We spoke with Abdullah Haddara, Director of Haddarco, a Melbourne-based construction company, to understand more about the challenges of recruitment in the construction industry over the past few years and what has worked well for them when it comes to combatting these challenges.

Q: Could you please tell us more about Haddarco?

Haddarco is a Melbourne-based construction company that focuses on providing high-end support and service through our work, which mostly consists of government and private sector projects.

The company was established around sixty years ago by my father, Radwan Haddara. It started out as a very small, family-owned business that was a 1-3 man band – this approach built a great foundation for the business.

In the last ten years or so, we’ve really shifted direction and grown to more than 20 employees, with many projects on the go. Since we don’t really do advertising and rely mostly on word-of-mouth, maintaining our strong reputation within our industry and ensuring our projects are of high quality is paramount.

At the heart of our work is our people. Throughout the organisation’s growth, we’ve maintained our values and culture of loyalty, trust, respect and understanding each other on a deeper level. Focussing on these values and our culture has enabled our team to collaborate and adapt effectively, which in turn means we are able to deliver high-quality projects consistently.

We gathered our people in a team building exercise in which we asked them to describe best what they felt working for Haddarco. Words like, honesty, integrity, professionalism, innovation, foresight and purpose were prevalent. From this, our team chose our company motto, Building with purpose. Soon after, our mission statement was formed:

“Haddarco’s mission is to deliver better builds by providing the highest level of professionalism and workmanship, to deliver the client’s dreams through integrity, innovation, and foresight, and to serve with a sense of purpose.”

Q: How has recruitment been for Haddarco over the past few years?

As with any industry, you need the right people in the right place – and in the construction industry recently, the right people have been very hard to find.

COVID caused a huge workforce shortage – people have left the industry across the board, from direct construction roles (blue and white collar) to related consultant roles, such as architects and engineers. They either moved away from Melbourne to escape lockdowns or, in that time, reassessed whether they really wanted to be in the industry – there was already a lot of pressure in the construction industry and the pandemic gave a lot of people the push to make a shift in their career.

Another challenge is that during the last couple of years, we’ve seen a lot of companies in our industry willing to pay above and beyond to fill their vacancies and snap up talent, causing further scarcity in an already thinning construction recruitment market.

This workforce shortage has caused increased pressure to complete projects – our deadlines are still there, and now the workforce available to meet them is smaller.

I think it would be safe to say that recruitment is definitely one of our top challenges.

Q: What strategies has Haddarco used to combat recruitment challenges?

We’ve focussed on retention and being adaptable. When the pandemic first hit and no one knew what was going on, we brought all our team members into our office before the lockdowns and reassured them that we would do everything possible to ensure that everyone would be retained – and we followed through on that. We retained all those team members and an important part of that was that they felt they were in safe hands.

Retention is an ongoing focus for us – as mentioned, we have a strong culture of loyalty, trust, respect, and understanding each other. What this looks like for us is making sure we are constantly communicating and collaborating with each other. We have regular team exercises and activities, where we ask our team members what they think of how things are going, what we can do better, and how they are feeling. The effect of COVID on organisations has only made it more clear to us that we will always hold fast to that culture no matter what.

We’ve also become more adaptable with our recruitment. Since our focus is on finding the right person and we recognise that skills can be learned, we’ve widened our scope to include people who may not necessarily be from our industry or have specific experience, but whose skills and background are transferrable to the roles they are applying for.

For example, we were looking for a contract administrator and found there was a shortage of talent with experience in that specific role; so we looked at someone who was an office administrator. They had experience in data entry, so we brought them across and got them to focus on certain aspects of contract administration that they would be proficient in.

We’ve found a number of ways to adapt to recruitment challenges – it really depends on the role, but we’ve found success in thinking outside the box.

Q: What do you look for when recruiting?

In our industry, there are a few key things we look for to meet our business needs. Firstly, efficiency is key – with pressure to meet deadlines, we look for people who have the right skills and, most importantly, attitude.

Obviously, having the technical know-how is important, but being able to work alongside our team members and adapt to client needs is key. We really look for proactive problem solvers – people who can identify problems before they become big issues, and not only identify them, but offer a solution. These people are valuable additions to our collaborative and adaptive team culture.

Finding talent who want a career in construction fits in well with Haddarco, too, because we are big on upskilling. Investing in our team’s training and upskilling means we can support their growth and more easily pivot in times of recruitment strain.

We work with an external talent acquisition partner, Scout Talent, who helps us find and hire for roles through their recruitment campaigns. What set them apart was that they facilitate psychometric testing, which helps us go that one step beyond just finding someone with the right skills – with these psychometric tests, Scout helps us find candidates who are the best matches for our culture and organisation. Since our culture is so important to us, this service is so valuable in helping us really get that personality match right. 

When we were looking for a recruitment partner, it was important to us that we find a partner that wanted to get to know us and understand our bigger picture. We’d encountered many other recruiters whose approach was a cookie-cutter business model; for them, it was a matter of making sure they get their commission on whoever they find for us – then six months down the track, they may even try to recruit that person for another client. 

The common theme was that they weren’t really focused on building that customer relationship with us – and we found that understanding and partnership with Scout Talent.

Q: What is your advice to other construction HR teams struggling with recruitment?

