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Making a hire in 2020? Top tips for holiday recruitment

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The latest job board data reveals a surge in candidate activity over the holiday break, making it the perfect time to advertise, even if you don’t need to fill a position until later in the New Year. Here’s why you need to get ahead of the curve, and ways to tailor your strategy according to your resources and timelines.

Generally, when we think about holiday recruitment we think about the manic casual hiring period that typically occurs between October and January. But what if your organisation happens to be looking for full-time, permanent employees during this time? Many people stop recruiting over the end-of-year break for a variety of reasons, but, in fact, it can be a golden opportunity to attract top talent.

The latest data reveals there are fewer recruitment advertisements being posts, and active candidate searches double!

According to Indeed, candidate activity almost doubles between 23 December and 7 January.

That’s an average increase of more than 2.8 million daily searches. 

But why the surge in candidate activity?

There’s a number of reasons that the holiday period sees a rise in the number of job searches, across all industries. Two of the more common explanations are that candidates simply have more time to look for new opportunities, with time off for the holidays providing the perfect opportunity to research a potential change.

Candidates are also often inspired by the New Year period to make a change in their lives, and are more open to considering opportunities as part of “new year, new career” resolutions.

So what does all of this mean for you?

The benefits of recruiting over the holiday break include:

  • Preparation and organisation – organising your recruitment advertisement/s in December means you won’t be scrambling to create a campaign during the surge in January.
  • Less competition – Fewer advertisements means you’ll have less competition from other organisations vying for the same candidates. Starting your recruitment process before the mid to late January rush means that you will be able to capture candidate’s interest from the moment they start looking.
  • Better ROI – You’ll also have better return on investment for each advertisement, with your ads staying higher in search results for longer, giving you better visibility to potential applicants;
  • More convenience – imagine returning from your holiday break and having a talent pool ready for you and your hiring manager to commence interviewing, while the rest of your competitors are only just starting to launch their recruitment advertisements in saturated market. Even if you don’t require a candidate to commence until January, or even February, capturing their interest early could mean that you are conducting interviews by the time other organisations are even posting their first ads.

We know one reason organisations choose not to advertise over Christmas is often due to a lack of resources. So, if you don’t have time to write and run an advertisement or conduct interviews, but you want to capitalise on the increased candidate activity between 23 December and 7 January, there are strategies you can put in place.

Adjust your recruitment advertising copy

Create copy that resonates with your target candidate market. The old adage, “New Year, New Career” still rings true today!

Maybe you want to remind a nurse your opportunity is a chance to move away from the hospital environment; or you want to appeal to individuals or couples looking to make a coastal move from the city; or maybe an engineer who is wanting to work on some exciting new projects that kick off in the new year. Candidates seeking new opportunities during this time are often driven to do so because they’re wanting something more, so incorporate language that speaks to this desire.

Be clear about next steps

It’s not uncommon for offices to close mid-December, or for panel members to be involved in the interview process to take leave. So communicate to the candidate in your recruitment advertisement when candidates will hear from you if being considered.

For example, you might like to include a line such as, “We will be reviewing applications in the second week of January, with the aim to commence interviews in the last week of January.”

If you have an eRecruitment system that responds to candidate applications, it’s a great idea to tailor your automated response emails to include this for this time period.

Confirm candidates’ availability

If you know what dates you and your team will be conducting interviews in the New Year, you can ask candidates about their availability as part of the application process. This makes it easier for you to book candidates in when you return, and encourages those candidates to be available on those dates.

Interview early (if possible!)

If you’re in a position to interview candidates prior to the holiday break, highlight those dates in your advertising or mention that there are immediate start dates available.

This is also an opportunity to invite high-quality candidates to events, such as Meet and Greets, or Christmas parties.

Get support

If you need additional support, considering engaging a recruitment partner like Employment Office to create your campaign, advertise and interview suitable candidates on your behalf.

You can then return in the New Year to a shortlist of candidates who have been pre-screened, engaged, and kept warm for your opportunity.

So, if you need to make hires in the New Year, don’t delay. Start in December to get ahead of the surge and tailor your strategy accordingly with the right messaging and support.

To discuss a recruitment solution tailored to your needs, contact Employment Office on 1300 366 573 or info@employmentoffice.com.au.

Leveraging the power of employee referrals in construction and manufacturing

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Regardless of the industry you are recruiting for, many of the same recruitment marketing principles still apply. You need a marketing and advertising strategy that targets the right candidates followed by an efficient and effective shortlisting and selection process.

