Case Study: How personalised learning rapidly upskilled the Virtusa workforce
UK Top Employer Virtusa helps clients to grow their businesses, by providing digital transformation, engineering and outsourcing services across a wide range of sectors globally.
To sustain and improve engagement and well-being in the new environment created by the pandemic, Virtusa needed to reskill team members quickly in future technologies. To transform these capabilities was something that employees also wanted, which led to the launch of Engineering IQ (EIQ).
Download the Case Study to:
- Learn more about Virtusa’s unique Engineering IQ Programme
- Discover how Virtusa has managed, through its EIQ Programme, to link employee well-being directly to a long-term focus on careers
- Be inspired by how purposeful and customised learning in a supportive environment rapidly upskilled the Virtusa workforce – and why its clients now want to launch similar programmes of their own
Complete the form to download the Case Study now.
Transforming talent acquisition through the Top Employers Certification Programme
85% of Top Employer organisations agree that the Top Employers Institute Certification creates value for their business, whether it be for their branding, alignment, and benchmarking of HR practices, or connecting with other leaders in HR. When it comes to branding, Top Employers know that the experience of going through a candidate selection process tells a lot more about the organisation than the brand messaging.
At Top Employers Institute, we are always keen to demonstrate the best ways to leverage value from our Certification Programme. Independent and externally verified workforce research, conducted globally among our Top Employers, shows that 85% agree that certification creates value for their business.
It is the branding potential that certification brings with it that is one of the most appreciated benefits. 92% of our Top Employers say they make use of the Certification Seal to attract and/or engage talent.
So how can Top Employers make the most of the opportunity that certification creates in this area?
Recruitment: certification makes a big difference
A great employer brand lies at the heart of any Top Employer’s HR strategy. When it comes to getting the best on board, 70% of those surveyed say they have used the Certification Seal to drive their recruitment process.
Strategic Employer branding can only ever be as good as the impression it makes on potential employees. On this, the results are encouraging. 74% of Top Employers agree that the certification process has improved their positioning as an employer of choice.
It is easy to see the positive impression that certification makes on external candidates. The noticeable benefits, according to our Top Employers, include:
- Enhanced awareness among candidates, with references to the Certification Seal made in interviews.
- Recognition of the value of certification among partners, such as universities or employment agencies.
- More interest in posted roles, with more clicks and applications made through company careers pages.
- A decrease in both the time taken to fill roles and an increase in quality of applicants.
One Top Employer sums it up well by telling us that the Certification Seal showed potential candidates clearly that “this company is among the best employers in the world”.
High levels of trust between candidate and potential employer lie at the heart of the value that the Certification Seal brings. As one of our Top Employers told us: “For me … most important is that an external candidate [feels that they] can rely on the certificate.”
Onboarding and Induction: Reinforcing the bond of trust
A top talent acquisition strategy, crucially, requires this trust to continue well beyond the initial recruitment process. After hiring comes the equally important task of onboarding and induction. A recent survey of 1000 full-time employees for People Management magazine revealed that:
- 43% admitted to having changed their minds on at least one occasion after accepting a job offer.
- 37% put this down to poor or no follow-up, or other bad experiences after the job offer had been made.
Engagement and Retention: Creating a virtuous circle
The greater branding opportunities for Top Employers from certification through recruitment, onboarding and induction also go on to produce a virtuous circle among existing employees. The independent research conducted for us showed that the use of the Certification Seal helped organisations to:
- Actively involve current employees as talent brand ambassadors for external candidates
- Increase the engagement of existing employees made aware of the achievement of certification.
- Decrease turnover, with employees feeling safe and reassured to work for a certified Top Employer.
Talent acquisition: make it easier with Top Employers institute Certification
Top Employers Institute has guidelines and support for certified best in class employers who want to leverage their talent acquisition strategy further. This includes everything from how to promote the Certification Seal as effectively as possible on the web site, email signatures or social media, through to how best to display them in job ads. Get in touch today for free and become an employer of choice.
Key takeaways | Why diversity is not enough: the importance of inclusion
The Top Employers 2021 Certificate Celebration held on 28 January 2021 brought together HR industry experts from around the world to celebrate the work done in HR and knowledge share the best people practices.
One of the breakout sessions called “Why diversity is not enough: the importance of inclusion”, focused on how to create a sense of belonging in the workplace.
The session was hosted by Jonas Van Wees, HR Auditor at Top Employers Institute, with guest speakers Mechell Chetty (Unilever SA), Anne-Sophie Chauveau-Galas (Alstom) and Raj Verma (Sanofi). The session highlights the importance of inclusion in the workplace and emphasised it as a competitive advantage for employers. Organisations that prioritise diversity and inclusion in their teams far outperform competitors. Furthermore, an inclusive workplace also drives higher levels of productivity and retention, and positively affects employee engagement.
Watch the full session by filling in the form or read the key takeaways here:
Takeaway # 1: Leaders need to create psychological safety
During the session, Mechell Chetty (Uniliver SA) aptly noted that inclusion is about providing employees with a sense of comfort. An organisation’s priority is to harnesses each employee’s uniqueness and potential by creating psychological safety. This is an environment where employees can truly express themselves, innovate, take risks, and be part of solutions that are born from employees unique characteristics.
To create a psychologically safe environment, leaders have to shift away from blaming ‘unconscious bias’ but instead work towards being consciously competent. Thus, the conversation must shift to how leaders can create competence, whether it is on matters of gender, disabilities, or race.
Takeaway #2: Diversity and inclusion is a vital part of employee experience
To create an inclusive culture is to create great employee experiences that people will relate to and remember. As an example of this, Raj Verma holds the title of Chief Diversity and Experience Officer at Sanofi – a clear indication of how important the two fields are related to each other. Employee experience starts at the pre-hire stage, up until the point of resignation or retirement. Inclusion involves creating a great employee experience at all these vital touchpoints in an employee’s lifecycle.
Verma explained diversity and inclusion with a simple process, where the input is a great employee experience, and the output is to maintain and grow diverse talent at every level. Inclusion and creating a sense of belonging is what brings the two points together.
Takeaway #3: Raise awareness of inclusion in the workplace
One of the most important aspects of inclusion is creating purposeful communication and awareness in the workplace. As an example of this, Anne-Sophie Chauveau-Galas shared some initiatives that Alstom created. To raise awareness of inclusiveness in the workplace, Alstom collects all the best practices from their teams around the world. An award is given to the best initiative, which creates positive momentum and spreads the best diversity and inclusion practices across the organisation. Another example is that Alstom created an ‘All-abilities toolkit’, which is a series of tips to help people with different workplace abilities.
