Elizabeth McHenry, Senior Development Advisor at Enterprise Ireland, describes how Irish companies are leading the global talent management sector.
Hiring exceptional talent has become an international business. With Polish programmers recruited by Spanish software companies and Italian IP lawyers hired by German manufacturing companies, the war for talent is more heated than ever. Those seeking work no longer scour weekly job vacancy adverts in local newspapers. With the rise of online recruitment, job hunters have 24-hour access to information about all kinds of career opportunities and get instant “job fairy” updates on social media, online platforms, and email newsletters.
Companies across the world are winning their talent management battles thanks to the support of Irish partners. Providers of outsourced recruitment and retention services in Ireland have established a reputation for being very helpful and very resourceful, as they assist global employers with HR needs.
Three reasons Irish companies win at talent management
One reason Irish companies succeed in international recruitment is because they have established a reputation for being innovative and flexible. With English as a native tongue, many of the world’s biggest employers find Ireland an attractive market to position themselves in.
Irish companies that service multinational firms with Irish operations must also deliver international standards of service. Once a company successfully assists a large multinational in one location, for example sourcing staff for an operation in Galway or Cork, they are likely to request support in other locations, for example locating employees in Paris or Amsterdam.
As Ireland is a small country with a relatively small population, Irish companies with ambitions to grow focus on targeting international markets early in their development. For companies in the talent management sector, advances in technology, social media and electronic communication have enabled Irish firms to develop disruptive services and technologies that provide clients with flexible and innovative talent management solutions.
Six talent management companies to watch
TTM Healthcare is an Ennis-based global healthcare recruitment company that handles the hiring of one in five nurses working in the UK’s National Health Service (NHS). TTM Healthcare works in partnership with various NHS Trusts to fulfil staffing needs by identifying and matching potential candidates to vacancies and ensuring compliance by confirming candidates’ professional backgrounds, including qualifications, work permits and required health immunisation certificates.
A second Irish recruitment agency worth noting is Morgan McKinley, which specialises in sourcing and placing professional services personnel across the globe. Headquartered in Cork, and with 19 offices situated all over the world, Morgan McKinley has won Best Banking and Financial Services Recruitment Agency awards in the UK, Hong Kong and Tokyo.
Global organisations use Irish company Sure Skills to train and upskill technical sales people. A large software client wanted to understand why its Irish sales team was outperforming sales teams in other countries. After conducting research, they attributed the difference in performance to the calibre of training provided by Sure Skills. The company was then contracted to deliver staff training at locations across the world.
Sonru has pioneered the use of automated online video interviewing to screen candidates before they are called to face-to-face meetings or one-to-one video conferences. The automated interviewing system, used by Rolls Royce, Qatar Airways, Pepsico UK, CERN, Primark and Nestlé, allows candidates to conduct preliminary interviews at their chosen time. No scheduling is required by recruiters and ‘no shows’ are not a problem. The system gives clients an early and enriched understanding of a job applicant’s fit, personality, drive and motivation, saving time and money.
Social Talent is a SaaS company that helps recruiters and recruitment companies to better use social media to engage with prospective candidates. Social Talent have situated their HQ in Dublin’s booming Docklands where many multinational firms are now relocating to. The business has developed a complete learning solution for recruitment and a sales team that focuses on moulding, and sustaining, productive behaviour. Client companies include Oracle, Intel, Microsoft, AXA, GSK, Manpower and the Dutch multinational HR consultancy Randstad.
Globoforce is a specialist in social recognition systems that help talent management teams connect employees with corporate values and cultures. They reward behaviour that aligns with that culture or further the company’s strategic goals. Intuit, the financial software company, credit Globoforce which helped them to achieve a sustained ‘double-digit’ increase in employee engagement among 8,200 employees in six countries. The software company Symantec have reported a 14% increase in employee engagement, with Globoforce contributing towards a 50% reduction in staff turnover and churn.
