Australia and New Zealand are facing their greatest talent shortages in their employment markets since the Second World War. There are a number of factors behind it – most notably the pandemic, which led to closed borders, plummeting international students and reduced international employment mobility, as well as shifting the lifestyle expectations of many employees.

It is most definitely an employees’ market rather than an employers’ market at present, and that is not likely to change for at least a year or so.

What does that mean for employers?

• It means it will be extremely challenging to find quality candidates for vacant positions.
• It means it employers will not have multiple candidates to choose from.
• It means due diligence on the one or two candidates employers do have is even more important – personality profiling and reference checks are even more important. Don’t let desperation force you to cut corners.
• It means wages and salaries will increase – it’s a simple supply and demand issue – labour supply is short and demand is high, therefore labour will cost you more.
• It means traditional recruitment methods will fail – advertising online will often yield poor results as so few people are actively looking for work.
  
  

Recruiters who are successful in the current market are those who are able to head-hunt passive candidates, and convince them to leave their current employer to join yours. That’s a rare skill. Historically most recruiters have depended on a substantial pool of known and unknown actively looking candidates. Seek those recruiters out – you will need to partner with one, as head-hunting is something most employers will struggle with themselves. A point here – head-hunting (executive search) has traditionally been mostly applied exclusively to C-suite positions. Locum People is now using those same processes to find salespeople and other mid level roles.

It means retention of your existing staff is critical – if they leave you may not be able to replace them. And if you have quality employees – those headhunters mentioned above will be contacting them. Be prepared to make counter offers to hold critical staff if they are being offered more money. Those offers may also include a promotion or development path to one.

Most employees leave employers due to poor management. Ensure your middle managers really are ethical, professional and competent – if they are not they will almost certainly be costing your bottom line already. When a headhunter calls your staff they will probably offer them more money – but unless the increase is significant the real reason they will leave will be for better working conditions (including a better manager) and/or career opportunities.

Employers will also need to be more creative in how they lure employees to them. Workplace flexibility is a key. We are also seeing sign-on bonuses becoming more commonplace, or extra weeks’ of annual leave. One of our clients is now offering all their staff 6 weeks annual leave as standard.

In summary – ensure your employees are working in good conditions, managed well, and paid appropriately for the current market to minimise departures. If you do need to recruit – partner with a professional search consultant and be creative and flexible in how you attract and bring employees on board. Your business will need to compete for talent just as hard as it needs to compete in its own market – maybe even harder.

If you need objective external support to understand how your employees really feel about working for your organisation, or need help sourcing key staff, please don’t hesitate to contact us here at Locum People.​

Over the last month, Locum People has been asked to consult at 4 different businesses (one was actually a not-for-profit), all with major cultural issues (toxic workplaces). All had large cohorts of casual employees.

The common denominator across all 4 businesses was the poor quality of middle management - low EI, micromanagement, communications issues, laziness. Senior management was unaware as they hadn't had that feedback from the largely casual workforces that reported into the middle managers.

Why hadn't that feedback been made? Because most of the employees were casuals - under the current record low unemployment dissatisfied casuals just left and found jobs elsewhere - leading to chronic staff shortages that in 2 of the cases were threatening the businesses' very survivals.

Those casuals who stayed didn't complain, because they worked in a climate of fear - if they spoke out, they wouldn't be offered shifts. They rightly feared for their livelihoods.

All 4 businesses have since taken positive steps to address their issues, but the lesson here is that large casual workforces may benefit businesses in times of relatively high unemployment - but it is a largely unsuitable business model in the current climate.

It is also a myth (promulgated largely by the business community itself) that employees "like" casual employment as it gives them flexibility. Our work suggests the exact opposite. Employees are only taking casual roles because that's all that's on offer. Most will jump ship for a permanent role in a heartbeat.

If you are struggling to recruit and retain staff in the current environment - perhaps think about changing your employment model. It may reap huge dividends.
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Everyone is talking about “the Great Resignation”. It’s in the media, there are blog posts aplenty (including this one), but what is it?

