next generation recruitment: battle strategies for the talent war

next generation recruitment: battle strategies for the talent war

the hudson 20:20 series

the hudson 20:20 series is hudson australia/new Zealand’s

flagship research publication. the series investigates talent and

recruitment issues with a critical impact on business performance.

titles in the series include: Positioning for Growth: Building a

Dynamic Workforce in the New Economic Era; Talent Tightrope —

Managing the Workplace through the Downturn; Candidate

Buying Behaviour; and Seven Key Drivers of Mature-aged Workers.

about hudson

hudson is a leading provider of permanent recruitment, contract

professionals and talent management services worldwide.

from single placements to total recruitment process outsourcing,

hudson helps clients achieve greater organisational performance by

assessing, recruiting, developing and engaging the best and brightest

people for their businesses. the company employs more than 2,000

professionals serving clients and candidates in around 20 countries.

auspoll research

hudson commissioned auspoll research to conduct a wide-ranging

qualitative and quantitative research study into the employment

market and how current recruitment practices are impacting on

hiring outcomes.

further information on auspoll research can be found at

www.auspoll.com.au.

© hudson 2011

contentsForeword 4

executive summary 5

introduction 7

1. the employment and recruitment market: complex and challenging

australia and new Zealand: economies moving forward 10

optimism is on the up 11

growth is on the cards 12

organisations are getting fit for growth 12

baby boomers are preparing to exit the workforce 12

employees are becoming more elusive 12

candidates are becoming choosier 13

employers are more cautious too 13

breaking the cycle of insanity 14

the new grail for recruitment 15

2. what are employers up against?

the pursuit of talent 18

the quest for quality 20

the right recruitment model: getting the balance right 26

3. battle strategies

no. 1: take a talent-centric approach 30

no. 2: create an authentic employer brand 36

no. 3: utilise best practice attraction strategies 39

no. 4: create a future talent pool 44

no. 5: assess attitude, motivation and cultural fit 45

no. 6: develop a flexible and efficient recruitment model 48

4. Future Forecast and conclusions

future forecast 52

conclusions 52

5. research methodology 53

the recruitment landscape has

changed significantly over the last

12 months. a year ago the balance

of power sat with employers but as

the labour market has tightened we’ve

seen a shift towards employees.

strong candidates now attract multiple

job offers, particularly in the areas of

the greatest skills shortages. they

are very selective, making sure an

organisation they are considering

joining is a place that will give them the

opportunities they’re looking for, will be

financially rewarding and is going to be

a good fit for them, both from a lifestyle

perspective and culturally, in terms of

the work environment.

for more senior roles it is still difficult

to extract candidates from an existing

employer. senior people are very aware

of the global economy and really weigh

up what they’re going to have to give

up to move, not only from a monetary

perspective — senior people these days

get tied in with stock and options — but

in terms of walking away from

something they know well and an

environment where they’ve spent years

building their personal brand.

those in the earlier stages of their

careers when the gfc struck learned

the value of career development

opportunities and readjusted their

expectations around remuneration.

that has changed. australia has

become an incredibly expensive place

to live and that, combined with the

pressure on certain skills, means wage

pressures are back with a vengeance.

in new Zealand the overall economy

is still somewhat deflated. from an

economic perspective they’re not at

the same point in the cycle as australia

but we do still see strong demand in

infrastructure and technology.

organisations looking for skills and

resources locally need to understand

you have to pay for those in the

current market. your target market is

probably not those who are currently

unemployed but those who already

have jobs and are not necessarily

actively looking. to interest them you

have to offer something that is really

differentiated and attractive.

people are an organisation’s biggest

asset: with the people comes the

culture which determines the success

of the work environment. other things

can be replicated — such as process

and technology — but it’s the people

you bring on board, how well they fit,

how well they team, how well aligned

their motivational drivers are, that

will differentiate organisations from

their competitors.

recruiting the right people has

never been more critical. the cost of

a bad hire is very expensive. current

approaches to recruitment can deliver

unreliable outcomes. if we know

that, why aren’t we doing something

different? and the only answer to that

is that we either don’t believe it or

we don’t value it.

our business objective is to help our

clients find great people to help them

achieve great performance. our aim

with the hudson 20:20 series is to

share some of the latest thinking

to help them do that.

mark steyn

ceo, hudson australia/new Zealand

foreword

4

confidence is returning to the |

australian economy. hiring

intentions are strengthening.

the New Zealand economy is in |

recovery mode. organisations are

becoming more optimistic in their

outlook, translating into modest

hiring intentions.

as organisations develop their |

growth strategies, talent is

back on top of the agenda.

good quality candidates are

increasingly hard to find.

In this tight talent market, the |

balance of power has swung to

candidates. organisations wanting

to attract, retain and engage the

best people must adopt a more

talent-centric approach.

central to this approach is the |

development of a strong employee

Value Proposition (eVP).

organisations report that 44% of |

hires are ‘not good.’ such hires

come at a high cost to business.

recruitment processes tend |

to focus predominantly on

a candidate’s technical skills

and experience (‘know how’).

these are relatively simple to

measure but are low indicators

of high performance.

organisations aiming to attract |

the best talent must improve

the rigour of their selection

processes. this means placing

greatest emphasis on measuring

a candidate’s capability and

attributes (‘can do’) and

motivational fit and career fit (‘want

to’). these are the most accurate

indicators of high performance.

organisations should develop |

long-term sourcing strategies

to meet their needs for talent.

cultivating a talent pool is

essential to such a strategy.

Innovative digital sourcing |

strategies are now in play and

help organisations find and

engage with passive job seekers.

the web and social media have |

an increasingly important role

in recruitment, particularly for

identification and research of

potential candidates.

recruitment functions must adapt |

to survive this talent-poor market.

many organisations are reviewing

the balance between recruitment

insourcing and outsourcing, to

ensure they have the most flexible

and efficient option in place.

executive summary

introduction

Next Generation Recruitment: Battle

Strategies for the Talent War is the

latest white paper from hudson. it

takes a close look at the tightening

recruitment market and assesses the

implications for employers as talent

shortages bite.

central to this year’s hudson 20:20

series is the question of how and why

current recruitment procedures are

failing organisations — and how they

can be improved. it also discusses the

key elements of an effective attraction

strategy including the significance of

employee value propositions and the

role of technology.

the white paper also looks at the

importance of creating talent pools

and how employers can do more

to achieve a greater proportion of

optimum hires. by optimum hires,

we mean employees who will be

engaged in their roles, achieve high

performance, be more productive,

and stay with the company for longer.

such employees are the strongest

ambassadors for an employer brand,

attract more high-calibre employees

like themselves, and deliver more value.

it explores how australian and new

Zealand employers can balance

current market dynamics to achieve

the best, long-term and most

effective recruitment solutions for

their organisations — in short, how

organisations can win the battle

for talent.

the white paper contains new research

findings from hudson. this year’s

research comprised qualitative in-depth

interviews and discussions with key

hudson clients and candidates.

this was followed by online surveys.

close to 1,000 employers participated

in a survey covering the employment

market, resourcing levels, staff

shortages, what employers are looking

for and approaches to candidate

sourcing and selection. the research

demonstrates how current hiring

practices are impacting on

organisations’ quality of hires —

and highlights opportunities

for improvement.

more than 1,300 employees

contributed to a survey about what

they are looking for in a new job and

their experiences of the recruitment

process. this research highlighted the

disconnect between the perceptions

of employers and employees, and shed

further light on how the recruitment

process can be improved to benefit

both parties.

we hope you will find the findings of

the hudson 20:20 series interesting

— and wish you victory in the talent war.

7

the employment and recruitment market: complex and challenging

australIa aNd New ZealaNd: ecoNomIes moVINg forwardaustralia emerged from the gfc

relatively unscathed in comparison with

other developed economies. although

the economy, buffeted by the brunt of

floods and cyclones, reported negative

gdp for the march quarter, it is

expected to bounce back by the end

of the year. the resources boom is

expected to help deliver growth and

economists are typically forecasting

growth of around 3% for the next

financial year. unemployment is fairly

steady at 4.9%1.

the resources sector is helping drive

a two-speed economy. the sector is

a powerful magnet, attracting every

ounce of available sector-specific

talent and drawing in talent from other

sectors, inflating salaries and reducing

the size of the talent pool for other

industries as a consequence.

while customer-facing industries are

struggling, overall, the economy is

accelerating. australia’s future depends

to a large extent on the talent it trains,

nurtures, and attracts as migrants.

new Zealand has gone through

a domestic recession followed by

a global recession. then just as the

economy was returning to growth at

the end of 2010, the christchurch

earthquake hit. as we go to press,

the aftershocks are still continuing.

the impact has shaken gdp,

economic outlook and therefore

business confidence.

nevertheless, optimism is slowly

returning to the market. unemployment

is at 6.6%2 and the economy has been

given a short-term boost with

rebuilding projects in christchurch.

export commodity prices are strong

and the retail sector is performing well.

the prospect of the rugby world cup

in september and october is bringing

back some of the feel-good factor. all

these elements translate into positive,

albeit modest, hiring intentions.

the employment and recruitment market: complex and challenging

10australian bureau of statistics, figures for may 2011.1

statistics new Zealand, figures for march quarter.2

oPtImIsm Is oN the uPnearly 85% of australian employers

believe their overall outlook is

either ‘upbeat and opportunistic’ or

‘cautiously optimistic.’ outlook varies

according to industry: the resources,

private healthcare and utilities sectors

are predictably buoyant, while non-profit,

it, construction/property/engineering,

professional services and financial

services are also confident and poised

for growth. overall, of the employers that

survived the gfc, many find themselves

leaner, stronger and hungrier than they

were several years ago.

sentiments are similar in new Zealand.

in spite of the multiple blows of global

recession, domestic recession and

the christchurch earthquake, 74% of

new Zealand organisations say their

future outlook is either ‘upbeat and

opportunistic’ or ‘cautiously optimistic’.

