Why did you choose Foresight?

As a TA function we were very reactive. We worked hard to provide a good service but were limited in what we could do because we never knew what hiring needs were coming from the business until far too late. This meant no matter how great we were as a team, or what technology we could leverage to source candidates, there was always a lag; resulting in an empty chair and lost productivity. What’s more, managers were often frustrated, thinking TA was to blame for a slow recruiting process.

Did it concern you that you needed to ask managers to take part?

No. We can’t do our jobs without partnering with managers. We just saw Foresight as a way of partnering with them at the right time. The input needed from them up front is minimal, and it stops them feeling the pain later down the line when they have an empty chair, missed deadlines, projects delayed etc. We also needed a way of making managers more accountable for owning the recruiting process (tactical workforce planning), we just had to find a solution that was low impact for them. They need to find a maximum of 10 minutes every 3 months to make everyone’s life easier. It’s really not that big an ask, and our compliance rates have shown managers agree and are engaged.

Did your HRIS offer a solution?

We use Workday at Carrier and of course, it has a Workforce Planning module. However, when we investigated, it was clear that Foresight does very different things to Workday. The module ‘Prism’ in Workday is top down, more of a financial modelling tool really. Foresight does much more for us; from extracting the granular detail of demand for my team to use, to then automatically carrying out multiple actions that my team would have to do based on that data. Once you have your workforce planning data, Foresight becomes more of a TA effectiveness tool and HR enabler.

How much effort was it to get started?

We started off with a pilot area. The results across that were instantly evident and that built the business case to roll out wider. As with anything it does require initial effort but if you don’t want to be delivering the same reactive service year after year then you will need to put some effort in. However, it was only about 2 hours per week for 3-4 weeks for the initial launch, and the team at Foresight are great at taking care of as much of the set up and configuration as possible for us.

Has it produced any ROI yet?

Instantly. The ROI is unlocked in different intervals. The 3 main areas for us are: more efficient recruiting, mitigation of flight risks and earlier manager intervention on performance issues. In year 1 we have already recouped 6X our initial investment with much of the year left to go.
Other than financial benefits it has brought another level of credibility to the function and assisted with the perception change that we’re equal partners to our hiring managers.

What would you say to anyone thinking about using Foresight?

No matter where you’re at in your transformation journey, or how mature you think you are as a function, having a clear picture of your demand and flight risks is critical to better delivery. Don’t be scared that it requires manager participation. Start with one business area, get results and use them as the basis for your business case to adopt further. I really feel that this is game changing innovation at its best. The beauty is in its simplicity. For me this has undoubtedly been a key enabler in further unlocking our HR operating model.