World Fuel Services

Nichole Maurrase

Nichole Maurasse has more than two decades of extensive, detailed expertise and is a perceptive Global Talent Leader. She is a dynamic human capital leader, skilled in organizing the latest strategic talent initiatives, evaluating organizational structure, and developing effective guidelines and processes. She also executes cost-saving strategies and improvements using conceptual and analytical problem-solving skills. As a strategic leader, her expertise lies in culture change, resource management and succession planning. Furthermore, she possesses exceptional leadership that can yield the best possible business results.

What are your roles and responsibilities as a leader of talent acquisition?

Currently serving as the head of Global talent acquisition, I oversee strategic and innovative recruitment in the talent sector. Furthermore, my responsibility extends to augmenting the employee brand positioning, making us the best choice for our talent audience. As a result, our company is able to recruit and retain the finest talents. I also lead teams in North America, EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa), APAC (Asia Pacific) and LATAM (Latin America). My other responsibilities include performance management, operations, internal mobility, and employee relations.

How do different geographical locations affect talent acquisition?

With the market being extremely competitive, talents are a rarity in EMEA compared to the ample talented individuals in North America. This supports the view that different geographic locations affect the talent acquisition process. Rather than being inefficient, the main barrier to acquiring talent is the lack of real talent. This is prominent in EMEA upon observing labor trends, market and industry trends. My team is in charge of acquiring talents across global borders, harnessing the best-suited individuals, and branding the organization as an employer of choice. They analyze various locations and determine if the position is appropriate for the talent.

What are some of the challenges when it comes to acquiring talents?

One of the major challenges we faced was the Covid-19 pandemic, which led to a period of great resignation. It resulted in a large number of employees looking for better opportunities. A hybrid work environment resulted in employees not wanting to return to their offices, shifting the work culture dichotomy.

Additionally, increased transparency led to the employees questioning their work culture as they sought a space where they felt a sense of belonging. They were also inquisitive about opportunities that would help them work their way up the career ladder.

In addition, outdated strategies constitute another major obstacle that organizations may encounter. Employees often prefer a progressive company that uses the latest technology, such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, as they want to grow and advance in their careers.

Could you tell me about any recent projects of which you were a part? What were the points you had in mind while being engaged in talent acquisition?

The administration of an organizational meet analysis was vital to reflect on how we gather the talents from the industry. The analysis was also critical in employing retention strategies that would benefit the employee population of an organization. Running a full retention project and developing an employee recognition program is necessary to ensure that we are in line with the rest of the organizations.

“The ultimate goal of any organization should be to provide a culture and space with adequate tools and materials where budding talents can grow from within.”

Simultaneously, we had to ensure that our internal team was equipped to handle the fast-advancing AI technology. We also needed to ensure they could address issues globally, encompassing aspects such as the onboarding process and the overall candidate experience. So we have focused on the experience of the applicants, making sure they could learn, whether they were hired or not.

Moreover, building a talent acquisition framework to promote greater organizational focus and steer sustainable and renewable outcomes was essential. This required exploring strategies that would propel the organization to the forefront.

What, according to you, are the roles played by technology in the field of talent acquisition?

Artificial Intelligence is paving the future for talent acquisition space. Our previous Application Tracking System (ATS) systems sorted the best candidates for the role and rated them by silver medalists and gold star candidates. From there, Artificial Intelligence has evolved and has a lever for truly providing the best services, such as providing infallible methods by which the right candidates are selected to play a particular role. Additionally, intelligence can be used to check for criminal backgrounds and capacitate candidates to take up their roles and responsibilities much faster and more accurately. Despite all this, there is still the need to maintain an internal team to uphold the human factor in the human resource sector.

What are the trends that can impact organizations when it comes to recruiters?

The most prominent trend or change that will surface in the coming months is the dissipation of much information through the AI medium. There will be the rampant employment of predictive analytics and skill mapping, where data is used to predict future outcomes.

Furthermore, eliminating bias detection will ensure that recruitment is an impartial process and undifferentiated from our value systems and beliefs.

Additionally, automation will be a prominent factor leading to a clean, less time- consuming and neat recruiting cycle. The process will become personalized, as the talent acquisition partner will have a space to talk to the leader regarding profiles and job descriptions. This would allow the talent acquisition providers to perform more ideally.

What would be your piece of advice for your fellow peers and colleagues?

The most important thing would be to be more open to change. Steering towards market change and utilizing every opportunity that might come their way is also a vital point to note. Furthermore, adapting themselves to new and positive change is also crucial. Leaders should be more flexible in observing and analyzing new talents while becoming more open to external markets. Additionally, paying close attention to the expectations of candidates from organizations will go a long way in procuring remarkable talents. The ultimate goal of any organization should be to provide a culture and space with adequate tools and materials where budding talents can grow and mature into prominent industry professionals.