recruitment extra May 2013 by Thomson Reuters

May 2013 30172887

recruitmentextra.com.au

RECRUITMENT's GOT

TALENT

The leading magazine for recruitment professionals in Australia and New Zealand

The 2013 categories are: • The Deloitte Recruitment Excellence Award • The IMS People Best Business Innovation Award • The astutepayroll.com Excellence in the Application of New Technologies • Best Start-Up • Best Boutique Agency • Best National Agency • Best Candidate Care Program • Best Learning and Development plan • Best use of Print Advertising • Best use of Digital Media • Best Graduate Campaign • Best Employer Brand • Best Work Health & Safety Program

GET IN QUICK!

Nominations CLOSE END OF MAY www.recruitmentextra.com.au

News

Hiring intentions swing towards maintenance mode

Best jobs in the world comp hots up "It’s already proving one of the hardest jobs in the world judging our ‘Best Jobs in the World’ competition," said Andrew McEvoy, Managing Director, Tourism Australia as it was announced that 150 people from 35 countries had made it through to the next round. Candidates had to submit a video entry for one of six jobs: Wildlife Caretaker (South Australia), Chief Funster (New South Wales), Park Ranger (Queensland), Taste Master (Western Australia), Outback Adventurer (Northern Territory) and Lifestyle Photographer (Melbourne, Victoria) and the best 25 video clips for each of the six jobs were selected from more than 45,000 videos that were submitted. Although successful candidates came from as far afield as Afghanistan, China, Kazakhstan, Korea, Latvia and Mexico the highest number of shortlisted candidates came from the United States (33) followed by the UK (23), Australia (17), France (17), Canada (8) and Italy (5). Based on their original video submission and supporting references, judges will select the 18 strongest candidates (three for each of the six jobs), who will be invited to a final assessment in Australia in mid-June, with the six successful job candidates announced on 21 June 2013.

Around two thirds of employers intend to maintain their current employee numbers according to the latest Hudson Employment Trends survey. This figure, which was consistent across all Australian states and territories, is up 3.6pp and is at the “highest level since 2009” states the report. Whilst recruitment projections for Australia remain cautious, 49% of respondents said they were actively engaged in the use of ‘High Potential Programs’ to retain key talent and build employee capability in-house. Mark Steyn, CEO of Hudson Asia Pacific said businesses were showing an understanding that there may well not be a return to the pre-GFC boom times and were instead focusing on how to position their businesses to best compete in the new environment. “Developing your people is fundamental to successfully repositioning an organisation,” said Steyn. “Some organisations are focused on being more efficient and getting costs down, but are not questioning whether they have the skills and competencies they need to do that. Addressing any skills and capability gaps, while also rewarding, retaining and engaging high performers, ultimately underpins success in today’s environment, regardless of the market.”

Hiring intentions by state: • WA remained the state with the strongest intention to hire, with 32.5% of employers expecting to increase headcount, (up 1.6pp). The Resources sector is seeing the most significant lift in positive hiring expectations, up 14.5pp. • Queensland has experienced the biggest increase in hiring intentions, up 4.6pp, led by increases in positive hiring expectations in Professional Services (up 11.1pp), Resources (up 7.7pp) and Construction/Property/Engineering (up 6.6pp). • Australian Capital Territory has the

“Addressing any skills and capability gaps, while also rewarding, retaining and engaging high performers, ultimately underpins success in today’s environment, regardless of the market." Mark Steyn, CEO, Hudson Asia Pacific biggest intention to hold headcount steady, up 14.7pp to 68.5%. Government intentions to hold headcount steady increased 13.2pp to 72.0%. • New South Wales is the state with the second highest intention to hire at 24.5% (down 2.5pp), with Information Technology having the highest intention to hire, followed by Healthcare (excl Govt) and Professional Services. • Victoria employers’ intention to keep headcount steady rose to its highest level since 2009 at 64.6%, up 5.3pp. Large increases in intentions to keep headcount steady were also seen in FMCG (up 21.7pp), Construction/ Property/Engineering (up 11.8pp) and Government (up 11.6pp). • South Australia is the state with the lowest intention to hire at 18.2%, down 4.4pp. Intentions to hold headcount steady is at the highest level recorded by The Hudson Report at 68.4%, (up 5.3pp).

Hiring intentions by sector: Information Technology had the highest intention to hire nationally for a second consecutive quarter, while the sector with the biggest increase in hiring intentions was Resources (up 8.2pp), followed by Healthcare (excl Govt), Construction/Property/Engineering and Professional Services.

recruitment extra 2013 May 3

General editor Lesley Horsburgh Tel +61 2 8587 7920 lesley.horsburgh@thomsonreuters.com Production editor Imogen Tear Tel +61 2 8587 7258 imogen.tear@thomsonreuters.com Submissions imogen.tear@thomsonreuters.com Advertising Australia & New Zealand Helen Sykes Tel +61 2 8587 7462 helen.sykes@thomsonreuters.com Enquiries Emily Ings Tel +61 2 8587 7051 emily.ings@thomsonreuters.com Graphic design Michelle D’Souza Printing Ligare http://sites www.thomsonreuters.com.au/recruitment-extra/ www.thomsonreuters.com.au www.recruitmentextra.com.au Customer service and subscription inquiries Tel 1300 304 195 Fax 1300 304 196 Email LTA.Service@thomsonreuters.com Publisher Thomson Reuters (Professional) Australia Limited ABN 64 058 914 668 Head office 100 Harris Street Pyrmont NSW 2009 Tel +61 2 8587 7000 Fax +61 2 8587 7100 © Thomson Reuters (Professional) Australia Limited 2010 ISSN 1835-1395 All information in recruitment extra is copyright. Material is not to be used or reproduced without written permission. No responsibility is taken for unsolicited material. Articles reflect the opinion of the author and not necessarily that of the publisher.

Like us on Facebook For the latest REA announcements follow us on twitter @RecExtraMag From time to time we would like to inform you of industry events or offers exclusive to recruitment extra readers. If you would like to join our community please email: recruitmentextra@thomsonreuters.com and in the subject line type “subscribe to email notifications".

4 May 2013 recruitment extra

from the editor Speculation around the value of the recruitment industry has always been prevalent and perhaps none more so than when it comes to the rec to rec industry. Many people have been quick to cast aspersion on the rec to rec sector but the truth remains that, just as in recruitment in general, there are the good, the bad and the indifferent. In this issue our panellists (all from the rec to rec sector) discuss what motivated them to choose the specialisation. In turn, we’ve also asked recruiters whether they would use a rec to rec to source recruiters for their own business. Whatever your view, there will always be a place for quality, relevant businesses no matter what sector they target. Don’t forget to enter the Recruitment Excellence Awards – nominations close at the end of the month! And whilst you’re on our website why not spend two minutes filling in our readers’ survey – we value your opinion and want to make sure recruitment extra reflects the true interests of the industry.

News

LinkedIn lives on With over four million Australian members and counting, LinkedIn is rapidly cementing its position as a force to be reckoned with in the business arena. Frequently used by companies to identify and make contact with the best talent, it has become a trusted source for suitable candidates and their experience. Or has it? A recent survey conducted by recruitment marketing firm, Employment Office, found 82% of employers believe candidates lie about or exaggerate their skills and experience on their LinkedIn profiles. The survey also revealed 67% of employers believe job titles and responsibilities in previous roles are the most untrustworthy pieces of information, followed by periods of unemployment (15%) and education and qualifications (12%). Employment Office Managing Director Tudor Marsden-Huggins says that while LinkedIn is a great online networking tool, when it comes to recruitment, an organised and proven vetting process is still very important. “LinkedIn is a great way for professionals to connect with their industry peers and colleagues. However, when it comes to recruitment, it is vital for employers to safeguard their business by utilising a

67% of employers believe job titles and responsibilities in previous roles are the most untrustworthy pieces of information, followed by periods of unemployment (15%) and education and qualifications (12%) - Survey by Employment Office robust recruitment platform including thorough reference checks and testing procedures to separate the wheat from the chaff,” he said. Similar results were found in a survey conducted by BlueSteps that discovered far from LinkedIn being used as a jobseeking tool it was mainly used by professionals to expand (35%) and stay connected with people in their network (32%). Only 19% claimed to use the site to find a new employment opportunity and only 6% had successfully landed a job through LinkedIn. “While clearly websites like LinkedIn

Some optimism in ICT The February results from the RIB Report provide some positive indicators with transaction volumes for both Temp/ Contractors and Perm ICT placements improving from January’s findings. However, Nigel Harse, RIB Report, cautioned: “that this result is coming off a four year low and the number of participants trading at a loss for the month still remains high at 39%, but any improvement on the January results should be cause for at least a smile.” Julie Mills added that, “ICT recruiters cannot be complacent as the results indicate the sector has also felt pain with profit before tax as a percentage of sales falling from 3.5% last year to 3.2% so far this year. Profitability for many in the industry generally is starting to look a little concerning as the year to date decline has

been significant with the RIB Average falling from 5.3% last year to 3.3% year to date.” Harse and Mills both agree that “falling volumes and high staff turnover throughout the year are making their damaging mark on productivity and this has been noted across many other reports.” Global economic caution and continued sluggish domestic employer confidence is starting to show in the poor results that are being reported for permanent placements. Year to date the RIB Average has fallen 26% on last year – dropping from 104 to 77 placements per participant – although the ICT sector results, while generally lower have been more resilient, falling just 5% on last year. Both Mills and Harse conclude “that the ICT contract and recruitment sector is continuing to soften but not at the same trajectory as the market generally.”

have had an impact on the hiring landscape by enabling executives to make themselves publicly available to recruiters, the key to finding new roles is more often to network with the leading search consultants, to establish a unique personal brand in the market and to connect with other prominent executives in a given industry,” said Christine Hayward, Managing Director of Asia Pacific at the AESC. Whilst LinkedIn certainly remains an important source of talent with more than 500 recruitment companies in Australia reportedly using it for this reason and 55.5% of the executives surveyed by BlueSteps stating their LinkedIn profile was either extremely important, or important for their overall career management strategy, common concerns regarding the trustworthiness of the information remains. However with a bit of common sense Marsden-Huggins says LinkedIn profiles remain a useful tool for recruiters. “Incorporating a comprehensive shortlisting method as part of your recruitment process can help to minimise being caught out by the fabrications some ‘LinkedIn liars’ have created for potential employers. A little bit of effort at the recruitment stage could save your business a lot of trouble in the long run,” he added.

Dillistone Group announces record results Dillistone Group has announced an increase of 29% on their 2012 revenues and reported continuing growth in the first quarter of 2013 for both Dillistone Systems and Voyager Software. Non-executive chairman Mike Love told stockmarketwire.com: "2012 has been an excellent year for Dillistone. The group has delivered a strong set of results whilst additionally continuing to develop its product offerings and to seek further acquisition opportunities."

recruitment extra 2013 May 5

Contents Inside May

Features 18

In Media

19 The Influencing Skills of Top Recruiters

RECRUITMENT's GOT

TALENT

Rec to Rec in the UK

25 Who's Relevant in Today's Market? 30

M&A

Regulars

News

Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s on

Online Recruitment

Head to Head

The Panel

Tax Focus

Social Recruiting

Leadership

State Review: WA

25 6 May 2013 recruitment extra

The latest news, events and announcements

On the Move

Movers and shakers in the industry

Directory

Advertising directory

News

ManpowerGroup Reports 1st Quarter 2013 Results ManpowerGroup has reported a sharp drop in net earnings for the three months ended March 31 2013 as the business continues to face challenges in all geographical areas. In the three months to March, revenue slipped to $4.76 billion a decrease of 6% from the prior year. Net earnings were $23.9 million compared to net earnings of $40.2 million a year earlier. Jeffrey A Joerres, ManpowerGroup Chairman and CEO, said, "The first quarter performance was largely attributed to slightly stronger than anticipated revenues and tax credits. Additionally, our recalibration of our cost base is advancing ahead of schedule. Those efforts, which are focused on simplifying our business, were initially rolled out in the fourth quarter of 2012 and continued into the first quarter, resulting in the restructuring charge in the quarter. Our team has done an outstanding job dealing with the high levels of uncertainty in Europe and has continued to address client and prospect needs with our unique suite of solutions. "We anticipate second quarter earnings per share will range between 84 cents to 92 cents before restructuring charges. We do not expect changes in currency rates to have a significant impact in the quarter based on current exchange rates." Looking at the year ahead, Jeff Joeress commented, “We remain cautiously optimistic that we will see some slight improvements as we go through the year, but at this time, we have not really experienced that.”

Surfcareers.com launches A Sydney-based niche recruitment website targeted at surfers and “ocean lovers” has recently been launched by Troy Roennfeldt. The website allows jobseekers to browse jobs, create job alerts and online resumes at no charge and, for a small fee, employers are able to post jobs, company news and browse through the resumes already posted. “Working takes up such a huge portion of our lives, so if you can combine your passion with your career it makes the working part a whole lot easier,” says Roennfeldt. “This is why I developed Surfcareers.com. The site is the perfect conduit to get likeminded, surf loving employees and employers connected.”

