Recruitment News Archives

How to Strengthen Your Employer Brand with Social Responsibility

According to a recent survey by Cone Communications, over half of all employees consider corporate social responsibility (CSR) an important factor when considering a new job. This percentage includes employees across all age groups, genders and backgrounds.

The survey also indicates that social responsibility is an increasingly important factor for today’s employees, alongside factors such as salary and culture.

Increase your appeal to top talent by incorporating social responsibility into your employer brand. Here’s how.

Mission statement

Does your mission statement reflect a broader social purpose to your business objectives?

Research by Deloitte shows that employers who incorporate a social purpose into their mission statement get 40% more engagement from their employees. Cover social responsibility in your mission statement by touching on how your company strives to make a positive impact in the world.

Company values

For another opportunity to incorporate social responsibility into your brand and gain added appeal as an employer, revisit your company values.

Here, you can show audiences how your organisation goes about conducting business in an ethical way, with a nod to socially responsible behaviours. Is your company supportive to its staff? Does your company take special care in its relationships with stakeholders and community?

Use your company values to reflect the ways in which your company is a great place to work.

Employee development and welfare

It’s not enough just to take care of your employees. Give your employer brand an added appeal by sharing and showcasing the ways in which your company benefits more than just the bank balances of its team.

Use social media to share real stories of employees whose work lives have been positively impacted by benefits, physical or mental health support, career development training and opportunities.

Community impact

Research by Employee Volunteering shows that today’s workforce want their employers to give back to the community, and they want employers who will support them to give back in the same way.

By offering employees paid time off to undertake volunteer work, you can encourage positive feelings towards your company and a develop a socially responsible brand. Don’t forget to share these stories of your employee’s involvement in community support through social media and video marketing.

Tie these community support stories back to your company’s mission and value statements to create a socially responsible brand that appeals to new employees.

Environment

Employees and jobs candidates are increasingly looking for employers who incorporate green, sustainable practices into their business model. This might be policy that preferences public transport over car transport, cycle-to-work incentives, and offices fitted with energy efficient appliances.

Again, share and promote your company’s social and environmental responsibilities by displaying office policy regarding recycling and sustainability codes of practice. This will encourage an environmentally sound culture among existing and future employees.

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How to Use Empathy for Better Recruitment

If you’re using a one-size-fits-all approach to your candidate engagement strategy, you could be limiting your ability to truly connect with candidates. Having a connection with your candidates is one of the markers of a successful recruiter. Here we’ll discuss some ways that you can better connect with candidates and boost your recruitment strategy.

What is empathy and what does it mean in recruitment?

Empathy can be defined as an understanding of people’s feelings and experiences. In a diverse and globalised world, empathy can be difficult. But the good news is that empathy can be developed and improved with practice. Coming to empathise with your candidates–and your clients–means understanding who they are as people and what matters to them in their employment.

People are looking for jobs for many reasons, ranging from redundancy in their last roles to hopes for career progression, even things like illness or conflict. By the same token, hiring managers and executives are also under the pump to employ lasting employees while meeting budgets and business objectives. Coming to understand how these people feel will give you an edge as a recruiter.

Why is empathy important

According to a study by Business Solver, 90% of employees will stay with their company longer if that company empathises with their needs. In addition, 80% of employees would be willing to work longer hours, and over 60% would be willing to work for less money. No doubt empathy is a huge part of recruitment and HR. Using empathy in your recruitment strategy helps you bridge the gap between candidates and clients, fitting better candidates who will stay in their roles longer.

How to build empathy in your recruitment strategy

1. Observe the role

Start by observing the role that you’re hiring for. This could involve interviewing your client or even following them around the office to see that role in action. You’ll discover things you could never have anticipated, and be better able to hunt for, and choose, the right candidate.

2. Engage with job seekers

Next, learn more about the type of job seekers you want for your role. You’ll interview them to find out their thoughts, emotions, goals and motivations. In particular, you’ll find out what they want from the job they’re going for and what they need from an employer. During this interviewing process, you’ll also learn to communicate with these candidates better, how to speak their language and how to attract them.

