CB Talent Consulting

Three key areas:

Recruitment strategy and process

I work with employers to take a long-term view of their talent strategy in line with their business strategy.

What is your five-year business plan? Is it organic or acquisition growth? Diversification or geographical growth? And where is the talent you need to help take you there. Already in-house and developable? Or do you have a need to recruit externally?

Underpinned by an authentic and well-developed Employer Brand this gives an employer a roadmap for it’s current and future talent and development needs.

Recruitment can be seen as a distressed purchase and often employers have no choice but to make quick hiring decisions based on unexpected departures in their workforce. In this scenario I quickly take employers on a planning journey to ensure a successful outcome:

·       Market context – where do your ideal candidates hang out and how do you reach them

·       Compensation competitiveness – assessing how our total offering stacks up against the organisations after the same talent as us

·       The medium and the message – reaching our target audience effectively with a message that resonates and invites engagement

·       The candidate journey – easy to apply, intuitive, quick and always keeping them engaged and aware of next steps and timings

·       Objective hiring decisions – what do you need to make better judgements on candidates and convert them from offer to acceptance

·       Onboarding – constant engagement throughout the notice period so they arrive motivated, energised and already feeling part of the team

·       Early days check-ins – to share and gain feedback, and alignment with our Employer Brand

Employer Brand

The consistent and authentic ‘golden thread’ that runs through the entire candidate to employee journey.

It must be:

·       Authentic - reflecting the true culture and values of the company

·       Aspirational - reflecting the vison for the future of the organisation

·       Unique - showing how the company differentiates itself from the competition

·       Compelling - how this uniqueness overlaps with candidates’ motivations, values and ambitions

·       Dynamic - reflecting that employees have different roles and responsibilities, and come from different backgrounds

I develop your employer brand through understanding the future vision of the business and the talent implications. Then I understand what the lived experience is by talking to employees to find out why they joined, from where, why they’ve stayed and how they see their future careers developing. Factoring in evidence from exit interviews gives an angle on why people have left and where they’ve gone. Then I look at the employment perception from external sources. And finally, I analyse the employer brands from competitors (if they have one) to identify our points of difference.

This is all consolidated into pillars to allow recruitment messages to be flexed according to our target audiences, summarised in long and short narratives for recruitment and employment communications, and finally summarised in the employer brand strapline.

Your employer brand strapline neatly summarises the DNA of you as an employer

Once developed, the Employer Brand needs a strong internal launch, then to feature in all available touch points on the candidate to employee journey:

The office environment, recruitment advert copy, agency / headhunter briefings, company content on Glassdoor, job boards and other third parties, careers content on website, social media and LinkedIn, job descriptions, candidate communications, interview and selection process, offer letters, contracts, onboarding comms, induction and ongoing training, performance management and career development.

Early careers

Early careers investment delivers a wealth of commercial and talent value and returns.

Investing in early careers talent such as graduates, apprentices, and year-in-industry placements provides organisations with a sustainable pipeline of skilled, motivated employees who can be developed in line with business needs. Early careers programmes bring digital natives who improve workforce diversity, bring fresh perspectives, and support innovation, while also reducing longer-term recruitment costs and skills shortages. By shaping and developing talent from an early stage, employers build stronger loyalty, improve retention, and create potential future leaders who understand the organisation’s culture and values. This approach strengthens succession planning, boosts the employer brand with real advocates, and delivers long-term value rather than short-term hiring fixes.

My added value can be right from the development of an early careers strategy to the interview and assessment process of candidates.

Key areas for consideration:

Strategic workforce planning

• Identify future skills needs and define target populations (graduates, apprentices, year-in-industry)

Programme design

• Set objectives, success measures, and timelines, then design role rotations, training frameworks and qualifications

Employer branding and outreach

• Build a compelling early careers value proposition, partnering with schools, colleges, universities and community organisations

Attraction marketing

• Use inclusive, accessible recruitment campaigns, leveraging digital channels, careers events and employee ambassadors

Recruitment and selection

• Use fair, strengths-based or potential-focused assessment methods, ensuring constant engagement, diversity, equity and inclusion throughout the process

Offer management and pre-boarding

• Maintain engagement between offer and start date, promptly completing checks, contracts, and onboarding preparation

Onboarding and induction

• Provide structured organisational and role-specific induction whilst setting expectations, goals and support networks

Learning and development

• Deliver formal training, qualifications and skills development backed up with mentoring, coaching and on-the-job learning

Performance management

• Set clear objectives and provide regular feedback, supporting progression through reviews and development plans

Engagement and wellbeing

• Foster belonging, inclusion and psychological safety

Progression and retention

• Provide clear pathways into permanent or advanced roles and support career planning and internal mobility

Evaluation and continuous improvement

• Track outcomes (retention, performance, diversity, ROI) and use data and feedback to refine and improve programmes