recruitment extra magazine September edition by Thomson Reuters

September 2013 30172891

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The leading magazine for recruitment professionals in Australia and New Zealand

RECRUITMENT SUPER HAS CHANGED TO KINETIC SUPER. Kinetic Super is a specialist industry fund built upon 20 years of experience in the recruitment sector. Our name change reﬂects our focus on the needs of the modern mobile worker: we ensure our members stay connected with their super as they move from job to job. Why choose Kinetic Super? We’re the leading industry fund for the recruitment and job services sector We’re a long-standing supporter of the recruitment industry and a principal partner of the RCSA We have more than 20 years experience managing super for over 350,000 members We have a smartphone-friendly website to make it easy to access your account and key information We offer a choice of eight investment options, including a MySuper option We provide access to a range of insurance options, including Income protection, Death and TPD cover We offer access to one-on-one help with a super specialist at no extra charge.

Go to kineticsuper.com.au to see how easy it is to join or to take us with you to your next role. If you have any questions or need help organising your super, call us on 1300 304 000 or email us at info@kineticsuper.com.au

KINETIC SUPER. THE SUPER THAT MOvES WITH yOU. Kinetic Superannuation Ltd (KSL) (ABN 14 056 917 303 AFSL 222590 RSE L0000352) is the Trustee of Kinetic Superannuation Fund (KSF) (ABN 78 984 178 687 RSE R1000429) which includes Kinetic Smart Pension (KSP). Before making a decision about Kinetic Super, you should consider your own requirements and read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement and Incorporated Information. For a copy, call us on 1300 304 000 or visit kineticsuper.com.au. Kinetic Super Management Pty Ltd (ABN 53 000 013 276 AFSL 232501) provides general financial advice, marketing and sales services using its AFSL for Kinetic Superannuation Ltd (KSL). Relationship Managers and Member Education & Advice Consultants are employed by Kinetic Financial Services Pty Ltd (ABN 57 103 181 844) and are Authorised Representatives of Kinetic Super Management Pty Ltd.

Contents

Inside September

Features

THE DIGITAL ISSUE Search me

I'm online

Online Recruitment

Online Tools and Strategies

The World of Online Work

Optimise Your Online Profile

Hitting the Target

The Human Touch

Complying with LAFHA Rules

When Baby Boomers Sell

Regulars

News

Online Recruitment

HR Report

Head to Head

Social Recruiting

The Panel

State Review: New Zealand

On the Move

Directory

The latest news, events and announcements

Movers and shakers in the industry

Advertising directory

News

The virtual jobseeker

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 September 2013 recruitment extra

from the editor This issue looks at how technologies are shaping the world of recruitment. Be it online staffing, online recruitment, online testing or online interviewing it seems pretty safe to say things are determinedly moving online. However whilst we invest time and energy in the latest social networks and evolving technologies we should remember that there is still a real need for actual physical human interaction. Digital natives say they’re more comfortable conversing online but as representatives of what is essentially a people industry perhaps we should be challenging the next generation to ensure people skills don’t die out. By the time you read this we will know the outcome of the election. I hope, whichever way the result swung, businesses will now have some level of comfort or at least certainty as to what the next few years will hold. Whether or not you’ve been celebrating the result, everyone can join us to celebrate the Recruitment Excellence Awards on 25 October. It’s been a tough year for many so come and let your hair down and toast the best of the best for 2013. I look forward to seeing you all there. Tickets are on sale now!

The understanding that younger generations are most comfortable conversing in a digital environment is what prompted CareerOne to host Australia’s first virtual careers fair. According to CareerOne chief executive, Karen Lawson, research consistently shows that not only do school leavers and graduates enjoy using social media to search and apply for jobs but as many are still developing social skills they find it easier to converse virtually rather than face to face. The importance of using digital channels to reach a younger audience was given additional credence by the discovery that only 25% of jobseekers in the 18-24 category would talk to recruitment agencies (compared with 40% of 34-49 year olds).

Lawson said the research highlighted the need for employers to have meaningful online connections and conversations with the younger generation of job seekers about career opportunities and that a virtual event was a powerful way to reach this cohort. “We have seen how social networking sites, blogs and virtual career fairs can play a huge role in attracting the next generation of workers as it gives them the opportunity to search for jobs quickly and interact with employers through mediums they are using in their day-to-day lives,” she commented. To communicate with this audience CareerOne ran a virtual careers fair during the first week of September for students and graduates. The virtual fair was a digital exhibition that connected school students, graduates, education providers and

employers all on one single online platform, accessible froma variety of devices. The fair enabled engagement via videos, live chat and webinars and offered candidates the opportunity to explore their options via a series of integrated tools. The event reached hundreds of schools and career advisors across Australia and proved particularly useful for students in rural Australia who often do not have physical access to all employment services and options available. Lawson said “The virtual career fair is a powerful channel, giving employers and education institutions all the benefits of a traditional careers fair with the added benefit of 24/7 exposure to a nationwide – and even international audience – actively looking for work or education.”

FINANCIAL MARKETS CHARITY REGATTA FRIDAY 25 OCTOBER 2013 Join the Financial Markets Charity Regatta on Friday 25 October 2013 for an exciting and exhilarating day of sailing on Sydney Harbour. This year’s event will help distribute over $1.2 million to 21 benefiting charities. Between 40 to 60 racing yachts will be competing for the Financial Markets Charity Cup followed by a networking party for over 600 guests at Middle Harbour Yacht Club. We have an extensive fleet of yachts with skipper available to charter - so you don't have to be an expert sailor. Just turn up and enjoy.

CORPORATE AUSTRALIA HELPING THOSE IN NEED

FOR ENTRY FORMS OR SPONSORSHIP APPLICATIONS PLEASE CONTACT: barbara.colvin@thomsonreuters.com or call 02 9373 1985 Visit www.asxreutersregatta.com.au

recruitment extra 2013 September 5

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CONFERENCE AMP commits to developing diversity

THE SPY WHO TRACKED ME The latest product offering from JXT is Salary Spy, a survey tool that recruiters can embed into their websites to track salaries in their sector or niche. It provides clients and candidates with a monitor of where the market’s sitting on salary by job type. According to JXT the tool offers additional SEO marketing and website traffic benefits because as candidates and clients start to use the tool (which is embedded on the recruiter website under a ‘vanity URL’) the pool of live data grows and encourages return visits. Google recognises this and the reward is higher organic search rankings. Additionally the vanity URL ensures salary spy doesn’t look like a “tacky add-on”. The tool is also compatible with an iPhone or tablet.

In response to the challenges of talent retention and promoting diversity in leadership, AMP has launched a leadership development programme for its senior women. The AMP Pathways Programme features modules on key leadership competency areas and one-toone coaching. Participants are required to take on a real business challenge and report regularly to the AMP leadership team on their progress until they deliver a solution. As part of the programme the participants are trained in coaching so that they can, in turn, coach and mentor subsequent years’ participants. AMP’s Executive Legal Counsel, Therese Singleton, said, “AMP is absolutely committed to developing and supporting talented women within the business. It’s in our interests as a business to foster talent and to ensure that our leadership pool is representative of, and responsive to, AMP’s diverse customer base.” AMP worked with Strategic Direction Consulting Director, Yvonne McLean, to develop and implement the AMP Pathways Programme. McLean, who is also the Programme Director for Global Women’s Women

HAYS TAKES ON THE BLUES Hays has announced that it has become the official recruitment partner of Manchester City Football Club. The three year deal with the UK premier-league team will see Hays activate a global marketing programme using City’s crest, player imagery and brand messaging. Hays will focus on digital and social media platforms as well as matchday LED advertising and media interview backdrops. Sholto Douglas-Home, Hays Group Marketing Director, said: “The partnership between Hays and Manchester City is based on a mutual ambition to attract skilled, expert professionals to build high performance

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teams, whether it be on the football pitch or in the world of work. We both thrive on the challenge of identifying skilled individuals who offer the right chemistry and capabilities to help a team to succeed. The worlds of work and football intersect on many levels, from animated conversations about the office fantasy football league to a passion shared by billions of football fans throughout the global work place. “The English Premier League is by far the most popular league in the world and we see this partnership as an exciting platform to help us take our brand and our message to a broader global audience.”

in Leadership Initiative, said, “It’s really encouraging to see large corporates like AMP lead by example. Positive recent initiatives such as the launches of Diverse NZ Inc and the Women of Influence Awards have increased the call for greater diversity in senior management, but individual businesses need to take action to create that diversity within their own organisations. AMP has provided a great example stepping up and taking the initiative, and is a role model for other organisations, which I hope will follow suit.” Talented women are nominated from all areas of the AMP business to take part in the programme. The 2013 intake of 14 women from Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, come from backgrounds including distribution, wealth management, finance, marketing, legal, HR, and customer services. “AMP’s commitment to diversity is demonstrated by the high number of women in senior roles; last year 48% of senior roles were filled by women. The AMP Pathways Programme is about taking this to the next level,” said Singleton.

Finders Keepers Kinetic Super ran the Finders Keepers campaign during August and early September. The campaign was said to embody “the excitement of finding something that is valuable ... reflecting the Fund’s continued focus on connecting Australians with their lost, inactive or hidden super.” The campaign culminated in six members jumping into a ball pit to find prizes. CEO of Kinetic Super, Megan Bolton, said: “We’re very excited about how engaged our members have been with this campaign, and the events were an entertaining opportunity for our members, as well as the public to see what Kinetic Super is all about”.

WORKFORCE AND BEYOND SYMPOSIUM Melbourne Marriott Hotel | 15-17 October 2013 Featuring experts from corporate, government, legal and academic sectors, the symposium will provide delegates with a state-of-the nation overview of challenges and issues faced by the Australian workforce in 2013. WHO WILL BE THERE? Directors/Managers/Advisors responsible for: • Industrial Relations • Human Resources • Policy • Workplace Relations • Legal

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS: • The Changing Composition of the Australian Workforce • Future of unions and other registered organizations • Australia’s productivity challenge • Developing an Asia Capable Workforce • Immigration & 457s: Separating fact and fiction (Panel Discussion) • What to expect from the Fair Work system • Understanding the Collective Bargaining Equation View the detailed agenda at www.thomsonreuters.com.au/events

Don’t miss this rare opportunity to learn from and network with the thought leaders of Australia’s IR landscape!

For more information or to register please contact Savitha on 02 8587 7960 or email savitha.viswanathan@thomsonreuters.com

recruitment extra 2013 September 7

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IT JOBS STILL HOT IN WA Whilst it may be true that the resources boom is cooling, General Manager of Talent International in WA, Paul Mackin Brown, says IT jobs are still plentiful because the big resources companies are moving out of a protracted period of engineering, procurement and construction management to new types of projects and platforms. “The fact is, we’re continuing to see record high demand for IT contractors, including in the resources sector,” said Mackin Brown. “Year-on-year growth in contractor numbers placed by our Perth office among major resources and mining clients has risen by almost 150%. In the past twelve months, we’ve placed almost 250 specialist IT contractors within these clients alone.” Demand is especially strong in the oil and gas sector according to Mackin Brown and several new players to the market have “gone a long way to off-set any decrease in demand from other high profile projects that are transitioning from construction to production.” In addition to new entrants to

the market Mackin Brown says other clients are using this transition phase as an opportunity to evaluate legacy platforms and processes. "Companies are restructuring their organisations and how they use their IT systems – and they need skilled IT professionals to do that. There’s also definitely an increased focus on efficiency and optimisation projects, and that’s created a spike in demand for high-level service delivery professionals and organisational change management specialists,” he said. Mackin Brown agreed there had been some downward pressure on pay rates for IT contractors and permanent staff, but that this was a market correction that inevitably followed a period of incremental rises in remuneration. “It’s fair to say there has been a correction in rates – which has been felt across both resources and non-resources sectors,” said Mackin Brown. “But the fact is you can’t have the sort of year-onyear growth in salaries we’ve witnessed continuing indefinitely – it’s simply not sustainable.”