3. Immerse yourself in candidate experiences

Develop a strategy to immerse yourself in candidate experiences–yes, even those candidates who you don’t end up matching with jobs. One approach could be to offer free career coaching sessions or consultations. The result would not only be better understanding of your candidates, but also ‘wow’ experience that makes those candidates tell their peers about you.

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Rejecting Candidates: How to Say No Nicely

What do you do with unsuccessful candidates? If you’re the kind of recruiter or employer who ghosts unsuccessful candidates, letting time reveal they were unsuccessful, then you could be doing your brand serious damage.

In a climate where skilled talent is in short supply, especially in the construction industry, you want to continue attracting talent and filling roles. Learn the art of turning candidates away, and keep those applicants coming in the future.

Why rejections are important

Studies have shown that candidates will avoid applying to companies with bad reputations. This is why all of your interactions with the outside world—even with unsuccessful candidates—are so important. You want to leave even the unsuccessful candidates impressed with your company, contributing to a positive employer brand.

Leaving unsuccessful candidates with a positive impression does indeed pay off. According to Talent Board, over 80% of candidates share their positive recruiting experiences with their friends. And as they say, there’s no better advertising than word of mouth.

Responding

Almost 50% of jobseekers say that waiting on a response to an application is their number one pain point. Imagine the benefit to your brand if you could make the waiting game less stressful and more positive for candidates.

Make candidates feel that they’re important to you, even if they weren’t successful. There could be untapped talent hiding in your pool of applicants—talent that you want to consider applying again.

Always reply to unsuccessful applicants with a courteous email. Here’s where you show your appreciation for the time and effort they took to apply, and offer well-wishes for their future endeavours. End your message with a note that encourages them to apply again.

Giving feedback

For candidates that you interviewed, a more personalised approach is in order. As well as the above, these candidates are looking for reasons why they were unsuccessful. In giving them feedback, you’re not only helping them out in their job hunt – you’d also be helping yourself by helping candidates become the kind of talent you want to fill future roles.

Tell candidates why they weren’t successful in a constructive way. Which skills do they need to build on and what other types of experience do they need? Give examples of ways in which they can reasonably upskill to land the type of job you’re offering.

In the case of candidates you wanted to hire but simply couldn’t due to limited resources, offer to keep their resumes on file. You’ll call them in the future when similar roles arise.

Need help filling roles? We have extensive networks of top talent. Contact us today.

How to Make a Job Offer That Beats the Competition

In our last blog, we looked at the skill shortage in construction. With so many jobs available and so few quality candidates to choose from, companies can expect stiff competition when it comes to hiring top talent. This article shows you how to make a job offer that a candidate can’t say no to.

Be verbal

Once you’ve interviewed and chosen your favourite candidate, it’s time to make an offer. Move fast, as your candidate is applying for other jobs and won’t wait. At this stage, it’s important to call the candidate and speak to them. You should convey your enthusiasm towards having them on board, and gauge their reaction to your offer offer. Be sure to touch on the career goals and long-term plans they mentioned at the interview. Tie these in to your present offer.

Be specific

Although the verbal offer is slightly less formal than the written offer to come, it pays to be specific. Take this opportunity to state the start date, compensation, pay schedule and benefits. These factors could be the difference between the candidate choosing your company over another.

Get an answer

Your phone call is also your opportunity to get an acceptance or a polite decline. Without the candidate’s decision, you won’t be able to finalise their offer and you could hold up the process of filling that role.

Write it up

After the candidate’s acceptance, it’s now time to prepare a formal offer of employment. You should send this in a package along with their contract and payment forms. Send it via email or in the post, and follow up with a phone call to make sure they received it. Let them know when to return the paperwork.

Don’t assume

Although your candidate has said yes to your offer, or even signed their contract, don’t assume that you have them in the bag. Coming up to, and shortly after, their start date, they’ll most likely be waiting on other offers. This is why onboarding is so important. With good onboarding, you can minimise stress for your new hire and trump competitors’ offers. By onboarding correctly, your new hire will feel like one of the family, and they won’t be one of the 30% who leave new in their first 90 days.

