While this tightening job market has plenty of implications for businesses of all sizes, it’s particularly stressful for managers who are feeling the strain of constant demands while battling with the loss of top talent. Devising employee retention strategies is therefore critical in this market.

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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.

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Indeed and Glassdoor recently released their very first joint Hiring and Workplace Trends Report, which explores the projected areas talent acquisition and HR teams will need to focus on in 2023 – including the value of company culture; an increased demand from candidates to see DE&I initiatives; and working with team members to enact feedback and change in the workplace.

In line with these three key trends, Recruitment Marketing Magazine Editor, Susie Mather, gives her thoughts on how organisations can leverage these insights to see growth in the new year. With over 20 years of experience in business and recruitment, Susie’s reflections are informed by the strategies and successes she has seen in the organisation she co-founded, Scout Talent.

Key insight 1: Company culture is valuable in both attracting and retaining team members

Susie: Commercial reality, authenticity and good old common sense are key when it comes to building a robust company culture. Firstly, culture needs to be totally authentic in order to have value; and secondly, businesses have to make commercial sense. The good news is that it’s a straightforward formula: without one of these things, a culture can often be lacking. 

The bad news is: organisations can’t simply “incorporate things” they think would appeal into their culture in the same way they might add Lego bricks to a Lego castle. Think of organisational culture like an individual’s personality – a mixture of DNA and ‘nurture over time’ that is somewhat set and not terribly easy to simply “add things to” in order to appeal to candidates. 

The “adding of things” can definitely be done, but it definitely puts authenticity (at the very least) at risk. For example, you can’t just add trust and integrity as items to your company culture if you haven’t taken the steps to ensure there is transparency within your teams or facilitated situations where team members have to rely on each other. In order to make something a part of your culture, you need to get buy-in from your team members and ensure that adding it aligns with your business goals.

Similarly, “cultural bricks” that contribute to a viable business can’t simply be easily removed later on like a Lego brick is, if the organisation feels they’re no longer ‘needed’. If your team members have operated on a system of transparency to maintain trust within the team, you can’t suddenly decide that information should be siloed – doing so would cause your team members and perhaps even external stakeholders to question the authenticity of your culture.

All the above is why employer branding often goes disappointingly (and expensively) wrong. If an employer branding company offers, even very obliquely, to “add things to your culture” that will help you attract more or better talent – please, run a mile. In fact, just call me and I’ll shout you an Uber. 

Why? Because employer branding is all about identifying, articulating and amplifying an organisation’s actual employer brand, not adding things to enhance it. And the identification phase should involve workshops with key stakeholders, and in-depth talks with at least 40 current employees across the full range of roles and tenures, just for a start.

I’m not saying an organisation can’t improve its culture. Not for a second. But it’s nothing to do with employer branding team or company. Changing culture requires the careful and focussed attention of a group of existing stakeholders in an organisation, and buy-in and ownership at all levels including executive and board. 

If you’re looking to elevate your organisational culture in 2023, remember that it’s never quick. It’s never painless. It can be done well. And don’t let any employer branding consultants tell you about adding Lego bricks.

Key insight 2: Diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives – and employers’ progress on them – matter to employees

Susie: This topic is dear to my heart. At Scout Talent, we’ve made a particular focus this year on DEI&B, with the B standing for Belonging – which is an important facet because you can create all the diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in the world, but if your team members don’t feel like they belong in your workplace, then what are you doing it for?

One of my favourite memories, when I think about DEI&B at Scout Talent, is the International Foods Potluck hosted by one of our content marketing specialists and resident DEI&B champion, Kyra Kirrane. I asked her to share more about the Potluck for Recruitment Marketing Magazine, as well as her thoughts on the importance of DEI&B and how employers can do better in 2023. Here’s what she said:

DEI&B seems like a huge undertaking, but it really can start with a conversation and a light-hearted internal event. We have a real passion for food at Scout Talent, so the idea to host an International Foods Potluck came very naturally. As our first DEI&B initiative, it was something that many people could get excited about, everyone could participate in, and there was no cost required of the business to host this really engaging event. 

I put together some collateral, which included a few colourful posters and some carefully crafted Slack messages, and started “marketing” the campaign internally about three weeks out from the date. I recruited some champions to organise the same event in our other offices around the globe, which really helped to make the event feel more impactful. 