While a lot of businesses went under during COVID, Haddarco stayed its course as a rapidly growing business. And to keep facilitating that growth, I don’t want to speak to 5-6 recruiters, I want to talk to a dedicated point of contact. My advice to external recruiters working for a particular client industry such as construction is to definitely focus on your customer service and building that personal relationship. 

Our priority at Haddarco is to have a cohesive workforce and environment, so finding a recruitment partner in Scout Talent, who really understands our bigger picture and helps us find people who align with our work culture, has been invaluable. 

My advice to construction companies is that when you’re hiring, look for longevity. A quick fix isn’t going to solve your problem, so don’t settle for just anyone you can find. It’s really about looking for the right fit and working with your external partners to ensure that you’re looking at the big picture.

Abdullah Haddara is the Director and Head of Operations of Haddarco, a Melbourne-based construction company. He has almost 20 years of experience the industry, and holds a Bachelor of Construction Management & Economics, a Diploma of Building Construction, and an Advanced Diploma in Business Accounting. 

The post How Haddarco has navigated recruitment in the construction industry appeared first on Recruitment Marketing.

A report from KPMG has found that 77 per cent of business leaders have cited talent as their biggest challenge in 2023. The specific talent challenges being faced will range from attracting the right candidates, candidate drop off, and quick quitting.  Creating a strategy to address these challenges is key to retaining your people, and growing your business. One facet of this strategy should be Employer Branding. 

In this article, we’ll explore how organisations that prioritise Employer Branding can address the common talent acquisition problems mentioned above:

• Quick quitting
• Candidate drop off
• Building a talent pipeline

Scout Talent’s Employer Branding service and talent pool management software module, :Engage, are designed to help create a long-term Employer Branding strategy, and articulate your EVP. Scout Talent works with you to help you understand your “why” – why should someone work for you and not someone else? What makes you different? What makes you better? When you have articulated answers to these questions, it will help candidates understand your “why”, too. 

Employer Branding: a TA technique that solves problems

How does Employer Branding solve quick quitting?

Quick quitting is a phenomenon where a candidate takes a job, only to quit within the first year. Recruiting to replace the new hire can be a time-consuming and expensive process – plus, the gap they leave behind in your team can affect productivity and morale. So how do organisations tackle this phenomenon?

Many employers believe that quick quitting is the result of something negative about the candidate (for example, they do not want to do hard work or they found a higher paying job elsewhere). However, it is often related to a poor candidate experience during the talent acquisition process, which can lead to a lack of connection between a person and their organisation. 

Employer Branding addresses quick quitting by building a great candidate experience from before the person applies, to long after they have accepted the job. 

Once an organisation is able to articulate its Employer Brand (with the help of Scout Talent’s Employer Branding specialists perhaps), they are able to incorporate key elements of it throughout the entire application process. From the job ad, through the interview process, and right up to when an offer is made, organisations should be communicating their unique values and benefits to applicants. This ensures candidates are aware of the “why”, and are actively connected with the organisation’s purpose and values. 

An organisation can continue to build the connection that new hires have with them as part of their onboarding process. By showcasing the organisation’s Employer Brand that was spoken about as part of the attraction stage, new hires will start to feel like they are part of the team. Now is the time for them to see the organisation’s purpose, values, and benefits come to life!

New hires who have received a positive candidate experience, and who have been onboarded with care, are not going to be immediately looking for a new role. Quitting within a year comes from a lack of connection between an employee and their organisation. Strong employer branding addresses this throughout the entire talent acquisition process.

Want to learn more about articulating your EVP? Get in touch with Scout Talent’s Employer Branding specialists here.

How does Employer Branding reduce candidate dropoff and ghosting?

Some employers find that candidates start to disappear during the application and interview process. They may have expressed initial interest but at some point became disinterested or preferred their prospects elsewhere and moved on. In many cases, these applicants “ghost” the organisation altogether, disappearing without giving feedback.

Why does this happen? Often, it’s because the candidate applied for the role with no excitement or passion. They weren’t interested in working for that specific organisation – they just wanted a job. Then, something else came along and they moved on. 

Employer Branding can help to prevent this issue. When organisations clearly showcase their benefits and values that set them apart, the applicants they attract are more likely to be connected to the organisation and stay invested in the application and interview process. 

In the event that a promising candidate does take another job, having a strong Employer Brand is still a benefit as it will make the candidate more likely to communicate rather than disappear – ghosting an organisation would mean possibly burning the bridge for future opportunities. 

The great news is that Scout Talent has tools to reduce dropoff and support various candidate journeys. Alongside their Employer Branding services, their software module :Engage allows you to build and nurture talent pools, so that you can stay in touch with previous candidates for future vacancies. 

How can Employer Branding support your talent pipeline?

Another issue that many organisations face is losing out on highly skilled candidates who did not get hired simply because there was only one vacancy. This issue worsens when these candidates do not receive feedback on their application; if they feel they had a bad experience, unsuccessful candidates may not speak positively about an organisation, which could affect its ability to draw in future candidates.

In this current competitive talent climate, organisations can stay proactive by responding to every candidate and adding them to their talent pool through software modules such as :Engage. By building a talent pipeline and engaging with promising candidates about new opportunities, organisations will be more prepared to address future talent acquisition needs.

