Who moved my talent cheese? Where has the talent pool gone?

By 2021 there is expected large global shifts in talent pools. Many of the developed countries will experience a significant decline in available and skilled talent. Many of the developing countries will have a surplus talent pool. Many recruiting organizations will be forced to think more strategically about how and where to find and recruit needed talent in new areas of the world.

The Oxford Economics Global Talent 2021 did extensive research on "How the new geography of talent will transform HR strategies".

 

Will supply meet demand?

Developing nations understand that as technology changes rapidly and diffuses

readily, sustained investments in education and training can pay off by helping young

workers in their countries become critical players in future waves of innovation.

There is no ironclad rule mandating that areas like the Silicon Valley in the US

will be the only home of future innovation and job creation, as nations like China

and India invest in industries ranging from life sciences to renewable energy and

space exploration. In fact, eight of the top 10 countries likely to boast the largest

talent surpluses a decade from now will be in the developing world, led by India,

Indonesia, Colombia and South Africa. Even though these countries are expected

to experience robust economic growth, more skilled workers will be produced than
job opportunities will appear.

With the digital divide now operating in reverse, the South, rather than the North,

could become the major source of technical talent a decade from now. Moreover,
as the flow of capital and technology becomes increasingly frictionless across the
world, centers of innovation and product development are likely to spring up in
previously unheralded regions.

9 Million reasons why you should check your ATS's automated rejection letters.

9 Million reasons why you should check your ATS's automated rejection letters.

Did you know that since the first Walmart GRS was rolled out in September 2010 there have been 8,987,505 people received a rejection email from Walmart (ASDA, Canada, Chile, China, Mexico, Puerto Rico and US)?  Almost 9 million applicants have received our rejection letters. Yes – 9 million people have received this personal communication from us informing them they were rejected for Walmart employment!  We had 9 million opportunities to make a positive impression – but did we?

Have you read your rejection letter lately? What kind of emotion would it evoke in you if you were a rejected job applicant? Is your rejection letter accurate, honest, sincere, helpful, appropriate, and does leave the applicant with a positive attitude of Walmart or does it create a negative impression?

 I am not an English major or a professional communicator but my recruiting sales experience noted a number of concerns about this rejection letter used here in the Walmart Home Office GRS System (click on below image to enlarge):

What are your impressions after reading this rejection letter?

Here are some of my concerns about this rejection letter:

1) Isn’t the use of just “Thanks” here seem somewhat insincere, curt, too informal? Wouldn’t “Thank you” be more sincere and appropriate?

2) This email never really (or clearly) tells me I am no longer an active candidate for this job.

3) Why include the word “again”; I hear an applicant saying: ‘you mean I have to go to your difficult career site again? Ugh!’

4) This rejection letter encourages the rejected applicant to use our “Search Tool” option on the Profile home page but there is no “Search Tool” but there is a “Search Agent Manager” which allows an applicant to create, edit and run your saved searches. Saved searches can be configured to have the newest results of your search e-mailed to you on a regular basis.

Here are a few tips on writing good rejection letters:

1) Rejection letters are extremely difficult to write – don’t wing it.
2) Be honest with the applicant. Be as courteous as possible without being misleading.
3) Don’t be so brief as to appear curt or seem a “brush off”.
4) Soften the “No”.
5) Show appreciation for the applicant’s interest in working for Walmart
6) The focus should be on the applicant’s needs, not on those of the corporation – applicants really do not care about the corporations needs thus the uses of “we” and “I” should be limited and the uses of “you” and “your” should be maximized.
7) Avoid using business or recruiting jargon.
8) Try to leave the applicant with a positive impression of the Walmart brand and Walmart employment brand.

2013 Post-Summit Feedback; Overview of Top Takeaways

We value the 2013 post-Summit feedback and appreciate those that were able to respond to the feedback survey.  Please find below a summary of the feedback. A link to the entire survey results can be found at: http://bit.ly/13oN22J

 Quick Overview of the top- take-a-ways from the survey results:

1) 92%: Overall, the value of the 2013 summit was very good or excellent.

2) 84%: Overall, the content of the sessions was appropriate and informative
3) Comments about “what did you like most about the summit?”

• Collaborating with other teams – learning about their projects and best practices
• Networking
• Knowledge Sharing, sharing best practices across teams.
• Meeting other colleagues from around the world and building links
• Interactive Sessions vs. just presentations

4) Comments about “what did you like least about the summit?”

• Room was cramped
• Summit was too short to justify so long of travel
• Not enough time to share more from each country
• Lack of true actionable projects we left with
• Need more networking time

5) Suggestions on how the summit could be improved?