Finally, I prepared a little “speech” for the start of the event to set the scene. I explained why we’d gathered: to celebrate our multiculturalism through food. I emphasised that because food is embedded in culture, it’s also deeply connected to identity, and an event like this allows us to preserve and celebrate our diverse cultures in a multicultural society. This is particularly true for people whose culture is not the dominant culture i.e. Australian. As an immigrant myself, and with many, many colleagues who are immigrants to Australia, it was important for me to make space for the myriad cultures that we have the privilege of experiencing every day at Scout Talent. 

I also took a moment to acknowledge that food practices are influenced by access and that we should reflect with gratitude on our access to the delicious food we’d prepared and keep this in mind as we tucked in. 

The event was a great success: we got a really good amount of participation from people bringing in homemade snacks, and I encouraged everyone to come to try them out even if they were unable to bring something along themselves. Our various offices around the world participated and our Slack channels were flooded with pictures of everyone taking part. In particular, some of our team members who are typically more reserved came out with amazing spreads and loads of engagement – a great sign when you’re trying to nurture a culture of inclusion and visibility! 

Upon reflection, I think the following takeaways were key to making this initiative happen, and can be valuable points for organisations looking to improve their DEI&B or start similar initiatives in the new year:

• Empowering your teams: Key to my ability to host this internal event and create a business-wide project team that includes an executive team member, was truly feeling empowered to pursue something I cared about during work hours. 
• Engaged and forward-thinking leaders: Identify strengths in your team members and encourage them to explore them, and flourish.
• A level of independence and autonomy: Once I was empowered to take this project on and turn it into something real, my leader supported me and always gave me her best advice, but let me drive the initiative independently, which reinforced my own communication and leadership skills. 
• A culture of learning and development: Not only was this my most direct pathway into DEI&B (we have dedicated weekly learning hours, which I used to prepare for the potluck) but it is key to creating an inclusive culture because by its nature, becoming more diverse and inclusive asks people to HEAL: harmonise, empathise, accept, and learn (a concept from motivational psychologist and speaker, Eve Ash). Humbling yourself in the face of learning new ways of thinking about the world and its people can be challenging – the more positive, safe, and collaborative your culture, the easier it will be to implement new and exciting initiatives.

Key insight 3: Workers have more leverage to demand change in the workplace

As mentioned in the Indeed and Glassdoor Hiring and Workplace Trends Report, a demographic shift towards an aging population means hiring will continue to be a challenge for years to come. This is translating to workers having more power to demand change in the workplace. 

This isn’t a bad thing at all – in fact, employers should view this as an opportunity to start 2023 strong and ask their team directly for feedback on how they can improve, so team members are shown that their opinions are valued.

One way to ask for feedback is to simply listen. Make the time to really listen to employees’ comments and requests when they come in, with your only intention in that moment being to understand them – the response can come later, after you’ve heard all they’ve had to say.

While you are listening, stay measured and calm. When it is time to respond, protect the organisation fiscally (after all, it does support all these people) by not making reactive decisions. If you don’t have an immediate answer, tell your team member(s) that you will come back to them, and take the time to formulate a well thought-out response, as well as a plan for how you will communicate it.  

Another way you can collect feedback on a wider scale and regular cadence is through a Employee Engagement Survey (EES). At Scout Talent, we conduct an EES within the entire organisation every year to check in with our team – we ask them what they’re happy with, what we could do better, and give them an opportunity to give specific feedback. The most valuable part of doing this is that afterwards, we review the results and discuss feedback as a wider group, then within our divisional teams to implement change. 

In between EES and tidbits of feedback, it’s absolutely essential to constantly show your team members they are valued. Tracey Mathers gives great tips here on how to do exactly that – so that when your team comes to you with requests for change, they’ll feel more comfortable and empowered to do so, and the request itself will feel like exactly that, and not a demand.

A key thing to remember is that any changes that come from employee requests need to be authentic and aligned with the business’ goals both now and into the foreseeable future. Why? Because circumstances will continue to change, and any changes you promise need to be viewed in the whole picture of the company’s culture. After all, cultural bricks aren’t like Lego bricks that can be added and taken away again.

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

We spoke to Tracey Mathers, who has over 35 years of experience in the retail industry, for her insights on how to hire retail team members with quality and longevity in mind—and how to get it right the first time.