One third of NZ workers ‘highly skilled’ More New Zealand workers are employed in highly skilled jobs than in any other type of work, new analysis from Statistics New Zealand shows. Findings from the Household Labour Force Survey shows that over one-third of workers in the December 2012 quarter were in jobs categorised into the top of five skill groupings, compared to one in six people in the lowest skilled grouping. The analysis shows the number of people in highly skilled jobs has increased by approximately 60,000 since 2009, mainly due to growth in the number of jobs in the health, professional, and agricultural industries. The research found that the number of people employed in highly skilled jobs differed by age and ethnicity, but that men and women worked equally in both the most highly skilled jobs. There was, however, a significant difference in the middle range of skills such as technicians, trades, receptionists, and clerks with more men employed in skill level 3 occupations, while more women worked in skill level 4. The report claims this is likely due to the types of occupations that fall within the different skill levels. Men are more likely to work as skill level 3 occupations

such as technicians or trade workers whereas women are more likely to work as clerical and administrative, or community and personal service workers, which are categorised skill level 4 occupations. Skill composition also differed by ethnic group with almost half of European and Asian people working in skill level 1 or level 2 occupations, while over half of Māori and Pacific peoples worked in skill level 4 or level 5 occupations. Since 2009, the numbers of people working in skill level 1 and level 2 occupations have increased, while there has been a decline in the numbers of those working in skill level 5 and level 3 jobs. The

proportion of employment in highly-skilled occupations has risen, from 34% in 2009 to 36% in 2012. Statistics New Zealand also explored New Zealand's direct investment relationship with Australia and what the effects the global financial crisis had on whether companies chose to reinvest their profits, or return them to their overseas parent companies as dividends. The report found that Australian-owned banks reinvested most of their profits back into New Zealand during 2011 and 2012, while corporates returned most of their profits to their parent companies in Australia as dividends.

recruitment extra 2013 May 7

News

Glass ceiling remains intact

The latest Randstad Workmonitor Report shows Australian organisations trail much of the world when it comes to the proportion of women in leadership positions, with only 38% of Australians surveyed saying female employees make up at least half of leadership positions at their current employer. Almost two thirds (65%) also believe it’s more difficult for women to be promoted to leadership positions. Randstad’s research shows gender diversity in Australian leadership teams has fallen behind our nearest neighbours, with a larger number of respondents in India (63%), Hong Kong (54%), China (48%) and Singapore (47%) citing an even gender split in their management teams. Globally, a greater number of employees in the USA (48%), UK (43%) and Italy (58%) report female employees make up half of their organisation’s leadership team. The Workplace Gender Equality Agency's 2012 Australian Census of Women in Leadership found that, although more women were finding their way onto boards, they were not increasing in the senior executive ranks. Only 9.7% of key executive management positions in the ASX 200 were held by women. Similarly, only 9.2% of executive positions were held by women in the ASX 500. Over 60% of ASX 200 companies do not have any women in key executive management positions. Deb Loveridge, Randstad Managing Director Asia Pacific, says it’s vital Australia remains committed to advancing the gender balance particularly in senior executive positions across all industry sectors. “To remain competitive locally and internationally, employers can’t afford top talent to look elsewhere for career opportunities. With Australia’s nearest neighbours starting to increase their focus on balanced leadership, and local organisations stepping up their strategies to gain a competitive edge, business leaders have to ensure there are legitimate career paths for both men and women,” said Loveridge. However, according to the survey Australian companies (73%) are active in encouraging female employees to pursue leadership positions. This compares to only 57% of employees globally who say their

8 May 2013 recruitment extra

current employer encourages females to pursue promotional opportunities. Australians are also overwhelmingly in favour of diverse management teams, with 89% saying they believe in balanced leadership groups. Dr Gemma Munro, MD of Inkling Women a training and development consultancy for female leaders, was quoted in Thomson Reuters HR Report, as saying gender imbalance had significant economic impacts. "Unless executive teams are made up of at least 30% women, the financial performance of organisations suffers significantly," she stated. And in an address to the National Press Club in April Tony Shepherd, President of the Business Council of Australia, concurred and added that Australia should aim to have 50% of executive positions held by women in the next 10 years. Loveridge says promoting diversity and gender balance amongst management teams requires more than just an accepting workforce, and stems from a committed, sustained and long-term people strategy. “Promoting balance, in all aspects of an organisation, requires a strong commitment from all levels in a business. The companies which have the most balanced leadership teams usually have well designed recruitment, recognition, reward and retention programs catering to the needs of employees from diverse backgrounds,” she said. However on the question of whether quotas should be introduced to encourage gender balance at board level Australian workers remained cautious with just over half of the respondents (55%) believing the practice would be an effective tool to propel more female employees into leadership positions. Younger workers were more accepting of the idea with 65% of employees aged 18-34 saying they believed a quota system would be a useful lever in promoting a more balanced leadership structure, as opposed to 45% of respondents over 55. Loveridge continued that whether or not a management quota is right for an organisation is not as important as ensuring strong HR principles are in place to ensure there are avenues for all employees to transition into management positions. She said whilst quotas can work they should not be an isolated and function but part of a holistic approach.

Learning and development lacks ROI metrics One in four Australian organisations do not measure the return on investment (ROI) of its training activities, and around one half measure the dollar return using only ad hoc or informal metrics. The research, conducted by Graeme Philipson and commissioned by TP3, found that training functions were largely under resourced and training tended to be conducted on an ad hoc or project basis. The research suggests that a key reason training is under resourced is because it is difficult to determine the ROI. “Few organisations have formal processes to measure training’s effectiveness, and even for these organisations it’s often difficult to tie outcomes back to the training itself—so much so that nearly one in four surveyed organisations does not measure the ROI of its L&D activities,” Philipson said. “What is clear is that not enough L&D departments formally evaluate the success or otherwise of their training and professional-development programs.” In another key finding, respondents rated satisfied employees as the chief benefit to the organisation of continuous learning, while higher revenues and profitability were rated lowest in a list of direct benefits. “We found this result surprising and, it must be said, disappointing. When higher profitability is rated as the leastimportant benefit, it again illustrates that L&D is seen to be decoupled from profitability,” said Philipson. “L&D is a central aspect of modern business, but it’s acknowledged that its benefits are difficult to quantify,” Philipson said. “Clearly, the fact that L&D professionals cannot yet provide solid evidence of their value to the organisation remains a significant weakness for the profession.”

News

DAY TO DAY ADMIN STRESS CASH FLOW

Work, Health & Safety Laws

"By working with the ACCI, beyondblue will be able to raise awareness, exchange information and support good mental health practices in the workplace and among business owners. As more people share their personal stories, stigma about discussing mental health issues will diminish."

INVOICING

COMPLIANCE ISSUES

pproximately one million Australian adults live with depression and more than two million have an anxiety disorder. Depression will affect 15% of Australians during their lifetime and anxiety is even more common with one in three women and one in five men suffering at any one time, according to beyondblue CEO Kate Carnell. Carnell says it is important to use the workplace to raise awareness, exchange information and to encourage good mental health practices. Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) Chief Executive Peter Anderson and Carnell signed a Letter of Collaboration in April to signify their commitment to a partnership that would work to highlight the importance of mental health initiatives to small and medium enterprises who may not have access to the infrastructure and resources available to larger organisations. “Using Australian workplaces’ knowledge and experience of mental health and personal mental health stories of people in the workplace, beyondblue can develop the most relevant and engaging ways to communicate with Australian workers who are concerned about a work colleague, a family member, a friend, or themselves,” said Carnell. “By working with the ACCI, beyondblue will

UES TIMESHEETS TAX ISS

beyondblue and ACCI sign letter of collaboration

People you can trust

STREAMLINED CONTRACTOR & PAYROLL SERVICES Since 1998

Kate Carnell, CEO, beyondblue be able to raise awareness, exchange information and support good mental health practices in the workplace and among business owners. As more people share their personal stories, stigma about discussing mental health issues will diminish. Depression and anxiety disorders are illnesses, not weaknesses, and people shouldn’t feel ashamed to seek help.”

STREAMLINE YOUR BUSINESS NOW! CALL US ON 1300 767 391

People you can trust

recruitment extra 2013 May 9

News

Who is winning the talent war in social media?

SOURCES facebook.com, twitter.com, youtube.com, expandedramblings.com, money.cnn.com, instagram.com, blog. hubspot.com, pinterest.com, news.cnet.com, plus.google.com, Jobvite:2012 Social Recruiting Survey, Results 2012, royal.pingdom.com

8th Annual Safe Work Australia Awards The winners of the 8th annual Safe Work Australia Awards and twenty-nine finalists from across Australia were celebrated at Old Parliament House in Canberra at the end of April. Origin Alliance (QLD), Agi-Kleen Pty Ltd (NSW), Zemek Engineering Pty Ltd (QLD), Temtrol Technologies Pty Ltd (TAS), Harold Roeding from the Department of Primary Industries (VIC), and Paul Gear from the Gold Coast City Council (QLD) took out the awards for top work health and safety initiatives in Australia. “The organisations and individuals

10 May 2013 recruitment extra

honoured in this year’s Awards have all shown what can be achieved through passion and dedication to work health and safety,” said Bill Shorten, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Financial Services and Superannuation. “More than 200 people die in Australia each year from a work-related injury with a further 170,000 people injured badly enough to need five or more days off work. This simply isn’t good enough. Through the efforts and commitment of people like this year’s Awards finalists, the safety culture in our nation is improving,” he added.

Social media has become a new battleground in the war for talent. Companies that don't play at all risk being left behind - but who's leading the pack?

News

Talent2 ordered to pay costs in HRX case The on-going battle between HRX and Talent2 has reached a conclusion in the New South Wales Supreme Court with Talent2 being ordered to pay the costs of HRX. The two companies have been involved in a lengthy battle after Talent2 hired a former HRX employee, Stuart Scott. Scott allegedly breached restraint clauses in his employment contract with HRX by commencing his new role before his restraint period had expired and by using data obtained from HRX. During the case proceedings Talent2 had paid the legal fees for Scott’s defence against HRX’s claims but in August last year the company opted to discontinue the funding. Talent2 informed Stuart it would no longer support him in his defence and Scott resigned from the firm. HRX incurred substantial costs in prosecuting its case and requested Talent2 cover their legal costs pursuant to s 98 of the Civil Procedure Act 2005. The judge ruled in favour of HRX on 1 May 2013 and said: “Talent2 funded this litigation because of the benefits that would flow to it if it were successfully defended. It knew by no later than 23 July 2012 that the defendant could not afford to defend the litigation. It had employed the defendant for three months without apparently making the inquiries into his conduct that it made once the litigation was threatened. However, it knew by no later than 1 August 2012 that during his employment with HRX, the defendant had forwarded information relevant to his work with HRX to his personal email address. "It is incumbent upon employers who effectively poach their competitors' employees to ensure that those employees are not acting in breach of their obligations to their former employers, particularly where the consequence of such breach is a benefit to the new employer.”

Top three reasons employees leave Findings from a survey by NPA found the top three reasons employees leave for new employment opportunities were because: • they were seeking a challenge/growth; • unsatisfactory career progression; and • job instability. According to Dave Nerz, president of NPA, these results mean employers can impact the retention of top employees with a greater focus on these contributing factors. The “reasons people leave are within the control of employers,” he stated.

Further results showed the following: • 47.9% cited at least one organisational factor for the candidate’s change of employers. ‘Organisational’ reasons refer to the size, stability, and direction of the company as well as training/development offered to employees. • 41.5% of responses included one job-specific motivator for an employee’s change of employers. These responses covered job travel, hours, compensation and benefits, relationship with peers and management, and job stability. • Only 10.6% of surveys listed a personal reason for the change of employers. Personal motivators such as seeking growth or challenge were offered as reasons most frequently.

What’s on training & events calendar 2013

january • february • march • april • may • june • july • august • september • october • november • december

SOURCING SUMMIT NZ

Buy t o tickets w a get thend third fre e

The Sourcing Summit focuses on the important role of talent sourcing in New Zealand and will provide attendees with the opportunity to learn from international and national thought-leaders and organisations. When: 22-23 MAY Where: HILTON AUCKLAND SPEAKERS: Irina Shamaeva, talent sourcing scientist and one of the most respected talent sourcing thought-leaders globally will keynote the event and conduct sourcing workshops. Also, NZ sourcing experts from some of the most innovative companies including Deloitte, Fairfax, PWC, VEND, Certus, ASB, NZGD, Farrow Jamieson and PEL will speak at the event. SOCIAL Our popular social networking event will be back. Meet and make new friends at the preevent drinks on 22 May. Free for all delegates. WHO SHOULD ATTEND? SOSUNZ is designed for sourcing practitioners and anyone involved in talent acquisition. Do not miss out. Register AT: http://sosu.co.nz/register/ Want more info on tickets, agenda or details about speakers write to us at ‘phillip@destinationtalent.com.au’ or call +61 2 9212 0702 Register now! For two days only buy two tickets and get the third free.

recruitment recruitment extra extra 2013 2013 March May 11

News

HR leaders look to recruitment consultancies

to tackle skills shortages Human Resources leaders across the Asia Pacific will focus on talent management during 2013, making greater use of multiple channels, including the use of recruitment consultancies, to source talent according to Michael Page’s Global HR Barometer 2013. According to the survey findings, the top priorities for HR leaders working within Asia is compensation and benefits (55% of respondents) and talent acquisition and recruitment (53%) while for those in Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) most (57%) rated talent acquisition and recruitment as priority followed closely by 56% selecting employee relations & change management. “The key challenge for employers and HR leaders in Asia Pacific during 2013 will be talent attraction, particularly within an environment where job opportunities for professionals are expected to be relatively positive,” said Gary James, Regional Managing Director of PageGroup in Asia Pacific. “Hiring employers need to focus on individuals’ career aspirations and understand that more professionals are paying attention to long-term career opportunities, not just remuneration, when considering changing jobs and employers,” he added. Overall survey findings reveal 86% of companies globally are planning to recruit in 2013 and hiring activity is also expected in the Asia Pacific with the vast majority of survey respondents in Asia (91%) and ANZ (91%) indicating an intention to hire this year. However while quality professionals will be required, the search for good talent remains a challenge, particularly in Asia. Some 40% of Asia-based survey respondents report the search for qualified candidates to be ‘difficult’ or ‘very difficult’ compared with 28% of ANZ-based respondents with this view. The results for both regions however, are below the 47% of respondents globally who view the search for qualified candidates to be ‘difficult’ or ‘very difficult’. To assist in finding good talent HR departments around the world are

12 May 2013 recruitment extra

"According to the survey findings, 91% or respondents globally use online job-posting sites, 84% use their own company website and 83% employ recruitment consultancies. Almost half (45%) of HR leaders surveyed said recruitment consultancies are the best route to finding and recruiting at managerial levels and above." Kate Carnell, CEO, beyondblue intending to take advantage of the multiple channels available to source talent. According to the survey findings, 91% or respondents globally use online job-posting sites, 84% use their own company website and 83% employ recruitment consultancies. Almost half (45%) of HR leaders surveyed said recruitment consultancies are the best route to finding and recruiting at managerial levels and above. “Employers across the Asia Pacific continue to seek skilled professionals to add value to their business and, from a jobseeker perspective, there are some solid career opportunities for talented people. Both employers and employees are taking advantage of the range of sourcing solutions available today and recruitment consultancies in particular have the experience and the resources to match jobseekers with hiring employers,” said James.