• Bigger room
• Ensure all teams have time to share
• Send out the summit discussion topics and “pre-work to do” before the start of summit
• Some discussion topics are too big
• Send out “RTP” “Request to Present” to solicit for presenters and topics from the field.
• More informal networking time.
• A summit leader to drive and direct conversations, create actionable projects and get past just talking about problems – let’s get to solutions.
• Do not have summit during shareholders – too much going on.
• Bring in one activity from outside for professional development
• Improve the collaboration with and attendee experience of those attending virtually

6) Top Topics for 2014 Summit (garnered 55% or more):

• Developing a Recruiting Strategy
• Employment Branding
• Avature (Contact Management tool)
• Recruiting Organizational Structure
• Social Media
• Creating a Sourcing Team

Summit Interview with John Delpino

Summit Interview with John Delpino

1.      How did you get into recruiting?  Like everyone else in recruiting, I majored in it in college.  Seriously, while working and finishing my MBA, sought out a recruiter for a new role in sales/marketing and got recruited into ‘intangible sales’ at $700/month draw against commission.
2.      How many years have you been in recruiting? Over 25 years
3.      What is one thing people would be surprised to know about you? Grew up in 3 countries, and attended 9 schools in 12 years
4.      What are your top 3 goals you hope you and your team accomplish in 2013?  Hire new officers More, Better, Quicker/faster
5.      What do you like most about your current job? What do you dislike?  Like: The depth of internal and external access. Dislike: Starting a search and an internal surfacing well after getting started.
6.      Do you have a work pet peeve in yourself or others?  Timeliness, as Fred once said, “John’s on time, he’s 15 minutes early.”
7.      What is the best thing for you about working for Walmart? Undoubtedly, the people and the culture
8.      When does the day start for you?  Wake at 4AM, workout, in the office by 615AM
9.      What was your first impression of NWA and Bentonville?  In the dark, the longest 10 miles I have ever driven and then when reaching Walton Blvd, lo and behold, I was greeted by the neon signs of every budget hotel known to man.  Initial optics not great, which made the area tour all the more impressive.

10.     When you are off work how you do relax?  Yard work, exploring new areas, hanging out at the pool with our pets.
11.     A few unchecked items on your Life’s Bucket List:  For me, staring with ‘A’, Africa and Alaska.  My wife would rather go back to Hawaii or Tahiti (Bora Bora).
12.     Tell us about yourself (home town, residence, family, education, etc)  Born Monterey, CA, high school years in Bucks County (suburban Philadelphia), PA.  Proudly served in the United States Marine Corps.  Re-met at HS reunion and married 17 years (eloped in Maui) collectively have 5 boys in NC, NJ and CT.  BS/MBA.  Two dogs (Bernease Mountain Dog and a rescue) and 4 rescue cats.
13.     If you could have dinner with some notable person dead or alive – who would it be and why?  Theodore Roosevelt, a true renaissance man who we can thank for our National Park system.
14.     What was your top take-a-way from the 2013 Global Walmart Recruiting Summit? The incredible depth of talent we have moving up the ranks within TA.
15.     If you had a Magic Genie and one wish; what one project on your plate would you ask for help on?  The never ending task of finding diverse talent.
16.     Fill in the blank: “I’ve been fortunate to___________”  Find Walmart, wish it had been earlier in my career.
17.     Where do I spend most of my disposable income:  Travel and leisure.  Since moving here, personal travel  to Europe (3 times), DC, NY, San Francisco, San Diego, Hawaii (twice), KC, Dallas, Chicago, Boston, etc.  Going to Peru (Machu Picchu) this August and Cabo San Lucas January 2014.
18.     One word to sum me up:  Loyalty

Summit Interview with Sharon O'Hara

Summit Interview with Sharon O'Hara

1.  How did you get into recruiting? By accident.  I always swore I would never be a recruiter.  I was determined to be in L&D (Learning & Development) or Compensation when I completed school.  During my first internship I became involved in recruiting and since then every job I have held seems to involve recruiting. 

2. How many years have you been in recruiting? Officially 17 years.  Unofficially I have always “selected talent” in every job I held.

3.  What is one thing people would be surprised to know about you? I have my motorcycle license.

4. What are your top 3 goals you hope you and your team accomplish in 2013?  Implement GRS technology at the store level, Complete the EVP & Branding activity and introduce Candidate and Hiring Manager satisfaction metrics.

5. What do you like most about your current job? My team is amazing.  They are young, eager to learn and amaze me every day with their new ideas and creativity.  What do you dislike?  Solicitation emails & telephone calls from agencies who have not done their homework. 

6. Do you have a work pet peeve in yourself or others?  I am a great idea person but not good on follow-through.  Fortunately I have a team that take my ideas and make them even better.

7. What is the best thing for you about working for Walmart? The associates.  Hands down.  From the stores to the leadership I have met and worked with some of the most amazing people.

8. When does the day start for you? I wake up at 5:30 am answer some emails, get ready and arrive at the office for 7:30.  It gives me 1:30 hours to get ready before we start our day with a huddle. 

9. What was your first impression of NWA and Bentonville?  Coming from Toronto I found it very small.  But after living there for 18 months I love it – Fresh Air, fun activities and friendly people.

