Navigating a changed industry

With more than 35 years working in recruitment, joint managing director at Citrus Group Paul Smith has a wealth of experience and expertise in the industry. Here, we talk with him about the evolution of recruitment and how best to navigate the management of remote and home-based workers.

How would you describe the Australian recruitment industry as it stands today, in the wake of the pandemic?

Prior to the pandemic, the industry was buoyant, and you always see a lot of recruitment companies come and go. However, with the pandemic it has been necessary for agencies to either adapt and change the way they operate or go out of business. The industry has changed significantly; it has become a lot more difficult to find talent. The call centre sector has always had access to travellers and overseas students and, now they are no longer available, this has left a large gap.

With every downside though, there is usually an upside and we are very fortunate that, in a lot of areas, the call centre industry has grown during the pandemic. More traffic on the phone and internet has seen an increase in call volumes and demand for people, whether working from home or onsite, and we have certainly seen a significant demand for our services.

How has the industry changed since you set up Citrus Group in 2013?

One of the biggest changes I have seen is the number of recruitment agencies specialising in niche markets and focusing on delivering higher quality customer service. The advances in technology have also had an enormous impact on the recruitment industry, from candidate databases, assessment and psychometric tools to better select and manage candidate performance. Today, customers want more than just a recruitment service; they want insights and understanding of the best practices to hire and retain good employees.

How can the recruitment industry adapt to a changing environment?

In the current challenging environment, the key is to be able to access candidates on demand. The recruitment industry needs to be able to use its experience, expertise, and technologies to be able to provide a service to its customers when and where required. The pandemic has forced many employees, including call centre staff, to work from home which presents challenges both for them and their employers.

What are some of the ways businesses can manage call centre staff who are working remotely?

Some of the key points that we have learned during the pandemic:

• Legalities – Make sure you review your employment contracts to include provisions around your staff working from home; • Workplace Health and Safety – Ensure staff have the right working environment, setup and technology;

• Recruitment – Your processes need to be structured to recruit home-based workers and all interview questions and assessments need to be customised for employees working from home;

• Training – It is imperative to provide structured online training and support to home-based workers. The more training and support the better;

• Management – Managing home workers requires a more proactive and supportive structured approach;

• Wellbeing – This is critical when managing home-based workers. You need to have a structured program to continually manage and assess their wellbeing.

What makes Citrus Group market leaders?

Our people make us market leaders in what we do. We could not and would not be the best if it wasn’t for our dedicated and committed team. Without a strong, dedicated and passionate team, our business would not have survived. Instead we have learned how to adapt to change so that we are better managing our business in these extreme and challenging times.

Our team is passionate about what they do and continually provide our customers with a range of value-added services, including surveys, industry insights, reports and consulting services. To be the best and true leaders, it’s not just about placing people in jobs, it’s about providing a range of additional services. As a market leader, how does Citrus reward and engage their people to deliver the best outcomes for customers?

At Citrus Group, a major contributor to our ongoing success has been managing and retaining long-term employees. Happy and engaged employees create happy and longterm customers and we make sure that all our people, from reception to senior consultants, are rewarded and recognised for their hard work. The result is passionately engaged, happy and long-term employees.

Citrus has been a major sponsor of the ASEA awards from 2019. Why is it important to recognise the achievements of those working in customer-facing businesses?

We understand only too well that working in a customer-facing environment is not easy and can be challenging. The ASEA awards provide those working in this industry the opportunity to be recognised and celebrate their achievements.

About Citrus Group

Citrus Group is a market leader in the employment industry. It was established in 2013 to address an ongoing need for quality contact centre personnel and has a wealth of expertise in the recruitment, on-boarding, training and retention of contact centre staff.