A Good Practice Guide for the Work with Employers

“When you're looking for people to hire, we're here to help you.” 1

Decentralisation and Reorganisation of the Croatian Employment Services (CES) EuropeAid/119446/C/SV/HR

Croatian Employment Service Employer Relationship Management System

A practice guide for the work with employers

Dumitru Sorin Dumitru ABU Consultants

Zagreb, November 2006

This document has been produced with the financial assistance of the European Union. The views expressed herein can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the European Union. “When you're looking for people to hire, we're here to help you.” 2

Table of Content

1. Introduction.

2. Employer as a client.

3. Services to employers. Internal systems and processes.  Sector focus  Employer relationship management  More than job placements  CES network  Staff and specialists from the Work with Employers Department  Organizing events for and with the Employer  Web and new technology  Managing application  Recruitment Service  Employers advertising his vacancies with CES  Employer Relationship Manager/ Vacancy Case Manager  What CES/RO ask of employer  Keeping contact with employers  Feedback for measuring success and making improvements  Training for the right job

4. Partnership working. 5. Make it happen. 6. Lessons learnt from the work with employers of the other Public and Private Employment Services. Conclusions from experiences declared by different Departments for the relation with Employers. 7. Conclusions and recommendations.

ANNEX Annex 1. Draft Action plan for Work with Employers Department. Annex 2. Five beginning steps to convince employers to collaborate and to be involved. Annex 3. Example for an labour demand reporting form. Annex 4. Example for an labour management data form. Annex 5. Example for a minute used for an working visit with employer. Annex 6. Example for an Service Agreement.

1. Introduction

Working with employer is a fairly recent term and a relatively un researched activity. This included a wide range of activities and delivery methods. The only common factor was that they all led to the client obtaining employment. Publicly funded services target specific groups. In general however, PES covers two main areas of activity:

This includes advice, guidance and assessment as well as support with Job seeker - facing work employment issues.

This includes vacancy sourcing, human resource planning, detailed analysis of job Employer - facing work roles and person specifications, matching clients to jobs, sifting applicants, interview assistance and testing.

2. Employer as a client Public Employment Services are increasingly seeing employers as customers as well. It is the employer that will have the final say in whether the jobseeker gains employment, therefore shaping services to meet the employer’s needs is critical. To do this, CES must understand the business sector of their target employers as well as the business environment they operate in. In this sense the Work with employers Department need to understand the employer target group and having staff with knowledge of the business sector and its particular skills requirements.

Implications for service design It is important that your organisational structures and plans reflect the fact that you have two groups of clients. As an organisation you must carefully plan how the needs of each group are met, how targets are set and how you monitor progress. Even though your organisational mission might be focused on the needs of the individual jobseeker, you must ensure that sufficient focus within your service offer, marketing and business planning, is given to the needs of your other clients to achieve success.

3. Services to employers. Internal systems and processes CES should offers to the employers much more than just a vacancy listing. CES should work with employers in ways that suit/tailor them, and have developed a range of free services to help make recruitment through CES simple and effective. CES should deliver service that matches employers vacancy requirements to people looking for work, giving employers the widest possible range of good applicants, and providing the right people when he need them. CES should be committed to bring to the employers a professional and modern service to help them find the right people for the job. For this it should constantly expanding your services to make the whole process of recruitment This document has been produced with the financial assistance of the European Union. The views expressed herein can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the European Union. “When you're looking for people to hire, we're here to help you.” 4 easier and more efficient for everyone. CES should give to those employers who want and ask for a greater control, total control of them advertised jobs. CES should give them also the possibility to manage them jobs on-line without the need to speak to an adviser.

Finding out what an employer need Good employment services are highly proactive in learning the employer’s needs. Understanding and meeting these needs is the key to developing lasting employer relationships. Once you have established a good relationship you should raise the issue of human resource planning. For example, if the employer knows they will have a particular vacancy in the near future, you can start preparing clients with customised training. However, the bottom line is usually about getting the job filled – so if your organisation cannot help, put them in touch with another one that can. This will raise your profile and they are more likely to come back to you in the future.

Sector focus To meet an employer’s needs you have to know the business they are in. Developing specialist knowledge of sectors such as retail, construction, or financial services is a key factor in successful employer relationships. Having staff who know the relevant industry, the skills it needs and the industry jargon will instill a sense of confidence and give you the edge. This means having professional staff who can learn quickly, or employing people with direct industry experience. A sector focus may also help in the delivery of services to jobseekers as they may be able to learn from your staff. Also staff need to be upgraded with skills and knowledge about marketing and sales. Don’t be afraid when need new persons in the department to hire salesman and then these can be trained in employment and labour market issues.

Employer relationship management Employers want a quick and efficient service. This means dealing with one person within your organisation who can broker the full range of services on offer to meet their needs. Good job brokerage tend to work with an employer relationship management model; each employer has a named staff member who organises the full range of services. Employer relationship managers find solutions that ‘bridge the gap’ between the employer’s world and the jobseeker. The employer relationship manager will remain in contact with the employer even after placement of the jobseeker to ensure that the post-employment support is effective.

More than job placements You should consider offering more than simply putting jobseekers forward for interviews. Having a range of services that the employer may not have considered before can be highly effective in meeting employers’ needs and these might include:  developing job descriptions / person specifications  carrying out bespoke assessment  work experience  customised training  post-employment support. A broad menu of marketed and publicised services that are creative in their approach demonstrates added value, and shows the employer why they should work with you.

CES network CES should tell to the employers, that is using technology to circulate employer’s vacancies nationally to make sure his vacancy is seen by the widest possible pool of potential applicants. You also can give to employers the option to send out application forms to make sure that he can see only the most suitable candidates, you can give him interview facilities with administrative backup in many of your offices to help him run efficient and effective

This document has been produced with the financial assistance of the European Union. The views expressed herein can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the European Union. “When you're looking for people to hire, we're here to help you.” 5 recruitment campaigns. CES should provide a local contact to work with employers to provide information about the local labour market and advise on training, and other factors that contribute to the speed and success of employer’s recruitment exercise.