30All respondents

Australia

The overall outlook is upbeat and opportunistic

The overall outlook is one of cautious optimism

The overall outlook is one of uncertainty

The overall outlook is bleak

Don’t know/can’t say

New Zealand

34

18 56 23

50 14

51 16 12

12

12

THE OVERALL OUTLOOK

how would you describe the overall outlook of your organisation in today’s post-downturn market?

11

growth Is oN the cardsin both countries, most organisations

have now moved out of survival mode

and are gearing up for growth. those

that have delayed hiring to keep

headcount and overheads down can

stall no longer. having the right team

in place is vital for expansion.

the need has never been more acute:

while skills shortages are here to stay,

more than half (53%) of organisations

say they are very or somewhat

under-resourced. senior management

is the hardest category to find: 65%

of organisations say it is ‘very difficult’

or ‘quite difficult’ to find staff at

this level. where and how will

organisations find the talent they

need for future growth?

orgaNIsatIoNs are gettINg fIt for growthas organisations develop their growth

strategies for the months and years to

come, workforce planning is a priority.

those lean companies that have shed

fat and muscle during the months of

recession will want to ensure they

build muscle — a strong, flexible and

enduring team — to stand them in

good stead for the future. building

such a team is an investment strategy

— more about quality of candidate

than speed of hire, about looking at

the potential for future performance

rather than ticking off experience on

the resume.

BaBy Boomers are PreParINg to exIt the workforcethe workforce is ageing and the first

of the baby boomers are starting to

retire. we could be facing a retirement

spike — and consequent loss of skills

and knowledge — or at least a change

in working practices as the boomers

ease their way into retirement by

working fewer hours or days or on a

contract basis. where will employers

find the employees to fill their shoes?

emPloyees are BecomINg more elusIVewhile employers are getting hungry

for new blood, employees are

somewhat ambivalent:

81% of employees in australia and |

new Zealand3 are not engaged or

are actively disengaged in their

current roles.

employees are voting with their feet |

— hudson research shows around

six in 10 employees are actively or

passively seeking new jobs.

Somewhat under-resourced

About right in terms of resources

Somewhat over-resourced

Very over-resourced

Don’t know/can’t say

Very under-resourced

48

40

6 51

ORGANISATION’S CURRENT RESOURCING LEVEL

the world’s top-perForming

organisations understand that employee engagement is a Force that drives perFormance outcomes. in the best organisations engagement is more than a human resources initiative — it is a strategic Foundation For the way they do business.

Global research company, Gallup

how do you currently find yourself resourced as an organisation in terms of staff?

The State of the Global Workforce,3 gallup consulting, march 2011.

the employment and recruitment market: complex and challenging

12

81% of employees plan to leave their |

employer within the next two years.

most believe they will find an

equivalent role easily.

92% of employers ‘strongly agree’ or |

‘agree’ that staff shortages are

increasing the pressure on existing

staff in their organisation.

employers may be losing employees

almost as fast as they are hiring them.

staff shortages are beginning to bite

— how can organisations attract and

retain the best employees?

caNdIdates are BecomINg choosIerthe pendulum has swung in their

favour and good quality candidates

are becoming choosier about potential

employers. remuneration remains

important, but in many sectors has

stayed relatively static. strong

candidates are likely to attract multiple

offers with similar levels of pay, so other

factors such as opportunities for career

development, work life balance and

organisational culture come in to play.

emPloyers are more cautIous tooemployers recognise that employees

are getting choosier — 87% agree

this is the case — and 70% say it is

a good thing for their organisation,

believing that choosier employees

are likely to be more committed and

better suited to their roles.

Actively seeking a new job — in the process of applying for jobs

Passively seeking a new job — thinking about changing jobs

Plan to stay in current job

All respondents

Working full time

On a contract

Australian workers

New Zealand workers

31

26

32

32

27

29

29

31

29

28

40

45

37

39

45

JOB SEEKING BEHAVIOUR — LIKELIHOOD TO STAY OR LEAVE

Yes, good quality candidates are becoming choosier in the roles they are willing to accept

No, good quality candidates are not becoming choosier

85Line managers

HR professionals

Total

92

87 13

8

15

ARE GOOD QUALITY CANDIDATES BECOMING CHOOSIERIN THE ROLES THEY ARE WILLING TO ACCEPT?

which of the following best describes your current job seeking status?

do you think good quality candidates are becoming choosier in the roles they are willing to accept?

13

better fitting employees are good

news for organisations. with up to

44% of hires currently described

as ‘not good,’4 there is a great deal

at stake. hiring the wrong person

for the job can have serious

consequences. not only does it

compromise the rest of the team

and affect the engagement of those

employees, but is likely to increase

levels of absenteeism, impact on

customer service, reduce productivity

and ultimately affect profitability.

BreakINg the cycle of INsaNItyJust as employees are learning to

be more selective in their choice of

employer, employers themselves are

realising that the ‘tried and trusted’

recruitment techniques they’ve relied

on for decades frequently deliver poor

results. albert einstein suggested the

definition of insanity is to do the same

thing over and over again and expect

different results.

so why are companies continuing with

recruitment strategies that are serving

them so poorly? is it lack of knowledge,

tools or resources? is it lack of belief

that things can change? or is it that

they don’t know how to go about it? in

truth, traditional recruitment strategies

have their place. assessing skills and

experience (the ‘know how’) will remain

important for many roles.

understanding a candidate’s ability

and personal qualities (the ‘can do’)

is necessary too. but motivational

and cultural fit (the ‘want to’) are the

greatest indicators of an employee’s

performance — and yet only a miniscule

proportion (6%) of hiring managers

usually assess this area (see page 20).

here lies the opportunity to break the

cycle and use expert methodologies to

achieve optimum hires.

Impact on teamwork/engagement

Loss of productivity

Impact on staff morale

Opportunity cost toyour organisation

Impact on customer service

The cost to your organisation ofback-filling the role

Decreased businessearnings/revenue

51

9

17

18

21

33

34

CONSEQUENCES OF A BAD HIRE

56

31

13

A good hire

An average hire

A bad hire

PROPORTIONS OF GOOD,AVERAGE AND BAD HIRES

employers: comparatively, what is your level of concern with the following possible consequences of a bad hire? (respondents chose two.)

employers: based on your past experiences, approximately what proportion of hires in your organisation would be considered good, average or bad?

Positioning for Growth: Building a Dynamic Workforce in a New Economic Era, 4 hudson 20:20 series, august 2010.

source: Positioning for Growth: Building a Dynamic Workforce in a New Economic Era, hudson 20:20 series, august 2010.

source: Positioning for Growth: Building a Dynamic Workforce in a New Economic Era, hudson 20:20 series, august 2010.

the employment and recruitment market: complex and challenging

14

the New graIl for recruItmeNtmotivational and cultural fit will become

the new grail in recruitment. scientific

data shows using formal procedures

to measure motivation and cultural fit

results in more hires with an overall

excellent level of performance 5.

cultural fit is the alchemic ingredient

which delivers high performance. yet

few companies assess it formally — gut

feel is a frequent measure — possibly

because it seems intangible and

therefore more difficult to measure

than experience and skills.

refining the recruitment process

means giving greater weight to those

qualities, attributes and competencies

that are the greatest predictors of

success. for most companies such an

approach requires a fundamental shift

in thinking about the hiring process.

the potential rewards of such a

process are great. recruiting

employees who are best suited to their

role and to the environment in which

they work can deliver exponential value

to organisations: the more engaged the

employee, the greater their contribution

to the business. superior employees

deliver superior outcomes, which are

reflected in the company’s stock price

and market value 6.

how can australian and new Zealand

employers balance these dynamics and

achieve the best, long-term and most

cost-effective recruitment solutions for

their organisations? in short, how can

they win the battle for talent?

robertson & smith, ‘personnel selection’, 5 Journal of Occupation and Organisational Psychology, 2001, 74, 441–472; and schmidt & hunter, ‘the validity and utility of selection methods in personnel psychology’, Psychological Bulletin, 1998, 124(2), 262–274.