10.  When you are off work how you do relax? I love to have dinner with friends, paint , read and travel. 

11.  A few unchecked items on your Life’s Bucket List:  Cambodia, Italy, Drive a Stock Car at Daytona

12.  Tell us about yourself (home town, residence, family, education, etc)  I was born in Montreal Canada a long time ago.  I mostly grew up outside Toronto and actually worked for Woolco (the stores Walmart bought) in high school.  I went to the University of Guelph (pronounced gwellf) for my undergrad and masters in Sociology, got my HR certification and worked for a number of Canadian technology companies before joining Walmart July 10, 2006.  I am single but two dogs (my boys), 2 brothers, 7 nieces and nephews and a whole bunch of other wonderful kids in my life.  I lived in Fayetteville for 18 months before moving to Shenzhen, China.  Located just over the border from Hong Kong, Shenzhen was the first special economic zone in China and, until about 30 years ago it was a sleepy fishing village.  The city is now a growing city of 15,000,000.  You can imagine how fast it is growing!  Whenever I can I get home to Canada to spend time in my cabin in the woods with my dogs and no electricity, cell service or distractions.  It is heavenly.

13.  If you could have dinner with some notable person dead or alive – who would it be and why? Curtis Joseph.  My favourite hockey player ever.  And more seriously with Terry Fox, a great Canadian who started the Marathon of Hope where he proposed to run across Canada, running a marathon a day, to raise money and awareness for Cancer Research.  He made it almost half way before he had to stop because his cancer had returned.  Every year millions of people around the world carry on his mission and run or walk to raise money.

14.  What was your top take-a-way from the 2013 Global Walmart Recruiting Summit?  We need to cooperate and talk to each other more.

15.  If you had a Magic Genie and one wish; what one project on your plate would you ask for help on?  Field Recruitment – it is tough when you are dealing with people who don’t have computers, internet access and the country is growing so fast.

16.  Fill in the blank: “I’ve been fortunate to travel the world and meet people from all over”

17.  Where do I spend most of my disposable income: Books and Travel

18.  One word to sum me up: According to my co-worker I am Complicated – I prefer to say I am Canadian.

Summit Interview with Simon De Matteo

 

Summit Interview with Simon De Matteo

1.  How did you get into recruiting? I fell into it, like most people I never wanted to get into the industry, I just saw a job advertised when I just finished university and it was looking for a “graduate resourcer”, I didn’t know what a resourcer was, but I was a graduate, so thought I was half qualified at the very least.

2.  What is one thing people would be surprised to know about you? I never answer the home phone…unless my wife makes me.  I also play the didgeridoo

3.  What are your top 3 goals you hope you and your team accomplish in 2013?

• To maintain at least the delivery levels of last year which was a record year for Walmart Canada, but also put more rigor around measuring quality of hire.
• To have a supply chain of talent outside of the business ready to hire on demand. 
• To leverage systems and technology better without compromising output and delivery

4.   What do you like most about your current job? What do you dislike?  That I hold the keys to allowing the best talent to enter the biggest company on the planet.  Success or failure of Walmart rests in the hands of recruitment.  What do I dislike?  There’s nothing that stands out, if I start to dislike something, I tend to address or change it quickly.

5.    Do you have a work pet peeve in yourself or others?  People who say “anyhoo”

6.   What is the best thing for you about working for Walmart? The people and the culture.  It’s very unique and resonates with me personally.  It’s a very friendly atmosphere, but one where even though people feel constrained in an EDLC environment, great things are achieved through creativity and collaboration. All of these factors make it very easy to sell to prospective candidates

7.  When does the day start for you? 4.30 AM, get up and head off to the gym

8.  What was your first impression of NWA and Bentonville?  That people were unnervingly friendly.  I’ve never seen so many friendly people before, I felt like I was in the Truman show

9.   When you are off work how you do relax?  Work out at the gym, go cycling with my children, cook, go for drinks with friends

10.   A few unchecked items on your Life’s Bucket List:  Walk the Inca trail -Macchu Pichu, scuba diving a sunken wreck, win a 10k race, break a world record in something
11.  Tell us about yourself (home town, residence, family, education, etc): From a small village in England, went to 2 universities and then moved to London where I lived and worked in recruitment for 6 years, now living in Toronto, Canada.  Wife Lynn, 2 Children Ethan 9 & Eloise 7.  2 Diplomas & a BA Hons degree in Business & Finance

12.  If you could have dinner with some notable person dead or alive – who would it be and why?  I’d have a bit of a dinner party and invite: Karl Pilkington, Josef Mengele, Henry Rollins….should make quite an interesting conversation

13. What was your top take-a-way from the 2013 Global Walmart Recruiting Summit?  The fact we actually feel like a global team with the same ideas and collective direction for the next 12 months

14.   If you had a Magic Genie and one wish; what one project on your plate would you ask for help on?  That Walmart global had a centralized talent mapping function

15.   Fill in the blank: “I’ve been fortunate to___: there is no fortune, I create my own destiny___”

16.   Where do I spend most of my disposable income:  Vacations, music, gadgets…..children!

17.   One word to sum me up: Passionate

 

2013 Post Summit Survey Results (Detailed)