Global Staffing Perspectives, Graham Jones, Senior HR Generalist, UK

Posted on November 14, 2007
Filed Under Interviews |

By Dave Mendoza, Master Cybersleuth, Affiliate Partner, JobMachine Inc.

** Connect directly with Graham Jones on LinkedIn, Click “Expand Your Network” tab. Insert his name and email: grahamjones@greywhistle.com **

Graham Jones is a Senior HR Generalist at Gray Whistle, and resides near London. He has broad multi-sector background and high commercial focus. He provides HR consulting and interim management services for businesses who: want to start, or are undergoing, a change or transformation process; or have a specific HR project to deliver without the people to do it, whether a sudden crisis or a strategic plan; or want their HR function to add more value; or want HR to deliver better services to business managers. Graham’s largest client includes Blue chip global financial services organization; Mary Gober International

With over 15 years experience as a Human Resources professional, Graham has worked both as board director, business partner and senior team member in multi-sector businesses in the UK and in Germany. Graham’s international experience includes EMEA, US, Asia Pacific, Japan and Latin America.

Recruitment has always played a necessary role within his responsibilities, especially at the senior level: R&D, general management, management, sales, FICO, IT, ecommerce, HR, service engineers, customer service. He belongs to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (UK) and Recruitment Employer’s Confederation (UK)

Graham takes pride in his ability to assist businesses as they mature, in business transformation projects, restructures, HR function startups and turnarounds, and in making HR contribute commercial value. He is fluent in English and German and he has developed broad international experience; i.e., UK, Germany, US, China, India, Australia, Japan.

In your travels and HR experience how has culture been a factor in the hiring practice different as compared to other countries.

“India and China in particular require a much more labour intensive campaign , funneling down from first to second interview at a rate of perhaps 10:1. Recruitment consultants are essential, but not in a qualitative sense. In Germany, France and Scandinavia, I have not found much need for external support and rely on newspaper and internet advertising. This has started to change in Germany as the economy has begun to improve, and in the case of unusual roles I would tend towards search and selection support. In the UK I find trade journals are more effective than general press, but would usually approach external recruiters for most positions. For more junior roles internal network/bonus schemes are effective. In the US, I would almost always use headhunters. In Japan, networking is effective but where inappropriate or ineffective I use global recruiters with a Japanese office.”

What types of training in sourcing/recruitment are available to you and have you taken advantage of?

“In the UK there are lots of commercially available training programs on HR subjects including recruitment and selection, run by companies like JSB and Croner”

What are the primary regulatory environments of the countries you are responsible for, - particularly in terms of how they effect direct sourcing & hiring, and cultural differences in the recruiting process?

“Mainly, the law in Germany and in the UK seek to regulate equality of opportunity. The UK is also particularly strong on asylum and immigration control, so proof of the right to work in the UK rests with the employer, and is a criminal offense if breached.”

Is the recruitment culture within the UK and Germany comparable to that of the United States?

“Fundamentally, the UK is similar to the US. In Germany, assessment centers and/or psychometric tests are unusual. Additionally, the CV can be a very detailed boundtome containing every certificate the candidate has ever obtained on any course. It also includes long references.”

How many applicants do you estimate are hired from your corporate website as compared to how many are hired through referrals?

“50% corporate website (influenced mainly by German trend) as compared to 20% of hires derived from referrals.”

WHERE ARE THE “MOST HIRES” collected from? (In terms of Quantity #)

“Corporate website (influenced mainly by Germany where 65% of staff are employed)”

What is the source of your “LOWEST COST OF HIRES”? - (least amount of invested resources for the easiest hires, regardless of quality)

“Apprentices (supplied by local instituitions), College direct hires, often interns who join after graduation and ‘Recommend a friend’ referral candidates”

What job boards meet your hiring needs within the UK?

http://www.totaljobs.com
http://www.jobserve.com
http://www.monster.co.uk
http://www.bluesteps.com

What types of media and organizations are most beneficial to your hiring needs and knowledge transfer within the UK and Germany

?Suddeutsche Zeitung (Germany)
Frankfurter Allgemeine (Germany)
Sunday Times (UK)
Personnel Today (UK)
Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) – runs an annual recruitment conference and exhibition (UK)
Recruitment Employer’s Confederation (UK)”

What Search Engines in addition to common ones like Google, do you use that are native to the countries you are responsible for? Please Detail with links.

uk.ask.com

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