Staff and Specialists from the Work with employers Department Excellent service for employers relies on having excellent staff. You should consider who will do what and ensure that they have the appropriate skills. Sometimes this might require recruiting staff with experience the organisation has never considered before, such as a sales background. Developing staff skills in line with these roles is essential, remember there are two major clients (employers and jobseekers) and staff need the skills to meet the needs of all of them. On-the-job training and sharing knowledge across teams will do much to develop the organisational skills base. Specialists from the work with employers department should create an excellent partnerships with the HR or personnel function from the employers organization. They should establish contact persons for each employers and keep update this contact. They should act as “salesman” when dealing with employers customers. Them work should be like an “pre selling” activity in this sense they have to come with an number of vacancies identified. The specialists should work closely with employers to understand them needs and help them fill them vacancies with the right people. CES staff should gain experience in filling vacancies by building/increasing them knowledge of different industry sectors in order to use this experience to provide services that make a difference to employer business, and help him find people with the right skills and attitude needed in his industry. They should demonstrate to the employers that CES is an performance recruitment service and gain employers credibility that CES is the right organization that can advice and help them with employment. Entire department for work with the employers should have in the data base an updated list with this contact.

Organising events for and with employers First of all the Job Fairs are very good events for bringing together employers and jobseekers together and to see how they act. Also is a good moment to advertise your services. Except job fairs from time to time CES should organize different workshop, where the above contact persons from the employers should be invited. The workshops can have different thematic from identifying the needs and the problems for employer’s organisations (regarding HR, staff development, recruitment, employment), to that of informing them about new services procedures, or train them to fill the vacancies, etc. These workshops are a great opportunity to create lobby for your services, to promote them and to maintain a good relation with the employers. Also you can create focus group from time to time to asses your services.

Web and new technology Is important when working with employers to use new technology, to expand your range of services to employers and give them easy access to workforce. But be careful because some of them are not so developed and you can be with some steps before them. In this case you can use your technology for them. For example in the situation when employer doesn’t have access to new and modern technology, your specialists should go to collect and to fill them vacancies. When they choose to work with you to fill them job vacancy, you will automatically advertise the job details. Demonstrate to employers that your website is one of the most successful in order to attract them, to convince them to advertise them vacancies. Tell them and give them statistics with how many jobseekers are accessing your website for finding a job, how many calls you receive each day or weak from people applying for jobs. Tell them how many infopult CES have it and how many people are using this infopult. Make the system for the employers to advertise his job most easier possible tell them this and show them this, by making to them an life presentation. Train them in how to register them vacancies. Tell them that you accept vacancies that meet conditions set out in employment legislation.

Managing Applications When employer place a vacancy, CES should offers two ways to help him manage job applications. Employer can choose for your staff to handle all applications and identify the right candidates for him, or let candidates contact him direct without going through you.

Recruitment service CES should develop procedures and methodology like for an recruitment service in order to deliver services to employers that makes them sure that they get the right people for them business. In this sense the work with employers department should provide employers with:  a range of suitable people who match them job needs;  advice and guidance to help them through all parts of filling them job vacancy.  Vacancy Case Manager to help the employers to fill them vacancies by dealing with enquiries about them vacancies, to advise about the candidates and local labour market informations and keep them in contact with others specialist advisers in different specific issues of recruitment.  room in some of CES offices for them to carry out interviews.  managing the issue and return of all the application forms, and sifting them to ensure that employers see only the most suitable people.

Employers advertising his vacancy with CES When employers advertise his vacancy with CES, CES will:  listen carefully to employers needs when he use your service and confirm those needs with him;  give to the employers the name and phone number of a employer relationship manager/vacancy case manager who will help them fill them vacancy;  explain CES latest technology, which includes internet Job Bank (if exist if not should be create and put in place) and touch-screen terminals (these are called Infopult), to make sure employer vacancy is available to the largest number of people possible;  let employer decide how he would like people to apply;  make sure people are able to see employer vacancy on the Infopult in all offices and on the internet within 6 hours of receiving employer vacancy by e-mail, by fax or by post

Employer Relationship Manager/Vacancy Case Manager Vacancy Case Manager will be based in the office closest to where employer advertised job is. They are responsible for managing the recruitment process from the moment RO take employer vacancy to when the vacancy is filled. Vacancy Case Manager will:  contact employer within five working days to discuss your vacancy;  advise employer about the people who may be available and the local labour market  give to the employer information about employment legislation, training, rates  of pay, equal opportunities, specialist types of employment and employing disabled people;  advise employer about the best way of filling his vacancy;  be employer local contact if employer want to discuss any part of his  vacancy; and  explain the extra services RO can give to employers to help them fill them vacancy or to help prepare the people applying for the job.

What RO ask of employer To help meet these standards and fill employer vacancy quickly, with the right person, RO ask that employers:  give them as much information about his needs as possible when he use your service;  tell you when he want you to stop advertising his vacancy; This document has been produced with the financial assistance of the European Union. The views expressed herein can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the European Union. “When you're looking for people to hire, we're here to help you.” 7

 make sure that he is offering at least national minimum wage rates and that his vacancy is fully compliant with legislation and employment law;  let you know as soon as possible if his needs change;  tell you when he have enough people to fill his vacancy;  let you know as soon as he have filled his vacancy; and  give you feedback on the service he receive from you. When an employer advertising his vacancy, the details that appear are important in helping you match the most suitable candidates. These tips have proven useful to many employers in ensuring all relevant details have been covered in their vacancy adverts:  Ensure the job title is a clear indication of the actual job. Being specific will help to attract the right candidate.  Give as accurate an indication as you can of the potential earnings. Include any commission, bonus, shift allowances, overtime etc.  Give a good description of likely working hours, including shift patterns and holiday entitlements or possible flexibilities such as job share or part-time.  Give details about where the job will be based, whether travel or overnight stays will be required and the frequency.  Consider the essential requirements of the job, and detail ‘must have’ qualifications and experience (for example driving licence, experience of particular IT software systems etc).The details will eliminate unsuitable applicants, but consider that you may unintentionally exclude potential candidates with generic skills who could be trained for your specific requirements.  Give details of the duties a successful candidate is likely to carry out. Where you plan to offer training or mentoring to support a new employee, provide details on what is proposed and how it will be delivered.  A vacancy advertisement is a key element of your employer brand. Information about company incentives such as staff discounts, crèche facilities or supported employee schemes are all valuable as a demonstration to potential applicants of what your workplace is like.