Alongside talent attraction, employee retention is also a focus for the vast majority of HR leaders responding to the survey. Eight out of 10 businesses globally now offer work-life balance options, although outside Australia, home office and parental leave initiatives are still rare. However, work-life balance was also rated as one of the most challenging policies to implement, along with compensation & benefits, by respondents around the world. “Finding good people is one thing; keeping them is another. Work-life balance has become an integral part of the retention agenda for most businesses worldwide, but based on the survey findings it seems employers in Australia and New Zealand are doing the most to foster work-life balance, including the provision of initiatives such as health and wellness programs and time compensation for extra hours worked,” says James.

News

ATO urges super planning The Australian Taxation Office is urging medium and large businesses to start preparing for changes to their super obligations by the start of the new financial year to ensure they are ready for the changes on time. Employers with 20 or more employees must use the data and e-commerce standard by 1 July, 2014 as part of the Government’s SuperStream measures to ensure all data and money are transferred electronically. Alison Lendon, Deputy Commissioner, Superannuation, said businesses shouldn’t wait until next year to make any required changes. “If you think your business will need to update software or systems, you should start planning now to ensure you’re ready on time. If you prefer to process your super contributions for staff yourself, you can work with your default super fund or payroll supplier to meet the new data and e-commerce standard. Other partners, including accountants and clearing houses, will be able to help as well.” The following reforms will impact businesses from 1 July 2013: • Employers must increase the compulsory super payments they make on behalf of their eligible employees from 9% to 9.25%. The rate will be gradually increased to 12% by July 2019. • The existing age limit for employee super guarantee eligibility will be removed. This means employers must start making super guarantee (SG) payments for eligible employees aged 70 years and over. Employers of employees that haven’t selected a fund will have to choose a fund that offers a MySuper product by 1 January 2014.

recruitment extra 2013 May 13

News

854,000 claim workplace discrimination Nearly a million Australians feel their boss has discriminated against them over recent years a new University of Melbourne study, Perceived Job Discrimination in Australia, has found. The representative survey of Australian households has revealed 854,000 workers feel discriminated against by their employer because of their gender, age, ethnicity, religion or parenting responsibilities. Researcher Associate Professor Roger Wilkins said approximately 480,000 Australian workers suspected their employer had discriminated against them in the past two years because of their age, while 270,000 workers felt they had been discriminated against on the basis of their gender. "Many Australians feel they've been treated unfairly in the workplace," he said. "Age discrimination is the most common experience, which perhaps shouldn't be surprising given Australia's ageing population." Age discrimination was also widely reported among jobseekers, with 300,000 older Australians feeling unfairly judged when applying for a position. Perceived discrimination is higher among women, indigenous Australians, immigrants (especially those from nonAsian, non-English speaking countries), and followers of non-Christian religions. However, the study suggests this may

"Perceived discrimination is higher among women, indigenous Australians, immigrants (especially those from non-Asian, non-English speaking countries), and followers of non-Christian religions." University of Melbourne study, Perceived Job Discrimination in Australia be because they reside in other highly discriminated against categories (age, education, income, etc) and not because of their ethnic or religious identity. In the workplace both men and women reported feeling discriminated against if more than 70% of employees in their industry were of the opposite sex. Casual workers were also more likely to feel discriminated against alongside women with young children – although these women did not feel discriminated against when applying for jobs.

From super to KineticSuper Professional Associations Super has announced the consolidation of its divisions to form a new brand, Kinetic Super. The streamlined product range aims to serve the needs of the “modern mobile worker” and will officially launch in 1 July 2013. Megan Bolton, CEO of Professional Associations Super, said recent ABS data that had shown an increasing movement of jobseekers across occupations and industries had prompted the fund to support the emerging mobile trend. In addition it was clear from their membership base that the trend of

14 May 2013 recruitment extra

increasing contract work had resulted in a highly mobile workforce. “Our strong roots in the recruitment industry, through RecruitmentSuper and our partnership with the RCSA, has given the Fund a distinct advantage in supporting the mobile workforce, as this demographic has been central to the Fund’s 20 year history. The move to Kinetic Super is a natural progression for the Fund, and we look forward to supporting our employers and members through the changing landscape of superannuation,” said Chairman Frank Gullone.

Simon Lusty

Aquent Launch Vitamin T Aquent has announced the launch of its specialist division, Vitamin T, in Australia. Vitamin T will recruit in the niche areas of digital creative, development and production, digital marketing, digital media, search and social, and digital account management and strategy. “Our newest recruitment division helps agencies who need tomorrow's digital talent, yesterday,” said Simon Lusty, Managing Director of Vitamin T, Aquent and Firebrand Talent in Australia. “With nearly two solid years of growth in North America and the UK, this division has already helped thousands of clients and talent meet their match.” The Aquent business in Australia will now focus solely on contract recruitment in digital, marketing and creative and Firebrand Talent will continue to specialise in permanent recruitment within digital, marketing and creative.

Online recruitment

Year-on-Year market share for Business and Finance Employment and Training, in All Categories Based on market share of visits to the industry. Monthly rankings for the month of February 2013 This category features online job databases, employment classified websites, employment agencies and human resource management services. It also includes any websites related to job seeking, vocational training and career development. Rank

Website

Domain

Visits

Seek Australia

www.seek.com.au

27.85%

www.linkedin.com

14.44%

indeed Australia

www.indeed.com.au

5.19%

CareerOne

www.careerone.com.au

4.97%

MyCareer

www.mycareer.com.au

4.89%

jobrapido Australia

au.jobrapido.com

3.52%

Australian JobSearch

www.jobsearch.gov.au

3.05%

SimplyHired Australia

www.simplyhired.com.au

1.88%

Job Seeker

www.jobseeker.com.au

1.85%

Woolworths - Careers

www.wowcareers.com.au

1.00%

Hays Personnel Services

www.hays.com.au

0.76%

WebJobz

www.webjobz.com

0.69%

Fair Work Online

www.fairwork.gov.au

0.64%

Jobs.com.au

www.jobs.com.au

0.62%

Star Now Australia

www.starnow.com.au

0.59%

jobsearch.com.au

www.jobsearch.com.au

0.57%

Coles Group Careers

www.careers.colesgroup.com.au

0.53%

ninemsn Seek

ninemsn.seek.com.au

0.53%

About.com - Job Searching

jobsearch.about.com

0.50%

Coles Careers

www.colescareers.com.au

0.47%

Date

Market Share

Date

Market Share

Feb-12

0.83%

Sep-12

0.78%

Mar-12

0.80%

Oct-12

0.84%

Apr-12

0.76%

Nov-12

0.84%

May-12

0.82%

Dec-12

0.69%

Jun-12

0.77%

Jan-13

0.94%

Jul-12

0.78%

Feb-13

0.99%

Aug-12

0.78%

recruitment extra 2013 May 15

Head to Head

Get Over it – You Ain’t That Funny

Rod Hore, HHMC talks to Rob Davidson, founder and Director of Davidson Recruitment in Brisbane. Rod: This month my head-to-head partner is Rob Davidson, founder and Director of Davidson Recruitment in Brisbane. Rob, we have the opportunity to discuss leadership in the recruitment industry. We agree that the industry, on average, does not value leadership and does not invest in developing leadership capability. Rob: That’s right. There are a number of reasons for this, the most obvious of which is that we, the industry, I mean, continually make the age old mistake of promoting the big billers into leadership positions. We all know that big billers often make the worst leaders but that doesn’t seem to stop us continually falling into the same trap. To compound this problem, the barriers to entry are so low in recruitment, it is very easy to do a start up. And guess what, these start ups are often done by the disgruntled big billers who think they can earn more money on their own. This means that a lot of the micro recruitment companies are run by people whose strengths lie in billing rather than leading and growing businesses. I think that is one of the main reasons why this is still largely a cottage industry. Another contributing factor which we have been addressing in our business is that what money is spent on leadership training is often directed towards the senior management whereas the real need is to provide training at the practice leader level – your first leadership role. Rod: You have been an agency owner for a long time. What do you wish you had done differently in the early days? Rob: Well I didn’t invest enough in myself

16 May 2013 recruitment extra

in the early days. When I started I didn’t know much about accounting or cash flow or marketing and I certainly didn’t know about the importance of leadership for an organisation’s success. To get out of trouble and stay out of trouble requires an investment in your own skills and capabilities. Some characteristics are inherent in a person, but most can be learned. I needed someone to sit beside me and make sure I didn’t believe my own noise. If we had a business coach or an executive coach in those early days we would have developed ourselves and our company a lot quicker and with less mistakes. Watch the Ego Rod: While it is a generalisation, it seems that the characteristics that make a great recruiter also make it more difficult for those people to also be good leaders. It is difficult for a driven sales-oriented person to put their ego aside, act with humility and genuinely listen to those around them and accept that feedback. Rob: Yes, I think this is true in any sales based culture. That egoic energy you use in a ‘sales’ role is often the antithesis of the energy needed to be a good leader. It is worth pasting a copy of Jim Collins definition of the best leaders – Level 5 leaders, as he terms them, above your desk. These are the humble, quiet leaders, who lead from behind and take pride in their team’s achievements. I think this is the biggest obstacle for new leaders – you probably got promoted because you were a great individual performer and now you have to give the credit to your team. It hurts, but the thing most leaders fail to

understand is that a leader does not build a business; a leader builds a team and the team builds the business. As for listening and taking feedback that is the key to success as a leader. No one is ever very good when first they try to lead. It is a tough gig, and the fastest way to improve is to provide a safe environment for your team to give you feedback without recriminations. Build the Team Rod: We see the success-driven characteristics emerge in other areas. For example, it is difficult to hire staff who are smarter than you and to hire staff that have different characteristics to you. Doing that has been shown to be a key factor in successful organisations. An emphasis on building the team rather than building your personal success environment is a key to growth and a key to sustainability. There are too many examples of recruitment agencies that are artificially constrained by the actions of the key people – those agencies often stay at the level of glorified personal services businesses. Rob: Over the years I have made many mistakes, but I am pleased to say that one thing I have done consistently well is to recruit people who are smarter/better than me. Some would say that is not hard to do in my case. Being a good leader starts with really understanding your own strengths and weaknesses and building a team to compliment you. In my case, I am good with strategy and vision and weak on execution and follow through. My business did not grow until I started to employ people who are better than me in those

Head to Head

"I needed someone to sit beside me and make sure I didn’t believe my own noise. If we had a business coach or an executive coach in those early days we would have developed ourselves and our company a lot quicker and with less mistakes."

- Rob Davidson, Founder and Director, Davidson Recruitment, Brisbane

key areas. To be honest, I think leadership and success have far more to do with execution than with strategy. Industry Structural Changes Rod: There is no doubt that the recruitment industry in Australia and New Zealand is going through major structural changes. When you throw some economic uncertainty over the top of that it is a tough time for recruitment agency leaders. The recruitment industry is maturing and becoming more influenced by global events. What you did last year will not be good enough for next year and your organisation needs great leadership to prosper. Rob: It is certainly becoming more important to be less insular and to invest in yourself and your company. A good question for an agency owner is: outside of your tax accountant, who has reviewed your business? We have recently invested significant money in an external consultant to review and challenge every aspect of our existing business model. This has been some of the best money we have spent. The result has been a substantial shift in our strategy away from a transactional, single location recruitment firm towards a recruiting AND consulting business with a national and perhaps, a global focus. This has required a massive reinvestment which has not been easy in these times, but I can’t see an alternative. Failure to innovate in these times probably means an eventual failure of your business. And yes, this does take good leadership at every level of the organisation to execute such a massive change.

A good leader in today’s world would also be investing significant time and energy to fully understand the forces impacting his/her business at both a structural and economic level. I would advocate getting out of your office and attending both local and international conferences if time and finances permit. The internet is a great source of information but there is no substitute for actually meeting colleagues and forming relationships. The beauty about conferences is that you often meet people from interstate or overseas with whom you do not compete. This presents a great opportunity to form incredibly valuable alliances with people who will share a level of information with you they would never tell a direct competitor.

Rob Davidson, Founder and Director, Davidson Recruitment, Brisbane Rob Davidson is the Founder and Director of Growth of Davidson Recruitment. Rob started this company 21 years ago when he left the law to commence what was then, a legal recruitment business. Since that time, the company has grown to be one the largest privately owned recruitment firms in Australia.

Rod: What would be your take-away for those reading this article? Five Suggestions for an Aspiring Leader Rob: Here are my top five suggestions: 1. To lead others, first you must truly understand yourself. Invest in some good psych assessments to understand your strengths and weaknesses as a leader. 2. Leaders are learners – leaders are readers. What are you reading today? 3. Create a safe environment to receive and respond to feedback 4. Invest in a business coach, or join one of the supportive groups like The Executive Connection (TEC) or Entrepreneurs Organisation (EO). 5. Commit to a continuous journey of self improvement, “We are all in permanent Beta” Reid Hoffman.