From your extensive experience in the retail industry, what are some non-negotiable steps for recruitment teams when hiring for retail?

There were several non-negotiable steps we had—after all, our potential recruits would be joining an already strong team, so I needed to make sure they were going to fit in perfectly and not cause disruption. Some thoughts and examples of essential recruitment steps are:

Do your preparation

• Profiling is a great tool to really understand where people are in their natural flow. I am a brand partner with a company called Contribution Compass and, when profiling, we often pick up that the potential recruit is not strong in the area of expertise we are looking for. This does not mean they will not work in that position, but it gets you knowing ahead what you need to be asking and looking for in the interview. This can save a lot of time and—in some instances—a lot of heartache.
•  Really think about the position you are hiring for. What values do you need? What is the true talent they need to have? What sort of personality will work? Once you understand the true needs of the position, design a range of questions around getting that information from them. Preparation is essential and the more thought you put into your questions for the outcomes you want, the greater the interview will be. Remember: we want them to talk, and we listen.

Take your time during the interview

• It is really important to relax the candidate for a few minutes before you begin. This is just general small talk just to get conversation flowing but keep it light and fun, to hopefully relax them. I would always add something like, I am really looking forward to chatting today and getting to know you more. We want them as relaxed as possible to really get them to let their guard down.
• Many people go by the popular saying, first impressions count. Try not to do this; instead, stay open-minded. Some of the best people I ever hired came in looking like a train wreck, but they were so perfect for the position that all I had to do was help them know how to show up; this is much easier than teaching someone great sales or people skills.
• Don’t rush an interview and don’t get excited after five minutes because you loved their last answer, focus on all answers. This is about connection and taking the time to really evaluate and chat; after all, we are looking for close to perfect for this position. Give yourself plenty of time. I work with retail clients every day and the first thing I do when I discover the turnover in staff they have been experiencing is ask if I may sit in on their next interviews. One of the many things I have learnt from doing that is how important the questions you ask are. It’s important to take your time and ask as many questions as you like; after all, employing a new team member is expensive and time consuming, so we need to take the time to get it as right as we can.

Look for specificity

• Keeping in mind that people often will tell you what they think you want to hear, ask for examples on what they are telling you they are great at. If they share that they are great at handing complaints, ask for an example of where they handled a complaint well, and what the outcome was. Watch them carefully; look at the body language and at their level of communication. Are they looking you in the eyes as they are talking to you? There are so many signs that tell you if they are really connected to themselves and their talents, and if they are telling you the truth or just what they think you need to hear.
• When you are finished interviewing and you ask the question, “Do you have any questions?”, listen to what they ask. Are they great questions about helping them discover more about the organisation or the role? Or are they selfish questions, making it all about what is in it for them? This will give you a good indication of the outcomes they want or expect.

What happens when these non-negotiable steps are missed?

If you make a bad hire, sometimes you can get lucky and might be able to train and manage the person into the role, but often it will cause disruption; it can take people away from where their focus should be and cost the business a lot of money. It can get really bad, which is what I have seen in cases before where key staff leave, as they just can’t handle what is happening and that management is not doing anything to fix it.

What are some common gaps you see in recruitment and business processes that allow for the wrong people to get hired?

The biggest one is what I call desperate hiring, which is when your gut is telling you it is wrong but your
head is saying, I need to get this hire finalised, so they will do. It is so important not to cut corners, so you should have a procedure in place when hiring. Clarify for yourself and your hiring team what the position is, and really understand it. Some questions you can ask yourself to get connected to the role you are trying to fill are:

• What are some attributes a possible candidate could have that would work well for
  the position?
•  Do a profile on candidates to understand them more before the hiring process starts.
• Is there another team member whose opinion I value, and can I ask them to sit in and
  just listen?
• What questions will I be asking?
• What values and strengths am I looking for?

After the interview is over, give yourself time to reflect on the candidate. Did they cover the points you identified as essential? Is there anything that does not feel right? Is there anything you missed asking that you need to ask in the next interview, if there is one?

When you take the time during recruitment to truly understand what you are looking for and the cost of ‘making do’, you will avoid hiring the wrong people.

For businesses that hire reactively, what are some things you’d recommend they do to hire proactively and land key talent?

