Forget the Great Resignation, ’Quiet Quitting’ is now the trend among younger workers

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While it’s important to be wary of the increasing number of metaphors used to describe the state of employees, yet another one has popped up in recent times. We’ve seen the Great Resignation or the Great Shuffle that describes the process of people quitting jobs en masse to move to newer and better things. Now, we have a term for those who don’t take their jobs too seriously: quiet quitting.

“Quiet quitting isn’t about getting off the company payroll. In fact, the idea is to stay on it — but focus your time on the things you do outside of the office.”

Driven largely by those active on TikTok, its essence is somewhat of a counter-argument to the ‘rise and grind’ ethos. “It rejects the idea of going above and beyond in their careers, labeling their lesser enthusiasm as a form of quitting”, WSJ authors Lindsay Ellis and Angela Yang say. “It isn’t about getting off the company payroll. In fact, the idea is to stay on it — but focus your time on the things you do outside of the office.”

Coasting from 9-to-5

By all means, it’s a new take in the endless 9-to-5 argument. In 2020, an Adecco Group study showed that 69% of employees believed contracts should be based on results rather than hours worked. “Tracking results, not hours, emerges as a more effective way to measure productivity”, the report stated. Meanwhile, earlier this year, 71% of human capital and C-Suite leaders plan a seismic shift in roles to contingent, project or contract — making 2022 the year of the freelancer.

82% of Generation Z say the idea of doing the minimum required to keep their jobs is pretty or extremely appealing.

While the 9-to-5 concept has come under scrutiny anyway, now the younger generation of workers isn’t resisting it — instead, opt to coast through the process. Per an Axios poll, 82% of Generation Z say the idea of doing the minimum required to keep their jobs is pretty or extremely appealing. Moreover, some 15% of that share say they are already doing it.

Europe is last in employee engagement 

Now, 15% may not seem like much — and once more it could simply be a discussion that revolves around peer pressured intentions rather than actions, as the Great Resignation didn’t quite find a grip among Europeans. But when it comes to employee engagement, European organisations do have a reason for concern. According to Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace Report, Europe ranks dead-last in employee engagement. While the US and Canada see 33% of employees engagement, Europe scores a mere 14%.

Source: Gallup

Europe ranks dead-last in employee engagement.

“Employee engagement is ultimately not about being obsessed with work or living to work”, Gallup’s John Clifton and Pa Sinyan say. “It’s about having clear expectations, feeling connected to and supported by your team, and finding purpose in your work. These are universal human needs. The fact that they are not met for millions of European employees is not a cultural badge of honor, but a sign of poor leadership and people management.”

‘Quitting the idea of going above and beyond’

Back to the medium used to illustrated quiet quitting: TikTok. In a video that racked up more than three million views and 500 thousand likes in just two weeks, Zaid Khan (going by the username zaidleppelin) captions the notion by saying “Quiet quitting [means] you’re quitting the idea of going above and beyond at work. Work is not your life. Your worth is not defined by your productive output. This [concept] works best if you can tolerate your job. If you’re miserable, get outta there! Your peace of mind comes first.”

@zaidleppelin On quiet quitting #workreform ♬ original sound – ruby

Below the video, TikTok users of all age-groups responded with their own personal anecdotes of quiet quitting. Responses range from those who quietly quit their jobs as recently as six months ago — and has received the same pay, recognition, ‘but less stress’ to those who view it as a shift in mindset: ‘when you do it you realise nothing at work matters and suddenly all the stress vanishes.’

Avoiding burn-outs: the flip-side of quiet quitting

It’s easy to disregard the movement as unsubstantial and indicative of a generation that actually views itself as ‘hard-working’. The flip-side lies in the notion that it may help young workers struggling to cope with their new reality avoid burn-outs. According to a study conducted by Lepaya, a total of 66% of European workers experience unhealthy levels of stress at work.

In 2021, an Indeed survey illustrated that millennials and Gen Z workers reported the highest rates of burnout.

And it’s mostly younger workers who struggle with unhealthy levels of stress at work. In 2021, an Indeed survey illustrated that millennials and Gen Z workers reported the highest rates of burnout. At 59% for millennials and 58% for Gen Z. Those numbers are up drastically compared to a year earlier, when millennials scored 53% and Gen Z scored 47%.

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Chad and Cheese’s 5 surprising insights from Europe’s labour market

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Of the many podcasts within the world of HR and recruitment, the Chad & Cheese Show is likely the one you’ve heard of most — and for all the right reasons. Every week, Chad Sowash and Joel Cheesman cover the branche’s development, in their own, completely unique style. Recently the topic of conversation was European Talent Intelligence, by way of an interview with Intelligence Group founder Geert-Jan Waasdorp. Which 5 surprising European insights were mentioned?

#1. No tax for digital nomads

The number of digital nomads in the U.S. surged almost 50% to 11 million. Then in 2021, that number increased again to 15.5 million. And the popular destination for those doing the nomading? Europe. According to Intelligence Group’s extensive research, there are apparently countries in Europe where you have to pay little or no tax. “That means you can earn more for the same work”, Waasdorp said.

#2. There is good news about Europe

Europe is an ageing, over-regulated and polarised continent, fraught with immigration challenges and a war on the fringes? Yes, that’s the bad news. But those who dare to look further will also see a tech-driven, dynamic economy, filled with interesting start-ups, said Waasdorp.

#3. Don’t overestimate LinkedIn

Geert-Jan-Waasdorp
Geert-Jan Waasdorp

Within most English-speaking countries in Europe, we often think that LinkedIn and Indeed dominate the job market everywhere. But that’s not the case, according to recent research for which almost 100,000 (!) Europeans in 27 countries were surveyed. Each country has its own intricacies and is therefore different than its neighbour. This notion is perhaps best illustrated by the relatively few LinkedIn users in Poland, Hungary and Germany. In a nutshell: LinkedIn can hardly provide a decent picture of those respective labour markets.

LinkedIn has relatively few members in Germany.

Then onto Monster, which — much to the surprise of Sowash and Cheesman — still seems to hold a good position in Europe. “Monster always stands out in any list”, Sowash said. The high position of Infojobs, particularly popular in Spain and Italy, also comes as a surprise to the two hosts. Europe’s view on job boards is largely decided by local champions — which generally score highest in countries. Monster and Stepstone rank high because they are everywhere, albeit not the market leader. “It all adds up, but locally they’re not all that relevant”, Waasdorp added.