Keeping contact with employers When employer contact RO by phone to advertise a vacancy, RO will give the name and phone number of a local vacancy case manager for him to contact about any part of his vacancy or RO service. RO should buy and give to each employer relationship manager/ vacancy case manager, mobile phone and monthly ticket for usage of the mobile phone. Staff should always answer the phone in a professional way and give their name. The information that you will give should be:  accurate and up to date;  relevant to employer needs;  easy to understand; and  in a format that suits him. When employer contact you by e-mail, letter or fax (except for vacancy notifications) you should reply immediately of receiving his e-mail, letter or fax. If you cannot fully reply to him within these timescales, you will tell you:  who is dealing with your letter, e-mail or fax;  the reasons for any delay;  if there is anything you need to do; and  how long it will be before we can reply fully to your letter, e-mail or fax.

Feedback for measuring success and making improvements Quaterly specialists from the department of work with employer, will carry out a survey with a number of employers who have used CES service. The information collected CES will used to measure how well they filled employer’s vacancy and to make improvements to the services that they offer. This information should be available on the web and in the annual report. This document has been produced with the financial assistance of the European Union. The views expressed herein can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the European Union. “When you're looking for people to hire, we're here to help you.” 8

Your aim is to serve all your customers fairly and to the same high standard. In this sense you will value all feedback on the services you provide. You should record this information and use it to help you improve existing services and develop new ones. The employers customers who want to tell you about them experience of your service, they can you, contact your employer relationship manager. Actually this one should collect and ask periodically for feedback. Your aim is to send you a reply within 10 working days if you employer made a complaint. If you cannot do this, you will contact him to explain why.

Training for the right job Modern partnerships with the private and public sector mean that you can tap into a wide network to deliver specialist training and support. This means you can give you the most suitable applicants for them vacancy. Clearly, employers will want to be convinced, not only that they have the capacity to provide appropriate learning support to learners, but also that there are sound commercial arguments for investing time in learning activities. When seeking to collaborate with employers, specialists who developed education/training programmes need to be able to explain clearly what will be required, what the cost implications may be. Employers can benefit from:  having an input to planning the content of learning programmes. This can help indirectly to ensure that programmes are in tune with local business needs  the opportunity to ‘grow their own staff’, by employing learners at the end of their on-the-job learning period. By getting involved in work-based learning and supervising learners, the employer is able to help them adapt to the culture of the organisation and develop work habits and skills that the employer values. Learners who make a successful transition to employment with the supervising employer can help improve productivity in the company.

Diversity For many employers today, a diverse workforce that reflects the demographic of your local labour market is a key consideration. CES should provide information on how employers should meet equal opportunities requirements and how best to reach out to a wider audience. This includes support when recruiting people with disabilities, and retention advice if an employee becomes disabled.

Using ICT Effective use of information and communications technology (ICT) is often a factor in providing good services. ICT can be used to access and assess important labour market information as well as hold the data required to meet the needs of multiple customers. A good system can hold information on the needs, skills, aspirations and opportunities of your jobseekers and employers – and then be used to match the two. Finally, the use of mobile communications technology can revolutionise how you contact and support clients.

Benefits of Employers who use the on line service  Total control: they can have access to your jobs on the Croatian’s most visited recruitment website. They can notify, amend or close jobs whenever they like - and from wherever they like - write their own job descriptions and view previously notified jobs.  Easy to use: updating his jobs - he can manage all his recruitment from his own PC via the Internet. Plus, if he’s advertising a number of similar jobs, he can copy the job description to save time. Also, there’s online help and he can contact you for support in using this service if he need to.  Free: like all the services offered by CES, there’s no charge to use it.

The right planning

A complex set of systems and processes is working together to meet the diverse needs of a range of clients, therefore your information management needs to be robust. Good organisational planning is essential to make this happen. Organisations must have a clear vision of what they want to achieve in order to shape their activities.

Developing the quality services your clients deserve Improving the quality of your services requires an active quality assurance programme. This should involve a rigorous self-assessment against robust criteria to understand how well you are doing. Development plans provide a structure to the quality assurance work. All staff delivering your services should be involved as well as your clients.

Getting the organisational commitment Prioritisation is important and may require the organisation to choose between investing in new techniques, staff and other resources, to make the step change required to reach excellence. This should be driven by business requirements and reflected in improved performance, leading to more and better services. Whatever size RO you are (particularly if you are a small RO) networking, sharing good practice, partnership working and access to free advice can also be invaluable.

4. Partnership working

Co-ordinated employer response Employers are busy people. Some of the really good examples of service to employer show a range of RO working in partnership with other local organisation to provide a co-ordinated service to employers. This can be as simple as a shared vacancy list, through to sophisticated web-based employer engagement projects. The key is to make it as easy as possible for employers to find the right employee.

Sector knowledge It is important to understand your local/sub-regional labour market. It is rare that an RO can develop the appropriate skills in all the relevant employment sectors in their area.