Sleeping on the job A 12- year study conducted by the Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute has found that 36% of participants were insufficiently active and that young people aged 25-34 gained more weight in the 12-year period than other age groups. The study called for workplace changes to help combat the findings, including a reduction in the amount of time spent sitting at work and a promotion of exercise at work. After exercise employees are said to show better time management skills and improved mental alertness. As well as a lack of exercise a lack of sleep is another contributor to poor performance. According to Dr Charles Czeisler of Harvard Medical School 70% of people say they frequently don’t get enough sleep. Fatigued workers are associated with productivity losses, errors, accidents, uncontrolled emotions, absenteeism,

8 September 2013 recruitment extra

risky and hazardous decision making, reduced immunity, inflammation, addictions and even an increased probability of cancer. The cost of loss of work by a tired worker’s performance is equivalent to 7.8 days/year per person. Individuals that sleep less than six hours are eleven times more likely to have work related errors than those that get eight hours sleep. “Apart from exercise, other cost effective and simple ways that organisations can improve health outcomes and productivity include sleep education and allowing napping at work,” said fatigue and productivity expert Elizabeth Shannon said. “Even if your organisation doesn’t encourage these best practices, start during your lunch time today and you’ll feel and perform better in just a few days,” she enthused.

Invest in IT staff now The mid-year update to the 2013 IT Recruitment & Retention Report produced by Clicks IT Recruitment indicates “a slow but noticeable increase in IT hiring intentions”. Clicks Managing Director, Ben Wood, says companies should be mindful that investing in their IT staff now could prevent them from jumping ship once the jobseeker market improves. In 2012, 37% of businesses were intending to reduce the size of their IT workforce, compared to 29% in 2013. Of those expecting a decrease this year, the majority forecast a reduction in numbers of less than 10%. Correspondingly 23% of businesses are increasing their IT budget in the next 12 months compared to just 17% last year. Applications Development staff remain the most difficult to recruit, having topped the list for the last five years. Coming a close second this year is a strong forecasted demand for Business Analysts. Wood says this should be taken as a good indicator of an increase in project demand in the next six months. The biggest increase in difficulty to recruit is Information Management staff, with demand tripling since 2010. Conversely Project Management roles are experiencing the lowest level of difficulty since 2008. “When demand is low it’s important not to confuse the issue with a lifting of the skills shortage,” said Woods. “Low demand doesn’t generate additional skills. However, if organisations invest in their people now, they will increase their chances of keeping them when demand rises, which we expect will quicken over the next year.”

Clarius reports net loss Clarius Group reported an underlying net loss after tax of $0.9 million for the year ended 30 June 2013, compared with an underlying profit of $2.1 million in the previous year. The 17.6% drop was not unexpected with the company predicting the result in June this year. Whilst stating that demand for recruitment services continued to remain low as larger institutions delay projects or suspended spending on infrastructure Kym Quick, Managing Director of Clarius Group, said providing a high quality service was what pushed clients to engage and pay for services, particularly those who understood that “getting the best talent comes with a higher cost.” Despite the financial results Quick said the business “managed to not only retain all of the major clients we’ve had longer term relationships with but also to

win significant new accounts. We believe this means the opportunities for us are a little better than they’ve been over the last couple of years. Having said that, the bigger organisations we’re working with aren’t actively hiring extensively at the moment, however once conditions improve, our growth will escalate alongside that.” In response to tough market conditions and revenue losses Quick said that restructuring of the business during 2012 and 2013 and reducing salary costs would generate annualised savings of $6.5 million. However, she added that the company had also invested $3 million over the year in increasing headcount in China which was “an important investment for us in terms of our future growth strategy.” Despite closing the Hong Kong business in October 2012 Quick remained confident that investments in China and Singapore

would start to bring results in the future: “We’ve now completed the majority of our investment in the cost structure of the China business, and now we’re focused on productivity and returns, which are on track to where we need them to be. The group’s New Zealand business has also faced restructuring following losses during FY2013 with the general managers for Auckland and Wellington being replaced by a single country manager overseeing both offices. Quick said she expected New Zealand to deliver better results this year off the back of a reduced cost base and the newly rebuilt team in the Auckland office. Quick concluded that the “substantial [] restructuring of the business [] has allowed us to take significant costs out, particularly salary costs, and this will stand us in good stead if conditions don’t improve.”

recruitment extra 2013 September 9

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TALENT RETENTION DELIVERS BENEFITS Talent management is becoming an increasingly critical business issue and CEO’s should be directly contributing to a talent management strategy to make sure it aligns with the business strategy, according to Deborah Mason, Senior Vice President Global Talent, PageUp People. Filling the talent pipeline and retaining strong performers is essential for organisations looking to grow, expand or simply remain competitive. “Companies need to think about a talent pipeline in the same way they think about a product pipeline, sales pipeline or production pipeline. “A pipeline deficit in product means competitors beat you to market, in sales it means missed revenue targets and in production means the supply can’t meet demand. A talent pipeline deficit means companies simply don’t have the skills and capabilities on the ground when they need them and the strain is felt across the entire organization,” says Mason. “It is hard to forecast five to 10 years ahead, but whatever the line of sight is, use it to consider the skills and characteristics needed to get the organisation there. Whether that is hiring new people or nurturing talent.” PageUp People believe that fundamental changes are occurring in the workplace that will radically alter the way companies relate to their employees. These changes include: • a shift in how people view their careers • a new generation of workers with new expectations • baby boomers going out on their own after hitting corporate ceilings • changes in social behaviours and the need for work/life balance. A talent management strategy that attracts and retains top performers is extremely important stresses Mason. “Successful talent management depends on decisive leadership and clear direction. The CEO plays a pivotal role in setting the talent agenda, securing support and commitment across the organisation and ensuring that talent management initiatives remain aligned with business objectives,” adds Mason.

10 September 2013 recruitment extra

Best practices for strategic talent retention include: 1. Succession planning CEOs should provide clear direction to HR teams and recruiters when it comes to succession planning. Succession planning is a premeditated activity conducted with one purpose: to have the adequate benchstrength of talent that is ready, willing and able to step in to management roles, to mitigate business risk and maximise available opportunities. With strong supporting technologies now available to facilitate succession planning, there is no excuse for being reactive in this area. 2. Mentoring Mentoring is a proven way to fast-track knowledge transfer, build competencies and enhance internal relationships. There are no hard and fast rules for effective mentoring. Some companies have ad hoc mentoring arrangements while others adopt formal 'mentoring contracts'. Some organisations focus their mentoring efforts on high-potential individuals, whereas others create a career plan for everyone from the moment they start. What’s important is that ongoing individual development occurs. Clearly the CEO cannot (and should not) be a mentor to all, but this is a critical organisational activity that should engage senior managers and executives. 3. Analytics to drive business performance The ‘big data’ revolution has changed the quality, quantity and timeliness of information available to organisations. Advanced analytics are capable of turning complex and disintegrated people data into real business intelligence. CEOs should demand this from their HR teams. With a combination of hindsight and foresight sourced from system data now available, CEOs can ask critical questions about workforce performance and capabilities and use the answers to effectively deploy, redeploy, grow or retract their workforce to align to the business plan. The capabilities emanating from advanced analytics heralds a new era for managing talent resources around the world. This is true particularly for multinational organisations with large and globally dispersed workforces.

WAGE INCREASE OUTPACES MINING PROFITS The offshore oil and gas marine support sector has benefited from a considerable surge in exploration and investment activity, driven by rising demand for energy and raw materials in developing Asian economies over the last decade. However, recent cost pressures in the sector – including labour costs – have increased notably and is “eroding the competitiveness and profitability of the offshore oil and gas marine support sector”, according to Deloitte Access Economics research commissioned by the Australian Miners and Minerals Association (AMMA). The report found wage growth in the sector had been disproportionate to wage and price growth in the wider Australian economy with pay and conditions in some roles increasing by 70% over the last decade. It also noted that the current challenges faced by operators in the industry meant employers were having difficulty absorbing demands for wage growth that were not reflective of productivity in the sector. Over the last five years, wages and total expenses have doubled, while revenue has increased by only 50% . AMMA CEO Steve Nott said the findings clearly show the "very real challenges to operators within Australia's resource industry." The report highlighted the difficulty of domestic labour market regulations when competing internationally with businesses that were not subject to the same regulations. It added that "fumbling [the] delicate transition between the investment and net exports phase of the mining boom" would add risks to the broader economy and employment growth. The wage and recruitment demands of the Maritime Union also came under fire as "restrictive and uncompetitive" and could "impede productivity". Knott concluded: "all parties to the EBA negotiations must work together to keep Australia's oil and gas industry financially viable."

What our sponsors say about the Awards... ASTUTE PAYROLL: The REA awards are important for the recruitment industry. They are of a high quality and are respected by all recruitment firms. So many apply but so few win. As such to receive an award means a lot to the winner. AYERS: The awards are great for the industry as it keeps everyone on their toes, they recognise talent and showcase the people and the recruitment companies for what they do best. And of course it’s a night where everyone can let their hair down, enjoy the event and have a beer or two! CXC GLOBAL: The Recruitment Excellence Awards are an acknowledgement of the efforts, accomplishments

and innovation achieved by this country’s leading recruitment and Human Resource professionals. This first-class event highlights the exceptional talent and quality of business this industry has to offer and gives us a chance to celebrate these successes. DELOITTE: The awards provide businesses within the industry the opportunity to benchmark themselves against their peers. Different agencies are known for different attributes and the awards allow agencies to find an award category that aligns to their skills. As the awards are judged by an independent panel, the awards are considered by industry to be fair and accurate.

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IMS: These awards set a platform for exceptional recruitment agencies to be recognised, setting a benchmark of excellence for the recruitment industry. Each year more agencies aspire to and are accomplishing excellence, raising the bar of service delivery across the entire recruitment industry. Another positive is having all agency owners together for the awards night, which happens rarely during the year.

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Diverting diversity: survey urges renewed focus Although the business sector has maintained a commitment to workplace diversity for many years, a new survey reveals many organisations are still at the foundation stage of their diversity programs and have a declining focus on diversity strategy. The survey, by Korn/ Ferry International, Futurestep and Diversity Council Australia (DCA), further found indications that corporations still don’t fully realise the business benefits of inclusive workplaces. More than 100 diversity managers and human resources leaders in Australia and New Zealand were surveyed to learn the profile of diversity functions within organisations and the professionals leading diversity strategies. Whilst 81% of respondents believed senior leadership was critical to the success of a diversity and inclusion strategies, the research found that most senior level managers were only ‘somewhat involved’

or ‘not very involved’. This finding was compounded by the fact that there was a distinct lack of commitment to fulltime, experienced diversity leaders, with 60% of respondents having limited or no background in diversity. Jacqueline Gillespie, Senior Partner, Korn/Ferry, said CEOs must properly commit to a workplace model that embeds diversity and inclusion in every level of an organisation. “Many CEOs have not been exposed to what true workplace diversity looks like. Our research suggests they view it as recruitment and compliance process, rather than a strategy that helps to grow and engage talent and competitiveness required for business growth.” The CEO of Diversity Council Australia, Nareen Young, said the survey findings were one explanation of why progress in some areas of diversity has been so poor, despite legislation. “Minimal increases in women in leadership positions, persistent barriers

to more flexible working and the notable absence of people with a disability and Aboriginal Australians in our workplaces show current organisational approaches are not working. We aren’t going to see a lot of improvement in these areas if organisations don’t value the diversity function, aren’t strategic about planning for it or don’t properly resource it.” Gillespie added that: “An adhoc approach to diversity initiatives has often been in absence of any strategic diagnosis of the core issues and without appropriate emphasis on leadership and cultural change. Leadership is key for change and a shift in emphasis toward leadership for inclusion is required. While people from diverse groups benefit from career programs and mentoring, it is vital that organisations also focus on building leadership capability around inclusion. One without the other does not change things.”

BIG DATA TSUNAMI A significant talent shortage is looming globally as companies seek to leverage big data for competitive advantage but struggle to find people with the right skills and competencies in this niche area. Research from Hudson, reveals that 78% of Australian respondents think their organisation currently lacks the skills and competencies to successfully undertake a big data initiative effectively. In response to this, Mark Steyn, CEO of Hudson Asia-Pacific, said that companies were struggling to identify and recruit the right people who will effectively manage, manipulate and most importantly, exploit these fast-growing data reserves. “Much has been written about Big Data and organisations know there is great value to be leveraged from the volume, variety and velocity of modern data sources. However, few are tackling the challenge of how to best resource the Big Data opportunity,” he said.