#4. Programmatic is still in its infancy

The data from Waasdorp’s research shows that there is therefore no such thing as one job board for all European vacancies. The market is quite fragmented, leading to the aforementioned different national champions that have emerged everywhere — partly due to government regulations. That is partly the reason why programmatic advertising is still not getting off the ground here, according to the podcast’s three voices. “It is difficult in Europe to collect enough data and information to feed the necessary algorithms”, said Waasdorp. “So there is actually little or no programmatic job advertising in Europe.’

“It is difficult in Europe to collect enough data for programmatic advertising.”

Although there is may be another reason, Waasdorp added. “The takeover of Appcast by publisher Axel Springer, the owner of StepStone, has shown that commercial interests also play a role. The turnovers of general job boards are apparently still too interesting to give programmatic a chance.”

#5. Larger pay gap in the North

The European survey among the 27 countries reveals another surprising insight. And that is that equal pay seems to be predominantly a discussion taking place in Northern European countries, while the pay gap between men and women is much smaller in Southern countries. “The South is a lot more emancipated than the North”, Waasdorp concluded. “In the Netherlands and Germany, they are always talking about how things should be. But they themselves don’t do a good job of ensuring equal pay is a real thing.’

Bulgaria, Romania and Estonia generally do a much better job of ensuring equal pay.

In fact, looking at Eastern European countries — the likes of Bulgaria, Romania and Estonia — they generally do a much better job of ensuring equal pay. “In those countries, women even earn more than men on average. And that is based on Eurostat data. So not even based on our surveys, but really based on millions of collected data.”

Want to read the secrets of Europe’s labour market?

Knowing the differences and intricacies of the European labour market will help you recruit more successfully across borders. Read all the secrets of Europe’s labour market in Intelligence Group’s newest report: the European Talent Intelligence Manual 2022. Download it for free by clicking on the image on the right. 

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Toshiba surpasses AI engineer recruitment targets; outlines seven artificial intelligence principles

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Digital transformation (DX) is a global trend, making the development and application of AI technology more important than ever. It’s something the Toshiba Group has gone all-in on. The company has announced it has surpassed its 2022 recruitment plans, by increasing its engineer headcount to total of 2,100.

It comes at a time wherein global IT organisations suffer with a serious skills shortage. In a September Gartner survey of over 400 global IT organizations, 64% of IT executives said that a lack of skilled talent was the biggest barrier to adoption of emerging technologies, compared to 4% the previous year.

Europe’s Tech sector is ‘disadvantaged’

En masse, companies are looking for employees with specific training, skills and personal traits to fill AI positions. But Europe’s tech sector could be disadvantaged in the long run, a study by IBM shows. IBM’s report, ‘Addressing the AI Skills Gap in Europe’, exposes a worrying shortfall in skills required for a career in AI. IBM’s research notes that nearly 7 in 10 tech job seekers and tech employees believe that potential recruits lack the skills necessary for a career in AI.

IBM’s research notes that nearly 7 in 10 tech job seekers and tech employees believe that potential recruits lack the skills necessary for a career in AI.

According to the report, there’s a soft skills mismatch. “Although technical capabilities are vital for a career in the sector, problem solving is considered the most critical soft skill needed for tech roles among all survey participants (up to 37%)”, the report states. “However, around a quarter of tech recruiters (23%) have difficulty finding applicants with this aptitude along with shortfalls in critical and strategic thinking.”

Toshiba one step ahead

As many European organisations suffer similar problems, Japan-based Toshiba is seemingly one step ahead. Toshiba introduced an AI engineer training program in 2019, subsequently increasing the AI engineer headcount from 750 to 2,100, surpassing their fiscal year’s target of 2,000. The company has also set up an in-house platform for proactive sharing of information on over 200 AI assets, 55 of which are now showcased at Toshiba AI Technology Catalog.

 

Toshiba will also develop AI training programs for a wider range of employees, not limited to managers or engineers.

Alongside its training program, the company also plans to increase the number of employees who understand AI. Alongside the 2019 engineer training program, it recently introduced new training that will enhance the AI literacy of non-engineering managers, in an attempt to improve their ability to provide trustworthy AI to customers. Finally, the company will also develop AI training programs for a wider range of employees, not limited to managers or engineers.

AI legislation and guidelines

For Europe, AI legislation may soon be on its way. In April 2021, the European Union proposed what was in essence a combination of the first-ever legal framework on AI and a coordinated plan that guarantees the safety and fundamental rights of people and businesses. Japan, meanwhile, has formulated its own set of — albeit non-binding — principles for ethical guidelines.

Toshiba seems fully aware of the downside to over-reliance or unintended misuse of AI, and has subsequently outlined its own seven principles in an AI governance guideline. “While AI adds to convenience, problems from its misuse or unintended operation point to the need for ethical guidelines and governance covering its utilisation. Addressing AI governance is now a must for companies that use AI”, the company said.

1. Respect for human dignity

In the course of our daily activities, Toshiba strives to realise a human-centric society where humans and AI can live in true harmony, working on the research, development, provision and operation of AI with respect for human dignity.

2. Ensuring safety and security

Toshiba takes privacy and security very seriously as it strives to research, develop, provide and operate AI. We put ourselves in our customers’ shoes as we continually work to maintain and improve AI quality in the aim of realising a safe and secure society.

3. Commitment to compliance

Toshiba researches, develops, provides and operates AI while placing the utmost importance on strictly adhering to laws and regulations, societal norms, and ethics.

4. Developing AI and cultivating talent

Bringing together the creativity and technological abilities it has cultivated since its establishment, Toshiba continues to advance AI while continually striving to find new and better ways. We will also work to train human resources that can research, develop, and use AI that contribute to resolving social issues for a more prosperous future, while fully understanding the advantages and disadvantages of AI.

5. Realising a sustainable society

Always thinking about how what we do will change the world for the better and looking to the future beyond the generations to come, Toshiba will contribute to developing a sustainable society that can successfully tackle issues such as global environmental problems and climate change where people with diverse backgrounds can pursue their well-being by researching, developing, providing and operating AI.

6. Emphasis on fairness

Respecting human rights, Toshiba will work to research, develop, provide and operate AI with consideration given to fairness to avoid unjustified discrimination. We will also work in partnership with our stakeholders to create abundantly diverse value using this AI.

7. Emphasis on transparency and accountability

Toshiba aims to secure transparency so that it is able to explain to its stakeholders the mechanisms behind the AI decisions used in its products and services. We will also work to fulfil accountability through repeated dialogue with stakeholders about the diverse benefits and effects that can be expected when using AI in society.