Scout Talent’s platform is a Circle Back Initiative certified provider. This means that their technology empowers organisations to provide quick and branded feedback to every candidate, regardless of whether or not they were successful in their application. From an Employer Branding perspective, this helps an organisation to build a reputation as an employer that is communicative and treats people as more than just a number.

From the applicant’s perspective, they are receiving a better candidate experience and are more likely to want to stay engaged with an organisation. This sets your organisation up for success as it provides a future pipeline for your talent acquisition needs.

If you’d like to explore how Employer Branding can help your organisation solve quick quitting, reduce candidate dropoff, and build a talent pool, contact Scout Talent’s Employer Branding specialists today.

The post Solve the top three talent acquisition challenges with employer branding appeared first on Recruitment Marketing.

As a recruitment service provider that works closely with small businesses across Australia and New Zealand, Recruit Shop is tasked with always paying attention to recruitment trends and looking for new ways to stay ahead. In this article, they share top recruitment trends that will give you the best chance at securing the highest quality talent this year.

Recruitment trends to capitalise on in 2023

In: Prioritising skills over experience

What does “5 years of experience” mean? Does it mean they are 3 years more qualified than someone with 2 years of experience? Does it mean they have more talent? More ability? Does it mean that they are ready to start the job immediately upon hire?

What more and more organisations are realising is that it doesn’t necessarily mean any of those things.

Experience is not exactly the same as talent, ability, or capability. It is not proof of strength, on its own. There are even situations where it can be a disadvantage, as they may not be agile enough to adjust to your new needs.

Skills and potential, on the other hand, are universal. Maybe the person has less experience, but they demonstrate that they can learn quickly and that they’ll be able to competently do the job. It’s also good to consider that all new hires – including those with 5, 10, or 20 years’ experience – take weeks if not months of training and handover to adjust anyway.

Finding people with the right skills is the new way to hire, especially when the labour market is tight.

Out: Posting generic job ads

People are no longer desperate for work. The best talent is already employed and, if anything, they are trying to find an organisation that speaks to them, one that makes them truly consider leaving their current job and finding a home somewhere new.

An engaging job advertisement is your most important tool to attract new candidates. You need your job ad to be written in a way that is unique to your business, and you need it to excite people to work with you, kind of like you are trying to sell them a product.

Although copying and pasting a generic job description from the internet will save you time, it’s not going to attract highly motivated, skilled candidates to your role. You can learn to optimise your job ads like a pro, or you can get expert advice on how to market your vacancies most effectively from one of our recruitment consultants.

If you can offer unique qualities and benefits to your new team members, highlight that. If you offer a close-knit team or a flexible culture, candidates want to know that! Pay transparency is important, but marketing your uniqueness will go a long way to entice candidates who resonate with who you are.

In: Extensive onboarding, training, and handover 

Recruitment doesn’t stop at the hire. Extensive onboarding and training is the best way to make sure your new hire not only thrives at the job, but stays.

Along with training and handover, the first few days with your new hire should be spent sharing your business’s story, and inducting them into your culture so that they feel supported professionally and socially. It goes a long way to build trust and lines of communication that will help your new team member to feel like they belong, and like they are empowered to be highly productive in their new role.

Try to support your new hire with handover notes that outline key processes and procedures, what to do if things go wrong, who to ask for certain kinds of information. Plan ahead to spend a lot of time with them, particularly in the first week, and ongoing to check in and ensure they feel comfortable in their first few months.

Here’s a guide to onboarding your new hire to help you.

Out: Targeting only active job seekers

When recruiting, there are two groups of candidates to consider:

• Active candidates, who are actively looking at job boards for new roles, making applications and scheduling interviews; and,
• Passive candidates, who are not actively seeking a new job, but could be interested in the right opportunity if they come across it. They might browse job boards occasionally, but they’re not actively applying for roles.

Your unique job ads will help you grab the attention of the active candidates, but it helps to have a plan for attracting passive candidates, too, particularly when the labour market is so tight.

Reaching out to passive candidates directly can be very effective, particularly when you can follow it up with really engaging information about the job and the benefits of working with your business.

If this kind of outreach is a little bit time-intensive for your team, Recruit Shop offers a digital headhunting service that can be used in conjunction with our standard recruitment service to help you expedite the process. Combined, the package helps you to pool together active and passive candidates, and make even better hiring decisions on account of having more options.

In: Maintaining relationships with ex-employees

Sometimes, the talent you need is the talent you had. We’re in an era where people leave companies for things like more money or more excitement all the time, even if they generally like their job. This isn’t the same market as a few decades ago, where employees were loyal or felt like they couldn’t experiment and try new things.

This change in attitude can be beneficial to your business: it means that an employee that leaves your organisation may be more than willing to come back, and that person may be exactly what you need. Often, hiring “boomerang employees” as we affectionately call them, can reduce the time taken to onboard and train, as they may remember a lot of your processes and procedures from days gone by.

We highly recommend maintaining positive relationships with all of your ex-employees, as you never know when one of them will be open to returning.

Out: Ghosting unsuccessful candidates

We live in a connected world, with online reviews, social media, and so much more. It is not only bad ethics to forget about unsuccessful candidates – it can be harmful to your business and your hiring efforts.

Those “ghosted” candidates now have a voice they can use to discourage people from joining your team.

