Using social media to resource people - how effective can it be for a business?

A number of organizations at the moment are trialing the use of sites such as Linked In, Twitter and Facebook to resource candidates for internal roles directly. The rationale behind this? To try to avoid agency costs and any associated advertising spend. It will be interesting to see how well this works for companies in the long run; my guess would be that there are a few factors that will come into play.

Firstly, the size of the organization - if there is an employee (s) whose sole role is resourcing then it makes sense that these extra channels are used to find people, as long as there is the spare budget for placing the adverts. However, in large organizations recruitment consultancies are often used alongside direct advertising.

Secondly, the response is often very varied, as to find a job on Linked In for example, you have to be searching for it, unless it is posted on a group of which you are a member, in which case you may notice it. The feedback I am getting from companies who are choosing to use this method solely, is that it is taking a very long time to find the right people. Line managers are therefore getting frustrated at the process and more pressure is put on existing members of staff. Not good.

The point that seems to be being skimmed over at the moment is that even if you find the right person via that route, you have to look at the time spent on doing so. Many CVs have to be assessed and responded to, most of whom won't be suitable. Then there is the time spent on interviewing incorrect people because there is no history or other information available via these means. You are basing your decision around whether to interview someone purely on a piece of paper and perhaps a telephone conversation.

I don't know if you remember the "big boom" of the on-line IT recruiters a few years back where consultants weren't meeting people they were submitting for roles, and in lots of instances weren't even talking to them? Whilst seemingly efficient it was quickly established that this was not a great way for the industry to move as a whole.

It pays to remember the point of using recruitment businesses to find the best people. We take the hard work out of the process. We meet every candidate and offer detailed additional information on personality and potential pitfalls. We should in some instances shorten the time spent on finding the right people. We are experts in our field and therefore able to add value to the process.

Recruiters should definitely be using social media sites as a route to finding additional suitable candidates - it is just another resource that is now available to us to find the best people for you.

Mary Driscoll is a Managing Partner at Maven Partners, a specialist Interim Management and Temporary Recruitment business.

marydriscoll@mavenpartners.co.uk

Cost of the tax function versus tax liability

In their recent tax review Ernst and Young explore the question of whether corporates should be looking hard at the cost of the tax function or the tax cost of the business.

Cost of the Tax Function

For a large number of organizations, this year has brought significant headcount reductions within Group functions. However, does it make sense for companies to adopt this strategy within tax? Definitely not - but why is this the case?

• EY identify that, in the world’s largest businesses, 50% have less than 25 people in the tax department globally. This is a very small number when we are talking about a corporate tax liability that is approximately one third of profits.
• Tax departments traditionally rely on colleagues within the finance function to assist with compliance and tax reporting. With a shrinking finance function it is likely that the tax department will become increasingly stretched.

Reducing the Tax Cost

The tax function can lower the tax cost and thus generate cash by reducing or deferring taxable income and by increasing or accelerating deductions. Anti-avoidance legislation means that all tax planning requires a valid commercial rationale. As a result of the economic conditions, corporates are undergoing restructurings and reorganisations that provide significant opportunities for tax planning. EY also point out that tax authorities around the globe are reforming tax laws in light of the global recession.

Surely all this means that the tax department will be even more stretched in months to come?

The Interim Solution

We are in a position where the tax function is under increasing pressure and yet is often unable to recruit the resource it needs.

Maven Partners believe that we will see an increased demand for experienced tax interim professionals who can come in and add value to the cash tax position of the company.

Mary Driscoll is Head of the Interim Practice at Maven Partners.

marydriscoll@mavenpartners.co.uk

+44 (0)207 061 6420

Rob Stephenson is Head of the Tax Recruitment Practice at Maven Partners.

robstephenson@mavenpartners.co.uk

+44 (0)207 061 6421

Thinking about Interim Management?

As we all know, the current recruitment climate is pretty challenging in most areas. The Chartered Institute of People Development (CIPD) predicts that around 600,000 people in the UK will be made redundant in 2009. As a significant number of these positions have been and will be within finance and tax, lots of professionals are considering a move to interim management. This decision shouldn’t be taken lightly and there are a few factors that should be taken into account. Of course, there is a huge difference between making the decision to become a “career interim” and taking a temporary position to bridge a gap. True senior level interim positions make high demands on the individual and often only work well for people that have actually made that career choice.

The employer’s point of view

Employers look favorably on professionals who have a demonstrable track record of working on similar interim projects, and who have a broad range of experience within different organisations. It often isn’t as simple as just deciding to do it, your timing within your career can be crucial.

The whole interim psyche is different and the way of working takes some getting used to. For this reason, one of the biggest challenges within an interim manager’s career can be getting the first assignment under the belt, as employers want to be sure that the person they take on understands this. With the market being flooded with people at the moment, this can only be harder.

The level of pressure on an interim manager working in any area of a business goes hand in hand with the pressure on an organisation to perform and deliver results. In finance, you are likely to feel that pressure even more at the moment. As an interim manager you need to be able to deliver results and most importantly demonstrate added value, fast.

