Let us share our recruitment insights and industry trends with you

“I just can’t find good staff!” is a common refrain howled by business owners up and down the country. The days of placing a job advert and being swamped with great candidates are a distant memory for hiring managers in almost all industries. From trades to specialists: even finding ‘a great Admin Accounts’ person has taken one CBD firm over 6 months.

As a recruitment partner that works with dozens of companies every month, we see a lot of HR Managers with the same challenges.  Here are the Top 5 reasons good candidates aren’t  applying to your job ad; and what you can do about it.  

1. Your advertising misses the mark

All successful recruitment campaigns start with great advertising. Whether it’s 1 vacancy or 20, you need to remember the essentials of Marketing 101. Who is your target audience? What is going to get their attention and why are they going to want to work for you?  What media are they reading and how do you reach them? 

When a client comes to us to help because their own job adverts have netted nothing, odds are they just put a boring bunch of text onto a big old job board. Maybe they made a post on their company social media page, but they certainly haven’t ‘marketed’ the role.  You need to be media savvy and have advertising creativity to shine in this job market.  So work with a specialist who can offer you advise on your advertising content and the best place to advertise your vacancy.  You need effective job adverts.

 2. Your Employer brand isn’t compelling

Take a peek at some of the leading corporates and you’ll see significant investment in their Employer Brand. Fletcher Building have an entire social media channel dedicated to careers. Dulux regularly host events entice great graduates into their structured program. 

There’s a reason they are doing this. 60% of candidates research what it’s like to work for a company before they apply.  If you need good staff to meet your business growth objectives, investing in your employer brand to is arguably as valuable as product adverts.  Investing in your employment brand isn’t just for corporates either. Businesses of all sizes need to promote the reasons why someone would want to work with them. Doing so will excite and entice possible candidates and result in a better response rate to your adverts.

 3. Your application process is demotivating   

A school in Auckland recently received 18 applications for a Senior Teaching role.  The advert very clearly told candidates to email their application with a cover letter and a resume. 10 out of the 18 applicants just sent a link to their online profile. 

On one hand, you’d be right to ask “how do they expect to be considered for a role if they can’t follow instructions??”  On the other, this is an example of increasing candidate demand for application routes that are quick and easy.

In a ‘buyer’s market’ (AKA skill short market), good candidates know they have options and are not going to invest hours of their time constructing cover letters and filling out long application forms.   You need to ensure your HR team and recruitment partners are using modern technology and removing as many barriers to application as possible. 

4. Your selection criteria is outdated

This might be a controversial statement but it needs to be said.  With record net migration figures in NZ  and Australia,  the  face of the work force is changing. If you are clinging to the notion that your dream candidate comes with permanent residency status and years of local experience, you may be waiting a while.  We’re now part of a global workforce and progressive employers are embracing a variety of work visa statuses to get the job done. 

We certainly aren’t advocating that you compromise on requirements for legal work rights.  But keeping your HR team open to contract terms and sponsorship for the right person, as well as finding a recruitment partner with global advertising expertise will ease your ‘short staffed’ pain.

 5. Your recruitment partners are stuck in 1998

 Simply paying a recruitment agent to find you great candidates is no guarantee of success either.  We all operate in the same market and have the same challenges when it comes to attracting talent. If your recruitment agency is still throwing your money at the same old job boards, with the same style of adverts, hoping that magically the result will somehow improve, it’s time to think differently. Particularly if you are still paying them 15-20% of salary to do so.

The RPO (Recruitment Process Outsource) market is growing rapidly around the world. Look for a partner who is progressive, embraces technology and can bring you a lower cost, more innovative approach to your recruitment.

Shortlisters by Talent Propeller is an NZ owned RPO provider that’s revolutionising the recruitment landscape.