3 ways personality tests improve productivity and retention

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Personality tests are a powerful and effective way to inform your final hiring decision. But instead of considering it as a selection tool, why not consider it as a way to improve productivity and retention too? 

You may be familiar with personality tests, such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) or Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument (HBDI), which are a great way to gain a deeper understanding of your top shortlisted candidates. While personality tests shouldn’t make or break your hiring decision, they can inform your decision. Personality tests are also a great method of improving productivity and retention by helping you better understand new hires, your current team, the way they think and who they’ll work well with. Here are the benefits you can expect to see by using personality testing as a retention tool. 

1. Improved communication and understanding 

Gaining a better understanding of the way you and your team members think will help you understand the best way to work well together. By becoming aware of the small and major differences in your thought processes, you can identify the best ways to brief them for new tasks or help them overcome shortfalls.

For example, if you are a sensory thinker and your team member is an intuition-based thinker, the way you phrase a brief may affect the way they understand the task.  By using personality insights, you can drastically improve communication in your team, obtain buy-in an increase productivity.

2. Improved work style 

A personality test may reveal you prefer thinking in a “judging manner”, meaning you like to be organised and make a clear plan. On the other hand, you may discover your team member prefers thinking in a “perceiving approach”, that is, big picture thinking, instead of focusing on the smaller details. As a team, this probably means you’ll disagree about strategy and may have to compromise a lot; but understanding their personality and working style can enable you to complement each other’s strengths and work in a style that helps you reach your end goal. 

Understanding people’s preferred way to work will give you a road map on how to accomplish projects and tasks (thus increasing productivity!). 

3. Resolving personality clashes 

Unfortunately, personality clashes between colleagues can drive people out of an organisation. By conducting personality testing, everyone in your team will understand how their way of thinking fits with others, which can improve communication and understanding. This arms you and your team members with the knowledge and skills to reach compromises, diffuse situation, communicate effectively and work well together. 

For more information on how personality testing can improve productive and retention in your organisation, speak to one of our Shortlisting and Selection Specialists today. Call us on 1300 366 573 or email info@employmentoffice.com.au.

Here are 5 great questions to ask when hiring for NFP

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Hiring for NFP can be a difficult task. There are so many candidates out there who have the right skills on paper for the job.

The best way to distinguish the best hire would be out of your shortlisted candidates is during a face-to-face interview. However, choosing the best questions to ask during your interview that reveals as much about the candidate as possible without throwing them off their game can be tough.

Here are suggestions of five great questions you can ask to find the best hire possible for your NFP vacancy:

Tell me about a time when you were really happy at work

This question will help you to detail the kinds of things that motivates the individual. You’ll also be able to distinguish whether your organisation is able to offer these things. For example, if the candidate was really happy when they’d received great feedback from a family that they’d helped; you’ll be able to tell that they were motivated by praise and acceptance.

Can you detail a situation where you worked well in a team and explain the role you had?

This one is fairly common across a number of industries, but it remains incredibly important for most NFP roles. Here you’ll be able to tell whether the candidate thinks themselves most suited to leadership and whether they are more of a follower. Dependant on the role you are hiring for, you should be able to tell whether or not they’ll be suited to team and work style required for the role.

Can you describe a time when you had to work within a limited budget?

It’s no secret that the non-profit sector is financially challenged. The candidate should understand this and be aware of the limited funds and resources that are made available to them. The ability to describe the creative ways in which they managed a limitation will be an enlightening reveal of their work style and thinking process.

Tell me about a difficult day you’ve had at work and why it was difficult

This question will also reveal a lot about what motivates a candidate, what they can find challenging and whether they are more logically or emotionally driven. Some candidates may struggle with the emotional elements of a role and therefore may not be suited to a role that can be emotionally challenging or draining. Where others may take this more literally and discuss a difficult problem that they had to solve and their thought processes.

How have your previous experiences prepared you for the non-profit sector?

This is quite an important question and is able to be answered by everyone. The candidates answer will detail why they’ve chosen to work in NFP and explain how their experiences (work related or otherwise) have prepared them for the sector. This is also a great way of discovering what motivates the person. Perhaps they are motivated by the want to help others or have a personal association with this particular NFP.

There are many more questions which can be asked…

If you’d like some general advice on the best screening questions to use in an interview, you can read and download our handy guide here. If you need help with your shortlisting process, get in touch with Employment Office on 1300 366573 or email info@employmentoffice.com.au.

