Recruiters to play 'human touch' role in tech-driven workplace
Pellegrino Riccardi, cross-cultural expert, told ERF's TalentCon 2023: "Yes, we need a skills-first approach; but we also need a ‘love-first’ approach.”
Recruiters will have a vital role in helping industries find the right balance between technology and human contact, predicts cross-cultural expert Pellegrino Riccardi.
A leader in training and the founder of Pellegrino Consulting, Mr Pellegrino says that technology is becoming increasingly important in HR functions, but he also says that as the role of tech grows, the need for the human touch will grow in equal measure.
“Recruitment professionals are at the cutting-edge of understanding how tech-driven disruption can be best harnessed to help jobseekers find the right job and employers find the right staff,” Mr Pellegrino told those attending ERF TalentCon 2023, the HR event hosted in Dublin by the Employment and Recruitment Federation, the collective group representing recruitment agencies in Ireland.
“The industry is also at the heart of finding the right balance between tech and the human touch, including helping to nurture positive and inclusive workplace cultures and promoting empathetic leadership. Yes, we need a skills-first approach; but we also need a ‘love-first’ approach.”
Mr Pellegrino was the keynote speaker at TalentCon 2023, which also featured leading Irish-based and overseas discussing the latest recruitment and HR trends. Topics ranged from high-performance habits, promoting individual career progress, as well as workplace wellbeing and diversity.
The discussions also looked at how progression pathways are a big part of attracting people to any sector. In terms of the recruitment sector itself, new would-be recruiters have gained great clarity on their career path thanks to new industry qualifications, including the Recruitment Executive Apprenticeship (a BA degree in Recruitment Practice) as well as a suite of leadership programmes and other accreditations.
In 2022, some 165 people completed the Certificate in Recruitment Practice. Around 70 newly qualified apprentices took part in the TalentCon event. ERF’s ongoing collaboration with Skillnet Ireland will deliver the kind of professional development that not only attracts people to an industry, but also retains them in it.
For new aspiring recruiters, TalentCon 2023 offered first-hand insight on the perception step-change of recruitment as a career of choice. The new generation of recruiters learned that they will have a vital role to play in how HR can help companies to innovate and to enhance workforce strategies.
Donal O'Donoghue, ERF president and MD of Sanderson, said: “The recruitment industry provides increasingly innovative hiring solutions; we are labour market enablers.”
Meanwhile, economist, author and podcaster Jim Power told TalentCon attendees that the Irish labour market remains extremely buoyant in terms of opportunities for jobseekers.
The number of people in employment rose to a record of 2,574,000 in the final quarter of 2022, an increase of 2.7% versus 2021 (according to the Central Statistics Office), but this has created a major challenge for employers: finding the staff and skills they need.
In this context, Geraldine King, CEO of ERF, issued a rallying call: “We are running out of skills and people; we need a ‘skills first’ strategy.”
Addressing mismatches through education and skills policy and through effective reskilling initiatives is part of the solution. But, what are some of the short-term outlets for business leaders?
Brendan McGinty, managing director of Stratis Consulting, said: “Good recruitment is a source of competitive advantage, but employers need help and are looking for external support in areas such as internal skills audits, diversity and employer brand.”
Meanwhile, workforce issues have made their way to the top of the ‘worry list’ for business leaders. Discussions at TalentCon underlined the critial outlet that temporary and contract workers can provide at this time.
Bettina Schaller, president of World Employment Confederation (the global representative body for the HR services industry), noted: “As the war for talent intensifies, HR services providers play the role of peacekeepers, providing stability in a time of massive instability.”
For more on the key takeaways from TalentCon, see global business and employment practices consultant Tom Hadley’s ERF blog: www.erfireland.com
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