If you're a growing company, you will benefit if your board and senior management create a clear talent attraction strategy.
If you’re a growing company, you will benefit if your board and senior management create a clear talent attraction strategy.
As quoted in a recent “Shortlist” newsletter, the National Australia Bank will select genuine niche specialist recruiters for its new panel and is likely to have more, rather than less, consultancies when the panel is finalised.
NAB said that in most cases, rather than selecting big generalists, NAB was looking for “niche, technical operators... which are recognised as true industry experts in their space”. NAB said that generally speaking, the new panelists would not be competing for the same work.
“We see a lot of value in engaging a provider at the front end, giving them a window of exclusivity, and some clean air to operate in to do a proper job.”
When a provider was assigned a role, they added, they would be given full access to hiring managers in order to take a detailed brief.
“We don’t want [recruitment companies] to think we’re standing at the front door with a big stick to keep them out. It’s about letting them know what our strategy is, and clearly articulating the policies and protocols to engage with us. We’re trying to take a far more collaborative approach than what’s happened in the past.”
Total agency usage will shrink
Despite this refreshed approach, NAB said that once the new model was fully up and running it expected to cut overall agency usage.
Our (MPi’s) view
This is consistent with our research which has been showing us that employers, who presume that because of an increase in candidate quantity it is therefore easier to recruit, are making an error of judgment. An employer’s goal should always be, to find the best person available at the time, for every vacancy. That takes time to attract, check, screen and properly communicate with the best. The NAB’s approach makes sense to us.