In the USA, following the lifting of pandemic restraints, there has been a huge upsurge in employees resigning from their roles. What’s driving it?

• Employees have spent significant time working from home and have had the time to re-evaluate what is important in their lives – they are prioritising family and themselves over their careers;
  
  
• Many employees have found that they prefer working from home – there is no commute, no dress code, less direct micromanagement by their superiors. Many will baulk at returning to the office;
  
  
• Many companies struggled during lockdown and as a result they put undue pressure on already pressured employees. In many cases organisational culture became quite toxic. Now they want out;
  
  
• More career driven employees have often had to put their next job search on hold for 12-18 months, now the market is opening up and those roles are available;
  
  

Australian employment trends generally follow America’s and as we open up again, the same Great Resignation will happen here too. In many reports it’s already started, but most pundits believe it will be at its peak post-Christmas and New Year, when Australian returns from its summer holidays. February and March 2022 are expected to be the peak.

So, what can employers do about it?

• Critically evaluate every employee on how likely they are to leave, and the impacts their departure could have, so you can either plan for it, or try to head it off. If you need external resources to do this, contact Locum People. In many cases employees will be more open with external consultants than they will with their managers.
  
  
• Evaluate your culture, and if cultural change is needed implement it as quickly as you can. Employees will no longer tolerate working in a culture that does not support their personal goals. But beware, organisational culture is almost impossible to evaluate accurately from within. Employers should seek external objective help. Locum People can assist if required.
  
  
• Evaluate your salaries and wages against market norms. Australia and NZ are suffering from very talent short employment markets, especially in technical and engineering type roles, including technical solution salespeople. Supply and demand means market salaries have increased. If your employees are not being paid market rates, they will be ripe for headhunters to recruit them. Locum People can assist with this bench-marking as well.
  

Many of our clients have been asking us what others are doing regarding mandating Covid vaccinations in the workplace.

In some sectors its easy as the government has mandated it. In Victoria for example it will be mandatory to be vaccinated if you work in the construction industry or in child-care, or the schools’ system. It is already mandatory in most healthcare systems.

But what of private companies?

Last month a NSW Personal Injury Commission case confirmed that employees will be entitled to workers compensation if they contract Covid carrying out activities that have been induced or encouraged by their employer. This is an important precedent. It suggests that if someone catches Covid while in the workplace then it is an Occupational Health and Safety issue, i.e. Employers can be held liable.

So how do employers mitigate that risk?

Like any OH&S risk, employers must take steps to minimise the risk of transmission in the workplace, and one of the best measures is to ensure all employees and site visitors are vaccinated. Other measures such as social distancing, ventilation and masks are also important. Not taking these steps leaves one open for charges of negligence, and if death were to occur, even charges of industrial manslaughter (a charge that can now result in custodial sentences in many Australian states).

But vaccinated people can still catch the virus you say?

Yes they can, but deaths and ‘long-covid’ remain rare in the vaccinated. The vaccinated are also far less contagious than the unvaccinated.

But what if one of my employees refuses to be vaccinated?

The employment landscape has changed. Can the individual work from home? If so, it could be an option. If they must be in the office, you could potentially get them to sign a waiver that prevents them holding you accountable for their infection, should they acquire one. However, that waiver does not protect other employees who could potentially catch covid from the unvaccinated individual. And how would they feel having an unvaccinated person sitting at the next desk?

We have spoken to a number of employees in a variety of companies over the last few weeks. Most are vaccinated, or in the process of being vaccinated so mandating vaccinations poses no challenge for them, but all expressed concern that their colleagues might not be doing the right thing. None of them wanted to work with an unvaccinated colleague.

Further, many employees, particularly those in sales and service roles need to be able to travel and visit customers. Those customers will often require site visitors to be vaccinated. Even getting on a plane will require a current vaccination status. Therefore, the question must be asked, can an unvaccinated person satisfactorily carry out their roles and responsibilities if they are unvaccinated? Clearly in some cases the answer will be no.

