Inbox: Smart headhunting makes savings for AMP

AMP made savings of around $1.1 million in 2012 using new strategy for talent attraction and retention and focus on diversity.
Shaun Philp, AMP’s head of human resources, said an important change was establishing centralised strategic resourcing team responsible for managing all AMP appointments.
“With that team in place, we’re focused on direct sourcing for the majority of roles. In 2012, 78 percent of all roles were directly placed by our strategic resourcing team. Of these, nearly one third were internal hires, which utilises the talent we have and contributes to overall cost savings and talent retention.”
Social media was key tool for external hires. Networking sites such as LinkedIn – with its more than 200 million users in over 200 countries – was valuable resource.
“In some cases, we’re competing on global scale to attract talented professionals. So we recognised the opportunity social media presents, and spent time and resources on enhancing our online corporate profile, and ensuring we have consistent message and brand presence.
“This yielded excellent results, including 40 percent increase in AMP’s LinkedIn followers and an increase in direct approaches from candidates. Our stronger social media presence also drives more people to the AMP website, where they can access information about our company culture, what we do and employment opportunities,” said Philp.
AMP still uses recruitment agencies that can meet specific needs in certain areas.
A corollary benefit of AMP’s strategic resourcing approach has been an increased ability to drive its diversity strategy. Last year women filled 48 percent of senior vacancies, and now women hold 49 percent of all middle management and higher roles.
“We take diversity very seriously because diverse workforce has positive implications for employee engagement and organisational design. The greater cross-section of people that you have – the more diverse your skill base, approach and connection with customers will be,” said Philp. M