Be polite

Be prepared to call the candidates you interviewed and notify them that they weren’t successful. Your courtesy will be appreciated and contribute to better perceptions of your company’s brand. It also pays to notify all those who applied for the job that they’re no longer being considered. Simply sending out a generic email will be greatly appreciated by applicants and build a great image for your brand.

Find your perfect candidate. Contact Quadrant Exec.

Employer Branding: Differentiate Your Company From Hiring Competition

Attract stand-out candidates with a stand-out employer brand that beats your competition. Your recruitment marketing strategy should aim to tell the unique story of your company, differentiate your organisation, and avoid cliches in your recruitment marketing.

The Facts

According to a recent LinkedIn survey, 75% of candidates research a company before applying for a job there. If they don’t like what they see, 70% of those candidates will not apply to your job, even if they are unemployed. Needless to say, there’s a lot resting on your company’s reputation. By developing an employer branding strategy, you can make sure that your company’s reputation is a good one.

Have you honed your ‘employee value proposition’ (EVP)?

Imagine yourself as a candidate who is considering working at your company. Now ask yourself, ‘What’s in it for me?’ Go through all aspects of a candidate’s employment–compensation, benefits, career, work environment and culture–and reflect on what makes each of these attractive to potential employees.

What makes your company unique?

The answer to this question should pervade all of your marketing material, from your company’s website to your social media posts. Use your unique selling proposition (USP) by translating it to your recruitment marketing, whether they be job ads or briefs for headhunters.

Why is your company a great place to work?

Many companies make the mistake of posting job ads that state their company is a great place to work. But in doing so, you are not saying anything specific or meaningful about your company. Candidates want to know why your company is a great place to work. Strengthen your employer brand by detailing your reasons.

What are your three Cs?

Identify your three Cs: your candidates, the channels they use, and the content that speaks to them. For engineering and construction employers, candidates use job boards and social media such as Linkedin to search for jobs and read industry news. Engage new and potential talent by posting regularly to LinkedIn and becoming involved in industry conversations online.

Are you being authentic?

Whether they’re reading a social post or a job ad, candidates want to feel something when they interact with an employer. Be authentic in your recruitment communications by describing the impact your company makes in the world. You’ll attract candidates who share your vision and fit well with your team.

Onboarding Strategies For Better Staff Retention

What do your onboarding practices look like? Do you have a program in place or do you throw new hires into the deep end? Given that 30% of new hires leave within the first three months, onboarding is essential to staff retention. Effective onboarding lessens a new hire’s stress and alleviates pressure for your team. It also saves your company huge costs of having to hire again. So let’s take a look at what it is and how to do it.

What is onboarding?

Onboarding is the practice of helping your new employee adjust to their role in your company. This involves physically, professionally and emotionally adjusting to your existing company culture, and to the demands of the job itself. With an effective onboarding program, employees will not only stay longer, they’ll also be more productive.

What onboarding isn’t

If you have an orientation program in place, you may be wondering if this counts as onboarding. But while orientation is part of onboarding, they aren’t the same thing.

Orientation provides an overview of your company. It may include training, and is all completed within the first couple of days of the new hire’s employment. Onboarding is more specific to your new employee. It takes place when the new hire starts orientation, and should continue throughout their first year of employment. Orientation is what gets your new hire started, but onboarding is what keeps them going.

Effective onboarding

Effective onboarding involves time and planning. This is why companies will often consult recruitment specialists or purchase onboarding software. Get started with effective onboarding by first considering where and when your new hire will undergo their orientation and training. A slapdash effort of throwing them into a spare room and assigning a busy staff member to the role can make the new hire feel unwelcome. By the same token, the new hire’s workspace should be ready before they commence. Research shows that a new hire’s trajectory can be mapped within their first two weeks, so be sure to make them feel special.