• Take it slowly, make sure your advertising is really clear and precise.
• Consider a referral program that encourages your team to find high quality candidates through their own network.
• Many companies have implemented work experience platforms that work well as proactive hiring methods. While this is time consuming, it is an effective way to talent pool as you get to choose the talent that shines from it and offer them positions within your business.
• Have guidelines for your hiring process and stick to them.

What are your recommendations for businesses to nurture staff and work towards higher retention rates?

There are so many ways we can work towards creating loyalty and long-term employment retention. Here are a few of my thoughts:

Actively recognise and communicate with people

• People today want to feel like they belong. They want praise, congratulations, feedback and recognition for jobs well done. Money is important, but so is being valued.
• Make sure communication is open and honest. Encourage your team to have candid conversations; listen to these to make sure you have them doing work they love and are good at, have team meetings often so the connection with the team stays strong and feedback or reviews are essential to get motivation and interest going.

Prioritise good leadership habits

• Direction and great leadership are important. People feel more valued when they are communicated with well on expectations and deliverables. When everyone knows what is expected and what they need to be doing, there is a greater sense of belonging.
• Lead by example. Don’t expect a certain behaviour if you are not showing your team that it is what you live by—do what I say, not what I do does not cut it. If people respect you and enjoy interacting with you, they are more likely to hang around longer.
• Be aware of what is happening around you as an owner/leader. Take notice of whether people are being excluded, bullied, or others are taking recognition for work they didn’t do. If you fix the issue then respect will grow for you, and your team will be loyal and want to stay.

Address issues with tact and timeliness

• One non-negotiable I stuck to whenever giving feedback or reviews was that if there was a problem, I always started with a congratulations on something great, then opened the conversation on the problem. From there, I worked with them to find the solution together right then and there, and always finished on a thank you for what they do well. With this method, the problem gets solved and the team member walks away feeling that they know they have improvements to make but that you are also happy in so many other areas.
• Never address an issue with an individual in front of other team members. This will not only make them feel like you don’t value them, but it will also embarrass them and generally they will become disengaged immediately.

How can businesses learn from you?

If you get your team right and leadership is great, there is a much greater chance that you will have a happy team who will continue working with you for as long as you want them.

I have had 35 years’ experience in creating brilliant leaders and teams. It is tiring having to keep training new people, so investing in how we can improve our own skills in leadership and recruitment should be a priority.

I would love to help you build a super successful team, feel really connected with them and know how to manage all situations that arise. What we put off today can become a greater issue tomorrow, so handling things as they arise is essential. I work with both leaders and teams on connection, building greater relationships within teams and confidence building—but it does start with the initial choice on who do we bring in to work with us.

I would love to connect and chat with how I can help you connect more with your own talents to get your recruitment and management processes just right.

Tracey is a well-respected keynote speaker who gives inspirational talks covering topics such as leadership, sales, connection, confidence, and how to survive in business today.

With 35 years’ experience in both the retail and the corporate world, Tracey has a wealth of knowledge in all different aspects that she passes on now through her work as a professional advisor, speaker and mentor, having sold her retail stores in July 2016.

The post Why getting recruitment right the first time is so important appeared first on Recruitment Marketing.

• Lack of recruitment, leading to promoting a manager to a senior manager role and doubling his direct reports – the senior manager felt frustration with one staff member and in particular struggled with the performance management process which eventually led to the senior manager going on “stress leave”.
• Problems with retaining staff led an employer to continuing to hold onto an employee who was engaging in toxic behaviour in the workplace – this eventually led to an upward bullying claim being made by her line manager.
• An employee being constantly absent from the workplace due to a number of health related and personal issues leading to workloads being increased on other staff members and a general staff shortage.

Absenteeism In The Workplace

In the Fair Work Commission matter of Royall v Aussie Kids Pty Ltd [2022] FWC 2301 (31 August 2022) a centre director for Aussie Kids, a childcare centre had a number of employees absent on a Friday. The reaction by the centre director was to send an email to all staff expressing general “disappointment” and that time off should only be taken for genuine reasons.

The clear implication made by the centre director was that some of the absences were not for genuine illness related reasons.

The response by the Applicant in particular was damning.  The Applicant replied via email but also via Tanda, the roster based system the employer utilises.  A response through Tanda was effectively public as all employees could see the response provided by the Applicant. She wanted the centre director to know that the email was:

• Hurtful, and that;
• the employees had done nothing wrong;
• considering the circumstances, employees should be commended for their effort not criticised (as flu season and COVID-19 related illness were common place).