(Source: Toshiba AI Governance Statement, 2022)

House of HR continues spending frenzy; acquires companies in France, Germany and Netherlands

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Founded in 1995 under the Accent Jobs umbrella, House of HR has grown into a European powerhouse. Today, the company has more than 4300 internal employees spread across its offices in Belgium, the Netherlands, France and Germany. It also holds recruitment agencies in Poland, Romania, Hungary and Spain, amongst others. Its sales topped a staggering €2.2 billion in 2021. Mainly by placing over 57,000 people each month across small, medium and large-sized companies.

In May, House of HR sold 55% of its stakes to Bain Capital Equity for an estimated amount of 2.5 to 3 billion euro’s.

House of HR is renowned for its multi-brand strategy, enabling profits in every sense of the word. The company’s portfolio includes digital student matching platform NOWJOBS and freelance matching form Gighouse, among others. In May, House of HR sold 55% of its stakes to Bain Capital Equity for an estimated amount of 2.5 to 3 billion euro’s. Ever since, the company has been on an acquisition frenzy.

Four more deals spread across Europe

It wouldn’t be a month without a House of HR acquisition. On September 2nd, it was announced that the company has acquired French on-demand freelance platform StaffMe and German healthcare staffing solutions provider LDPersonal – vermittlung. Additionally, House of Covebo — its sister company — has acquired two more companies in the Netherlands: flex construction solution BIS People and employment agency FID.

“We intend to continue our growth path, based on strong organic growth combined with targeted and specialised M&A in existing markets, DACH countries and the Nordics.”

It brings House of HR’s total up to 13 acquisitions (and counting) for 2022 — delivering on its targets as per May’s statements. “We intend to continue our growth path, based on strong organic growth combined with targeted and specialised M&A in existing markets, DACH countries and the Nordics”, CEO Rika Coppens said. “With Bain Capital’s investment in House of HR, we start a new chapter in our incredible story.”

Pictured: Rika Coppens, CEO at House of HR

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Europe’s top 10 favourite airlines to work for: British Airways, AirFrance-KLM and Lufthansa lead the way

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It’s 04:54 AM. You’ve been up since 2 — and you really haven’t been caffeinated nearly enough for what is about to happen. As your thoughts drift to any form of Starbucks, you suddenly feel a sharp hit to your right shoulder. “Sorry, but we’ve been up since 2”, a man shouts, as he frantically sweeps a baby stroller past the next, oblivious queuer.

2022 became the year in which Europe became the world’s ‘worst place to travel’.

For the first time in Europe’s recent history, it didn’t matter whether you’d pre-booked a first-class ticket or a customs fast-track: the entirety of the continent spent at least part of their summer holidays in a lengthy queue. The problem didn’t just stop with security personnel — or a lack thereof. 2022 became the year in which Europe became the world’s ‘worst place to travel’.

Cuts lead to shortages

Amid the global COVID-19 pandemic, ‘toughing it out’ became the go-to phrase among airlines — leading to mass shortages when the travel industry suddenly rose back to pre-pandemic levels, leaving airlines short of thousands of pilots, pursers, flight attendants or loadmasters. But soon baby strollers should remain grounded, as queues get shorter and flights do depart. As airlines are ramping up their recruitment efforts, it comes during a time during which hundreds of thousands European job seekers are reportedly keen on airline jobs.

British Airways and AirfranceKLM lead the way

European data intelligence provider Intelligence Group (IG!) conducts quarterly research into the labour market in various European countries among nearly 100.000 people. In the research, those surveyed are asked about their demographic data, the current personal employment situation the wishes and requirements with regard to working conditions and employer and the desired personal employment situation. Or, in other words: their favourite place to work.

Based on IG!’s extensive research, British Airways is the continent’s favourite airline to work for. Lufthansa narrowly came in second-place, while AirFrance came in at the third spot.

Source: Intelligence Group

Their research illustrates that airlines overall do a pretty decent job of being named a ‘favourite place to work’ by European job seekers. But the research also provides a top 10 of individual airlines. Based on IG!’s extensive research, British Airways is the continent’s favourite airline to work for. Lufthansa narrowly came in second-place, while AirFrance came in at the third spot. KLM came fourth. Emirates, fifth. Finnair, sixth. Aegean Airlines, seventh. easyJet, eighth. Ryanair, ninth. Wizz Air rounds of the top 10 in the tenth spot.

If we were to take the accumulated rankings, third-placed AirFrance and fourth-place KLM jointly become leaders of the list.

But that’s just the individual airline ranking. If we were to take the accumulated rankings, third-placed AirFrance and fourth-place KLM jointly become leaders of the list and subsequently another spot would open up in the top 10 – which in turn would be taken by airBaltic.

Male-dominant target audience

For a deeper understanding, Intelligence Group dove into the data of Lufthansa, Europe’s second-favourite airline to work for. According to the research, primarily men view Lufthansa as their favourite place to work (FSW). In all, there’s a 75-25% split in favour of men. Of those who view Lufthansa as their FSW, more than half consists of people aged between 25 and 45. The airline is less popular among millennials and Gen-Z, with only a 5% share of that target group.

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Five important trends for talent acquisition in 2022 and 2023

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Universum surveyed a grand total of 1,656 talent leaders spread across 75 countries and 35 industries. The report also incorporates 60 of the 90 World’s Most Attractive Employers (WMAEs). The goal of the survey is to give an ideas as to how companies are competing in the midst of a critical talent shortage.

Trend #1: The hiring environment will get worse

Not to be the bearer of bad news, but Universum’s research shows the hiring environment for knowledge workers across industries is likely to worsen in the next 12 months. On average, 7 out of 10 talent leaders say the hiring environment is getting harder. That’s a record-high in the 8 years that Universum has run a talent leader survey.

Trend #2: Recruiting budgets are shrinking

Despite the notion that the hiring environment is bad, Universum’s research shows that recruiting budgets are shrinking in 2022. That’s even the case for the sixty of the World’s Most Attractive Employers, which in itself is remarkable because 58% of WMAEs say their recruiting needs for the next 12 months will increase.

Hiring needs for WMAE’s. Source: Universum

“Low unemployment coupled with rising numbers of open positions are both clear signals of the severity of the crisis.”

The overall hiring needs has increased by a whopping 23% from 2021 to 2022. Pre-pandemic, in 2019, that number was at 48% — but it dipped in 2020 and 2021. It seems as if the world of talent acquisition has fully awakened to its need for more people — but it may be too late. “Low unemployment coupled with rising numbers of open positions are both clear signals of the severity of the crisis”, the report states.

