3 June 2022
As we continue to move into a post-covid recovery, many businesses are still feeling the pinch from the pandemic. Whether it’s revenue, COVID restrictions or recruitment, it’s not uncommon for businesses to be facing some sort of operational headache.
Recruitment has always been challenging and now it seems that many industries and businesses are having trouble locating the talent they need. The traditional methods like advertising on Seek and Career websites are proving to no longer be as effective as they once were. Businesses are looking for other ways to engage potential Employees. But they aren’t sure where to look and what to do.
There are a number of different ways to approach this. It’s having an understanding or appetite for creativity to get to the person you need. Simply relying on the old ways of recruitment probably won’t find the person you need.
First and foremost, do you have a strong advertisement to attract the right talent? What does the advertisement say, is it loaded with hyperbola that will make potential candidates scroll past? Does it reflect your business and values, whilst demonstrating the culture that they can be a part of? Obviously, an accurate description of the tasks, responsibilities and duties in the position description to support your advertisement is a must. If someone cannot clearly see what they will be doing or be a part of, how will they apply? From a practical sense is what you’ve written something that can be transferable into a task? Or can it be something that someone can evaluate whether they can or cannot do.
Then the next thing is, where are you putting this advertisement? Have you thought about where your ideal candidate is currently working or where you can attract them from? That will influence your advertising.
Traditionally we know people look at Seek.com, but there are other websites out there that are worth considering. Depending on your industry – ethicaljobs.com.au, au.indeed.com, careerone.com.au are all worth contemplating. But again, you need to be advertising where your candidates will be looking.
It is also evident that LinkedIn is a great place for specific industries to attract talent and has the capabilities to “head hunt” individuals if that’s a tactic that might be useful. It’s also a good platform to search for potential people to reach out to.
The other thing to consider is using your current team, perhaps they have connections that might want a career change or a new challenge. Incentivising team members to put forward their friends can be a great employee benefit that is otherwise not offered. Using a traditional recruitment agency is also another option but again, for some industries this is more successful than others.
Once you have some potential candidates, you need to move fast. If you wish to go to interview stage then you might need to act before the official closing day of the advertisement. Often good candidates are applying for multiple roles and won’t stay on the market for long.
During the interview stage it is also useful to know what it is you want in a candidate so you can effectively ask the right questions. If a candidate is answering in the way you want and showing potential cultural alignment then again, it’s worth moving quickly to secure them. Whilst some might see this process as aggressive, there are safeguards after employment commences that enable you to move this person on if they are not the right fit.
When we talk employment lifecycle this is what we mean. From hire to fire and everything in between. There needs to be a solid process. There are certain steps and procedures that can support you every step of the way. As a full-service HR Consulting firm, we are here to help you. If you’d like some help, please reach out to [email protected]