Filling the vacancy The bottom line for all employers is getting the position filled. If your RO cannot fill the post then work in partnership with another organisation that can. Referral processes will be required and you will need to know which organisations offer which services and how can you work for each other’s benefit. There will need to be protocols around screening, who presents the client to the employer, who claims the output, and how you monitor and review the partnership, but these are all achievable and you will be rewarded with a highly satisfied employer who will come back to you next time.

5. Making it happen

Self-assessment The quality framework has a series of questions across each area and RO’s can assess how far their organisation meets the standard. This requires a study of actual practice (not just paper policies) and can be usefully supported by a range of evidence. The key to success is to involve a range of staff and clients in self-assessment and to take an honest view of performance. There should be a self-assessment toolkit available from CES that will take you through the process and explain the criteria and evidence requirements in more detail.

6. Lessons learnt from the work with employers of the other Public and Private Employment Services. Conclusions from experiences declared by different Departments for the relation with Employers.

Structure and Staffing  Many services for employers have appointed marketing managers to oversee their activities with employers and establish relationships. Many also have a team of staff dedicated to sourcing vacancies and dealing with employers: o REED in Partnership have appointed recruitment consultants to specifically work with employers and build sustainable relationships; o Pertemps Employment Alliance established a marketing team from the outset; o Working Links Zones have introduced marketing managers and teams gradually over the first 8 months of the Zones; o North West Wales Partnership has Zone Employment Liaison Officers to client manage employers.  All Services managers identified that the strength of this approach is being able to employer relationship/ vacancy case specialists with staff who have relevant skills and experience and, importantly, represent employer needs in the matching process without fear of any conflicts of interest.  Managers for Department for relation with employers, from different PES and PRES report that recruitment consultants and marketing teams represent the interests of ‘their’ employers while Personal Adviser (PA)/Mediation Specialist seek the best for ‘their’ jobseeker clients.  The Department for relation with employers in HOVAC (UK) does not have marketing staff – the original business model did not fully take into account the geography of the area, so to be able to fully resource PAs it was decided that they should take on the role of marketing the above mention Department for employers. Discussions with PAs suggest that they are not entirely comfortable with this dual role (cold calling etc was seen as their least favourite part of the job).

Building relationships with employers  The introduction of specialist marketing staff is behind the more effective relationships between Relation with employers Department and employers. The relationships mirror the work PAs undertake with clients – being highly individual. Almost all Department for relation with employers marketing staff said that relationships with employers start from an understanding of their businesses: o Nature of business, size of workforce etc; o Knowledge of company practices: recruitment channels and procedures, induction processes, staff training policy, etc; o What is involved in the company’s induction process; o Understanding of working environment and wider culture of the firm; o Personal contact with management/HR staff.  Department for Employers seek to establish this information with employers at the outset usually through face-to-face visits to the employer to see the premises, getting a better fix on the nature of the jobs and building a personal relationship with the employer. While the information is seen as important, marketing staff stress the personal contact and knowledge of what an employer will and won’t do.  Marketing the Department for Employers has developed over time. At the outset some Department for Employers (DE) managers when considering how to market the department – were concerned that raising the profile of their service might also stigmatise their clients. However, almost all DE have now taken the decision that general marketing to raise awareness of the DE – through local media, cold calling employers and presentations to local business networks – does increase access to available vacancies. An important distinction in the message is that the DE markets a service – the matching and presentation of clients who turn up and do want the job.  Where successful placements have been made DE have used these good news messages to further their market penetration and show other employers what they can do. Marketing staff report that positive referrals from one company to another are by far the best for engaging and working with employers: “a positive recommendation from another business makes all the difference – employers do call up saying we have been recommended by so-and-so ready to get involved” (DE marketing staff). Above all, DE stress This document has been produced with the financial assistance of the European Union. The views expressed herein can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the European Union. “When you're looking for people to hire, we're here to help you.” 11

that an individual approach to employers is as necessary as it is with their clients. Wherever possible they try to network good practice and use events or local media for promotion.  For their part, employers seem very willing to engage in this process – although the degree to which they will get involved is closely related to the pressure in the labour market: o Local labour market circumstances appear to be critical to how this is best done – continued recruitment and retention problems do drive employers to compromise and can push employers into changing their recruitment practices. o Once trust is established then employers and employment agencies are keen to develop their relationship.  Getting over this initial hurdle is hard work, especially in those areas which do not have tight labour markets – for example, one DE in a relatively isolated and depressed market can struggle to get information on available vacancies from employers whereas other DE enjoying labour shortages have been able to lever more flexible approaches from employers.  DE have been able to develop much closer working relationships with employers than were evident after the first 9 months of operation. More practice and more time to demonstrate the potential of what they can do has meant that they are beginning to establish reputations. This has been a slow process and there are still examples where initial contact by the DE marketing teams has not yet been followed up. Even in these cases, the majority of employers remain interested in the concept and express a willingness to get involved in future.

Sources of vacancies  DE have struggled to open up vast new areas of job opportunities for a number of reasons: o there really aren't very many ‘good’ jobs on offer to people who have been unemployed for at least 12 months; o conversely there are few good candidates among the unemployed to justify the effort required to attract higher level jobs; o employers who are short of staff at the bottom of the market advertise everywhere so there's less scope to make a difference.  Some clients were encouraged to cold call employers who offered the type of occupations they were interested in securing. This approach did engage the client in the process (and gave their PA an indication of how strong their interest in a particular occupation might be). However, it is DE view that a minority of clients were able to source vacancies through this route.  DE have been able explore other avenues for sources of vacancies. The internet is used more extensively, especially by the clients themselves looking at company websites for notices on vacancies and how to go about applying. One DE has been negotiating with the local press to put their job adverts on its internal intranet to allow access to the full range of vacancies from any of their terminals. A number of DE have also set up events involving both clients and employers can mix in an informal environment, often focusing on particular groups (disabled, roma) or sectors.  More frequent contact with employers means that they can get early warning of suitable vacancies – many DE sell their services to employers on the basis that they can save the cost of an advert by contacting them first. This has a number of benefits: . More time to prepare the client for the vacancy (training or other support); and, . A greater understanding of the employer attitudes to staff and their recruitment practices.  However, DE are more often influencing the direction of vacancies which would have occurred anyway. There is a growing realization that in order to have sufficient time to prepare a client for a vacancy, you need to know before the job is advertised. Marketing staff say they are becoming more pro-active and making more use of speculative approaches – using their knowledge of particular employers to ‘seed’ clients who fit with their employee profile. This does not always bring immediate results but sufficient trust