Rod Hore, Executive Director, HHMC Australia Rod was born and educated in Western Australia and works with organisations throughout Australia and New Zealand from his base in Sydney. Rod has 20 years, experience in the Information Technology industry undertaking a range of sales management and leadership roles. Since 1999 Rod has been the Executive Director of HHMC Australia Pty Ltd providing advisory and M&A services to global, locally listed and private organisations in Australia and New Zealand. Much of Rod’s work is with emerging private companies, providing advisory services to owners who are seeking to define and achieve their growth ambitions. Rod is an enthusiastic supporter of the Recruitment Industry and is an accomplished presenter on topics related to small business.

recruitment extra 2013 May 17

In Media

Climbing off the Boom and Bust rollercoaster By Mike De Vile, Agency Head, Western Australia, Reagent Employer Marketing

y FD hates me. Two months ago, I was his best friend. And it’s looking like I’ll be in favour again soon. But I’m not sure where we’ll be at year end. I run Reagent’s WA operation based in Perth, one of three offices in Australia ¬¬– the other two being in Sydney and Brisbane. It’s going well and performance is undoubtedly on the up. The challenge is that, having a largely resources-oriented client base, it’s also almost completely unpredictable. You should see my revenue graph. Whereas Sydney’s resembles pleasantly ascending rolling hills, Perth’s can only be described as mountainous. And, as my FD is fond of reminding me, you can’t run a business like that. It needs a good iron. Even the most perfunctory analysis shows that WA has a complex set of factors affecting our ability to plan a sustained business strategy. The key one clearly being the nature of businesses we work with. As employer marketing specialists, our creed is all about consistency and authenticity of message, about long term employer brand-raising activity, collaboration and planning. But the reality is that the big business opportunities here are generated by the resources sector, the key players of which are engaged in major long term projects, and who make seemingly small decisions every day that have a dramatic ripple effect on many other businesses in the economy. And when a major project is shelved or FID delayed, the knock-on effect can be dramatic for the rest of us. It’s also fair to say that, when times are booming, the day to day decisions made by CEOs are not always as fully

18 May 2013 recruitment extra

considered or well judged as they might be during less demanding periods. At these times, there is immense pressure on our leaders to be seen to be capitalising on the opportunities in the face of increased competitor activity and general busyness. People are looking to him or her for direction and dynamism and, given that funding is less of an issue than at other times of the economic cycle, he or she goes ahead and makes investment decisions alone without as much due deliberation and consultation as normal. These decisions are then presented as a fait accompli. In our world that might mean a CEO signs-off a major recruitment marketing campaign simply because he or she needed to be seen to be in the market. A CEO might also invest in the latest suite of digital wizardry in order to appear to be ahead of the game in innovation. Or, most damagingly, a CEO could bulldoze an EVP project based on the false confidence and bravado born out of a booming market. Whatever their motivation, the outcomes of these decisions often prove unsustainable as rarely do they engage the people within the business who have to administer or live with them. It’s activity for activity’s sake. It’s like riding a rocking horse and wondering why you’re not going anywhere. So, we devise creative solutions based on half a brief only to find out later that they were motivated by at best a red herring, and at worst an error requiring cancellation. At the other end of the cycle – when the business feels too quiet or there’s real uncertainly about the future – the era of the FD takes over. Decision-makers

become either too scared or are too poor to move anything forwards and effectively enter a state of virtual hibernation. For us this paralysis is just as dangerous. Somewhere in the middle lies what we’ll call the Band of Universal Acceptance. This is the sweet spot when things aren’t so ridiculously busy that less able leaders are at liberty to make rash and unworkable decisions, but equally they aren’t stymied by lack of funds and cautious FDs. This is the environment where they have to collaborate, consider and deliberate. Business cases have to be produced and investment decisions reasoned and rationalised. It’s no secret this is a more sustainable strategy. Perhaps optimistically, this is the state I believe we are heading towards today. The forecast economic slowdown in WA should be viewed as an opportunity to build more robust businesses. It might take longer than in boom times for clients to make investment decisions and require more effort from us to get projects over the line, but it’s a more sustainable and reliable environment for us all. That would make my FD smile.

Mike De Vile is Agency Head, Western Australia, for Reagent Employer Marketing. He has spent the last 25 years working with organisations throughout the UK, New Zealand and Australia to identify what makes them unique in the market and helping them to bring this to life at all stages in the employee lifecycle – from initial awarenessbuilding, through recruitment marketing, onboarding and internal communications and utilising all forms of media.

Communication

is the name of the game By Marie Thomson, Marketing Manager, CXC Global

op recruiters that fill the most jobs are the ones who display exceptional influencing skills. The words a recruiter chooses and the way they are phrased can tip the balance when building credibility with their candidates and clients. Certain statements will grab the attention of a client, and win a position in their firm for a candidate. Well-chosen questions can have the same effect. Often it's not only what you say, but how you say it that makes the difference. Top performing recruiters know at least a few of the techniques that touch on the importance of this skill. Some have been formally trained in it. Others are naturals.

Establishing rapport with candidates The way you communicate with candidates, even from the first interview, will have a major impact on how well they present themselves to clients. Respectful listening gives candidates the feeling all humans crave: to be received. When a candidate feels received, they essentially feel validated. They can relax and willingly connect with you as a recruiter. What you share with them after this psychological turning point in the interview will be heard. Granting encouragement is also important and runs along the same lines as respectful listening because it bestows validation to the candidate you're meeting with. Something as simple as congratulating them on the past achievements or decisions reflected on their resume can accomplish this.

Use influencing skills to avoid rejection In situations where your candidate is currently employed it is crucial you help them reconnect with their emotional reasons for wanting to leave their current employment. Asking questions such as “What would you like to work on that you’re rarely given the opportunity to at your current job?” and “How do you feel about

working for your current superior?” give recruiters a valuable tool for assessment. Confirming emotional commitment to follow through with their resignation is vital. By asking questions that touch on their emotional motivators you'll also become aware of what you can probably expect from a candidate. Knowing whether you're investing time in a highly motivated candidate is important. If their responses and body language communicate ambivalence, you might wish to ask them to give their decision more thought and contact you when they're certain they want to leave their current position. Preparing your candidate with a role play of what to expect from a resignation conversation can also help them feel more confident in their decision.

Establish trust through effective communication with clients If there's truth to research which says a client will need five experiences with a product or service before they'll want to "buy", a brief presentation or meeting that is successful by all appearances won't be enough. Effective communication is built on true openness and the trust that's gained from shared validation. As with candidates, clients want to know that you've invested. Your respectful listening and attention to details tells them that they can trust you with their business because you're fully present and committed. Recruiters must master the art of paying attention to be the best communicators they can possibly be. One crucial step to take before you begin a relationship with a client is to research them. Get a feel for what they do and what kind of candidate would be the best fit for them. Do more than simply skim over the client’s website; network with your clients and others within the same industry through events and social media such as LinkedIn. This will help you build rapport, establish a better understanding of your client’s industry and the type of candidates that would make the perfect fit. After all, if you've taken the

time to understand what they're looking for before you've sat down with them, they can trust that you'll be keen on taking care of the other "little things" that will win them a star candidate from your pool.

Use your body language as a tool to influence With 93% of our everyday communication being non-verbal, being aware of what your body language is ‘saying’ can be very powerful. For instance, looking your client in the eye will help build respect and show you are interested. Keeping your head up will show confidence, while a slight tilt will convey friendliness and attentiveness. Communication has less to do with words than our expression of those words and the confidence we infuse them with. Be ethical in your dealings with your clients by enabling yourself to "walk your talk." Think and act like a star recruiter to communicate like one. Your posture, tone, and even the words you choose will communicate this for you, and secure your clients with the agency. Top influencers know that "buying" decisions are emotional ones. To be a successful influencer, recruiters must engage the emotional motivations of clients and the top candidates they're looking for. Work actively to understand and validate them, and you'll be well on your way to success. Marie Thomson is the Marketing Manager at CXC Global. Marie has seven years’ experience in the contingent workforce solutions industry, during which time she was a major contributor in growing CXC’s Victorian clientele as a Business Development Manager; managed CXC’s Victorian Sales team; and before moving into the company’s Marketing department, led the national Relationship Manager team. With a degree in PR and Journalism, Marie also has experience working in the communications department of local council, national charities and training organisations.

recruitment extra 2013 May 19

UK Report

Recruitment’s

Got Talent By Sam Burne James and Colin Cottell, Reporters, Recruiter magazine and recruiter.co.uk.

here was a time was when a certain specialist breed of UK recruitment company made money hand over fist and indirectly ruled the fortunes of other firms operating in the recruitment industry. Aggressive, generally despised for poaching top recruiters out of recruitment companies and placing them into others, the recruitment-to-recruitment (rec-to-rec) agency was seen as a necessary evil and enjoyed significant power, if not popularity, within the recruitment industry. Alayna Parish, a talent acquisition manager at recruiter Impellam Group, recruiting for its SRG, S.com and ABC Contract Services brands, recalls the boom times, when rec-to-recs “sprung up everywhere, and it wasn’t hard to make a quick buck.” Max Abrahams, internal recruitment manager for IT and pharma recruiter Square One Resources, contends that the boom years led to a degree of branddamaging arrogance among these firms. In a candidate-led-market “they didn’t require the clients” he says. That is, until 2008 when two profound changes hit the world of business: the global financial crisis and the explosion of professional online network LinkedIn, which gave anybody and everybody access to just about anyone with a request to connect. As a result of both, the rec-torec sector, specialising in recruiting recruitment consultants to work in recruitment agencies, has had to change on a variety of fronts.

20 May 2013 recruitment extra

“Everybody wants the ready-made consultant that can pick up the phone and get on with it, but unfortunately there just aren’t enough to go round.” - Tara Lescott, Managing Director, Recruiter Republic

But have the roads paved with gold come to an end for the rec-to-rec sector? Far from it, it would seem. “Everybody wants the ready-made consultant that can pick up the phone and get on with it,” says Tara Lescott, managing director of Recruiter Republic, a rec-to-rec firm based in East Anglia in the East of England. “But unfortunately there just aren’t enough to go round.” For instance in the UK, engineering and technical recruiters are particularly thin on the ground in East Anglia, she adds, while the London market needs construction, property and energy specialists. Nick Bancroft, MD of rec-to-rec firm McCall is having similar issues with what he calls the “relatively new” – and thus talent short – UK oil and gas recruitment market. For him, the opportunity for rec-to-rec is to focus on transferable recruitment skills. “We will look to people with

UK Report

associated backgrounds, maybe rail or construction that have not been as buoyant. That is quite an easy switch; as long as the clients are open minded, we will find candidates for them.” Given the lack of recruiting skills, Lescott agrees with Bancroft, and goes further, saying clients are in many cases “not even that fussed” about new hires having worked in recruitment before, if they have a relevant background in industry. This should actually be seen as a “positive development” for recruitment as a whole, and for rec-to-recs in particular, according to trade body Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) director of policy and professional services Tom Hadley. “One thing that we think we’ll start to see more is people being quite clever at bringing people in from sectors other than recruitment… really selling careers in recruitment,” he says. Another opportunity for rec-to-rec firms is hiring for positions other than consultants, Hadley adds, with a “high demand for management” and admin staff to do the work that “you wouldn’t have your top-billing consultant doing” around compliance and bureaucracy. Those talent shortages can extend to vacancies within rec-to-rec providers themselves. Tim Connolly, a former chair of the REC’s rec-to-rec group, is also the founder of consultancy ALC Group, which offers various services to recruitment firms, including recruitment itself. “When we recruit people internally it has been incredibly difficult to find people who understand the sectors and recruitment niches as much as is required,” he says. However, the same principles apply as for ‘standard’ recruiters – Connolly says recruiting from the sector they will recruit into has been key. Rec-to-rec firm Strategic Moves’ MD Ashley Lawrence agrees that recruiting skills are transferable. “The nature of the job remains the same” regardless of what you are recruiting for, he says.

Human resources (HR) recruiter Oasis HR started life as a rec-to-rec. Founder Jeremy Thornton says that the rec-torecs looking at what the future holds “have two distinct options, one is the graduate piece, the other is to look at experienced hires.” Graduates can be a tricky market. “The problem you face is its high volume, low fees but with a high number of dropouts,” he notes. And he says that a number of multi-sector graduate recruiters “no longer proactively go out and look for business within the recruitment market, they think that recruitment companies are particularly hard to find people for.” This area of the market has seen new entrants move in, however, including Raw Talent Academy, founded by Lee McQueen, a recruiter and winner of the 2008 UK series of TV’s The Apprentice. While Recruiter Republic’s Lescott says that the broad lack of recruitment talent is largely down to a lack of investment in junior talent, there is a trend towards hiring graduates and training them up in recruitment skills. At the experienced hires level within rec-to-rec, cost is a major concern, says ALC’s Connolly. “I think our clients are as cost-conscious as they ever were since the beginning of the downturn, so I think it calls for some sort of creativity in terms of solutions.” His firm’s solution is a Competitive Intelligence Report, which maps available talent. While he admits that the product is being seen “really as a loss leader”, being more consultative is certainly a driver for rec-to-recs’ continued survival – a challenge also faced by recruitment agencies operating in all sectors as employing organisations seek greater value for money as they cut their own recruitment costs. As the recruitment sector as a whole becomes more professional, more consultative, and more of a career of choice rather than an accidental career, good rec-to-recs still have their place – both as a supplier to, and an integral part of it. 

recruitment extra 2013 May 21

The Panel

Rosemary Scott Managing Director Scott Recruitment Services

A with Rosemary Scott, Jackie Rees and Mary Dowrick

What drove you to set up your own business and why did you choose the rec to rec sector?

turn to page 24 to find out what recruiters really think about using rec to recs...

22 May 2013 recruitment extra

This question really needs to be answered by me in two parts as I had already set up my own general recruitment practice – Scotstaff – prior to establishing Scott Recruitment Services. I set up Scotstaff due to an unfortunate experience with the international recruitment company I was working with previously. Having been promoted to run their largest branch at Martin Place I was faced with an ethical problem that put me in such a compromising position I vowed never to be placed in such a situation ever again (I elaborate further on this issue in the book “Different Thinking”.) It was this that prompted me to open my own business. Whilst working at Scotstaff I experienced difficulty in locating good, experienced consultants, so I usually preferred to train my own. At that time I was the IPC Australasian President and NSW RCSA (NAPC) President and National RCSA (NAPC) Board member and, as I talked with many other recruitment company owners, I began to realise that this was a common problem. I had also attended a number of conferences overseas in the US and UK and became aware of the rec to rec sector in those environments. In 1998 I successfully sold Scotstaff to the Chandler Recruitment Group. I stayed for several years with that business until my contract expired and then left the industry to honour my non-compete period. After “retiring” from the industry at 40, I wanted to come back with a different offering, so I started Scott Training and Consulting in 1992. Initially the business solely involved training consultants; however, as we came out of the “recession we had to have” in 1992 more and more recruitment company owners and managers were requesting me to find them staff. This requirement overtook the training side of the business (when the training levy was cancelled in 1993), and Scott Recruitment Services was formed shortly after. It was the first rec to rec in the Australasian market. Naturally many others have now followed, to varying levels of success, which is great, as long as they conduct themselves in an ethical and professional manner. Despite the warnings of “my mates” in the industry that a recruiter would never pay a recruiter to find them someone, I persevered and the business grew from Sydney to Melbourne, then Brisbane, Canberra and Perth. I am pleased to say that many of those “mates” have become clients over the years. The business is now franchised; however I still handle some very senior retained roles and, of course, buy and sell recruitment businesses.