‘employee engagement at double-digit growth companies’, 6 Hewitt Research Brief, hewitt associates, 2004; and ‘understanding what drives employee engagement’, The 2003 Towers Perrin Talent Report, towers perrin hr services, 2003. 15

what are employers up against?

the PursuIt of taleNtfinding good quality candidates for

roles is hard and getting harder. only

around half of all organisations say

they ‘always’ or ‘mostly’ have enough

applicants for roles to ensure they

find a high quality candidate. added

to the pressure of finding sufficient

candidates is the need to improve

quality and reduce costs in the

recruiting process: more than half

(55%) of respondents said they are

under equal pressure to control the

cost of the recruiting process and to

improve the quality of the candidates

they source and select.

the implication is clear: in an

increasingly tight employment market,

organisations need to do more to

attract those high-calibre candidates

who deliver the greatest long-term

return on investment because they are

more productive and stay longer.

these are, of course, the very people

who are most likely to be already

employed, satisfied with their employer

and only passively (at best) looking for

a new role. how can employers reach

these hard-to-find passive job seekers,

and ensure the bulk of their recruitment

resource goes towards attracting the

most desirable employees?

overseas or over here?

once upon a time, the solution to

the lack of quality candidates might

have seemed to be to cast the net

wider. international sourcing is now

commonplace; expats and migrants

have certainly brought knowledge and

skills with them into our marketplace.

however, international sourcing is

beyond the scope and means of some

organisations and many of them are

looking to develop a sustainable

sourcing strategy that focuses on

attracting — and retaining — the best

local talent.

what are employers up against?

We are under more pressure to control the costs of the recruiting process.

We are under equal pressure to control the cost of the recruiting process and to improve the quality of the candidates we source and select.

We are under more pressure to improve the quality of candidates we source and select.

27

55

18

PRESSURES TO IMPROVE QUALITY AND REDUCE COST IN THE RECRUITING PROCESS

organisations are often faced with a need to control the costs of the recruiting process and to improve the quality of the candidates they source and select. which of the following best characterises the focus of your organisation’s recruiting process?

18

the wonder of the web: bringing people closer

the impact of technology on

recruitment has been huge. identifying,

tracking and communicating with

people is now possible on a scale that

was unimaginable a decade ago. the

web is the best way to find and engage

with those hard-to-reach passive job

seekers; it’s possible to find and

connect with them via social media,

industry bodies and professional

networks. getting on their radar in this

way takes time and investment of

specialist resources. doing it badly can

be a huge drain on resources and is

probably worse than not doing it at all.

it’s not a quick-fix recruitment solution

but a long-term strategy that creates

a deeper talent pool of prospective

candidates for clients — and makes

those candidates more interested in

the client from the outset.

clear command of the web may be a

core competency for the 21st century

recruiter, but employers should be wary

of those who rely on technology more

than technique. the best recruiters

(in-house or agency) still operate

within specialised markets and know

the best candidates — and their career

paths — well.

a strategic and well-managed digital

presence is most powerful when

combined with specialist knowledge,

applied intelligence and networking

with people in person. technological

tools are just that: no more, no less.

they are not an end in themselves but

wielded with skill and insight can bring

unprecedented scope and breadth to

the recruitment process.

company referral programs: risk or reward

social media allows us to network with

people we don’t yet know; employee

referral programs bring people on the

periphery of a network closer. such

programs are popular with employers

(over a third say they have used more

word-of-mouth to find suitable

candidates than before), who believe

that employees are most likely to

introduce good people who will fit in

with the company — and that it will

cost less than advertising or using

a recruitment firm. the trend for

companies to offer increasingly

generous incentives for employees to

introduce their own contacts makes it

more likely employees will want to take

advantage of this.

while employee referral programs can

be a useful source of prospective new

employees, problems can arise — for

both employer and employee — if a

normally rigorous recruitment process

is compromised because of the source

of the lead.

19

the quest for qualItypoor hiring decisions are costing

organisations dearly: nearly half

(44%) of all hires are ‘not good’7

according to australian and new

Zealand companies and the cost is

significant. in addition to the negative

impact on the rest of the team and

consequent reduction in engagement

and productivity, there is also the

missed opportunity of making a good

hire and the potential benefits it could

have brought.

a closer look at the recruitment

methods used by most companies may

reveal some of the reasons why hiring

is such a hit and miss affair. there are

three factors that predict a person’s

ability to do the job: know how, can do

and want to.

it’s important to take all these factors

into account when hiring. hudson

research shows the most commonly

used recruitment techniques are

reference checking, resume screening

and background interviews. practices

and the thinking behind them haven’t

changed much for decades. all of

these techniques measure know how

rather than can do or want to: as much

as 62% of employers’ current hiring

practices focus on the first know how

category, only a third of techniques

measure the can do category and just

6% measure the want to category.

the problem here is that scoring

highly in the know how category

of technical skill and experience

is not an accurate indicator of high

performance8. the want to category,

which typically receives the lowest

emphasis in the hiring process,

is the greatest indicator. by high

performance, we mean someone

who doesn’t just do the job well —

we mean someone who outperforms

the expectations of the role.

skills and knowledge are the easiest

and quickest factors to measure, so

the problem is compounded when

employers add speed of getting a

person into a role and the cost of

the recruitment process as additional

metrics. that is, they put the focus

on the least effective indicator.

tools/procedures currently being used by employers by %

KNOW HOW technical testing skill testing resume screening background interviewing reference checking

CAN DO behavioural interviewing assessment centres Job trial personality testing intelligence testingbusiness simulation role plays

WANT TO cultural fit measures

62

32

6

employers: which procedures/tools does your organisation currently use during the hiring process?

HUDSON PERFORMANCE DRIVER MODEL™categories measures

KNOW HOW technical skills

experience

CAN DO capability

attributes

WANT TO career fit

motivation

CU

RR

EN

T FO

CU

S

EFFEC

TIVE

NE

SS

low INdIcator of PerformaNce

hIgh INdIcator of PerformaNce

Positioning for Growth: Building a Dynamic Workforce in a New Economic Era, 7 hudson 20:20 series, august 2010.

robertson & smith, ‘personnel selection’, 8 Journal of Occupation and Organisational Psychology, 2001, 74, 441–472; and schmidt & hunter, ‘the validity and utility of selection methods in personnel psychology’, Psychological Bulletin, 1998, 124(2), 262–274

what are employers up against?

20

it seems employers want

to hire someone who is already doing that exact job. i don’t want a job i can already do 100%. where is the challenge in that? i want a job that i can grow in. turnover is going to be high iF you always choose the perFect candidate. soon they will be bored.

Employee Survey Respondent

creating a virtuous employment cycle

employers looking to consistently

recruit high performers must review

their hiring processes. assessing

potential employees’ attitude,

motivation and cultural fit with an

organisation pays greater dividends

in the longer term. an employee that

‘fits’ his or her employer is more likely

to be happy and engaged in their

work, leading to greater productivity

and profitability and increasing the

amount of time they are likely to be

retained by an organisation (and the

longer they stay, the more productive

and profitable they are likely to be).

additionally, a highly engaged and

motivated workforce will attract more

employees of the same ilk and help

create a virtuous employment cycle.

selecting the best

if selecting candidates based on

attitude, motivation and cultural fit is

key to identifying the highest potential

employees for an organisation, it

follows that a far greater proportion

of the hiring process should focus

on these attributes.

employers report that motivation,

attitude and the right behaviours and

capabilities are the most important

attributes they are looking for when

hiring new employees. the right

functional skills (cited by 49%), the

right cultural fit (45%) and having

enough appropriate experience (47%)

are all seen as moderately important

while specific industry experience

is seen as less important (28%)

(see page 22).

in our experience over 90% oF

employee problems can be traced back to what was said (or not said) and what was done (or not done) during the hiring process.

Australian Federation of Employers & Industries

21

what are employers up against?

% who think this is the most important attribute

% who think this is the second most important attribute

% who think this is the third most important attribute

The right behavioursor capabilities

The right motivationand attitude

The rightfunctional skills

The right cultural fitfor our organisation

Enough appropriateexperience

Experience in ourspecific industry

The right traitsor personal style

21

19

18

15

12

12

3

18

21

15

15

20

7

9

17

19

16

15

15

9

4

ATTRIBUTES THAT EMPLOYERS ARE LOOKING FOR IN HIRING CANDIDATES

ATTRIBUTES THAT EMPLOYEES BELIEVE EMPLOYERS ARE LOOKING FOR

% who think this is the most important attribute

% who think this is the second most important attribute

% who think this is the third most important attribute

The right behavioursor capabilities

The right motivationand attitude

The rightfunctional skills

The right cultural fitfor our organisation

Enough appropriateexperience

Experience in ourspecific industry

The right traitsor personal style

11

11

13

14

24

23

4

12

13

16

13

22

18

10

17

16

15

12

16

13

7

the idea oF transFerable

skills and the ability to learn about a speciFic market seems to have gone out the window. i Find recruiters will give every encouragement but when it comes down to the line, employers always play saFe.