Fatal Steps

In the dismissal response provided by the Employer they claim that the employee was not dismissed and furthermore had not served the 6 month minimum employment period.

Not Dismissed

The applicant was called into the office to provide a “please explain” for her actions and that the Tanda message was so public; the rationale being that any disagreement should have been relayed in private. As the applicant showed a lack of contrition, the employer:

• Asked her to go home;
• Cancelled the rest of her shifts that week;
• Took her off access to Tanda; and
• Failed to respond to contact by the Applicant in regards to the above.

The employer claimed that:

• The cancellation of shifts was because there was an excess of staff for that week and any changes to roster for that week were coincidental;
• The lack of contrition was the reason access to Tanda was removed;
• Not informing her of the decision to remove her access was a mere oversight; and
• There was no dismissal because if there was, the usual course of action would be to issue a separation certificate.

Minimum Employment Period

The employer also claimed a further objection in that the applicant had 18 weeks unpaid parental leave and therefore this broke service.  In particular, that she was a casual and as such was not a regular and systematic employee.

Findings By The Fair Work Commission

The Fair Work Commission did not find merit in the objections made by the employer and found that unpaid parental leave did not break service and the steps taken by the employer leads to a reasonable assumption that a dismissal had taken place.

Two parts in particular were damning on the employer:

• Cancelling the Applicant’s shifts and removing her access “had the probable result of bringing the employment relationship to an end”; and
• The employer also failed to properly explain why it didn’t inform the applicant and took no steps to advise about the lack of upcoming shifts leading to very poor management decision making.

Maximum Compensation Awarded

As the Fair Work Commission found there was no justification in the dismissal and significant procedural failures the tribunal found there was an unfair dismissal.

6 months pay was awarded to the employee although the final figure was reduced due to the employee’s failure to mitigate her loss.

Learnings

This is a clear tale of how not to deal with absenteeism and conduct issues in general.  The employer could have prevented a successful claim at a number of junctures and ultimately failed when they removed access, cancelled shifts and failed to inform the employee they did so.  As they did not intend to necessarily dismiss the employee for her actions, the employer was caught unaware their actions were likely to be deemed unfair by the Fair Work Commission.  You can understand the intention of the employer however the way they handled it should rightly be criticised and Employers should take heed of the mistakes made here.

This article was originally published here and was republished with permission. 

Jonathan Mamaril is a Director with NB Lawyers, the Lawyers for Employers, leading the Employment Law and Commercial Law teams. Jonathan assists employers in mitigating risk and liability and advises clients on all aspects of Employment Law. His focus is on being practical and providing value for clients through education and training to help them avoid headaches in the first place; and when a problem does occur, to deal with it properly so it doesn’t become a larger, more litigious problem. 

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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.

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To overcome this challenge, top recruiters in 2022 are tracking offer acceptance rate. Using this metric, you can evaluate the effectiveness of your recruitment process and how jobseekers view you in the market. Offer acceptance rate is expressed as a percentage.

It’s the number of offers accepted by candidates divided by the total number of offers made.

In a perfect world, this number would be 100 per cent, with every offer made accepted. But we all know that doesn’t happen, so what does good look like and what should we be aiming for?

The best organisations average an offer acceptance rate of 99 per cent year in, year out.

Why does it matter?

You might be asking yourself why you should care. If an applicant rejects your offer or disappears at the final hurdle, were they really right for the job?

Sadly, it’s often fantastic candidates turning down job offers. With cost per hire in 2022 skyrocketing upwards of $23,000, it’s crucial to track and measure your offer acceptance rate to identify areas for improvement. Tracking this metric can help you understand how candidates are experiencing your company—and examine what you can do better.

What does a good acceptance rate look like?

According to PageUp data, the average acceptance rate in Australia is 95 per cent —meaning for every 100 offers given, 5 people are saying ‘no’. In industries such as finance and hospitality, this has dropped even further recently, with only 92 per cent of candidates saying ‘yes’ to offers in 2022. The best organisations achieve offer acceptance rates of 99 per cent —showing a sizable gap between the top performing organisations and industry benchmarks.

