Are you experiencing low ad response, “poached” team members, high staff turnover? Wondering where all the top talent has gone or why your candidates are dropping off at the last minute? Don’t worry – you’re not alone!

While many industries such as hospitality, travel and retail are still experiencing the lows of the COVID-19 pandemic where jobs are scarce and candidates abundant, white-collar industries have almost fully recovered in Australia and professional service roles such as ICT, Finance, HR, Executive and Admin are currently experiencing what we call a candidate short market. With limited international skilled migrants coming into Australia, hiring managers are finding it harder to engage that top talent, and are now entering a new war on talent attraction.

Many of our clients ask us “what exactly is a candidate short market and what does that mean for me securing and retaining talent?”

 A candidate short market is just that… A human capital scenario where high quality and high performing talent is difficult to attract into new positions…your positions.

This results in an abundance of opportunities for high calibre candidates, a higher increase in your staff being head hunted to new roles, and subsequently, making it extremely competitive for you to recruit new employees, often resulting in you having to increase salaries or employment benefits to secure new people. 

So, as an employer what can you do?

• If you are looking to recruit new employees, you need to proudly advertise why you are an employer of choice. What makes you stand out from the crowd? How do you promote career growth and enablement? These are just two typical examples of the nature of questions high performers will ask and look for in a potential employer. High performers will look for more than remuneration alone.
• Given that in certain sectors there is an abundance of opportunities, it is imperative to engage your employees – after all, they are your most important business asset. If you wait until an exit interview to find out why a valuable employee has decided to move on, you’re often too late. Employee retention is a critical issue. The costs of employee turnover are increasingly high, and there are the “soft” costs to consider – lower productivity, decreased engagement and cultural impact.
• If you are hiring and you have access to a great candidate, whether it is on paper or after an interview, do not wait to act - another employer has likely already made the move you’re still considering.
• Work on your employment packages, tailor them individually, or cater to certain industries. For example, we have experienced that one of the most important factors for ICT candidates can often be base salary. This means if you are hiring ICT employees you need to work hard to ensure the salary you are offering is competitive in the market, otherwise the candidate is unlikely to accept your opportunity over another, in spite of other benefits you can offer them.
• Work with your recruitment partner to ascertain what is happening across your industry now. They are talking to candidates all the time – good recruiters know how scarce candidates are. They understand their motivations and what drives them whether it is remuneration, flexible working arrangements or even career development opportunities.
• You will need to be patient. Considering high calibre people are in such demand, it can take a little longer for the right one to come along.
• Be innovative……is there a candidate who is the perfect fit for your organisation culturally but not quite with the perfect technical alignment? If they have 80% of the skills profile and present as a cultural fit…give serious thought to the hire and investment into training and development.
• Take advantage of the COVID 19 training packages. Did you know that if you invest in a traineeship you can gain up to a $28K grant to assist that person gain relevant training in your industry?
• Are you offering flexible work arrangements and the ability to work from home? Candidates are looking for employers who focus on what outcomes they need to deliver instead of time at their desk. Covid has opened a new flexible way of working which candidates love. If you don’t offer work from home options, flexibility or are not focused on outcomes and trust, it is highly unlikely you will secure the best candidates.

COVID-19 has changed how we work and think, it has changed our behaviour as organisations and individuals in ways we never predicted. It has challenged leaders to think differently about the way they hire, induct, manage and retain their employees. The talent solutions you deploy and develop now will determine your success in engaging the best talent for the future.

This is an opportunity to think differently about the way we hire to build stronger teams, brands, cultures and organisations for the future.

If you’d like help or consultation in hiring the very best talent for your team or building a talent solution for this exciting new world of work, Harrison McMillan is here to help.

We love coffee, so please reach out for a chat on (08) 7071 7273 or at enquiries@harrisonmcmillan.com.au



Filed under Insights                        Date published :  Aug 27, 2021                   Author :Rachelle Delaporte