has been established with some employers that within 6-8 weeks the employer may have found a vacancy and come back to the DE.  Other examples include a major manufacturer who has recruited 30 clients from one DE and on its recommendation two sub-contractors are now working with the DE. One of these has announced that in future the DE will be its primary recruitment source. Not surprisingly, many of these relationships have been developed with larger employers – their need is greater and they offer a better ‘hit’ rate for the DE.

Screening, matching and presentation of jobseekers

 Jobseekers are extensively prepared for work through motivation and confidence building exercises and exploring the type of work they would like to do. DE are careful not to over-promise jobseekers but do aim to extend jobseeker’ horizons, selling the non-monetary benefits of working.  For many jobseekers their ideal job is within their reach. Some have aspirations which are beyond their current capacity but they can reach their goals in the longer term – 1-2 years. DE have stressed the importance of working towards their goals rather than just giving up, so identification of ‘transitional’ jobs and a career plan to achieve the ideal job become important: o For many, these jobs will be in a similar occupational field or company but at a lower level – assistant or junior posts – with a view to gaining promotion within 12 months; o Others might work in a particular sector but not in their ideal occupation – for example, a client with no experience and only limited qualifications took a job as a security guard with a software company while he followed a programming course aiming to get a job as a programmer once he qualified; o Others will accept that the best chance of getting their ideal job is to be in some type of work to demonstrate they can work and get a good reference for when they decide to move on. For example, one DE client wanted to work in theatre set design, had no experience or directly relevant qualifications but was supported by the PA. Not being forced to pursue available call centre jobs was very much appreciated by the client, but they left the DE without securing a job. Six weeks later the client decided to follow the PA’s advice and is now working in customer support in a call centre and expecting to apply for jobs in the theatre when they arise; o In some cases clients can ‘discover’ ideal jobs through working with their PA: one DE client now works as an illustrator for an animation film company as his PA noticed how good his doodles were during interviews. Others have jobs in the IT sector because, while they did not have formal qualifications many viewed computers as a hobby and were taken on by the employer because of their innate interest and practical knowledge.  The matching process of client and opportunity does not happen by itself, although clients can drive their own job search with guidance from their PAs. The knowledge and understanding of particular employers developed by marketing staff is a significant part of the process. Employer Relationship Management is a significant element in managing the relationship with employers matched by the DE’ ability to invest flexibly in clients.  PAs suggest that a good match involves: o prior knowledge of the employers’ requirements and the fit of the client with the working environment; o preparation of the client according to the specific recruitment criteria the employer will adopt (more often than not these are shared with DE staff as the employers appreciate their help in sifting for appropriate candidates); o an accurate in-work benefit calculation to let the client know where they will stand if they are successful; o honesty to both the client (is it what they want to do? will the job pay enough to make it worthwhile?) and to the employer (where is the client weak?) There are cases where such is their This document has been produced with the financial assistance of the European Union. The views expressed herein can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the European Union. “When you're looking for people to hire, we're here to help you.” 13

relationship with particular employers PAs pointed out clients’ weaknesses in advance of any interview (“I have a good candidate but they will need X or Y to become ideal for you”). Employers appreciate the honesty of this approach and most respond to it but it can only work where there is a degree of trust between the employer and the Zone; o the DE can invest in the client in conjunction with the employer – if the employer likes the client at interview (a significant element in determining whether they get the job) but has concerns over particular skill areas, then the DE can offer to support the individual’s training to plug these gaps.  As DE practice has developed they are becoming more adept at bending employers’ recruitment criteria. In all cases the process is adaptive – very few employers are willing to dive in at the deep end and so changes to their recruitment process tend to be one step at a time as they develop more confidence.  In many cases the DE have been given the recruitment criteria the employer/agency is working with in order to help prepare clients. Typically, initial interviews are formal and happen at the employer/agency premises. In some cases, competency tests start rigorous and then clients are allowed some leeway in completing them. In other cases DE have been entrusted to undertake some of the pre-screening first interviews – initially with the attendance of the employer and latterly without.  DE managers are split on the provision of work trials – some do employ the equivalent to allow an employer to look at a jobseeker in a work situation but other DE take a harder line and believe that they do not serve the best interests of the jobseeker. Where this is the case, DE have increasingly used visits to the employers’ premises (usually an extended tour and discussions with existing employees lasting up to a full day) so jobseekers can get the feel of the place without having to ‘work for nothing’.  DE staff say they have managed to establish a principle whereby they invest in the skills of the client predominately once they are in employment and this is appreciated by employers. In a number of cases employers have been encouraged to offer clients an entry job and then a follow-on job to secure the clients’ interest and tie progression into the initial job offer (subject to satisfactory performance). These cases are relatively rare but employers are responding on a case-by-case basis. Other DE report that they are able to negotiate over pay and conditions and that employers are more willing to offer target wages after 4-8 weeks of satisfactory performance rather than lose a candidate who they believe will be a success because the starting salary is less than the client wanted.  DE managers say they are seeking to encouraging employers to lower their recruitment criteria and demonstrate that this does not effect their performance criteria – establishing that the client group are good workers but not necessarily good interviewees. Clients have to prove they can keep up with other employees but when they do this employers are keen to return for more.  An interesting issue in the matching procedures developed by different DE is which comes first jobs or clients? Most PAs have stressed that in the majority of cases the matching process is driven by the clients’ interest in working in a particular sector/occupation. However, as relationships have developed, some DE have been able to adopt a more demand-led approach working with specific employers to fill multiple placements. Inevitably these relationships have been established with larger companies from a range of sectors – retail, manufacturing, call centres, warehousing etc.  By its nature demand-led matching starts with the available vacancies and looks for appropriate clients to fill them. In the early phase of some DE operations there were examples reported by managers where DE had attempted to fill blocks of vacancies advertised in the local press without much success. More recent practice suggests that a much closer relationship is required in order to prepare clients who are genuinely interested in the jobs and that this requires more time. Good practice principles identified by DE marketing staff overlap with those identified above and include: o detailed knowledge of what the employer is looking for in the posts involved; o the recruitment process and criteria to be used. In effect the DE is involved almost from the start of the recruitment process and can therefore plan pre-interview support for clients interested in the vacancies;