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He referenced a study by Gartner that estimated that “by 2015, 4.4 million information technology jobs globally will be created to support big data” but that “only one-third of the information technology jobs will be filled, and data experts will be a scarce, valuable commodity.” Steyn continued: “People who can blend deep technical expertise, business and analytical skills, an understanding of the market and the customer represent nirvana in terms of Big Data talent. Unfortunately, these individuals are in short supply. This presages a skills crisis of vast proportions and is forcing organisations to look outside the usual supply network for talent.” The hardest professional to source, according to Steyn, is the big data analyst. Considering the current dearth of candidates psychologists from Hudson’s R&D team profiled the competencies and

attributes that big data analysts should display and found “an elusive blend of technical and soft abilities which were critical to success in the analyst role.” However they also found that potential big data analysts could come from widely disparate backgrounds, such as sales, information technology, marketing, and engineering – something that will give hope to companies struggling to identify and recruit the right people. “Each organisation is at a different stage of leveraging big data and it is essential to find the right talent to unlock value from the data tsunami and turn it into actionable insights which deliver business value,” said Steyn. “Big data is as an equal opportunity disruption because all enterprises have access to vast streams of data. Those that invest in exploiting the data, and take the time to carefully find, hire and retain the right skills mix will achieve competitive advantage,” he added.

F E A T U R E S

The ultimate timesheet

INDUSTRY DIVIDED OVER APPRENTICE PAY RISE Junior apprentices have been given a pay rise for the first time in 40 years but the decision by the Fair Work Commission has received a mixed reception. The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union said the increase was "short sighted" as it did not apply to those already in a training program or apprenticeship whilst the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Peter Anderson declared the decision a “body blow” to employers wanting to offer new apprenticeships. “Australians wanting to tackle youth unemployment should view this decision with grave concern,” said Anderson. "Dramatically increased employment costs will cruel the capability of employers to take on apprentices in an affordable way. Increasing the costs of employing an apprentice not only impacts employers, but destroys the opportunities for many young people who want to develop a career in the trades." Anderson’s views were reflected by Master Builders Australia chief executive officer Wilhelm Harnisch. “The Fair Work Commission’s decision today will lock thousands of young Australians out of rewarding careers in an industry crying out for more skilled workers over the next decade,” Harnisch said in a statement. “The Commission’s decision will simply price many apprentices out of what is

already a tight job market and at a time when the building and construction (industry) is struggling and less able to afford to take them on.” The Fair Work Commission argued that the pay rise was beneficial for both apprentices and employees. "We consider that such a differential is appropriate in setting a fair and relevant minimum safety net for apprentices and would recognise the benefits of having better-educated and potentially more productive young people entering apprenticeships," the commission said in a statement. The Australian Industry Group commented cautiously on the announcement by commending the win for apprentices, but raising concerns for employers. Chief Executive, Innes Willox, described the changes as an attempt to “strike a careful balance between the need to modernise wages and conditions for apprentices, without jeopardising jobs and career prospects for young people”. Willox expressed hope the wage rises for first and second year apprentices would not impact on apprentice numbers “which are already under pressure”. “Despite this, there is the risk that the higher rates will have negative employment effects. Hopefully this will not be the case, as apprenticeships are vital in addressing skill shortages and in providing rewarding careers,” he added.

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astutepayroll.com recruitment extra 2013 September 13

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Online Recruitment

No salary boom expected (unless you are a CEO) Despite a conservative salary outlook, more than one in five candidates expects to receive a salary increase of more than 6% in the current pay review period yet 89% of employers plan to keep salary increases below that level, according to research carried out by Hays. The annual Hays Salary Guide asked more than 1,600 employers about their salary intentions for the current pay review period. Overall, only 3% plan to increase salaries by more than 6% and a further 8% do not intend to award any salary increases at all. However, the majority (57%) of employers plan to increase salaries up to 3% and 32% intend to award pay increases of 3-6%. “Employers are looking to maintain costs where possible,” explains Nick Deligiannis, Managing Director of Hays in Australia and New Zealand. “For candidates this means looking at the opportunity for professional growth offered by a potential employer and not just the salary. This will help you position for promotion once inside the organisation to command greater salary increases down the track,” says Deligiannis. “The potential for salary increases moves up and down as economic conditions change so it is important not to overreact to salary trends particularly

if you have not been job hunting since the salary market was strong in your sector. “Employers also need to tread carefully in this market and ensure they are selling the full range of the benefits they offer employees when they are interviewing job candidates. “Open and honest communication with existing and potential employees regarding salaries and benefits is very important to help bridge the gap in pay expectations.” According to the Salary Guide, the employers who do not intend to award salary increases were led by those in Advertising & Media (21%), followed by Construction, Property & Engineering (16%) and Transport & Distribution (14%). Hospitality, Travel & Entertainment was the steadiest pay sector with 72% of employers intending to award increase of up to 3%. IT & Telecommunications appears among the most generous with 36% of employers intending to award pay increases of 3-6% and 10% willing to go beyond the 6% mark. However, according to Brian Seymour on Today Tonight the top-paid CEOs – who have an average salary of $6.5 million – will be immune from such salary restrictions and can expect to see a continued upward trajectory in terms of salaries and bonuses.

New app brings jobs direct to jobseeker A recently released free app for Australian job seekers and employers has quickly become one of the most popular downloads on the Apple App Store, according to Expr3ss! Managing Director, Dr Glyn Brokensha. The Expr3ss! JobStr3am! app is a tool that sends a flow of job opportunities to users from more than 100 national employers as they become available in real time. Brokensha said, “Our goal in releasing this free app is to help make it easier, faster and more accurate for our employer customers to rapidly connect with the right staff in the most efficient way possible.

14 September 2013 recruitment extra

“In an environment where unscrupulous employers exist, job seekers can be confident that all the jobs listed are with businesses that have a superior track record as employers. These are quality jobs from quality employers who place a high value on selecting and retaining the right staff.” The web-based recruitment and selection management tool works by capturing, tracking and analysing applicants from all advertising sources and other channels. Expr3ss! can additionally show an employer where their best applicants are coming from and where they should spend money on marketing.

Resume reading time saver CareerOne has announced the launch of ‘SeeMore in a Box’, a new search and analytics platform that uses a unique algorithm to search and sort incoming resumes. The SeeMore technology hopes to help recruiters cut down on the amount of time spent going through the resumes of candidates by ranking and analysing the data based on search criteria and using Monster’s 6sense semantic technology. SeeMore has been trialed by the B Series Group of Recruitment Consultancies who reported a 50% improvement in search times per job, as well as a 40% increase in shortlisted candidates per role. In addition, on using the SeeMore tool the B Series Group secured one successful candidate for every three referred, compared to just one in five previously. Commenting on the trial, Ken Fowler, head of the B Series Group of Recruitment Consultancies, said: “SeeMore offers a ‘recruiter like’ understanding of the group of skills and qualifications needed to meet job requirements, yielding a more qualified shortlist of candidates. The result – placing more talent, saving time and making money.” Karen Lawson, CareerOne’s chief executive, commented, “The cloud technology utilised by SeeMore in a Box is suited to large enterprises and agencies through ATS integration, but also offers SMEs, who are typically time and resource poor, an indispensable recruitment tool. Also, by dramatically reducing the time required to make a recruitment decision, businesses safeguard their employment brands and keep top candidates engaged.”

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 July 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

27.92%

www.linkedin.com

19.00%

jobrapido Australia

au.jobrapido.com

3.91%

CareerOne

www.careerone.com.au

3.75%

Job Seeker

www.jobseeker.com.au

2.92%

MyCareer

www.mycareer.com.au

2.89%

SimplyHired Australia

www.simplyhired.com.au

2.28%

Indeed Australia

au.indeed.com

2.10%

Australian JobSearch

www.jobsearch.gov.au

1.98%

indeed Australia

www.indeed.com.au

1.91%

Woolworths - Careers

www.wowcareers.com.au

1.10%

Hays Personnel Services

www.hays.com.au

0.72%

jobsearch.com.au

www.jobsearch.com.au

0.69%

Fair Work Online

www.fairwork.gov.au

0.65%

Star Now Australia

www.starnow.com.au

0.65%

SpotJobs

www.spotjobs.com

0.64%

A Plan for Australian Jobs

www.aussiejobs.innovation.gov.au

0.58%

indeed

www.indeed.com

0.57%

Jobs.com.au

www.jobs.com.au

0.56%

Jobs.wa.gov.au

www.jobs.wa.gov.au

0.53%

Date

Market Share

Date

Market Share

Jul-12

0.78%

Feb-13

0.99%

Aug-12

0.78%

Mar-13

0.95%

Sep-12

0.78%

Apr-13

0.96%

Oct-12

0.84%

May-13

0.99%

Nov-12

0.84%

Jun-13

0.93%

Dec-12

0.69%

Jul-13

0.98%

Jan-13

0.94%

recruitment extra 2013 September 15

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

The generation gap in engagement

For the first time in history, the standard workplace comprises four generations of employees. From the traditionalists (born in 1945 or earlier) through to the millennials (born after 1981) the diversity in age and life experience is presenting engagement challenges to HR worldwide. However, Gallup research recommends a targeted approach that focuses on greatest return on investment. Baby boomers present the greatest management problem, with 73% either actively disengaged or disengaged at work. Nearly 40% said they would jump ship to another organisation in the next twelve months if the economy improves. Given baby boomers and Gen Xers represent 88% of the workforce, Gallup editor Susan Sorenson advised HR practitioners to develop a focussed engagement campaign to appeal to the majority. “Making a targeted effort to raise [employee] engagement levels could have important ramifications for companies,” she said. Despite the rhetoric around problems engaging millennials, the research found 33% of millennials were engaged, second only to 41% of traditionalists. However, the population of oldest and youngest workers accounted for only 12% of the workforce, so Sorenson said “employers would be wise to find ways to boost engagement among those in the middle generations”. The research said engagement for baby boomers and gen Xers was “connected to having a strong sense of their company’s mission and purpose”. Baby boomers “respond to managers who make an extra effort to show they care. Managers should keep this in mind during dayto-day interactions and find ways to communicate interest in these employees by inquiring about their work and other important aspects of their lives,” it said. Despite their engagement with the workforce, millennials reported they were most likely to leave an organisation after 12 months if the economy picks up. Nearly half of actively disengaged millennials wanted to find a new job, however so do 17% of engaged ones. Methods to counter this include emphasising career opportunities and growth within the organisation. Traditionalists were found to be most engaged, with 44% saying they were engaged with their role and organisation.

16 September 2013 recruitment extra

Public sector cuts undermine productivity

Wide-scale public service cuts are “ultimately self-defeating” as the productivity loss outweighs any economic gain, according to research conducted by the Centre for Policy Development (CPD). Death by a thousand cuts was funded by the Community & Public Sector Union/Civil Service Association of WA, and used case studies from the Western Australian and Commonwealth public services. It said during 2012 more than 50,000 public service workers were laid off in the name of “efficiency drives”. However the across-the-board cuts have resulted in loss of workforce capability, loss of productivity and innovation, and loss of faith in government services, it said. Decreased staffing levels have led to increased workloads on existing staff resulting in increased errors, according to the report. “Survey results have identified 55.2% of staff who have reported a reduction in quality of services, 53.2% reported more mistakes were being made, 71.4% reported increased workloads and targets and 60.6% reported staff reductions and/or unfilled positions.” Far from making the public sector more efficient, the cuts were “contributing to a decrease in quality and outputs”. CPD research director Christopher Stone said the research showed the wide spread cuts were “causing long-term damage to the institutions of government”. The report said challenges included replacing the ageing public sector workforce, retaining knowledge, addressing potential skills shortages and keeping pace with technological changes. They presented state and federal governments with an “an urgent need for investment in succession management and workforce planning, as well as the implementation of mentoring, coaching and succession programs to address the drain of corporate knowledge”. Senior executive service staff said HR positions were the second easiest roles to fill, but presented a 97% chance of having a severe impact if not staffed with appropriate skills. ICT positions were routinely identified as difficult to fill and retain. Failure to fill ICT position would result in a severe impact on work capability and service delivery. The practice of outsourcing ICT projects has led to a dearth

of in-house skills, according to the report. The combination of “private sector contractors who are more highly paid than their public sector equivalents” and a “lack of understanding [about] public sector values” resulted in cost overruns and failed projects. “Eventually, contracted senior managers disappear, taking their accumulated project knowledge with them, leaving the inexperienced public sector staff a little more experienced and anxious to move on.” The report said political “attacks” on the public sector had undermined confidence in service provision, leading to reduced employee engagement and job satisfaction. “Govts that behave as though they are still in opposition by insisting the public service is inefficient and across the board cuts can be made without consequences to service provision, will reduce the effectiveness of, and citizen trust in, public institutions,” it said. The report said political criticisms of the public sector created a negative perception, which reduced voluntarily compliance with laws and regulation, creating increased difficulty for individual success. This, according to the report, axiomatically further increased employee disengagement. Report author Kathy MacDermott said staff engagement was fundamental to raising productivity, but engagement was eroded both by political rhetoric that denigrated the public, and by the cuts themselves’ increasing workloads on remaining staff.