Recruiting for local government? Use Instagram to strengthen your employer brand

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Instagram is a great social media tool for employer branding. If you’re recruiting for the public sector, there’s no reason you can’t use it to attract more candidates to your vacancies.

It is a common misconception that working in the public sector means that there is no room for creativity when it comes to recruitment. With recruitment becoming more candidate-driven, being an employer of choice is becoming more important. 

Research suggests that 68% of active candidates look at social media when searching for work and 22% investigate the social media of the employer before applying.

As the fastest growing social media site, Instagram is becoming a critical tool for candidate attraction. Here are three reasons why your local government organisation should leverage Instagram as a recruitment tool. 

Instagram adds authenticity to your brand

Organisations and people who use Instagram for business are using it to promote themselves or their brand, so it’s an excellent tool for local government. By promoting the great work you do for your community, you can improve the way your community and potential candidates view your work.

Plus, when you create an open discourse about the positive work in your organisation (i.e. the fun events you have planned or the success and stories from your employees), it authentically communicates the type of work people do and enables potential candidates to see themselves in a role. Those who do not work in local government don’t often see what happens behind the scenes. By giving insights into the fun and positive aspects of working within your organisation via Instagram, you reach a large audience and improve the way your community views your work.

The visual aspect of Instagram

As an image-based social media platform, Instagram is great for graphic recruitment advertisements. Advertise your vacancies using an eye-catching image or graphic that will capture your audience’s attention and encourage them to apply. You can also make your organisation’s Instagram feel personal, speaking directly to your audience by featuring photographs of community projects that are underway or even a fun aspect of the working day (see example below of a local government post from Cumberland Council in NSW).

Plus, the beauty of Instagram doesn’t require you to always have professional photographs. While professionally taken images are going to enhance the look of your Instagram profile, images can also be taken on your team members’ phones. This technique can help to create the impression that your local government is right there in the action and present a more personal angle to your employer brand.

Your current and future audience is on Instagram

You may think Instagram is just for millennials and Gen Z. While a large majority are of this age bracket, 33% of Instagram users are between the ages of 30 and 49. That is a huge chunk of your mature community and audience that you want and need to promote your employer brand to.

Plus, with the majority of those on Instagram being a younger demographic, your future audience and voters are very likely to be present on the platform. Presenting local government as being an important aspect of adult life and a great place to consider starting a career, you can begin promoting your employer brand to your future workforce, earlier.

If you’re interested in having a discussion about strengthening your employer brand, Employment Office’s Employer Branding specialists can help you become an employer of choice. Read more about our Employer Branding services here, or get in touch to speak directly to our experts on 1300 366 573. 

Techniques for retention: Rural and remote healthcare

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One of the more difficult healthcare areas to recruit for are those healthcare facilities within rural and remote areas of Australia, so when you’ve successfully recruited, how can you retain?

According to 2019 research conducted by SARRAH for the NSW Ministry of Health; ‘Factors that influence retention are broadly categorised as professional and organisational, social (family and personal), and financial. These are modifiable to varying extent.’ So, there are many factors which broadly influence a person’s decision to remain working within a remote healthcare facility.

Here’s a few ways you can improve employee retention rates in your remote or rural healthcare facility:

Professional and Organisational Factors

  • Provide a professional incentive to remain. Is there any way your organisation can provide the individual with the incentive of professional development through the ability to complete courses relevant to their line of work?
  • Promote and recognise the work the individual is doing. Highlight how they are really making a difference to the community they are within and their commitment to serving others.
  • Provide mentorships and support to the individuals. Rural and remote healthcare facilities have small teams and often the ability to mentor and emotionally support an individual, especially when their work is high-pressured can increase their likelihood of remaining within your organisation.

Social Factors

  • Focusing on family, if the employee has children, is there any way your organisation can support their education or their childcare costs. This will ease the pressures your employee may face when considering their roles impact on their family.
  • Offering incentives that relate to teamwork and team bonding. Your team is likely to be smaller than that of regional facilities. Are there ways you can provide your team with social incentives, such as quarterly team celebrations and/or team day trips out of your rural location.

