WELCOME

Welcome to the 2021/22 Talent Guide

Just when we thought last year’s Talent Guide would reflect one of the most momentous shifts in our industry, along came 2021!

This year has brought with it a job market like no other, with skills and candidate supply at an all-time low, and job advertisements and projected staffing increases at an all-time high. Coupled with international and interstate border closures, it’s been an absolute whirlwind six months for recruiters, HR and talent acquisition teams alike. Challenges like this have created more opportunity for innovation, process improvement and refinement, but perhaps most importantly - it’s created more opportunity to listen to what’s truly important to people.

As recruiters, that’s what our role is all about. Only through listening to someone’s career story - what excites, fulfills, challenges and engages them - can we connect people with roles and employers where they will thrive with purpose and longevity.

Friends of Talentpath will have seen this year’s launch of the Talent Guide Card Deck, consisting of 50 question cards on work, values, culture and reward. An extension of the Guide, the Deck includes conversation cues to create meaningful discussion about what really matters to people in the workplace. Some of the questions will be very familiar to our returning Talent Guide readers, as they feature in our annual survey which informs the insights published here. Other questions in the deck are put to use by our team when working with business leaders, hiring managers, people & culture teams, candidates, and even one another. From 1:1’s, reviews, interviews, team building, and shaping your EVP - the deck has so many valuable uses. Feedback from clients on how they’ve used the Deck has been amazing to hear - recently, our team even hosted an internal purpose, values and culture session using the questions to help inform our new soon-to-be-launched website.

Only by asking the right questions can we better attract and retain exceptional talent – and right now, the ability to listen and understand their people is the real competitive advantage for businesses. The good news is – we’ve already done some of the work for you! In this year’s Talent Guide, the people have truly spoken. Our annual survey which informs the insights was bigger, deeper and more meaningful than ever. Based on feedback and input from our clients, candidates and industry peers, you will see that we’ve honed in on some really important topics, worthy of more representation and conversation. We’ve also engaged a handful of friends of Talentpath to provide their own expert commentary and experiences on some of the stand-out insights.

If the recent recruitment market has taught us anything, it’s that salary is no longer everything, and that taking a one-size-fits-all approach to how employees are rewarded and incentivised is no longer hitting the mark. Alongside our trusted salary data, you’ll see we’ve broken down the survey responses to the question: ‘What benefits are more important to you than salary?’ for each vertical by generation, and even by gender.

As for the talent profiles this year – we have been blown away by the consideration, reflection and understanding they all possess surrounding their working lives. We’re incredibly grateful to them for taking the time to share their stories with us, and we hope you love them as much as we do. Believe us when we say that it makes for some truly interesting reading, with some genuine common themes between the survey insights and the profiles; Marketing & Digital thrive from flexibility and learning opportunities, Accounting & Finance look for strong leadership, but they’ll run a mile from being micromanaged, Business Services want to be valued and recognised for the true gems they are, while Sales and Customer Experience are all about progression pathways and transparency, and Human Resources and Recruitment – they’re a truly dynamic group, always looking for opportunities to innovate and improve.

You certainly have your reading cut out for you. We truly hope you enjoy this year’s Talent Guide – it’s a mammoth project for our small team, each page full of heart and integrity. As always, if you have any questions or thoughts you’d like to share, we would love to hear them.

Sincerely, Jody Fazldeen and Dionne Sharp Directors at Talentpath