If companies are taking on non-permanent members of staff then it is likely that there is a specific project to complete. There will always be an expectation for the interim to complete the project with efficiency. In a downturn there will be even higher expectations on delivery.

What questions should you ask yourself?

To decide if you are suitable for interim management roles it would be wise to answer the following questions:

• In the event that it takes a while to secure my first interim position, do I have enough financial stability?
• Would I be comfortable perhaps working on only part of a project and not seeing the actual results?
• Can I quickly understand what is required of me and therefore plan and execute my work with minimal input?
• Would I enjoy an environment where I am removed from company politics?
• Would I be happy in a company, knowing my end date?
• Do I have enough experience within different organisations to stand out above my competition?
• Does my family situation allow me to be flexible with the location of roles e.g. can I live away during the week and return at weekends?

If you are happy with your answers to these questions then seek advice from your peers, industry professionals and friends to gain all of the information that is available to you. When a career in interim management works for the right individual, it works very well. Prior to any meetings, think about your skills in relation to what the market may demand currently and create your own proposition, rather than cramming every bit of experience onto your CV.

Remember - it is as important to impress your chosen recruitment partners as it is clients as there are numerous high quality applicants for every role at the moment.

Mary Driscoll is a Managing Partner at Maven Partners, a specialist Interim Management and Temporary Recruitment business.

marydriscoll@mavenpartners.co.uk

Executive Compensation - what will the future will hold?

PwC has recently published its review of executive compensation for 2008 for the FTSE 250. In the current climate it makes interesting reading.

Performance and Reward

The economic downturn has resulted in increased tensions between companies and shareholders. Companies are concerned with the effectiveness of long term incentive plans in the current climate in relation to motivating and retaining executives. Therefore they have looked to adjust targets for executives more towards short term bonus. This gives cause for concern to shareholders in that there is a risk that rewards are becoming less aligned to performance. The review also cites retention bonuses as another worrying trend in this area. Retention bonuses are given to executives to retain their services after they have missed out on the top job. Clearly such a payment is not at all linked to performance and creates much ire amongst shareholders. Within the financial services sector the FSA has been tasked to intervene and develop a code of conduct for pay that adequately factors risk into bonus arrangements. All change in the City?

The Future

When deciding on the structure of future executive compensation remuneration committees will be addressing a number of issues:

• There will need to be closer links between reward and performance
• Shareholders will not tolerate increased bonus payments when profits and the share price is in freefall
• Retention of key executives will no longer form such a key part of remuneration discussions. Furthermore companies will need to take a rational view on the risk of losing key people in the current environment.
• Payment should be for results and not just for effort in a downturn

Within Financial Services, the FSA will ensure that the short-termism that contributed to the credit crunch will not be rewarded in the future. Central to this is the concept that “incentive payments should be based on performance measures that adequately account for the risk taken in producing profits”.

Indeed it is an interesting time for those who are responsible for setting executive compensation.

Rob Stephenson is a Managing Partner at Maven Partners, a specialist tax recruitment business.

robstephenson@mavenpartners.co.uk

Tax Recruitment - the demand for specialist tax professionals is set to rise

Tax recruitment is a tough place to work at the moment. We are in a recession. Credit has been crunched. Taxes have been cut. Corporate belts have been tightened. People have been made redundant. Costs have been controlled. Recruitment budgets have been slashed.

However, Maven Partners is an optimistic and positive business. We believe that the worst is over and that the economy is on the road to recovery. The Financial Times recently reported that the UK Economy will face a "shorter and shallower" recession than for much of the rest of Europe. Two areas where we are set to witness a rise in demand for tax professionals are indirect taxes and transfer pricing. This is positive news for all those operating in the field of tax recruitment.

Indirect Tax Recruitment

KPMG suggests in its Global Indirect Tax Brief that "Many jurisdictions are using VAT, customs duty and other indirect taxes as fiscal stimulus tools to target specific industries or domestic economic objectives." A number of tax jurisdictions, including the UK, have been focusing on the issue of cross border services looking at the extent to which these services may be outside the scope of local VAT with a view to imposing charges.

KPMG believes that compliance management and the use of technology tools will important issues for corporates to address.

At Maven Partners we believe that the demand for global indirect tax professionals will rise in the coming months.

Transfer Pricing Recruitment

This month we saw Dixon Stores Group International pay HMRC £52.7m to settle a long running dispute over transfer pricing.

Last month the Obama Administration detailed plans to raise $210bn over 10 years by curbing "loopholes" in the US tax regime allowing companies investing overseas to gain "an unfair advantage" over those investing in the US. This refers to income shifting schemes and alleged abuses of the transfer pricing regime whereby the company can defer taxes on profits earned overseas indefinitely.

Experienced transfer pricing professionals can expect to witness a rising global demand for their talents.

Rob Stephenson is a Managing Partner at Maven Partners, a specialist tax recruitment business.

robstephenson@mavenpartners.co.uk

Temporary recruitment - how should temporary workers operate with agencies in a downturn?