Rosemary, FRCSA (Life), has spent 40 years in the recruitment industry in Australia and run her own business for the majority of this time. Rosemary started Scott Recruitment Services in 1992, as the first recruitment to recruitment company in Australasia, and now has offices in Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and Melbourne. All the offices in Australia are now franchised. Rosemary also buys and sells recruitment businesses.

The Panel

Jackie Rees

Mary Dowrick

Owner Simply Recruitment

Founder Dowrick Recruitment & Coaching

Many people get to a stage in their recruitment career where they want more than just making money for someone else. The recruitment industry isn’t complicated and we are always encouraged to run it like it was our own business. Decent billers and managers are often left to do their own thing and good mentors are harder to find the more experienced they become. I see two types of start up. The first is driven by a person who has been running a successful business, has money to invest (or has an investor) and plans to build a sizable operation. They have a five year strategic plan, a strong brand and hire a couple of big billers to start them off. The other type of start up is the consultant who knows they can be making more if they did it for themselves and decide to leverage off their significant contacts to go it alone. They may have less strategic management experience but are likely to be really well regarded in their specialist sector and within their relatively small client base. However, there are a significant number of these players that only last 12 months and this could be due to a range of factors. These include difficulty in keeping motivated; realisation that the brand they used to have behind them stood for more than they realised; lack of structure and systems; lack of business skills (or desire) to manage the back office and of course loneliness. My motivation was born out of flexibility. I had been off on maternity leave for two years and was ready to come back to work but needed it to be on my terms. I had been out of the rec to rec market for a number of years but it was a sector I knew well, I still had contacts and had really enjoyed it. It’s like no other because your clients and candidates all do your job so the audience is tough and critical. However this can work to your advantage when there are lots of fairly inexperienced players in the rec to rec market! Rec to rec is all about good candidates and rather than having to do a lot of cold calling to pick up jobs, it’s about sourcing talent and knowing your market well enough to know where they would best suit. I have thoroughly enjoyed my five years of Simply Recruitment and even in a tough market, I wouldn’t want to be doing anything else!

Jackie has a recruitment background spanning over 20 years. She joined the industry in 1989 after completing a BSc (Hons) degree in Psychology and worked her way up to Regional Business Manager and Regional Training Manager for a leading UK recruitment business. She relocated to Sydney in 1997 where she managed a boutique recruitment agency in Parramatta. Jackie has since worked in Wellington, Melbourne, London, Sydney and Brisbane. She started in rec to rec in 2000 and established Simply Recruitment, a Sydney based recruitment to recruitment specialist in 2008.

Before leaving New Zealand to move to Australia I owned a generalist recruitment company in Wellington. The decision to open this was based around the business I was managing which had no intention on developing further and I was looking for growth and development in my career. I went into business with a couple of partners and within a short time realised their intention was never to grow. A few good lessons learnt and I was off to Australia and into a larger, more focused and ambitious organisation. I got a new role through a recruitment-to-recruitment company but the role and the company was certainly not what was described to me and did not align with the direction I wanted my career to take. I was disappointed to say the least. More so, when I had the conversation with the recruitment-to-recruitment and her answer was to find me another job. This challenged me from an ethical perspective so I decided to stay there for 12 months, which was the agreement that I had in place with the business owner. I had decided that at that point I would go back to working for myself. The driving force to open a business was around spending more time with my young family and having some flexibility around their requirements as well as having more control over how I worked in terms of ethical standards, process and quality. On deciding what sort of industry to work within I did consider two key factors as well as the above-mentioned bad experience: 1. I had a great mentor who at the same time was opening a recruitment company in Australia and would become my first client (my second client was the first company I worked for in Australia and my third client and first placement is still a client today). 2. A desire to make some small difference to an industry I felt was at a crossroads In Australia and New Zealand it wasn’t new any longer but was still evolving. I hope in some small way I have achieved some of what I set out to do. I believe in the industry and I try and instill a support of each other and a desire for individual organisations to support their industry. This can be hard to do in a competitive industry such as ours, although it shouldn’t be. On a positive note I have many great friends and colleagues made over the past 17 years working in recruitment-to-recruitment, some of whom I placed in their first recruitment role and are now successful business owners. Recruitment-to-recruitment has been a difficult sector to work in but the rewards have outweighed the difficulties and ultimately it was the right decision for me.

Mary has a recruitment career that spans more than 25 years, consulting across many industry sectors and at all levels of the market in Australia and New Zealand. From her formative days managing teams at Paxus & Recruitment Solutions and founding the trade publication recruitment extra, to growing her namesake brand to have international scope and a multimillion dollar turnover.

recruitment extra 2013 May 23

The Panel

As a recruitment professional what is your opinion on using a rec to rec specialist? Chris Riley

Marisa Luculano

Executive General Manager Australia/ New Zealand, Talent International

Manager, Human Resources, Sydney Robert Walters

The engagement of rec to rec firms varies widely across our industry. This is probably driven by a number of different factors, including the size of the organisation, the level of the role and the ‘space’ or market in which the company is recruiting. Many large organisations are resourced by dedicated internal recruitment teams that are in touch with the market and responsible for the full end to end activity of filling internal roles. Smaller and/or more niche organisations may not have this luxury, and therefore may rely on rec to rec specialists who are close to the market and can manage the majority of the recruitment process on their behalf. When you look at the market, or the particular space you’re recruiting in, the requirements for rec to rec services differ dramatically. If you are looking for a specialist recruiter, in many instances the ‘big billers’ are known in the market and can be relatively accessible through networking. They may even come looking for you if you are a reputable business with a strong brand and EVP. On the other hand, you will often find experienced consultants with a broader general background, or people newly arrived in Australia, who have approached rec to rec specialists to represent them in the first instance. The level of the appointment may also dictate whether or not it is best to use a rec to rec. In my experience the majority of senior management roles are filled based on the executive’s demonstrable relationships and intimacy with the market and expert talent. Ultimately, rec to rec specialists have an important role to play in our industry. However, like all things, this space has become increasingly more competitive. Competition continues to strengthen with the growth of technologies such as LinkedIn and other social media platforms and sourcing tools. Then again, we wouldn’t be in this industry if we didn’t enjoy the competition! Chris Riley has held senior leadership roles with some of the largest recruitment organisations in the world. His expert opinion on industry and market trends is regularly canvassed by print media publications and radio broadcasters. He has recently joined Talent International as its Executive General Manager for Australia/New Zealand.

24 May 2013 recruitment extra

I have used rec to rec recruitment specialists in the past, and do believe they have a role to play in the industry. As they are specialists in sourcing recruiters I am always interested in seeing top talent from them. My experience with them in the past is that they haven’t found the strongest recruiters for our business all the time. We usually find top talent ourselves, as well as having a strong referral program in place for our internal staff. The best recruiters generally come to us organically through internal channels –‘like attracts like’, so we are lucky our internal recruiters consistently refer great talent to us. Our company culture is dynamic, we are passionate about what we do and we’re very sociable – this naturally leads to building a strong network which we are able to draw talent from. It’s the nature of what we do as recruiters. There are many cases in which we interview for our clients, and candidates may not be suitable for the brief but show potential to be recruiters. We’re able to have discussions with candidates to give them insights into what we do and recruit them this way. Many recruiters enter the world of recruitment through other recruiters, not necessarily wanting to become one when they were initially studying. I personally began my career in the advertising industry and when I was interviewed by a recruiter I was enticed to enter the world of recruitment and have not looked back since. Recruitment is a career that needs so many different skills – business development/sales, client relationship management, candidate relationship management, negotiation skills, assessment skills, presentation skills, influencing skills and a high level of sensitivity. It’s a career which has a very high turnover of staff so it’s crucial one knows exactly what is involved. Like any talent search, there needs to be varied places from which to source the strongest talent in the market from. If you don’t, you’re limiting your options and your competitors will find the strongest talent. I am always open to seeing talent- through any channel. Marisa Luculano is the Sydney manager of the human resources recruitment team at Robert Walters, one of the world’s leading specialist professional recruitment consultancies with 53 offices in 24 countries. Marisa has over 15 years of experience across Asia Pacific and South Africa recruiting and managing consultants who recruit professionals within the human resources areas across a range of sectors.

Feature

Who’s relevant in today’s market?

By Ben Richardson, Founder, Turnaround

f any sector was ever against the odds to start with it was recruiting recruiters for the recruitment industry. The Australian recruitment market has quickly had to wake up to itself and the fact that the recruitment industry in its entirety has changed forever. Those who are still waiting for the so called market to return are simply going to be left waiting. This is the market and recruitment is a tough industry! Rec to rec, done correctly, has always been a tough sector and is actually reflective of where the rest of the recruitment market now finds itself; allow me to put it in perspective. It is widely acknowledged that the biggest competition for recruitment companies today is their own clients, whether that is internal recruiters, RPOs and/or their clients simply being more sophisticated with their recruitment activities by ustilising Linkedin, advertising directly, obtaining internal referrals etc. Well guess what? A rec to rec’s client base is recruitment companies, so if there was ever a client base that had the ability and sophistication to recruit for themselves it is surely the recruitment industry. So why was there ever the need for rec to rec sector in the first place? The last thing any agency wanted to do was pay a recruitment fee to another recruitment company to find them a recruiter. However recruitment companies like all employers at times still struggle to find the quality of candidates they want for themselves. A good rec to rec – which there are a number of in Australia – taps into passive candidates, they build trusted relationships and therefore have access to these candidates when a change in circumstance arises or a great opportunity presents itself.

The art of a good rec to rec is to not only have a good relationship with its candidates but, as importantly, have similar relationships with its clients (yes those that don’t ideally want to pay a fee) in order to know when and where the next opportunity lies. These relationships develop through professional respect and are often formed when the client becomes aware that the rec to rec has the capacity to deliver candidates that they themselves cannot access directly. So the competition that the wider recruitment industry now finds themselves facing, ie from their clients, is exactly the same competition that rec to rec’s have had to deal with from day dot. A good rec to rec, just like a good recruitment consultant, that remains focussed on quality representation in any given market condition will always remain relevant and very much has a future within recruitment. If you can represent the best candidate in the market for a specific opportunity not only can you justify your fee but you can charge a premium and the client will be happy to pay it. The recruitment industry as a whole exploded from around 2003 through until late 2008. Quality dropped but clients didn’t seem to care, they just wanted more and more people (the war for talent). During this period many joined the industry that should never have had the opportunity of being a ‘recruitment consultant’. However, that said, many of these new ‘recruitment consultants’ delivered big returns for a couple of years. Rec to rec also capitalised upon this overly buoyant market and new entrants were popping up all over the place. Needless to say in late 2008/2009 when the market changed to more or less where it remains today – with quality

representation being the only concern that will allow for a consultant’s success – many of the fly by night recruiters were gone. Market demand continued in certain sectors, for example the Mining & Resources sector in WA and Queensland during the financial years of 2011 and 2012, and allowed for some ‘so called recruiters’ to continue to be seen as successful. At times certain sectors will continue to have recruitment drives that will replace the need for quality but, by and large, if as a recruiter you can’t: 1. recognise the skills and attributes that make certain candidates the best in their chosen field 2. build genuine relations with these best of breed candidates 3. gain instant credibility from your marketing activity 4. give clients a reason to meet with you and then return your calls 5. be one step in front of the market Then you don’t have a future anywhere within the recruitment industry as you aren’t relevant in today’s market. 

Ben Richardson has spent the last 15 years involved with the recruitment industry. He established his first business turnaround.com in 2001 which remains a leader within the Australian rec to rec sector. He currently spends his time across senior search, corporate advisory, coaching and mentoring as well as active board membership with various corporate and not for profit organisations.

recruitment extra 2013 May 25

Tax Focus

Tax planning for recruitment By Paul Masters, Tax Partner, Deloitte

ith 30 June 2013 fast approaching, now is the time for recruitment firms to consider their year-end tax planning strategies. There are a number of simple ways that tax can be deferred or legitimately minimised and consideration should be given to these strategies now. Below we highlight some of the yearend tax considerations that could apply to your recruitment firm. Income deferral The topic of income deferral is something that all recruitment firms should consider at year end. Whilst all firms have different accounting policies, there may be ways to defer paying tax by one year where this income is not billed at 30 June. Alternatively, amounts which have been “pre-billed” may not be taxable during that year. Rather than simply taking your accounts on face value, it may be beneficial to review your billing practices and contractual relationship with your clients to determine if this deferral opportunity does exist. Often in the recruitment industry there can be a significant delay between the placement of a suitable candidate and when the fee for the candidate is collected. Usually, the billing process adopted means that revenue is recorded well before the candidate commences or any cash is received. Also, some contracts stipulate that commencement fees are required to be paid to recruitment firms upon the commencement of a candidate. In some cases, these fees are refundable if a candidate does not meet probation. Therefore, a business could look at whether it might be appropriate to defer the recognition of the fees as revenue, in whole or part, until there was no longer a doubt about any potential refunds. The situations can have a substantial impact especially as a firm moves towards the end of their financial year and could mean that income from fees is actually recognised in the following financial year and mean lower tax liabilities in the current year.