Employee Survey Respondent

employees have a different

perspective, seeing a discrepancy

between what employers say they are

looking for and what they value in

practice. they believe employers are

looking for ‘enough appropriate

experience’ (62% say this is one of

the three most important attributes

employers look for) and finding

candidates with ‘experience of a

specific industry’ (54% cite this as one

of the three most important attributes).

it seems employees consider

employers to be more conservative

than they admit — and unwilling to

consider less experienced candidates

even when they have the right

motivation, attitudes and capabilities.

which of the following do you think organisations are looking for most when they assess candidates during the recruitment process?

22

hudson research shows determining

whether a candidate will have the right

motivation and attitude is the most

difficult attribute for employers to

measure during the selection process

(75% of employers say this is one of the

three hardest attributes to determine).

determining whether candidates will

have the right behaviours or capabilities

is not considered to be much easier

(68% rated this in the top three for

difficulty). cultural fit (rated among the

top three by 58%) and the right traits

or personal style (rated in the top three

by 64%) were considered moderately

hard. in contrast, it was considered

relatively easy to assess whether

candidates have the right amount of

experience/experience in a specific

industry (only 6% rated these in

their top three hardest attributes to

determine) or the right functional skills

(23% cited this among their top three).

% who think this is the hardest attribute to determine

% who think this is the second hardest attribute to determine

% who think this is the third hardest attribute to determine

The right motivationand attitude

The right behavioursor capabilities

The right cultural fitfor our organisation

The right traits orpersonal style

The rightfunctional skills

Experience in ourspecific industry

The right amount ofexperience (no of yrs)

2 2 2

2830

2422

1721

2117

67

32

17

22

20

26

10

ATTRIBUTES THAT EMPLOYERS THINKARE HARDEST TO DETERMINE

1

what are employers up against?

which of these same attributes do you think is the hardest to determine when selecting candidates?

24

the ‘too-hard’ box

one of the reasons organisations

rely on measuring the skills and

experience of a potential employee

may be that these attributes seem

easier to measure.

difficulty in assessing attitude and

motivation may in part be caused by

the belief that candidates misrepresent

themselves in the interview process

and that measuring motivation and

attitude, the less visible qualities, may

simply be too hard.

although psychological assessment

tools such as psychometric testing can

provide a measure of a person’s ability

and aptitude for tasks they are still far

from a standard part of the hiring

process and are generally reserved

for senior level hires.

the survey results demonstrate that

the most important qualities can also

be the hardest to find. measuring these

less tangible candidate attributes

requires commitment, time and a

bespoke selection process.

more haste, less speed

ironically, it is often organisations with

the greatest need to attract superior

talent who say they do not have the

time to invest in ensuring they make

the best possible hires. yet hiring

without due attention to a candidate’s

motivation and attitude simply makes

it more likely that the outcome will be

a poor hire and that the organisation

will be looking to recruit again sooner

rather than later.

i don’t understand why a business in

these times would not place importance on motivational and cultural Fit. iF your recruitment decision is primarily based on technical skill levels you are putting your ultimate success rate at risk. we preFer to train and coach in skill gaps and maximize the motivational and cultural aspects oF our candidate pool; just because you can do something doesn’t mean you want to and without the motivation and desire to work within a speciFic cultural environment you will not be the best you can be and will ultimately become disengaged.

Sheryn Grant, Group Manager HR, Sourcing, Retention & Systems, Sensis

making a poor choice means

you will have to go through the hiring process a second or even third time.

Beverley Saidel, Communications Manager, SkillsDMC

25

the rIght recruItmeNt model: gettINg the BalaNce rIghtover the past 10 years in australia and

new Zealand a variety of different

recruitment models have evolved as

employers seek to win the war for talent.

these include the hiring manager

diy model, utilisation of recruitment

consulting firms, preferred supplier

model, centralised model and hybrid

model. all differ in two essential ways:

1) the degree of insourcing or

outsourcing; and

2) the level of centralisation or

decentralisation.

there is no ‘perfect’ model; each

organisation must choose the model

most appropriate for that point in its

evolution. in addition, we often see a

blending of models for maximum results.

overview of recruitment models: their evolution, challenges and benefits

the dIy model

in the early 2000s, hiring manager diy

models were relatively commonplace

and, in some areas, remain so today.

while superficially flexible and cost

effective, these models resulted in

a lot of inconsistency in brand

representation, candidate care and

selection and assessment practices.

the result was often poor quality hiring

and, over time, increased staff turnover.

moreover, the focus on recruitment

took the hiring manager away from

their other core responsibilities, adding

to the indirect costs of this model. the

hiring manager often supplemented

their efforts with ad hoc use of

recruitment agencies which failed to

create agency loyalty or leverage the

client’s buying power.

the preferred supplier model

the problems with the diy model

encouraged hr and procurement

to join forces and formalise their

relationships with recruitment agencies.

the result was a series of preferred

supplier agreements (psa) between

an organisation and its suppliers to

standardise service levels, fees and

commercial terms.

while this model saved money and

freed up the hiring manager’s time,

these agreements often resulted in

low fees and arduous processes that

caused many recruitment consultants

to allocate their time and best

candidates elsewhere. in addition, the

model did not resolve issues associated

with inconsistent hiring practices.

what are employers up against?

26

the centralised model

as hr and procurement saw the

advantages of innovative overseas

recruitment practices, new models

started to emerge. these models tried

to achieve many of the commercial

benefits of the preferred supplier

model while avoiding the challenges.

a key theme was the desire to create

a centre of recruitment excellence,

either by establishing an internal

function or by outsourcing the function

to specialist recruitment process

outsourcing (rpo) experts. the role of

these teams was to strengthen the

organisation’s employment brand

and diversify sourcing channels

to increase direct hiring levels

and thereby save money, while

implementing centralised, standardised

and streamlined processes to improve

quality, service and speed of hire.

organisations sought to supplement

the work of these teams with specialist

recruitment agencies under a psa

model. however, the big difference now

was that the roles given to recruitment

agencies to source were much more

specialised and harder to fill, and often

the psa fees were not changed to

reflect this new reality.

the hybrid model

today we are seeing the models

change again. during the gfc, the

high fixed costs of many insourced

recruitment models were seen to be

a drawback. likewise, once business

demand returned and companies

needed to increase headcount quickly,

insourced models were not always able

to scale up quickly enough to meet this

demand. in this context, flexibility and

scalability of the recruitment model

became key and this is where rpo

models deliver very effectively.

as a consequence, we are seeing

clients move from insourced to

outsourced models and, in some

instances, a blending of both

approaches in the hybrid model where

the team is jointly staffed by the

organisation and an rpo provider. the

use of recruitment agencies for these

solutions is also becoming far more

selective and focused on the hardest to

fill, highly specialised and senior roles.

there is growing recognition that cost

cannot be the key driver in this talent

equation as organisations understand

that, in the longer term, a cost focused

strategy can impact organisations

dearly in terms of delivering poor

quality hires and a higher churn rate.

no place for complacency

in today’s market there is a variety

of recruitment models, tools and

technologies to choose from to help

win the talent war. organisations need

to continually review their performance

and benchmark themselves against

others to ensure they are a step ahead

of the competition. there is no place

for complacency and while investing in

talent acquisition remains critical for

most organisations’ growth strategies,

it is important to recognise where to

invest in order to achieve the greatest

value and return on investment.

27

battle strategies

No. 1: take a taleNt-ceNtrIc aPProachquality talent is in short supply; many

companies are not in a position to

import expatriates or migrant workers.

they are under pressure to find

high-quality people close to home.

during the gfc, there was a lot of

talk about the liquidity of the talent

market, even though the so-called

abundant supply did not necessarily

deliver a greater proportion of

high-quality candidates.

as talent shortages start to bite, it’s

time to treat quality candidates as the

scarce resource they are. managing

them appropriately is a strategic

priority: the best candidates will

always have multiple options. so

we must re-evaluate our approach

to sourcing, communicating and

engaging with the people who have

the greatest potential to add enduring

value to the organisations for whom

they work.

prioritising talent

the first step in adopting a talent-

centric approach is identifying and

prioritising the different talent needs

of your organisation as follows:

1) strategic: people essential for

delivering business strategy and likely

to be the most challenging to source.

the greatest allocation of resources

should go to attracting and retaining

this business-critical talent.

2) critical: people who are important

for the day-to-day running of the

business but who are not especially

hard to find. this category is the

second priority for investment

of resources.