o an understanding from the employer from the outset that the DE may well not be able to fill all or indeed any of the vacancies if they do not have suitable candidates; o the implication of the above is that starting with available vacancies and then finding people to fit them requires a scale of operation sufficiently large to secure a good match – the more clients the more likely this will be achieved; o a willingness for the employer to adjust their recruitment process where this will not prejudice selection but will give the clients a better chance – eg moving the location of the interviews to familiar territory, PAs pre-screening candidates, etc o pre-interview presentations and visits to the employers’ premises for candidates to see what working there might involve; o pre-selection of only those clients who are genuinely interested in working in that occupation and who can meet the employers’ minimum criteria; o discussions on the induction process and appropriate training that will be available to successful candidates; o an ability to walk away from the employer if the process does not meet expectations and vice-versa without damaging long-term relations.  The demand-led and the jobseeker-led approaches are complementary and for the most part share many of the same processes and procedures. DE run them in parallel with the demand-led representing the account managed end of their placement business, not a distinct service.

Aftercare procedures

 Aftercare has developed as a mechanism to keep in touch with employers and minimise those occasions when clients may leave work for relatively trivial reasons. Zone marketing staff are responsible for aftercare with employers (in parallel to PAs with the individual jobseeker).  As with many aspects of the DE, the procedures adopted vary according to the individual employer’s preferences. Where possible marketing staff use aftercare for a number of reasons: o to provide feedback on their service in general and on the performance of particular candidates to address any weaknesses before their next interview (if necessary); o to find out more about the employer and their procedures; o to enquire about any other prospective employment opportunities; o to alert PA colleagues of any concerns the employer may have with DE recruits; o discuss the terms and conditions the employer was offering/ will offer in future relative to market conditions.  The follow-up process does not involve a great deal of bureaucracy and those employers who had experience of it saw it as being all part of the service rather than an administrative burden – a quick ‘phone call rather than a series of forms to complete.

The Views of Employers

Incentives for employer participation

 It was founded a much higher level of awareness of the DE and their activities in interviews with employers. Although awareness levels varied between the areas, around 70% of employers said they were familiar with their DE.  In general, training per se was not a great incentive for employers. Their first requirement is to recruit people who are willing to work, if a financial incentive comes with the person it is seen as a bonus. But they would not recruit someone who is not suitable as sooner or later problems would emerge.

 Employers did not express the need for more training or more suitable training. If someone was suitable but had been out of work for a long time they would train the person in-house and up-date his/her skills (we assume that this most often means on-the-job training). In general employers preferred to do the training themselves in order to mould the way people work to their company.

Attitudes towards long-term unemployed

 Severe labour shortages are encouraging employers to consider the long-term unemployed as a potential source for recruits. However, the healthy state of the economy is at the same time re-inforcing employer prejudices. A minority of the respondents were negative: o long-term unemployed people do not want to work; o it is a waste of time to force people into employment.  However, we suspect that this minority voice concerns which are held by a wider group of employers many of whom are cautious in expressing such opinions. Not surprisingly, those employers who were more familiar with the DE were much less negative. Most employers declared they did not have any problem with recruiting long-term unemployed people as long as they were suitable for the position, had the right attitude and were willing to work and to learn.  Very few employers said they have changed their attitude to the client group as a result of DE. A key ingredient is the ability of the DE to take out much of the leg work in identifying appropriate candidates. Closer working relationships appear to be the catalyst for this to happen which provides employers with a greater understanding of the problems faced by jobseekers.  We have been surprised by the potential interest from employers in a service which could present willing and enthusiastic potential recruits. Even in cases where employers were not entirely satisfied with the follow-up (or lack of follow-up) from the DE most said this would not prevent them trying the DE again in future.

7. Conclusions and recommendations

Improving your ability to help employers will involve careful review and self-assessment across your organisation. Research into good practice has shown that a range of factors interrelate to produce the best outcomes. Some of the most common factors are:  understanding the full range of employer clients, their needs and how you can work with them effectively. This includes seeing the employer as a key client within the chain  ensuring that post-employment support is provided that meets the needs of the jobseeker and employer to ensure effective retention and ongoing ’business’ from the employer  understanding that specialist staff skills may be required to target employment sectors effectively and to sell services (and jobseekers) to employers  developing effective partnerships with other organisations to enable you to meet the range of needs of all of your clients  understanding the changes required in organisational planning and investment to achieve the above.  Many employers report that employees still lack basic employability skills (punctuality, personal management) and are seriously deficient in basic knowledge informations and written and oral communication skills. They want better preparation, especially for entry-level positions.  Any employer will tell you that hiring is a time-consuming, expensive, and uncertain proposition. Finding qualified people is a never-ending challenge. Employers want services that include application screening and employability training.

 Both job seekers and employers want a customer service representative who can help them efficiently access workforce services.  Employers want workforce services to be accessible locally, and responsive to local employment conditions and employer needs.  One size doesn’t fit all, and employers want workforce services to reflect their industry, needs, schedules, etc.  Employers want calls returned, responses given – all on the “same day/next day” timeline expected in a business setting.  Streamlining paperwork is good, eliminating it, even better. Employers report they would rather pay a private employment service to avoid paperwork than deal with the administrative load of “free” public services.

