In a tough economic market, target the best talent out there, writes Steve Hart
KEY POINTS:
Now is the time for companies to hire the best people they can find, says one New Zealand recruitment expert. And the way to do it is to hunt out the people you need.
David Doyle, manager of Tanner Menzies, a subsidiary of global recruitment firm Vedior
Asia Pacific, says whether you are a recruiter or an employer looking for staff, headhunting should be used "actively and proactively".
"In a tough economic market, if that's indeed where we are heading, then that is how you position yourself - by targeting the best talent out there rather than wait for market conditions to drive talent towards you," he says.
According to an employment trends survey completed by Vedior, 33 per cent of those surveyed say they actively search out and tap the shoulders of the people they want to hire.
"Not only does this mean that Auckland businesses will have to work harder to retain talented staff, but employers will also be forced to cast the recruitment net wider, with headhunting for staff occurring far more regularly," says Doyle.
"For candidates in New Zealand, this increase in headhunting activity, combined with the skills shortage, is good news - especially for junior and mid-level staff - as it usually leads to more money, greater benefits and better prospects for promotion."
Vedior's survey was released in April and completed by 1044 respondents in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore in October last year. The company's spokesperson in Australia, Natalie Waldman, says the survey data is still valid despite it being almost a year old.
"While the economy has softened, employers are still searching for high performers and therefore headhunting continues to be used by more organisations for a wide range of roles and specialisations," she says.
Doyle agrees and says tools such as social networking websites are giving employers an extra way to search for the people they want to work for them. And it also gives those looking for a new role a key avenue for exposure to potential recruiters.
"These networking sites were not conceived as a recruitment tool but the smart recruiters are using them for that," says Doyle. "And smart employers are using them as well."
Doyle says that until social networking sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn came along, employers would have to wait to get to know their staff and find out their interests and "appealing attributes".
"Now we have a far more subtle but valid way of seeing people's capabilities, what their networks are - what their level of influence is - and that has definitely shifted the headhunting focus from the top-end roles to more junior and mid-level positions," says Doyle.
He says employers will carefully review people's social networking pages and look at whom they link with, where that network goes and what firms they are connected to via friends and colleagues. It could mean that people are hired not just for what they know, but whom they know.
"While people can publish themselves on the web, they need to be careful to present themselves in a professional manner," warns Doyle. "There are some negatives associated with it as well as some positives."
He says job hunters hoping to be noticed need to separate out the professional interests from hobbies and random thoughts that may turn off potential employers."
However, despite the international nature of websites, Doyle says companies do not have to look away from our shores for the people they need - it is not just the young guns that can have social networking pages. He points to a veritable army of untapped people that he says are being overlooked by many employers.
"The ageing workforce is a very obvious place for us to go and get talent when talent is required," says Doyle. "People are staying in the workforce longer and they have years upon years of experience.
"That is one of the first places we can look to when talent gets a bit short and is an obvious place to look. There is some fantastic talent that is ready to work and is in New Zealand already."
Doyle says no matter which way hiring managers cut it - whether they hire young people or the not-so-young - they need to attract people that are better than average to grow the talent in their organisation.
"Companies need to keep raising the bar," he says. "If market conditions soften - and allow a lot more people to become accessible to your recruitment strategies - then you raise the bar.
"And in a very tough market for employment - which is a very good economic market - then you may have to lower the bar. But that's where headhunting strategies can really pay off."
The Vedior survey also shows that national skill shortage issues remain. The report says the number of organisations that said they would grow their headcount increased from 28 per cent last year to 42 per cent this year.
The report also advises employers to find out what is important to the people they want to hire.
The survey revealed that organisations were using incentives such as health and wellbeing programmes (46 per cent), more than one in four (28 per cent) allow their staff to take career breaks and 18 per cent are providing international exchange programmes.
Doyle says it is clear that the more organisations go to their employees and ask what they are looking for, the better those rewards will be perceived.
"I think we have all heard and understood that money is not the only thing when it comes to attraction and retention of staff," says Doyle. "But I don't know that organisations have always added the other part to the equation."
Contact Steve Hart at www.stevehart.co.nz