ICT skills needed to build productivity pipeline

A multi-faceted program of intensive information and communications technology (ICT) training is needed to better prepare Australia for the productivity gains to be made through the NBN and the digital economy, an Australian Workforce and Productivity Agency report has said. The report said ICT was a “vital enabler of productivity” but Australia lagged behind comparable OECD countries by way of infrastructure. It said the digital economy was estimated to be worth $20.4trillion at 2013. The total ICT workforce is projected to grow by approximately 33,200 workers, or 7%, by 2016-17. However, the growth is threatened by a projected shortage of skilled people, according to the report. AWPA CEO Robin Shreeve said the report showed “domestic supply of ICT skills [had] not kept pace with demand” and a “determined effort” was needed to advance digital productivity. “The challenge for industry, education providers and governments is to help foster an environment where careers in ICT are more attractive and where investment in ICT skills will be enhanced,” he said. The report said a slight increase in university graduates in 2011 meant only 35% of all students studying ICT qualifications finished

their courses. International enrolments are higher, and have double the completion rate of domestic students. The report said central to improving Australia’s digital productivity was addressing negative perceptions about ICT career opportunities. “A 2012 survey of ICT industry professionals and academics reinforced ‘the need for improving perceptions of ICT professions and raising the professional profile of ICT’, and identified the need for ‘greater industry-oriented profile-raising’ and collaboration between industry, academe and government,” it said.

HR vs IR in productivity claims

Investing in staff wellness programs can return $10,000 in productivity per year per employee while decreasing absenteeism by 32%, Davidson Trahaire Corpsych (DTC) research has found. The study draws into focus the question of whether industrial relations policies affect productivity, or whether productivity is the domain of HR. Following the announcement of the September 7 federal election, Opposition Leader Tony Abbott unveiled plans to undertake a Productivity Commission Review into Australia’s Fair Work Act to ensure the laws “work for everyone”. The announcement has drawn the ire of ACTU secretary Dave Oliver who said “Abbott must release the terms of reference for his Productivity Commission inquiry into industrial relations so workers know what might be at risk”. Davidson Trahaire CEO Michele Grow said the staff wellness research showed “looking after employees is the right thing to do for the financial strength” of business. The study of nearly 5,000 DTC clients found a cost benefit return to employers of $10,187.99 in productivity improvements per year for each employee for employers who conducted wellness programs. Gow said employee productivity can be impacted by any number of stressors, which resulted in reduced organisational productivity. The introduction of staff wellness programs resulted in increases in productivity of up to 25% and increases in motivation and and morale of up to 51%, according to Gow. “Investing in the health and wellbeing of employees through interventions such as employee assistance programs can help ensurethey are operating at optimum levels, thereby benefiting the business’s bottom line.” Griffith University employment relations professor Dr David Peetz said the productivity “crisis” lauded by opponents to the Fair Work Act was “no worse than the productivity crisis of WorkChoices”. “Looking back at the growth cycles over nearly half a century, there are not many occasions on which in can be said that IR policy had a notable impact,” 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.

recruitment extra 2013 September 17

Head to Head

ONLINE STAFFING - it is here and it is about your business

My head-to-head partner this month is Andrew Karpie, Analyst at Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA) based in the San Francisco Bay Area of the United States. Andrew is responsible for developing and publishing market and industry research and analysis about online work intermediation platforms. Rod: Andrew, I attended your presentations at SIA’s Executive Forum in Orlando in February this year. Here in Australia and New Zealand there has not been much discussion of the emerging Online Staffing sector but it seems we should be thinking about it. Andrew: I definitely think so. Over just several years, the Online Staffing segment (and that’s not counting crowdsourcing and other workforce-related platforms) reached US$1 billion in spend on the platforms in 2012, and we are seeing continuing growth at levels that will be quite a bit greater than 50% per annum. At this time, we are tracking at least 67 individual firms in this category scattered across the world. What is really striking about this growing population of Online Staffing platforms is the rate at which business model innovation is occurring. This is not just 67 companies fundamentally doing the same thing, the companies have realised that this digital platform model presents many different ways for addressing different segments of labour supply and demand. For example, most people think about a global platform, like freelancer.com, that supports remote virtual workers used by small businesses. But new online staffing firms in past years have taken many different approaches, even supporting the hiring of on-site workers locally, effectively playing the role of traditional staffing firms. Rod: How do you separate the blurred conversations about online staffing compared to online recruiting?

18 September 2013 recruitment extra

Andrew: Yes, well, these terms are frequently used rather loosely, but at SIA we’ve established some definitions to help with our research. For us, online recruiting refers to the traditional process of sourcing and recruiting candidates, but using “online methods” (such as career sites, job boards, social networks, etc). Online staffing, on the other hand, is a two-sided platform model that enables specific hirers and specific (typically contingent) workers to enter into, complete, and transact work arrangements. In other words, the traditional recruiting and placement process is replaced by a “self-service online work marketplace,” and the platform enables the work arrangement

online from the “posting of work” to the “payment of the worker”. Rod: I like the quote from oDesk’s CEO, Gary Swart "Work is no longer a place. Businesses are building flexible, distributed teams which create more economic opportunity for everyone. Online work is especially empowering start-ups, as the Internet connects them with the skilled professionals they need." Some of our reading for the preparation of this article has confirmed that the level of activity in Australia and New Zealand is higher than most recruitment industry participants would imagine. One leading company, Elance, publishes data that shows Australia is 3rd in the world behind

the USA and UK for jobs posted on its site. oDesk recently reported Australia has the highest spend per capita globally for them. Why is this sector experiencing such massive growth? Andrew: I think we are at a very special point in time where a number of forces and development are converging. First, businesses are requiring more and more flexibility and efficiency in their work arrangements, for example, to use highdemand, limited talent on a “fractional basis” only when it is needed. Second, new technologies and platform models have now made it possible, as never before, to arrange and even fully transact a work arrangement online – efficiently, quickly, often independent of worker and business locations. And finally, the working population has exhibited at least two tendencies: more desire for independence and flexibility in work arrangements to cope with the complexity of living in a modern society as well as full embracing of online technologies as a major part of living and working. As you have pointed out, the working population has been getting more and more conditioned as online consumers, so behaviourally getting work online is not seeming that different from getting books or music online. So there is a happy coincidence in all of this. But one other important explanation is that these online work arrangement platforms can be highly and rapidly scalable for a variety of reasons—one of those reasons is “they deliver”. Rod: The job breakdown for Elance in Australia is interesting – 44% of the jobs posted are creative, 39% IT, 8% operations and 7% marketing. These are the types of jobs you would expect to be handled online but do you see any trends to new job categories? Andrew: Yes, definitely. Just in terms of the type of work that can be performed online, remotely, we are seeing growth in business and administrative jobs such as finance, accounting, legal, customer service or in disciplines like engineering and architecture. These platforms are also a way to address the supply and demand problem of “short-tail” types of work (for example, specialists in a certain area of bioinformatics).

However, as I mentioned already, we are also seeing online platform models address supply and demand of onsite workers (ranging from food and event catering workers to field service technicians for electronics products or machinery)— workers that may be low cost and transient, or work arrangements that may be very episodic and geographically dispersed. There are a number of businesses in the US heading in this direction, TaskRabbit being the most popularised. But I am seeing this trend emerging in other industries, including mineral extraction and oil and gas, industries that are not unimportant in Australia. Rod: Andrew, this is both an exciting and scary article. If a recruitment owner or manager is reading this then they are seeing an emerging model that is here now, is bigger than imagined, is growing rapidly, and is expanding into new job categories. What strategies should recruitment agencies be putting in place to ensure their viability? Andrew: I don’t think there is any alternative than to go with the flow. I don’t mean try to go out and become a freelancer.com. I mean look seriously at these online staffing models and ask yourself how we can be more like them in terms of end-to-end integrated automation. If the talent supply chain is rationalised, then that leaves more time for staffing firms to focus on effective, valuable service for clients that machines cannot provide. I am seeing start-up staffing firms in the US and the UK that are getting launched with this model. I also see staffing firms thinking about whether this more efficient model can be adopted to low margin types of job requirements. Finally, I think there is a need to go beyond any biases one might have about what business clients really want. Business clients want quality, but faster and cheaper as well. Moreover, if you look more carefully, you will probably see that your clients are starting to use online workers, because it’s something these businesses need and want. Ignoring emerging client needs for new kinds of work arrangements is probably not a good strategy for work arrangement intermediaries— it is perhaps better to think in terms of new markets and products, and new ways to grow.

Andrew Karpie Andrew Karpie is an SIA Affiliate Analyst (see www.staffingindustry. com) covering online staffing, the human cloud and other areas of staffing technology. He has an extensive background as an analyst, manager, and consultant at the intersection of IT and services industries. He holds an MS in Quantitative Policy Analysis from Carnegie Mellon University.

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 September 19

We cordially invite you to the 2013 RECRUITMENT EXCELLENCE AWARDS

Please join us on Friday 25 October at the Art Gallery of New South Wales to recognise and honour the very best of Australiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s recruitment industry. Set in the prestigious surrounds of one of Sydneyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most iconic cultural landmarks we bring you an evening of celebration, networking, great food and unrivalled entertainment. Please help us to toast excellence in our field and congratulate the winners and finalists of the highly coveted Recruitment Excellence Awards.

Tickets on sale now at

recruitmentextra.com.au

n o s t e k c i T sale now This event is sponsored by:

Digital Feature

THE ONLINE INCLINE

“Online technologies have the potential to enhance recruitment processes in many ways both at the sourcing level and during interviewing, testing and onboarding. The opportunities are vast.”

by recruitment extra’s Imogen Tear

hat is online recruitment? In its widest context it means the use of the internet to source candidates and five years ago we would have been specifically referring to job boards, but today a whole array of innovative online tools and technologies exist. It’s been around 15 years since online job boards first made an appearance in Australia but it was only in the last five to 10 years that they really became the preferred method of advertising for recruiters and HR professionals. Whilst job boards undoubtedly changed the face of recruiting and established the internet as a place to search for roles the traditional pay-to-post job board has come under fire in recent times. Both recruiters and jobseekers have discussed in depth the relevance of the job board in today’s market and it is generally accepted that generalist job boards face tough competition from smaller niche job boards and most significantly social networks. More recruiters plan to invest in social media to fill roles than in any other channel in the future1 and according to a 2012 Jobvite survey2 this is because recruiters are getting better results. Almost half (43%) said they saw an increase in the quality of candidates and that it took less time to hire through social media. The sentiment clearly points to social recruiting as being at the forefront of many recruiters’ hiring strategies. However as recruiters turn to social media and post jobs through their social networks on LinkedIn, Facebook, Google+, Twitter, BeKnown and other groups are they at risk of spamming a whole swathe of potential candidates? It has to be questioned whether any passive jobseeker would open a job post ad that appeared in one of their online feeds. Savvy recruiters are aware of this and there are certainly some very clever, targeted campaigns

22 September 2013 recruitment extra

out there. But it is also true that others don’t know exactly how to harness social media intelligently and flood every contact with inappropriate emails, tweets and messages. The infamous Porter Novelli twitter campaign is a case in point. The initial enthusiasm of many to use social networks to source the best talent has not necessarily lived up to expectations and many of the claims around the impact social recruiting has had on the recruitment industry appear to be somewhat inflated. Peter Acheson, CEO of PeopleBank, says there have been many war stories from those who clambered on the social recruiting bandwagon without taking the necessary precautions. Online profiles, he warns, have a tendency to be subject “to colour and puffery” and it is crucial that recruiters fully check out all the details. Whilst Acheson concedes that recruiters are “wising up” he stresses the importance of following a good recruitment process when analysing potential candidates. He warns that “the pitfall is an over reliance on bottom line hiring technologies or platforms that means you end up with a sub-optimal recruitment outcome.” Some in the industry have begun to question the credibility of certain professional online communities and tools such as ‘endorsements’. Does anyone really believe they mean anything? Perhaps they do since there have been reports of people paying others to endorse them. But a lot of people remain sceptical particularly when you have personally received endorsements from people you know don’t have the authority to comment on your professional attributes. According to Acheson, “LinkedIn endorsements have created a further smokescreen around candidate capability. It is important to look at who has endorsed someone and ask why that person has recommended them.”

