47% of Australian Small Businesses Struggle to Find Staff – Here Are Some Reasons Why

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Do you receive plenty of applications for your open positions, but still aren’t seeing the right candidates? You’re not alone. In fact, 47% of Australian small businesses struggle to find the right staff for open positions.

On average, there are 10 unemployed job seekers for every open position. The problem isn’t that not enough candidates are applying, but a lack of ‘quality’ applicants.

So, what does this mean for you? It’s time to review your recruitment advertising strategy.

Read on for three things you need to do, to start seeing the right candidates.

Know the cultural fit you’re after  

In order to write an accurate job description that will attract the right candidate, you first need to know the personality traits required of your next hire.

Failing to realise which personality traits you’re after, and consequently, not articulating these requirements on your job listing, means you will likely attract a number of applicants who are ultimately the wrong type of candidates for you.

All too often HR managers don’t realise the characteristics they need from their new talent until after a regretful hiring decision. Whether it’s a bad cultural fit, incompatible working processes or a difference in company vision, these factors can result in a short-lived tenancy for your new on-board.

Being able to identify the type of person you want in your organisation could mean the difference between an outstanding long-term hire and a short-lived win.

Set the bar high on your job listing

It may sound counter-intuitive, but to see the right candidates, it’s necessary to set expectations and target job seekers with certain skills, experience and qualifications. A common mistake is trying to appeal to too many job seekers, resulting in an influx of applicants who are unsuitable. This only delays the recruitment process and prolongs the time taken to identify higher quality applicants – by which time they could have been hired by a competitor!

So, be clear about whom you’re after and don’t shy away from setting high expectations. This is something we can help with.

Employment Office’s Recruitment Advertising Specialists are experienced in running consultations with our clients to help you understand who you are looking for, in order to write accurate job advertisements to attract the people you need.

“The process we go through in crafting recruitment advertising for our clients leaves no stone unturned. Over 20 years in the recruitment industry has taught us what to include in a job description in order to attract attention from candidates with the right cultural fit and abilities, and immediately put off those who aren’t a match for your organisation– saving both parties valuable time,” says Jessica Harkin, Head of Recruitment Advertising at Employment Office.

Be where your talent is – but not where your competitors are

Online job boards such as Indeed, Seek and CareerOne have replaced newspapers and become the ‘bread and butter’ of job listings. They are key to any recruitment advertising strategy.

But while you’re posting on these job boards for convenience and wide reach, so are your competitors. SEEK alone has over 135,000 monthly job advertisements. So, what should you do (beyond ensuring your job ads are perfectly written)? Go one step further – be where your competitors aren’t.

  1. Niche Job boards

There are so many online job boards that are industry specific and receive a high engagement.  For example, public relations and communications positions are advertised on the Public Relations Institute of Australia website, and engineering roles are on Engineering Jobs Australia. It sounds simple but too often, these websites are overlooked.

  1. University Outlets

Almost every university has a newsletter, webpage and social media page all advertising career opportunities. There are even a number of closed university club Facebook groups made up of passionate students waiting for their big break. It’s important to foster a relationship with universities in order to advertise on these media outlets and tap into a talent pool of young professionals.

Connecting with universities opens up a range of opportunities for project and research collaboration as well as internships and work placement opportunities – all helping to grow your talent pool with the right type of applicants.

Knowing who you want in your organisation and being able to articulate this on a job description, setting high expectations and advertising in the right places are all key to unveiling the right candidates for you.

Editor’s note: Employment Office provides low-cost recruitment services at a flat fee. From Recruitment Advertising and Shortlisting & Selection services to recruitment technology – Employment Office takes the stress out of recruitment. Click here to partner with the leaders in recruitment and find staff today.

“No small talk.” Has this company taken Employer Branding too far?

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No Tupperware. Company-approved toilet paper only. Black Moleskin diaries to be used – exclusively.

Australian skin care brand Aēsop has some very interesting rules governing how employees go about their day. They’ve developed a unique and powerful employer brand that is unrivalled by other players in their industry.

But have they gone too far with their employer brand, or is it a genius way to attract the right people to their organisation?

Let’s take a tour around the world of Aēsop. Read on to find out what it’s like to be an employee at Aēsop’s head office – and why Aēsop might just be getting it right.  

Firstly, no small talk about the weather – this is banned. Desks must be clean with jackets hung on a single coat-rack at one end of the building. Personal items must not be visible on desks and all employees are to write only in black Moleskin diaries provided by Aēsop. Post it notes must be hidden from view, placed within the Moleskin diaries.

Phones are to be kept on silent to ensure everyone can stay focused. When writing emails, remember your ‘email sandwich’. All emails must adhere to a strict template: opening and closing with a pleasantry, with business affairs in between.

When it comes to lunchtime, it’s company policy that you leave your desk, even just for 10 minutes. Staff must relocate to the office kitchen or one of the local cafes. And make sure your lunch is eaten only from Aēsop-approved plates and bowls. Your latté is not safe either – coffees are to be poured in Aēsop-approved cups.

But there are some fantastic upsides to working at Aēsop, with a healthy stock of fresh fruit, dark chocolate, restaurant-quality coffee and nuts ready to give you that boost of energy in the afternoon. 

What does this all mean for Aēsop’s employer brand?

Employer branding is about an organisation positioning itself as an employer of choice. Yet, a strong employer brand works to actively attract candidates who will be a good cultural fit, and deter those who will not.

Aēsop’s extreme guidelines will put off some job seekers. And that’s exactly the point.

“We take cultural alignment to the nth degree. If the fit is not good for you, then it’s not good for us. It’s a sensibility,” said Aēsop general marketing manager, Lisa D’Amico.

While it may seem a bit intense, when the boot fits, “it really works,” says one current head office employee. “We’re trying to promote a beautiful idea that flows through every aspect of the business – from the product packaging to the stores themselves, up to the way we work each day. It’s about aesthetic and thoughtfulness.”

This unique employer branding strategy positions Aēsop as a strict employer, but not necessarily a bad one. Aēsop does not hide away from its culture and employer brand – in fact, they make in clear across their careers page and careers video. This approach means that job seekers who wouldn’t work well in this environment are put off early, saving both Aēsop and the applicant time.

The question is, no matter who you are as an employer, are you shouting it from the rooftop?

Whatever your story, you need to be sharing it with the world. By telling people who you are loud and clear, you’ll immediately increase your recruitment potential by being upfront and directly appealing to job seekers who are a perfect fit. But there is one thing to keep in mind…

“An employer brand doesn’t develop overnight,” says Mark Puncher, Head of Employer Branding. “Every organisation has an employer brand that’s been forming since day one. The trick to telling your story and guiding your employee value proposition to where it needs to be, is understanding who you are, where you’ve been, where you want to go and who the right people are to take your organisation and employer brand forward.”

If you want to position yourself as an employer of choice and attract the best people who are right for your organisation, start amplifying your employer brand. That’s where we can help – and we promise to let you use sticky notes, Tupperware, take-away coffee cups and any notebook you like.

Editor’s note: Employment Office provides leading Employer Branding services based on proven recruitment results. Get in touch with Employment Office’s Head of Employer Branding, Mark Puncher, for a free consultation today.