Recruitment Partners

Are you actively engaging your peer network?

bangonline — Thu, 10 May 2012 03:05:01 +0000

Establishing and maintaining a network of peers, colleagues and old supervisors is important for future job career goals. For example, networks of co-workers can assist you in staying up to date with industry trends, as well as lead to potential career opportunities or advancements in your field of interest. At times there may be a valid reason why we do not wish to stay in contact with old peers and this may limit our desire for future interaction. However, email or social media sites such as LinkedIn enable us to utilise our contacts without the risk of our interactions breaching our desire for distance. In particular, regularly forwarding emails provides an opportunity to actively engage our peer network while maintaining professional boundaries. According, to an article in the Daily Muse, this can be achieved easily by regularly forwarding on an article of interest bi-monthly or monthly, or simply commenting on their post on FaceBook or LinkedIn. Click here to read the article.

Could you be overlooking the advantages and capabilities of older employees?

bangonline — Thu, 10 May 2012 03:02:38 +0000

Workers over the age of 65 years or older are fast becoming the quickest growing group in Australia’s workforce. According to a recent article published in Australian Ageing Agenda, the workforce segment made up of people older than baby boomers has doubled in the last 15 years, to 4.5%. However, according to findings from the Federal Government’s Job Bonuses scheme, many employers are overlooking the advantages and capabilities that older workers can bring to the workforce to fill skills shortages. Click here to read more.

Are interview biases affecting your recruitment decisions?

bangonline — Thu, 10 May 2012 03:00:07 +0000

Recruitment decisions and the assignment of leadership roles may be influenced by unconscious interviewing biases. Indeed, according to an article published by HC Online, recruiters need to be aware of how unconscious biases and judgements may be affecting selection decisions. For instance, making snap judgements about an interviewee may overshadow the applicant’s abilities and skills to perform the job. To read more about common interviewing biases click here.

Having trouble finding the right candidate?

bangonline — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 03:09:00 +0000

Research shows that nearly half of all Australian businesses are reporting difficulties finding the right candidate. According to the Bankwest survey, employers are taking an additional three months to recruit and select candidates with the right level of experience. This concerning trend has had a wider impact on business, with some organisations reporting that they had to turn down extra business and that current employees are having to take on heavier workloads to cover the absence of staff. Click here to read more.

Regular breaks improve productivity and concentration

bangonline — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 03:06:53 +0000

Work performance can be improved by up to 40% as a result of taking a quality break. A recent article published by CareerOne shows that taking a 10 to 15 minute regularly can improve productivity significantly. However, this depends largely on what the activity is and how often the break is taken. For example, surfing the internet can restore concentration if taken in short bursts throughout the day, but it can also have a negative impact on productivity if it takes up more than 15-20% of the work day. Nevertheless, short breaks should be encouraged as an important strategy to keep workers mentally alert and motivated throughout the work day.

New government scheme to encourage the recruitment of baby boomers

bangonline — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 03:04:03 +0000

The Federal government plans to launch a new initiative to encourage employers to hire older workers. Under the scheme employers will be eligible to receive a $1000 grant for hiring a mature age worker aged over 50 or more for at least 3 months. The government hopes that this new proposal will encourage employers to consider the benefits baby boomers can provide to the workforce such as experience, high participation and retention rates. In addition, the initiative will provide older workers with better options for their future financial security. Click here to read more.

Multiple interviews: an essential tool for the recruiter’s toolbox

bangonline — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 23:44:40 +0000

Conducting multiple interviews can be an essential and valuable tool for the recruiters toolbox. According to an article published on Real Estate Business, recruiter’s should consider interviewing candidates at least two to three times before hiring an applicant. While not entirely fool-proof, this process can reveal applicants who share the same mindset and will fit within the culture of an organisation. This is because by the third interview candidates will drop their guard and reveal more about themselves than they would in the first interview. While some may consider this process to be unnecessarily time consuming, the overall benefit of hiring staff with the same cultural attitude as the organisation is a benefit that would continue to pay off over time and prevent the need to re-hire staff who did not fit within the organisational culture. Read here to learn more.

Why are employee induction processes important?

bangonline — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 23:36:31 +0000

Employee induction processes are a vital part of welcoming a new employee to an organisation. Further, this simple process can avoid creating a disgruntled workforce. An employee induction process is valuable in setting performance expectations and goals shared by the new employee and the employer. According to the Fair Work Ombudsman, Nicolas Wilson, this process is vital to create respect and job role clarity from outset of the working relationship and to avoid creating a future “poisonous workplace”. Click here to read more.

The Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Amendment Bill

bangonline — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 23:32:13 +0000

According to a recent article published in the Leading Company, women directors account for just 10.9% of the top 200 directors in the ASX, far behind Thailand, where 45% of senior managers are women. This is interesting news in light of The Federal Government Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Amendment Bill which has recently been released. Under this bill, companies who fail to promote women will not be eligible to receive government benefits such as commonwealth grants, or be able to tender an application under the Commonwealth procurement framework. Click here to read more about The Federal Government Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Amendment Bill.

Why is it important to recognise diversity in applicants?

bangonline — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 04:46:33 +0000

A recent article published by the Leading Company has presented the idea of a cognitive bias in recruiters to hire the familiar. For example, hiring people from similar backgrounds or education can create a “subconscious comfort” and make applicants more appealing to a recruiter. This can create a stagnant work-pool of ideas where everyone has similar ideas and can result in a lack of creative thinking, or thinking outside the square. Recruiters should consider diversity as this presents richer opportunities for the generation of innovation and different ideas amongst staff. To read more about this concept, click here.