Trend #3: Companies still aren’t data-driven

In recent years, turning recruitment into a data-driven process has become a priority for talent leaders. But as often is the case, viewing something as a priority and actually prioritising is something else completely. Universum research indicates that only 50% of those surveyed ‘frequently or always’ make employer brand marketing decisions that are data-driven. “As hiring needs ramp up in 2022-23, making the argument for bigger budgets relies on a data-driven approach”, Universum say.

Trend #4: Building beats buying

Richard Mosley

As far as where the investments are made, the report points to ‘heavy investments’ in the field of reskilling existing talent and promoting people from within. “It’s a win-win for employers, who can access skills that are in high demand and/or low supply, while also building a reputation as a company that invests in talent”, the report states.

“Companies can source specific skills from within their own ranks, plus use the educational opportunities to attract and retain employees.”

“Given the severe shortage of specific skills such as developers, data scientists, and analysts, many companies are investing in university-quality training programs for high-potential talent”, says Richard Mosley, chief strategist at Universum. “Companies can source specific skills from within their own ranks, plus use the educational opportunities to attract and retain employees.”

Trend #5: Employer branding is the number one priority

Amidst the talent crisis, employer branding is widely viewed as the number one priority among large companies. For the WMAE, Employer Branding is in fact the top priority in 2022. 86% say it’s one of their top priorities, up 15 points from 2021. Even among non-WMAE enterprise brands, Employer Branding is a growing priority. 75% of enterprise brands say it’s a priority, compared to 65% last year.

86% say it’s one of their top priorities, up 15 points from 2021.

Best-in-class talent companies view Employer Branding as an asset, not an expense. “At a time when talent professionals are maxed out with high turnover and record-high hiring needs, Employer Branding helps across the spectrum of talent attraction, hiring and retention. From pulling in a larger pool of attractive candidates and improving offer acceptance rates, to building better employee experiences.”

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London Calling: the great revival of Europe’s most popular destination for companies and employees

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When delving into the pivotal moment that half of Britain doesn’t like talking about, some side-effects were always due. Truck-drivers had to throw away their British-made chicken sandwiches as they were stuck in longer Dover-to-Calais queues than they had grown accustomed to in their lives.

Particularly when the Brexit transition period ended on December 31st, 2020, it brought with it changes to immigration rules that had an immediate impact on the country. Suddenly, the country was scrambling for workers across sectors in which it had grown dependent on foreign imports. As staff shortages persisted, it brought upon another side-effect: its capital, London, wasn’t safe either. 

7.000 finance jobs lost

According to think tank New Financial, more than 440 financial services firms shifted jobs to the EU as a result of Brexit. Moreover, firms have moved £900bn to the EU. The think tank said more jobs and assets were likely to leave Britain in the coming months and years. New Financial identified over 440 companies and approximately 7,400 staff that were directly shifted out of London since the 2016 Brexit Vote.

“Over time other European cities will chip away at London’s lead.”

The report points to Dublin (1), Paris (2), Luxembourg (3), Frankfurt (4) and Amsterdam (5) as five clear winners in terms of attracting businesses from the UK. In the longer-term, the think tank expects Frankfurt to be the ‘winner’ in terms of assets and Paris. Particularly in terms of jobs. The flip-side as noted by the report is, however, that London’s position was so strong to begin with, it will remain the dominant center in Europe for the foreseeable future. “However, over time other European cities will chip away at London’s lead”, the report concluded.

Only European global financial powerhouse

When push comes to shove, London is still considered a global financial powerhouse. It is currently the only European city in the Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI)’s top 10. Where it trials only New York. Whereas the New Financial report may still ring true in coming years, new research by TechCrunch illustrates that companies are increasingly looking to London for expansion.

“London is still an appealing proposition relative to other major cities.”

The article cites data from FDI Markets, the Financial Times’ investment monitoring service. That data indicates that London has attracted the highest number of foreign direct investments into tech from international companies for the past few years, ahead of Singapore, Dubai, and New York. “While this data doesn’t necessarily tell the whole story. At a broad level it does suggest that some companies are still expanding. And London is still an appealing proposition relative to other major cities”, TechCrunch journalist Paul Sawers wrote.

‘Brexit isn’t that terrible’

On an episode of the the European Chad and Cheese Show, House of HR’s Lieven Van Nieuwenhuyze sees a slight recovery in companies willing to move to London. “So many companies closed their London offices after Brexit, then there was COVID remote work”, said Van Nieuwenhuyzet. “So London was getting kind of a European drain and now companies are coming back and 40% of those new companies are actually returning companies, just getting back to London, thinking: Okay, Brexit, isn’t that terrible.”

“Regulations also make London an ideal place for testing new technologies and product and services.”

“I think London is becoming a much more amenable place than it has before”, Joel Cheesman added. “The language of business more and more is English. So London becomes kind of an easy center point for English speakers. And being able to do business all around the world. England has the lowest corporate tax rate among all G7-countries. They have research and development tax credits that are really friendly to startups coming over and creating companies. Regulations also make London an ideal place for testing new technologies and product and services.”

London: #1 destination for European job-seekers

As more companies look for moves (back) into London, it appears Europe’s working population isn’t too far behind. According to extensive research conducted by Intelligence Group among more than 90.000 Europeans, London is the consensus number one destination to work and live in for European job-seekers. With 23%, it is by far the highest overall scorer too — With Paris (17%) and New York (16%) the only cities to come remotely close.

The press office for Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, was thrilled upon learning London’s ranking among European cities. “It is a very exciting read and we are thrilled to learn that London has ranked the most popular city for Europeans to live in”, the press officer said. “The Mayor has said he is very proud of this result.”

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Lufthansa Group ramps up recruitment; aims to hire 10,000 employees by 2024

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Ranging from security personnel to indeed pilots — staff shortages were on display throughout the entire aviation branche in recent months. Queues got longer, flights were missed, and flights were cancelled. In the US, approximately 116,000 flights were cancelled. While Europe became renowned in the summer of 2022 for doubling that number and being officially dubbed ‘the worst place to travel’.

Lufthansa has cancelled around 7,000 flights for the busy summer due to staff shortages and ground crew union strikes.

According to Bloomberg, Lufthansa has cancelled around 7,000 flights for the busy summer due to staff shortages and ground crew union strikes. It also notes that the airline’s pilots’ union has voted in favour of walkouts, but hasn’t yet decided whether to hold them as pay talks continue. The Group posted an operating profit (before interest and taxes) of 393 euros for the second quarter.