3) core: people who may be relatively

easy to find but may have a high

turnover. this is the lowest priority

— cost-efficiency is key in this

category.

battle strategies

30

understanding what makes candidates tick

having identified the distinct segments

of your talent pool, you can then start

planning how to attract those potential

employees who are most important to

you. doing this means paying close

attention to their motivators, attitudes

and behaviours — just as you would to

any other target audience or customer.

having a model that defines and

measures motivation, attitude and

behavior is a non-negotiable element of

recruitment. it is not required simply to

assess candidates when you’ve found

them. it is critical in determining how you

market to them in the current climate.

our research shows that candidates

take immediate and longer-term

benefits into account when

considering a new role. employees say

the most important thing they will look

for in their next job will be finding a

role that they are more interested in

(54% ranked this is as one of the

three most important factors). this

was followed by finding a job with

better career opportunities (43%),

finding a job with more pay (43%) and

finding a job in an organisation that

will make them happy (42%).

employees were also asked which of

these same aspects are the hardest

to find in a new job. comparing the

two sets of results yields crucial

insights for employers seeking to

improve their employee value

proposition to attract talent.

% who said this was the most important aspect

% who said this was the second most important aspect

% who said this was the third most important aspect

Finding a role that I am more interested in

Finding a job with better careeropportunities than I currently have

Finding a job with more paythan I currently have

Finding a job in an organisation witha work culture that will make me happy

Finding a job with strong leadersand a boss I respect

Finding a job with better working conditionsthan I currently have (e.g. more flexibility)

Finding a job with more seniority andresponsibility than I currently have

Finding a job in an organisationwith values that I believe in

Finding a job with better educational andtraining opportunities than I currently have

4

4

5

7

7

14

17

18

23

7

7

10

7

11

14

13

13

17

8

8

9

10

12

14

13

12

14

THE IMPORTANCE OF VARIOUS ASPECTS IN LOOKING FOR A NEW JOB

which of the following aspects will be most important to you in looking for your next job?

31

a good Job is hard to find

results showed employees find it

most difficult to find a role they are

more interested in (45% ranked this

as one of the three hardest aspects

to find). given this is also the most

important aspect it needs to be

a core component of an employee

value proposition.

finding a job with strong leaders, and

a boss that employees respect, is

perceived to be the second hardest

attribute to find (41%). there is

therefore an opportunity for employers

to use this to differentiate themselves.

finding a work culture that makes

employees happy is the third hardest

aspect to find (37%) and given its

weighting should also be central to

an employer’s value proposition.

finding a job with better working

conditions (for example, greater

flexibility) was nominated as the

fourth hardest aspect to find (36%)

and accordingly presents another

opportunity for employers to

differentiate themselves.

% who said this was the hardest aspect to find

% who said this was the second hardest aspect to find

% who said this was the third hardest aspect to find

Finding a role that I am more interested in

Finding a job with strong leadersand a boss I respect

Finding a job in an organisation witha work culture that will make me happy

Finding a job with better working conditionsthat I currently have (e.g. more flexibility)

Finding a job with more paythan I currently have

Finding a job in an organisation withvalues that I believe in

Finding a job with better careeropportunities than I currently have

Finding a job with more seniority andresponsibility than I currently have

Finding a job with better educational andtraining opportunities than I currently have

16

15

13

13

14

9

8

8

4

13

14

13

11

11

10

11

9

8

16

12

11

12

8

10

13

11

8

THE HARDEST THINGS FOR CANDIDATES TO FIND IN LOOKING FOR A NEW ROLE

as i am looking more at a long-

term career as opposed to a role, then it is important that i’m in line with the culture oF the company and vice versa.

Employee Survey Respondent

battle strategies

which of the following do you think is the hardest to find when looking for a new job?

32

when employees were asked about

triggers that would cause them to

consider looking for a new job, there

was a 7% increase in the proportion

of employees who cited boredom or

looking for new experiences compared

with 2010. there was a 6% increase

in the proportion that would consider

leaving because of relations with

colleagues and managers. there was

no change in the proportion that would

leave for financial reasons.

Finding a company with a work culture

that is right For me is deFinitely the most important thing. to get the most out oF myselF in the role, i need to be in the right team that i respect and enjoy working in.

Employee Survey Respondent

33

broadening horiZons

these changes characterise

a workforce with expectations

broadening beyond financial

considerations to self-fulfilment,

better relationships at work and an

improved work environment.

the importance of culture and

values alignment was a mid-ranking

trigger for all employees leaving a job

(35% cited this) but it was more

important to employees in high-level

management (44%) and middle

management roles (42%). attracting

culturally aligned candidates is

therefore vital for senior roles where

candidates are most difficult to find.

the importance of communication

these findings represent an

opportunity for employers to do a

much better job in promoting these

aspects in communications to potential

candidates. importantly, the research

also showed an ongoing correlation

between communications performance

in the selection process and the

engagement of employees.

around seven in 10 employees (71%)

who said their organisation did a good

or excellent job in communicating

expectations of their role, and what

was needed to be successful in it,

also agreed they feel motivated and

engaged at work. in contrast, only 23%

of those who said the organisation

did a poor or very poor job of

communicating the expectations of

the role and what was needed to be

successful in it agreed they felt

engaged and motivated.

44

The organisation’s culture orvalues are incompatible with

how I want to work

42

34

28

THE IMPORTANCE OF CULTURE ACCORDING TO JOB LEVEL

Senior Management

Middle Management

Non-managerial professional/Specialist

Admin/Support staff

the proportion of respondents who noted that an organisation with an incompatible culture or values is a trigger, or would be a trigger, to them considering leaving their job.

battle strategies

34

employees who met the team they

would work with during the interview

process were more likely to agree they

were engaged and motivated.

a poor work culture is the biggest

concern for candidates when

accepting a new job. more than half

of respondents (55%) were most

concerned that the work culture and

environment would be poor.

how would you rate the performance of your organisation in communicating the following to you when you were recruited by them? how much do you agree, or disagree that the following statements describe your current situation at work?

Agree I feel motivated and engaged at work

Neither agree nor disagree

Disagree that I feel engaged and motivated at work

71My organisation did a good or excellent job

in communicating the expectations of my roleand what was needed to be successful in it.

23

16

28

13

49My organisation did a poor or very poor job

in communicating the expectations of my roleand what was needed to be successful in it.

THE EFFECT OF COMMUNICATING ROLE EXPECTATIONS AND SUCCESS CRITERIA DURING THE INTERVIEW PROCESS ON WHETHER PEOPLE FEEL ENGAGED AND MOTIVATED AT WORK

% who said this is the most concerning aspect

% who said this was the second most concerning aspect

% who said this was the third most concerning aspect

That the work culture andenvironment will be poor

That the job will not be securefor as long as I expect

That the level of remuneration willnot meet my expectations

That I won’t get on withmy boss and colleagues

That the working conditions willnot meet my expectations

That I will have to work harder/longer hours than I expect

That I won’t have the skillsor abilities to do the job well

18

19

16

16

11

9

11

18

13

16

18

16

12

7

19

12

13

14

19

14

9

KEY CONCERNS IN ACCEPTING A NEW JOB

battle strategy no. 1: recognise that talent-centricity helps attract,

engage and retain the best candidates.

which of the following aspects are you most concerned about in accepting a new job?

35

No. 2: create aN autheNtIc emPloyer BraNdas competition intensifies for talent,

organisations must find a way to

distinguish themselves from their

competitors. the strongest candidates

are likely to find themselves with

multiple offers, and organisations

must offer more than attractive

salaries and benefits to secure

the best talent. that ‘something more’ is a uniquely

powerful employer brand that will

attract prospective employees and

make them want to work for you more

than any other employer who is looking

for their skill set.

building a positive employer brand

doesn’t happen overnight, nor is it

possible to whip one up to suit hiring

needs. developing a strong employer

brand is a long-term process and

results in being known for more than

the goods or services you offer

customers. it means being known for

your company values, for the way you

conduct business, for the way you treat

and speak to employees, in good times

and in bad.

research shows that only around one

in five organisations (17%) currently

put a lot of effort into branding —

but those that do reap dividends:

organisations who put a lot or a fair

amount of effort into branding are 37%

more likely to ‘always’ or ‘mostly’ have

enough candidates apply for roles

compared to organisations who don’t.

Quality talent is always hard to

Find. however, good employment branding and talent acQuisition practices decrease the level oF diFFiculty ten-Fold. without the investment we have made in our value proposition For existing and potential employees and our investment in our recruitment capability, partnerships and systems, we wouldn’t be as competitive as we are now in the candidate market.

Antony Hall, Head of Talent Planning & Strategy, Telecom NZ

battle strategies

We are putting a lot of effort into this

We are putting a fair amount of effort into this

We are putting a little effort into this

We are not putting much effort into this at all

We aren’t doing this at all

17 30 25 13 15Investing in the branding of our organisation

with the specific objective of attractingbetter quality candidates

INVESTMENT IN BRANDING TO ATTRACT HIGH QUALITY CANDIDATES

the amount of effort being invested in an organisation’s branding to attract better quality candidates.

36

creating a positive employer brand

means managing the business with

authenticity, integrity and transparency

on a daily basis. these qualities must

be evident in all the organisation’s

transactions with every stakeholder.

communicating the employer brand

effectively is critical of course, but we

are not talking about hollow claims and

promises. employees are looking for

tangible values that align with their

own belief systems, giving them a

reason to ‘buy’ one employer brand

rather than another.

