The Issue
Contrary to popular belief, hiring new talent isn’t always easy. Regardless of how many candidates there are looking for a position, ensuring they have the qualifications, skills and experience is difficult in itself. As the case study below shows, such issues can be amplified in specialist industries and sectors where there are often more jobs than there are candidates.
This was the case for one of Demos HR Solutions’ clients, a specialist in the medical communications sector. As well as the industry already being notoriously difficult to source new talent, the client had an ambitious growth plan where they wanted to go from having a small team of 20-30 people to a team of 100 people — in just two years.
Having worked closely with the client for a number of years, it was up to Dêmos HR Solutions founder Debbie Mosley, to find a way to help the company achieve its ambitious target.
The Solution
Perhaps the most seemingly obvious way to attract new talent is to offer candidates better compensation. However, as a relatively small firm compared to its competitors, offering better salaries in an already competitively paid industry was just one part of what would be a multi-faceted strategy.
Debbie believed that the best way to attract new talent was for the company to undergo a complete transformation of its HR strategy. To do this, she worked closely with the client’s board of directors to identify key areas that needed to be changed.
While growing the team was the fundamental objective, actually improving employee productivity, engagement and wellness was the ultimate goal. As part of putting Debbie’s strategy into action, one of the first steps was to ensure that the client’s HR team were fully trained to handle the changes the company would be going through and could adapt as their role evolved.
From what started as a very transactional and admin-focused job (hiring, tracking leave, absences and expenses etc.) it was imperative that the HR team could grow to proactively improve and maintain company culture.
As a result, Demos HR Solutions was able to put together a four-pillar strategy that would target the company’s recruitment, development, succession, and employee engagement & retention processes. Of course, such a strategy requires scrupulous attention to detail and putting it in place required Debbie’s direct involvement and council.
The Outcome
Did the client manage to meet their growth target? Yes, would be the short answer — but the end results of what Debbie and her team helped their client achieve went above and beyond everyone’s expectations.
The team exceeded all expectations when they started organising workshops for employees to focus on areas of wellbeing, diversity and development. For Debbie, the best part of working in HR is seeing people develop new skills and grow as individuals while at the same time realising their own potential.
“When I first suggested these workshops to the HR team there were nearly tears. They got really upset because they didn’t believe that they would ever have the skills to run them,” Debbie said.
“To see how different they are now and to have witnessed them grow to be who they are today, is why I love what I do. Having helped people recognise their own potential and seeing how different they are for simply knowing that they have the skills and capabilities to talk in front of a group of managers about HR is nothing short of amazing.”
“For me, that’s one of my proudest achievements.”
About Demos HR
Based in Manchester and covering all areas of the North West, Demos HR Solutions is an independent HR consultancy on a mission to transform businesses into happier and more profitable places to work.
To find out how Demos HR can help your business grow, contact Debbie at hello@demoshr.co.uk or call 07974 695365.