‘Toughing it out’

Amid the global COVID-19 pandemic, ‘toughing it out’ became the go-to phrase among airlines. Lufthansa Group, consisting of its namesake Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, and low-cost carrier German Wings were said to have cut a sector-leading third of its workforce to around 100,000 people at that time. Then, when the travel industry rapidly rose back to the pre-pandemic levels, the airline was short of cabin crew, ground staff and pilots. 

10,000 new hires by 2024

While Lufthansa initially axed 38,000 people, the group steadily looked at bringing in more personnel. The records show that Lufthansa Group lost a net number of 7,000 people between Q1 of 2021 and Q1 of 2022. Leaving the total number of employees at approximately 104,000. Now the company plans to increase that number by 10,000 employees by 2024. In a presentation announcing the group’s second quarter earnings, CEO Carsten Spohr said that Lufthansa plans to hire 5,000 new employees in the second half of 2022, and a similar number in 2023. 

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Josh Bersin: ‘The hot labour market has almost become a crisis’

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In many ways, when analysing the trends of the US labour market, it’s become increasingly hard to see anything happening as a glass half-full or half-empty-type scenario. On August 5th, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics released its employment situation summary for the month of July. In July, the report states that 528,000 jobs were created. “Job growth was widespread, led by gains in leisure and hospitality, professional and business services, and health care.”

“Economists keep getting it wrong.”

So where’s the bad news, you ask? Well, that lies in the notion that despite the jobs that are being created, the unemployment rate has edged down to pre-pandemic level of 3.5 percent. In other words: jobs are still being created en masse, but who’s there to fill them? ‘What does this mean?’, Josh Bersin asks in a recent blog entry. ‘Well, economists keep getting it wrong – it’s actually quite simple. The economy is shifting from goods to services, with an ever-increasing need for people.’

It’s not always sunnier in Europe

Whereas Bersin’s analysis are mainly based on the US, European countries have similar causes for concerns. The UK unemployment rate for February to April 2022 decreased by 0.2 percentage points on the quarter to 3.8%. Yet the number of job vacancies in March to May 2022 rose to a new record of 1,300,000.

The trend of record-high open vacancies and record-low unemployment is happening virtually everywhere.

In Germany, the unemployment rate also inched down to a record low of 2.8%, as the total number of vacancies reached a record high of 1.7 million in March. The Netherlands is no different, with roughly 451.000 open vacancies, and the total unemployment numbers dropping. The trend of record-high open vacancies and record-low unemployment is happening virtually everywhere.

‘The economy has peaked’

“It’s obvious from the economic data, that the economy today has peaked”, Bersin explains. “The Federal Reserve, the ECB and other organisations are raising interest rates to slow it down. That is a normal business cycle effect from 14 to 15 years of near zero interest rates. We also obviously have supply chain issues creating inflation. There’s been a lot of money pumped into the economy by the federal government and other governments around the world, and now we have to slow it down.”

“Wealth in the United States in general is as high as it’s ever been for most people, even though we still have this huge disparity of income.”

There doesn’t appear to be a global recession on the horizon, however, according to Bersin. “People are still buying things. People are going on vacation. Wealth in the United States in general is as high as it’s ever been for most people, even though we still have this huge disparity of income. But we’ve learned a lot through the pandemic, and we’re not out of it yet.”

What’s gone well?

But it’s not all doom and gloom. “I look back on what’s gone well: who would have guessed that every company would transform itself for remote and hybrid work and customer experiences, digital delivery of products and services”, Bersin notes. “Everybody has done this. I don’t think anybody would have ever imagined that this would be possible before the pandemic. And to accommodate that, companies have generally taken really good care of their employees. Employee experience has turned into a multi hundred million dollar billion dollar market.”

“People with skills can move. They can go to a new job without picking up and changing cities.”

“Companies are worried about well-being, mental health, resilience, what we call human-centered leadership. CEOs have been taking time to communicate with employees and listen, create a sense of purpose in the organisation. They have to because they can’t hire people fast enough to grow. The pandemic may or may not go away and in the near term, but if you don’t take care of your people, you will find yourself with high turnover. You will find yourself in an underperforming operation. People have a lot of autonomy right now. They have a lot of power over their careers. People with skills can move. They can go to a new job without picking up and changing cities.”

The systemic HR model: Recruit, Retain, Reskill, and Redesign

In September, Bersin plans to launch his company’s full Global Workforce Intelligence research. “The big message for CEOs and CHROs, however, is that you have to think about your company differently. You can no longer can you just recruit your way out of this problem. We need what we call systemic HR strategies and totally integrated HR operating models that bring together the four R’s: Recruit, Retain, Reskill, and Redesign, all in one integrated way. The only real solution, regardless of the direction of the economy, is to treat people as an asset.”

The hot labour market crisis

But in every sense of the word, the hot labour market has become a crisis, Bersin says. “We cannot manufacture more people in a flash. We can solve the global supply chain problem by building a factory, buying a ship, or scaling up a distribution center. People don’t work that way. We need to educate them, train them, and coach them to perform at work. And as all the data now shows, when you “push” people too hard, they just quit, check out, or change careers.”

“Employers continue to rely on traditional levers to attract and retain people, including compensation, titles, and advancement opportunities. “

Bersin cites studies that illustrate that the desire for change is real among employees. The quitting trend won’t quit, as McKinsey recently aptly put it. “What we are seeing is a fundamental mismatch between companies’ demand for talent and the number of workers willing to supply it”, they said. “Employers continue to rely on traditional levers to attract and retain people, including compensation, titles, and advancement opportunities.”

Read more:

27 things we didn’t know about the European labour market (part 2/2)

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A clear-cut European labour market? Well, that doesn’t exist. Just as much as you could make the argument that the job market in the US can’t be viewed as singular, Europe is renowned for hosting many cultures and subcultures across its member states. Knowing the differences and intricacies of the continent will undoubtedly help you recruit more successfully across borders. Just that was at the heart of Intelligence Group’s newest report: the European Talent Intelligence Manual 2022. 

“These surprising insights are the secrets to being successful in recruiting.”

Based on extensive research and combining that with the finest data from Eurostat, Intelligence Group recently launched the first European manual of its kind. “With the emergence of the Talent Intelligence phenomenon, local customisation in the recruitment approach can be automated”, said Geert-Jan Waasdorp, founder of the research company. “The important arguments of scalability and uniformity have to be met. In general, these surprising insights are the secrets to being successful in recruiting. Which local job boards work? Which social media are effective ad what are the specific motivations of employees on a country-by-country basis? All the dos and don’ts for each individual country are in there.”

