EP130: Vodacom - How to Integrate TA and Employer Branding

All-In Recruitment is a podcast by Manatal focusing on all things related to the recruitment industry’s missions and trends. Join us in our weekly conversations with leaders in the recruitment space and learn their best practices to transform the way you hire.

This transcript has been edited for clarity.

‍

‍

‍

Lydia: Welcome to the All In Recruitment podcast by Manatal, where we explore best practices, learnings and trends with leaders in the recruitment space. If you like our content, please subscribe to our channels on YouTube and Spotify to stay tuned for our weekly episodes.

I'm your host, Lydia, and with us today is Seshni Pather of Vodacom. Great to have you with us, Seshni. Finally.

Seshni: Finally. Thank you so much, Lydia. Thanks for having me. It's lovely to be here.

Why Recruiters Need to Think Beyond Hiring

Lydia: So, very quickly, tell us about your journey in the people space, Seshni. What are some observations that you've made about the industry in recent years?

Seshni: So, Lydia, I’ve been in the people space for decades, but always in the recruitment element such as resourcing, talent acquisition. We've evolved over the years, and even just that, the observation around what we used to do compared to what we do now has changed remarkably. And it's kept me interested and in the environment for this long.

I think the biggest observation, though, over the last few years is really the integration between talent acquisition and talent management. A few years ago, as part of my role, I was requested, or asked, to integrate the two. And at first, you think, how does this all work together? But since that journey, maybe three or four years ago, I have now evolved as a recruiter, understanding the candidate's entire journey, from being a candidate to becoming an employee, and their entire journey with an organization is tremendous. Recruiters should be looking at that moving forward. They should be seeing it now.

It's not just about finding great talent and bringing them into the organization, but it's about understanding how they evolve within the organization, how they promote themselves, and how they achieve a higher level of success. And that's where talent management comes in and plays a really critical role.

So, I think, 10 years ago, you had them as separate centers of excellence, and now I know a lot of organizations treat them as one. And it absolutely makes sense because it gives a different narrative to what talent acquisition used to look like. I think that's been the biggest observation for me.

Talent Acquisition as a Strategic Powerhouse

Lydia: So, Seshni, going back to that talent acquisition and merge, or rather integrated with talent management. What does it take to bring the two functions together?

Seshni: I think integration as communities is important. In many organizations, they sit as separate centers of excellence, but working closely together is key. That’s what we do at Vodacom. We work closely with talent acquisition, talent management, and our counterparts to understand what is required and what the journey looks like for an individual joining the business. And that’s a great success story.

When you're trying to attract hard-to-find skills, being able to clearly outline what that journey should look like for an individual is crucial. It isn’t about money. People aren’t moving for money or prestige; they’re moving for truly meaningful journeys within an organization. Proper growth and understanding of the talent management space equip you to become a better recruiter.

Lydia: Now, how do you think those experiences or those observations that you've made in that role have led into your new role, which is in talent acquisition and employer branding at Vodacom?

Seshni: I feel like I've become a much better recruiter. Helping the team understand succession planning, such as what it looks like, what the internal slate looks like compared to the external landscape, is crucial. It’s no longer just about market mapping every single critical, scarce position. You should be looking at your internal bench strength before going external.

We have a strict policy around promotions and lateral moves within the organization, but it's about truly understanding that gone are the days when every job needs to be advertised or headhunted. Now, it’s about integrating what good looks like internally and finding ways to strengthen that bench with great external talent.

Lydia: How do you align talent acquisition strategies with the business's overall objectives?

Seshni: Everything we do, Lydia, is driven by great ambitions. At Vodacom, we have huge goals in terms of what we’re trying to achieve. We are deeply focused on the youth of South Africa and how to propel them into future leadership. We have a strong gender agenda, aiming to advance female representation in leadership.

We are not just trying. We are actively transforming into a tech company rather than the traditional telecom we used to be. That shift dictates what we seek in the marketplace, the types of emerging youth programs we have, and the opportunities we offer in South Africa. We are focused on bringing in the right female talent and propelling them into leadership.

From a technology perspective, our ambition to become a tech company requires talent acquisition to bring in the best technology skills in South Africa. I think we’re doing incredibly well in that area. Talent acquisition is deeply linked to strategy.

Lydia: You lead talent acquisition and the employer brand for Vodacom. So, how do you make sure that both of these functions are integrated strategically, rather than function as separate entities?

Seshni: Building on the last question, we are closely linked to business strategy from a gender perspective, a youth perspective, and a technology perspective. Our talent acquisition requirements align directly with those strategies.

Everything we do in talent acquisition ties back to employer brand. Without a strong brand in the marketplace, we won’t attract the right talent. The two work hand in hand. We have an employer brand strategy shaped by talent acquisition and the daily requirements of the business. Our recruitment efforts, roles, vacancies, and ongoing hiring, directly influence our employer brand strategy and the messaging we put into the market.

