The issues of getting staff at the moment are very real, so how do you attract people to come and work for you?
Why is it so tough to get staff?
Low unemployment is of course one of the big issues, most employable people are in jobs. Added to this are the ongoing issues with bringing in staff from overseas (border closers, difficulty in getting working visa’s for those who do want to come in etc), a general nervousness about wanting to change jobs. And people are nervous about changing jobs for a host of reasons some of which will include an ongoing nervousness about jumping ship in uncertain times, also loss of sick pay entitlement for 6 months, and the general apathy about adding more change to your life when the last 2 years have been flooded with more change than most of us want in a lifetime!
So, how do you attract people to apply?
The first thing you need to do is actually get people to apply for your job. Seek, Trademe, recruitment consultancies and other usual channels to attract staff are still absolutely valid. However, they are only getting in front of those staff who are actually looking for a job.
Facebook community posts, notices to people who may be interested in what you are offering etc are all becoming part of the attraction strategy. I.e. get your advert in front of them in places they are looking for other things. E.g. if a work from home Mum could be a good candidate for you, then maybe advertise on the Plunket notice board. If you are after a handyman, maybe a notice in a local Man Shed.
Think outside the box
You may have always had a full-time admin person working in the office, but could the job actually be done by a stay-at-home Mum working school hours? With remote systems, phone forwarding etc most admin type jobs can be done remotely. The key with remote workers is to focus on the outputs rather than the worked hours. And, the bonus with focusing on outputs, is you actually reward people for efficiency… the more efficient, the quicker they get the work done, but they don’t get “punished” by either being paid less hours or being loaded up with more work.
NB don’t forget the Work from Home Policy and Remote workers agreement
Remove Barriers to Application
“Send CV and cover letter”, is usually the first step in the process, but they may not have an up to date CV, so don’t submit the application.
Attend interview during working hours – they may not want to boss to know they are applying for other jobs, or may not want to take time off to attend interviews, so think about when you are asking them to attend an interview, and can you adjust this to suit them better?
Test practical skills
The traditional face to face interview doesn’t work well for all positions, but how can we test practical skills such as Physical ability, H&S aptitude, Teamwork and interaction, communication skills, desire for and understanding of the role?
The HRtoolkit contains a full guide on how to run your own Recruitment Assessment Centre (and don’t worry, that is not as hard as it sounds!).
Free Webinar on Friday 27th at 10am
I will be talking over practical solutions on how to recruit in the current environment and look forward to seeing you there. Register here.
Reach out for help
As ever, we are here to help, so feel free to call me on 021 741 544 or e-mail lisa@hrtoolkit.co.nz