Preparing for the New Year Exodus

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With the holidays fast approaching, we’re all looking forward to some much needed rest and relaxation but, as we discussed last month, is this the best approach for your business?  A report recently featured at HC Online found that 56% of Australian workers plan to leave their job in 2013.  It’s important to note the phrasing here – that’s not 56% of workers would consider leaving their job, they are planning on leaving.

You’ve probably experienced the new year exodus in past years.  You return to the office in early January and it’s noticeably quieter.  Lonely tumbleweeds roll past your desk as you frantically update position descriptions and prepare to go to market to fill those key vacancies you hadn’t planned for. It’s a common occurrence for many managers and a quick Google search will bring back thousands of results with hints and tips for retaining your top talent in the new year.

I spoke briefly with Susanne Mather, Executive Director of Employment Office, who has some great recommendations for not only retaining your talent but for being prepared when they do leave.  Mather recommends engaging in a long term strategy with a focus on 1 to 1 meetings between direct managers and their workers on a monthly basis as well quarterly 1 to 1 meetings between senior leaders and staff.  This is a great way to get to know your staff’s motivations and aspirations but also to get a sense of how they feel in their current position.

If you’ve done everything you can to ensure you don’t come back to an empty office, you can rest easier over the holidays but the fact of the matter is that regardless of what retention policies you’ve put in place, you’ll probably have to go to market early in the new year.

If that’s the case, Mather strongly advocates having a, “talent pipeline so you always have potential new talent you can onboard fairly quickly” as well as “maximising your recruitment process efficiencies so you know you’re making the right hire at the right time”.

January will be here before you know it and, as professionals working in a field with results that are often difficult to quantify, it’s important that to be prepared for those new year surprises that are all too common.  If you suspect that you’ll be going to market early in January or want to be ready (just in case), don’t hesitate to give Employment Office a call at 1300 366 573.  Our team of dedicated recruitment experts can put together a targeted recruitment marketing campaign and have advertising live within 24 hours.

Work Experience Candidates and Interns – hindrance or help?

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With an influx of graduates now hitting the employment market, having some good quality work experience can make a big difference to a graduate ultimately finding employment.

But ask yourself, does your organisation offer a well-rounded intern experience?

Interns can offer great value to an organisation by bringing a fresh perspective and are accustomed to learning, researching, writing and producing work to a deadline. As an employer you can gain assistance and support for projects that you might not otherwise have had the resources to complete. But often employers feel that the time taken organising and overseeing an intern’s day to day schedule often outweighs the benefits they bring.

So how can you effectively manage your interns to benefit both parties?

  1. Hire the best. Your recruitment process for interns should be no different to how you recruit employees. Look for interns that have the skillsets you need and are a good fit with your culture.
  2. Project plan. If you have a specific project or series of tasks that you’d like your intern to work on, make sure you document the project and tasks associated with it. During your initial briefing with your intern, you can go through the plan together and refer back to it at the beginning of each day. That way the intern understands the bigger picture goals and will assist you in working towards it. By having a plan at the beginning of the internship, you’ll avoid scrambling each day to try and find something for your intern to work on.
  3. Full time vs. Part Time. Are you wondering whether you have enough time to manage an intern full time? Often interns have part time employment and other commitments, so it could be that part time or casual hours suits you both better than full time.
  4. Development Opportunities. Remember your intern is there to learn about your industry. Invite them to team meetings, company social events and conferences to give them a taste of what working in your organisation is like for a staff member.
  5. One key contact. Assign one member of your staff to be responsible for the intern’s daily progress and development. Your intern needs a single point of contact as well as that all important social team environment. Encourage regular meetings, goals and guidance for your intern so you can track their progress and recognise the contribution they have made to the project/organisation.

Having an intern in your organisation doesn’t have to be a drain on your resources, and through a little bit of planning both the intern and your organisation re-coup the benefits.

2012 Highlights in Recruitment

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In what ways have companies utilised effective recruitment strategies in 2012? As we head to the end of the year, Employment Office takes a quick look at which recruitment marketing techniques continue to gain momentum or stand out as successes. See our list below!