Another murky area is LinkedIn’s paid tools that allow jobseekers to pay a fee in order to move to the top of the applicant list and “stand out in search results with a premium icon on your profile.” Is this ethical and do recruiters not automatically notice that certain candidates have paid to come out top (if they haven’t already disabled the setting)? Recruiting online has to be subject to the same processes, controls and standards previously employed. Once the initial excitement at the hundreds and thousands of potential candidates out there in the ether has subsided the industry is likely to fine tune their approach and remember that online and social recruiting only form part of a bigger process. Online technologies have the potential to enhance recruitment processes in many ways both at the sourcing level and during interviewing, testing and onboarding. The opportunities are vast. Semantic search technologies, video interviewing,

gamification and the uptake of mobile technology are all new and exciting areas. Acheson points to online testing as one of the best examples of where evolving technologies can really help in the recruitment process. “Technologies are evolving and becoming better predictors of a candidates ability to do a role. Provided you are clear about the competencies a candidate needs for a role then using online psychometric testing to screen candidates is a good way of reducing 200 candidates down to 20,” he says. Dominc Toledo, Senior Vice President of PageUp People, also points to engagement, onboarding, learning and QR codes as future areas of interest for online technology but says mobile technology is the absolute key area for recruiters to be investing in. With statistics suggesting that by the end of 2013 the number of mobile-connected devices will exceed the world’s population3 it is vital that recruiters tap into this market. “For organisations to be successful in

the race for top talent, particularly in the current skills shortage, they must choose the communications medium or mix that will let ideal candidates interact with the organisation as easily and seamlessly as possible…organisations can’t afford to ignore mobile’s role in recruiting qualified talent.” Toledo is passionate about the need for industry to capitalise on the mobile trend. “Australia had a double digit growth in the last 12 months but whilst we have the rise of mobile moving to the mainstream, concurrently only a third of Fortune 500 companies have a career site that can be viewed on a mobile optimised device.” The rise of mobile seems irrefutable and research continually finds that the best way to engage with younger generations is through mobile and online means. So investing in the technology to capitalise on the opportunities created by mobile technology is crucial. Over the last 12 months headlines have screamed “job boards are dead”,

“social media is replacing recruiters”, “mobile is exploding” and whilst there may be some substance to these claims it is interesting to note that the latest statistics from research by Jobvite report that job boards still remain the most important source of roles for jobseekers with 32% finding their current role via a job board compared to 16% who found their current job via social media. And as it is recruiters that provide much of the life blood for job boards, the first two headlines are yet to be fully realised. As for mobile statistics it is pretty much a forgone conclusion that the use of mobile applications will only increase over the next few years. Yet interestingly a survey by Software Advice4 found that the most popular and effective recruiting channel is employee referrals that deliver (by far) the highest quality candidates. As such it could be argued that the future of online recruitment relies on engaging traditional offline communities through online networks. And whilst many in the field are already trying to work this strategy it will be those that do their research and approach online campaigns with an intellectually thought out and carefully crafted methodology that will get results. A blanket spew of job posts and thoughtless attempts to connect to inappropriate people will only alienate the audience and have a detrimental effect on your brand. And in this day and age there is no hiding your very public online fails.  Softwareadvice.com Jobvite, 2012 Social Job Seeker Survey Cisco Visual Networking Index: 2012-2017 4 Softwareadvice.com 1

2 3

recruitment extra 2013 September 23

Digital Feature

Social Recruiting

Parts of the Process By Steve Shepherd, Group Director and Director of Public Affairs, Randstad

As organisations in a variety of industries continue to experience difficulty in attracting and retaining the best talent, the onus is on business leaders and HR professionals to consider the methods which should be used to attract the best person for the role. And while online and social channels are starting to receive more attention throughout the industry, HR professionals need to remember that these tools can’t replace a strong overall recruitment strategy. The real test for organisations is melding these tools into an overall strategy in a way which maximises their potential and compliments the other recruitment techniques currently being used. Randstad research shows 67% of Australian employers use online job boards or web advertising whilst 54% partner with a recruitment agency to source talent. Headhunting or executive search is increasingly utilised as an option, with 45% opting for this approach; 44% use print advertising and 39% have an employee referral program. Increasingly however, HR professionals are recognising the importance of using social media and professional networks. Two thirds of Australian employers believe social and professional networks - such as Facebook and LinkedIn - should form part of an organisation’s strategy to attract talent. Promoting a strong employer brand remains the primary purpose for businesses using social media to attract talent; however, the use of professional networking groups, which are a very effective way to build connections with passive jobseekers, is also growing at a considerable rate. Coupled with the growing use of social and professional network channels, the use of online job boards and web advertising has also exploded over the past couple of years. Over two thirds of respondents in the Randstad World of Work Report say they are actively using these tools to target and attract staff. While the use of these platforms is

24 September 2013 recruitment extra

booming, it’s important to understand the benefits which are inherent in these tools and consider how these can best be incorporated into a wider recruitment strategy. Internet Recruitment Internet recruitment is one of the most costeffective methods of advertising a vacancy. It has the ability to speed up the recruitment cycle and streamline the administrative elements associated with this. There are a wide range of sites where the advert can be placed, be it general or specialist job boards, and can support the organisation’s employer brand if done correctly. However, care needs to be taken when drafting specifications on websites as incorrect or lack of clarification on criteria can lead to your organisation receiving large numbers of inappropriate applications. Local newspapers, specialist/trade journals and national newspapers are all popular methods of recruitment and research indicates that people with specialist skills often look for vacancies in the relevant professional journal first. Whilst internet advertising is eroding the presence of job advertisements in print media, with the recent ANZ Jobs Board survey pointing to a continued decline, there are instances and roles where a print ad may generate the best results for your organisation. Social Platforms With social networking ever on the rise, specialist professional career sites have experienced phenomenal growth in the last few years. Almost four million professionals in Australia now have a LinkedIn profile. While not replacing traditional face-to-face networking, these sites give you access to a far wider pool of potential candidates in the first instance. As such, they can be useful in terms of building online relationships with people and give you an idea of their capabilities before you start the next steps of mentioning potential roles and moving towards face-to-face meetings. Randstad’s World of Work Report 2012/13 shows more than a quarter of employers are already using social media to advertise jobs or promote their employer brand, as well

as using it as a useful tool to determine suitable candidates – with a quarter stating that they use social media to screen job applicants, a number which is expected to increase. In using social media for such purposes, employers should be mindful that social media may not provide a true picture of a candidate’s professional capabilities. Opting not to interview an otherwise suitable candidate because of some embarrassing pictures might mean you miss out on a candidate that is extremely good at adapting to fit the environment in which they find themselves. Regardless of the primary method that your organisation uses to attract and retain talent, it is important to remember that online or social media channels are just one part of the process. The potential of both mediums does not negate the importance of other recruitment techniques in ensuring a candidate is the right fit for your business. Combining social media with analytical tools and traditional interviewing techniques is vital to ensure your business is hiring the candidate most suited to the role and organisation. While social media and online recruitment can help you reduce your costs, this benefit can be lost if the right candidate is not hired first time. In this way both social media and online recruitment should be seen as a powerful addition to your HR processes, rather than a replacement for them. 

Steve Shepherd is group director and director of public affairs at Randstad. Steve has been in the recruitment industry for over 20 years and is actively involved in developing the profile and professionalism of the recruitment industry as an active RCSA Member since 1998 (and former president) and a board member of CIETT, the International Confederation of Private Employment Agencies. www.randstad.com.au.

Mobile, video and the changing face of recruitment By Richard Spencer, Director, TWOSocial

s the story goes, Google received 75,000 applications for their 6,000 vacancies last year, a brand, and by extension, an employer brand to be enviable of. And so arguably, they should be the last business that needs to make a recruitment video to underpin their brand strategy. Even so, earlier this year Google released a two hour long recruitment film designed to do little more than encourage even more people to apply for jobs. Oh and amuse cinema going audiences. Oh and of course to make money for Regency Enterprises – the studio that made The Internship! Apparently Google had no direct involvement in the movie at all, apart from providing access to their offices, IP and brand, but it sure didn’t hurt the brand (even if the movie was not as funny as Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn’s last collaborative project). The Internship wasn’t really aimed at a recruitment market, but the actual recruitment movies that Google has made are great, they appear to be real, they give viewers a glimpse behind the curtain and therefore give applicants a genuine (or seemingly) view of what it would be like to work for the business. So why doesn’t every business augment their online recruitment strategy with a video? Well it’s not because no one will be watching. According to Freewheel, the first quarter of 2013 saw a 30% jump in digital video views from a huge number to an even larger number still. And maybe that’s part of the problem? The fact that 150 years of video is uploaded to YouTube every 48 hours is quite a well-known fact, but arguably too large to get us excited. Equally, we know that YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world on search volume – second only to Google (their parent

“Video is not only a

great way to brand your firm and client organisations, it is quickly becoming our preferred digital medium.”

company of course) but again, we don’t spend anywhere near enough time worrying about the SEO quality of our video content. But maybe the thing to change our minds, the thing to bring video to the fore, the game changer, or at least according to the International Telecommunication Union (the United Nations agency for information and communication technologies) is the mobile device. Globally there are now 6.8 billion mobile phone subscriptions, almost as many as there are people and a significant number of them are connected to broadband. Seventy-seven percent of households in the developed world, according to the ITU, are connected to the internet through fixed connections. This has essentially made accessing the internet a lean forward experience for us, with even most digital natives growing up with PC connected broadband as the norm. By the end of 2013, ITU estimates have 700 million households around the world connected to fixed-broadband, of which about half are in the developing world. The picture changes significantly though with regard to active mobile broadband connections, again according to the ITU, 1.1 billion of the 2 billion web connected mobile devices

are in the developing world. And they use them to watch a lot of video. As do we in Australia. 56% of people are watching at least one video a month on their mobile device a figure likely to increase further as connectivity improves as the device is perfectly suited for the medium. So what does that all mean for recruitment? First, and arguably most importantly, recruiters have to be more aggressive in reviewing the form in which content is delivered to an audience. Video is not only a great way to brand your firm and client organisations, it is quickly becoming our preferred digital medium – and if we want to watch more video as content consumers, then we need to make more video as content producers. Video interviewing is effectively ‘business as usual’ and I remain unconvinced about the video resume, but brand video, thought leadership content, advisory information and internal recruitment films are all strong and viable reasons to make more video content. In fact as a great example of the latter, you should do yourself a favour and in the interest of research if nothing else, take a look at this recruitment film from Twitter http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=vccZkELgEsU – brilliant. 

