“How to Hire in a Post-Pandemic World” with DRAW Recruitment
Part Two of series with Nina Langford and Julia Henderson, Founders of DRAW Recruitment
by Holly Howe
Julia Henderson and Nina Langford founded DRAW Recruitment in 2016. Julia has spent 20 years in senior positions within large recruitment companies, including as the CEO of Recruitment Solutions Group. Nina has worked in the art industry since 2001, and founded Art//Work Recruitment in 2013. Together they chatted with AWITA members about key issues in recruitment.
You now have a wider pool of talent to recruit from
Julia reminded us that post-Brexit, the rules have changed when it comes to recruiting graduates. “Graduates who have completed a degree in the UK will now be able to work in the UK for two years, or three years if they are a PhD student. That applies to all international art world students. So European students can stay in the UK for two years and work, but it also means that Americans can stay and work in the UK and work for a couple of years.”
Recruiting for skilled roles that you may not fully understand yourself
Nina suggested getting help from an industry peer who may be able to share the job descriptions in their organisation for the roles you are looking for, such as a digital content creator role. “You could consider using a freelancer or maybe getting someone on a fixed term contract initially just to see what you’re getting for your money and also maybe get some examples, as well as a portfolio. It might be useful if you’re getting advice from an industry peer to get pre-task questions from them that you could use as an assessment at interview stage.”
Tips for achieving a diverse workforce
Julia shared three strategies that can be easily implemented without making a major investment to help recruit a more diverse team.
‘Anti-fit’. We typically recruit to type, but this can lead to discrimination. In the art world, people can sometimes view social class as the indicator of credibility or quality. Employers should “focus on what skills and experience that candidate can bring that are in short supply, rather than recruiting to type and recruiting more of the same…consider candidates who might meet some, but not all, of the cultural norms of your organisation.” Take a look at who you have recruited in the past and ask yourself if you recruit a particular ‘type’.
‘Widen the pool’. There are simple ways to do this. Julia suggested we “remove bias from job adverts so they make less assumptions about who would be suitable for the job – do they have to have art world experience, is that necessary? Do your interns really have to be Courtauld graduates? Could an internship program be purposely open and aimed at candidates from less privileged universities and other backgrounds? Add a couple of people on your shortlist that you might not usually see, and give them a try, and widen the pool of people that you meet.”
Unconscious bias training’. This is available online and can help reduce prejudice. “Practical measures for reducing unconscious bias are things like having a range of stakeholders assess the CVs, taking off personal information such as name, gender, school, address, university, and selecting just on experience.”
How to manage expectations as to how the workplace will be post-pandemic
Nina stressed that communication is key – be open and frank with your employees. “I think when employees don’t know what’s going on and they’re not told anything, that’s when they may start to feel insecure. You’ll gain more respect and a sense of loyalty from your employees if you communicate with them along the way. Get the team on board with a shared vision of recovery.”
The benefit of freelancers
Freelancers can be useful if you want to hire someone quickly and bring in particular expertise or if you want to ‘try before you buy’. They are also great if you need help on a specific project and you want to keep overheads down. Nina said “We would recommend that you get reliable advice on how to engage contractors, temps, or payroll contractors. Talk to your accountant, payroll provider, and/or engage them via an agency such as ours!”
References – can you have a casual phone chat with a previous employer prior to making an offer?
Julia acknowledged that nowadays very few people give a proper reference and will just give proof that someone has worked there. But she thinks you can have a chat with a previous employer if you ask the candidate for permission to do that. “I would go for a structured reference to make sure somebody worked where they said they did and if you do have a personal contact who is willing to have a chat about that individual, and that individual is happy for you to call them, then I would do it.”
How long should you give someone before you write them off?
Nina acknowledged that sometimes it’s about personality fit and you might be able to tell early on that it’s not working but “you’ve got to sit down with them during their probationary period as maybe they’re not understanding what’s needed from that position, or maybe they need a bit more training.”
Julia recommended having weekly meetings when someone starts as people can get off to a bad start because they don’t fully understand what’s expected of them. Ask questions ‘this is what we said your objectives were, how are you going with that?’ However she added “If it’s absolutely clear that this person is just not working, then I think it’s reasonable to end their employment within the probationary period.”