26 May 2013 recruitment extra

Accelerate your deductions Bringing forward deductions and utilising them in June, is another strategy that could minimise your tax this year. Subject to your firm’s cash-flow considerations, you may consider making deductible purchases within your business prior to year end in order to accelerate claimable deductions. Generally, an allowable deduction is permitted once “a loss or outgoing” is incurred. However in some situations, statutory rules may modify the timing of deductions (for example, the prepayment rules). For expenditure to be genuinely “incurred”, the taxpayer must be definitively committed to the expenditure or be completely subject to the expenditure or loss. You may consider the following before 30 June 2013: • Deductions arising from prepayments for particular services. Deductions are available where the amount prepaid is less than $1,000 or if it is required by law (such as worker’s compensation). • Deductions that are available when prepaying interest on a deductible loan (available to small business entities). • Ensuring payment of your superannuation contributions (and that the contributions are paid to and received by the super fund before 30 June) • Ensuring bonus, commission and director’s fee obligations are met (outlined in further detail below). Consultant bonuses and commissions Particularly relevant to recruitment firms are the treatment of consultants’ bonuses and commissions at year end which are not paid at year end. A firm is not entitled to a deduction for bonuses, commission payments or even director’s fees unless the amount has been definitively committed for payment. That is, in order to claim the deduction, there must be a legal liability to pay the commission or bonuses to the consultants and the amount must be capable of being reasonably estimated.

As such, to ensure any commissions or bonuses are able to be claimed as a deduction during a particular tax year, it is recommended that a “resolution” or “minute” creating an unconditional commitment to pay the bonus or commission is documented prior to 30 June 2013 outlining your commitment to the future payment. Further, you may wish to consider communication of bonus amounts prior to year end or indeed re-designing contractual obligations such that a definitive commitment exists prior to year end (as opposed to being dependent on events or information that arise after year end). Bad debts A deduction may be claimed for a debt that is deemed “bad”. In practice, in order to claim a deduction for a bad debt during a tax year, the debt is required to be written off. With year-end approaching, it is a good time for firms to review their debtors’ ledger to determine whether any debts may be irrecoverable and could be claimed as a deduction for that tax year. To qualify for a bad debt deduction in a particular tax year, the debt must have been: • written off during the year of income in which the deduction is claimed; and • must have previously been recorded as an item of assessable income (e.g. previously recognised as a credit sale). Note that some form of written record should be kept as evidence of the taxpayer’s decision to write off the debt from the accounts, but taxpayers must produce this written record before the year end to claim the deduction. Paul Masters is a tax partner at Deloitte Sydney. He specialises in providing taxation advice to recruitment companies, particularly in the areas of M&A, restructuring and tax planning. He is the tax adviser to four ASX listed recruitment companies and numerous private recruitment companies.

Social Recruiting

Digital first impressions count By Richard Spencer, Director, TWOSocial

“

…I tend to make up my mind about people within thirty seconds of meeting them…” says Richard Branson in his book Losing My Virginity and we all know that the first thirty seconds of an interview are the most important and are ultimately likely to decide whether a candidate gets the job or not. The first thirty seconds are important because despite ourselves, we often judge a book by its cover. Although we know we shouldn’t, we let subconscious prejudice and opinion cloud our judgement. In those first thirty seconds we make assumptions and form opinions typically based on our experience, knowledge or lack thereof. And online and particularly when using social media, we tend to do exactly the same thing. Websites measure first impressions. A website’s bounce rate measures the number of single page visits, effectively visits during which the user leaves a website from the entrance page. These rates are typically greater than 50% (and more often than not much higher than that) and are based on a wide range of factors. Two of the most important to consider for your organisation’s social media presence are the design of the creative elements and validity of the content you present. The use of imagery in social media and the overall creative impression that your social presence leaves about your organisation is often overlooked. There is a lot of standardisation from both a navigation and a look and feel perspective across the major social networks, but how well you use the freeform elements available to you heightens the first impression your business creates. The

banners and imagery available through LinkedIn company pages, the channel and page backgrounds on YouTube and Twitter respectively and of course the cover image on Facebook; all speak volumes about your business and your brand. By way of example, the cover image on Facebook was shown in a study that used heat mapping to determine where users looked at the page, to be the only component of the new timeline that 100% of users looked at. It is a dominant section of the timeline page, attracts eyeballs and is the ideal way to communicate core messages to your audience – but what’s on your cover image – do you know without checking? Facebook changed the rules with regards cover images at the end of March 2013 to allow directive text and promotions to be included for the first time, provided that no more than 20% of the image is taken up by text – a new opportunity to communicate key messages as a first impression. When it comes to content, it is important to remember that your audience has a huge choice at their fingertips and that the content you present needs to be engaging, relevant and ideally include an element of uniqueness. It is also important to realise that the vast majority of the content you would like to communicate is not of interest to your target audience. To illustrate the point, if you imagine a venn diagram made up of two interconnected circles. One circle illustrates the content you want to communicate and the other illustrates what your audience is most interested in. It is only really the combined area of the two sets, or their union, which is the content on which you and your target audience can connect.

‘You never get a second chance to make a first impression’ is true in both an interview and on social media and it’s important to remember that, like an interview, social media is a two way street. Engagement, interaction and conversation are paramount and based on great content. Great content should lead to strong engagement which helps deliver the sharing and extended reach which is the hallmark of a well thought through social media strategy. 

Richard Spencer is a Director of TWO Social, a specialist Social Media agency. As well as being a regular media commentator, Richard advises organisations on how to maximise their opportunities across Social channels. Prior to founding TWO Social, Richard was Senior Vice President, Global Marketing and Interactive with TMP Worldwide, Global Head of Marketing for Michael Page and has been working in digital communications since 1996.

recruitment extra 2013 May 27

HR Report

HR REPORT recruitment extra's monthly update on the latest news, reports and opinions on what’s happening in HR nationally, trends from overseas and briefs on the activities of equal opportunity organisations, employers, EO tribunals and agencies and governments. Reporter: Jane Dillon

‘Mental stress’ rife, but not claimed

Mental stress is a ticking time bomb costing the Australian economy more than $14.8b annually. However, a Safe Work Australia (SWA) report showed 70% of employees who said they had mental stress did not report it, meaning the hidden costs associated with stress-related presenteeism and absenteeism was much higher than projected. The SWA report was based on an analysis of Australian workers’ compensation claims data from 2008-09 to 2010-11. It did not include information on unsuccessful claims. The report found women were more likely than men to make mental stress claims, while they were also around three times more likely to claim workers’ compensation due to work-related harassment and/or workplace bullying. It found the median time lost for a claim was six weeks, putting pressure on employers to recruit and retrain staff during the absence. The report defined mental stress as the adverse reaction experienced by workers when workplace demands and responsibilities are greater than the worker can comfortably manage. Examples cited included employees having low participation in decision making, or control over workloads; inflexible and unpredictable workloads; role ambiguity or confusion; and continually working to deadlines. Work pressure; exposure to workplace or occupational violence; exposure to a traumatic event, suicide or attempted suicide; other mental stress factors; work-related harassment and/or workplace bullying and other harassment were the mental stress subcategories the report used. Approximately one-third of all claims in the work-related harassment and/or workplace bullying subcategory were made by advanced clerical & service workers and general clerks. Both men and women were more likely to make a claim for mental stress as they got older, but after they reached 54 years of age the likelihood they made a claim decreased.

28 May 2013 recruitment extra

Professionals made mental stress claims more than any other occupation, with over a third of their claims citing work pressure, which also had more claims than any other sub-category. General clerks, school teachers and police officers accounted for the majority of claims for work pressure. The retail trade industry had significant claims in the area of exposure to workplace or occupational violence, while the transport & storage and health & community services industries dominated claims for exposure to a traumatic event.

Turnover crisis looms for banking

Financial institutions are facing near total decimation of their workforces unless they improve working conditions, banking and financial services recruitment firm Profusion Group CEO Rod Jones told HRR. Jones said a survey of 500 banking sector employees found a staggering 92% were looking for other opportunities within the sector, while 78% said they would move out of the sector for the right opportunity. He said employees were looking to jump ship primarily because of perceived lack of career progression and unchallenging work. “The GFC has meant career opportunities working in the industry have largely dried up, and whereas banking used be a risk taking, dynamic industry the GFC has meant the sector has had to curtail some of those activities,” he said. He said third issue contributing to discontent was inadequate remuneration, but its significance was down the list from concerns about career progression and unchallenging work. Jones said the survey served as a warning bell for HR to start “listening to the needs of star performers” and addressing their dissatisfaction. He said while the banking sector was still reasonably flat in hiring trends “star performers will always find a

HR Report

role” and employers needed to work with them to identify how to retain them. “If a star performer sticks up their head to see what’s out there, they’ll find a job regardless of the market,” he said. Jones said the results were consistent across all levels of employees, gender and longevity, meaning HR needed to look at organisational wide changes to arrest dissatisfaction. He said the results revealed HR could go a long way towards improving satisfaction levels by better communicating vision and leadership to employees. Jones said drive, leadership and strategic thinking were the three attributes most important for employees to possess and for HR and employers to nurture. He said communicating the organisation’s strategic vision would help tap into the drive of an employee while also giving them comfort to see where they can contribute. “It’s up to employers to create a culture where employees want to stay,” he said. “By targeting leadership, career progression and strategic thinking employers can help improve retention and engagement.”

ASX leaders join AHRI board The Australian Human Resources Institute has appointed three senior HR practitioners at globally listed companies as new nonexecutive directors on its board. Santos Ltd executive director and vice president and chief human resource officer Petrina Coventry will join Qantas HR director John Scriven and Commonwealth Bank of Australia organisational development director Rhonda Brighton-Hall on the board. Coventry has previously held global vice president roles with General Electric Company and Coca Cola Company in the United States and Asia. He also held non-executive director positions on the boards of Coca Cola Bottler Ltd (Sri Lanka) and EPCM (Singapore). Scriven was previously group HR director with Coca-Cola Amatil, a partner in Human Capital Services and held roles in training and audit with Westpac Banking Corporation and Price Waterhouse. Brighton-Hall will call on her experience as senior vice-president – HR and communications with global fashion eyewear group Luxottica as well as roles in Sara Lee and Aussie Home Loans. They are joining the board following the retirement of Meryl Stanton from the ACT and Chris Jeffery from Western

Australia. An AHRI spokesperson told HRR it made three appointments to replace the two retirements “because of the quality of the applicants”.

HR challenged by IT contractor/ perm split The IT sector is suffering from an increasing employee divide, according to IT recruitment specialist Andy Cross. Cross, CEO of Ambition Recruitment, told HRR while permanent IT employees regard a strong company culture more favourably than increased wages or conditions, the increasingly contingent IT workforce “really don’t care for culture so long as they are being paid what they feel is appropriate for their work”. Cross said IT contractors “neither care to contribute to the culture nor feel inclined to complain when they don’t like it”, creating employee challenges for HR. The dichotomy means it is “imperative for HR practitioners to develop strategies for engaging and getting the best out of their contingent workforce”, Entity Solutions CEO from Matthew Franceschini told HRR. Franceschini said despite a wealth of research showing engaged employees were more productive and committed there “is rarely any consideration given to building commitment among a company’s contingent workforce”. He said Entity Solutions’ IPro Index 2012 revealed one third of contracting staff wore different name badges to other staff, immediately creating a divide. “Cases where contingent workers are made to feel separate from permanent employees can cause alienation and feelings of inferiority, and lead to staff demotivation and tension amongst the team,” he said. He said HR should create a culture of inclusivity to get the best from contingent employees. “Lack of integration between an organisation’s contingent workforce and permanent co-workers can be a cause of frustration,” he said. He recommended creating social programs, including contractors in meetings and giving them access to on-boarding programs to ensure high engagement. “By offering opportunities for learning and development, HR Managers will be able to better manage the motivation and engagement of their contingent workforce,” he said. He said HR needed to understand having “airtight contracts” in place for contingent employees were essential. “Not only will this act to clarify all of the terms and ensure that everyone is on the same page, it will simplify dispute resolution if issues do arise,” he said.

HR Report is an independent fortnightly new service published by Thomson Reuters. The service is available in paper and email format. For further details visit: www.thomsonreuters.com.au/hr-report-email.

ATTEND AUSTRALIA’S FLAGSHIP EVENT FOR HR PROFESSIONALS Sydney, 20-21 August 2013 EARLY BIRD REGISTRATIONS ARE NOW OPEN. FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO REGISTER VISIT HRIZON.COM.AU

recruitment extra 2013 May 29

Mergers & Acquisitions

HR strategies are vital in acquisitions By Richard Hayward, Principal at HHMC, Australia

n merger and acquisition transactions a great deal of discussion and attention is focussed on addressing financial results, operational detail, margins and other ‘hard’ data. All of which is entirely appropriate; it is important to address the critical performance factors that substantiate whether the deal is viable at the price envisaged. However, there are other less concrete issues that may be most likely to determine success or failure in the future. These are the ‘people factors’. This is not a new insight, most readers will have heard this before and be implicitly aware that factoring in the goals of the key people in the business and the issues of company culture and integration is important. It is just that it is not done well enough, or often enough in practice. There is a wealth of information that suggests that ultimately when business integration fails it stems from organisational culture clashes and factors related to people. Assessing the ‘people factors’ is not as easy as financial analysis, or at least it is not as clear-cut. How do you gauge the impact of changes on the culture and staff? These people challenges exist with public and private businesses, large, medium and small. Small firms are more vulnerable to people issues than larger firms where people are more interchangeable. In smaller businesses the impact of staff turnover is magnified. These firms also don’t have the resources to address the people issues thoroughly. Because of the more personal nature of closely held businesses, especially family businesses and partnerships, issues of control, culture and the process of change can be much more devastating when not effectively addressed. For buyers who have an effective HR department or access to HR consulting advice it is important to have their involvement early on. A plan for staff communication and transition needs to be developed alongside all the other transitional plans to integrate the businesses.