Financial Factors

  • While housing can often be cheaper than within cities and inner regional Australia, rural and remote areas can be more expensive for general supplies and things like fuel. If your organisation is able to ease these pressures for employees, this may increase retention. This doesn’t need to be monetary; it could be as simple as providing your employees with breakfast each day or subsidising the cost of fuel when travelling to work.
  • Offering monetary incentives such as a yearly review of pay may help your team feel like their work is valued and that you recognise their worth.
  • Non-monetary incentives like flexible working opportunities and the offer of more than the average holiday days without a change in pay, can help your employees be happier with their work life balance (and therefore their work happiness) without affecting their finances.

Need help with your recruitment process?

Speak to our recruitment experts at Employment Office today. We offer recruitment services that help with end-to-end process and can both advise and execute your next recruitment campaign without removing your control of the process. Call us on 1300 366 573 or email info@employmentoffice.com.au today.

3 ways to reach more people when hiring for mining and construction

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One of the biggest recruitment dilemmas many recruiters in the mining industry face is reaching the best people. Job boards like SEEK and Indeed are becoming a less effective way of recruiting for this industry. Why? Your ideal candidates are just not looking on the sites anymore… instead, the job offers are being delivered directly to them!

Similarly, for both construction and mining, the skills shortage is having a real impact, making it harder than ever to attract the best talent. So, if you’re recruiting for these industries, it’s crucial for you to understand the best way to attract and convert passive candidates. 

Passive candidates, or continuous candidates, are candidates who are not actively looking for a new role. This means that they are employed, enjoy their current work or lack the time to search for new opportunities. 

However, passive candidates may investigate the right opportunity if it arises, so it is important to create that opportunity and persuade the candidate to pursue it further.

Here are 3 passive recruitment techniques you can use to find the best people in mining and construction. 

Headhunting and digital headhunting

Headhunting and its digital counterpart is a targeted search for talent who are currently employed. These passive candidates may not be actively looking for a new position, but would be happy to move if the right opportunity arose.  

Headhunting is a particularly successful method of sourcing prospective employees with a niche skill – which may be just what you need in mining and construction!  

Clever advertising & standing out from the crowd

Typical recruitment advertisements can be completely missed or ignored by the passive candidates you’re looking to target. Create exciting and relatable recruitment advertisements that really speak to your demographic to attract attention and promote click-throughs that convert applications. 

Use a careers video or employee profile story as a way to promote your organisation’s ethos and culture. Establish an attractive careers page on your website with images of your real employees, as research reveals candidates are highly likely to investigate your employer brand and their careers page before applying. 

Utilise social media to promote brand awareness

Using social media as an advertising tool, you can advertise your vacancy to the right demographic and tailor it to reach those who like relevant pages and capture or recapture their attention. Advertisements are more likely to capture attention if it is related to your target’s personal interests.

For example, using Facebook advertising, you can search for potential candidates in a specific location, within a specific industry, based on interests and more to really target your recruitment advertisement. 

Our recruitment advertising team are experts in passive candidate attraction, headhunting, writing effective recruitment advertisements and social media advertisement targeting. For the best chance to fill your mining or construction vacancy, call us on 1300 366 573 or email us at info@employmentoffice.com.au.

Use gender-neutral language in your job advertisement to attract more women in construction, engineering and STEM

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When it comes to STEM professions, it is clear that in Australia, women are largely underrepresented. According to a study by Australia’s Chief Scientist released in 2016, only 14% of Australian engineers are women and only 16% of Australia’s STEM qualified people are female. So, when there’s a national shortage of women in STEM, how can you attract more females to your workforce?

While there are lots of possible answers to this, one of the solutions is to use gender-neutral language. This seems straightforward but can come with numerous, confronting issues to tackle; including battling with our unconscious bias. Using gender-neutral language in your job advert can help you attract more women to your STEM vacancy without deterring the men who would also be equally as qualified for the role.

What is gender-neutral language?

Gender-neutral language (also referred to as gender-inclusive language), is dialect that avoids bias towards a particular social gender. A basic example of this is the move from using the term ‘two-man job’ which immediately infers a male bias, to the term ‘two-person job’ which does not associate a specific gender.

While the example above uses an obviously gendered term, this article will mainly refer to words and phrases that are gender-coded.

What is gender-coded language?

Gender-coded language is when a word has undertones that are biased towards a specific gender. You could be unconsciously using these terms within your job advert, as they are not overtly obvious in their gender association.