We always or mostly have enough candidates apply to ensure we find a high quality person

About half the time we have enough candidates apply to ensure we find a high quality person

We rarely or sometimes have enough candidates apply to ensure we find a high quality person

We are putting a lot ofeffort into this

We are putting a fairamount of effort into this

We are putting alittle effort into this

We are not putting mucheffort into this at all or not

doing it at all

63

56

51

46

20

28

30

31

16

16

20

23

INVESTMENT IN BRANDING RELATED TO SOURCING ENOUGH CANDIDATES

the relationship between the amount of effort organisations are putting on sourcing-related branding and the ease with which they are able to find high quality people to fill roles.

an evp that’s clearly deFined and broadly

understood by your hiring managers and candidates is vital to attract people oF great Quality and, most importantly, great Fit. it’s about attracting people who truly believe in and relate to the goals oF the business and thereFore choose to contribute discretionary eFFort to ensure its success.

Ryan Atkins, HR Manager, sanofi

37

acting to attract

as the talent pool dwindles employers

must maximise the value of their

employer brand ensuring they:

incorporate a strong employee value |

proposition (evp) in every facet of

the recruitment strategy.

speak with an appropriate corporate |

‘voice’ — the way in which they ‘talk’

to and engage with current and

prospective employees. language,

tone and content all contribute to

employer voice.

promote career development |

opportunities within their

organisation. organisations

committed to development and

growth programs for employees

should promote them whenever

and wherever appropriate.

ensure communications always |

reflect the culture of the employer

organisation. authenticity and

transparency are paramount; accurate

projection (and therefore reception)

of the cultural vibe is most likely to

attract candidates who will be happy

and flourish with the company.

communicate salary packages |

clearly alongside other less tangible

benefits such as flexible working

practices that may be valued highly

by employees. hours and conditions

of work are also very important

to employees, and should be

communicated clearly and any

areas of flexibility highlighted.

the best brand ambassadors

employees are the most powerful

ambassadors for an organisation’s

employer brand. their experience and

advice will be sought by potential new

employees long after they have left the

company. hudson research shows that

speaking with people who have worked

for an organisation is considered the

most useful source of information by

candidates. organisations ignoring

this dynamic do so at their peril.

a high proportion of candidates

evaluate numerous sources of

information about organisations for

which they are considering working.

in their last job search, most employees

evaluated the organisation through its

website (80%), via a google search

(59%), through contacts in the industry

(56%) and via word-of-mouth (55%).

linkedin was also a source; 22% of

candidates used the site to research

prospective employers. speaking

with people who had worked for the

organisation was considered the most

useful source of information.

hudson research also shows that

organisations doing a better job

of promoting the benefits of their

organisation are significantly more

likely to:

have enough candidates applying |

for roles

find it easier to source employees |

have low staff turnover. |

Recruitment company/agent

Organisation’s website

Google

Personal contacts within the industry

Word-of-mouth

Industry specific websites

Current employees of the organisation

News websites

LinkedIn

Other

Facebook

Other social networking sites

% who said they used this source during their last job search

Twitter

80

3

1

5

6

22

38

40

46

55

56

59

80

SOURCES OF INFORMATION EMPLOYEES USED IN THEIR LAST JOB SEARCH

which of the following sources of information did you use to research a potential organisation or role during your last job search?

battle strategy no. 2: distil a meaningFul and appropriate evp — and work,

communicate, recruit and live by it.

battle strategies

38

No. 3: utIlIse Best PractIce attractIoN strategIeshudson research shows job search

sites and recruitment firms are the

most popular methods employees

use to look for new positions.

the common links here are ease, range

and independence. Job search sites

allow people to quickly research, in

their own time, a wide variety of roles,

presented on a level playing field.

I always use this

I often use this

I sometimes use this

I rarely use this

I never use this

Job boards (inc. Seek, MyCareer,CareerOne and others)

Recruitment company/agent

Contacts within the industry

Word-of-mouth

Industry specific job search websites

Newspaper advertisements

Contact organisations that I would liketo work for directly

LinkedIn

Referral program for existing employees

Industry-specific magazine advertisements

Facebook

Other

Twitter

57 32 8 21

30 44 18 6 2

12 25 34 14 15

12 26 36 14 13

7

7

7

18

17

12

25

26

25

15 34

24

22

27

34

5 8 18 20 48

3 8 20 20 49

2 6 16 23 53

11 5 12 81

142 10 731

12 8 88

METHODS EMPLOYEES USE IN LOOKING FOR NEW ROLES

how often do you use the following methods when you are looking for a new role?

39

when job seekers turn to recruitment

agents they are looking to streamline

the process by accessing a range

of options through a single source,

reducing the time they need to put

into their job search. they also value

independent insights into what it might

be like to work at a particular company.

if these are the ways job seekers

behave, it is important for organisations

to optimise these online and offline

channels, for example by reviewing the

performance of online ads (hit rates,

response rates, success rates) and

considering the candidate segments

most likely to be working through

recruitment firms.

first stop — the web

the impact of technology on

recruitment has been enormous:

today the web is the first stop for any

employee who is feeling even mildly

curious about what other opportunities

might be available to him or her. in just

a few moments, he or she can be

browsing opportunities near and far.

smart phones mean the workforce

can access job boards 24/7 and we

are seeing significant shifts in job

seeker behaviour as a result of more

people searching for jobs on the way

to and from work.

knowing this may change the way

you market roles, strategically and

tactically. it forces consideration of the

job seeker’s online journey, from the

moment they click on an ad to their

experience of a potential employer’s

website. information should be

presented in compelling, authentic

chunks that will create interest in an

organisation’s culture. staff should be

ready at these peak times to answer

questions about the role.

employers should also bear in mind

that any message must suit its medium.

this means considering optimising a

website to make it mobile user-friendly.

for example, tailoring information to

the size of the mobile internet screen

rather than expecting a reader to scroll

down a lengthy page, and ensuring it is

easy to take action when needed.

translating evp into attraction strategies

there is great opportunity for

organisations to promote their

employee value proposition online

in an authentic and meaningful way

by providing passive job seekers

with engaging content in areas of

professional interest. podcasts,

webinars and live online discussion

forums can all be used to engage

passive job seekers and gather market

intelligence. the fluidity and constantly

evolving nature of this space means it

is essential to keep abreast, at the very

least, of innovation and to generate

superior quality content.

a compelling corporate website

one of the first things prospective

candidates do is research companies

on the web and they do this before

they apply for a role, making it a critical

part of an attraction strategy.

so a good careers section is essential

for every corporate website. provide

video content where possible to make

it engaging. let them see the ceo

and divisional managers in action,

and provide cultural insights from

employees speaking freely. wherever

possible, supplement this with the

opportunity to speak with current

employees who can answer questions

either in person or online.

battle strategies

40

social media and online communities

social media is about people and

connections, making them a perfect

recruitment tool. while current

statistics suggest they are not the main

way people look for or find jobs, we

know it is increasingly the means by

which they interact and consume

information. they will almost certainly

become the main channel for attracting

talent to an organisation. social media

must be part of an organisation’s

attraction strategy, building capability

and preparing for the future.

one of the greatest challenges in

recruitment is finding the best passive

job seekers — those desirable, high

calibre employees who are more likely

to be satisfied in their current roles and

not actively looking for work. finding

quality passive job seekers through the

web is both an art and a science.

consider employing dedicated digital

experts as part of the recruitment

function and use these experts to

develop skills within the organisation.

core functions include:

identifying key job seeker markets |

to target; that is, important role

categories with an active

online demographic.

choosing the best way to engage |

with this market. start an online

community or join an existing group.

starting your own community is more

costly but you will learn more and

have significantly more potential

and freedom in how you engage

with prospective candidates. the

two main ways this is done in

recruitment are either directly as a

potential employer (for example, via a

company facebook page) or through

some common interest shared by the

target audience (for example, around

their specific discipline).

selecting the appropriate channels |

when building your own community;

for example, facebook, linkedin and

twitter, and keeping goals simple

and focused, such as increasing the

number of ‘likes’ on facebook or

number of followers on twitter.

using existing networks (such as |

current employees, their friends and

job applicants) to build membership.

keep it focused on your target

segment (don’t encourage everyone

and anyone to join) so that your

messaging will be relevant to the

members. build momentum from

there with other marketing strategies.

measuring your success in numbers |

of referrals, applications and roles

filled from the group.

battle strategies

42

building social media skills

social media is very accessible and

stories abound of instant fame and

success (along with failure). however,

it is important to look past the hype

and recognise there are skills and

knowledge required to make this work

for your business.

eventually recruiters will all be social

media experts — knowing their

audiences, the media they prefer,

the content that will be relevant and

engaging, their place in a particular

community and the appropriate

frequency and type of interaction they

should achieve. until that point, and

as part of the journey of getting there,

dedicated digital experts are going to

be an essential part of the

recruitment equation.

using market intelligence to attract candidates

organisations are sitting on

goldmines when it comes to

marketing to job seekers.

individual resumes contain much

information to help profile and segment

the market. every interview is an

opportunity to spend an hour getting

to know and understand a member of

the target audience — which is what

recruitment consultants do every day.

organisations should use their

recruitment databases and start

collating this intelligence. there is a

real opportunity for digital specialist

agencies and recruiters to work more

closely together, using this information

to take some of the guesswork out of

digital campaigns.

battle strategy no. 3: incorporate best practice attraction

methodologies into your recruitment strategy.