30 May 2013 recruitment extra

Dealing with the people issues At what point should you address the people issues when buying a business? There are two primary times to focus on the people side of M and A. • Early in the process - developed as part of a transition plan • After the acquisition - as soon as there are signs of an actual or potential ‘derailment’ Quite clearly, losing the best billers and key team leaders from a small recruitment business right after buying it is not what you want to have happen and there are steps that can be taken to minimise the risk. Sensitivity issues during negotiation phases of an acquisition understandably make it difficult for a buying company to adequately gauge and assess key staff. Sellers do not usually want staff to be aware of the sale process until things are much more certain to proceed. Therefore the most timely stage to do this is during the latter part of due diligence investigations. Building in time to meet managers and key staff members can be an agreed part of the deal. By the time a buyer is ready to complete this phase a non binding offer or heads of agreement outlining the commercial terms should be signed so that both parties understand and have agreed an in-principle deal structure. If, as a buying company, there are genuine concerns that it will be difficult to keep the key people after the acquisition or if the cultures seem radically different then a re-think of whether the acquisition is the right one needs to happen. However, looking at it more optimistically, the concerns expressed may be able to be dealt by taking positive steps to communicate appropriately. The prospect of change can create fears based on job security, potential income (commission) loss, a stifling of career progression, or even prior personality clashes with a staff member from the buying company. In many cases the underlying issues arise from insecurity about the post-acquisition future and can

be relatively easily overcome once people know that an important part of the reason for the acquisition are the capabilities, skills and experience that they as staff members possess.

Communicating the facts An effective communication plan with staff is essential. Ideally this can be implemented prior to the contract transaction date when transfer of ownership occurs, however, if that is not possible then the staff need to hear from both the new and former owners before anyone else does. What needs to be communicated in both individual and group situations are the facts. The reasons for the sale; why the buyer wanted the business; the future position and opportunities for staff and how the transition phase will roll out. The key people in the business can’t be taken for granted and some reassurance is needed. As always, people are very different in how they deal with change. Some cope well and focus very quickly on the opportunities and others take a while to get to this point; or never get there at all. It is not necessary, or even likely, that there won’t be some staff changes. New owners reserve the right to make changes. What they don’t want is to lose people that are critical to the success of the business they have invested in.  Richard Hayward is a principal of HHMC Australia, a specialist Merger & Acquisition consultancy focusing on the recruitment industry. Richard has an extensive background at senior level in the recruitment sector having worked with international, national and smaller local companies for over a decade before joining HHMC. His clients, as either buyers or sellers, include companies ranging from blue collar industrial, ICT, banking & finance, accounting, business support, and operations recruiting businesses.

Leadership

It’s time to view

leadership as a profession By Bruce Watt, PhD, Managing Director, DDI Australia

or those who have travelled internationally, you will be familiar with the arrival and departure cards that you complete as you pass through immigration. On a recent overseas trip I got chatting to the traveller next to me. He was a senior leader in a global mining organisation and as we talked further and I shared a little more about my role, DDI and the work I do in the leadership field; he challenged me with a question – so what do you write in the occupation field of you departure card? He had appropriately (and diplomatically) put me on the spot. Here I was describing the importance of leadership and the need for people to address the role as a professional discipline and practice yet I was not prepared to record my own occupation as a ‘Leader’. Instead, I preferred to reference my original professional discipline as an HR consultant. Considering the investment HR professionals and organisations put in finding, identifying, developing and growing leaders – if no one is standing up and proudly identifying with the profession of ‘Leadership’ the question that we must ask ourselves is are we taking the role seriously? DDI’s Senior Vice President, Rich Wellins recently expressed his view in a blog noting that it was time for leadership to be viewed as a genuine profession. He shares his own departure card story referring to the fact that in his thirty plus years of traveling the world and meeting people from all around the globe, not once has somebody introduced themselves as a ‘leader’. This raises several questions. Are leaders in roles because they choose to be or because they want to be? Are they passionate about mobilising a workforce, driving organisational change or being a positive role model for an organisations culture? Do leaders stop and think about

what they represent and how others look to them for guidance, support, confidence and growth? If leadership can be viewed and embraced as a profession, imagine the impact that this could have on an organization and its people. As leaders acquire core skills, practice and ultimately master them, leadership will shift from a sideline to a genuine ‘craft’ like a chef, artist or surgeon. Rich provides insightful and practical ideas on how we can begin to change the way we think about leadership: 1. Look at leadership as a chosen specialty. Leadership is a craft that is perfected over time through the focused dedication of time, attention, and selfawareness. When you become a leader, whatever your level or industry, it becomes your profession and you have an obligation to invest the time and effort to become the best leader you can be. Most leaders simply do not look at it this way, however. It’s time for that perception to change! 2. Use standards. Professions usually have standards for performance, knowledge, and skills. Some require degrees, certifications, accreditations, and exams. Due to the evolving nature of professional standards in some fields, continuing education is also required. There is no one examining body for leadership and no continuing education credits are required. Yet, each year countless job analyses, academic studies, and books attempt to distill the essence of good leadership. While the outputs of these efforts vary in form, there tends to be little variance in the skills, behaviors, and personality components identified as being essential to extraordinary leadership. In their own way, these components amount to a set of commonly accepted leadership standards. And while we are unlikely to see a leadership standards

board with national or global certification processes (though that isn’t a bad idea), there are a handful of valid tests and assessments that can accurately predict leadership performance. Still, only one in three organisations uses these tools. 3. Pursue your passion. Just because you are part of a profession doesn’t mean you are a professional. Extraordinary leaders (the true professionals) love being in leadership for the right reasons: helping people grow, mobilising the organisation in a new direction, and building engaged and high performing teams. Motivations such as these should be what really matter to leaders. 4. Practice. Practice. Practice. Doug Conant, the highly respected former CEO of Campbell Soup Company, put it this way: “To me, leadership is my craft and I have to work at it, and I’ve got to have the same continuous improvement mindset about my job that I challenge my associates to have about theirs.” Leadership skills can be learned and they can and should be practiced. When leaders commit to continuous improvement in their craft, there’s no limit to how good and how effective they can become.  Bruce Watt, PhD, is Managing Director of DDI Australia. He consults with clients to design and implement integrated talent systems, drawing on his expertise in designing selection systems, executive assessment and development, succession management, and driving organisational change. Bruce also maintains a number of executive coaching relationships with senior executives in a variety of industries, including banking and finance, manufacturing and mining.

recruitment extra 2013 May 31

WA State Review

STATE OF THE STATES:

Western Australia

Randstad

Insights from Todd Allen, Operations Director WA Corporate, Randstad. The mining and resources sector remains stable in WA: • Despite ongoing debate around the outlook for the industry, we’re still experiencing sig-nificant demand for labour within the mining and resources sector, particularly amongst mid-level miners. While significant cuts have been made in the resources sector, it will remain a significant employer in 2013 with a positive outlook. • Cutbacks in late 2012 saw many employees in the sector out of work. As the market rebounds, we should start to see those affected by the recent layoffs absorbed back into the market. • The 2013 Randstad Award revealed the Mining & Natural Resources is the second most attractive industry in which to work in Australia, recognised for offering competitive salary & employee benefits, interesting job content, good training and development and career progression opportunities. Renewed strength in IT positions: • As the resources sector regains stability following a slowdown in the mining boom, we should see a resurgence in the number of IT positions available in the WA job market. While there’s always demand for those with more technical resources skill sets, with IT an integral part of many organisations, this job demand will extend to many back office jobs. And while the percentage of these companies’ IT workforce is much smaller, demand for jobs within the sector certainly exist.

Randstad Workmonitor:

• Over the last three quarters, we have seen a slight decrease in employee satisfaction in WA. In Q2 2012, 72% of employees in WA were satisfied with their current employers, whereas the most recent results show a decrease to 61%. • This does not necessarily indicate however that employers in the state are becoming complacent in their attempts to attract and retain top talent. The 2013 Randstad Award revealed Mining & Natural Resources remains one of the most attractive industries in which to work in Australia. • Speculation regarding the end of the mining boom, coupled

32 May 2013 recruitment extra

with a slight decrease in demand for jobs in the sector have seemingly had a negative impact on job stability and satisfaction levels in the state. To help combat this, organisations need to work hard to ensure they continually attract, engage, reward and retain employees by investing in their employer brand.

WA Workmonitor data:

• 61% of employees are currently satisfied with their current employers • 57% of employees are focussed on getting a promotion in 2013 • 70% of employees feel the need to do something completely different • 64% of WA employees currently aspire to a leadership position • 70% of employers believe men and women in similar positions are rewarded equally at their employer, while only 13% strongly disagree • 75% of employees believe it is harder for women to be promoted for leadership positions than it is for men • 72% of employees believe that working part-time hinders their careers • Only 22% of employees agree that part-time work for managers is accepted at their current employer

Over the last three quarters, we have seen a slight decrease in employee satisfaction in WA. In Q2 2012, 72% of employees in WA were satisfied with their current employers, whereas the most recent results show a decrease to 61%.

- Randstad Workmonitor

WA remains the state with the strongest intention to hire, with 32.5% of employers expecting to increase headcount, (up 1.6pp). The Resources sector is seeing the most significant lift in positive hiring expectations, up 14.5pp.

NORTHERN TERRITORY

WESTERN AUSTRALIA

SOUTH AUSTRALIA

- Hudson Report Apr-Jun 2013

Australian Industry Group Hudson Report Apr-June 2013

Key Findings • Expectations to increase headcount in WA have risen 1.6pp to 32.5% and this represents the first increase in positive hiring expectations since Q4 2011 • Expectations to decrease headcount in WA have dropped 4.0pp to 9.0% • Expectations to maintain current headcounts have risen 2.5pp to 58.5% Insights • Western Australia is the most positive state in the country, with the economy still expanding rapidly due to strong international demand for the state’s natural resources. Despite appetite cooling a little last year, the local economy growth grew by 6.7%1 over the year and the state’s employment rose 3.1%, well above the 0.9% national average.2 Some recruitment nervousness appeared when iron ore prices fell in late 2012, which saw the major resources companies making staff cuts and deferring projects. This had ripple effect in the WA economy with the contractor firms to the big projects feeling the biggest impact. With the iron ore prices recovering, big projects are being brought back online, and the associated jobs with them.3 The broader recruitment view for WA with the health of the major mining and resources projects, shared by government and businesses, is the continued need for targeted foreign workers with the specialist skills critical to executing project requirements. ________________________________________ 1 WA economic growth twice as fast as the nation, Government of Western Australia, 29th January 2013 2 Western Australia Economic Profile February 2013, WA Department of State Development, February 2013 3 $3b investment approved for WA, Smart Property Investment, 7th February 2013

Current conditions Labour market conditions remain very strong. Employment grew by 4.9% over the year to the month of December, with the unemployment rate at 4.3%. During the year to November, Western Australia gained a total of about 58,800 new jobs, across a wide range of sub-sectors including retail trade, utilities, administrative and support services and mining. This was partly offset by modest employment declines in the wholesale trade and public administration and safety sectors. It is worth noting that WA’s employment data may not fully capture the large number of people working in the state on a fly-in fly-out basis (typically in mining and construction) because the labour force survey assigns employees to their place of permanent residence, not their place of work. Seek Job Ads data, however, suggests some slowing in employment growth over the next six months or so. Employment The West Australian Treasury and market economists generally expected employment to grow by around 3% in 2012/13 before easing back to around 2% in 2013/14. The Western Australian Treasury has revised up its forecasts for employment growth in 2012/13 since the 2012/13 Budget published in May. In the HalfYearly Review published in December, the Western Australian treasury reported that the economy is expected to grow at 3.25% in 2012/13 and by 2.25% in 2013/14. Deloitte Access Economics’ latest forecasts are for slightly slower employment growth in 2012/13 and growth of around 1.9% in 2013/14. The Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations produced detailed labour market forecasts by state which can be used to gauge the future growth areas of the Western Australian labour market. On this basis, a large share of the jobs created in WA over the next few years will be in health care and social assistance, construction, and mining. Manufacturing on the other hand is forecast to lose close to 3,000 jobs over the next few years to 2016/17. 

recruitment extra 2013 May 33

On the Move

ON THE MOVE 



Talent International

makes key appointments

Chris Riley

Peter Butterss

The appointment of Chris Riley to the newly-created position of Executive General Manager for Australia and New Zealand is the most recent announcement from Talent International following a string of new hires. Riley, who has two decades’ experience in the recruitment industry, was most recently General Manager of Sales & Marketing at Manpower ANZ. He will take on full responsibility for the continued development of Talent’s eight branches across Australia and New Zealand. Commenting on his appointment, Riley said: “What excites me most about joining Talent International is that the company’s philosophy and culture of servicing the IT industry, and not just selling to it, is very much in tune with the approach I’ve always strived towards during my own career. “This is a pioneering company which is challenging many of the entrenched, and increasingly outdated, practices of

34 May 2013 recruitment extra

Mark Nielson

its competitors and I am looking forward to working with Richard and his team to maximise the many opportunities that lie ahead for Talent International.” Talent International has also appointed Peter Butterss as a Non Executive Director, Mark Nielson as Group Chief Financial Officer and Company Secretary and Lindsay Braganza as Wellington General Manager. Butterss began his career in IT recruitment in 1988 with Icon in Melbourne, and in 1995 founded ISES/ Ambit, a business he grew as the Managing Director and Non-Executive Director until the company’s successful sale to Peoplebank in 2008. During this period he also jointly founded the IT Services practice Phoenix Consulting. From 2009 through July 2011 he was CEO of Buymyplace.com.au and was acting Chairman until August 2012. Talent International Managing

Lindsay Braganza

Director, Richard Earl, said: “We’re absolutely delighted to welcome Peter to the team. He is a very strategic and innovative thinker who will bring a great deal of entrepreneurial expertise to Talent’s board." Nielsen joined the Talent International Advisory Board in March 2011 and has been a Non-Executive Director since July 2012. He was previously the Chief Financial Officer for Astron Ltd. Commenting on his appointment to Group Chief Financial Officer, Earl praised Nielson’s “impressive track record with multi-national corporations, turnaround situations and start-up companies.” Perth IT recruitment executive Lindsay Braganza has taken on the position of General Manager of the Wellington, NZ office. Braganza, who has worked in recruiting in the UK and Australia for the past 10 years, was most recently a director and principal consultant at Sense-IT Recruitment in WA.