Creating a Workplace Culture That Attracts Talent

Lydia: I also understand that Vodacom was voted the Employer of Choice this year. Is that correct and was it this year?

Seshni: Number One Top Employer.

Lydia: Top employer for this year in South Africa.

Seshni: And we’re very proud of that.

Lydia: So, in your opinion, what approaches or what kind of initiatives do you need for any organization that has attained this kind of recognition, to remain a desirable place to work for candidates?

Seshni: From an employer brand perspective, Lydia, everything we do involves our colleagues and employees. We don’t sit in a room and create videos with actors and models. Instead, we utilize the internal talent within our organization.

For Mother’s Day in May, we created content featuring real Vodacom mothers sharing their stories from a technology and HR perspective. That authenticity reflects who we are as an organization. Highlighting real success stories has been the foundation of our employer brand campaign throughout the year. Every story we tell and every initiative we work on involves actual employees with amazing stories to share.

That’s what the marketplace wants to hear. Too often, people see great stories online but then find the reality of an organization disappointing. That’s not what we want to portray. We aim to give a true reflection of what it’s like to work at Vodacom.

If you watched our Mother's Day or Father's Day content in June—including the Father's Day jokes, which were awful but great at the same time—it gave a glimpse into our employee experience. That helps external audiences see why they would want to work for us. That’s what makes us an employer of choice, beyond the policies and processes we have in place.

Lydia: So, for this particular function, employer branding, you would have many metrics that you would look for in terms of performance. Then, how does technology and the kind of data play a role here?

Seshni: We track our employer brand initiatives on a monthly basis, and it’s amazing to see an idea go from paper to reality. You put an idea down, think it could be great, and then watch it come to life. You’re part of the shoot, the script prep, and then it goes live. You monitor impressions and marketplace interactions, but sometimes the actual results differ from expectations.

At the end of each month, we review performance, which is crucial for understanding how we’re tracking and how our content is performing across social media platforms. Our amazing brand team handles this analysis monthly. We measure success based on impressions, shares, likes, and engagement with our content. Most months, we get it spot on, but sometimes the content doesn’t land as expected, and that’s when we review and adjust.

For example, last October, we did a coffee chat post with the talent acquisition team to celebrate International Coffee Day. The team discussed the importance of a coffee chat in the selection process. Initially, we weren’t sure how well it would perform, but after airing, one of my consultants told me a candidate had seen the content and used it to improve their coffee chat interview experience.

That post reached 2 million impressions, received great shares, likes, and comments, and most importantly, resonated with candidates. It had a real impact, which is what truly matters. So apart from the numbers and the data that we get from every post that goes live, we keep track of this to understand how we should do better and what hasn't done well and why it just helps us on a monthly basis to get better at what we're doing.

The Emotional Side of Talent Acquisition

Lydia: Going back to your experience as a recruiter, this might be way back, looking at your experiences and some of the success stories you would have had, is there a particular story that you found to be something that has made a huge impression on you that you'd like to share with the audience?

Seshni: Lydia, there’s one story I will never forget. It happened about 20 years ago, and I always share it because I joined a recruitment agency in South Africa to make a difference in people’s lives. A job is a huge part of life. It provides for your family and shapes your future.

I later moved to Scotland, where I spent 11 years. One of my first jobs there was running a call center and language division for an agency. We recruited for about 23 different languages, mostly European, placing candidates in Edinburgh, where I was based.

I found a call center job for a candidate from the Netherlands. It was a difficult skill set to find, and she was thrilled. A few months after she started, she came to our office, and the receptionist called to say she was there to see me. When I went downstairs, she had brought her family from the Netherlands to visit her in Edinburgh. They felt it was important to meet me and personally say thank you for helping her secure the job at a great organization.

What struck me the most was that this moment reaffirmed why I got into recruitment, resourcing, and talent acquisition, to change lives for the better. It was one of the most incredible memories of my career, a reminder of the impact we can have. I loved it. I loved the feeling of helping someone find a phenomenal job.

Lydia: Recruitment being such a demanding role, and oftentimes, I think it's quite thankless in that sense. Then, finally having someone come over and personally thanking you, I can imagine what kind of impact that would have made.

So thank you so much Seshni for sharing these insights and these wonderful stories. For whoever's listening in and who might want to connect with you after this, where can they find you?

Seshni: Absolutely. Various social media sites, LinkedIn, specifically Seshni Pather. Also, please have a look at our LinkedIn page, Vodacom. We're doing some amazing things that we're very proud of. Come, have a look, follow us and share your thoughts.

But this was lovely, Lydia. I really appreciate the time and the opportunity to share my views.

Lydia: It was lovely having you on the show. So thank you again.

We have been in conversation with Seshni Pather of Vodacom. Thank you for joining us, and remember to subscribe to stay tuned for more weekly episodes from All In Recruitment.