Very few industries were left untouched by the COVID-19 pandemic, including resourcing. Despite this, thanks to Australia’s economic resilience and strong recovery, job opportunities are making a promising return.
The feeling among many businesses, including the resource sector, is that things are looking up for economic growth and scaling up workforce planning activities. With 20% of employers expecting to increase staffing levels, 71% of Australian CEOs believe they’ll be increasing staffing over the next three years.
During the pandemic however, our very own resourcing industry was impacted, and many resourcing specialists were stood down during the pandemic, with many opting for different careers. The resulting lack of supply of highly skilled recruiters in the market has opened the door for candidates to call the shots. Despite the rise in job ads, there hasn’t been an increase in job applications to match.
These factors combined have created a candidate-driven market – where businesses will compete fiercely to attract and retain talent. Because candidates will likely receive multiple job offers from prospective employers, current employers are responding with added incentives to convince them to stay.
Running a Competitive Hiring Process; Remove the Guesswork.
If you’re actively recruiting, using pre-pandemic hiring processes won’t cut it. Candidates, used to new ways of working, now look for different benefits, role responsibilities and working arrangements than they did before. Here are some tips on meeting evolving expectations.
- Create Confidence:
Many candidates would likely have taken a dent in confidence from the pandemic, with job security being front of mind when considering their next move. Your organisation can allay some of these fears by communicating how you responded to the pandemic, and what steps you’re taking to recover, including growth objectives.
- Be Direct:
After a period of instability and change, many candidates will feel reluctant about the potential stress of the application process and the job market in general. People in resourcing should consider a more direct approach by identifying and reaching out to candidates before they’ve applied for the role.
- Be Specific:
Candidates want to be clear on the responsibilities of a role, a major factor in attracting them to advertised positions. Writing job ads that detail requirements and expected activities in a role is now more important than ever to capture the attention of and help prospective candidates visualise their new day-to-day lives.
- Communicate your Employee Value Proposition (EVP):
Take the time to research and find out what people are looking for. Because it’s a highly competitive market, many organisations are offering it all – onsite childcare, baristas, technology, and health and wellbeing initiatives.
- Dare to be Different:
Talent across different fields will expect different benefits and initiatives from a role and an organisation – it’s not one size fits all. Work out what your new hires are looking for, then communicate your Employee Value Proposition (EVP) regularly across all your channels – especially in your job ads. Ask yourself, what you can offer to really outbid the competition.
- Be Open to Negotiation:
In a candidate-driven market, negotiation is an expected part of the process. If you’ve found an ideal candidate for the role, it pays to negotiate on open aspects of the role such as flexible hours or working locations, onsite parking or annual leave requests.
- Be Responsive:
While this might seem an obvious inclusion, we hear feedback from candidates that this is not the experience for everybody. An important aspect of candidate experience in any market conditions, it’s vitally important you’re quick to respond to applicants who are already feeling overwhelmed, keeping them updated throughout the recruitment process.
Setting Yourself Apart; The Employer Brand.
Employer branding is an increasingly popular marketing strategy HR departments are using to create an attractive brand for potential candidates. It feeds into existing company engagement models in the same way organisations develop marketing and communication initiatives to help win and retain high-quality customers.
Developing a clear employer brand will set you apart from other companies and influence candidates as to why they should work for you. An extension of your It company’s mission, vision, culture, and values, it should make it clear what you stand for, answering the questions “Why would someone want to work for this company?” and “What percentage of your employees would recommend your company as a great place to work?”.
A form of employer branding, social recruiting is becoming increasingly popular as companies begin targeting millennials. Companies use social media to find talent, advertise jobs, and communicate with potential candidates. For this to be effective, your business’ about pages, social media presence, and advertisements must align with your employer brand.
At Concentis, we take the time to understand the employer branding of our clients to effectively communicate this to potential candidates. In this way, we ensure the needs and wants of candidates are closely aligned with the potential placements, maintaining integrity in the roles we fill.
Sourcing and assigning resourcing industry professionals into specialist roles, we elevate existing capabilities to help you deliver projects safely, on time and on budget.
To get in touch, call us on 07 3607 6305 or email us at hello@concentis.com.au