We are aware of at least one national sales manager who refuses to be vaccinated. Even more oddly he works as a supplier into the healthcare sector. This means not only will he not be able to travel by air to be with his interstate team members, but he won’t be able to visit the company’s hospital customers when there anyway. Nor will he be able to travel internationally to company’s American head office as he has historically done annually. Clearly, for him to effectively do his job he must be vaccinated. If he refuses, he may have to forfeit his employment.

This predicament will become the norm. It is our belief that mandatory vaccination will be the norm in Australia for most workplaces, and it’s coming sooner than we think – possibly within 6 months. Our recruitment team are already being asked by our clients to check candidates’ vaccine status. That clearly implies that the unvaccinated will become unemployable by many companies.

In short, we believe requiring a vaccination in the workplace should be treated as a health and safety issue. In the same way that hard hats and other safety gear must be worn on a building site, so too will being vaccinated. The only difference is that this time around the safety gear must be “worn” by the office staff as well.

Mandatory workplace vaccination is coming. Get used to it!

If you’ve ever outsourced your recruitment, you may have been surprised to find that there isn’t simply one way to do it.

I often find myself outlining the different ways for clients, so they can make an informed decision about what will best suit them.

Usually, it’s a tale of two options: contingent vs. retained recruitment. And having worked in both fields, I am well placed to comment.

What is contingent recruitment?

When I worked as a contingent recruiter, it constantly felt like a race. Or a battle. The flick and stick. The push and shove for fantastic candidates to fill speculative roles. You cross your fingers and toes, avoid ladders, broken mirrors and black cats, in the hope of getting paid for the work you’ve done.

This is the world of a contingent sales recruiter, and it is tough. The pressure to make something out of nothing is great, the activity levels are high, and the culture is cut throat.

“Contingency is sometimes described as No Win, No Fee (or even No Cure, No Pay). It is what it says on the tin, a service performed by a recruitment company for free until the day a candidate represented by them takes a position with their client.” The Undercover Recruiter

Working on a non-exclusive competitive contingent assignment, is often working for free!

“Working this way is how the recruitment industry got the reputation of “throwing CV’s against a wall”. That’s because this way of working means that the recruiter has to be quick – do a quick database search and get as many CV’s that look OK to the client.” Beaumont Wood

What is retained recruitment?

At Locum People, I’ve learned that retained recruitment involves selling from the beginning. You offer your professional service to a client and ask to be paid upfront for the hard work you are about to undertake.

The research, mapping, screening, interviewing, testing, references, and last but not least, the general management and constant sales within the process, ensures the client gets a candidate for the role that will deliver the right results.

This all takes a considerable amount of time and effort, for which, as a professional, you should be paid.

Coming from years of contingent recruitment, adapting to retained was a daunting task. The calls are cold, the conversations are at a much higher level, and the sales cycle is slow.

Where once the aim of a meeting was to walk away with the sniff of a job, it is now to develop a long term relationship with the client, to understand their business, people and culture. To have a good level of engagement with your client and understand its offering, so that when a vacancy arises, you’re ideally placed to fill it.

The verdict

Contingent vs. retained recruitment: the difference between the two models is now clear to me.

With retained work you must sell yourself, the recruitment company and its process. The sale is up-front and it’s something you have control of and believe in.

With contingency, you sell candidates to clients and jobs to candidates. And everyone else is trying to sell the same candidate to your client and others! It’s survival of the fittest. Only the fleetest of foot will survive.

Give me a retainer every time! I get paid and clients get better candidates. Win-Win!

“The retained recruiter takes their time to get things right using processes and agreed methodology, knowing they will eventually fill the position thanks to their exclusivity terms. The contingency recruiter will be a lot quicker and most probably deliver more candidates to increase the odds of making a placement.