On the Move

MitchelLake doubles down on growth 2012 BRW Fast100 company MitchelLake Group has announced Neil Smith as its Global Head of Talent. Smith takes on the management of all internal recruitment and talent development across the group's network of local and international offices. MitchelLake co-founder Jon Tanner commented: "Maintaining consistent levels of growth and quality across multiple offices demands the support of a mature and focused internal recruitment function. Neil brings nearly a decade of rec to rec experience across Sydney, Melbourne and European market and we are thrilled to welcome him to the team." Smith said, "This role represents a new challenge for me given its geographic scope and the ambitions of the business. Being part of a truly unique and mature business in such a fast growing sector is exciting, especially in a time where technology and innovation are literally transforming markets. As a boutique agency MitchelLake has an unparalleled

Neil Smith

level of effort and resources invested in building its own team including a new MitchelLake Careers portal and new mobile responsive websites for each executive, specialist and on-site recruitment.” MitchelLake Group is an Australian owned business founded in 2001. It has operations in Sydney, San Francisco and Melbourne with satellite offices in London and the Gold Coast.

Kelly VP joins RCSA Board Karen Colfer, Vice President and Managing Director of Kelly Services Australia & New Zealand, has been appointed to the Board of the RCSA. Speaking on her appointment Colfer, who has more than 25 years’ experience in the industry, said: “The Recruitment industry is something I’m passionate about so I’m looking forward to being a part of the RCSA’s future, working with fellow board members and industry leaders to ensure the RCSA continues to deliver on the expectations of its members, and advocates strongly on behalf of our industry.” Colfer joins President Lincoln Crawley FRCSA, Managing Director,

ManpowerGroup; Vice President Robert van Stokrom FRCSA, Chief Executive Officer, DFP Recruitment Services; Vice President Jacqui Barratt FRCSA, Director, SALT Recruitment Ltd; Finance Director Bob Olivier FRCSA, Director, HRO2 Research Pty Ltd; Matthew McArthur FRCSA (Life), Chief Executive Officer, McArthur; Denis Dadds FRCSA, Manager OH&S Unit, ManpowerGroup; Peter Langford FRCSA, Managing Director, HORNER Recruitment; Steve Heather MRCSA, Managing Director, Mining People International; Alan Bell FRCSA; Matthew Hobby FRCSA, State Manager SA, McArthur on the Board.

NES Global Talent grows Australian offices NES Global Talent has boosted numbers at its Perth, Melbourne and Darwin offices with three new hires. Martin Hickson has been appointed as Recruitment Manager in Perth while Anthony Pettifor joins as a Senior Recruitment Consultant in Melbourne and Stewart Nicholson as a Recruitment Consultant in Darwin. The offices in Melbourne and Darwin opened last year. Hickson, who has 12 years’ recruitment experience, will focus on developing the company’s permanent business. “We are still working in a buoyant and demanding market in Western Australia, we have to ensure we are strategic in our approach to add value to our clients and become the consultancy of choice with both our client and candidates,” he said. Pettifor has eight years’ recruitment experience, working in Malaysia before moving to Melbourne over five years ago and specialising in placing both contract and permanent candidates into the energy industry. With a focus on oil and gas and civil construction, Stewart also has eight years’ industry experience. Commenting on the talent challenges he expects to face, he said: “Major resources projects are largely new to Darwin so there is a shortage of experienced and skilled candidates across the board. Although this will improve in time, in the meantime sourcing candidates from a wider area will be necessary. It is here that NES Global Talent can guarantee our clients’ needs by sourcing candidates from the global talent pool.” Marcus Ward, Associate Director at NES Global Talent, said: “We’re delighted that Martin, Anthony and Stewart have decided to join us. All three bring years of experience and will help us grow our business across Australia.”

recruitment extra 2013 May 35

On the Move

Australian Reliance expands in Queensland National insurance broking firm Australian Reliance has announced its expansion into the Queensland market by assembling a team of insurance specialists headed by Carwyn Llewelyn. As one of the founders and Managing Director of Australian Reliance Brisbane, Llewelyn will preside over a specialist service offering with a particular focus on the recruitment industry. “We recognise that the days of a ‘generalist’ insurance broker are fast becoming obsolete. Specialist consultancy is required to review and appraise the ever changing regulatory environment and assess the constant development of

specific insurance wordings.” said Llewelyn. “This is especially true for recruiters where the recent changes to OH&S legislation, employment case law and the risks around contractual obligations, necessitate robust and effective advice.” With more than 15 years’ experience in the insurance industry, Llewelyn has worked at international and national insurance broking firms and insurance companies in various countries including Australia, England and New Zealand. During this time he developed a particular interest and expertise in the recruitment sector providing a high level of advice

Bibby Financial Services continues push in QLD Bibby has appointed Amanda Bird as Business Development Manager for the Queensland region. Based in Brisbane, Bird will be responsible for driving new business in Queensland and will report to Allan Howe, State Manager of Queensland at Bibby Financial Services. Bird joins Bibby from Oxford Funding, the specialist debtor finance division of Bendigo Bank, where she worked as a Cash Flow Specialist for Queensland and Western Australia for seven years. Before that, she worked for CIT Group, a US bank holding company, for over three years as an Account Executive where she was responsible for building strong customer relationships and achieving sales and profit targets through implementing business development strategies. Bird has been on the State committee for the Turnaround Management Association (TMA) since 2006. Gary Green, National Sales Director, Bibby Financial Services said, “Amanda has over 20 years’ experience working in business development and finance roles, seven years of which was spent in the debtor finance industry. The Queensland market is growing rapidly and represents 15% of total debtor factoring turnover, equivalent to A$62.9 billion in the 12 months to 30 December 2012. Our decision

36 May 2013 recruitment extra

Amanda Bird

to strengthen our sales and operations team in Queensland is reflective of the potential we see in this market. We have firm plans to expand our presence in Queensland over the next 12 months.” Bird joins Bibby following several recent appointments to the sales and operations team in Queensland including Sally Taylor as Client Manager, Queensland. Other key appointments for Bibby include Mark Cleaver, as new Managing Director for Australia and New Zealand; Brendan Green, State Manager, Business Development NSW and Rob Lamers as Regional Sales Manager for the Southern Region.

Carwyn Llewelyn

and service to clients in relation to policy interpretation, contract review provisions, claims advocacy, program structuring and risk management. “We’re highly enthusiastic about being involved with the industry where our focus and expertise in the recruitment sector provides us with a unique opportunity to deliver better insurance and risk solutions to clients.” added Llewelyn.

Harrier HUMAN CAPITAL appoints Teghan Britton-Lee Harrier Human Capital has announced the appointment of Teghan Britton-Lee as the new General Manager of their Resourcing Division. Britton-Lee most recently held a senior resourcing role at BHP Billiton Iron Ore and prior to this she was Director HR & Talent Management at Hudson. Kelly Quirk, Harrier’s CEO commented: “Teghan will be a great asset to our team, bringing with her significant management and industry experience. I look forward to seeing our Resourcing Division grow from strength to strength under her exceptional leadership”.

On the Move

NorthgateArinso ANZ makes senior appointment NorthgateArinso has named Sylvia Foster as Director of Mid-Market Business in Australia and New Zealand. In the newly created position, Foster will focus on increasing interest and raising the profile and uptake of Preceda, NorthgateArinso’s payroll system. “I am very excited to have the opportunity to focus on the mid-market business and specifically the Preceda team,” Foster said. “Preceda has a long and successful history in ANZ and is a significant contributor to NGA’s global strategy.” Foster said her priority remained on continuing to build the Preceda brand and its success across Australia and New Zealand. Foster has held senior management roles in the information technology arena for more than 15 years and has been with NorthgateArinso since early 2003. Her previous position was General Manager of NorthgateArinso’s Client & Professional Services. Prior to NGA, Foster spent five years as the Director of Consulting for PeopleSoft Australia/New Zealand.

Made a new appointment? Let the industry know. email imogen.tear@thomsonreuters.com

Adecco Group appoints new Head of Investor Relations Adecco Group has announced the appointment of the Group’s new Head of Investor Relations, David Hancock. Hancock will commence his appointment at the start of June 2013 and will be responsible for communication to the financial markets, as well as for competitive analysis. He will report to the Group’s Chief Financial Officer, Dominik de Daniel. Hancock joins the Adecco Group from Morgan Stanley, where he has been working for the past 11 years, most recently as Executive Director and Head of the European Business Services team. He holds a Master’s degree in Philosophy from the University of Cambridge, UK and is a Chartered Financial Analyst. Hancock will be based at Adecco's global headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland. Karin Selfors-Thomann, the current Head of Investor Relations, continues her

career within the Adecco Group and will be joining the leadership team at Pontoon, Adecco’s Contingent Workforce Solutions (MSP), Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) and Workforce consulting business. She will take on the role of SVP Head of Sales North America for MSP Solutions at Pontoon, and will be based in Jacksonville, Florida, United States.

HCA appoints CEO Healthcare Australia has announced a new CEO to replace Andy McRae who is stepping down as Managing Director and returning to the UK. Jason Cartwright, who has over 22 years of experience in the recruitment industry, most recently as Group Director at Randstad, will take over the reins at HCA.

Senior level shake up at Bluestone Bluestone Global has announced the appointment of Justin Owen as acting Chief Financial Officer, following the resignation of Jean-Yves Didier due to personal reasons. Owen is a finance professional and chartered accountant, who most recently worked as an audit partner with Grant Thornton. He has industry experience in energy and mining, construction and financial services together with international project exposure.

“We welcome the financial acumen Justin will bring to our executive team. He will continue to implement the Board’s mandate to deliver cost and efficiency savings within the Group whilst we maintain our focus on achieving sales growth in those sectors which are contributing to economic growth.” Rabieh Krayem, Managing Director, Bluestone Global

Bluestone Global Managing Director Rabieh Krayem said, “We welcome the financial acumen Justin will bring to our executive team. He will continue to implement the Board’s mandate to deliver cost and efficiency savings within the Group whilst we maintain our focus on achieving sales growth in those sectors which are contributing to economic growth.” The news is the second senior appointment at Bluestone in as many months following the appointment of Baljit Singh as chairman of the group in March.

recruitment extra 2013 May 37

Corporate Advisory Services

Migration Services

Insurance

Celebrating 21 years of Contractor Management & Payroll

AGENCY benefits: • Reduced operating costs. • Reduced administration = More selling time. • Transparency, flexibility and improved efficiencies. • Unbiased Global capabilities.

Insurance Brokers & Risk Advisors to the Recruitment Industry

ABN: 71 103 351 122 · AFSL: 227 041

HHMC Australia www.hhmc.com.au 02 9925 2229 Scott Recruitment www.scottrecruitment.com.au Rosemary Scott – 0414 670 342

Australia & New Zealand · Europe · Africa · North America · Asia · Middle East

1300 724 082 (Aust) info@cxcglobal.com.au

9358 4133 (NZ) info@cxcglobal.co.nz

The global leader in innovative

1585AU

Contact Carwyn on: T: (07) 3251 5203 E: cllewelyn@australianreliance.com.au

Contractor benefits: • Contractor payroll. • Professional memberships. • Insurances. • LAFHA. • Novated Leasing. • Salary Packaging. • Timesheeting. • All Tax structures.

Contractor Remuneration & Contingent Workforce Solutions.

Learning & Development PBC / Hogan Assessment Systems www.peterberry.com.au 02 8918 0888

Candidate Data Management

Online Recruitment JobFlex Online www.jobflexonline.com.au Tel: 02 9223 6334

Payroll Solutions Automated, seamless and totally online.

Candidate Sourcing Experts

Tel: 03 5977 1577 Email: ross@rossclennett.com Website: www.rossclennett.com

www.iprofile.org

1300 287 678 Debtor Finance Services

Have you... . Released a new product, . Produced an industry paper, or . Made a new appointment? Let us know at

imogen.tear@recruitmentextra.com.au

Performance Coaching Industry Benchmarking RIB Report www.ribreport.com.au 03 9005 7007

Call Helen Sykes on 02 8587 7462 to be seen here! 38 May 2013 recruitment extra

ATS Integration Compliance Timesheets Expenses

Leave Management Invoicing Payroll GL Integration

1300 794 070 astutepayroll.com

1300 724 082

who, what, where Payroll Solutions

100% HAPPY HAPPY CONTRACTORS = HAPPY CLIENTS

Call 02 8587 7462 or email helen.sykes@ thomsonreuters.com

WE LOOKED AFTER CONTRACTORS SO WELL, OUR CLIENTS ARE 100% HAPPY. FIND OUT HOW. CALL US ON 1300 40 90 70 Temporary Workforce Management Client invoicing and payroll factoring Active candidate on-boarding and care Back office and Business services for recruiters Online portal, timesheets and margin reporting

www.sdpsolutions.com.au

Recruitment to Recruitment

Testing & Training (Candidate) Hogan Assessment Systems www.peterberry.com.au 02 8918 0888

Sydney:

02 9221 2700

Melbourne:

03 9670 7720

Brisbane:

07 3220 1388

Perth:

08 9322 8900

TestGrid www.testgrid.com 1300 878 473

Talent Managers for the Recruitment Industry

Recruitment Software

04 0201 4237

www.skillcheck.com.au

3 hats www.threehats.com.au 1300 045 422

Get noticed in our business directory!

Perform Zone www.performzone.com 1300 045 422

Make better connections The shortest bridge between order and invoice is a single database. Let FastTrack transport you to improved workflow and increased productivity. Call 1800 063 555 today enquiries@fasttrack.com.au

Recruitment Software

recruitment extra 2013 May 39

Building a multi-million dollar recruitment firm takes time. Finding that time was difficult. Until I found astutepayroll.com

Neil Colquhoun Managing Director Design & Build Recruitment

AUTOMATE YOUR WORKFORCE MANAGEMENT. ONLINE ANYTIME.