A research paper, Evidence That Gendered Wording in Job Advertisements Exists and Sustains Gender Inequality (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, July 2011, Vol 101(1), p109-28), written by Danielle Gaucher, Justin Friesen, and Aaron C. Kay; discussed how using gender-biased language (whether unconsciously or not) can consequently affect who will apply to your job vacancy. Their paper identified the words used and how they could attract or detract candidates.

Identifying words that are gender-coded can be difficult; especially since the most natural or appropriate word choices may be coded, such as; lead, connect, independent and cooperative.

Totaljobs, the UK’s largest hiring platform, did some research into the most commonly used gender-coded words in UK job descriptions and here’s what they found;

Most commonly used male-gendered words in job descriptions:

  • Lead (70,539 mentions)
  • Analyse (35,339)
  • Competitive (23,079)
  • Active (20,041)
  • Confident (13,841)

Most commonly used female-gendered words in job descriptions:

  • Support (83,095)
  • Responsible (64,909)
  • Understanding (29,638)
  • Dependable (16,979)
  • Committed (13,129)

Through a total of 77,000 job ads, there averaged a gender-bias of 6 words per ad.

Source: https://blog.totaljobs.com/gender-bias

Does this mean to say women are not leaders or analytical (etc)?

It categorically does not!! Women can absolutely be leaders, analytical, confident (etc); this research indicates that women are more hesitant when applying for roles that include these words in the description. When a job ad has a bias towards masculine coded language, women may feel (even on an unconscious level) that they are not eligible for the role and so do not apply.

Why is it imperative that this changes?

Totaljob’s research indicates ‘a distinct male-bias in adverts for senior positions, while supporting roles were worded with feminine coded words.’ By becoming more aware of this unconscious biased, we can encourage more women to apply for these more senior roles and encourage more women into male-dominated careers (without deterring the men who are also capable and qualified); moving towards a better gender balance and equality in the work place as a whole.

Not only this, but research on issue this in the USA indicates that the job ads that were gender neutral received 42% more responses than those that were biased. Wouldn’t it be amazing, if nearly double the talent were applying to every job ad you posted?

How do you tackle unconscious gender-bias in job ads?

The way we solve this as HR professionals is by ensuring we use gender-neutral terms as much as possible; where not possible, we ensure there is an equal balance of these words to avoid our ad being heavily directed towards one gender.

As Gaucher, Friesen and Kay state ‘The results were clear: Women were more interested in male-dominated careers when the advertisements were unbiased, making reference to both men and women as candidates, than when the advertisements made reference only to men’; so, to attract more women to the male-dominated STEM roles, we must ensure our ads are as unbiased as possible. It’s as simple as that.

Need some further help and clarification?

Our recruitment advertising team are experts in candidate attraction and copywriting job advertisements. Discuss your recruitment advertising needs today by calling us on 1300 366 573 or email us at info@employmentoffice.com.au.

If you’ve already written your job advert and you aren’t sure whether you have unconsciously used gender-coded terms, Totaljobs have a Gender Bias Decoder, where you can paste your copy and identify the gendered words you may have missed.

We also have a small cheat sheet below to help you find a more appropriate word or phrase.

Gender-coded phrase Alternative phrase
Someone who can connect well with customers (Fem) Someone who can provide great customer service
Strong communication skills (Masc) Exceptional communication skills
Happy working in a competitive atmosphere (Masc) Motivated by high targets
A responsible and sympathetic individual (Fem) A reliable and attentive person
Our dominant ambition is… (Masc) We have a principal goal to…
Join our community of… (Fem) Join our team of…
Able to act autonomously and on impulse where necessary (Masc) Able to think on their feet where necessary
Ready to challenge the norm (Masc) Can think outside the box
We are looking for someone dependable (Fem) We are looking for a dedicated individual

 

Unsuccessful Feedback – Letting Them Down Easy

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Delivering bad news is rarely something that Recruiters and Hiring Managers enjoy doing. However, when it comes to maintaining your Employer Brand and reputation, delivering unsuccessful feedback to a candidate is one of the most important parts of the recruitment process. 

Every interaction that a member of the public has with your employer brand, including their experience in a recruitment process, helps to form their impression of your organisation. One thing we can be sure of is that people talk; and you want them to be talking positively about you. For those who have a poor experience, there can be dangerous consequences.