However, recruiting for construction and manufacturing presents many of its own unique challenges that can make it difficult for organisations to maintain the optimal staffing levels and remain competitive. In this article, we look at how word-of-mouth hiring and incentivised employee referrals can assist with recruiting in construction and manufacturing.

Factor in external influences

One of the things that makes construction and manufacturing so unique is its ‘boom and bust’ cycle, which reflects a range of factors including population growth, employment figures, interest rates and Australia’s overall economy. When recruiting for these roles, you need to be nimble, flexible and have the ability to anticipate your future staffing needs.

The total volume of construction activity across Australia has increased in the last two years, with a 2019 report by Master Builders Australia citing that activity nationwide is estimated to have increased by 11.4% to $220.8 billion during 2017/18. More demand translates to increase need for talent – which is why strategies such as referrals are becoming more and more important.

Attract talent through word of mouth

Word-of-mouth recruiting can often occur naturally when employees share the merits of their employer to friends, family and acquaintances. Current employees know what it’s like to work in the organisation and therefore refer people who they believe would be a good ‘fit’ for a new role. Most employees also care about their reputation so will only refer those they are interested in working with and can vouch for.

Suppliers, clients and sub-contractors also typically have a shortlist of workers who they would recommend, as do previous employees who can assist with vetting potential new hires. Most recruitment professionals also prefer to hire a candidate who not only have a quality reference, but are recommended by someone they know and trust.

Employee referrals can often mean candidates start with a better base knowledge of the position, the company and its culture because of their connection to the referring employee.

According to Susan Mayson, Associate, Australian Centre for Research in Work and Employment,“candidates are usually faster at getting up to the required standard of performance. There is evidence that employees who are good performers are likely to recommend potential recruits who are also likely to become good performers.”

Offer bonuses and incentives

More employers creating formal internal referral programs, where employees are offered financial incentives to motivate and reward those who put forward a successful referral and assist with filling job vacancies. Referral bonuses are determined by the type of position, a company’s hiring needs, and the nature of the workforce, however they often take the form of either cash incentives or other perks. Some organisations also offer an initial bonus and then a series of additional bonuses if the new recruit stays in the organisation, which motivates the employee to assist the new hire to succeed.

Disadvantages to be wary of!

Word-of-mouth hiring does have some disadvantages, including limiting the number of considered applicants you can consider and potentially reducing workforce diversity. Which is why it’s important to develop a formal recruitment referral program, keeping things like diversity in mind, which is transparent and grants all existing employees the chance to participate. You should also make it clear that recruitment referrals don’t automatically result in appointment – policies and procedures still need to be followed to ensure the right candidate is employed for the job.

To find out more about tailoring a recruitment strategy for your business, call us on 1300 366 573 or email info@employmentoffice.com.au.

4 reasons to incorporate video into your recruitment strategy

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The consumer marketing landscape is constantly evolving, and in terms of digital platforms, research has shown that Australians over 18 now spend more than 21 hours per month watching online video, whether it’s on a tablet, desktop or smartphone. In fact, by 2020, the average person is expected to spend nearly half of their total time online watching videos.

These trends are also been seen in the recruitment sector, with 57% of talent teams now using online video content in their recruitment marketing efforts, according to a global survey by VideoMyJob and SocialTalent. 73% of business-to-business marketers also believe using video for recruitment positively impacts their return on investment (ROI). But how can it be leveraged effectively?

1. Increased engagement

Candidate attraction is still one of recruiters’ biggest challenges. So providing ‘rich’ content to candidates can increase engagement, particularly from passive or continuous candidates. Video enables them to imagine themselves visually in a role at your organisation, regardless of whether or not they choose to apply.

Using video content when recruiting creates a visual, emotional experience without you having to meet applicants and potential candidates in person. Being able to see what your organisation is like, your values and team members allows candidates to make informed decisions about whether or not to apply.

Candidates typically spend more time watching a video in a recruitment advertisement than they do on text-only advertisements. Video is also mobile friendly! 90 per cent of job seekers start looking for roles using their mobile device, which is just another reason video is such a valuable talent attraction tool. Millennials and Gen Z are particularly receptive to video.