Onboarding for retention

Sometimes it can be hard to tell if your new hire is thriving or floundering. You don’t know them well and they may not be expressing themselves fully. Assign your new hire a buddy to help them build relationships with colleagues and get any questions they have answered. You’ll need to track your new hire’s progress with monthly meetings during the first year. At these meetings, you and the new hire make sure everyone’s clear on deliverables and is making progress towards achieving them. It’s also an opportunity to discuss any feedback they may have.

Major Growth Forecast For Australian Construction Industry

Good news for anyone looking for work in construction engineering – the Australian construction industry is on the rise! After a three-year decline between 2013 and 2016, the industry has been growing steadily since 2017. According to the Construction Outlook Survey, which collects data from 100 companies employing almost 60,000 people across the country, the industry saw a rise of 7.1% in 2017-18 and will rise a further 6.8% in 2018-19.

The increase in major project work is attributed to increased activity in non-mining infrastructure and commercial building. A couple of key factors are at play: an increase in government spending on transport infrastructure projects, and higher spending from the private sector in commercial building projects.

According to the Construction Outlook Survey, the three-year decline in industry activities, caused by a reduction in the mining sector, is now over. Increasing activity in the transport and commercial building sectors have now fully compensated for the negative impacts of a declining mining industry.

At the forefront of these increasing trends is construction engineering. Innes Willox, AI Group chief executive, says the outlook is extremely positive for businesses, their employees and those looking for work.

“Rising momentum in new road and rail projects, together with telecommunications infrastructure including the NBN, will also see strong growth in the value of engineering construction, which is expected to rise by 8.0% in 2017-18 and a further 10.6% in 2018-19 after shrinking by 6.5% in 2016-17,” he said.

While construction engineering activity is on the rise, 2018-2019 will see a sharp turn-around in apartment building activity. The survey also showed that labor shortages and increased labour costs will increase pressure on major projects.

That said, the survey indicates that commercial Australian construction will pick up over the coming years, as it gets through a huge pipeline of work. In this sector, 2016-17 was mostly stable and 2017-18 saw an increase by just 1.8%, but 2018-19 will see a rise of a whopping 9.4%.

Thanks to NSW and Victorian growth factors, and their accommodating metropolitan and regional infrastructure needs, we have good prospect across the industry for businesses, employers and people looking for work.

Keep up-to-date on construction engineering news. Connect with us on Linkedin today.

Hiring Tips For Better Employee Retention

Hiring the wrong person for your company can take a big bite out of your revenue. In fact, the cost of onboarding the wrong person can be about 30% of their earnings in the first year. This is why hiring the right person is so important. Whether you’re using a HR consultant or getting involved in the process yourself, these hiring tips set you up for better employee retention.

Don’t rush

There can be a lot of internal company pressure to fill roles as soon as they’ve come up. Suddenly there’s a gap in your team and everyone’s working harder to keep the ship afloat. But many new employee terminations result from rushing through the recruitment process, which becomes even costlier than having the position open for longer. Don’t rush to hire someone, take your time to find the right person.

Set expectations

Employer and employee expectations are never more unclear than during the first weeks of work. Start setting your expectations as early as the interview stage, and get a feel for your candidate’s own expectations of the company. One way to do this would be to outline what accomplishments you’d like to see in a set period of time and to ask the candidate what strategies they’d use for delivery.

In medias res

This latin phrase means ‘in the middle of things,’ and refers to starting a story in the middle of the action. While we don’t suggest hurling your candidates into real work situations during their interviews, it’s useful to describe a real situation they’d encounter on the job and get them to describe how they’d work through it. This will paint a good picture of their approach, their competence and their style. You’ll also gain insight into their past experiences and even their training, factors which play into their approach.

Choose a person, not a piece of paper

A resume will tell you where this person has worked in the past, what qualifications they hold, and possibly their achievements throughout their career. What the resume won’t tell you is whether this person is a good match for your company. Google set a precedent when the company decided to hire only those with a passion for achieving the company’s mission, rather than those that looked good on paper. When meeting with candidates, find out if they’re a good fit for your company culture, and whether their vision aligns with your own.

Talk to a construction recruitment specialist about how you can hire better staff today.

