February 2024: a leap forward?

February always flies by in the blink of an eye, especially after the sedentary pace of January in Melbourne!

On the hiring front, we’ve seen a significant increase in activity. The volume of new jobs we are receiving from clients is back to the same levels as this time last year. This is up 20-30% compared to the last 6 months of 2023 when the entire labour market experienced a serious slow down. The activity we’re seeing right now is more consistent with our long-range (3-year) average. Does this indicate a return to a more BAU job market? Even beyond the data, subjectively we are having a lot more conversations with clients about hiring plans for the next 3-6 months, and just as importantly seeing an increase in candidate activity.

What we’re experiencing is supported by Seek’s data. Last week Seek reported a month-on-month increase in advertised roles for January (+1.3%). This is the second consecutive month of increased job ad activity - the first time Seek have reported back-to-back monthly growth since May 2022. Seek also reported applications per role were up 2.1% on last month.

This increase in activity is no doubt buoyed by increasingly positive economic news (inflation down and staying down plus interest rates on hold) along with news that wage growth has overtaken CPI inflation for the first time in a long while.

Reasons to be optimistic? Let’s hope so.

Gender Pay Diversity

On the subject of wages…the data on Gender Pay Diversity has been published in the last week.

For the first time ever, WGEA has published the average pay by gender for every government agency and company with 100+ employees (from the employer census 2022-23).

I’m sure you’ve seen the (maybe not so) surprising results and massive discrepancies reported across Linkedin and the mainstream media, so I’ll not jump on the bandwagon here. The headline takeaway is simple - women earn 19% less than men in Australia.

In terms of dollars, total reward for women (including super, bonuses etc..) sits at a median of $78,484. The male median is $96,945.

This is a fact organisations and the labour market in Australia cannot ignore – and is a true litmus test for every company that espouses to value the importance of diversity & inclusion.

The scientist in me feels there are a couple of footnotes to the data. These results don’t tell us whether there is a pay discrepancy by job role/grade within organisations. I’m not sure how we’ll ever get this comparison data (unfortunately). It also doesn’t tell us the difference in the ‘mean’ average pay. We’re being presented with the median. In this case, the median is generated by listing all salaries (by gender) in order and comparing the earnings of the individual at the mid-point.

Boring footnotes aside……None of this deflects from a situation which must be addressed.

From next year, the mean average pay will also be reported, along with Executive pay by gender. This will be equally as enlightening.

How leaders and organisations choose to address their gender pay diversity, will speak volumes for their culture and values – watch this space with interest!

On a personal note. I often talk about how diversity starts at home.

For full transparency, Emmbr is not required to report on gender pay diversity as we’re under 100 employees. I’m incredibly proud to say we have a perfect 0% differential in our gender pay. The average female and male in our team are on the same salary at Emmbr.

Work from where?

Without doubt the one topic that has dominated every conversation I have had this year.

What are other companies doing about their hybrid working models?

The general sense is employees are pushing for more time working from home at a time when leaders are asking, and expecting, people to return to the office. This is creating tension! The response I’m hearing is leaders feeling the pressure (and threat) of their people voting with their feet if they don’t get what they want.

The sentiment from the majority of candidates we’re speaking to is that 2/3 days working from home and 3/2 days working in the office provides the work/life balance they desire. This model provides a blend of the social interaction and human connection people crave from work, along with the flexibility for life, family and home.

This hybrid view is supported by research from Standford professor Nick Bloom . Dr Bloom is a leading global expert on remote working, with his research dating back long before COVID turned the office workplace on its head. Dr Bloom's research shows globally 2 days from home is the most desired hybrid arragement. In Australia, we desire 2.2 days from home.

If you’re interested in this research you can check it out here https://wfhresearch.com/

The data suggests, and our anecdotal perspective supports, that there is a significant appetite from people for a hybrid model.