Studies show that:

  • 78% of candidates who have had a bad application experience will relay that to their friends, family and network.
  • Over 80% of the reasons supplied from those candidates for their poor negative experiences were based on poor communication from the recruiting organisation. 

Setting up best practice, time effective procedures and tools to deliver feedback, and making certain that all candidates exit a recruitment process with a sense of finalisation, are key in ensuring a positive brand interaction. If candidates were both unsuitable for your role and for your organisation as a whole – perhaps they weren’t the right “cultural fit” – they are less likely to bad mouth the organisation if they feel they were assessed fairly and notified appropriately. Likewise, candidates who may have been a good organisational fit but were not suitable for that one role in particular are more likely to continue interacting with your brand and applying for roles that may be more aligned with their skills and experience in the future.

Please see below our recommendations for delivering unsuccessful feedback:

  • Be Timely – Leaving aside extraneous circumstances, move forward with unsuccessful feedback as soon as your final decision has been made. There is no need to leave candidates hanging through your recruitment process when you know you will not proceed with them. The importance of timeliness in giving feedback is even more critical for candidates who make it through to the final interview stage. Candidates who have attended face to face interviews should be notified of the results within 3-5 days of their interviews.
  • Match Their Engagement – Consider the time candidates have taken to apply for your role and go through a recruitment process with your organisation. An application you have considered unsuitable based on a first screen of the resume can be addressed in the format of a polite email, but an applicant who you have progressed through to a face-to-face interview should benefit from the personal touch of a phone call.
  • Rip Off the Band-Aid –  This will save both your time and that of the candidates. Make the nature of your decision apparent at the very start of the communication, whether it is over the phone or email, and don’t beat around the bush.
  • Don’t Apologise – There is no need to apologise for choosing not to recruit that person in to your organisation. Saying sorry opens a window for the candidate to question your decision and will only make the call more difficult.
  • Be Constructive – Constructive feedback is a valuable tool in providing a high level of candidate care – so make sure the feedback you give can be used by the candidate to improve their future job prospects. Explaining that the organisation had a higher preference for certain industry experience or higher qualifications is feedback that a candidate can action and remedy for future applications.

By following these guidelines and building a conscientious and professional procedure for exiting candidates from your recruitment process, you can ensure that even a “rejection” works in your favour and positively influences candidate perceptions of your organisation.

For more information on candidate care, watch our webinar Candidate Care & Your Employer Brand, or download the slides for further reading.

 

Behavioural Testing – Delve Deeper Into Your Candidates

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A common issue among both Recruiters and Hiring Managers is conducting an entire recruitment process, identifying and placing the perfect candidate, and then finding out too far down the track that they are not performing as well as expected. A costly and dangerous mistake to make for organisations, this will often occur if the screening process relies only on resume screening and first impression interviews.

Candidates’ resumes may not have the qualifications and industry experience needed for the position, and they may present well in a 1 hour interview with the hiring manager, however there are many other determinants that will contribute to their actual performance in the job. Measuring and assessing these before you’ve invested in an onboarding process will help to reduce the impact of a bad hire.

At Employment Office, we use Behavioural Testing to gain a deeper understanding of your candidates and what you can expect from them, beyond their experience and skill-set.

Behavioural testing Testing helps to identify the answers to questions such as:

  • Does the candidate prefer to work collaboratively with others or independently?
  • What kind of leader are they?
  • Are they naturally inclined to stick to the rules, or do they prefer to think outside the square?

Of the many types of Behavioural Testing, Employment Office chooses to use The McQuaig System, as it is specifically designed for recruitment., and the reports that are generated can be used by Hiring Managers without having to attend a 3 day interpreter course.

At what point is the right time in a recruitment process to introduce Behavioural Testing, and how do we best utilise this information?

Before you Interview

We have identified that the best time to behaviourally test your candidates is directly before you bring them in for a face-to-face conversation. Most testing tools are quite streamlined and can be accessed through a link included in the confirmation email sent to candidates, alongside the details of their interview. This allows Hiring Managers to walk into their interviews with a behavioural report to utilise alongside the interviewee’s CV.

These recruitment tools also allow insight into candidates’ engagement with your organisation and recruitment process. Applicants who are serious about your position will take the time to complete this step, and you may find that those who choose not to complete the testing may not be as engaged in your job opportunity.

