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Hello and welcome back to Business English Pod for today's lesson, the first in a two-part series on recruiting.
In this lesson, we'll focus on identifying your recruiting needs.
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The world of human resources has changed dramatically over the past few years.
There is more movement in the workforce than ever before, with many people retiring, starting new careers, switching jobs and reevaluating their priorities.
And this kind of movement isn't likely to stop.
The latest generation to enter the workplace have very different values than their parents, and it feels like the days of employee loyalty are officially over.
So how can individual companies deal with these shifts?
Well, many HR professionals will tell you that they need to always be recruiting.
This approach involves a change in mindset for many businesses.
It's about constantly thinking about your changing staffing needs, adapting your systems and approaches when necessary, and strong networking.
A big part of smart recruiting involves identifying your changing needs.
When you sit down to look at a role, you might start with an overall description, but then you need to assess changes to the role and compare new needs against former role descriptions.
As you build a new job description, you should also ask whether there are skills gaps on the team and you should develop a general picture of your ideal candidate.
In today's dialogue, we'll listen to a conversation between Josh, Steph, and Maya.
Josh is a marketing manager looking to hire a new brand manager.
Steph is an HR manager, and Maya is in charge of recruitment.
Together, they're working out how the brand manager role should look.
As you listen to the dialogue, try to answer the following questions.
One, what kinds of changes to the role does Josh describe?
Two, what specific skills does the team lack that can be part of the changing brand manager role?
Three, how does Maya describe the ideal candidate for the position?
Okay, so let's just think in broad terms for starters, yeah?
You mean the overall role, right?
Yes, perhaps you can walk me through the top-level job specs.
Well, we're looking for a highly creative brand manager to oversee two product lines, one of them new, reporting directly to the marketing manager.
And overseeing a team of three, which Josh let me know about earlier.
Okay, great.
And so, you said before that the role is evolving somewhat.
Can you explain how?
Yeah.
So, with Marcus moving on, we see this as an opportunity to tweak the role a bit.
Slightly larger team, expanded portfolio, and with the new product line, we need someone with solid digital experience.
All right.
Let's have a look at the previous description.
We've got supervisory duties, overall brand direction, minimum seven years experience.
So some of this language simply needs to be updated, and we can add to that as needed.
Josh, I know you've articulated a lot of those things in that memo you sent me on Friday.
Maybe you can pass it on to Steph, too.
Absolutely.
Super.
Now, can I just go back to one of the things you mentioned?
You said solid digital experience.
And so I understand that reflects some of the shifts in brand strategy.
Just curious, if we think of the team overall, beyond this role, are there other skills or competencies that we might be missing?
Hmm.
Well, one thing we've talked about as a team is project management skills.
I mean, it's nobody's area of expertise, but everyone does it.
That may be a bit of a gap.
So, something we might address in this role change?
For sure, yeah.
That kind of expertise would help not just with the product portfolio that they'd be overseeing, but should benefit the team overall as well.
Okay, and just developing a picture of the ideal candidate.
Fair to say, we're looking for an energetic and creative leader, strategic thinker, but also highly organized and able to manage complex projects.
Sounds good to me.
I'd be happy with half of that, to be honest.
Now let's go through the dialogue again and look at the language and techniques Josh, Steph and Maya used to discuss their recruiting needs.
Okay, so let's just think in broad terms for starters, yeah?
You mean the overall role, right?
Yes, perhaps you can walk me through the top-level job specs.
Well, we're looking for a highly creative brand manager to oversee two product lines, one of them new, reporting directly to the marketing manager.
At the beginning of their conversation.
Steph wants to focus on the broad terms or overall description of the role.
This will provide a general idea of the position before they get into specifics.
Note that Josh mentions the job title brand manager as well as the basic area of responsibility, which is two product lines or sets of related products.
Josh also finds it important to mention who the brand manager will report to or be supervised by.
This helps everyone understand where the position fits into the organizational chart.
What are some other ways to give high-level job specs or specifications?
Let's practice some more examples.
This is a full-time position working with the sales team in the Northwest region.
The job involves providing administrative support to the operations manager.
The regional manager position oversees five branches and reports to the director of commercial banking.
We're looking for a computer technician to work on-site to maintain our IT systems.
Once they have a broad picture of the role, what does Steph want to understand next?
Let's listen. and overseeing a team of three, which Josh let me know about earlier.
Okay, great.
And so, you said before that the role is evolving somewhat?
Can you explain how?
As your business changes, so do the requirements of each job or role.
When someone leaves a position, it's an opportune time to assess whether the role needs to change or evolve.
As HR manager, Steph needs to understand this shifting landscape of needs within the company.
But it's important for everyone to be thinking about changing needs.
Let's run through some other ways to ask about how a role might change.
How do you feel this position needs to change going forward?
Are there things we need to add to this role to reflect how operations have changed?
Do you see this role staying the same or changing somewhat in the future?
In what ways can we update this job description based on current realities?
So how does Josh see the role of brand manager evolving?
Yeah, so with Marcus moving on, we see this as an opportunity to tweak the role a bit.
Slightly larger team, expanded portfolio, and with the new product line, we need someone with solid digital experience.
All right, let's have a look at the previous description.
We've got supervisory duties, overall brand direction, minimum seven years experience.
So some of this language simply needs to be updated and we can add to that as needed.
As you can hear, Josh is talking about tweaks or small changes to the position.
These include changes in what products the person will oversee, the team size and the experience required.