It’s best practice to contact each and every unsuccessful candidate to grant them the closure of knowing which of their opportunities are still on the table. A simple, empathetic email can show immense respect and create a more positive experience for the candidate, which reflects well on your business. It could also leave the door open for future hires – ask talented candidates who happen to be unsuccessful if you can add them to a mailing list for future opportunities with your team!

In: Speeding up your time to hire

Imagine that you are a highly-skilled candidate who is in high demand in the current market. You find a job that appeals to you and you apply. More than a week passes before you are invited for your first interview. More than a week passes before the second interview. You are offered the job, and told that you’ll start a few weeks later. By now, you’ve waited more than a month to see if you even have a chance at this one job.

What would that make you think about this organisation?

You might think they are disorganised, or that the position is not a priority.

And what might happen in that time?

You’ll be scheduling other interviews, and fielding other job offers. You’ll become less passionate about working for the first organisation. You may even decide to stay at your current job because things aren’t taking off.

Speeding up the time to hire is critical for businesses that want to stay ahead of their competition. At Recruit Shop, we ensure a fast and efficient process that gets results. We have the resources to spend time keeping your candidates engaged and well-informed as you make your decision. If you want to discuss how we can help you improve your recruitment process without breaking the bank, you can request a callback here.

Out: Trying to do it all yourself, if you’re struggling 

Recruit Shop works closely with small businesses to achieve real results. If you want to capitalise on these recruitment trends but you’re not sure where to start, we can work with you to create a robust recruitment campaign that meets your needs. You can reach out to our team today on +61 1300 901 721 or send an email to info@recruitshop.com.au with information about your vacancy and the kind of candidate you’re seeking. Alternatively, you can request a callback from one of our recruitment specialists to chat about your goals in detail.

This article was originally published on the Recruit Shop website and was reproduced here with permission.

Kyra Kirrane is a content marketing specialist with Scout Talent and its sister company Recruit Shop. Her focus is on coordinating up-to-the-minute content that helps small to medium-sized organisations gain a competitive edge by leveraging high-value trends and best practices in their industry.

Recruit Shop is a low-cost recruitment service provider that supports small businesses across Australia and New Zealand to achieve their goals for growth. Through dedicated advertising and sourcing channels, Recruit Shop helps its clients to secure the best talent, in less time, for a low flat fee.

The post 2023 ins and outs: recruitment trends to capitalise on appeared first on Recruitment Marketing.

Galen Emanuele, keynote speaker and expert on team culture, EQ, and leadership, gives his tips on what to do and what to avoid when building on workplace culture.

Read more on the importance of getting team culture right in your recruitment marketing, particularly as it’s projected to be a focus area for candidates in 2023, here:

From the editor: How you can set your organisation up for talent acquisition success in 2023

This video was curated from Galen Emanuele’s LinkedIn, which you can find here. You can also learn more about his work on his website here.

The post The ‘do’s and ‘don’t’s of exceptional culture: insights from Galen Emanuele appeared first on Recruitment Marketing.

In support of ‘R U OK?’ Day on September 8, Recruitment Marketing Magazine spoke to Rachel Clements,  Co-Founder and Director of Psychological Services at Centre For Corporate Health and Resilia. Her expertise lies in working with organisations and HR teams to create safety and wellbeing at work. She leads an expert team of consultants who are focussed on assessing workplace wellbeing, tailoring intervention services and strengthening employee resilience.

Rachel shared some insights into why connection is important in the workplace, and how we can foster meaningful connections as employers to be able to ask our teams “R U OK?” today and every day. Read her responses below.

Why is connection in the workplace important – and what can healthy connection look like? 

We spend so much of our time at work, so it’s essential that we feel connected to our colleagues and leaders. So much of our wellbeing at work is predicted by the quality of our relationships, especially with our direct managers. People who experience a strong connection with their colleagues are generally more engaged at work and feel less stressed. 

The healthiest of connections in the workplace occurs when there is a culture of psychological safety. This means that people feel they can bring their whole selves to work without feeling judged. In these types of team cultures, informal debriefing after stressful situations is common, R U OK? chats are an everyday practice and help-seeking behaviours are not stigmatised. 

What are some of the signs to look out for that might signal that someone needs support? 

We wear many different hats when it comes to our daily lives, whether it is as a parent, partner, friend, employee, manager or carer. With these different hats come unique compounding factors that can take a toll on our wellbeing. Adding in the COVID-19 pandemic, which has affected how we live our “normal” lives, it is a lot to cope with. 

Often, we don’t like to admit when things aren’t going well. We tend to mask the signs that might indicate we are not travelling well, such as working longer hours, increasing our caffeine or alcohol intake or even making excuses for changes in behaviour. This makes it trickier for those around us to identify when we may be struggling to cope. With all that is happening in the world right now, the chances that someone close to you is experiencing difficulties coping, whether they are telling you or not, is high. 

For those around you, it is about noticing a change in behaviour or mood. Are they not acting as they normally would? Are they usually immaculately presented but are looking a bit disheveled? Are they usually the one organising get togethers but haven’t done so in a while? Is your neighbour usually gardening in their front yard when you get home from picking the kids up at school, but lately you haven’t seen them? Noticing these changes is your warning sign that it’s time to ask ‘R U OK?’.  

How can we ask someone ‘R U OK?’ in a respectful and constructive way? 