43

No. 4: create a future taleNt Pool the inconvenient truth is that there

is no quick way of creating a pool of

talent for an organisation. those that

have invested their time and other

resources into developing a bespoke

talent pool know it is an ongoing

process, requiring constant nurturing

and cultivation. if done well, it is the

best and most strategic source of

talent for organisations and can deliver

huge competitive advantages.

the starting point for every talent pool

is market intelligence. before you can

effectively identify, communicate and

engage with passive job seekers you

must have a clear idea of who they

are and where you might find them.

search engines and social media are

the talent hunter’s friend here but the

task is much more sophisticated than

simply identifying a group of individuals

and trying to strike up an online

conversation with them.

recruitment is now more than ever a

marketing function. like any other such

function, it must segment its target

audience or consumers. in times like

these, when talent is king, the scarcest

talent with the potential to bring the

greatest value to organisations must be

the highest priority. for organisations,

trying as many are to do more work

with fewer people or simply to achieve

greater return on investment from

the recruitment budget, it’s essential

to allocate the greatest share of

resource to attracting the highest

calibre candidates who will add most

value to the organisation.

rewarding relationships

in practice, this means the best

in-house and agency recruiters will

be specialists who invest time with

those individuals and operate in niche

areas throughout their own careers.

they will keep up to date with their

candidates’ professional progress,

remuneration and career goals; be

able to offer strategic career advice

and alert them to appropriate

opportunities throughout their careers.

social media enhances but is no

substitute for this kind of relationship.

networking

on and off line, networking remains

the most effective method of

establishing a talent pool. it is a

medium to longer-term strategy, and

employers and their recruiting partners

should network with key bodies and

individuals including professional,

specialist and industry groups together

with high profile, high performing and

highly engaged employees.

battle strategy no. 4: create a niche talent pool oF individuals at various

stages in their careers who, based on their skill set and expertise, might be appropriate employees oF the Future.

battle strategies

44

No. 5: assess attItude, motIVatIoN aNd cultural fIt as we’ve seen, many employers

continue to make hiring decisions

based almost solely on assessment of

past experience and technical skills.

reference checking (‘always’ or ‘often’

used by 95% of employers), resume

screening (‘always’ or ‘often’ used by

75% of employers) and background

interviews (‘always’ or ‘often’ used

by 75% of employers) are the most

common techniques used in the

selection process.

while traditional recruitment

techniques have their place, they are

given a disproportionate amount of

focus; the most effective recruitment

strategies incorporate a framework

structured around know how, can do

and want to. moving forward means

focusing on the attributes that are

the greatest indicators of performance

and therefore deliver the greatest

return on investment.

We always use this

We often use this

We sometimes use this

We rarely use this

We never use this

Reference checking

Resume screening

Background interview (past work experience)

Behavioural interviewing

Cultural fit measures

Personality testing

Technical testing

Intelligence testing

Practical skills testing

Job trial

Assessment centres

Business simulation

82 13 4 1

54 21 12 6 6

47 28 14 5 6

43 22 15 7 13

13 16 25 20 27

10 15 23 20 32

8 17 41 17 17

8 11 24 20 37

6 17 38 19 21

4 7 19 27 44

3 7 21 23 46

2 7 22 26 42

Role play 2 8 21 25 43

TECHNIQUES USED IN THE SELECTION PROCESS

which of the following techniques does your organisation use during the hiring process?

the recruitment industry hasn’t

moved with times as Fast as it could have. in an age oF social networks, internet communications, technology and global communities, some oF the old recruitment practices are no longer relevant.

Antony Hall, Head of Talent Planning & Strategy, Telecom NZ

45

for years, organisations have struggled

to identify the factors that determine

whether a hire will be good or bad.

even though it has long been known

intuitively that attitudinal, motivational

and cultural fit have a major impact on

the outcome, even the most forward

thinking organisations have struggled

to develop formal assessment criteria

and tools for this.

assessing attitudinal, motivational

and cultural fit is the biggest indicator

of hiring success: 91% of hires were

regarded as ‘excellent’ or ‘good’ when

formal procedures were used to

measure motivation or cultural fit.

using these procedures results in

significantly more hires with:

overall excellent level of performance |

excellent cultural fit |

excellent functional skills and abilities |

excellent motivation and attitude. |

this knowledge is now widely accepted

in the hr and business communities:

we know that finding the right person

for a particular team or business

means much more than finding

someone with just the technical skills

to do the job. a candidate who has

the right attitudinal, motivational and

cultural fit is much more likely to be

engaged and will therefore stay longer

and be a more productive employee.

it is critical therefore that employers

have a very clear understanding of the

role they are trying to fill to enable

them to select a candidate who:

is the right fit for the role |

will suit the company culture |

will stay |

will perform in their role. |

many organisations have been slow

to embrace this thinking and put it

into practice. barriers to doing so

typically include perceived difficulty

of implementing formal procedures to

measure these attributes, as well as

time pressures, difficulties in evaluating

results and caution about costs.

Excellent Good Fair

Poor Very poor

39Formal procedures were

used to measure motivationor cultural fit

30

52

55

7 2

12 3Formal procedures were notused to measure motivation

or cultural fit

THE EFFECT THAT USING FORMAL PROCEDURES TO MEASURE MOTIVATION OR CULTURAL FIT HAS ON THE OVERALL PERFORMANCE OF HIRES

thinking again about these recent hires, were there any formal quantitative or qualitative procedures, specifically designed to measure these candidates’ motivation or cultural fit, used as part of their recruiting process? how would you rate the quality of these hires on each of the following attributes?

battle strategies

46

invest to excel

so how can employers know whether

implementing such procedures is

worth the investment of time, effort

and budget?

to examine whether these procedures

actually make a difference we asked

employers to rate the performance of

the three most recent hires they were

personally involved with, and then to

indicate whether formal procedures

were used during the selection process

for each hire.

results show that 39% of hires ended

up being excellent performers in the

cases when formal procedures were

used. however, when formal procedures

were not used, only 30% of hires

ended up being excellent performers.

this represents a significant 27%

increase in the proportion of excellent

performers resulting from the use of

formal procedures.

there was also a 37% decrease in the

proportion of fair or poor hires in the

cases when formal procedures were

used (9% of these hires were fair or

poor) compared to the cases when

formal procedures were not used

(15% of these hires were fair or poor).

similar results show that the use of

formal procedures also resulted in hires

who were significantly more likely to be

superior in regards to their cultural fit,

functional skills and motivation.

the marked improvement in quality

of hire when formal assessment

procedures are used suggests it is

worth investing in this aspect of

recruitment. dividends will include the

benefits of hiring a greater proportion

of high-performers and minimising the

risk of bad hires.

battle strategy no. 5: assess candidates’ attitude, motivation and cultural

Fit wherever possible: to deliver high-perForming employees who stay with your business and

add value For years to come.

47

No. 6: deVeloP a flexIBle aNd effIcIeNt recruItmeNt model most companies today realise that

talent lies at the heart of an

organisation’s strategic advantage. they

understand they need to invest in talent

acquisition and develop a differentiated

strategy that is well executed, and they

need to do this better than their

competitors. in today’s market there is a

variety of recruitment models and tools

to choose from to help win the war for

talent. the choice can be overwhelming,

so where do you start?

start by asking some fundamental

questions:

1. Business strategy — how are we

performing as a business? are we in

start-up mode, growing locally or

internationally, reducing headcount

or changing our business mix?

2. culture — do we have a culture of

insourcing or outsourcing? what

have been our past experiences

and learnings?

3. roles — how many roles do we

expect to recruit each year? is this

volume regular or sporadic? are our

roles largely homogenous or made

up of many one-off skill sets?

4. segmentation — which of the roles

in my organisation are strategic,

critical and core? how well should i

distribute my hiring resources to

optimise my results in each segment?

5. Pain point — what, if addressed,

would create the most value for

my organisation?

a) employment brand — how are

we viewed as an employer,

internally and externally?

