With 5,000 clients representing 550 employees on the French market for all forms of contracts implemented across the entire HR chain, Samuel Tamagnaud co-founder, deputy general manager and president France, Africa and Middle East of Morgan Philips Group, notes, since the health crisis, “a total rebalancing with candidates who want to choose their company and work differently”. First change: an increase in transition management. If some of these managers come there “by default”, others on the contrary “want to have fun with missions for a given time”.
Second change: a rise in power of 25-30 year olds who want to work in freelance. “They do not want to be dependent on a company and generally accept missions lasting three to six months” – with an average daily rate of 350 to 900 euros for a mobile application developer, 450 to 900 euros for an engineer in software development and system operations (DevOps), according to Morgan Philips Group. Young people who are more loyal to a profession than to a group: they want projects and to know how the company works, so you have to be inventive.
“AI is a tool, but humans remain essential”
“In France, we still recruit based on CV, whereas in Asia, it is based on skills. But ‘French-style’ expertise is highly sought after internationally, this ability to think ‘out of the box’, this extra soul which gives a different vision”, specifies the expert. His modus operandi: target the ideal candidate. “In France but also in Mauritius, we have teams specialized in research, who use the AI to find hidden or passively listening candidates, 90% of whom are online. “I have ‘Google’ experts who can contact them.” Then convince them. “AI is a tool, but humans remain essential to selling a professional project for the next ten years!” “At 80%, hard skills [NDLR : connaissances métiers et savoir-faire] are known, easier to evaluate. The client focuses everything on skills and soft skills [comportements].” These are essential “to integrate the DNA of a company.” “The candidate and the client must speak the same language.”
It’s not yet won. “Now, 3 out of 4 interviews can be done by video. Until the last moment, we are not sure that the candidate will sign.” Pay attention to ratings on Glassdoor, in particular. Money is obviously an essential element to seduce. “But you also need a project, a team and‘fit’ [de l’accroche] with the manager, otherwise there will quickly be frustration. Work/life balance is part of individual interest in a position. For young employees, it is a minimum of two days of teleworking and that the values announced by the company are consistent with reality.”
Even during a trial period, the employee can return to the market. “We offer an ‘integration coach’ to be sure that the candidate will stay. The cost of a failed recruitment can be abysmal. The smaller the organization, the more strategic and essential the recruitment is.”
Develop
The company can also look at whether it does not have the right talent. The Covid episode revealed that it was necessary to “nurture talent within the company so that they do not leave”. “Today, the HR profession has changed: it must develop the potential of employees internally and find others externally,” explains Samuel Tamagnaud. To retain employees, have them change positions every three or four years, explain their career path and integrate their wishes into the process. “We must ensure employability and agility. But not all employees necessarily want to change positions and some prefer to become experts without being a manager. So we must allow them to grow horizontally. Transversality is a good compromise.”
Currently, the professions in tension are those linked to expertise: tech, supports, supply chain, engineers, digital, HR, finance, experts and also managers. Green energies are on the rise, but “the lack of anticipation in the formation of resources comes at a very high price”. The accounting sector is an example: an accounting director in interim management costs from 650 to 1,500 euros excluding taxes at the average daily rate. And tomorrow ? “We don’t know 50% of the jobs for the next ten years!” concludes Samuel Tamagnaud.
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