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 September 25

Digital Feature

HOW ONLINE WORK IS CHANGING THE TALENT WAR By Gary Swart, CEO of oDesk

here is a war for talent raging, with every business wanting to win because the winners will prosper while losers risk fading away. Every day the global skills shortage makes finding, attracting and retaining top talent more challenging. Just look at these figures: • There will be a shortfall of 1.5 million graduates by 2020 in the US, and 23 million in China1 • 66% of multinational companies say talent shortages will affect their bottom line in the next five years2 • 81% of executives believe talent management will be a key competitive advantage over the next three years.3 Online work is a simple but very powerful weapon that is widely available to help the businesses battling for talent find and hire the skills they can’t get locally. A lot of jobs these days can be done with a computer and an Internet connection, so online working is on the rise. According to Staffing Industry Analysts, the online work market grew 67% last year, and is expected to reach US$5 billion by 2018.4 We have already seen US$1 billion cumulative spent on oDesk alone, indicating this isn’t just a fad – online work will be a key component of the future workforce. But by bringing the work to the workers rather than workers to the work, we are changing traditional work models. Everything from organisational structures and team workflows to career paths and education are undergoing radical shifts. Here are four key trends I see emerging. 1. Specialists will dominate Specialists aren’t often needed full time or permanently, making it less viable to become experts in one area. Online work is cracking open the potential market available to specialists, creating a long tail of opportunity that not only supports them but seeks them out. It also means companies can access whatever specialists they need from wherever they are, not

26 September 2013 recruitment extra

Don’t be a needle in the haystack By Jane Anderson, Career and Executive Coach, Brisbane

having to worry if they are available locally. For example, one entrepreneur I know has built his entire business using specialised online contract workers. George Smith, the founder of Intelligent Interactions, has an entirely virtual workforce which includes a multimedia designer, a WS02 developer, an Amazon Web Services architect and an ExtJS developer. Such roles are far too specialised to support a full-time, onpremise employee. This shows that smart workers will begin to take a deeper focus rather than being all-rounders, as higher demand for specialisation leads to higher compensation. 2. Online team management will be an asset Successfully managing flexible, distributed and virtual teams will become an increasingly valuable professional skill as more and more work is done online. Job candidates will not only be evaluated for their ability to manage online teams, but may also be considered more compelling if they come with an established online team of their own. Those who do so will be called “supermanagers” who can get more done in less time, with fewer resources. They will be highly sought-after in the job market. 3. Big data will power agile staffing Businesses need flexible teams they can rapidly adapt to stay competitive as dynamics change. But this need for speed has to be balanced with process analysis. Businesses that are using big data to streamline their processes will start applying this analysis to hiring and managing. Analytics-driven HR will become an important way for companies to gauge the effectiveness of areas like team structure, individual progress, collaboration tools, workflows and decision-making processes, and working relationships between team members. Analysing data on team interactions and outcomes will help teams keep moving in the right direction.

4. New skills will emerge If specialisation is the new black, what will be the next big skill to specialise in? It likely doesn’t exist yet. For example, take a look at mobile apps and you can see how quickly high-demand skills take off. In Q2 2009, businesses spent $273,000 on mobile app development on oDesk; in Q2 2013, they spent $6.3 million. We’re seeing new skills emerge online like Econometrics and YouTube Marketing specialists. In fact, we’ve even seen job posts as granular as a “Bioinformatics Expert” or “Theoretical Physicist”. These trends demonstrate just how online work can change the talent war to benefit both companies and individuals. Professionals are empowered to take control of their careers and choose when, where and how they want to work. Businesses can rapidly scale their workforce, hire specialists on demand, and create lean, nimble companies that can grow quickly and efficiently. Online work is becoming a not-so-secret competitive advantage for businesses that are serious about winning the talent war.  FOOTNOTES: 1 Preparing for a New Era of Work, McKinsey Global Institute, November 2012 2 Scaling Risk To Opportunity, Economist Intelligence Unit/MAXIS Global Benefits Network study, June 2012 3 Rethinking Human Resources in a Changing World, KPMG, October 2012

Staffing Industry Analysts

Gary Swart is the CEO of oDesk, the world’s largest online workplace. Gary is a thought leader in entrepreneurship; how best to hire and manage teams; and the future of work, including online work. Previously, he led SMB Sales for the Americas at IBM’s Rational Software Product Group, and also served as VP of Worldwide Sales at Intellibank, where he was responsible for leading the sales organization.Gary holds a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Maryland.

s a Career Coach, I spend at least two hours each day assisting my clients to find the right recruiters for them to approach on LinkedIn. You would think this would be fairly easy wouldn’t you? If only! In reality, I waste endless time individually searching through various job sites to find recruiters and then end up going back to LinkedIn in to search for them by name. The truth is, most recruiters do not have their profile optimised and this can make it very difficult for them to be found easily by prospective candidates. Here are my top tips to get the back end of your LinkedIn profile matching up with the front end so you turn up in important search results: 1. Keyword optimise. Remember, LinkedIn is a Search Engine Optimised site so if you want to be found, you need to make sure that your profile is full of relevant key words. For example, if am searching for a recruitment agency in Brisbane who deals with IT clients, I will type in the keywords “IT Recruiter Brisbane”. The person or recruitment agency with the most keywords will turn up in that search result along with the person who is a 1st, 2nd or 3rd level connection. If you would like to test if your profile has enough keywords to sit at the top of searches, I recommend identifying five to seven keywords that your target audience may search for. Then place them throughout your profile in as many sections as possible. Once your profile is keyword optimised, you can check and monitor your rankings for each keyword. LinkedIn ranks results according to relevance/relationship to you so it’s best to do a Google ‘x-ray’ search instead. To check your rankings within the LinkedIn Australia website, follow these steps: • Log out of LinkedIn • Enter the keyword into the Google browser e.g. if you’re looking for the

keywords ‘IT recruitment’ and you’re based in Sydney, you would enter: site:au. linkedin.com “IT recruitment Sydney” • Review the Google results to assess your ranking. 2. Key Skills. Another great tip is to check on the keywords that are being most sought after and ensure those words are in your profile. You can check this on the www.linkedin.com/skills page. For example “Enterprise Architecture” searches are currently down 1% year from year on year. However, the skill “Enterprise Governance” is up 10%. It is important to cover all bases and the good news is that you can use up to 51 key skills. 3. Ensure your title reflects the keywords that you want to be found for. If your title is “CEO Widget Recruitment PTY LTD”, the likelihood of someone trying to find you is very low. Ensure your title reflects what you do, for example if you are the Financial Recruitment Consultant for Widget Recruitment ensure your title is “Financial Services Recruitment Consultant, Sydney”. 4. Write a BOOM summary. By this I mean it meets the blend of key words and of your company brand. This section is limited to only 2,500 characters so I recommend the following layout: a. 1st paragraph: This is your LinkedIn elevator speech and should cover your title, years’ experience and what you can offer your prospective clients. For example. “Professional Recruitment Director with over 15 years’ experience in Sales and Marketing Recruitment within the Gas, Oils and Mining sectors. Experienced in building talent management and sourcing strategies and providing high volume recruitment solutions”. These tasks also need to be the keywords you want to be found for.

b. 2nd Paragraph: “Some of the organisations I have worked with include………..” If these brands elevate your brand then list them here. Ensure you put the most important information to the top of the page. c. 3rd Paragraph: “Career achievements include…” and list your top three to five achievements. How many candidates have you placed? What organisations are your clients? What feedback have your clients and candidates given? d. 4th Paragraph: “How I can help you…..” or “Key Specialities”. Again these should be based on the keywords someone would be searching for and it’s a great way to repackage your keywords and double your Search Engine Optimisation. 5. Proactively connect with others. This might seem simple but I see a lot of profiles who don’t make the most of connections. Research tells us that your search results will start to kick in at about 140 connections. Also, you will only turn up in search results where you are a 1st, 2nd or 3rd connection. 6. Use the media plugins. This is the biggest opportunity missed with many of my clients. The summary and experience areas have the option to add in videos, documents and graphics which can help showcase your business.  Jane Anderson is a professional and experienced certified career and business coach. She also assists businesses and individuals to explore their personal brand and get the best out of their linked in profile. She is also the author of ‘How to use your linked in profile for career purposes’. Jane is also a successful speaker and runs regular linked in workshops. More details can be found at http://insideoutcoach.com.au/ or http://jane-anderson.com.au/

recruitment extra 2013 September 27

Digital Feature LAW FEATURE

LAWLeadership FEATURE

On, Off, Social, Print, Outdoor, Ambient: Reaching your target audience with what’s right

By Mike De Vile, Agency Head, Western Australia, Reagent Employer Marketing

hen I was 13, I got a job delivering Yellow Pages to everyone in the east of my humble town of Saffron Walden in Essex, England. Since then, I can’t remember ever picking up the heavy yellow book. I don’t believe that my work experience put me off this classified bible, but it just isn’t relevant. However, if you ask the company that cleans our office about the value of advertising in this directory then he can wax lyrical about how useful he finds it. In the same way that the Yellow Pages still has some relevancy, there are plenty of long established job boards that will only be too happy to swallow a healthy chunk of your budget to deliver more candidates than you’ll ever need. However, we’re not in the business of delivering innumerable candidates to our clients. We’re more interested in delivering the right message, at the right time to the right audience. Rather than looking at one specific method for reaching our target audience, we like to take a holistic approach that considers the media consumption habits of the audience we are looking to engage with and how we create a compelling reason to convert those who are relevant into an application. Looking at the different media that are available to us and which our target audience consumes at different times each day, creates a rather confusing picture. However, by knowing exactly whom we wish to target, we can simplify our strategy for attracting and engaging the right target audience. Taking one normal day, we can divide that day up into five parts: early morning, commute to work, at work, commute home and at home to late PM. By applying logic, research and a sound brief, we can start to make some educated

28 September 2013 recruitment extra

assumptions about what our target audience is consuming during these different segments in their day. To bring this to life, let’s take a hypothetical situation that involves a recent graduate who is in a temporary job and on the hunt for the role to start her career. When she wakes up, she listens to Spotfiy. On her commute to work, she checks her personal emails and Facebook account. At work, she looks at various industry magazines and her local news site. On her way home, she passes many outdoor advertisements. Finally, at home she’ll be looking at lifestyle sites while watching TV. We have quickly established that in this hypothetical day, her media habits take her from radio through online, print and back to online all in one typical day. This obviously highlights a number of relevant opportunities where we can deliver the right message to our young professional and, since everyone is glued to their smart phone, she will be consuming different mediums simultaneously. But of course, timing is everything. So we need to select the best times. Her commute to work and at work are the segments of her day with the highest potential for her to engage with our employment opportunity. Converting this interest into an application relies heavily on the opinion she forms of the employer. This means making a compelling and relevant website that renders beautifully on her iPhone,

iPad and MacBook, to create a truly engaging experience of the employer. From here we need to offer a welcoming experience when she progresses through the ATS. So, the next time you see a copy of the Yellow Pages propping up the bookshelf, take a moment to consider all the other media you dismiss, because they are being consumed by someone and, at some point, will be relevant to you.  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.

