INTRODUCTION
As we ponder our inevitable post recession socio-economic recovery, I seek to share my knowledge of the developments in recruitment practice which took place during our last period of recovery and growth
Following the last recession in Australia (1991-92) there was great innovation and advancement in recruitment practice Recruitment (or talent acquisition as we call it today) became a business strategy (not an operational process) and this development was a positive element in our socio-economic recovery during the 1990s
The last time we had a recession:
most people who are responsible for talent acquisition today were still at school economically, politically and socially the opportunity that was embraced was not to get our socio-economic health back, but to make it much better after unemployment rates that hovered around 10% for several years, there was an acute focus to get those most effected back into work, whilst at the same time ensuring high levels of skill development and improved prosperity
Post our last recession, how we recruited and developed our employees became a hot topic, and given today’ s socio-economic climate (and the period of nearly 30 years since our last recession) there will be considerable benefit in revisiting how we managed recruitment during our last post-recession period
BACKGROUND
Some realities which are as true today as they were back then
During a period of economic recovery: 1. 2. 3 4 5 6.
the effect of the earlier downturn was an inevitable increase in job applications (both in terms of the volume and demographic spread) periods of high unemployment have a greater impact on specific demographic groups:
young people
those in the workforce who are over 55 those planning a return to the workforce (e g post paternity leave) Indigenous Australians/people born outside Australia people with disabilities or health issues women.
significant increases in application numbers will result in recruiters practicing an unconscious bias to look for reasons to rule applicants out - as opposed to looking for reasons to rule people in (the latter being an important element in the principles of effective recruitment)
Therefore, there is an acute risk that those disadvantaged by an employment downturn can be left behind in a job market recovery.
If this scenario were to go unchecked, it would clearly have a double-negative effect on our social fibre and economic health as:
high levels of youth unemployment, over a prolonged period can result in a generation lost from the job market, and potentially the need for significant public investment in related employment and skill development programs. with an increase in older workers seeking employment past 65, if they are unable to achieve a working income, this will place greater pressure on welfare payments productive, skilled people who struggle to find suitable work over a prolonged period can choose to remove themselves from the job market. This in turn can directly affect our community well-being and may result in long-term skill shortages. if people with a disability, those returning to the workforce, immigrants and Indigenous Australians are not afforded equitable access to employment opportunities in our recovering economy, how can we as a community claim to have achieved a true socio-economic recovery
An important element in our recovery following the last recession was the social partnership which existed within our community. During the proceeding years our federal government, employers, employees and the trade unions had worked in partnership to contain wages growth, therefore achieving effective management of inflation Therefore, as a nation we practiced a socialeconomic partnership for the good of all Australians and were tuned-into the concept of social equity
Awareness of social equity exists again today - following on from our recent trifecta of catastrophes: drought, bushfires and Covid-19 - with Australians returning to a focus on community spirit and an awareness of collective well-being (as opposed to the alternate behaviors which evolved over the period of nearly 30 years of continuous economic growth and prosperity)
SO, WHAT DID BEST-PRACTICE RECRUITMENT LOOK LIKE DURING THE 1990S?
The strategic profile of recruitment was elevated to an executive level with input from marketing professionals to align recruitment messaging to all related forms of internal and external communications.
Diversity and inclusion were viewed as an essential component in creating truly innovative, vibrant and competitive business environments, and it was more common to find corporate recruitment initiatives regarding: disability programs youth employment schemes proactive affirmative action indigenous staffing considerations
Employment Branding was established as a cornerstone of a best-practice talent acquisition model, with employers showcasing their values and aspirations directly to employees, the community and job market (this was not just advertising spin but a strategic communication of ‘who we are ’ and ‘what we aspire to’)
Employers who actively contributed to diversity and social equity were considered within the community to be Employers of Choice (and therefore able to attract the best quality talent).
Employers practiced social equity by assisting those in the community who would be further disadvantaged by the inevitable increase in job application numbers – in other words: they were quite open about their positive discrimination interventions
There was a much greater focus on Workforce Planning and the delivery of candidate care, approaching recruitment from a more holistic, proactive, caring perspective rather than previous mindset of recruitment as a transactional process
Employers began to practice proactive recruitment: meeting an ongoing flow of people seeking work, not just reactively going to market when they had specific roles to fill (implementing what we would refer to today as effective Talent Management).
Employers actively sought to employ people who aligned first and foremost to their values, culture and strategic business needs, and this was established as both a best-practice strategy and a proven enabler of workplace diversity, performance and productivity
Pre-employment Assessment Centres were commonplace, revisiting a proven methodology much used by large Australian employers’ years before.