B) quality — how is the quality of

our talent viewed internally and

externally? how long do our staff

take to reach productivity?

c) retention — what are our rates

of staff retention and how do they

compare to industry averages?

why are people leaving? how

many employees do we lose to

competitors and why? how can we

change our recruitment practices to

stop people leaving?

d) cost — what is our average cost

per hire (total spend divided by total

number of hires per annum)? how

does this cost break down by our

talent segments? are we trying to

save money, invest or keep costs

steady? would we prefer to vary

our costs or fix them?

e) speed — how long does it take

us to hire new talent? what most

often causes delays?

battle strategies

48

f) service — what is the experience

like for all stakeholders — including

candidates, hiring managers, hr

and suppliers?

g) compliance — what is our

compliance to our recruitment

model? what is the reason for

non-compliance? what is our

compliance to policy?

h) reporting — what management

reporting is available and is this

effective? how is it used to inform

decisions?

review the range of options

available.

once you have answered these

questions, you can begin to review the

range of recruitment options available.

you don’t need perfect answers for

everything as it is often hard to find

complete data. what you need is

directional information that will help

you answer these questions and

pinpoint the key issues.

for example, maybe your cost per hire

is low but you are losing talent to

competitors. or maybe your quality and

retention of talent is good, but you

believe you are paying too much.

alternatively, maybe your recruitment

process is too long and you are losing

good candidates as a result, or maybe

you are growing quickly and

recruitment can’t keep pace with

demand. most organisations have a

recruitment ‘pain point’ and this is what

you need to uncover. this might be

different by business unit, geography

or talent segment so it is helpful to

segment your analysis in a way that

matters for your business.

for small start-up businesses with

restrictions on cash flow, maybe the

‘do it yourself’ (diy) model might be

right for a period of time. for cashed

up new business ventures, using a

recruitment agency or recruitment

process outsourcing (rpo) specialist

is more common.

for organisations open to outsourcing,

but recruiting either sporadically

or frequently but with much role

differentiation and specialisation, then

maybe alignment with a small number

of specialist recruitment agencies

makes sense.

for other companies who recruit

homogenous and specialist roles on a

very regular basis and have a culture of

insourcing, then an internal recruitment

function might work, supplemented by

a specialist recruitment panel. if these

same types of companies are open to

outsourcing, growing rapidly and

wanting to variabilise their cost base,

then maybe an outsourced rpo model

makes more sense. there is no right or

wrong answer and no ideal model. it is

a matter of putting in place the

right model for your size, maturity,

business strategy and pain point,

and committing to an ongoing cycle

of continuous improvement.

in summary, recruitment functions must

evolve to meet the needs of a talent-

poor market. those organisations that

take necessary steps to put in place the

optimal recruitment model for them and

commit to a continuous cycle of review

and improvement will ensure they stay

at the forefront in the war for talent.

we will continue to partner with

specialist recruiters to complement us by selling the story oF the journey we are on, thereFore assisting us to strengthen our evp and identiFy candidates with speciFic skill sets.

Tina Morgan, Recruitment Manager, New Zealand Post Group

battle strategy no. 6: review your recruitment Function and commit to

developing the most Flexible and eFFicient model to serve the needs oF your business.

49

future forecastand conclusions

there is no prospect of the tight labour

market easing: the only solution for

employers is to make sure they hire

to a model that will deliver high

performing, best-fitting talent for their

organisation every time.

to this end, forward-thinking

recruitment strategies will include:

focusing on quality of hire and |

cultural fit rather than cost per hire.

implementing more reliable and |

science-based recruitment methods

that take the risk out of recruiting.

building evps that not only attract |

candidates today but also appeal to

passive job seekers in the longer

term (eventually quality candidates

will seek out these employers

for themselves).

developing a tailored and flexible |

recruitment operation; outsourcing

where appropriate and working with

specialist recruiters to source

candidates for business-critical

and hard-to-fill roles.

greater use of technology in |

the recruitment process: not to

save time, but to garner more

sophisticated market intelligence

and candidate data.

employing experts to develop a |

proactive talent pipelining function

for the organisation.

as australian and new Zealand

employers battle the challenges and

constraints of the current recruitment

market, the question remains: how can

they win the battle for talent?

hudson believes there are three critical

areas to be addressed in answering

this question:

attraction

development of sophisticated and |

effective attraction strategies to

ensure a pool of quality candidates

for roles. this includes creating

an authentic and compelling evp

and establishing an appropriate

digital presence.

selection

employers should adopt a scientific |

approach that measures motivation,

attitude and cultural fit, to help select

the best and most appropriate

employees for their organisations.

model

whether insourced, outsourced or a |

combination of the two, organisations

must ensure they have a strategic

and flexible recruitment function able

to meet the human capital needs of

the business. the model should be

flexible enough to manage volume,

and specialist enough for niche skills.

future forecast

conclusions

52

research methodologysummary

employer survey

comBINed data rePort

includes results of both surveys

employee survey

20-minute online survey of hudson’s employer clients from ·australia and new Zealand.

respondents either working in hr, or are involved in hiring process. ·respondents were sourced from a range of industries ·and professions.

margin of error associated with sample size of 999 =+/- 3.1%. ·

20-minute online survey of hudson’s employee candidates from ·australia and new Zealand.

respondents currently working in either a casual, part-time, contract ·or full-time role.

respondents were sourced from a range of industries and professions. ·margin of error associated with sample size of 1,321=+/- 2.7%. ·

research methodology

All percentages in this report are rounded to whole numbers and consequently graphs may not always total exactly to 100%.

53

sample characteristics employers employees

% of sample no. in sample % of sample no. in sample

male 51 509 59 777

female 49 490 41 544

under 30 years 9 91 22 291

30–39 years 35 346 34 444

40–49 years 37 365 28 365

50–59 years 17 173 14 182

60 years and over 2 24 3 39

Total sample = 999 (employers) and 1,321 (employees). Please note that percentages have been rounded, and may not equal 100%.

industry employers employees

% of sample no. in sample % of sample no. in sample

advertising/marketing/media 1 12 4 56

construction/property/engineering 6 62 5 71

education 5 45 4 52

financial services/insurance 15 151 12 160

fmcg 2 22 1 16

government 18 178 14 187

healthcare (private) 3 31 2 31

healthcare (government) 2 24 2 22

information technology 6 57 14 190

manufacturing 6 55 4 53

non-profit 3 34 2 29

professional services 5 50 7 91

resources/mining 5 54 5 65

retail 3 27 3 36

telecommunications 3 34 5 60

tourism/hospitality 2 16 2 29

transport 3 29 2 29

utilities 4 40 3 41

wholesale/distribution 2 24 2 31

other 5 54 5 72

Total sample = 999 (employers) and 1,321 (employees). Please note that percentages have been rounded, and may not equal 100%.

research methodology

54

current work situation — employers

sample sub-segment % of sample no. in sample

involvement in hiring processes

i am involved in the hiring process as an hr

manager or part of the hr team

32 315

i am involved in the hiring process, but my main role is not as an hr or hiring

professional

68 684

i am not involved in the hiring process or

workforce planning at all0 0

number of full time employees

25 or less 4 43

26–100 13 128

101–200 9 93

more than 200 74 735

Total sample = 999 (employers) and 1,321 (employees). Please note that percentages have been rounded, and may not equal 100%.

current work situation — employees

sample sub-segment % of sample no. in sample

currently employed

full time 52 685

part time 2 22

contract 41 536

casual 6 78

number of full time employees

25 or less 13 176

26–100 11 142

101–200 8 108

more than 200 68 895

time in current role

3 months or less 28 371

4 to 6 months 23 309

7 to 12 months 25 331

13 to 18 months 5 70

19 to 24 months 3 38

2 to 3 years 5 69

3 to 4 years 4 55

4 to 5 years 2 26

more than 5 years 4 52

Total sample = 999 (employers) and 1,321 (employees). Please note that percentages have been rounded, and may not equal 100%.

55

location employers employees

% of sample no. in sample % of sample no. in sample

australia 74 742 75 986

new Zealand 26 257 25 335

australian capital territory 5 35 7 68

new south wales 31 231 30 297

northern territory 0 0 0 2

queensland 14 106 16 157

south australia 13 93 12 121

tasmania 0 0 0 2

victoria 28 210 25 249

western australia 9 67 9 90

auckland 42 108 40 134

christchurch 14 37 14 46

wellington 44 112 42 141

other 0 0 4 14

Total sample = 999 (employers) and 1,321 (employees). Please note that percentages have been rounded, and may not equal 100%.

personal profession employers employees

% of sample no. in sample % of sample no. in sample

accounting and finance 17 170 15 204

human resources 29 291 5 72

ict 15 145 24 323

financial services 5 45 3 45

legal 2 18 3 35

technical and engineering 5 51 11 143

office support 6 56 10 133

public sector 4 42 2 31

sales, marketing and communications 9 92 13 177

other 9 89 12 158

senior management

not applicable

9 123

middle management 22 296

non-managerial professional/specialist 47 617

admin/support staff 19 247

none of these 3 38

Total sample = 999 (employers) and 1,321 (employees). Please note that percentages have been rounded, and may not equal 100%.

research methodology

56

adelaide

auckland

brisbane

canberra

christchurch

hunter/central coast

greater western sydney

melbourne

mount waverley

perth

sydney

wellington

hudson.com

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+64 9 977 9800

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