Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/182340
Cover Story end IT and engineering roles; the candidates that are in short supply and high demand." In fact, research shows that 100 percent of Advantage xPO's clients report that the firm's approach and execution is improving their talent acquisition operation. The partnership has paid off for Nationwide, Aldrich contends. The overall cost of talent acquisition is down because Advantage xPO has whittled down the number of outside recruiters. "Fewer recruiters provide better people," he says. He cites several other positive metrics, including: • 83 percent of employees believe that Nationwide delivers great service to its customers, compared to 71 percent in the financial services industry. • 93 percent of employees understand the relationship between their job and Nationwide's overall goals (financial services industry average is 80 percent). • 71 percent recommend Nationwide to family and friends as a place to work (financial services industry average is 66 percent). • Employee engagement and enablement scores, as well as employee retention rates, are among the highest in U.K. financial services. Engaged employees are vital to Nationwide's success, the HR director asserts. "When recruiters bring in people that don't fit our culture, we incur a cost to rehire," Aldrich explains. "In addition, this can be very disruptive to the business, affecting customer satisfaction, as well as other employees' peace of mind. Disengaged employees take a toll on all companies, no matter how superior their products or services are." Engaged employees hired on a contingent basis can also serve as a pipeline of potential candidates for longer-term jobs. "We're putting more and more interns, for example, into permanent positions," Aldrich says. "This is because they were the right people from the start." Certainly, having right people in the right jobs is the best way of turning human capital into financial capital. Having them there when needed most is the icing on the cake. Russ Banham can be reached at www.russbanham.com SEPTEMBER 2013 | www.hrotoday.com [15]