Some form of remote working is a key feature of the modern workplace, but we’re a long way from a fully remote world (in most cases). Personally, I can’t recall the last fully remote role we hired for a client, and it’s something rarely requested from the candidates we’re speaking to.

I put this question to a LinkedIn poll, asking whether 3 days office/2 days from home is the optimum model (as per the research data).

37% agreed.

This result would support the idea that 3/2 is the most popular model when you consider that the views of the disagree voters are all likely to be aligned to one of the other 5 variants of hybrid working.

The comments on this poll should how strongly people feel about the topic. Numerous people highlighted that there is no optimum model and it’s about individual choice and circumstances. This is correct. However, leaders in the industry are asking for feedback on what is the general norm or standard.

I feel this debate is set to rumble on for a little longer.

Polls this month

Most weeks I put questions to my network. This month I asked….

How did your employer treat you during your last exit?

Anecdotally, I regularly hear a mixed experience from people on how they are treated following a resignation. This varies from shocking stories of being totally ostracised through to fabulous celebrations and spectacular leaving gifts.

It’s staggering that more than a third (36%) of people had a negative experience post-resignation in their last role. I don’t get this! They say a disgruntled person is 10 times more likely to tell someone about their experience than someone with a positive experience. This is one of the quickest ways to damage an employer brand (along with a poor interview process). It’s also just basic good manners and human respect.

How long should a resume be?

Another question I am asked on repeat…what do you think of my resume? Is it too long or too short?

My advice to people is always the same.

Your resume should be long enough to cover all the important bits, but short enough to be interesting.

What's insightful is that most people feel 2-3 pages is the perfect length.

There were some comments suggesting you should have two versions. One detailed, and one shorter version which covers the "greatest hits".

The most important take-away here was that only 5% of people felt 4 or more pages is necessary.

Next time you put a resume together, keep this thought in mind.

the purpose of your resume is create enough curiosity to get you the interview.

In other news

I'm absolutely wrapped to share the news of our partnership with the team Orikan . We're working closely with Babu Krishnamoorthy , Emma Norman & the team to put together a project team for this cloud migration program - Project Caribou.

As a recruiter, there's nothing more exciting than partnering with a forward-thinking, dynamic company to find great talent. I've been blown away by how engaging everyone at Orikanhas been, and know they are going to be a great place for our candidates to work.

We have 12 immediate hires to make for the project:

Permanent/Fixed terms:

-?????? Automation Tester

-?????? Business Analyst

-?????? Product Support Technical Consultant

-?????? Implementation Consultant

-?????? Software Developer

-?????? Test Analyst

Contract (day rate):

-?????? Program Manager

-?????? Portfolio Analyst

-?????? DevOps Engineer x2

-?????? Communication Specialist

-?????? Product Support Consultant

If you're interested in this project, DM me for more details.

Also, look out for Babu Krishnamoorthy (Orikan CITO) coming soon to the Tales from Tech Titans podcast

Tales from Tech Titans

This month I’ve been spending alot of time in the podcast studio recording the next round of episodes. You’ll see these episodes in the coming weeks, with a new release every Thursday.

Moving into March and April, we have some incredible guests booked with CIOs and Executives (present and past) from companies such as NAB, Seek, CBUS, Salvation Army, Fleet Partners and BUPA all scheduled to share their stories, lessons, experience and advice.

My biggest takeaway from spending time with the Titans has been the depth and richness of each individual story, along with the consistent theme of not being afraid to put yourself out there. Every Titan has taken on key roles well before they were completely ready for the next step, and thrown themselves all in........and didn’t look back.

I’d love your feedback on the show and also your questions for me to put to the guests.

If you could sit with a CIO, and ask for their career advice, what would you ask?

DM me with your ideas.

Recommended read this month

The best book, and with the biggest personal impact, that I read last year was Adam Grant Hidden Potential. I was fortunate to hear Adam talk in Melbourne earlier this month at the Growth Faculty event.

100% recommend this book to anyone thinking about talent and what it really means.

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