How to improve your offer acceptance rate

1. Focus on candidate experience 

A key factor in whether a candidate accepts an offer is their experience throughout the recruitment journey. A bad experience can have a huge impact, with 49 per cent of jobseekers stating they would reject a job offer after a bad hiring experience.

Giving candidates a great experience can be as simple as asking the right questions in the interview. Get to know candidates on a personal level, and make an effort to understand their needs and goals for their career. This personalisation can have a huge impact on the interaction —and the outcome of your job offer.

2. Become an employer of choice by building your employer brand

Candidates are more likely to accept an offer if they feel aligned with your company. Creating a strong, tangible employer brand can be a great way to increase your offer acceptance rate. Take some time to review your careers site —is it engaging? Does it promote all the company’s perks and benefits? Can jobseekers clearly see your DE&I initiatives? Positioning your company as a place people want to work will only benefit your offer acceptance rate.

3. Provide an authentic view into your company

Jobseekers crave authenticity and transparency —and modern hiring practices need to reflect this. Consider ways to increase transparency in the recruitment process, such as: disclosing salary, benefits or flexible working arrangements upfront. Give candidates the opportunity to ask questions, and connect with current employees.

Tools like employee-generated content allow candidates to interact with current employees, ask questions and receive authentic responses from their peers. They can gain insight into things like company culture, day-in-the-life stories, and the team dynamic.

4. Speed up your processes

It’s important not to waste time in the recruiting process. Candidates in 2022 are juggling multiple offers, and long, drawn-out hiring processes mean you risk losing your first choice, and your silver medalist, too.

Utilise tools like Text Engage to speed up your time-to-hire, and to reach candidates where they are. Streamline your processes with automated communications, and keep your hiring journeys fast and efficient.

Knowing what’s working and what’s not is critical to successful recruiting. Tracking your offer acceptance rate, along with other metrics, means you can fine-tune your recruitment activities and stay ahead of the competition.

This article originally appeared on PageUp as 4 ways to improve your offer acceptance rate and was republished here with permission.

Marion Robinson is responsible for spearheading global growth for PageUp in all its forms. She provides strategic direction across PageUp’s client advocacy, partner alliance, marketing and brand-building programs, ensuring total alignment between them so as to deliver on the PageUp growth strategy. Leveraging a wealth of experience in client management roles across a range of industries including Banking, Human Resources and IT, Marion understands the daily people challenges of clients first-hand. 

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Some employers have adopted hybrid models of work, requiring their employees to physically attend the office for a portion of the working week. Other employers have dispensed with office work entirely, and their employees can be found throughout Australia (perhaps travelling in a fried-out kombi) performing remote work. The possibilities of working from home have even led to some employees moving overseas whilst remaining employed (and performing work) for their Australian employer.  There are of course a number of workplace issues with working from home:

• Building workplace culture
• Retention and recruitment
• Workplace health and safety
• Mental Illness
• Work and job productivity
• Employee loyalty
• Family and domestic effects
• Management of work-from-home staff

With these possibilities, there are also other technical workplace issues involving interactions with long-service leave entitlements.

What is the position in Queensland?

For most employees, long service leave entitlements are given by way of State or Territory legislation, each with their own nuances. In Queensland, long service leave is provided by the Industrial Relations Act 2016 (QLD) (IR Act). Section 93(b) of the IR Act provides that an employee’s ‘continuous service’ which is used for determining long service leave entitlements can be “with the same employer, whether wholly in the State or partly in and partly outside the State”. Accordingly, by the express language of the IR Act, an employee’s employment can be partly outside of Queensland whilst still retaining an entitlement to long service leave.

Clarity was provided in the decision of Anantapadma v Infosys Limited [2020] QIRC 190, where it was determined that an employee’s employment outside of Queensland must have “substantial connection” with Queensland in order to be counted as continuous service for the purposes of long service leave. In its decision, the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission found the employee in Anantapadma lacked the requisite connection, as he was only temporarily engaged to work in Queensland. His period of employment in Queensland was also short (consisting of 9 months), with his remaining periods of employment taking place in Melbourne and India.