With these changes in mind, the group can then assess the previous role description.
Steph goes through the description naming the overall duties which match up with some of the topics that Josh mentioned in discussing changes to the role.
She can then assess what needs to be updated or added.
Let's have a look at some more ways to assess a previous role description, especially when exploring changes to that role.
It doesn't look like there's anything in the previous job description about management duties.
The major responsibilities I'm seeing are business development and client relations.
This list of duties is great, but the qualifications may need to be updated.
I see managing recruitment and retention, but nothing about managing the benefits program.
All right.
They've discussed some ways the role will be expanded.
But Steph has another important question that will help the group in identifying needs.
Josh, I know you've articulated a lot of those things in that memo you sent me on Friday.
Maybe you can pass it on to Steph, too.
Absolutely.
Super.
Now, can I just go back to one of the things you mentioned?
You said, solid digital experience.
And so I understand that reflects some of the shifts in brand strategy.
Just curious if we think of the team overall, beyond this role...
Are there other skills or competencies that we might be missing?
Previously, Josh mentioned a shift in the type of experience required for the role.
This leads staff to wonder about other potential gaps in competencies or abilities on the team.
This demonstrates how important it is not to think of roles in isolation.
The brand manager role fits into a larger team.
And if there are skills that the entire team is missing, then they may be able to fill those gaps with changes to the brand manager position.
What are some other ways to ask about gaps in skills on a team?
Let's practice a few more examples.
Are there any particular skills that the current team is lacking?
What would you say are some areas of competency that are missing right now?
The team looks okay now, but are there gaps we should address for the future?
In terms of skills, is there an area where we need to improve as a team?
Next we can hear that Josh does indeed think there's an area of expertise or skill that they might be missing.
Hmm.
Well, one thing we've talked about as a team is project management skills.
I mean, it's nobody's area of expertise, but everyone does it.
That may be a bit of a gap.
So, something we might address in this role change.
For sure, yeah.
That kind of expertise would help not just with the product portfolio that they'd be overseeing, but should benefit the team overall as well.
With this understanding of how the role needs to change, the group is ready to discuss the kind of person they're looking for.
Okay, and just developing a picture of the ideal candidate.
Fair to say, we're looking for an energetic and creative leader, strategic thinker, but also highly organized and able to manage complex projects.
Sounds good to me.
I'd be happy with half of that, to be honest.
The group started with a general description of the role and now they're summarizing a general description of the ideal or perfect candidate.
This description includes some of the information that Josh identified at the beginning, but it also includes aspects of the role that have changed.
In particular, Maya names the ability to manage complex projects.
With a clear picture of an ideal candidate, you'll be in a good position to identify the right person for the job.
Let's practice some more ways of describing ideal candidates.
What we need is an energetic salesperson who understands the restaurant business.
The ideal candidate is a mature and reliable person with experience in customer service.
This role is perfect for an ambitious and creative marketing professional.
The group has done a great job of discussing the brand manager role and how it has to change.
Some of those changes reflect changes in responsibility and experience, and some reflect gaps in skills on the team.
With this clarity, they can move on to prepare a good job description.
Now let's practice some of the language we learned in today's lesson.
Imagine you work as a director in a company that sells products across the country.
You are talking with your HR director about a position that needs to be filled.
You'll hear a cue by the HR director.
Then, I'll give you a suggestion for what you can say in response.
We'll guide you through each step in the practice and provide an example answer for each response.
Ready?
Let's give it a go.
All right.
Maybe we can start with an overall description for the job.
Start by saying that you're looking for a sales manager for the team in the Western region.
Answer Yes, we're looking for a sales manager for the team in the western region.
And we're replacing the outgoing sales manager, correct?
Now agree and ask whether the role needs to be updated.
Answer.
That's right, but I wonder if the role needs to be updated.
Good question.
I think working closely with marketing is important, but wasn't that part of the role already?
Next, state that the previous job description just involves sales strategy and team supervision.
Answer.
Well, the previous job description just involved sales strategy and team supervision.
Okay, so let's make sure we add collaborating with marketing as part of the role.
Next, say you agree and ask if there are other skills gaps on the existing team.
Answer.
Agreed.
And I wonder if there are other skills gaps on the existing team.
I think good writing skills might be a bit of a gap on the current team, so that's important.
Finally say that it sounds like the ideal candidate should be a good communicator with management experience.
Answer okay, so it sounds like the ideal candidate should be a good communicator with management experience.
Now let's practice some other vocabulary we've covered in this lesson.
In a moment you hear a series of sentences with the word replace for the beep.
Repeat each sentence, including the missing word.
For example, if you hear Can you just me through the basic job description?
You can say, Can you just walk me through the basic job description?
After each response, we'll provide the correct answer.
Let's begin.
I think we need someone with...
Answer.
I think we need someone with expertise in both hardware and software.
Answer.
The regional manager oversees the entire team of ten people.
We don't need big changes, but we might need to... the roll a bit.
Answer.
We don't need big changes, but we might need to tweak the roll a bit.
Ryan is a good employee, but he has some in his communication skills.
Answer.
Ryan is a good employee, but he has some gaps in his communication skills.
We've reached the end of this lesson on identifying needs in the recruiting process.
We've looked at giving an overall description of a position and asking about changing role needs.
We've also covered how to assess a previous role description and ask about skills gaps on a team.
And finally, we've learned how to give a brief description of an ideal candidate.
For more practice.
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Thanks for listening, and see you again soon.