Annex 1 Draft Action plan for Work with Employers Department

What? How? Who? Target Indicative progress Review the staff Analyse the skills, knowledge for dealing with employers: RO Efficient and well prepared staff Staff team arrangements from the Work with  employment and labour market issues Managers, for dealing with employers in and systems Employers  marketing, sales Managers for place by the end of the next year. Department  industry sector focus Work with Consider who will do what and ensure that they have the employers appropriate skills. department and HR Recruiting staff with experience the organisation has never Department considered before, such as a sales background

Developing staff and knoweldge skills in line with these roles: sector industry issues, marketing, sales, communications, employment and labour market issues. Review the Analyse and update the procedures, system and data used Entire Procedures, Database specification procedures, system until now: Department programmes, timetables, guidance defined and data used - review the contacting employers methods for the work and advice policies, and working - review the data base with employers: by with with employer guidelines Database set up sector, by size, contact persons, etc. Employers Employer database operational Systems in place to keep Produce and use procedures to work with employers across CES at the beginning of employers up to date with the next year new developments and activities in order to strengthen links Build robust links Create an excellent partnerships with the HR or personnel Entire Entire department for work with All known employer with employers function from the employers organization. Department the employers should have in the information entered into for the work data base an updated list with this database Establish contact persons for each employers and keep with contact. update this contact. Employers All local employers contacted Employers’ database Set up a database of employers within one year Progress reviews, This document has been produced with the financial assistance of the European Union. The views expressed herein can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the European Union. “When you're looking for people to hire, we're here to help you.” 18

Arrange regular internal meetings to share good practice Active employer forum in place activity reports, on working with employers. within six months jobseekers records and placements Organize events for and with employers: An increased range, number and  Job Fairs quality of work placement  different workshop, for the contact persons from opportunities and jobs available Programmes and events the employers on different thematic: for jobseekers lists - identifying the needs and the problems for employer’sorganisations (regarding HR, Database set up to house Reports of contact with staff development, recruitment, employer information employers employment), - informing them about new services A well resourced job search Relevant facilities and procedures, programme in place equipment - train them to fill the vacancies, etc.  focus group from time to time to asses your services. Employers are more likely to be Partnership meetings, realistic in their expectations of business club Link with committed known employers and identify new new employees attendance, visits to employer contacts employers, promotional materials and activities Employers are more likely to relating to employers Ensure that resources are in place to offer both employers employ or accept on placement such as employer guidance and advice jobseekers from CES forums

Ensure that employers are aware of what appropriate Development plans, support can be offered records of performance, Set up forums in which employers’ views can be sought procedures for working with employers, Build on links with employers in line with vocational relevant meeting notes, programmes offered assessment and review of progress Research employers’ needs and expectations including labour market trends Targets, retention, performance and achievement figures

Employer feedback reports

Annex 2 Five beginning steps to convince employers to collaborate and to be involved

Employers want clear information from the workforce system on the quality, responsiveness, convenience, and accessibility of services – in other words, solid marketing that can counter negative perceptions of public services. It’s a mantra to employers: quality, high standards, and tangible results. So, it’s no surprise they expect those same elements in their workforce system. From job seeker up through board level management, everyone should have a clear role, targets to shoot for, and results to report back.

Step One: Identify employer interests and results Step Two: Be ready for yes. Articulate an employer participation menu. Step Three: Identify an employer friendly message and messengers. Step Four: Provide proactive, professional support Step Five: Solicit and listen to employer feedback Re-engage Mentors

Step One: Identify interest and results

Your goal is to align: Interest, Results, Program Design If you know what your employers care about and you respond concretely, with results that mean something to them, they will remain involved. Will you be able to respond to every interest, all the time? No, most employers don’t expect it. They are thrilled, however, when you ask questions like:  What do you need to see to make your participation worthwhile?  What does your company or business need that we might be able to help you with?  What would make this work for you personally or professionally?  Do you have any hesitations? Any concerns about getting involved? You then translate those raw interests into tangible actions you can take to deliver actual payoff.

Example An employer tells you that she participates in your effort so that the community knows more about her business and what it offers.

Interests  Community relations, marketing  Possible payoff for the employer  Mention in your newsletter or web site, with business logo  Newspaper article, editorial piece, or ad thanking partners  Mention and thank you at a local Chamber meeting  Mention at a high profile program or community event  Invitation to a networking lunch or meeting with community leaders

Here are several ways you can explore the interests of employers in your area:  Conduct a focus group.  Use a survey to sample a good crosssection of employer types.  Interview a selection of employers by phone.  Attend networking events where business people are present.  Listen to and ask about workforce needs, community relations strategies, and other interests.

 Speak to all potential and new employer partners about their interests. Include a question on a partner profile, participation survey, or interest form, if you use them.  Repeat the interest conversation regularly.  The question, “Have we met partner interests?” should become part of how you evaluate overall program performance.

Step Two: Be prepared for yes. Articulate a participation menu.

You often see a funny little pattern in employer recruitment: your work with employer specialist calls or meets with an employer for new vacancies. The meeting is friendly. The employer hears about the cause, the mission. Ideally, the discussion covers the employer’s interests and the benefits of participation. Then, the moment comes: the employer says, “Yes, sure, I’m interested.” At that moment, an important matching process begins, but many people aren’t ready for it. What’s the match? You want to match that employer’s interests with the right level and type of involvement. An employer looking for a small dose of good community relations will plug into your effort differently than an employer with serious entry-level recruitment costs and needs. “Yes” opens the possibility for a new relationship, not just with the person but also with the organization. In order to manage the match and the relationship as it builds, you need to articulate a clear set of participation options.

Step Three: Identify an Employer- Friendly message and messangers.