2. Promote your employer brand

Using video for recruitment can also be an effective means of promoting the less tangible aspects of your organisation, including your brand’s vision and values. Candidates can get a snapshot of your cultural identity, see what makes your organisation unique, and witness your Employee Value Proposition (EVP) authentically in action.

In the long run, video recruiting can also increase retention rates, as candidates have a better idea of the job role and what they can expect from the workplace. Workplace showreels are a creative way of attracting top talent that can result in more suitable and engaged applicants, particularly if they highlight company perks, incentives, personality and ‘day in the life of’ scenarios.

3. Build trust

Obtaining honest, transparent feedback from current employees is also an effective way to leverage video content when recruiting to build trust with potential candidates. In fact, 68% of respondents surveyed trust employees the most when it comes to explaining a company’s benefits and Employee Value Proposition (EVP).

Interviewing your current team members about their roles, day-to-day duties and projects they’ve worked on give potential candidates an insight into what it would be like to work for you. Video content can also increase the chances that a job ad will be shared on social media channels. In the same survey, almost half of respondents said video was the content they would most likely share with their own social networks.

4. See tangible results

 The value of video for recruitment marketing can’t be ignored, with more than half of respondents surveyed spending the same or more of their marketing dollars on video content in 2019 compared to previous years. It’s no longer just a ‘nice to have’ – it’s a key element in attracting top talent and driving inbound traffic.

Video content also not only helps raise brand awareness and an organisation’s Employee Value Proposition (EVP), it can boost website traffic, drive click-through rates, increase ROI, and ultimately convert both passive candidates and job seekers into actual job applicants.

For support with creating beautiful, branded recruitment videos, complete the form in the link, call us on 1300 366 573 or email info@employmentoffice.com.au.

Struggling with lack of capacity? Top tips for Council to recruit top talent

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A range of industries in Australia need more skilled employees than the supply of talent that is available, and local government is no different. In fact, according to a 2018 report by the Australian Local Government Association, 69% of local governments are experiencing a skill shortage, with occupations like engineers, project managers, building surveyors and environment health officers most in demand.

The local government recruiting process is driven by the need for skilled employees, but does your organisation have the resources to source and retain top talent?

As budgets shrink and demand for services increases, many government HR departments have been stretched to the limit. You may only have one or two HR or Talent Professionals who are tasked with evaluating dozens or even hundreds of applications for a single job opening. This makes it more difficult for you to quickly identify quality candidates and efficiently progress them – particularly if you aren’t leveraging the right processes, including automation.

Here’s how Councils can deal with lack of capacity and streamline their processes by implementing strong processes, automation and technology.

Implement recruitment best practices 

Solving a lack of resource capacity in local government comes down to securing the right technology and implementing the best processes. Lacking best-practice processes and out-dated technology not only results in your team experiencing an increased workload, you may be unintentionally delaying your hiring process. Quality candidates may then pursue other opportunities or become uninterested in proceeding further with their application simply because of poor response times.

To structure your local government recruitment process well, it needs to be efficient, effective and economical. Probably the most crucial element of a successful recruitment campaign is the screening, shortlisting and selection process, which generally involves:

  1. Screening – rating and ranking candidates against suitability criteria.
  2. Skills testing and behavioural assessments – to determine a shortlist.
  3. Face-to-face-interviews – usually undertaken by a selection panel. In many local governments, this may also involve role-playing and/or work sampling, where candidates carry out tasks similar to what would be expected in the position.
  4. Reference and background checks – to ascertain your chosen candidates’ suitability. This can involve qualification verification, ID, financial probity and criminal history checks, and working with children clearance if required. Some government departments also often require candidates to undertake functional health assessments and other checks.

Implementing recruitment best practices and establishing set processes for all team members to follow provides a consistent candidate experience.

Use recorded two-way video interviews, or hosting Group Information and Interview Days, and outsource background checks, reference checks, skills testing and other checks wherever possible.

Use the right technology

Streamline your processes by using the right recruitment technology; ideally, a Candidate Management System (CMS). Having a CMS give you full control of all your recruitment campaigns from start to finish, as well as:

  • review and oversee your entire candidate pool
  • manage, track and shortlist candidates
  • create and send branded, personalised communications to candidates
  • communicate with many candidates with the click of a button
  • evaluate your campaigns with data-driven reporting.

A CMS has added benefits such as allowing multiple team members to review applications for roles, change applicant statuses and add notes; all while keeping candidate data secure. Technology also eliminates your reliance on paper, saving you valuable time (no more waiting around the printer for hard copy CVs and cover letters) and resources.