The decision in Anantapadma was subsequently followed in Raman v Infosys Limited [2021] QIRC 275. In Raman, the period of employment in Queensland was also relatively short (consisting of 8 months) and was considered in the factual context of the work arrangements. The Queensland Industrial Relations Commission considered the employer had specifically maintained a cohort of employees capable of being deployed internationally, with each deployment being temporary in nature. Their employment contracts were also jurisdictionally linked to India, instead of Australia.

What is the position in other states or territories, such as New South Wales and Victoria?

The position in New South Wales closely mirrors that of Queensland. In the matter of Australian Timken Pty Ltd v Stone (No 2) [1981] 2 NSWLR 64, the “substantial connection” test was mentioned and it was observed that long service leave would “accrue if at the time the relevant event occurs (that is, completion, termination or cessation) the service which was being performed at that time had a substantial connection with this State”. In practical terms, if an employee was claiming long service leave at the time of termination of employment, the Court’s role was to assess whether their employment as a whole was substantially connected to New South Wales.

The position in Victoria is somewhat nuanced. The decision in Infosys Technologies Limited v State of Victoria [2021] VSCA 219 appeared to doubt the position adopted in Timken (which was applicable in New South Wales). Specifically, it was observed that “improbable and absurd outcomes could arise” if the approach in Timken was preferred. Instead, the Court took the view that a period of employment should not necessarily be treated as an indivisible period. Whether a period of employment counted towards accrual of long service leave entitlements depends on whether it had a substantial connection to Victoria at the time the employment was undertaken.

Accordingly, components of overseas or interstate employment could be excluded from calculating long service leave entitlements, if they had no connection to Victoria. This is a different approach to long service leave in Queensland and New South Wales, which (for now) seems to involve an assessment of the entire employment period when a triggering event (usually termination of employment) occurs. Nonetheless, each of the States accepts that periods of employment outside of the State could count towards long service leave entitlements. We consider this likely extends to capture periods of employment for employees working remotely, whether interstate or overseas.

A practical guide for employers (and businesses)

Assess an employee’s connection with a state or territory

We would suggest assessing an employee’s connection with a specific State or Territory in determining where their long service leave entitlements might accrue. This might involve reviewing the terms of an employment contract to determine which jurisdiction it has been made within.

It might also involve reviewing where profits of the business flow to, or whether instructions to an employee are coming from a particular State or Territory. Where an employer has consented to an employee relocating strictly because of their personal preferences (as opposed to any genuine business requirement), we suggest recording this in writing. We would recommend employers do this for all of their remote employees, particularly where they are interstate or overseas. If required, further advice should be sought regarding the requirements of a specific State or Territory.

Consider the nuances of the relevant state or territory

After determining an employee’s connection with a specific State or Territory, it becomes necessary to consider nuances within the various legislation. As an example, section 4(2) of the South Australian Long Service Leave Act 1987 (SA) may allow an employee with potential long service leave entitlements in different States and Territories to choose which legislation applies. Similarly, a South Australian employee who resigns is usually entitled to proportionate payment of long service leave after seven (7) years of completed service, whereas a Queensland employee may only be entitled if they resign because of illness, or a domestic/pressing necessity. We would recommend factoring in these differences for each employee working remotely.

Document the arrangements in writing

For businesses that have National operations, it is not unusual for employees to be temporarily assisting with operations in another State or Territory. This may come in the form of a secondment, or an assignment to a different team. Where the work arrangements are temporary, we would suggest clearly setting this out in writing to ensure the temporary nature is agreed upon. We recommend recording this as a reasonable and lawful direction (if an employee’s contract allows differing locations of work/different duties), or as a variation to an employment contract (noting an employee’s agreement would be required). Taking these steps may assist with minimising inferences that an employee is substantially tied to a State or Territory.

This article was originally published here and was republished with permission. 

Jonathan Mamaril is a Director with NB Lawyers, the Lawyers for Employers, leading the Employment Law and Commercial Law teams. Jonathan assists employers in mitigating risk and liability and advises clients on all aspects of Employment Law. His focus is on being practical and providing value for clients through education and training to help them avoid headaches in the first place; and when a problem does occur, to deal with it properly so it doesn’t become a larger, more litigious problem. 

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The COVID-19 Pandemic created a need for a number of new positions, including contact tracing. There was high demand for these employees, lots of work and a determination to make the best efforts to contain the Pandemic. One such employee found his employer, the Department of Health (Victoria), caused major delays in getting back to him on the certainty of his position.