The remaining 14 insights

So — which surprising insights does this first-ever edition of the European Talent Intelligence Manual 2022 exactly yield? In the first article delved into the first 13 insights. In this second article, we delve into the 14 remaining insights (and countries in the report)

#14. Bulgaria’s noteworthy low minimum wage

With an average minimum wage of 332 euros per month, Bulgaria ranks last in the entire continent. Latvia (500 euros), Lithuania (500 euros) Romania (515 euros) round off the top four. On the other end of the spectrum, not every country has a listed average of minimum wage. Of the countries that are included, The Netherlands ranks highest with 1.725 euros, while Belgium (1658 euros) and Germany (1621 euros) are not too far behind.

With an average minimum wage of 332 euros per month, Bulgaria ranks last in the entire continent.

#15. Women are more educated

No, that’s not just a statement. In Europe, 54% of women between the age of 25 and 34 are in possession of a tertiary degree, compared to 35% of men. That’s a staggering 19% difference. The average between the two lies at 40.5%.

#16. But a larger percentage of men have work

European Union countries have a total, combined population of 447 million. Of that number, 77.1% is part of the working population. Of that 77.1%, 92.8% currently have a job and are working members of the working population. The total participation percentage of women lies at 88.7%, while the participation percentage of men lies slightly higher at 93.1%.

The total participation percentage of women lies at 88.7%, while the participation percentage of men lies slightly higher at 93.1%.

#17. People over fifty are unlikely to be hunted

 Recruiters are hunting more to solve staff shortages. But if you’re over fifty, you’re not likely to be on the receiving end of their recruiting sniper. Norway heads up the list, where 70% of those over fifty are said to never be contacted by recruiters. France (67%), Germany (64%), Belgium (60%) and Denmark (58%) round off the top five in terms of a lack of recruiter contact. Intelligence Group found much lower (and therefore better) scores in Poland (37%), Bulgaria (42%) and Greece (43%), where the elderly are hunted more.

Norway heads up the list, where 70% of those over fifty are said to never be contacted by recruiters.

#18. Job boards are still hot

Even though job boards have been on the receiving end of their fair share of criticism, European jobseekers still seem to take to them in their attempts to find jobs. Jobseekers in a broad scope of countries — Austria, Belgium, Germany, Finland, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Spain, UK, Sweden, and Switzerland — still list job boards as their primary orientation channel for a new job.

#19. France’s window advertisements

While the hospitality industry may still lean on window advertisements to attract candidates, it’s not a stretch to say window vacancies are largely a thing of the past. That sentiment rings true for most of Europe, with the sole exception of France. While search engines rank first among the nation’s favourite orientation channels (31%), window advertisements (30%) rank second on the list. Rest assured; France is the only country to have window advertisements on the list.

While search engines rank first among the nation’s favourite orientation channels (31%), window advertisements (30%) rank second on the list.

#20. The pension-savvy Dutch

When is the last time you used a pension plan in your employer branding strategy — or even in a job ad? Well, if you’re looking at recruiting in The Netherlands, now is the time to start. While jobseekers in many European countries generally don’t view a pension plan as an important decision point, the Dutch see it as the most important working condition. Bulgaria, Denmark, Norway, and the UK are the only other countries where it ranks in the top three.

The Dutch see the pension plan as the most important working condition.

#21. The application process shouldn’t last longer than 22 days

Mañana, mañana. Well, when it comes to the application process, it’s hoy, hoy. When the Spanish don’t want the application process to take longer than 18 days, it’s a must to shorten the process where possible. Generally, the number of days lie anywhere between 18 and 22 days across the continent. Slovakia (33 days) and Sweden (31 days) are notable outliers. Meanwhile, Bulgarians, Czechs and Lithuanians are even less patient: they’re giving you a maximum of 15 days.

#22. Commuting isn’t an issue for everyone

An acceptable commute time is one of the 5 most important pull factors for Belgians, British, French, Danes, the Dutch, Hungarians, Norwegians, Italians, Slovaks, Czechs, and the Swiss, but nowhere else. That is quite remarkable, because those countries are generally renowned for their road infrastructures. It appears that the better the roads, the more traffic jams… the more people view commuting as a potential issue.

It appears that the better the roads, the more traffic jams… the more people view commuting as a potential issue.

#23. Europe’s next generation wants flexibility

The report also includes insights on students across the various countries, the continent’s next generation. And they have spoken when it comes to their desire for flexibility in their future jobs. Among students in the 24 countries, 16 name flexible working hours as their number one working condition. Students in the remaining eight countries all name flexibility as their second most important working condition.

Among students in the 24 countries, 16 name flexible working hours as their number one working condition.

#24. Two applications are plenty

In many other countries on the European labour market, interviewees generally view two job applications as enough before they’ve found a job. The French seem a little more judicious when it comes to their job search; the research indicates that they need at least three job applications.

#25. Feedback, please

When it comes to the application process, European jobseekers seem generally hungry for personal feedback. In Estonia and the Netherlands, jobseekers go as far as naming it their number one aspect of the process. In Denmark, for example, being able to apply easily online ranks atop the list, while the French value ‘being able to present themselves’. The Swiss, meanwhile, seem keen on a meeting with the team manager.

#27. Local job boards are still the way to go

Several countries still have a local job board as their most popular job board. The Belgians have vdab.be, in Bulgaria Zaplata.bg, and in Slovenia Mojedelo.com. Prace.cz is the Czech Republic’s favourite, Profesia.sk in Slovakia, ejobs.ro in Romania, pracuj.pl in Poland, Ams.at in Austria, Cvmarket.lv in Latvia, profession.hu in Hungary, Kariera.gr in Greece. In Estonia cvkeskus.ee, in Denmark Jobindex.dk, and in Portugal net-empregos.com.

#28. Spain’s great migration

With over 750,000 people immigrating to Spain and nearly 300,000 Spaniards leaving, Spain’s total migration numbers are highest. At the time of this study, the Germany had a migration surplus of more than 310,000 people and the UK of 320,000 people. However, virtually all other countries remained well below 100,000. Some even had an emigration surplus, such as Romania, Denmark and Belgium.

This article is part two of a two-part series into the 27 eye-opening insights stemming from Intelligence Group’s European Talent Intelligence Manual 2022. Read part 1/2, containing the first 13 insights here. 

Yasar Ahmad (HelloFresh): ‘A hiring culture doesn’t just stop when that person is hired’

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Whenever you think of food deliveries, it’s hard to think of anyone else than HelloFresh. When co-founders Dominik Richter and Thomas Griesel hand-packed the company’s first orders in Berlin in November 2011, it would have been hard to imagine the success that would come their way in the following years. As Richter and Griesel hand-delivered fresh ingredients to its first ten customers, they’d soon arrive at a stage wherein they wouldn’t be able to do it themselves.