Use screening questions

Screening questions are also an incredibly helpful tool in saving time. Include screening questions in your recruitment advertisements for candidates to answer when they submit their application. Screening questions also provide candidates the opportunity to showcase their personality and skills. Designing the right screening questions can reduce the amount of time you need to review hundreds of CVs. You can also create automations to eliminate candidates who don’t meet your requirements. (Check out our top tips for designing effective screening questions.

The right technology gives you more capability and saves you valuable time and resources. Combining a CMS with recruitment best practices to streamline your processes is the best way for Council to manage lack of capacity, from posting your recruitment advertisements to sending employees contracts.

Interested in learning more about Candidate Management System (CMS) software? Contact an Employment Office Recruitment Specialist on info@employmentoffice.com.au or 1300 366 573.

Reducing employee turnover in retail

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According to the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the retail sector currently employs over 1,286,100 people, which accounts for around 9.9% of the total workforce. Over the past five years, employment in the industry has increased by around 4.1%, however despite this, retail employee turnover is still relatively high.

In this article, we examine a range of strategies to reduce employee turnover, how to minimise risk factors, and how to harness recruitment best practices to positively impact your organisation’s bottom line.

Understand the key causes 

Employees move on for a range of reasons, some of which may be out of your control. However, minimising employee turnover can often be a simple as identifying employees that aren’t the right ‘fit’ and formulating strategies to retain those that are.

Good communication can offer these insights, including holding one-on-one meetings which can provide an open forum for employees to discuss the positives and negatives of their job, including instigating a discussion about hours, wages and even advancement.

Employee surveys can also gauge employee satisfaction, particularly if conducted by an outside source that can provide anonymity and therefore encourage honesty and valuable feedback.

And while it’s often difficult to let an employee go, it can be an opportunity to gather insights via an exit interview. This can include a discussion about why they are leaving, what they liked/disliked about their job and the company and what improvements they would suggest that might help retain future employees.

Increase motivation

Employees who leave organisations, including those in the retail sector, often do so because they are not offered a clear career path or an opportunity to develop their skills. This is especially prevalent with Millennials (employees born between 1980 and 1994).

Positive recruitment strategies include offering retail workers more responsibility to make them feel more engaged and empowered, and it also demonstrates that you trust and value them. Offering career advancement in the form of a promotion or a position of leadership can increase motivation and it rewards employees for performance.

Retail organisation can also create open dialogue about future opportunities, encourage a culture of promoting internally and offer mentoring or training programs to increase education and new skills.

Reward loyalty

Regular pay rises and bonuses are a valuable way of retaining retail employees, however other incentives also work. These can range from tailored Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) and perks like regular flexitime, to free food, gym memberships, financial planning advice and social team building activities.

Aside from assisting with attracting new top talent, rewarding loyalty can also enhance your organisation’s culture and increase employee productivity. The key is to promote employee wellbeing and a sense of purpose across all aspects of their lives, including in their financial security, social relationships, physical health and community involvement. 

Hire carefully

Taking the time to hire the right person saves time, money and stress in the long run, however it does require a carefully thought-out recruitment strategy. This is particularly true in the retail sector when it comes to hiring for seasonality or diversity.

Reduce employee turnover and positively impact your bottom line by understanding the key causes, minimising risk factors, structuring attractive bonuses and incentives and using a strong recruitment strategy.

Interested in learning more about screening, shortlisting and selection best practices? Contact an Employment Office Recruitment Specialist on info@employmentoffice.com.au or 1300 366 573.

Tips for retail HR professionals to manage seasonal recruitment demand

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Are you challenged by seasonal recruitment demands in retail? You’re not alone. It’s common for organisations in the retail industry to need more team members before Christmas, or during summer. For fluctuating recruitment demands, here are the best strategies to manage seasonal recruitment. 

It’s important to be able to meet customer needs when your business kicks into seasonal overdrive. To ensure this year’s seasonal shift is as cost-effective, stress-free and productive as possible for you and your team, use these strategies to manage seasonal recruitment.

Start by identifying the number of team members you will need in which locations and departments. Understand which areas of your business will need extra support based on data from previous years and factor in growth throughout the year to create a plan. Consider issues you’ve faced previously and set a plan to plug these holes preemptively.