It begs the question: Did the attention dedicated to dealing with COVID-19 lead to priorities being shifted away – in particular, away from proper people management?

The Fair Work Commission (FWC) has handed down judgment in the matter of Bradley Alan Fisk v State of Victoria (Department of Health) [2022] FWC 911 (31 May 2022) a jurisdictional objection in the General Protections jurisdiction.

The judgment provided scrutinising commentary at the Department indicating their difficulties to deal with the employee’s concerns and inability to comply with the orders of the Fair Work Commission required specific comment.

At [54] the commission stated “It is likely that the failure to vary Mr Fisk’s contract for a further fixed term was the result of resourcing and administrative pressures affecting the Department’s ability to function (discussed earlier) as well as a failure to resolve the classification dispute that caused Mr Fisk not to accept the offer of the second fixed-term contract after it was sent to him on 8 December 2020.”

The facts

1. Mr Fisk was employed for a fixed term between 26 August 2020 and 31 December 2020.
2. For the first 11 weeks, he received no payment for his services (“It was a sign of things to come”[7]).
3. Mr Fisk was offered a new position as a team leader however when he asked for his pay to be adjusted he heard nothing back and therefore did not accept the new position.
4. Mr Fisk continuously followed up on the renewal of his contract but received no reply.
5. He became increasingly frustrated and changed his behaviour towards his colleagues.
6. During this period Mr Fisk received complaints about his passive-aggressive behaviour which he later claimed was a result of the frustration of not having certainty in his future employment.
7. As the relationship broke down, Mr Fisk was ultimately terminated from his employment on grounds of performance, effective on 30 June 2021.

The commissioner rejected the arguments of the employer stating that the employee’s contract had expired and as such this was the true reason for his termination. The commissioner stated that the end period of the contract had well and truly expired and he was no longer under a fixed period of employment.

The commissioner laid blame on the extremely under-resourced employer.

The detail was given to the following:

1. Significant under-resourcing of the Department’s administrative functions.
2. Management of internal human resources during this period was “haphazard”.
3. The employee sought clarification on multiple occasions regarding employment but received no response until his termination.
4. It was never established that following 31 December 2020 Mr Fisk would continue his employment on a fixed-term basis.

As a result, the jurisdictional objection failed and the employee may now continue with their General Protections claim.

Five tips for employers – what we can learn

Another basic method is to ensure that offers of employment are not made until checks are undertaken.

• Human Resources should always address all concerns raised by employees, particularly those relating to employment contracts and payroll. This should be done in a timely manner. Unreasonable delays such as 2-3 months should not be entertained whether it is the external investigators taking too long or internal mechanisms of the organisation creating the delay, the Fair Work Commission have made their views clear – unreasonable delay is unacceptable.
• Being significantly under-resourced will leave HR managers and employers exposed to “key risks” and hinder their “ability to function.” This may include;
  1. Missing deadlines, such as Mr Fisk’s lapsing contract.
  2. Contraventions of the Fair Work Act, in this instance, missing adjustments in an employee’s pay.
• Employers should take a proactive approach and not a reactive approach toward their business and employees. Examples might include:
  1. Management training
  2. Workforce planning strategy
  3. Policy and Contract reviews
  4. Wage audits (sample wage audits on a regular basis)
• Human Resource staff should familiarise themselves with the consequences that may arise from being under-resourced. Following this, an action plan to remedy the situation may be needed.
• If your business was shaken by the Pandemic, you could be missing something that could expose your business to such risks as well. A proper review should be conducted by risk management teams or Employment Lawyers. Such gaps will include:
  1. Workplace Health and safety gaps
  2. Workplace bullying and reasonable management action misunderstandings
  3. Not knowing the difference between Unfair Dismissal and General Protections claims
  4. Mismanagement of grievances and complaints
  5. Poor handling of mental illness or injury disclosures

This article was originally published on NB Lawyers for Employers here and was republished with permission.

Jonathan Mamaril is a Director with NB Lawyers, the Lawyers for Employers, leading the Employment Law and Commercial Law teams. Jonathan assists employers in mitigating risk and liability and advises clients on all aspects of Employment Law. His focus is on being practical and providing value for clients through education and training to help them avoid headaches in the first place; and when a problem does occur, to deal with it properly so it doesn’t become a larger, more litigious problem. 

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