Over the past five years, Bullhorn Live has grown into Europe’s premier recruitment conference, bringing together staffing professionals and customers from all across the continent. This year’s London conference will evolve by becoming part of the global staffing and recruitment conference series Engage, and fittingly, will follow suit to Engage Boston’s theme of the Power of People.
On 11th and 12th September at the Hilton London Metropole Hotel, Engage London will feature more than 55 speakers defining the future of recruitment as it relates to understanding what makes things human.
A Post-GDPR Europe
One of the more anticipated topics this year will be successfully navigating and complying to a post-GDPR Europe.
In addition to “having built a community from scratch at the very inception of commercial internet usage,” said Louise Triance, Managing Director at UK Recruiter who brings more than 25 years of recruitment industry experience to her Engage panel session, Growing Customer Relationships in Post-GDPR, on Tuesday from 14:15 to 15:00.
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“With the rollout of the GDPR on 25 May, recruitment companies are under increasing limitations and scrutiny in how they prospect to and engage with potential customers. With unemployment at historic lows and the skills shortage at historic highs, the need for diversification of clients is unprecedented, and firms must strike a balance between creativity and innovation in their marketing, and judiciousness in their data protection practices, in order to succeed and thrive,” Louise said.
“I’ll be joined by a panel of seasoned practitioners who have orchestrated their firms’ compliance with the GDPR and who will be sharing best practices and lessons learned in making the most of building customer relationships post-legislation.”
Joining Louise on her panel is Dieter Braspennincx, Support Unit Leader (Systems) at ParkLane Insight. He leads a newly started IT department of nine people in charge of partner and operational support for different departments in Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands. Dieter was also actively involved in ensuring organizational and departmental compliance with GDPR legislation.
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Dieter said a key factor in his department’s success was and still is investing in the development of people and offering them paths for growth. He believes developing people is the single greatest opportunity for recruitment in the coming year.
“Keep investing in the growth of people to aim growth of the company by the growth of individuals,” Dieter said.
If you’re interested in learning more about GDPR, check out Dieter’s RIX article GDPR: Challenge or Opportunity? where he gives insight as to why he believes the legislation is actually an opportunity for much-needed process improvement and organizational advancement.
The Future of Recruitment
It’s no question that for the past few years the integration of AI and automation has been a polarizing topic that will continue to greatly impact the recruitment industry. At the forefront of these efforts is Dr. Marcia Goddard, Neuroscientist and Manager of HR Science & Innovation at YoungCapital. Marcia is a social neuroscientist specialized in the future of work, and the human implications of technological innovations. Her unique career progression has taken her from a career in academia to working at YoungCapital, a recruitment firm in the Netherlands.
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“I believe it is safe to say that technological innovations are here to stay, and will fundamentally change the way we recruit and what we look for when we do. I think the current state of innovations such as AI and machine learning demands that we take a good look at how we make our recruitment decisions. Technology can be intimidating, and it may have huge implications when we decide to let algorithms decide on people’s careers. On the other hand, the prospect of incorporating insights from neuroscience and psychology in our way of working creates an unparalleled opportunity for us to reduce bias, increase diversity, and therefore strengthen our workforce,” Marcia said.
Marcia has made it her mission to leverage her Ph.D. to bridge the existing gap between science and business. “I think there is a lot to be gained from combining the two,” Marcia said. “Insights from scientific research often don’t make it out of the university, while organizations may face challenges that could be solved if these insights were shared.”
At Engage, Marcia will lead the session Technology as a Servant: Neuroscience, Machine Learning, and the Future of Recruitment on Tuesday from 10:30 to 11:15, discussing ways in which neuroscience can aid in improving the prediction of workplace behaviors, as well as the value, challenges, and risks of using machine learning in recruitment, and the growing importance of soft skills for the future of recruitment and workplace success.
If you’re interested in hearing about Marcia’s work before she takes the floor in London, check out her episode on RIX’s podcast series Take It from the Top, where she discusses how her background in science has led to innovative ways of assessing behavior in candidates and employees.
PE Firms and the Global Staffing Industry
Another topic of broad and current interest in the recruitment industry is the influx of mergers and acquisitions from private equity investment, and nobody understands converting M&A deals quite like Saira Demmer, UK CEO of Ignata.
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Before joining Ignata, Saira was involved with more than 40 M&A deals while apart of Deloitte’s M&A Strategy team. She will be discussing the opportunities inherent to recruitment M&A at the session Mergers and Acquisitions in Recruitment: Practical Considerations and will be accompanied by a panel of storied recruitment leaders and PE experts.
To hear more about Saira’s experiences in the M&A world, as well as what she sees as the potential impacts of Brexit on the recruiting world, check out her podcast episode on Take It from the Top.
Saira recently shared with us her excitement for London’s first taste of Engage. “There will be so many people from across the sector in one place together, that it will be a brilliant opportunity to learn things, meet people and talk about everyone’s favourite topic…recruitment!”
We hear you, Saira! And we’re just as excited for an incredible two days of unparalleled industry insights that will empower us to better effectively engage talent, leadership, and the future of staffing.
Come and experience the Power of People at Engage London. Register today to secure your seat!
