The document summarizes feedback from a focus group discussion on candidate engagement at SABMiller. It identifies both strengths and weaknesses in their current recruitment processes and systems. Areas for improvement include outdated ATS systems, a lack of talent pooling capabilities, and an inconsistent candidate experience. It also notes a need for improved communication, stakeholder buy-in, and use of social media and employer branding. Recommendations focus on enhancing the candidate and hiring manager experience through better tools and processes, communication, and internal/external engagement.

1. Candidate Engagement
Focus Group - SABMiller
4th June 2013

2. What's working
Increased attraction rates
More applications
Better direct sourcing
results
Better offer acceptance
rates
Better new hire success
More referrals
Events, Fairs and Launches
-Filling difficult hires
-Niche and volume recruitment
-Quality
-Reactive recruitment
-Interview ready/ interviewed classification
Social Media
-Stakeholder Awareness of impact of SoMe
-Recognition of importance of brand in SoMe
-Getting business buy in
-Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, T witter channels
Employer Brand
-More engagement channels than ever
-Targeted talent communities – pipelining, bench
-More all round respect for company and products and as a
potential employer
-Targeted networking
Recruitment Dept
-Better relationships
-Appetite to improve
-Use of SoMe
-LinkedIn Recruiter is big enabler

3. What's not working
Systems
-ATS/ HRIS capability – too old to cumbersome
-Multiple ATS Systems
Process
-No talent pools!
-Lengthy offer approval and on-boarding processes
-Long time between application and interview
-Overall candidate experience is random
-Candidate experience via agencies
-Volume of applicants not managed
Communication
-Lack of Commitment from hiring managers
-Bad Press and PR
-No sharing of applicants between divisions
-Lack of understanding of candidate drivers
-Internal communication
-No EVP
People
-Pro-active talent pooling
-Lack of resource and budget
-Complex internal structure – lack of ownership
-Hiring Managers poorly equipped or capable of interviewing
-Recruiters lacking knowledge of the business
Frustrated applicants
More withdrawn applications
Duplication of actions
Confusing communications
Lack of respect for Recruiting
Dept
Good hires overlooked
Poor reputation
Inconsistent candidate
experience
Poor time and quality of hire
More dispute to manage - risks

4. What’s missing
Process
-Harmonised approach to candidate experience for all candidates
-Reliable metrics
-Capability of in-house recruiters; behaviours, training, standards, attitude
-Management of talent pools
Systems
-Limitation of ATS for easy talent pooling
-Limitation of ATS for internal resourcing
-No technical system focused on candidate experience
-Lack of integration from different products/vendors; LI, Avature, ATS, on-
boarding, HRIS
-Internal collaboration and engagement platforms or forums
Stakeholders
-Buy in/ ownership/accountability
-Awareness of impact and responsibilities every one has
-Support from wider business inc. C suite; appetite, budget, priority
-A lack of knowledge and confidence
-Acceptance and embracing of Social Media
-Understanding of impact to bottom line by Snr Leadership
Engagement/Communication
-Time to able to engage with candidates
-Transparency in the process
-Communication to candidates (what, how often)
-Consistency of journey/ experience through the processes
Need to do better
Better communication
required
More cooperation
between Depts is
essential
Everyone is responsible
inc C suite
Tech vendors part od the
solution

5. What’s Possible
Business
- Better quality succession planning
- Change in mindset
- Listen and trust
- Give it more priority and focus
- Better quality of hire for you and fasterPeople
-Better time management, more time for better engagement and comms w
-Higher level of interaction and comms with talent pools
- Training of Hiring Managers ; Candidate Experience, Interviewing, Legal
- Up-skilling of Recruiters and HR Management-hitting targets for key metrics;
time to hire, cost of hire, source of hire
- Development of Employer Brand and EVP
Systems/ Tools/Process
- Use email auto response templates for specific response msgs
- Transparency in the end to end process
- Easier vendor and agency process; online and offline
- Improvements to application process
- Research for pipelining, competitor mapping, market info
- Use of company review sites e.g. Glassdoor
- Smarter tech tools for handling regrets inc SoMe
- Improved pre-selection tools video, gamification
Communication
- Use email auto response templates for specific response msgs
- Keep the Careers site up to date
- Careers site that is less corporate
- Full SocMo engagement – dispute avoidance potential
- Better agency engagements ,make them partners, channels
- Personalise as much communication as poss. Find & Use own Voice
- Candidate feedback surveys
- Establishing better expectation with internal and external
- Referral Programme through staff and externally

6. Themes identified
• Systems and process
• Engagement and communication
• Business/ stakeholder engagement
• Measurement, reporting and quality
• Resource/ time required
• Respect and priority
• Lack of flexibility in culture
• Employer Brand vs Consumer or Corporate Brand

7. Systems
• ATS solutions are very basic for Candidate Engagement
• Avature = good
• BrassRing X2 = ok
• Taleo = poor
• Success Factors = poor
• Lack of ability to engage beyond email
• LinkedIn (company page, groups, projects, talent networks, leverage
employees and agencies, use tags)
• Yammer working well for internal engagement platform
• Online sites such as Glassdoor, FB, LI drive traffic
• Social Referral sites/systems proving useful
• Careerify, JobsandTalent

8. Internal Engagement
• Go meet people – build up internal network
• Encourage use of SoMe especially LinkedIn
• Educate C Suite, change perceptions
• Use it share Reqs through cascading networks
• Use of Yammer for safe internal social interaction and comms
• Use for team interaction and idea sharing
• Build communities for specific topics
• Build communities for specific talent/skills sets
• Education Hiring Managers and leadership about process and initiatives
• Use data and metrics to support initiatives

9. External Interaction
• Candidate Feedback Surveys
• Keep it Simple
• Which vacancy did you apply for?
• Who was it that your first spoke with?
• Who was the first person you met/were interviewed by?
• What was your perception of the interview
• What was your perception of the process?
• What perception did you have of the company before the interview? ….and after?
• Was the feedback you received timely/useful?
• Recruiters is first point of contact when direct Sourcing
• Highlight the interview process on website
• Use of real and raw video to tell employee stories – not corporate production
• Use of SoMe channel to engage and respond to queries
• Ensure allocation of time/resources
• Doesn’t take as much time as you think
• Be sure they are monitored , moderated and responded to in a personalised manner