As you Interview

With a behavioural report in hand, you are able to ask questions that delve much deeper into their a candidate’s suitability for your role. If a key behaviour for your vacant rolevacancy is sociability and the ability to empathise with others (e.g. a Social Worker or Customer Service Officer opportunity), knowing that the candidate in front of you is naturally inclined to those behaviours is incredibly powerful and important when considering role fit.

Conversely, if they have indicated that they are not naturally inclined to those behaviours, you can delve further into their motivations for applying to your position, and how they have performed in previous roles. Ask them to give examples of times where they have had to be sociable or empathise with a client, and double check that their answer aligns with what you would expect from them in your position.

Behavioural Testing also explores candidates’ leadership ability, selling style, motivating factors, management tips, developmental considerations, and more.

With so many tools available on the market and the ease with which they can be administered, now is the time to integrate behavioural testing in to with your recruitment process. Once you have gained the capability to understand how people will behave in your role before you have hired them, you will wonder how you ever recruited without it.

Gain more insights through our webinar; Behavioural Testing and How To Use it. Don’t stay in the dark about your candidates. Bolster your recruitment process and use Behavioural Testing to shine a light on potential employees’ suitability, future performance, and motivation – things that can be otherwise hard to measure during a routine interview.

Your New Strategy for Gender Diversity in Recruitment

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Matters of gender equality are once again a hot topic in Australia. Just last month, high-profile journalist, Lisa Wilkinson left The Today Show, after her request to be paid on par with her colleague, Karl Stefanovic, who was reported to be earning almost double Wilkinson, was rejected by Channel 9.

Further, radio host Dave Hughes from Melbourne Hit 101 station, took a pay cut this year to ensure his female co-host, Kate Langbroek, received pay parity. At the same time, Google has been under fire for gender pay disparities where more male staff have higher-paid roles due to bias recruitment and promotion practices.

With Lisa Wilkinson, Hughsey & Kate, and Google making headlines for gender pay disparities, workplace gender diversity has been on the lips of recruiters around the world. Whether it be pay, diversity or equal opportunities for development, issues of gender equality manifest in many different ways in the workplace, effecting both men and women.

In today’s progressive political climate, companies cannot afford to ignore the growing importance of gender diversity.

In fact, organisations with a balance of men and women are 15 per cent more likely to financially outperform single-gender dominated companies, according to a McKinsey & Company 2015 study. Yet, women hold only 13 per cent of chair positions, 25 per cent of directorships, and represent merely 16 per cent of CEOs, according to the Australian Workplace Gender Equality Agency in 2017. By the same token, men represent only 22 per cent of workers in the Health Care and Social Assistance industry, 30 per cent of workers in Education and Training, and 45 per cent in Financial and Insurance services.

For employers looking to diversify their workplace and promote themselves as an equal-opportunity organisation, there are a number of simple strategies you can adopt today, at minimum cost, to set you apart from your competitors.

Read on to learn how to strengthen your recruitment advertising strategy to improve gender diversity in your organisation, as advised by Recruitment Advertising Team Leader at Employment Office, Jess Harkin.

  1. Identify your company as an ‘equal opportunity employer’

Unless the role you are advertising for allows you to stipulate a particular gender of applicant based on particular legislative requirements – specifying that you will only accept men OR women for a position is discrimination and can potentially get you into all sorts of hot water.

Instead, Jess advises recruiters to include a small note in the job ad identifying them as an ‘equal opportunity employer.’ If you are a male nurse applying for roles that traditionally attract and are filled by women – you are much more likely to apply with confidence for this position than if this line item had been omitted.

For those organisations with an internal policy for equal opportunity employment – why not take it one step further and celebrate this in your advertising? It may be common knowledge within your organisation, but unless your employer brand is well-known within the industry, potential employees won’t be aware of it.

  1. Be aware of gender-coded language

Yep, this is a thing! Believe it or not, certain words in a job description can significantly impact on the likelihood of the reader to apply. Gender-coded language refers to words that are more likely to appeal to one gender more than another. For example, studies show that a job description peppered with traditionally dominant characteristics such as, ‘strong,’ ‘decisive,’ and ‘independent,’ can tend to appeal more to men than women. By the same token, empathetic language such as ‘encouraging,’ ‘supportive’ and ‘committed,’ can tend to garner a stronger emotional reaction from women more often than men.

