30 years of Recruiting Wisdom from Volvo Cars' John Rose

Ready, set, go! 🏁

Adway just went Live with one of our most requested speakers!

May we present to you, John Rose, Senior Global Talent Sourcer at Volvo Cars.

For over 30 years, John has been passionately involved in all things talent sourcing, attraction and candidate engagement, and is at the absolute frontlines of transformation in TA.

Adway’s CMO Sara Dalsfelt got the full rundown, so all of you in TA can innovate your sourcing strategies and adapt to the future by:

• Mastering the art of making your organisation a magnet for top talent.
• Anticipating and fulfilling hiring needs with forward-thinking approaches and proactive tools.
• Realising that a system is only as good as its application: how alive is your data?
• Never losing sight of the goal: while the evolution of TA speeds up, the core values remain the same!

Buckle up and watch the full session:

Keep reading for the key takeaways below!

How to Make Your Organisation a Magnet for Top Talent

Mastering the art of being magnetic to top talent is the key to winning the “war” for their coveted attention.

Over the past three decades, where technology has skyrocketed our capabilities in sourcing and talent attraction, John says some of the most impactful leaps and bounds have been made in data consolidation, automation and usability.

In a nutshell, we’ve gone from waving a red lantern in front of a horse and cart to effortlessly driving a software-operated electric vehicle. Gone are the days of industry books and supplier lists. Everything we need is at the tip of our fingers or the clicks of our mouses.

So with all of this data and technology within reach, which strategies can you use to help your organisation become a top talent magnet? Read on:

Don’t Fall Back on Your Existing Employer Brand or Marketing Message

Even household names need a refresh in the employer branding department. By over relying on your existing brand attributes, you can easily get stuck right where you don’t want to be: in the past.

Take stock of your current employer branding and recruitment marketing materials and shift toward showcasing “a day in the life” of working at your company, with authentic employee testimonials about how exciting and rewarding it is on the “inside.”

With the Adway platform, you can turn potential candidates on to your organisation with programmatic employer branding messaging, so things stay fresh throughout the year.

Seize the Opportunity to Become a Strategic Partner

There’s never been a better time to do so!

At Volvo Cars, sourcing sits at the highest level of data-driven strategic partnership and includes talent intelligence.

Learn more about how to build your business case for recruitment marketing here.

Avoid Technological Rabbit Holes

Technology has allowed for the consolidation of data into a single source with several different pathways. Some of those pathways are helping TA professionals deliver successful results everyday, while others are glorious, glittery rabbit holes  that get them stuck in the weeds.

This is why it’s crucial to keep honing your own skills in self control, so you can get to where you want to be, not where you are.

Take the Automation Superhighway

At Volvo Cars, automation is fast becoming the expresslane for effectiveness and efficiency in talent acquisition.

From generative AI to data validation, driving automation forward while staying true to the company’s core values is the line that every TA professional should be ready to tow if they want to keep evolving in the industry.

Adapt to The Hiring Needs of the Future

In the future, it won’t be one single tool or technology that will help the TA industry convert the global workforce’s best talent.

According to John, Generative AI will play a pivotal part, but the ability to utilise a wide array of data sources to gather insights and engage in continuous learning to stay on the forefront will be essential for TA professionals to adapt to the hiring needs of the future.

Experiment, But Stay True to Your Core Values

On that note, how do you manage every shiny, new tool the industry has to offer while staying true to your current hiring needs? John says it’s possible to be concurrent with the two.

Keep your existing operational deliverables at the heart of any technological advances you intend to make. Look at how each system is currently operating and assess how you can perform that task in the same way or, ideally, even better. But resist the urge to veer too far off track. A/B testing is a great way to continuously keep yourself in check.

Don’t stop experimenting with the tools and tech that can make your life easier, more efficient and more cost-effective. Then, conduct the proper testing and put together a business case that supports your future hiring needs.

Keep Your Data Alive

Actionable data is the only way forward in today’s rapidly changing TA landscape.

Whether it’s your ATS, CRM or any other areas where you’re storing data, your candidate pipeline is only as good as how up-to-date and “alive” your data is. Continuing to nurture past candidates by asking for information updates is an important way to keep sought-after talent at your fingertips. What may have been a “misfit” a few months ago could now be a perfect match. But without the right data, how would you ever know?

Steer From a Reactive to Proactive Penetration Strategy

By keeping your data alive, you already know which messages are resonating with which candidates. You’re constantly sitting on invaluable insights, which puts you in the position to steer from reactive to proactive.

Instead of setting a certain candidate criteria and sifting through to see who matches it, proactive talent attraction lets you visualise who is the absolute best match for your company and your job opening.

Design With the Candidate Experience in Mind

Instead of screening candidates out of the hiring funnel, it’s time for TA professionals to screen them in. Ideally, the most educated, talented and qualified candidate will make their way through the funnel with ease, because you’ve armed them with the information they need to move forward at every step.  

By putting the right information in front of the candidate at exactly the right time, selling the lifestyle of your company, and leaving no questions unanswered at the end of the hiring process, you’ll be left with a highly-educated and potential-ready new hire.

At Adway, everything we do keeps TA professionals at the forefront of technology and is designed with data, usability and the candidate experience in mind. Learn more about how to maximise completed applications and convert more quality candidates at speed with a mobile first, intuitive application journey.

Top Takeaways

If John could only let you depart with one takeaway from today’s session, this would be it: 

"Do not be afraid to embrace the future, but make sure you are on the journey with the future. Move forward, but make it smart, efficient and human."

As we say at Adway, you can challenge the status quo, but you still have to lean into the task. If you see a problem, own it. And that’s exactly what we do.

If you’re looking for more ways to make your organisation a magnet for top talent, but you’re not quite sure where to begin, we're ready to lean in with you.

From automated advertising on social media to an intuitive job listing engine and a smooth application experience, we can help you make TA simpler, smarter and much more successful.