CE: So Nicks I suppose that's one thing but when it comes to the actual interviewing and hiring process, so in an environment, which Investec has created where so much autonomy is given hiring the correct individual that steps up to the plate that can be trusted is paramount. So how has Investec's hiring and interview process evolved during Covid-19?
NT: So, did we fumble in the beginning? Probably a little bit, you know, there was no pre-warning that it was going to come and we couldn't plan a brand new strategy, but I think we started to play around with different techniques exceptionally quickly and learn from them and again be agile and adjust when we felt that something wasn't working etc and then find new ways.
What we were doing though upfront is protecting "process" which you know is core to the organization's culture and "process" really is being able to design a recruitment process that allows for lots of different opinions and lots of different voices to come into the individual that we are meeting to the skill that we are finding.
So that by the time anyone is appointed in our organization, they not only have created a network of relationships prior to actually joining us but that there's a buy-in and support for the individual that we've brought in.
What we haven't also lost Caro is the ability to look way beyond a CV or a profile. We haven't lost the ability or the knack to be able to see beyond just that profile. We have spent substantial time even if it is via WebEx or Microsoft Teams etc to really still hold conversations with people.
And I must admit, I have found people willing to be slightly more vulnerable- again- this on the candidate side and very authentic in the conversations and I don't know if it's because they're sitting in the comfort of their own home. You know that they feel far happier to truly be themselves and to truly overshare details of who they are and what their career has been about and to really give you a very honest narrative of their story.
And I think it is probably that, and the fact that we have taken people out of that formal structure of walking into any organization and sitting behind, you know, a corporate table in a corporate office and then asking them to bring their authentic self to the conversation.
So, I think the environment around which people are finding themselves has allowed us to dig a little bit deeper into who's this human being in the conversation with us.
CE: Post Covid-19 do you think there's going to be a major shift in the way Investec and all corporates approach recruitment to take advantage of a more global candidate pool?
NT: Ya, I do think so. I think organizations are going to look more broadly versus just for example the city that they operate in or the country that they operate in.
I think organizations will start to look at capacity differently, you know moving away just from this traditional view of permanent headcount taking up permanent jobs with the very specific role scope.
And moving to look at an entire spectrum of employment. You know that can span anywhere from that permanent employee to potential suppliers and looking at what's the best solution for the organization based on capacity, your skill, or whatever it might be that's the actual need that you fulfilling.
And we have seen it now as well our organization has been far more open-minded we've had some amazing opportunities where you know the role traditionally had sat for example in Johannesburg, but now we found the most amazing person in Cape Town.
And it's no longer a conversation of yes your successful you can have the role but we need you to move or we needing you to commute for a period of time. It is a far more fluid dialogue.