There is no need to overthink how to ask “R U OK?” – there is no qualification needed to ask the question and then listen without judgement. Here are some starting points to encourage someone to open up to you about how they are feeling. 

• “I’ve noticed a few changes in what you’ve been saying/doing. How are things for you at the moment?”  
• “I know there have been some big life changes for you recently, how are you coping?”  
• “You don’t seem yourself lately – want to talk about it?”  
• “Just checking in, to see how you’re going?  
• “With everything that’s going on, you’ve been on my mind lately, how are you?”  
• “You’ve got a lot going on right now. How are you doing?” 

If you have noticed someone isn’t travelling well, however your “R U OK?” question is met with “I’m fine”, you could try the double ask. 

“R U OK?”

“I’m fine”

“You’ve got a lot on right now, how are you really going?”

If someone still says they are fine, you can tell them that you are always there if they want to chat. Remember your role is not to have all the answers, it is to listen and then work with them on some ideas for what might help get them back on track. This could be helping to connect them in with some professional support, a GP, their EAP at work or a psychologist. 

What are some common barriers (personal, professional, organisational) to people asking for help?  

When experiencing mental health concerns like anxiety or depression, the symptoms that follow can make it difficult for someone to reach out for help; these are things like feeling lethargic, experiencing feelings of helplessness and not wanting to burden others with their problems. This is why asking R U OK? is so important as it shows people you care and can be just the thing that sets them on the road to recovery. Professionally, suppose a workplace does not have a psychologically safe culture. In that case, people can feel deterred to reach out for support, fearing repercussions to their career or being stigmatised as unable to cope. 

This is why it is so important for leaders to establish a wellbeing culture, one where wellbeing and mental health is openly and regularly discussed, where leaders show vulnerability that they too experience times when they need support. If organisations do not actively promote wellbeing support services and ‘R U OK?’ conversations are not commonplace, this inhibits help-seeking behaviours and not only impacts employees negatively but also results in absenteeism, presenteeism, an increase in sick days and an increase in psychological injury claims.   

What features and attitudes do workplaces with high workplace belonging and wellbeing rates have in common? 

Psychological safety is a term used to describe a belief amongst members of a group that it is safe for them to voice opinions, bring their true selves to work, ask questions and admit mistakes without fear of a negative reaction or repercussions. At work, this means that employees feel emotionally secure to share their views and ideas, take risks, and provide feedback. It is also a workplace where team members are encouraged and feel safe in seeking support and guidance with regards to their mental health and wellbeing.   

In a mentally healthy workplace: 

• people look out for one other and ask colleagues or team members if they’re ok  
• leaders and team members understand mental health and have open and authentic conversations about it   
• people know how to draw upon their resilience during challenging times and workplace actively try to manage psychosocial risks   
• employees know their early warning signs and seek help early  
• employees with mental health issues are supported in their recovery.

If you or someone you know is struggling or in need of support, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14.

Rachel is the Director of Psychological Services at the Centre for Corporate Health, which she founded with Tony Bradford, Managing Director, in 1999. As the principal psychologist, Rachel is a sought after conference headliner, requested to speak on all things mental health, resilience and wellbeing. Rachel’s training programs and keynotes offer a new lens through which employees and executives alike can shift their attention inward and sharpen their focus on what they can do to create psychologically safe workplaces.

The post ‘R U OK?’ Day: why connection is so important in the workplace appeared first on Recruitment Marketing.

While this method is what most candidates expect, you need to shake things up to meet your organisation’s hiring needs in today’s dynamic recruitment landscape. An innovative way you can land multiple higher-quality candidates and recruit efficiently is by running a group information and interview session (GIIS). 

What is a group information and interview session?

A GIIS is less like a group interview and more like a workshop – one designed to give candidates an understanding of why they would want to work for you, as well as allow them to showcase their skills in a face-to-face group setting. Whether you’re looking to hire multiple people or just one, a GIIS is an efficient hiring method that gives you better long-term potential from your candidates.

According to Aurelio Tedesco-Gueli, Head of Talent Acquisition Services at Scout Talent, an effective GIIS should run for around three hours and include:

• An introduction to your organisation
• Two to three activities
• One-on-one interviews, if necessary

But before you run a GIIS, you should understand exactly what you’re looking to achieve and what benefits you can expect from this talent engagement method.

1. You will get more out of your candidates

The trouble with a traditional interview is that in the limited time slot, candidates are usually ‘performing’ and you won’t necessarily get the full scope of their skills and personality. In a group interview and information session, there is less pressure on candidates to perform – the focus is on them spending time with you to learn more about your organisation and demonstrate their skills. 

One activity Aurelio describes as being particularly effective during a GIIS is a prioritisation task. To complete this, candidates are given around 12 daily duties they would be expected to do in the role, which they must order in from 1-12 by priority. They have to do this task independently, then share their answers in a group. 

This task is an opportunity for you to see how candidates work together, collaborate, manage conflict, prove their point, and persuade others – all skills that you otherwise may not be able to gauge from a traditional interview. 

A GIIS setting is more engaging for candidates, which allows them to more easily build a connection with your purpose and showcase any attributes that will make them a great culture add.

2. It’s great employer branding

The ways in which a GIIS contributes to your employer branding goes both ways: you get to sell your organisation to your candidates during the session, and the GIIS sells your organisation to prospective candidates. 

