RPO function as a whole, meaning that the benefits of Hays Talent Solutions are failing to be appreciated. However, the advantages are not only clear but numerous. “Firstly, due to best practice documented processes, the industry specific technology that we use, and the fact that every recruiter follows a set methodology, there is increased efficiency which translates itself into cost reduction in the recruitment function,” continues Tom. “Also, due to the nature of HTS providing the entire recruitment process, there is 100 per cent accountability for Hays to manage and fill the roles, something that cannot be said for traditional agency hires.
“Additionally, Hays is the only recruitment firm in Malaysia to employ dedicated trainers providing ongoing training around candidate control, effective job posting, candidate sourcing and many other professional development courses that continually provide staff with upskilling to deliver exceptional service for our clients.
“Furthermore, as an ISO accredited global organisation, Hays offers 100 per cent compliance with regards to processes, policies and risk management, something that should be appealing to risk-averse MNCs for whom compliance is a primary concern.”
What gives Hays Talent Solutions the ability to offer such an intensive and in-depth service, setting it apart from its competitors, is its access to a huge wealth of candidates enabling the team to better match a large pool of candidates to the most suited roles.
“Hays Talent Solutions is the only RPO provider in Malaysia to have an existing and comprehensive database that is shared with the agency arm of our business. Our database has over 70 thousand live candidates and grows by hundreds every day with the activities of our Agency and Talent Solutions businesses,” says Tom.
“This provides us with data-backed solutions that offer insights into the industry, the organisation and the market. These solutions are being constantly improved upon thanks to our data-tracking systems, meaning that future hiring requirements and strategies can be made with greater foresight and understanding. “Companies that appreciate the numerous advantages that Hays Talent Solutions can provide will find that they will have a recruitment process that provides results borne out of data, expertise and continuous improvement focusing on accountability to achieved the desired outcome.”
They may also find that they have a solution to the persistent skills shortage challenge in Malaysia, leading to a cost effective Talent Acquisition solution for a prosperous 2018.
Source: Hays
