Hiring in a Recession

I recall in 2011, Australia was just recovering from the GFC, and organisations were desperate to hire, but not willing to train. Unlike today, the market was flooded with applicants, and this allowed employers the luxury of picking the most qualified and experienced candidates. There was no need to train new starters.

With the upcoming (possible) recession, combined with fall out of COVID, and the changing global situation. This has created an entirely different set of parameters for hiring staff.

We are in a candidate short market. Whereby the power balance lies in the hands of the candidate. They have the choice in where they want to work, and they will exercise that choice. ?

The great resignation allowed candidates to pick and choose “better jobs”. Many of the migrants who left Australia in 2020/2021, are yet to return. And our welfare sector reached maturity in 2022 (with the conclusion of the Job Active contract). A mature welfare sector means organisations had been operating for seven years should have achieved efficiency in placing unemployed people back into work.

?All those who can work, ARE working.

?Those that are left, and seeking employment comprise of:

?·?????Return to work single parents

·??????Return to work carers

·?????New?Migrants (skilled, unskilled, refugees & asylum seekers)

·??????New entrants (school leavers, career changers, etc)

·??????Students, or recent graduates with minimal experience

·??????People living with Disability

From my interactions in the past month with hiring managers, education providers and the welfare space, this is the most challenging time for hiring staff, EVER!

So how should organisations approach hiring?

?1)????Be open to new sourcing channels – Seek & Indeed are great, however do not be afraid to do some “hands on” recruitment. Get out there into the communities, and build relationships.

2)????Do not rely on previous experience – because you won’t find anyone with the experience you want (not easily anyway).

3)????Have a strong training and onboarding process – to open up your candidate pools to the cohorts above.

4)????Utilise ALL of the Government subsidies and support mechanisms – from traineeships, to wage subsidies, to support with job crafting. This will reduce the financial outlay from training and onboarding.

5)????Organisation culture – ensure that your organisation is a desirable place to work. Do the little things to make the day to day more engaging, and worthwhile for new employees.

?FindMe are a new organisation launching in a challenging time, we hope to support organisations with accessing new sourcing channels. Please do not hesitate to contact me for a further discussion.