Then, use smart attraction and hiring methods. Because seasonal employees may not remain in your business over the long term, advertising, hiring and onboarding costs through traditional methods can sometimes outweigh returns. But there are a number of strategies to cut down on the time and resources it takes to attract, screen and hire candidates.

Some smart attraction and hiring methods you could use include:

  • An employee referral system – offer rewards and incentives to current team members for every successful referral they make to you (after all, great talent knows great talent!)
  • Advertising in-store – a low-cost way to win applications from customers who already know, like and trust your brand
  • An effective Candidate Management System – allowing you and your hiring managers to work collaboratively to screen candidates with ease in a single location
  • Talent pooling – reach out to candidates who have previously expressed an interest in working with your organisation
  • Delegating tasks to your front-line managers 
  • Using Group Assessment Days to assess and hire candidates in bulk.

You may need to screen hundreds of applications, so being able to digitally screen, compare and invite candidates to be interviewed will save you time and effort when recruiting high volumes.

Lastly, ensure you’re hiring the right person for the role. Hiring the wrong person whose values do not accurately match your company can cause massive issues and negative brand consequences. This, combined with the stress of the seasonal period, means you can’t afford to suffer from mis-hires or allow customer service to deteriorate.

Effectively screen candidates to ensure their values and experience matches what you are looking for. Ask quality questions to gain insight into candidates’ character and how they will perform in your team.

For more information about talent attraction or support to manage seasonal recruitment needs, call us on 1300 366 573 or email  info@employmentoffice.com.au.

How Council can move from ad hoc to standardised recruitment

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Many local governments lack standardised recruitment because their processes are full of ad hoc tools, checklists, and templates that team members have developed over time. Hiring managers each have their own procedures and questions they like to ask. Here’s how to implement best practice. 

This lack of standardisation dramatically slows down the hiring process and prevents local government from securing great talent. It leads to qualified candidates being unavailable or uninterested when it comes time to schedule interviews—which can be months after they submit their resumes.

The good news is, it’s possible to standardise your recruitment processes in an easy, straightforward and cost-effective way through recruitment technology. The right recruitment technology allows you and your teams to deliver a consistent, positive candidate experience and build a positive brand image.

Here are some ways you can build consistency into your recruitment process.

Use branded templates to communicate with candidates 

We are strong proponents of candidate care. Candidate care is a crucial long-term strategy to consistently attracting great talent and building a positive brand image. The foundation of candidate care is good communication and feedback, and this doesn’t have to be time-consuming or complicated.

Recruitment technology allows you to build standardised email templates personalised with your copy, branding and signature to send to candidates with the click of a button. Deliver unsuccessful feedback, invite candidates to be interviewed and progress them to the next stages.

Book interviews through tech 

Scheduling interviews can be challenging without the right tools. It can be hard to catch candidates over the phone, and back and forth emailing takes time. Use recruitment technology to send bulk invitations and allow candidates to select from a range of times that suit them.

Use behavioural-based interview questions 

Different roles require different interview questions. So, how can Council standardise this process? Behavioural interview questions will give you far greater insights into your candidates than hypothetical or personal questions. By asking candidates about their experience, you allow them to demonstrate the capabilities you are looking for.

It’s a great idea to deliver these questions with context.

For example, “In this role, you will need to demonstrate excellent attention to detail. Can you tell me about a time where you’ve had to work with a high degree of accuracy?” 

(For more tips about best practice interviewing, schedule a discussion with our knowledgable Shortlisting and Selection Specialists.

Conduct video interviews 

60% of hiring managers and recruiters are using video interviewing technology to shorten their time to hire and streamline their processes. Incorporate video screening as part of the first round of interviews you conduct with candidates, record and share them with hiring managers to save time and better inform your face-to-face interview stage.

Use templates for contracts and onboarding 

Onboarding is a crucial opportunity to make a great first impression on your new hire. Streamlining your onboarding process will drastically improve your new hire’s perception of your workplace as you introduce them to your organisation.

Use recruitment technology to send your contracts and letters of offer digitally, and allow your new hires to accept them online.

Ad hoc recruitment is stressful and time-consuming, so standardising your recruitment processes makes life easier for you, your hiring managers and your candidates. Use recruitment technology and specialist support to gain confidence in your procedures, knowing that you’re using best practice and obtaining the best recruitment results.

For more information about how recruitment technology and specialist support can help you, submit an enquiry or speak to one of our knowledgable specialists on 1300 366 573. 