Hello Fresh has rapidly grown into the de-facto market leader for meal kit deliveries in most countries where the company is active.

HelloFresh’s rise has been staggering. According to its latest data, it delivered approximately 1 billion meals to right around 8.5 million active customers spread across 17 countries. It has rapidly grown into the de-facto market leader for meal kit deliveries in most countries where the company is active. Which means that the recruitment side of things has had to follow suit. According to Yasar Ahmad, HelloFresh’s Vice President Talent, it has seen them going from 11 to 25 thousand employees in just the past twelve months.

“Last July, I was able to hire around 60 recruiters in the space of a month.”

The same applied to a group where the scarcity is real: recruiters. “We scaled significantly with the recruiting team. Last July, I was able to hire around 60 recruiters in the space of a month. Because the story was simple. Join our team and you’ll be the most expensive coordinator in the world. Why? Because you just won’t just be a coordinator. You’ll be a talent experience specialist, a talent intelligence specialist.”

Watch the full interview

ToTalent co-founder Martijn Hemminga interviewed Yasar Ahmad, HelloFresh’s Vice President Talent at RecFest. Watch the full interview below:

‘Driving the hiring culture’

Ahmad and HelloFresh’s strategy revolves around driving the hiring culture. “It’s all about creating an environment where the organisation grows itself”, Ahmad told ToTalent co-founder Martijn Hemminga in a video interviewnwer. “I think when you understand the purpose of a business or you have a purpose as an organisation and you want to achieve that, each individual within the organisation should really drive that by hiring over firing great people. We want great people to work for our organisation so we can grow.”

“I think hiring culture should be ingrained in all organisation’s DNA.”

“I think a hiring culture is more about the end-to-end process”, Ahmad explains. “A hiring culture doesn’t just stop when that person is hired. It stops until the person’s left. The hiring continues during someone’s career. I could offer internal mobility options. That’s part of the hiring culture. If you join my organisation, for me it’s about how can I create an environment where my recruitment team is reaching out and saying: Hey, do you want to join a move to New Zealand or Australia? I think hiring culture should be ingrained in all organisation’s DNA.”

‘You’re part of a conveyor belt’

Ahmad sees hiring managers struggling with the expectations of their own role. “Hiring managers in organisations are there to represent their functions, to represent the organisation to hire great people to join the company. A lot of the times in organisations, hiring managers almost assume the position of the recruiter, which I feel is the wrong approach. I think the recruiters have the expertise in attracting people. The hiring managers should be the ones that kind of sell the opportunity alongside the recruiters.”

Source: harry_nl, 2019 Streetscooter Work “HelloFresh”

“I think the onus is on the entire organisation to understand that each person has their own role and responsibility during this process.”

So the onus is on the entire organisation to understand that they’re part of a conveyor belt, Ahmad says. “I think the onus is on the entire organisation to understand that each person has their own role and responsibility during this process. So it’s not like a hiring manager can do the job by themselves or a recruiter can do the job by themselves. Each person has a part to play.”

The pi-shaped road to fulfilment

With employee fulfilment becoming a more serious issue for most employers, Ahmad sees reason for taking an approach centred on becoming pi-shaped. “You have your I-shaped people who are usually very one competency driven, then there’s a T-shaped that relies on the breadth first, and then the competency. Now you have pi-shaped, where you have multiple competencies — and even comb-shaped, with even more competencies.”

Corina Anghel, LinkedIn

“Organisations should be focusing on adding more to people’s plates, but within the 40 hours that you have during the week.”

“I think the element of fulfilment is currently what’s missing at a lot of places, partly due to remote and hybrid working. Organisations should be focusing on adding more to people’s plates, but within the 40 hours that you have during the week. So far, for us in recruitment, we’ve done that by literally adding sourcers to do telemarketing employee branding, and getting our coordinators to do talent intelligence and getting our recruiters to do internal mobility.”

“If they’re happier, they’ll do a better job. It kind of all reciprocates. If your morale is higher, you’ll be 30% more productive.”

I think we’re coming to a critical time in the industry and in general, whether you’re a recruiter or not, where you want to become more pi-shaped. For us, it’s about trying to think: OK, you do this one job, how can I give you more so you feel more fulfilled? By adding multiple competencies, the team feels more fulfilled because they’re learning so much more. If they’re learning so much more, they’re happier. If they’re happier, they’ll do a better job. It kind of all reciprocates. If your morale is higher, you’ll be 30% more productive.”

HelloFresh’s TA 4.0

“Most TA teams want a strong roadmap. They want to know: where am I going? And after that: where am I going after that? At HelloFresh, we’ve dubbed it TA 4.0. The first step is always: How do we add multiple competencies? But then we have separate, very blue-sky thinking goals that we use as steps. There’s turning candidates into customers. Then we look at how we can offer in 24 hours. Then there’s the 1 million CVs that we receive every year. What can we do with them? How can we become more sustainable? These are all just ideas at the moment, a bit of writing on a piece of paper, but it’s about having a focus.”

“What does your team aspire to be like? What are they focusing on? And that’s where the clear goals gives your team a sense of motivation, and excitement.”

Finally, Ahmad sees an opportunity for TA to break the recruitment team up into three parts. “One is delivering, which is your day-to-day job. If you don’t do deliver, you get fired. Then two: process excellence. How can we constantly improve our process, which every team leader should focus on? And three, which gets ignored the most, is the innovation part. So I would say to each leader, make sure you’ve got all three parts. The delivery and process excellence, but also think that about the innovation. What does your team aspire to be like? What are they focusing on? And that’s where the clear goals gives your team a sense of motivation, and excitement. It is true forward-thinking and allows room for innovation.”

Read more:

 

Chad Sowash and Joel Cheesman (Chad & Cheese): ‘It’s about standing up for the little guy’

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Even though it may feel like it, Chad Sowash and Joel Cheesman haven’t been podcast hosts forever. Sowash, a former Army Infantry drill sergeant, cut his teeth in online recruitment in 1998 with an outfit called Online Career Center before it launched a year later as Monster.com. He then went on to build DirectEmployers from the ground up, later steering RecruitMilitary toward revenue as CXO and built Randstad’s first military veteran hiring program.

Cheesman, meanwhile, is a self-described recruitment technology nerd. With previous experience working at eSpan, one of the world’s first job boards. In 2005, he founded HRSEO, a search-engine marketing company for HR, which was sold in 2009 to jobing.com. Cheesman is also well-known for founding Cheezhead, an award-winning industry blog.