Now that you are comfortable with the language of interests and involvement, you can craft effective employer marketing and recruitment tools – and get them out to the right people.

The Message Any message, for example, a fact sheet, intended for employers should be:  Interest/benefits-based  Clear about options and action required  Concise  Free of jargon and acronyms  Visually appealing and professional A good test of whether you’ve truly distilled your employer message down to its essence is the “elevator pitch.” It’s a classic and incredibly useful exercise. You have five minutes in an elevator to make your involvement pitch to an employer: what do you say? Once you have your core message down pat, you may want to “segment your market;” that is, identify important subgroups of employers and tailor your message accordingly. Develop a message that quickly hooks an employer, explains why you want to talk to them, and articulates the next step if they are (even remotely) interested! Identify natural employer “multipliers” – people (messengers), places, and organizations that extend your reach into employer circles.

Step Four: Provide proactive, professional support

Like a good customer service representative, check back periodically after the “sale” to see how your employer is doing after the received service. If anything isn’t going well, you can address it before bad patterns take hold. If everything is going great, who knows? Maybe your employer will want to upgrade (deepen their involvement)!

Step Five: Solicit and listen to Employer feedback

Above and beyond routine “how are things going” check-ins, you want employers to help you design things that work best for them. As your effort progresses, identify formal moments you can use to collect feedback and design input. You can use surveys, focus groups, ad hoc design or review teams, special task forces, etc. In fact, moments like these often provide just the opportunity you need to affirm and engage people even more. Look at these five areas in your quest for feedback: Create a short evaluation that employers involved in your program can use to give you feedback. At least once a year, convene an employer focus group so that you get into more detail about needs and successful engagement and support methods.

Annex 3 Example for an labour demand reporting form

1. Name of data and the operator:……………………………… 2. Name of specialist in charge: ………………………………

3. Report made by: ………………………………

- phone: ……………………………… - fax: ……………………………… - e – mail: ……………………………… - mail: ……………………………… - personally: ………………………………

4. Data of the employer: Name: ……………………………… Address: ……………………………… Registration number: ………………………………

5. Name of job: ……………………………… 6. Required years of experience: ……………………………… 7. Category group: ……………………………… - unskilled auxiliary worker - administrative staff - executive - unskilled worker - skilled worker - manager

8. Expected amount salary: from…….to……. 9. Education required for the job: ……………………………… - elementary school - skilled worker school - specialized school - vocational secondary school - technical secondary school - college - university 10. Do you want us to mediate for the job: - yes - no

11. Vocational or other qualifications required for filling the job:……………………… Required experience:……. years 12. Practice, skills, knowledge required for the job (foreign language, computer skills, driving, etc): ……………………………… Required experience:………. years 13. Beginning of employment: Date……….. 14. Daily duration of the employment: - Full time: hours - Part time: hours 15. Place of work: ……………………………… 16. Special requirements due to nature of the job: ……………………………… 17. Special conditions due to nature of the job: ……………………………… 18. Other comments: ……………………………… 19. Can the job reported be advertise: - yes - no 20. Name of person reporting the job: 21. Phone number:

22. Dated: year month day

Annex 4 Example for an labour management data form

1. Name of Employer:………………………………… 2. Adress of Employer:…………………………………. 3. Registration number: 4. Phone: ………….Fax. ……………………. E-mail:…………………………… 5. Contact person:……………………………………….

6. Current and expected staff numbers - Current staff: - Staff expected in 3 months: - Staff expected in 12 months: - Number of persons hired over the 3 months:

7. Please list the jobs and the number of employees employed and dismissed during the last 3 months: 8. Please list the jobs and staff to be employed or dismissed during the next 3 months: 9. Please mark the topics in which you require future assistance from us: - Placement - Information about unemployed - Training in addition to work - Envisaged programme - Recruitment - Labour market information - Information by promotional leaflets - Personal meeting required - Legislation - Regulations concerning redundancy

10. Other proposals:

11. Date of completion:

Annex 5 Example for a minute used for an working visit with employer

Name of employer: Contact person for the employer: Name of persons participated:

Purpose of the visit:

Implementation. Discussions:

Results:

Comments:

Signature:

Annex 6

Example for an Service Agreement

Concluded between…………..(hereinafter: Employer), and the……………Regional Regional Office……….(hereinafter: Regional Regional Office) under the following terms and conditions.

The Regional Regional Office will provide the following services to the employer: 1. The Regional Office will provide information concerning the number and composition of labour coinciding with the Employer’s profile, broken down by school-leaver/non-school-leaver (on a quarterly basis), 2. The Regional Office will send the quarterly labour market report electronically or by mail (underline as appropriate), and will provide access to it on the Internet, 3. The Regional Office agrees to provide special placement service becoming the Employer’s needs – on request from the Employer – (preselection as required), 4. On the Employer’s requests the Regional Office will provide information about the functioning of individual labour market measures, 5. The Regional Office will provide information about the effective application opportunities, 6. The Regional Office will provide information about the decisions of the Labour Council concerning employers. 7. Upon the Employer’s request, the Regional Office will provide labour recruitment for the purpose of seasonal employment, 8. The Regional Office will provide information about changes in employment legislation, 9. The Regional Office appoints Regional Officer ……………………….. to keep regular contact with the Employer,

The Employer agrees that 1. It will continuously inform the Regional Office about its actual labour demand, 2. It will provide information about significant staff expansion prospects (exceeding 10 persons) at the employer. 3. It will keep contact with the Regional Office concerning issues related to employment and appoints……………………………………….. to perform this task. 4. It will participate in the quarterly labour market survey and will make available the completed data form of the survey to the Regional Office.

The Contracting Parties hereby agree to evaluate the Service Agreement annually and determine the required amendments.

Employers Regional Office ………………. …………………

This document has been produced with the financial assistance of the European Union. The views expressed herein can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the European Union.