Putting the cart before the horse

Putting the cart before the horse How Darwin attracts and retains the talent that fuels 30% + growth

Darwin at a glance Over 120 skilled search consultants 4 offices; UK, Amsterdam, Munich & Zurich Specialist Areas; Application Development, Cloud & Infrastructure and Telecommunications Recruiting for Permanent and Contract roles across Europe In 2013 we placed candidates from 100 countries into over 1000 clients At Darwin, we don’t send CV’s, we recruit

Let’s dispel a myth… Employee engagement is might seem a cute and fluffy topic… It isn’t. It’s deadly serious.

Some “fluff” “We want our people to be happy” All true, all important, all intangible “Our business is like one big family” “In our team, we love working together” “We have loads of fun in our office”

The serious side Every member of staff we hire, train and lose in year 1 costs us £20,000 Engaged, productive consultants pay for themselves 4 times every year and convert 50% of net fees to profit Internal promotions are 67% more likely to be successful than external management hires Teams of consultants with tenure > 1 year and who are led by promoted managers that understand our business make twice as much per head as other teams Trying to prove you’ve engagement can cost more than actually doing it Know what you want attrition to be. “Churn” is healthy when controlled

Put the cart before the horse “Attraction is simply telling people about your retention”

Start with your worst critics “Your most unhappy people (or customers) are your greatest source of learning”

Finding out what doesn’t work?

Validate your findings • Staff surveys • Keep them short, simple and infrequent • Make them multi-tiered • Think carefully about what you want to learn • Be prepared to share the good and bad

So how do we retain? Retention

And attraction? • Be realistic • Visible leadership • Benefits that mean something* • Excellence in communication • Competitive and constant reward and recognition Attraction • Shared corporate and people goals

It’s no secret… Enjoyment, contentment, involvement, recognition, attention and reward all lead to productivity – Fact. Ask Jamie Oliver

Questions ?

Putting the cart before the horse