Preventing burnout in NFP and healthcare 

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The NFP and healthcare sectors are some of the most at-risk occupations of burnout. Here are the main causes and some strategies for preventing burnout to protect your team members, improve workplace happiness, increase productivity and retain great talent. 

According to Safe Work Australia, social, health and welfare support workers are the most at-risk occupations for mental health issues. When hiring and nurturing employees, it is important to prioritise their mental health to retain them over the long-term; not to mention, attract more great talent in the future. 

Burnout is characterised by emotional exhaustion, cynicism and ineffectiveness in the workplace and chronic negative responses to stressful workplace conditions. 

While not considered a mental illness, burnout can be considered a mental health issue. 

Here are some of the top reasons why NFP and Healthcare workers can experience this problem and ways of preventing burnout. 

Burnout is more likely when employees:

  • expect too much of themselves
  • feel as if they work they are doing is not good enough
  • feel inadequate or incompetent
  • feel unappreciated for their efforts in the workplace
  • have unreasonable demands placed upon them
  • are in roles that are not a good fit.

Recognise the signs and symptoms 

Could you recognise the above symptoms in your team members? While prevention is the most powerful solution, it’s important to recognise reduced energy and enthusiasm, lack of motivation and increased errors. Other symptoms can include irritability and increased absenteeism. 

Left unaddressed, burnt out team members can deteriorate into decreased productivity, increase risk of accidents, low workplace morale and increase turnover. 

Offer counselling and support services 

Offer your team members outlets to gain emotional support (i.e. by offering an external counselling service or support groups) or running physical or creative activities specifically designed for stress release. 

Assess workloads and establish reasonable expectations  

For not-for-profit and healthcare organisations, more often than not, there will be competing priorities and limited resources. Can you assess what activities require the highest standards and when is it okay to lower the bar and still meet organisational requirements? 

Use good communication to establish workloads and ensure your team members feel comfortable with their delivery. Use conversations are a chance to check-in and ensure your team members are not expecting unreasonable workloads of themselves. Encourage regular breaks and ensure you are not expecting team members to consistently work overtime. Establish boundaries and enforce reasonable work hours if necessary. 

Encourage social support, respect and physical activity

Fostering a sense of community and inclusivity in your workplace will increase retention over the long term. Support and respect in and between teams will improve happiness and productivity. Promoting physical activity in the workplace has been proven to lower the risk of chronic disease and increase employee engagement and productivity.  Provide training and resources 

Train your leadership team to assess for symptoms of burnout and know how to provide support to your team members. (Also, it may be worth providing training to your leaders to help them understand how harmful behaviour can have negative consequences on co-workers). 

Provide professional development and ongoing training to ensure all your team members feel competent and comfortable in their roles.\

Offer reward and recognition

Do you currently offer your people reward and recognition through things such as awards nights, events or social posts to celebrate small wins? Reward and recognition solves the problem of your people feeling as if their work is unappreciated or unnoticed. 

Communicate with your team members to help them understand how their work plays a valuable role in delivering your overarching purpose. 

While strategies, such as encouraging social support and physical activity, are powerful and effective, they cannot be treated as a bandaid solution to unreasonable workloads and expectations. Train your leadership team to recognise the symptoms of burnout and provide support. Provide training and offer your people reward and recognition so they feel appreciated understand the value of their work. 

Preventing burnout will improve the happiness and satisfaction of your current team members, increase retention and empower you to attract more great talent to your organisation over the long term. 

Schedule a discussion with our Recruitment Specialists here, call us on 1300 366 573 or email info@employmentoffice.com.au.

Retain great talent: Strategies to foster employee loyalty

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When you’re running a recruitment campaign, candidate attraction is most likely at the forefront of your thinking. Don’t let employee retention become an afterthought. Here are three simple strategies to improve employee retention and increase employee loyalty. 

Employee retention isn’t something you start working on during a recruitment campaign or when you’ve hired a candidate. Fostering employee loyalty should be continuous! Retaining great talent is the foundation of organisational success, because after all, you recruit great talent to retain great talent. So, here are three great employee retention strategies you can implement today.

Invest in your teams

Your first thought about investing might be money – but it’s much more than that. It’s also about time. Invest time in developing your teams, using team building to foster teamwork and productivity.

If you already invest time and resources into your existing teams, share this through your recruitment advertisements to attract great candidates. Top talent wants to see how their work may be valued and how they can develop in your organisation.