Early Performance Red Flags & Intervention For New Hires

employee-performance-civil-construction-engineering

Some new hires will take to the role and your company like a fish to water, others will need a little more time to adjust. Before writing your new hire off as a “dud”–and wasting all that time and energy hiring a new person– let’s take a look at some early performance indicators and possible solutions.

They’re just not getting it

Unless your new employee has done something terrible in the first six weeks (like stolen money from the donations tin or behaved inappropriately towards others) then their difficulties in adjusting may not be their fault. Don’t expect your new hire to be a “mind reader”. They don’t know what’s expected of them unless it’s communicated clearly. Is it possible that your new hire isn’t “getting it” because performance outcomes have not been laid out or negotiated properly? It takes a good leader to communicate realistic expectations and give constructive feedback.

They’re just not fitting in

It’s always important to hire a candidate who gets your company culture and gets along with the team. That said, it also takes time to build rapport and relationships. Your new hire may be “not fitting in” because, again, performance indicators and expectations haven’t been set out. Just because they haven’t fit in perfectly from the get-go doesn’t mean they never will.

What not to do

Letting go of a new hire is a huge waste of resources. But more than that, it will actually impact on your team and even diminish morale for those who have just witnessed what happened. Then you’ve got the headache of risking the same situation with your next new hire. Take a step back and reflect on your intervention processes for new hires. If your new employee is raising performance red flags, it’s time to re-evaluate your way of handling things.

What to do instead

Even just one twenty-minute chat with your new hire can resolve the issues you’ve been having, putting you both on the same page again. However, ideally we encourage regular catch ups to ensure everything stays on track. During your meetings, ask the new hire how they feel they are going, and ask them for any feedback they may have — you could find this very enlightening. Then, give specific examples of where their behaviour is not working for you and specify how things need to be done next in the future. Together, negotiate and agree to actions and goals to be reviewed at the next meeting. Finally, ask the employee what their understanding is of what you’ve just discussed, to make sure you’ve been clear in your delivery.

Congratulations, you’ve just rescued a floundering new hire!

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Unexpected Skills Recruiters Bring To Companies

Volume-based recruiters often have an overload of roles to fill. They’ve got a stack of clients they don’t know very well and a directory of candidates they’ll hardly get acquainted with. With this sort of thing going on, it’s no wonder recruiters get a bad rap. However, good recruiters have a search-based, rather than a volume-based, approach. These HR professionals are famous for their skills in dealing with people and relationships. Let’s take a look at the unexpected skills that recruiters, aka HR professionals, have to offer construction companies.

1. Engagement manager

Once upon a time, managers would get together and assess their employees performances. There was little dialogue between workers and their managers, and employees would be assessed at 3, 6 or 12 month intervals. These days, organisations prefer ongoing conversations between workers and employees around performance and happiness. This can be facilitated through technology such as employee engagement software or it can be managed by an expert HR professional.

2. Diversity rep

In construction and engineering, as in many other industries, companies are realising the value of cultivating a diverse workforce. Taking on staff of various backgrounds, irrespective of gender, race or age, ensures a fair and open workplace, and one that is enriched by the diverse experiences the employees bring. Your HR professional will act as a diversity officer, not just ensuring that the right people are hired without prejudice, but that diverse employees have their needs met post-hire.

3. Talent nurturer

As much as they want to, companies can’t always be on the lookout for great talent. After all, they do have a business to run! Standard recruiters typically don’t source the best talent for the companies they represent because they’re simply too swamped with work. Even if you aren’t looking to fill a specific role, a good HR consultant will have a vast network of industry connections to top talent. They’ll have their eyes peeled for talent, and will know your company well enough to keep you informed on who’s out there when it’s time to recruit.

4. Wellness Coach

Employees can disengage from their work when they are overworked, overtired or for a variety of other personal and professional reasons. Your HR professional can help you identify factors that may be causing your employees to disengage, and recommend some wellness programs to get them back on track. This can include education on work-life balance and healthy office habits, suggestions on stress management and even therapy.

Get a construction recruitment specialist with 10+ years in the industry. Contact Quadrant Exec today.