Niamh Kennelly

I work with both passive and active candidates on the market, at different levels and junctures of their careers. As part of my role on a weekly basis I must regret candidates when they have been unsuccessful after interview. These calls are never enjoyable; some people are pragmatic, some disappointed, but generally all are happy to close out on a process and get some feedback. Unfortunately, “candidate ghosting” is still a regular occurrence, and by this I mean candidates who have attended an interview and then hear nothing following their meeting from the employer or the recruiter. On a personal level, I think we can all sympathize with the frustration and bad-will that develops when an interviewer doesn’t follow through with any sort of feedback following a meeting. From having the birds eye perspective on the market, across many industries and companies, I get to hear and see the brand damage that this does to a company when it happens. I do understand that recruiters and hiring managers don’t do this on purpose, and there are many cogs in the wheel that delays or confuses processes, leading to an “ostrich in the sand” mentality of just doing nothing.   These challenges are most commonly: High volume of interviews Lack of systems or controls in place Company cultures that don’t properly value the time invested by candidates Chasing line/ hiring managers for feedback Changing internal structures or the job itself Other priority roles taking over Lack of decision at senior level   However, as a business if you can find [...]

So I have of course heard all the buzz words – crypto currency, bitcoin, blockchain etc., however yesterday was an education in itself to attend the launch of ConsenSys Ireland with Kerri & Adrian, and to hear Joe Lubin, Lory Kehoe, Kean Gilbert, Sydney Lai and the rest of the team speak about the company and their work. If I was to attempt a brief explanation; ConsenSys is part of the Ethereum family blockchain with the aim to be “the new internet”. Ethereum is the base – a type of opensource blockchain ecosystem that can easily plug into an area of relevance and unlock value through creative thinking. Fantastically exciting stuff. ConsenSys was founded by Joseph Lubin, who also co-founded the Swiss-based Ethereum cryptocurrency, was fantastic to listen to – my favourite part being when he mentioned that Satoshi (anonymous creator of Bitcoin) is in fact a woman! It was as surely an evening of learning, (as well as Guinness) and the energy and excitement in the room was palpable –a sense of looking at what very well may be the future. If things work out in some form of what was described, blockchain will become part of our everyday and we won’t imagine a world without it (similar to pre-internet or pre mobile phone)! Minister Paschal Donohoe spoke about how this is fully government backed and highlighted how proud we should be that Dublin has been chosen as a growth hub, progressive and developed in terms of tech talent. The turnout of some three hundred people was a glowing indication of the the interest people hold in this [...]

To understand the whole area of Compensation and Benefits (C&B) you really need to understand the evolution of administrative and passive “Personnel Management department” to a more dynamic and specialised “Human Resource Management” team. With increased free market competition at global level, the proliferation of technology and knowledge-based industries, Human Resource Management has become a critical function of most large organisations.The Human Resources team has evolved one stage further - If you review larger companies you will find that they are typically divided into three sub-divisions: HR business partners (HRBPs), HR centers of excellence, and HR shared services.C&B is one such center of excellence and is being given an increasing amount of attention and with good reason! And what exactly is C&B? As a sub division of HR, C&B it is focused on employee compensation and benefits policy-making. While compensation and benefits are tangible, there are intangible rewards such as recognition, work-life and development. Combined, these are referred to as total rewards. Employee compensation and benefits are divided into four basic categories: Guaranteed pay – a fixed monetary reward paid by an employer to an employee. The most common form of guaranteed pay is base salary. Guaranteed pay also includes cash allowances (housing allowance, transport allowance, etc.), differentials (shift differentials, holiday differentials) and premiums (overtime, night shift, etc.) Variable pay – a non-fixed monetary reward paid by an employer to an employee that is contingent on discretion, performance, or results achieved. The most common forms of variable pay are bonuses and incentives Benefits – programs an employer uses to supplement employees’ compensation, such as paid time-off, [...]

One morning last week, I sat drinking a coffee in a well-known County Dublin hotel preparing for a client meeting that I was attending around the corner. It was early, and the place was relatively empty, and I worked away on my preparation. Shortly after, two tables of two people arrived. I quickly worked out that one was an interview and the other was two colleagues from a nearby company having an early morning chat. Whilst you might think that voices do not travel – they most certainly do! Both conversations were fully audible! The first table of 2 was conducting a first round interview and I heard significant background and details of both parties and their employers. The second table was discussing an employee in detail – how inappropriately they dress coming into work every day and what should be done about it. As someone who regularly interviews off-site, I walked away that morning making a commitment to myself as follows: I would encourage people to come into our lovely, private offices as much as possible I would book a room for meetings if interviewing off-site, particularly if more than one meeting I would find an appropriate venue for off-site interviews and ask hotel staff to point me to a quiet, tucked away area where I cannot be overheard Keep my voice down and be cognizant of the fact that a lot of sensitive, private information is about to be discussed This all seems very basic, but as someone who has been interviewing for a long time, it [...]

  HR Search sponsored and collaborated with the DCU Leadership and Talent Institute who undertook a large qualitative study focused on the barriers and enablers that impact re-integration into the work place post Mat leave. This research was led by Yseult Freeney, David Collings and Lisa van der Werff who started by surveying over 300 women and who interviewed over 90 people across 30 industry leading organisations – a huge undertaking! We launched the findings last week in the Shelbourne hotel, whereby over 150 HR professionals gathered to hear from the researchers and a panel conversation.     Why did this topic gain such huge interest from our network? The big picture… The talent agenda is one of the most pressing challenges for organisations and HR leaders globally. With so much time and money invested into TA and Talent Development to attract and retain strong people, based on this research, companies are missing a beat when it comes to positively communicating pre,during and post mat leave to retain engaged and positive employees. When a woman comes to this career juncture of having a family – Is this just a brief interlude in a 30-40 year career? Yes (is the right answer!). However, this study showed that often this a time whereby a woman’s career may be derailed and talent is lost as a result of unconscious bias, professional relationship challenges, or a lack of open communication around expectations. Ultimately firms should not allow their top talent to become “corporate refugees” and to allow them to walk out the door for various reasons. [...]