McCann looks outside the box for talent
20 January 2016
McCann looks outside the box for talent
Mon, 25 Jan 2016 | By Sarah Marquet
But diversity is about more than the age, sex, religion and race tick boxes on surveys — it is also about skill sets, McCANN’s head of talent Robert Stone (right) tells Recruiter.
Stone (right), who joined the agency a year ago from sports giant adidas where he was a recruitment business partner, was specifically hired to help reduce recruitment agency spend. However, leveraging ideas gleaned from his previous role is helping shape a new way of thinking.
“We are a creative industry, so you don’t have to go to a red brick university to be good at a job. But in the past, that’s where people have recruited from.
“Say we have a hospitality client. Let’s explore hiring someone that’s actually worked in that industry rather than marketing and advertising.”
And with the agency’s expertise, training can be given in areas they are lacking, while the firm benefits from the wealth of industry knowledge.
Stone says charity partners are another source of creative talent. One of the charities McCANN works with is Art Against Knives, which helps young people with criminal histories gain work experience, employment or education.
“People from those sorts of backgrounds might not have the opportunity to go to university but they are creative thinkers, they live and breathe in this space. So why don’t we start to look at these avenues rather than the traditional graduate intake?”
In addition to hiring creative talent, McCANN is looking to fill other types of jobs with non-traditional talent. A former police officer was recently hired for a project manager role. He had no marketing or advertising experience, but skills learned on the beat, such as attention to detail and aligning multiple stakeholders, are transferrable.
While it is too early for tangible results, Stone sees the big win as having the buy-in from both the business, which had previously toyed with the idea, and hiring managers.
“Now they’re starting to understand this is a completely exciting way to look at things.”
While Stone is based in London, similar lines of thought are being explored in the wider business.
FROM FEBRUARY 2016'S RECRUITER MAGAZINE
But diversity is about more than the age, sex, religion and race tick boxes on surveys — it is also about skill sets, McCANN’s head of talent Robert Stone (right) tells Recruiter.
Stone (right), who joined the agency a year ago from sports giant adidas where he was a recruitment business partner, was specifically hired to help reduce recruitment agency spend. However, leveraging ideas gleaned from his previous role is helping shape a new way of thinking.
“We are a creative industry, so you don’t have to go to a red brick university to be good at a job. But in the past, that’s where people have recruited from.
“Say we have a hospitality client. Let’s explore hiring someone that’s actually worked in that industry rather than marketing and advertising.”
And with the agency’s expertise, training can be given in areas they are lacking, while the firm benefits from the wealth of industry knowledge.
Stone says charity partners are another source of creative talent. One of the charities McCANN works with is Art Against Knives, which helps young people with criminal histories gain work experience, employment or education.
“People from those sorts of backgrounds might not have the opportunity to go to university but they are creative thinkers, they live and breathe in this space. So why don’t we start to look at these avenues rather than the traditional graduate intake?”
In addition to hiring creative talent, McCANN is looking to fill other types of jobs with non-traditional talent. A former police officer was recently hired for a project manager role. He had no marketing or advertising experience, but skills learned on the beat, such as attention to detail and aligning multiple stakeholders, are transferrable.
While it is too early for tangible results, Stone sees the big win as having the buy-in from both the business, which had previously toyed with the idea, and hiring managers.
“Now they’re starting to understand this is a completely exciting way to look at things.”
While Stone is based in London, similar lines of thought are being explored in the wider business.