So many people I am meeting at the moment feel badly treated by the agencies they are using and have used for a number of years. We all know about the recession but it seems that morale is getting so low in some recruitment businesses that it is affecting how they interact with the people who are the key to their success – candidates! The individuals feeling this most are temporary workers who up until relatively recently have been operating in a market where they can be selective about the role they take, push up rates and reject an offer for a company that means an extra 10 minutes on the journey time to work.

Times Have Changed

Everyone has benefitted from the temporary recruitment market in the last few years, candidates and recruiters alike. However, times have changed and it is down to both sides to alter the way in which they operate. As a candidate you can’t expect to be being called frequently with numerous options. If your agencies are calling you to stay in touch or update with you then don’t get annoyed with them – believe me, this is good treatment! Often people are not being contacted at all. Establish who will be calling who and how often. Ask questions of the consultants you are dealing with. How can I improve my CV? Is there anything I should be doing at the moment to improve my chances of finding a role? Which skill sets are in demand at the moment? Is there anything I can do to improve my interview technique? How often will you call me, or should I call you? If you see roles being advertised, call your consultant and ask if they know anyone at that organization in case they can get straight to the decision maker and apply on your behalf.

Proactivity will be rewarded

In the current temporary recruitment market candidates need to be more proactive in their job searches and aim to build better relationships with good recruiters. They are there to be trusted advisors and experts in what they do - test them.

Mary Driscoll is a Managing Partner at Maven Partners, a specialist Interim Management and Temporary Recruitment business.

marydriscoll@mavenpartners.co.uk

Are you connected to the right Headhunter?

In today’s harsh business climate it becomes easier to identify the divide between the outstanding talent and the merely adequate. This is as true among Headhunters as it is in any other industry.

Like almost every other segment of business the Executive Search industry is going through a shake-down process to become leaner, fitter and more relevant to serve in the current environment. As this process continues many senior executives are finding that their key contact in the Executive Search firm has become more elusive, less tuned-in to their specific target market or worse still have suddenly left the field altogether.

Why stay connected at all?

Whilst most businesses are outwardly not hiring at all, the fact remains that exceptional talent remains a rare human resource. During these times good leaders of businesses and their human resource advisers will be focussed more than ever on ensuring that these resources are identified, developed and promoted to ensure that the business remains strong and vibrant.

Whilst some businesses have become much more adept at managing this process themselves the reality is that it is very inexact science. The current economics are stressing most business models as never before and in doing so we are seeing surprising results in how senior executives perform. Those that had seemed a certainty to succeed may be suddenly failing through behaviours that no longer appear to be relevant to what is needed today.

In this state of flux the relationship between the Headhunter and the CEO and Head of Human Resources is as important as ever. An experienced Executive Search professional will be strongly connected to the strategic imperatives of their clients business and therefore be able to help identify and source those scarce human skills that could make all the difference to achieving those aims.

Is it all about who you know?

For the clever senior executive with an ambition to succeed today’s troubled times being connected to the right Headhunter is an imperative. They understand that the Headhunter continues to have regular dialogue with their clients as hiring plans have become strategic, subtle and hidden. Access to these plans is often best handled through this skilled intermediary.

A great Headhunter will remain true to their chosen field, have relationships with a few key clients nurtured over many years based on deep levels of integrity in that relationship as well as their effectiveness to deliver. That relationship will more often than not be a very personal one rather than built between business brands.

Are you connected with the right Headhunter in your market? If not now is the right time to discover who the real players are.

Rob Stephenson is a Managing Partner at Maven Partners, a specialist recruitment services business.

robstephenson@mavenpartners.co.uk

Financial Advisory Services – more relevant now than ever?

Businesses today face some very serious issues: models and assumptions are being challenged and stressed in ways never previously assumed or dared; greater regulatory and investor scrutiny is creating the need for stronger financial analytics and investigation; valuations need to be rebased; relationships with financial sponsors and lenders need to be reconsidered and reworked; costs need to managed effectively and new ways of making profit found.

The demand level for very talented Financial Advisers is actually as great as it has ever been whether at a strategic or operational level.

Eclectic skills mix

The make up of the Financial Advisory practice groups in the larger professional service firms pulls together an eclectic mix of expertise and experience from amongst others: accountants, valuers, economists, analysts, investigators, bankers and engineers.

The common denominators of this practice grouping are based around a strong commercial intellect with an enquiring and analytical mindset. This allows you to identify and distil key issues quickly, in order to concentrate critical thinking in the right areas and create practical solutions.

This also requires well developed communication abilities both in written and spoken format. You have to be able to convey key messages about very complex situations accurately and succinctly – leaving nothing to misinterpretation or misunderstanding. Often you will have to do this with very senior executives who are typically very involved in these mission critical projects.

Career Opportunities in Financial Advisory

Whether you are a seasoned financial adviser or equally highly experienced in a directly related field there will continue to be interesting and challenging career opportunities for senior executives within this growing field of work.

Specifically those with an ability to create, develop and lead sustainable and robust practice groups will always be in demand. These individuals are rare but will always be sought out to first to respond to the ever changing demands of the business world.

Rob Stephenson is a Managing Partner at Maven Partners, a specialist recruitment services business.