It’s no wonder that when your teams are disengaged, productivity decreases. Research reveals that 70% of employees aren’t engaged in their roles which creates an estimated cost of $450 billion to $550 billion in lost productivity per year. Investing time into your team will increase productivity and overall work happiness, saving your organisation money and giving you the ability to retain great people

Empower your teams

Empowering your team is a great way to demonstrate trust. According to Forbes, employees who feel empowered or have a level of autonomy within their roles feel more engaged in their jobs than those who do not.

“Employees who felt a low level of empowerment were rated with engagement at the 24th percentile, whereas those with a high level of empowerment were at the 79th percentile. Clearly, empowerment counts.”

So how can you empower your team? Share their successes on your social media channels and provide incentives as a reward for meeting targets.

Sharing how you appreciate their effort and hard work in day-to-day conversations too.

For example, one of your team members may not have performed so well in a quarter. Express that you fully appreciate their efforts and expect they will learn from this result. Offer them support in areas they may need it and consider if any workplace or personal problems may have impacted their results. Great leadership fosters employee loyalty over the long-term. Employees should feel valued and empowered to improve even after a tough conversation about KPIs and results.

Provide excellent leadership and support

Leadership is arguably one of the most important elements of candidate retention. Employees remain loyal to great leaders. Continue to develop and improve your leadership skills, offer support, and understand on a deep level what your employees want from leaders.

In addition to this, consider offering additional support to candidates and new hires too. The recruitment process can be stressful for candidates, so offering your support during the onboarding process and demonstrating great leadership while they navigate their initial few weeks is essential to making a great impression. Continue this support as they become more autonomous in their decision making is vital.

Focusing on these three elements will nurture a positive workplace environment for loyal employees to thrive.

The overarching theme of retention is empowering your people. If your people feel empowered in their role and the organisation, they are more likely to stay loyal to the brand and become advocates. This makes talent attraction much easier over the long term. Investing in your team, building trust and providing support where required will create an empowered and loyal workforce who are in it for the long run.

Schedule a discussion with our Recruitment Specialists, call us on 1300 366 573 or email info@employmentoffice.com.au.

Release poor performers fast through a no-fault divorce approach

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So, you have a robust shortlisting process in place and you’re confident you’re only hiring the best talent. But let’s get real. Mistakes happen. What if you onboard a poor performer? Here’s an effective approach to release poor performers that can work for your organisation. 

While it’s expensive to recruit and train new hires, it’s even more costly to permit mis-hires to sit in a position for lengthy periods of time due to the damage they can create.

Of course, it takes time for new people to learn, gain confidence in their new role, and hit KPIs. However, if they display soft skills or other qualities that are clearly misaligned with your organisation’s goals or culture (e.g. unenthusiastic, rude, poor team player, lack of willingness to learn, bad attitude), this represents a clear problem that will not be resolved with more time or training!

According to Recruitment Strategist Dr John Sullivan, “Today’s sparse talent pool increases your chances of a hiring mistake. But a no-fault divorce approach allows you to release mis-hires quickly. And despite the lack of available talent to choose from, the pressure from hiring managers to “get me, anybody, I need butts in chairs” is immense.”

Average hiring error rates sit at 46%. 

From this perspective, it’s not surprising that hiring mistakes are increasingly common. Which is why you need to get comfortable to release poor performers.

“Unfortunately. because the standard performance management process is so painfully slow and ineffective, it’s a leap of faith to expect it to weed out poor-performing new hires. What organisations need is quicker and less disruptive alternative, which I call a “new hire no-fault divorce” approach. This intuitive approach allows you to quickly release new hires that are not working out while minimising conflict and avoiding the threat of legal action.”

Weak performers do not get better with more time or training. You can train skills, but you cannot train attitude.

What is a “new hire no-fault divorce” release mechanism? 

A “no-fault divorce” concept is tried and proven.

Data from multinational technology conglomerate Cisco revealed that, “after six months on the job, there was little probability that the already weak performance of a new hire, would significantly improve over the next six months.”

Yes you read it here, weak performers do not get better.

Here’s how a “no-fault” process might work for your organisation.

Schedule regular check-ins and a six-month assessment 

Sullivan recommends that the process to remove poor hires begins at the six-month mark. This is because in order to let someone go, you need to have signficant volume of data and evidence that they are not performing according to set standards.