“Rightly or wrongly, hiring managers use gender-coded language all the time – and often, they’re not aware of it. Most of the time it’s not an issue, however when you have a clear strategy to attract a certain gender pool – having gender coded language that is too heavily skewed in the wrong direction, may have an impact on your success rates.

If you know you want to attract more of a particular sex to your next role, take some time to review your choice of wording for a very simple and subtle way to improve your chances of attracting the right people,” Jess shares.

  1. Distinguish between your ‘must-haves’ and ‘nice-to-haves’

A 2014 study found that, in general, men apply for a job when they meet only 60% of the criteria on the job ad, but women apply only if they meet 100% of the qualifications, according to a Hewlett Packard internal report.

Women are perfectionists. (Not overly surprising, right?!!) But this also spills over to when we reflect on our own skills and experiences. When it comes to applying for a job, we are more likely to remove ourselves from the application processes if we don’t believe we tick all the boxes. On the other hand, men tend to have more of an innate confidence in their ability, and thus, are more likely to apply even if they only match a few of the criteria. “The key message to employers is to be very clear in defining your ‘must haves,’ and ‘desirables’. All of the ‘nice to have’ skills and qualifications that aren’t mandatory – leave them out of your ad and just discuss them at interview stage,” Jess advises.

  1. Harness the power of imagery

Another easy way to improve diversity attraction is by showcasing the men and women in your workplace through imagery. This goes for all of your marketing material – everything from job advertisements to your website, careers video and in email communications with candidates.

Jess encourages HR managers to take pictures of their workers in the office or out in the field to keep content authentic. “If you’re in a male-dominated industry and want to attract more women, of course, use more women in your imagery, and vice versa. For example, if you’re recruiting for a machine operator role, which traditionally attracts men, why not include a picture of a woman operating the machine?” says Jess.

  1. Walk the talk

If you aim to be a leader in your industry when it comes to gender equality, it’s critical to showcase the successes of your diverse team to your talent pool.

Jess reflects on her own experience, when she decided to join Employment Office. “I was drawn in by the number of female leaders in the business. I had come from a very male-dominated industry, and so it was refreshing to walk into an executive leadership meeting where 80 per cent of the team were women. It gave me confidence that my contributions and successes would be valued and rewarded on an equal playing field – and I know many other women think the same way. To inspire women (or men if you’re in a female-dominated industry) to apply to your organisation, be proud of your successful staff of both genders, across every level of the business, and share their stories on your website and social media,” Jess advises.

Whether your goal is to attract more women or men, depending on your current recruitment challenge, there are many simple and cost-effective techniques you can use today, to enhance your gender diversity and be recognised as an equal opportunity employer.

Editor’s note: Employment Office Recruitment Advertising Specialists are experts at delivering high quality recruitment campaigns, that will attract the very best candidates to your organisation in the most cost-effective way. Contact our RA Specialists to learn how we can craft an outstanding recruitment advertising strategy so you can begin attracting the high-quality candidates that you need today.

 

 

Sources:

Australian Workplace Gender Equality Agency, 2017

https://www.wgea.gov.au/sites/default/files/Stats%20at%20a%20Glance%20FEB2017.pdf

 

Australian Workplace Gender Equality Agency, 2016 (Female- dominated industry statistic)

https://www.wgea.gov.au/sites/default/files/Gender%20composition-of-the-workforce-by-industry.pdf

 

McKinsey & Company 2015

https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our-insights/why-diversity-matters

 

Hewlett Packard 2014. cited in Harvard Business Review blog post

https://hbr.org/2014/08/why-women-dont-apply-for-jobs-unless-theyre-100-qualified

 

Harvard Kennedy School: Gender-coded language study

http://gap.hks.harvard.edu/evidence-gendered-wording-job-advertisements-exists-and-sustains-gender-inequality

Why Your HR & Marketing Teams Need to Be Friends

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A comprehensive understanding of the role, knowledge of the right key words to attract relevant job seekers, and a creative flair are just some of the qualities required to execute an effective job listing as part your recruitment advertising campaign. However, these qualities don’t sit solely with the HR or Marketing departments. Thus, HR and Marketing must work together when it comes to the all-important task of recruitment advertising. After all, without an informative and captivating job listing, you’re unlikely to yield the number and quality of applicants you need to create a high-calibre shortlist. As branding company ‘Emotive Brand’ puts it, “HR understands what matters to employees, but Marketing knows how to capture their attention.” Read on to learn how Marketing and HR complement one another, and the steps you need to take to establish a value-adding relationship between the two.