Chad and Cheese’s two main buys

As more vendors enter the recruiting sphere, recruiters and TA leaders have their work cut out for them in picking and choosing the right solution. For years, Sowash and Cheesman have delved into the hundreds of companies within the world of recruitment as part of their buy and sell segment. But what would be their absolute top two?

“I was a huge antagonist early on, but he [Aaron Matos] put together a team that I do not think in their space can be beat.”

“The team at Paradox is unparalleled”, Sowash added. Nobody has a better team and has as much experience. And here’s the thing. Their founder, Aaron Matos has failed before, which is exactly what you need from a founder. They have to taste that. If they don’t taste it, they don’t understand what it actually means and focus on what the real world needs. I was a huge antagonist early on, but he put together a team that I do not think in their space can be beat.”

“Jobcase would be another”, Cheesman said. “Their CEO, Fred Goff is amazingly in touch with the industry. He’s a CEO who will reach out to or meet at various times to kind test the temperature of certain things, which most CEOs don’t do. He is supremely intelligent, and much smarter than we are. Which is one of the reasons why he gets a lot of information from from the the industry before and during the decision-making process. He’s an amazing leader.”

Building start-ups

“The hardest part about being a startup is being a founder”, Sowash said. “Because you literally have to you have to own every aspect of the business. Every founder needs to really understand that you can’t just be a CEO and focus on the business. So for me, it’s about the person behind the business. One of the guys that I love just sold his business to iCIMS, Adam Gordon of CandidateID. I think he embodies everything that makes a company.”

“If want to build a start-up, I think you have to model yourself after a guy like Adam Gordon.”

“You can have great tech, but you have to get noticed”, Sowash continued. “Back in the day, Jason Goldberg did not have great tech when he founded Jobster. In fact, I think you could say he had shitty tech. Yet he got more funding than anybody else did. Because Jobstar had a vision and he articulated the vision well. But if want to build a start-up, I think you have to model yourself after a guy like Adam Gordon.”

‘If you try to control everything, you’re going to lose’

Leadership discussions have shifted in recent years, from bossy bosses to emphatic leaders. What is Sowash and Cheesman’s advice for talent leaders? “You have to learn how to delegate”, Cheesman said convincingly. “You have to be able to let go. You have to be able to trust your people. You have to be able to. And not just mentally but physically, you have to be able to physically let go and let people work the way they want to work, how they want to work and when they want to work.”

“To me, the leader of the future can delegate and control, even though they’re not putting their fingers in everything possible.”

“And that’s not easy”, Cheesman added. “Because the typical CEO, the personalities, they’re alphas. So they want to control things, drive stuff and push, push, push. It’s incredibly hard to do that today because you’re working from home. You’re in other parts of the world. To me, the leader of the future that can delegate and control, even though they’re not putting their fingers in everything possible. It’s all about trusting your people and delegating. If you try to control everything, you’re going to lose.”

‘Ask yourself: is anyone going to die?’

As corporate cultures go, Sowash and Cheesman have a wealth of experience. What sort of metaphors from their careers do they still use in their everyday lives? “My mantra is a simple one”, Sowash says. “As soon as you get into a corporate culture, there’s chaos and everyone wants to freak out. The first thing that I teach my team and I have to make sure that they understand is when you are presented with chaos, you need to take a step back, take a deep breath, and then ask yourself: is anybody going to die?”

The first thing that I teach my team is when they’re presented with chaos, you need to take a step back, take a deep breath, and then ask yourself: is anybody going to die?”

“And if the answer is yes, then dial 911. But other than that, it gives you a level setting opportunity. I think I was lucky enough to be in the military to understand what that actually means. But I feel like other people may need their leader to step up and say: it’s okay, just breathe. That’s the mantra. You should just breathe. Most knee-jerk reactions happen when things aren’t even legitimately important. We’ve seen that from founders over the years and we’ve seen that from big CEOs over the years.”

“The problem tends to be: we’re going to do everything that’s cool and nothing and the real stuff doesn’t get done.”

“I think it’s important to make sure that you have a budget dedicated to when your head’s on fire, or when you come across the hottest new, shiny thing”, Cheesman added. “So when those things come up, you have a budget. The problem tends to be: we’re going to do everything that’s cool and nothing and the real stuff doesn’t get done. Or we’re not going to do anything that’s outside of our comfort zone. As an organisation, you need to find your place between not doing anything and doing what fits your budget.”

‘It’s about standing up for the little guy’

Whenever you listen to Sowash and Cheesman — as thousands of listeners around the world indeed have — it’s not hard to envision them spending their knowledge on literally anything else. Instead, the two men have continued to produce insightful podcasts at an extremely high rate. “For me it’s all about standing up for the little guy”, Sowash said.

“I really want to ensure that my two daughters and my son can actually advance in the world moving forward.”

“If you think about it, whenever we talk about tech or we talk about the industry, we stand up for the little guy. Pay transparency, equity, those types of things. If two middle age white guys can stand up for that and our voices can be heard by anybody, then maybe we can actually push the piece forward. I really want to ensure that my two daughters and my son can actually advance in the world moving forward.”

‘It’s less about currency, and more about legacy’

“That sounds like the yearbook answer there”, Cheesman adds. “Mine’s probably much more selfish than that. I think a little-known fact is that Chad and I are the same age. We were born exactly one day apart. So part of the dynamic of our relationship is that we do come from the same timetable. So we have that dynamic that is really, really unique.”

“At 50, you start thinking sort of less about currency and a little more about legacy. In other words, what am I leaving behind?”

“But at 50, you start thinking sort of less about currency and a little more about legacy. In other words, what am I leaving behind? What mark on the world am I making? And let’s be honest, none of us are curing cancer. None of us are solving the big problems of the world. But in some little way, we are helping organisations grow.”

“I truly believe our grandkids one day will listen to this podcast and just say: What was Grandpa like? And what was it that made this guy today?“

“We’re helping people, you know, get jobs and be successful”, Cheesman continues. “Hopefully I’m leaving something behind, you know, financially. But I think, you know, it’s: What am I? I truly believe our grandkids one day will listen to this podcast and just say: What the hell was Grandpa like? And what was it that made this guy today? We’re leaving a little bit of a footprint of who we are or where we were in the world, which I think is kind of cool.”

All photo credit belongs to the fine folks of the E-recruitment Congress, where Editor-in-Chief Jasper Spanjaart was able to interview Chad Sowash and Joel Cheesman.