In time, the values-based recruitment consulting firms responded to the elevated aspirations of the market, allowing for employers to outsource these new recruitment methodologies, at a reduced cost whilst maintaining quality standards and desired outcomes.
CURRENT STATE OF TALENT ACQUISITION
PRACTICE
IN AUSTRALIA
However, it must be acknowledged that in the decades since this period of innovation and advancement in recruitment practice, and the sustained period of economic prosperity, several of the key elements of best-practice recruitment have fallen by the wayside:
In the pre Covid-19 employment market most of the recruitment taking place in Australia was being done reactively and managed as a human resource process rather than as an organisational strategy
Long periods of business prosperity will lead to operational inefficiencies, a related example being that in most corporate human resource teams today the recruitment roles are filled by inexperienced staff, or those with a transactional mindset.
Some examples of the net result of this situation being:
Recruitment as a Strategy
The proliferation of human resource roles during the last few decades has reduced the input of executives and marketing professionals into the delivery of talent management. Most human resource functions (such as recruitment) are now seen as operational and transactional in nature: more personnel administration than strategic people management.
Employer Branding
With less focus on recruitment as a business strategy, and less related influence from executives and marketing into its scope and delivery, little time is afforded to the development and review of Employer of Choice initiatives (or its value and shared benefits).
Diversity & Inclusion
Without an organisational goal to be an Employer of Choice, with delivery of recruitment being based upon reactive responses and cost savings systems, it is very unlikely that proactive, social equity initiatives such as diversity and inclusion can be achieved Acknowledging that a true socio-economic recovery will not be possible without real diversity and inclusion
Workforce Planning
In today’ s human resource community workforce planning generally refers to the data analysis of gender equity, education/qualifications and remuneration levels within an organisation. The lost art of workforce planning (linking the future recruitment and skill development needs of an organisation, relative to its strategies, plans and future aspirations) is a skill rarely found today This in turn being the catalyst for the absence of proactive recruitment events in our local organisations.
Candidate Care
Standards of Candidate Care are particularly poor in today’ s employment market, with the over-whelming feedback suggesting that on-line job application portals feel like a brick wall built between recruitment teams and the hopeful job applicant.
As an insider I can report that the initial forms of web-based recruitment advertising and on-line application portals (circa 1995) were much more aspirational and candidate centric than today’ s versions – the reason being that they evolved from concepts of Employer Branding and candidate care, with today’ s unexceptional corporate recruitment systems sprouting from objectives to control candidate flow, ease of candidate rejection and reduced costs
Evidence and feedback from job applicants also confirms that most talent acquisition teams display minimal empathy and mutual respect towards candidates: emphasised by the proliferation of un-returned phone calls and applicant enquires (which seemed to be the norm in our pre COVID-19 job market).
WHAT CAN BEST-PRACTICE RECRUITMENT LOOK LIKE DURING OUR CURRENT ECONOMIC RECOVERY?
Therefore, we recommend that local employers learn from our history and seek to immediately elevate their recruitment aspirations as follows:
Within your organisation
1 Development and implementation of a Recruitment Strategy which has a strategic, holistic and integrated profile.
2. Establish ownership of Talent Acquisition at an executive level, with strategic planning input from marketing
3. Align all forms of internal and external communication to your desired employer brand, people management aspirations, and desired community profile. This approach will deliver:
proactive approach to recruitment diversity, inclusion and social equity attraction of the best quality candidates at all levels effective candidate assessment quality standards of candidate care employer of choice profile employee engagement
Noting that all the above have a direct organisational link to increased productivity and performance Human Resource team:
Rediscover the lost art of Workforce Planning (and all its benefits) Stop delegating Talent Acquisition to inexperienced staff, those with a transactional mindset, or people who do not engage in social equity or empathy
External to your organisation
Only partner with values-based Recruitment Consultancies who will:
Enhance your recruitment brand.
Reduce the related net recruitment costs
Elevate the expected quality standards, whilst delivering the desired outcomes
Already have an acute understanding of the principles, concepts contained within this paper
CONCLUSION
Very soon we will be speaking less about Covid-19 and economic recession and more our socio-economic recovery and future prosperity Therefore, it is timely to share my experiences from our last period of recovery and growth (now nearly 30 years ago).
The positive developments and advancement in recruitment practice which took place at the time were seen as both a bestpractice business strategy and a positive element in our socioeconomic recovery during the 1990s, and the risks of doing otherwise are as critical today as they were then
And I hope that you share my view that economically, politically and socially the opportunity that we can embrace soon is not just to get our socio-economic health back, but to make it much better.