The human touch By Bruce Watt, PhD, Managing Director, DDI Australia

n a June 2013 article by George Anders featured on LinkedIn, there is a diverse range of job fields the US Bureau of Labor Statistics expects will increase by 20% in the US by 2020. The one common element across the job roles is that each one involves empathy. The article provides a number of examples across our current business landscape where technology has reduced or removed elements of human interaction. Anders reinforces, and it is my very own personal belief, that face to face interactions will continue to be relevant if not more so no matter the level of technological involvement in services and operations within our day-to-day and working lives. Daniel Goleman, well known for his research on emotional intelligence (EI), maintains that 85% of a leader’s success is based on the leader’s emotional intelligence, while only 15% is based on a person’s intelligence (IQ) or technical skills. His research showed that for all jobs, at all levels, EI proved to be twice as important as technical skills and IQ. The importance and relevance of empathy and EI is most probably not new to you and has been discussed in the HR space for a long time. What I would like to share with you is research from the Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organisations that recommends training in DDI’s Interaction Essentials increases emotional intelligence. This research also identifies DDI’s learning approach of observing then emulating models as an effective learning model in promoting social and emotional competence for adults in the workplace. DDI’s Interaction Essentials helps increase emotional intelligence by equipping leaders with the skills they need to build strong relationships. The Interaction Essentials include the Key Principles and Interaction Guidelines. While these concepts may not be new, they are instrumental in building leaders’ intelligence into themselves and others by:

“85% of a leader’s success is based on the leader’s emotional intelligence (EI), while only 15% is based on a person’s intelligence (IQ) or technical skills.” - Daniel Goleman, Research on EI

1. Addressing the personal needs of others in an interaction: a. Am I maintaining or enhancing esteem? b. Am I listening to others and responding with empathy? c. Am I asking for help and encouraging involvement from others? d. Am I sharing thoughts, feelings and rationale to build trust? e. Am I providing support without removing responsibility from the other person to build ownership? 2. Address the practical needs of others in an interaction and structure a discussion to end in clear and agreed outcomes: a. OPEN: Have I outlined the purpose of the discussion and ensured understanding of the group on that purpose? b. CLARIFY: Have I collected facts and figures and uses and concerns? c. DEVELOP: Have I asked questions and included others in idea generation? Have I done more seeking then telling? d. AGREE: Do we all agree on a plan moving forward? Am I providing support to those who will take action? e. CLOSE: Have I taken a final check everyone is clear on agreements

and next steps and committed to following through? As the Consortium research highlights, our learning approach involves five central components: content overview, positive model, skill practice, feedback and application on the job. A key element of this process is self-assessment and awareness and when leaders learn the Interaction Essentials, there are multiple check points for verifying understanding. This means learners are continually learning, practicing and assessing how they can address the needs of others and how their own tendencies and behaviours can affect the use of the Interaction Essentials. When leaders ask these simple questions and follow the five step guideline process, the Interaction Essentials provides a proven approach to effectively handling day-to-day conversations raising the awareness of how one’s behaviours affect others. When leaders use the Interaction Essentials successfully, they can produce effective conversations which are at the heart of successful leadership. Leaders of the future (and us all really)can be well equipped for any role, especially those requiring the use of empathy, building relationships with others – or any face to face or virtual interaction that involves the human touch.  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 September 29

The Panel

Much like the argument itself, the debate around the demise of the job board seems never to die. Where do you see the future of the job board heading and how will it fit in with new and emerging recruitment technologies?

Pete Watson

Vibeke Thomsen

Matt Sampson

Director Mint Recruitment

Founder and Manager Galaxy Recruitment

Owner and Managing Director Aspect Personnel

Within any recruitment sector that is candidate lead, the online job board is bordering on being completely redundant. In fact, even before modern recruitment technologies started to enjoy real popularity and prominence in the past five years, job board advertising was already deemed a bit useless. Why? Well, in our world (of Recruitment-to-Recruitment), our clients only really get truly excited about passive candidates! In other words, candidates who are not technically on the market, who are doing well in their current job, who are still gainfully employed. And to be blunt, this type of candidate never uses a job board to explore the market. Reason being, the job board approach doesn’t allow them to conduct a subtle, controlled, pinpointed, under-the-radar exploration of the broader market. It’s too public and risky to them! What it will do, however, is guarantee that that their CV will get lost in the quagmire, they’ll get endless calls about jobs that are irrelevant, while their details gather dust on random databases. In addition, they’ll be competing with dozens of lesser candidates for the same job! But ultimately, they’ll be putting their careers in the hands of a faceless recruiter who quite simply might never come up with the goods. So who actually responds to a job board advertisement in this day and age? Well, it may sound a bit harsh, but the only candidates who respond to online advertising nowadays are those who don’t really know their market. So that might mean somebody moving to Australia from overseas, or even interstate. But the switched on, finger-on-the-pulse, local candidates who want to explore the market, will discretely research online about who to approach, then check out their credentials on LinkedIn, and contact them directly. Ask any experienced and seasoned recruiter how much success they have had from job boards, and they’ll laugh. They’ll reminisce about their early career and that one now infamous candidate who used to reply to every single job that they ever posted, and the hundreds of CVs they had to delete every morning before getting down to the days real work. And they’ll also tell you that they don’t use job boards. Instead, they will utilise their network, work their referral opportunities, and search through tools like LinkedIn. We’re all so accessible nowadays, and tools like LinkedIn, Twitter and even Facebook (to a degree) are giving us the opportunity to sell ourselves to a passive market in a way that online job postings simply can’t do. Jobs boards have had their day. Why don’t you take that online advertising budget and spend it on the Christmas party? You might get more value from it. Pete started Mint Recruitment in London 10 years ago, and brought the Mint brand to Australia five years ago. As Managing Director, Pete takes overall responsibility for Mint’s three offices across the UK and Australia, and spends his time floating between Sydney, Melbourne and London meeting seasoned recruiters looking for their next move.

30 September 2013 recruitment extra

Sourcing talent is what separates a successful from an unsuccessful recruiter. Years ago, we relied on newspaper ads and job boards as our only enablers, but in this digital age we have a myriad of tools available in our talent acquisition mix, and in my view the only thing that can kill any of them would be the lack of job seeker interest. Fact is, different sources attract different job seekers. Job boards mainly attract ACTIVE job seekers and “window shoppers” but limit the access to passive candidates. They do however hold some value as a branding platform, even if suitable applicants may be limited. Social media is great for info gathering as well as accessing both passive and active talent but some active job seekers choose NOT to be profiled on LinkedIn or any social media, possibly preferring to use job boards for job searching. Trust and privacy concern is a concern for some. Personal profiles on social media being used by a 3rd party (such as a recruiter), without divulging this action to the particular person is unfortunately a story we have all heard. Despite a breach of the Privacy Act, it is however, hard to police. Most of us embrace social media and technology at work, but we must not forget that recruitment is a people business. The psychology of human beings leans towards personal interaction and hiding behind technology will remove the important trust factor. As a Rec2Rec firm, the candidates Galaxy placed over the past two years were sourced from the following channels: 30% referrals/ word of mouth, 20% headhunted, 25% from social network, 15% from job boards and 10% from networking events. Clearly, we need to continue using various sourcing channels, however, carefully monitor where we get the most bang for our buck. I am certain that job boards will continue to act as one of our many sourcing tools. Some of the traditional job sites may however, give way to the new niche job sites which have emerged. Undoubtedly, there will be expectations for the traditional job board model to update (eg changing the pricing model from fee per add to fee per click or application), provide more convincing stats and also incorporate social media such as eg the Facebook app. Vibeke is the founder and manager of Galaxy Recruitment; a Brisbane based rec2rec firm which has been operating for over eight years. She has clocked up nearly 20 years of experience in the recruitment industry, 12 of those as a Rec2Rec specialist. Born and educated in Denmark, she “fell” in to recruitment in Tokyo (as you do!) where she lived for five years. Her career continued in the UK and NZ where she worked for Kelly Services and Morgan & Banks. In 1998, she set up the first rec2rec firm in Wellington and sold it four years later when she moved to Australia.

I expect that job boards will head down one of three directions. The first group will stick to what they know, ignoring changes to the employment market and customers’ demands and rather focus on further “polishing” their existing offering. By the time the penny drops, and if they choose to hear it, it will be too late. These job boards will fall over. The second will try and replicate the success of social media, choosing to focus on interaction over access to job information. They will lose focus on their core offering and spend their time on reverse engineering someone else’s success, rather than creating their own. The “social media eight-ball” is large, and job boards are a long way behind it. Like many companies that tried to replicate the Apple iPod, these companies will collapse. The third group will continue to conduct targeted market research, invest in appropriate development, augment their product offering in accordance to industry demand and ensure a unique and clearly differentiated offering from that of social media sites. While the recent demise in job board postings is undeniable, it is hardly surprising. The number of jobs in Australia has reduced and the supply of candidates has increased. Employers are recruiting strategically, not urgently, favouring the ideal “passive” candidate, rather than the acceptable but immediately available “active” candidate. Likewise, the recent increase in popularity of social media is reflective of market conditions. Reduced revenue amongst industries has led to reduction of costs. With the factors in the prior paragraph to consider, spend on candidate attraction seems a sensible place to start. With a monthly LinkedIn “Talent Finder” licence being less than a third of the price of a single Seek ad, it is a more economical option. Add to that the increased emphasis on “brand competition”, and the ROI on LinkedIn is looking healthy, compared to job boards. Job boards must adapt or die. Job boards that research changes to customer demands and the employment market, and develop their products accordingly, will survive for now and thrive when the market picks up. Those who sit on their hands or try to replicate the model of another businesses will surely fail. The future will see a reduction in the number of job boards, but I expect an increased offering from those that endure the challenge of a changing market. For job seekers and employers, job boards will compliment social media as a recruitment tool. For one other, they will compete for share of an overlapping market space. And I hope the competition is fierce, for I would hate to see any social media firm given the same monopolistic power that certain job boards have enjoyed in the past. Matt graduated from the University of Melbourne with a Bachelor of Commerce. He has been working in the Australian recruitment industry since 2005 and is the Owner and Managing Director of Aspect Personnel. Aspect has repeatedly been recognised by BRW, SmartCompany and StartUpSmart as one of the fastest growing businesses in Australia, and by recruitment extra for its employee attraction and retention strategies. Sampson himself has been named by SmartCompany as one of Australia’s top 30 entrepreneurs under the age of 30.

recruitment extra 2013 September 31

New Zealand Review

Tentatively rosy in

NEW ZEALAND

COMMENTARY BY PAUL ROBINSON, DIRECTOR NEW ZEALAND, RANDSTAD

Overview

After many months of uncertainty in the wake of the Christchurch earthquakes, this summer’s drought and a high dollar, combined with a global downturn, we are beginning to see some renewed optimism in the New Zealand market. Recently released economic data, a forecasted high dairy pay out and the construction boom in Christchurch are all contributing factors to this relatively rosy picture compared to recent years. However, there is still caution in the market due to uncertainty in Australia and continuing global economic weakness.

Business confidence

The latest ANZ Roy-Morgan economic survey shows that business confidence has continued to climb to a 14 year high, its highest level since April 1999, with a net 53% of respondents expecting business to improve in the next 12 months. Other indicators are showing an economic growth rate of three to four per cent by the end of 2013. This is good news for the economy as a whole but by drilling down in to the detail there are still some signs of weakness.

Employment mobility down

One of these signs is the mixed sentiment in the labour market. According to the latest Randstad Workmonitor employees in New Zealand are showing less confidence in their ability to find alternative employment in the current climate and people are sitting tight in their current roles simply because of a lack of confidence and trust in securing alternate employment. This lack of confidence is also emphasised by the fact that three quarters of Kiwis (76%) are currently saying they are likely to settle for roles below their education level.

Job security questionable

According to the Randstad Mobility Index, in addition to the lack of faith about finding a comparable job, a growing number of New Zealanders are feeling insecure in their current job. Two thirds of Kiwis (66%) believing job security no longer exists and this diminishing sense of job security is being felt most amongst younger workers.

32 September 2013 recruitment extra

Construction focus

Employment in trades, especially in construction related jobs, is growing on the back of a buoyant Christchurch and Auckland market. Levels of advertised job vacancies are up at least ten per cent on a year ago and these are set to gather pace as the Christchurch rebuild strengthens.

A varied regional picture

Outside Auckland and Christchurch there is a varied picture with the impact of government restructuring, changes in a number of high profile large corporates and cuts in manufacturing means overall job levels are flat elsewhere in the country and unemployment remains at just under seven per cent. Certain industry sectors are set for growth such as ICT. A recent government Information and Communications Technology Report showed that firms in New Zealand’s information and communications sector are “pouring money into both expansion and research and development”. It reported that a third of all firms undertook research and development last year, which is four times the average of other sectors with an average spend of $1.1 million.

What does this all mean for NZ employers?

New Zealand remains in a climate of mixed fortunes and while there is negative news about restructurings and job losses in some sectors there is also good news in other sectors such as in construction and technology. As the country emerges from a long period of weakness we are entering a period of change with companies now being able to reposition and reshape themselves for growth. In this climate, New Zealand employers face challenges like boosting productivity, retaining and engaging talent, leveraging new technologies and developing leadership skills. Randstad’s own research shows that the number one human capital challenge in New Zealand is increasing workforce performance and productivity. I have no doubt they will rise to the challenge and collaborate with employees to manage this current period of upheaval – leading stronger and more robust organisations in to the future.

