Avila management’s autumn greetings

As autumn arrives, it’s already a good time to reflect on this year’s achievements, while also looking ahead to the coming winter and next year’s recruitments. Autumn is an excellent time to plan and budget for next year’s staffing needs. Familiarising yourself with the current state of the organisation, its needs and key competencies will ensure results for next year.

Next year’s results depend on this autumn’s preparation

Here at Avila, we have seen the changes, difficulties and of course successes of many organisations over the past year. For many organizations, the year has been spent on replacement recruitment, with fewer new hires compared to last year.

This year has been a turning point for many operators, and they have had to respond quickly and agilely to change, even in challenging market conditions. To continue to achieve common objectives in the future, recruitment professionals and HR representatives need an increasingly strategic and adaptable perspective.

Successful organisations are well aware of their own resources and the skills areas they need – what skills employees already have and how best to support their career paths. On the other hand, when recruiting, it is important to identify how best to use and apply the new recruit’s skills to the organisation’s strategy and success.

Increased competition to attract top talent means that future recruitment should be approached, for example, by focusing on skills rather than on old merits or years of experience.

Competency-based recruitment as a tool to help meet future recruitment challenges

Skills-based recruitment has become increasingly important in this ever-changing environment. Skills-first recruitment means that the recruitment process focuses more on the abilities, skills, and potential of the jobseeker than on education or previous work experience alone. This approach is able to identify the skills and potential of jobseekers even if they do not have the traditional job-search credentials, such as training in a particular field or previous work experience.

According to LinkedIn research, employers and recruiters who identify potential employees based on skills are 60% more likely to be successful in their recruitment than those who do not use skills as part of their recruitment process (Skills-first: Reimagining the labour market and breaking down barriers 2023).

Competency orientation focuses on identifying candidates’ practical skills, problem-solving abilities, and teamwork skills, for example. This approach helps ensure that the organisation can find people outside the traditional framework who can add value and solve future challenges. Competences can be identified through a range of simulation or training exercises, and psychological aptitude assessments can be used to identify areas such as working styles, problem-solving skills, and leadership.

A diverse and motivated work community is a driving force for an organisation. A competency-based approach takes into account continuous learning and development at both individual and organisational level. This emphasis will help the company to succeed in a changing work environment and to achieve common goals through a motivated and diverse work community.

Diversity in organisations is an important factor and asset.

Diversity has been on the table for some time and more and more organisations are realizing that to succeed in today’s world, diversity must be valued and supported. Diversity in organisations is an important factor and asset.

Have you noticed that in your work community things often happen in the same way, processes may not be updated, or new ideas may not emerge? This may also be due to the homogeneity of the work environment, i.e., the similarity of the people working there. Diversity means variety, and the factors that influence it can be considered in terms of ethnic background, gender, or nationality, but also in terms of different educational backgrounds, perspectives, age groups and ways of thinking.

A diverse working environment leads to a richer exchange of ideas, innovation, and more effective decision-making. But promoting diversity requires a conscious effort. It can include, for example, activating and recruiting candidates from diverse backgrounds and more explicitly valuing diversity in the company culture.

By combining the principles of competency-based recruitment with the promotion of diversity, organisations create a strong basis for successful recruitment. It is important to identify areas where the organisation needs strengthening and to attract candidates from different backgrounds and skills areas. This will ensure sufficient and necessary skills and the ability to adapt to rapidly changing situations.

NPS 84 for Avila customers during 2023

At Avila, our focus this year has been on improving and streamlining both our internal and external processes, always keeping customer and candidate satisfaction in mind.  We are delighted that this year’s NPS for our customers is set at 84. We are even happier that the NPS of candidates who responded to our survey on the direct search process is 92 for this year (including candidates who were rejected in the recruitment process).

We have improved our project management by introducing an easy-to-use client portal, which allows for even more efficient communication and information sharing at all stages of the direct search process. For our client companies, the portal supports the management of past recruitments and their results.

Our activities are based on industry-specific knowledge, data-driven and psychological approach. For this reason, we have included psychological assessments as part of our direct recruitment process for two candidates. This change is reflected in the cost of direct search, which is something to bear in mind when considering tenders.

A reference check also helps you to make a safe and secure recruitment decision. As part of the direct search process, and if the client so wishes, we check the references provided by the candidate in a modern and fast way using an online service.

We will continue to support organisations with all their recruitment needs. If this text has raised topics of interest to you that you would like to discuss with us, please contact us.