Firstly, a GIIS is great employer branding because it’s an opportunity for you to discuss your values, purpose, people and culture in a more informal setting with candidates. Giving candidates the space to discuss and ask questions on these topics during a GIIS shows them that you care about connecting with and hiring the right candidates.

A GIIS will capture the attention of prospective candidates, too. Word of mouth goes a long way here – don’t underestimate the impact of people hearing directly from previous candidates or current employees at your organisation that a GIIS is part of your recruitment process. Hearing this will give prospective candidates the impression that your organisation is one that does things differently and cares about your candidates – all before they’ve had any contact with you. 

3. Build your talent pool

Ideally, you can expect to hire up to 25 per cent of the attendees at a GIIS, which is an impressive return on a single session. But what happens when you don’t have the budget or capacity to hire all the great candidates who attended?

This is the perfect opportunity for you to build your talent pool. Because of their positive experience, candidates who you may not choose to hire at a particular GIIS will likely be interested in staying in touch in case other opportunities arise. 

So not only can a GIIS land you multiple high-quality candidates, but it will give you the ability to expand your talent pool and future-proof your recruitment, which may come in handy in times of skill shortages in particular roles and industries. 

4. Quick turnaround

One of the biggest pain points experienced by hiring managers is that the recruitment process is lengthy and time-consuming. Add to that the pressure of hiring multiple people, and the time typically required to fill these roles rises by weeks. 

With a GIIS, the turnaround time is cut significantly due to the way multiple candidates can be effectively assessed at once. A Scout Talent group information and interview session, for example, can be done within a few weeks. And the best part? A team of specialists will help you facilitate the process from start to finish, with room for you to decide your level of involvement.

Overall, a group information session is an investment with many returns. Not only can you successfully offer roles, but you’ll be raising engagement with your organisation, boosting your employer brand, and building your talent pool – all within a reasonable time frame. 

The post Why you should run a group information and interview session appeared first on Recruitment Marketing.

But if you’re looking at your budget and finding no room for commissioned employer branding, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it. Employer branding is an important first step in establishing a psychological contract with a candidate, so you should still do what you can – here are three cheap ways you can start. 

Put your people front and centre

We all know that people–particularly candidates–love seeing the people behind the work, but what they are looking for are real people with real stories, so show them that. It humanises your brand, which helps audiences connect with your product and purpose. Candidates also love People and Culture images because they allow candidates to see their potential colleagues and learn what your organisation is like through the eyes of the people who work there already.

The best part of this is that capturing new People images can be really easy–if you have a decent phone and a spot with good lighting, you can easily capture photos of your people in action! A key part of the process (and keeping your images up to date) is making it a habit; if you see people having a particularly engaging meeting, socialising, or want to feature a new staff member, train yourself to pull your phone out and snap some content to elevate your employer branding.

Another thing candidates love to see is a video from the hiring manager or direct manager talking about the role and what kind of candidate they are looking for; this gives a personal touch to a job advertisement and allows candidates to see who they would be reporting to.

Remix what you already have

Sometimes the best content can be found in your archives. With a plethora of editing tools available, you don’t have to worry about not having the resources to spend on bringing in a videographer or photographer for new content. 

If you have an About Us video on your website, photo albums of work-related photos, or videos from work events, you can use a video editing tool to splice these together with some royalty-free music to make entirely new content! If you don’t know your way around an editing tool, there is sure to be someone on your team who knows how to use one. Ask around and get creative with it – you can make anything from short fifteen-second-long reels and video snippets to one-minute-long culture videos. 

If you do have a shoot coming up with a videographer or photographer, you can also future-proof the content they capture by planning shots you will be able to repurpose in any future videos. For example, if you’re filming an ‘About Us’ video, you could use footage of a business leader explaining your organisation’s purpose in a future piece for a specific campaign. 

Repurposing existing content elevates your employer branding and ensures you get more bang for your buck from content creators.

Refresh your candidate emails

The candidate experience is part of your employer branding, too – so treat it with the same level of care as the rest of your employer branding. 

Revisit your candidate email templates and identify the opportunities where you can really get your employer brand across. Instead of a dry Thank you for your application, you could say, Congratulations, your application is with us! What’s next?

With a title like that, you’re inviting candidates to learn more about you, even when they have likely already done their research on your organisation beforehand. Populate the email with pieces of content tailored for a candidate journey – for example, a video of current employees sharing their favourite part of working at your organisation, or photos of employees with quote bubbles next to them about why they like working for you. This is a great opportunity for your candidate to get to know you personally – what the workplace is like, who their future colleagues and leaders will be, and so on. 

When candidates are likely applying for multiple jobs at once, you need to make your visual employer branding stand out and give them a reason to come back to you. The more storytelling (and it has to be ruthlessly authentic) that you can add to this part of the process, the more your opportunity will stand out among the others they’re looking at. Your goal is for them to not only be comfortable about attending an interview with you, but to feel excited about it. 

Every employer they are applying to will likely have an email journey for their candidates, so having elevated emails in the candidate experience will make the process more memorable and cement your employer brand with the candidate.

Visual employer branding could be the deciding factor in a talented candidate’s decision about where they want to work. The current climate pushes organisations to sell themselves to prospective candidates, rather than the other way around. With these tips in mind, you’re well-positioned to take action and start seeing better results throughout your recruitment process.