Where HR shines

Employment Office Recruitment Advertising Specialist, Alexa Littleton, says HR, in collaboration with the Hiring Manager, provides the vital information needed to recruit. “HR offers the bread and butter for a job description – from the necessary skills and qualifications to key aspects of the employment contract, including compensation and working hours. These aspects are the basics of an informative job description, and are fundamental to any successful recruitment effort.”  However, she notes that HR does not necessarily know how to present this key information in the most effective way to ensure quality applications.

What Marketing brings to the table

When invited to collaborate in the recruitment advertising process, Marketing adds an important (and often underestimated) dimension to the job listing. Marketing is better equipped to consider the recruitment campaign from the perspective of candidates, and thus, tailor the job listing to ‘sell’ the role and your workplace.

Marketers will take a tedious list of role requirements, often crafted by HR to attract high-quality candidates, and play with the language to better reflect the dynamics of the role. For example, instead of stating that a managerial role requires ‘leadership,’ marketers would reconsider if this term was the most-fitting to describe the quality necessary for the role. In this instance, it would be more comprehensive to say, ‘a leadership background is ideal, as you will be directing a fast-paced team of junior and senior professionals across multiple departments.’ Specifying how leadership is relevant to the role reveals more information about the team the new hire will work within.

Further, the Marketing team will consider other important factors that should be included in the job listing – elements to captivate relevant job seekers. This includes details of the workplace culture and employee benefits that your organisation is proud of. Include three to five of your most outstanding benefits, and direct job seekers to your careers website to learn more about your culture.

Marketers should also be consulted when it comes to the graphic design of job ads – they have an eye for aesthetics. Why simply attach your logo to your job listing? Don’t underestimate the power of a strong image; Social Media and Content Analysts report that visuals increase user engagement by up to 94 per cent. Consider how an engaging image or video could impact your recruitment results. In effect, the Marketing team can shape a recruitment advertising campaign to reflect a positive Employer Brand.

Establish a productive relationship between HR and Marketing  

Don’t worry – there’s no need to overhaul your recruitment advertising strategy to marry your HR and Marketing departments. All it takes is communication between the departments throughout the recruitment advertising process.

  1. Host a HR/ Marketing Workshop where Marketing has the opportunity to review past recruitment advertising campaigns and offer feedback. Recruitment Advertising Specialist, Alexa Littleton says that HR should present their current campaigns and listen to Marketing’s guidance. “Of course, HR will not be able to take up every suggestion offered by Marketing, and Marketing won’t necessarily agree with HR about what should be included in a job ad. However, this workshop will establish a mutual understanding of the strengths and limitations of both teams for future collaboration,” she says.
  2. Marketing should own the design. Before the job listing has been crafted, HR and Marketing should meet to identify the important aspects of the role that must be communicated. From here, Marketing can create a relevant and engaging graphic to showcase the recruitment campaign. Starting the graphic design early in the recruitment advertising process means that if multiple drafts are required, the Marketing team will have the graphics finalised by the next meeting, after the job listing has been written by HR.
  1. HR should own the job listing but Marketing should improve it. After the job listing has been drafted by HR, Marketing should ensure the job ad not only describes the ideal candidate, but is written in an attractive way to highlight the company’s employer brand. Brand consistency is key here, but at the same time, different roles require specific employee benefits and varying aspects of your employer brand to be articulated. For example, when recruiting a junior, highlight your company leadership or volunteering program. A middle to senior professional on the other hand would find flexibility and parental benefits attractive.

The additional step of engaging Marketing with HR, compared to the traditional recruitment process where HR handles the recruitment process, is simple but will make all the difference in honing-in on candidates who identify with your culture.

Editor’s Note: Powerful job listing make up just one part of a successful recruitment advertising campaign. Our Recruitment Advertising Specialists at Employment Office use comprehensive recruitment advertising strategies to magnify an organisation’s hiring potential and uncover their next star. Partner with our team to execute a holistic outstanding recruitment campaign that harnesses both active (niche and generalist job boards) and passive candidate attraction strategies. Contact us today to learn more about our proven approach.