As new avenues open up in recruitment, there is more opportunity than ever before to find the right person who aligns with your organisational values.
Jo McManus, Twinings’ head of people and performance, shares an insight into her hiring process and why recruitment needs to go beyond the HR team.
Inside FMCG: What’s the biggest mistake companies make in the recruitment process?
Jo McManus: I think a few of the biggest mistakes are relying on a limited number of sources for talent, and having “tunnel vision” on the required skills and backgrounds for available positions.
Firstly, it’s important to work with recruitment partners who are always scoping the field and keeping a watch on talent – from those seeking new opportunities to rising stars in their respective fields. And recruitment doesn’t just belong with the HR team! It’s equally important to empower the entire business to keep their eye out for individuals who would make a great fit to the team. Your employees live and breathe the values and culture of the business, so are undeniably one of the best sources for identifying prospects that would complement the team – either for now, or in the future.
Secondly, many companies restrict themselves to an intensive checklist of required skills and backgrounds for specific roles. However, there lies great value in widening the lens. Skills are transferable and so a person with many years’ experience in their field, yet in a separate industry sector, should not be overlooked. People who come from different contexts and backgrounds can be those that offer the business a fresh approach and deliver new ways of thinking and working to the existing team.
Finally, our recruitment strategy is always on, with or without commercial need. We are always on the lookout for great people!
Inside FMCG: Is the traditional interview format an outdated method of recruiting new talent?
There will always be a place for a face-to-face meeting. In-person interaction is critical for building rapport and gauging a person’s dynamics and personality. However, the more traditional, formal interview style with a large panel of executives firing questions at a candidate from various directions is a method that’s certainly outdated. A highly formal process isn’t necessarily the best way of getting a real sense of a person.
At Twinings, we employ a deliberate, but more flexible approach to our interviews, hosting meetings over tea, of course, and in a variety of settings. When an individual makes the shortlist, we then introduce them to key team members, including tours of our factory and working environments – allowing the candidate to get an authentic feel for the more practical side of the business, as well as the workplace culture.
In-person meetings, though, are only one of a number of techniques critical to the recruitment process. We utilise cognitive ability assessments to assess the skills and capabilities (such as cognitive or numeric reasoning) specifically related to the role we are recruiting for.
We also use psychometric and personality assessment tools, which help us understand more about the natural working styles of a candidate. Here we seek insights that allow us to understand the candidate’s working style, preferences, how they would typically respond to and approach certain scenarios, and what motivates them; all offering intel into their natural style day-to-day and what makes them tick.
These insights allow us to shape our questions and discussion points for our next chat, so we can delve further into areas that have piqued our interest.
Inside FMCG: How do you seek to target the best talent in your role?
We carefully balance technical expertise with cultural alignment when seeking our talent. A person may be a genius in their respective field, but if they don’t mesh with the team and live our key values, then the position won’t be suitable for either party. With this in mind, these two elements should be weighed almost equally. Alignment from a cultural and behaviour perspective is one of the biggest factors for success in my view. Skills can be taught and developed, but instilling inherent values is a much steeper mountain to climb!
We also seek to broaden the view when approaching the recruitment process. It’s important to understand the skills the business will require in the future and approach every networking conversation with this foresight in mind. We proactively consider potential of people coming into our business to develop and progress their careers with us longer term.
Inside FMCG: How can companies create a more diverse and inclusive workplace?
First of all, it’s critical that we recognise any unconscious biases we may have – regarding people’s career lengths, industry backgrounds, and experiences. People who are diverse from a typical role checklist, may think differently and add huge value in perspective and approach to a role. We are always working to improve the awareness of our leaders around potential unconscious bias, and ensure they are considering this when they participate in our recruitment processes. In my experience, diversity of thought drives better workplace cultures and, ultimately, superior performance. We are always seeking the best person for a role, and in doing so, it’s important that our candidate list offers a range of varying candidate profiles.
Inherent to inclusive workplaces is regular collaboration and flexibility. We’re always looking at ways to create cross-functional teams and projects, inviting co-department collaboration, and we also host a regular raft of social events inclusive of team bonding related activities. For instance, the team often come together and volunteer as part of our local CSR initiatives. We are a proud partner of ‘R U OK?’ and we recently hosted a morning tea on ‘R U OK? Day’. We invited one of the organisation’s ambassadors to attend and speak about mental health and well being, which was a great opportunity for staff to come together socially and discuss an important topic that is relevant to us all.
Inside FMCG: What are the top three qualities you look for in a candidate?
We search for candidates who align with Twinings’ values. These include: collaborate; aim high; look outside; find new ways; and freedom to act. When we’re recruiting, these values are always top of mind, and we’re also searching for qualities such as entrepreneurialism, problem solving, and ability to deal with ambiguity. While Twinings is part of a large global company, Twinings in Australia operates with a significant amount of autonomy, presenting exciting opportunities for our team. It’s therefore important we’re recruiting people who can embrace our unique levels of freedom and any ambiguity or challenges with passion and spark.
We’re also looking for those with an authentic leadership style. At Twinings, we’re constantly enhancing our programs and initiatives that are aimed at driving strong capability in our leadership, coaching and career development opportunities. With this in mind, it’s important for our team members to be motivated to coach, lead people and give them space to create. Finally, passion is essential. We are drawn to those who are truly passionate about their work and expertise.
Inside FMCG: What’s the best piece of advice you would give an interviewee?
Fundamentally through any recruitment process, be authentic and genuine. Let the real you shine through. It’s critical to ensuring that you’re the right fit for the role, and also that the business is the right fit for you.
Part of this is showing what drives you, and what you are passionate about. Listening to someone talk about their passions and what gets them out of bed in the morning is inspiring, and a fantastic way to connect.
Finally, another way to demonstrate your enthusiasm for the role and the business is to do your research and come armed with lots of relevant and interesting questions about the role and the business.