The post Three easy and cost-effective ways to do visual employer branding appeared first on Recruitment Marketing.

What this tells us is that while onboarding is a crucial part of talent acquisition, it’s not often done well. That’s why Recruitment Marketing Magazine did a survey of staff in HR and recruitment teams to find out what their worst onboarding experiences were, so we can share advice on how to avoid making the same mistakes. 

Connor* shared that at his last job, there was no clear onboarding system in place. 

“On my first day, they sat me at a desk with only a paper handout that had login details for my computer. I had no idea what I was doing.” 

Lesson 1: Build a connection: 

Building a connection should come before anything else in the onboarding process. Steven Demedio, Head of Learning and Development at Scout Talent, stresses the importance of an induction process that reinforces your new hires’ connection to the organisation, and vice versa. 

If you don’t take the opportunity to reinforce your culture, purpose and values to new talent in the onboarding process, they–like Craig–will have no idea what they are doing there. By creating a psychological contract between your new hire and your organisation, they will feel empowered in their role and purpose before they are even given projects to work on. 

Spencer compared one of his job experiences to the lead-up to a wedding, saying there was a great proposal, a fabulous wedding, but only one person turned up for the honeymoon—him. 

“The build-up was exceptional,” Steve explained. “They contacted me five or six times to be recruited and on the day I started, they even had a courier drop off my laptop at 9 am. But after that, I was completely on my own.”

Lesson 2: Support your new hires

Don’t lose momentum—talent acquisition doesn’t stop when your new hire signs the contract. If you want your people to flourish in your organisation, you have to implement an induction process that shows your genuine care and support for them. If their onboarding experience is negative and they can’t see that you are interested in their growth, they will not feel connected to the organisation and are much less likely to stay. 

Your new hires should also be meeting their colleagues and should be able to see how these people embody the organisation’s values. 

Annalise said that at the first advertising agency she worked at, not only was there was no onboarding, but they changed her responsibilities when she showed up.

“It was really confusing, and when I brought it up with my supervisor, they couldn’t tell me what was going on and why that decision was made. The director that hired me never said hello to me or checked in on me during my first few days.”

Lesson 3: Be consistent in your employer branding and information sharing

While your new hire will have seen the job description and organisation requirements in your employer branding during the application and interview stages, you should take the time to reinforce their role, as well as expectations from both parties.

By making communication lines clear, you can focus on onboarding your new employee and getting them adjusted to life in your organisation. 

Calvin recounted that his bad onboarding experience included limited training that had him relying on a resentful colleague. 

“It was a very small office with only one colleague seated nearby. They provided little training, so I was initially reliant on that one colleague to learn the ropes. Sadly, that colleague had also applied for my role but had been unsuccessful, so they bore resentment that they were overlooked and they were determined to make me fail.”

Lesson 4: Make learning and development a priority 

Beyond making sure your employee feels connected to the organisation, you should be investing in learning and development plans for your new hires (and all people within your business), rather than relying on existing staff to impart job-specific knowledge. 

How is your new hire progressing? What are they struggling with, and what have they identified as areas for improvement and things they need to learn? These are all things you should know and use to create a robust learning plan that sees them growing beyond the onboarding process.

With the number of job postings soaring to a record high and a shortage of applications, having an effective induction process in this current climate is a powerful currency in the talent acquisition game. Onboarding your new talent well not only encourages stable growth and culture but also keeps your A-players in your court.

*names changed for privacy

Rochelle Auman is the Assistant Editor of Recruitment Marketing Magazine. She has a keen interest in a wide range of fields, having worked across the hospitality, retail, fashion and media industries—to name a few.

Thanks to her experience running a business and managing teams of staff, Rochelle understands the importance of attracting the best talent and retaining them by creating an environment where they feel empowered.

When she is not writing about the recruitment marketing landscape, she likes to disappear for hours at a time to play Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild or read the latest Sarah J. Maas novel.

The post HR staff share their worst onboarding experience appeared first on Recruitment Marketing.

What defines a great induction process for you?

If I were to define an effective induction in one word, it would be connection. Above all, I stress that an induction process is about reinforcing the new starters’ connection to the organisation, and vice versa. 

I start every induction process with a conversation about values because my goal is to make sure all new starters know how they add to our culture and to the team. Ask them which values attracted them to choose us, and validate their reasoning with examples of how those values are embodied in the workplace. Talking about our values helps new starters to see how they connect people to our culture, value and purpose.

If my new starters walk away excited about being part of the organisation and knowing what part they play in our wider culture, value and purpose, then that means I’ve helped them establish a great connection with the organisation and it’s been an effective induction. 

“If I were to define effective onboarding in one word, it would be connection.”

How do you build that connection during induction?

Connection starts before they even walk in on their first day – connect with your new starters on LinkedIn beforehand and send them an email that has all the information they need to know: what to wear, where they can park, what to expect in their first week, and so on. 

Giving your new hires a feeling of familiarity before they even officially start is important. If they’ve heard from multiple leaders and received at least one email to introduce them and give them necessary information, they’ll feel like they’re part of the team before their first day.