Videos

One of the most impactful ways to effectively demonstrate the excitement and passion at your company is online videos, and the use of video in recruitment campaigns has dramatically increased in 2012. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then moving pictures demonstrating what it’s like to work at your firm are priceless. Your ideal candidates are more likely now than ever to stream video content about career opportunities, with the majority of  jobseekers eager to see the experiences of current employees in the form of professional and candid videos searchable on a careers site, YouTube and on-demand in online advertising campaigns.

Social networking

Using social networks as a recruiting source has been a well-discussed concept for a while, and there has been a definite increase in the number of companies who have jumped on the band wagon. This is matched by the fact that the number of candidates applying for positions from social media sources has also risen over the past year. Posting compelling and authentic content (such as videos, photos, articles or status updates) that provides insight into what it’s like to work at your organisation – information users wouldn’t find anywhere else – continues to aid in attracting the right candidates. Social media provides potential employees with an inside look at your company, creating an exclusive user experience, engaging them and compelling them to want to work for you.

Referral programs

Research demonstrates that word of mouth is perceived as at least twice as credible as advertisements, and this is reflected in the increase of referral programs implemented across different organisations this year. Practicing employee referrals is is showing to be a win-win situation. Firstly, it gives employees the opportunity to act as advocates and suggest suitable talent in the form for friends or acquaintances. Secondly, it reduces the cost to the company as they avoid external vendors. Such employees are rewarded financially and this helps retain the existing talent and at the same time brings a good fit with minimum cost. With proper coordination, employee relationships can easily be turned into employee referrals, leading to better quality hires from employee referrals.

Mobile optimisation

As mobile phones with amazing features spread throughout the population, recruiters are realising that they can be a powerful recruiting media. Currently, 30% of visits to the Seek website are via mobile device which is up 230% over the last 12 months, and is projected to increase two percentage points per month over the next two years. Key focus areas include mobile optimised application processes, mobile video and mobile optimised careers sites. The mobile platform is becoming the dominant communications and interaction platform by early-adopting best-practice organisations, and the capabilities afforded to users of smartphones and tablet devices grows immensely day by day.

e-Recruitment

This year has also seen a rise in the use of e-recruitment software such as SCOUT, not only for access to a streamlined and centralised approach to candidate management, but also to allow organisations to build their own database of candidates which they can later draw on. E-recruitment systems allow for  applicants  to  answer role specific  questions and  for employers to look for certain keywords in a candidate’s application to see if he or she will be  an asset  to  the  organisation  in  question, among many other things.  This  is  highly  important  in  a candidate  short  market  where  good  candidates  have  many  options  and  expect  instant response to their applications. HR departments are fast realising the overwhelming benefits of implementing e­recruitment  software, including savings on time and cost per hire, higher quality applicants and overall increased efficiencies in the recruitment process.

Poaching and Headhunting

With skills shortages, the usage of this tool has skyrocketed. Buying talent, rather than developing it, is one of the latest mantras being followed by organisations today, and recruiters are relying on headhunting  and poaching to target competent and experienced passive candidates and try to convince them to join their company. Organisations are finding that they can attract talent from other firms by offering attractive pay packages and other terms and conditions, better than the current employer of the candidate.

Gamification

This year, gamification has provided us with a new and innovative way to crowdsource. The power of gamification comes down to this – it taps into the competitive spirit we all have as we play a game, leading to consumers becoming more engaged and feeling a greater sense of accomplishment as they go the extra mile. One of the key advantages of using gamification in recruitment relies on the fact that not only will candidates be coming back regularly to interact with your brand, but they will be acting as advocates. A good gamification strategy has users encouraging friends and family to engage too, so they are essentially acting as recruiters themselves. As an example, Marriott created an excellent recruitment campaign to attract potential employees – using an online game entitled My Marriott Hotel. It was created with the intent to encourage young people to take an interest in hospitality as a career path. The virtual environment drove traffic to their Facebook career page, which currently has 127,471 likes.

If your organisation needs help in recruitment marketing or attracting, screening and retaining skilled labour, Employment Office can help. Contact us on 1300 366 573 to find out how!