Typically, due to lack of performance data, HR and talent departments rely on convincing poor hires to voluntarily resign.

“The no-fault mechanism begins at the six-month point, where it identifies weak performing hires. HR then projects the estimated performance trajectory of weak new hires for the remainder of their first year. HR then targets those whose performance is projected at year-end to be below the acceptable standard for release.”

Avoid legal issues

Instead of the traditional approach, set targets for your new hires to meet and encourage them to resign to avoid legal issues. Approach hires anticipated to have continued poor performance and share statistics around their chances of success by year-end, which may be slim. During this conversation, you could offer them to option to stay on board, or leave immediately.

“If they agree to leave now, you can offer them between two- and five-months’ severance pay. And, because their continued weak performance is only projected, they get to leave with a positive job reference. As part of the severance package, they also agree to keep their termination quiet and to sign an agreement not to take legal action. Now some may argue that your organisation would be “rewarding for poor performance.” However, the cost of the projected severance payment (even at five months) is usually much less than the value that will be added if the weak current hire is replaced with a top-performing new hire.”

Offering low and high-risk options 

“The carrot and stick approach gives the new hire a low and a high-risk choice. If they don’t want to accept the immediate severance, they still have the option to choose to stay on the job for the remainder of the year.”

If their projected weak performance level turns out to be accurate, you will now have enough performance data to terminate them formally. Therefore, they lose the severance option and leave with a now fully justified negative reference.

“This carrot and stick approach encourages more than the majority to take the early exit option.

61% of new hires are unhappy because they feel that they had been misled during the hiring process (Harris Interactive). 

What if it was your fault? 

In cases where you have oversold your role or misled candidates with inaccurate position descriptions and your new hire ends up disillusioned and confused, this will affect their performance.

As such, the performance deficit and unhappiness of your new hire may not be their fault.

“Without having to assign blame, it makes sense to arrive at a “no-fault conclusion” and then offer the new hire the severance package with a positive reference. Obviously, recruiting leadership then needs to be made aware of any overselling.

Benefits of this approach 

Candidates know they have a safe option to “opt out”, which may help get candidates who are unsure over the line and improve your offer acceptance rate.

“Also, being able to leave with some money and a good reference might also directly help reduce some of the new hire’s anger after they find out the job wasn’t what was promised. Getting them to leave while happy could prevent the ex-employee from damaging the firm’s employer brand image on social media.”

This also benefits your organisation in that you can release poor performers far more quickly. By setting a 6-month benchmark, you cut release times in half, instead of waiting for yearly reviews.

“Getting rid of any new hire that doesn’t “fit” also reduces the damage they can do to the corporate culture. Having new hires leave reduces the team trauma quickly that would have occurred if you waited and lost a long-term employee. Weak employees also take up to 17% of a manager’s time (Robert Half), releasing them frees up managers to do other things. Finally, knowing they can much more easily release a new hire that doesn’t work out, hiring managers will take more risks on an exciting candidate with a few iffy characteristics.”

Other strategies to release poor performers early 

You can also consider using onboarding and training periods as an assessment prior to offer

“Some firms use an extended onboarding process to provide more time to identify their hiring mistakes. Facebook (6 weeks) and Zappos (4 weeks) use their extended onboarding process as a secondary assessment level. The initial training that is provided to new hires can also be used as an assessment level. Firms like Zappos (which pays $3,000) even offer all new hires a bonus to quit at the end of onboarding/training, if they realize this is ‘not the job for them.’”

You could even consider placing new hires into temporary-to-permanent contracts. That way you and your new hires have a few weeks to assess for fit.

“The hardest thing to accurately assess during even an extended interview period is cultural However, you can extend your cultural fit assessment time frame by putting all new hires under contract for “a cultural and job tryout.”

Standard performance management just doesn’t cut it these days, so take this approach to release poor performers.

“Most firms do rely on the standard performance management process to get rid of new hires. Unfortunately, almost without exception, I find corporate performance management processes to be ineffective. Utilising this process usually means you will have to wait an additional 6 to 18 months before you can terminate a weak new hire. And during that waiting time, the recent hire will continue to underperform and to take up a slot that could be filled by a better performing new hire.”

Do you need a recruitment campaign to attract the best candidates to your vacancy? Schedule a discussion with our Recruitment Advertising Specialists, call us on 1300 366 573 or email info@employmentoffice.com.au.