It’s also important that new starters are shown support and genuine care from day one–and not just in what they can do now, but also in their growth and brightness of future. They’re not just a number, they’re highly skilled individuals that can add so much value to your organisation, so empower them to share their skills from the start. Let them in on the business’s goals and validate their connection to the organisation by encouraging them to contribute their ideas and skills to projects.

After I’ve talked about our values, I invite new starters to tour the office and ask current staff what their favourite values are. I often buddy people up from different divisions (rather than with someone who will be on their team) so they can get talking with someone they may not interact with often in the day-to-day activities of their role.

Doing so achieves a few things: your new hires will get to talk to their colleagues and see the company culture in action, while also developing a deeper understanding of how your organisation values are embodied by your people.

I also take new starters out to a free lunch with the senior leadership team as part of the induction process. Not only are you showing them they are a priority to the business, but you can also get to know them when they’re not “performing” in an interview setting. 

Often in induction processes, we launch right into setting up desks and computers, but none of that matters if your new starters haven’t connected to your organisation and their role in its culture, purpose and value.

How do you measure the success of your induction process?

As I mentioned earlier, my most important measure of success is checking whether my new hires are walking away excited about being part of the organisation and knowing what part they play. If I can see they’ve built a great connection with our organisation and what we do, then that means the induction was a success.

Other metrics I use to measure success are retention rates and improvements in our internal employee engagement survey results. We’ve seen a significant increase in retention here at Scout Talent since we put our focus on implementing a strong induction process.

Any last pieces of advice?

It may sound clichéd, but have fun! At the end of the day, having new people on board is an exciting thing, so enjoy it – get to know your new starters and remind them they got here on their own merit.

They say you should treat people the way you would want to be treated, but I think you should go the extra mile and treat them better than that. That extra bit of effort is going to be so memorable–people always remember their first day and it can set the tone for how invested they will be in the business and how involved they will be in the future.

The post What makes a great induction process? appeared first on Recruitment Marketing.

What is the difference between a culture fit vs. culture add and how can you differentiate between the two during the recruitment process?

A culture fit can be understood as someone who fits in with your organisation’s existing culture. They’re typically someone whose values, beliefs and behaviours align with the company and its employees, and someone you can imagine fitting seamlessly into the ecosystem of the organisation. 

A culture add is someone who brings with them valuable elements that your culture lacks – whether that’s a different skillset or a different way of thinking. Where a culture fit preserves familiarity and enables cohesion, a culture add brings something different that contributes positively to your company. 

Many organisations make the mistake of focusing too keenly on hiring for a culture fit, resulting in them overlooking potential culture adds. If you find yourself gravitating towards certain candidates over others, stop to consider why – and whether you might be missing out on someone valuable. 

How would you test and compare two candidates’ soft skills?

If you’re trying to choose between two candidates who both have the required hard skills, chances are that one candidate’s soft skills could set them apart. 

Soft skills like communication, grit and empathy are highly valuable. Note how well candidates convey and receive information, including the way they write, speak, listen and respond. Do they repeat back what they heard to confirm understanding, or do they frequently interrupt? 

Assess their empathy and interpersonal skills by asking about a difficult situation or conflict they had in the past. Were they able to see the problem from both sides and reach a solution? 

Measure grit by asking candidates how they respond to failure – do they learn from their mistakes and resolve to try again, or do they tend to give up and shift their focus elsewhere? Your candidates’ answers to these questions could help make your final decision easier. 

Why should you use a double-blind test and how can it inform your final decision?

If you still don’t have a clear standout, a double-blind test could help. This involves removing candidate identifiers such as name, age, gender or spoken languages, before giving candidates a practical task to complete – for example, for someone applying for a client-success role, you might put together a list of customer complaints and have the candidate participate in mock service calls.

The absence of identifiers ensures that all candidates are competing on a truly level playing field – in other words, you’re assessing the candidate solely on skill. 

The recruiter then brings in two colleagues who understand the requirements of the position but are not familiar with the candidates. This further reduces the chance of unconscious bias and ensures you’re hiring the most qualified and capable candidate for the job. 

What are your tips for candidate care to ensure the candidates who miss out are keen to go into your talent pool?

It’s important to ensure candidates have a positive experience when interviewing, regardless of the outcome of their application. Indeed recently conducted research on job seekers and employers’ biggest dilemmas when it comes to recruitment and found that the majority of job seekers (66%) are put off when interviewers are rude, distracted or disinterested during interviews, while 55% would like more regular communication and feedback throughout the interview process, and 50% dislike having too many pre-interview steps.

Your interactions with a candidate will often form their first impression of the company, so it’s crucial to ensure this is a positive experience. Treat candidates with the same level of respect, consideration and attention with which you’d expect them to treat you, and make sure they’re kept updated and informed throughout the application process. If the process is taking longer than expected, get in touch to let them know when they can expect to hear from you, and invite them to ask any additional questions they might have. If they’re unsuccessful, explain why and offer to provide feedback where helpful. A positive candidate experience means unsuccessful candidates are more likely to hold your company in high regard, and more likely to speak favourably about the company to friends and colleagues. 

Kate Furey is Indeed’s Career Insights Specialist and APAC Corporate Affairs Director. Kate has a dynamic global background in communications, marketing and journalism. Kate’s passion lies in helping people find jobs they love.  

The post How to pick between two top-tier candidates appeared first on Recruitment Marketing.