“Another difference is that the retained recruiter has signed up to a service level, sometimes a retained search can be challenging and these projects can be rather lengthy. The contingency recruiter will simply move on to another vacancy or client where they believe they can get a more straightforward win.” The Undercover Recruiter

For all the extra time and skill that retained assignments take, every second is worth it both for me as the recruiter and also for the client. Less anxiety for me. More time to do a great job. A better candidate for the client. Happier people all round.

Over the last couple of weeks, Locum People was approached to assist three different clients in three different industries. All were having problems with their Melbourne-based staff, and all had their head offices interstate (2 in Sydney and one in Brisbane). Staff were feeling stressed, harassed and in one case were clearly being bullied by their Sydney-based management.

At the heart of all three cases were interstate management not understanding what was really happening in locked-down Melbourne. Sales results were very poor as were sales activity levels. After all, it's hard to cold call when one is not allowed leave one's 5km radius and customers' workplaces are shut anyway.

In one case, the Sydney-based manager was refusing to believe that his reps could not visit customers. The company operates in the pharma space and as such is considered an essential service, so in his mind his reps should still be out seeing customers as they were in Sydney and Brisbane. The reality was that Melbourne GPs were largely doing telehealth calls and had banned all non-medical staff (reps) from their offices (to minimise cross contamination). Similarly hospitals have also banned all non-medical personnel.

This sales manager's approach was to start harassing his Melbourne staff, demanding they maintain their call rates. As sales started to fall off he refused to believe the reasons demand had dropped. He was calling them liars and accusing them of laziness. 2 of the 4 reps filed workcover claims for stress, and a third laid a formal bullying claim against the company, which having seen the evidence will stack up. It's a real mess, and one that was completely avoidable.

When Locum People questioned the manager as to why he did not believe his reps, he said he's been reading the news and thought Covid 19 was just a beat up and  that his Victorian reps were just using it as an excuse. He of course had not been to Melbourne - the border is shut.

Locum People counseled the staff via Zoom, and the manager involved but the damage has been done. The company has a zero tolerance policy for bullying. His manager (the company's MD) gave the sales manager an official written warning, which in turn prompted his resignation. With that result the sales people are now back on deck as much as they can be.

The moral of the story here is that if you're an interstate-based manager and your people and results are down in Victoria, use common sense. Have some compassion... and most importantly, don't believe everything you read in tabloid newspapers. As shown in this case - it may not be their fault and it may not end up being them who leaves the company.

Melbourne is back in Covid-19 lockdown. Right now, if your business is not in hibernation, many if not all of your employees are working from home or remotely elsewhere. You’re relying on them to deliver what they can and be available. You can’t see what they are doing or how they are responding to customer needs, both internal and external.

Your teams are interacting via email, telephone and video conference – but it’s not the same, and it’s likely to be this way for many weeks yet.

These good people you hired all have individual personalities – many will need social interaction to remain motivated – social factors are a big reason many people get up in the morning and come into to the office where they interact with their colleagues and friends. They may struggle with remote work and telecommunications rather than face-to-face interaction.

Others may actually thrive without the constant interruption of their colleagues. This period of isolation may be a revelation to them. They might find that when our lockdown eases, they won’t want to return to business as usual, and if their productivity has improved, you may not want them too either!
But who is who within your team? Do you really know? What is the best way to motivate and communicate with each of your team in their new circumstances?

If you are unsure, have a chat to Locum People. We have the tools to assess your team-members to understand their motivators and communication styles and preferences. Clarifying these is good for both you and your teams. What is the best way to get the best out of your team in these trying and new circumstances? It will also allow you to start planning their eventual return to the normal workplace, whenever that will be.

All Locum People’s tools can be delivered remotely and contactless. We support social distancing and safe workplaces. Contact us now!.

Welcome to the Locum People website. We will be posting news and commentary on industry, human resources, recruitment, personality profiling and other relevant topics every week or so. If you are interested in a topic or are looking for additional insight, drop us a line!