Positive, steady and low risk COMMENTARY BY NICOLA POHLEN, FOUNDING DIRECTOR OF POHLEN PARTNERS We have seen a steady increase in opportunities at all levels and across sectors since the beginning of our financial year in March. In general, conversations with client businesses indicate a sense of control around market dynamics and a drive forward which has had a positive impact on decisions around staffing levels. In recent years most organisations have adjusted their business model in a controlled process to ‘do more with less’; a term many bring into current discussions. As they manage their workforce, employing fewer more capable people, this results in employees with bigger and busier portfolios. There is interest in buying in expertise for projects and non - business critical roles are no longer being covered. This trend has created sustainable businesses poised for growth where the appetite for change is high as they are agile in adapting to their markets. Their hiring plans are positive, constant, low risk and strategically managed. With the reduction in overall staffing levels it does not necessarily mean a decrease in the salary cost as companies prefer to pay more for better quality people who add value to their core business. Two anomalies sitting outside this are: a small group of bigger NZ companies that are dramatically adjusting their organisational design to meet future market needs and shedding significant numbers. At the other end of the spectrum are emerging businesses, some involved in the rebuild of Christchurch, that have a growing workforce. The noticeable dichotomy of this is that those coming out of the larger companies usually cannot readily transfer to the smaller ones.

Where these market dynamics have had an impact on the demand for specific functions we have highlighted below. In the Human Resources area the focus has been on practitioners with demonstrated commerciality, and the requirement that HR leaders will contribute to business objectives, through effective people strategies. There has been an increase in fixed term contracts during a period of divisional re-evaluation providing the opportunity to re-scope roles and teams as well as resourcing specific projects. The functional areas that make up Business Support seem to be more active for both temporary and permanent opportunities. However in response to the changing workforce structure as above, some of these roles are disestablished permanently, for example Executive Assistants. Marketing across all areas has seen increased activity from previous years. The senior roles are highly contested and experience working outside NZ and in export markets is valued. There are shortages of deep knowledge in specialist areas of CRM, Loyalty and Digital with good opportunities for those who can demonstrate skill in these portfolios. The broad Operations area that includes Supply Chain, Procurement, and Engineering has continued high demand for those offering good industry backgrounds and are mobile globally or nationally. Technology positions continue to evolve with larger businesses interested in Knowledge Management and Service Designers to enhance and streamline customer experiences. Within this market context the focus is on securing those star candidates who are able to add value to an organisation. 

recruitment extra 2013 September 33

Tax Focus

Mergers & Acquisistions

Complying with LAFHA rules

WHEN BABY BOOMERS SELL

By Paul Masters, Tax Partner, Deloitte

By Richard Hayward, Principal at HHMC, Australia

he treatment of Living Away From Home Allowance (LAFHA) provisions have been on a see-saw ride in the past couple of years, with numerous changes being introduced adapting the taxation treatment of these benefits provided to employees. The history of LAFHA The LAFHA is an allowance paid to employees to compensate them for additional expenses incurred and other disadvantages suffered, because the employee is required to live away from their usual place of residence in order to perform duties of their employment. Historically, the taxable value of a LAFHA was a fringe benefit and was largely structured to be ‘FBT free’ in the hands of the employers. The employee could effectively pay their accommodation expenses from pre-tax dollars.

Current position The current position on LAFHAs is that they are taxed under the FBT regime in the hands of the employer. However a concessional tax treatment of LAFHA is available to employees (other than those working on a ‘fly in fly out’ or ‘drive in drive out’ basis) for a maximum period of 12 months who: • maintain a home in Australia (at which they usually reside) for their immediate use and enjoyment at all times while living away from that home for their work; and • have provided their employer with a declaration about living away from home. In these circumstances, the taxable value of LAFHA fringe benefits can be reduced by the employer by: • the amount of the employee’s actual accommodation expenditure incurred in relation to living away from home that is substantiated; and • the amounts incurred by the employee for food or drink costs incurred in relation to living away from home less a statutory amount if applicable. Employers should be mindful that where an employee was under a LAFHA arrangement that complies with the new rules as at 1 October 2012 (the effective date

34 September 2013 recruitment extra

of the new rules), the 12-month period will start from 1 October 2012 even though the arrangement may extend beyond 12 months. The 12-month period restarts if the employee’s work location changes, that is, the employee is required by their employer to move to another location to perform the duties of employment, and it would be unreasonable for the employer to require their employee to commute to the new location from the earlier location. Special rules apply to employees who are working on a fly in fly out or drive in drive out basis. Required to live away from their ‘normal residence’ A LAFHA benefit arises from an employee whose duties of employment require them to live away from their ‘normal residence’. In the recruitment industry, the question often arises as to whether employees are required to live away from their normal residence for work or they choose to live away from home. The employer or future employer must require the employee to live away from their usual place of residence. An employee will not be able to move to a location and subsequently find employment in that new location and then claim to be living away from home. There must be requirements to live in another location placed on the employee by the employer or future employer. Maintenance of home in Australia Briefly: • employee must maintain a home in Australia (the place in Australia where the employee usually resides) • the employee, or their spouse, must have an ownership interest (legal or equitable interest and a licence or right to occupy a dwelling) in a unit of accommodation and that home must be available for their immediate use and enjoyment at all times while they are living away from it. It must also be reasonable to expect that the employee will resume living at that home when they are no longer living away from home for the purposes of their employment.

• The home cannot be rented out or sub let while they are living away from it. That is, the employee must incur the ongoing costs of maintaining the residence such as mortgage or rental payments and rates. The employee must be able to return to the home at any time and take up immediate occupancy. Transitional rules Transitional rules apply to permanent residents who had employment arrangements for LAFHA and benefits in place prior to 7.30 pm (AEST) on 8 May 2012. These employees are not required to maintain a home in Australia for their immediate use and enjoyment at all times for the concessional treatment to apply and the concession is not limited to a maximum period of 12 months until the earlier of 1 July 2014 or the date a new employment contract is entered into, or the existing contract is varied in a material way. Transitional rules also apply to temporary residents who had employment arrangements for LAFHA in place prior to 7.30 pm (AEST) on 8 May 2012 and who maintain a home in Australia for their immediate use and enjoyment at all times. These employees will have until the earlier of 1 July 2014 or the date a new employment contract is entered into or the existing contract is varied in a material way before the concessional treatment is limited to a maximum period of 12 months. Conclusion As there have been numerous changes to the LAFHA rules over the last couple of years, employers should ensure that benefits and allowances provided to employees align with the amended legislation. 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.

he baby boomer phenomenon has driven consumption patterns and much of economic activity in most developed countries for 50 years. The next 10 years are arguably a critical intersection point for the global economy driven by the demographics of large scale retirements and lifestyle changes. Privately-held businesses have long been the foundation of the economy with baby boomers owning an unprecedented number of businesses and holding an unprecedented proportion of private wealth. Having propelled much of the economy since the early 1990s, baby boomers have now reached their peak in the consumer spending cycle. It is broadly accepted that those born between 1945 and 1964 are classified as baby boomers. The leading-edge baby boomers were born between 1945 and 1955, which represents slightly more than half of the generation, or roughly 38 million people. The trailing-edge boomers were born between 1956 and 1964. In Australia that equates to a little over 5.5 million people or around 24% of the population; a lower proportion than in the US but is still one in four Australians. Baby boomers have generated a wave of demand that can be measured across decades as they have moved through different life stages of (generally) growing income and consumption to ultimately increasing their rate of savings as children move out of home, houses are sold off and retirement comes into focus. What impact will this have on business risk and business transition? Recruitment business owners are no different to the rest of the community and a large proportion are in the latter stages of business ownership and considering their exit options. While trading conditions are certainly still tough for many companies for a range of reasons, it hasn’t stopped the exodus of longer-term owners from the industry. Boomer retirement will be a consistent trend as owners look to

The supply of businesses for sale will increase in the next 10 years inevitably leading to the view that it will become a buyer’s market. ramp up their retirement capital. Many boomers would have sold in 2009 or 2010, but were blindsided by the GFC and had to hold on much longer than expected. The supply of businesses for sale will increase in the next 10 years inevitably leading to the view that it will become a buyer’s market. To some extent this is true and we will no doubt see many owners facing real difficulties in finding a buyer at the price and deal structure they anticipated. Some will not be able to sell at all and in the end will have to “walk away” from their business. This unfortunate likelihood is one that many people are completely unprepared for. The factors that make businesses more attractive for acquisition and improve price have not really changed for years in the recruitment industry; however, there is a much sharper focus on assessing the risks and potential investment returns of each company put forward as a candidate for sale. An increase in supply of businesses for sale will mean greater opportunities for buyers to grow more rapidly than through organic activity alone. Opportunities to add new market segments and geographic coverage will be more readily available through strategically targeted acquisitions. Not everyone will be entirely happy and as mentioned some won’t be able to sell at all. However, many others will see substantial capital returns from selling by ensuring that they have achieved a level of sustainability in their business that pushes it to the forefront for buyers.

Sustainability in these terms includes factors such as: • The ratio of gross profit from temporary/ contractors compared to permanents • The number of billing staff • The ratio of billing staff to non-billing staff • The market segments serviced • The degree of specialisation v generalist activity • The role played by the owner(s); are they dispensable • The level of profitability • The history of the business. Without too much analysis, it is easy to see that a business “heavy” on permanent placements from a few staff is in the higher risk category. Why should a buyer risk money on acquiring a business that can slip away very easily. Logically, the lower the risk profile compared to the return profile the greater will be the demand for the business and consequently its perceived value. The increase in supply (and choice) during the next decade will sharpen this focus further. For baby boomer business owners, now is the time to prepare for an exit and understand your current market position. The large scale generational change of ownership that is already underway will see hundreds of millions of dollars of business sale transactions occurring over a reasonably condensed timeframe. It will certainly be an interesting and exciting time.  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.

recruitment extra 2013 September 35

On the move



ON THE



MOVE ASTUTE PAYROLL APPOINTS FASTTRACK VETEREN Astute Payroll has announced that Ron Weil has joined the company to lead its sales campaign. After 15 “enjoyable years” with Fasttrack Weil says he “felt the need to find the next industry leader.” He added: “I am really excited to join Astute Payroll and take what I have learned over the last 15 years to help take Astute Payroll to the next level.” Astute Payroll CEO, Nicholas

36 September 2013 recruitment extra

Beames, noted “It is a genuine coup to have Ron on board. He is a gentle, easily likeable, and sincere person. As such he’ll fit in nicely. And his knowledge and experience in the recruitment technology space goes without saying!” Astute Payroll recently moved into new premises in Melbourne’s Flinders Lane and is planning to hire 30 new staff over the next 12 months.



NEW COUNTRY MANAGER FOR CANDLE IT NZ

Troy Hammond

Troy Hammond, who joined Candle in February as the General Manager Wellington, has been promoted to the role of New Zealand Country Manager. He will assume overall responsibility for New Zealand. Troy was formerly a Senior Manager for Talent International NZ.



TALENT INTERNATIONAL MAKES KEY APPOINTMENT Talent International has announced Ashley Sadler as the new General Manager for Auckland. Sadler’s appointment to the Auckland team is part of Talent International’s strategy to boost its New Zealand senior management resources to meet the company’s growth and new product developments. Talent International Executive General Manager Australia and New Zealand, Chris Riley, said: “It’s great to have Ashley on board and with his depth of knowledge of the New Zealand IT market place, he was the perfect candidate to take our Auckland operation to its next phase of growth.” Sadler has more than 15 years’ experience in the New Zealand IT recruitment sector and has held senior roles in major recruitment firms including Alexander James, absoluteIT Recruitment and Manpower (Elan). “Talent International is a young, vibrant

Ashley Sadler

business that strongly values its clients, candidates and staff,” said Sadler. “We are a genuine market leader in the Asia Pacific region and I’m excited to take Talent’s recent initiatives to the Auckland market.”

LOVEYS JOINS MINT Australian rec-to-rec firm, Mint Recruitment, have hired experienced Sales Recruitment Manager, Lisa Loveys as their new NSW State Manager. Loveys has 10 years of recruitment experience and will oversee all Mint Rec-to-Rec operations in Sydney. Mint MD, Pete Watson said: “We continue to be very busy in New South Wales, and we felt the time was right to have somebody on the ground in a full time capacity with a view to continuing to serve our clients to the best of our ability and indeed growing the Sydney operation when the time is right.”

HAVE YOU... . MADE A NEW APPOINTMENT? . MOVED OFFICE? Let us know at Ron Weil

editor@recruitmentextra.com.au recruitment extra 2013 September 37

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