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Laying strong foundations for council success
Job ad data hot off the press from Seek paints a sorry picture for New Zealand Inc. Vacancies were up 3 per cent in April compared to March, up a sizeable 15 per cent compared to 12 months ago, and up a whopping 39 per cent compared to two years ago.
The impact of border closures mean that workers of all types are in short supply. Add to that the tsunami of people moving roles, and the result is a perfect storm that will impact the business community and economic growth for many months to come.
Businesses are competing like never before in the war for talent. The cost of recruitment is huge, particularly if using a recruitment service, and of course there’s all the internal “costs” such as time away from BAU, pressure on remaining staff to pick up the slack, the impact on productivity due to reduced headcount, not to mention the loss of institutional knowledge and overall morale. And if you’re fortunate to secure a candidate, it’s likely that it will be six months or maybe more, before they’re fully productive.
In this market it makes a lot of sense for businesses to think more about how to hang on to the workforce that they already have. To apply a well-known marketing adage; it costs more to acquire a new customer than it does to sell to one you already have. The same holds true for recruitment.
In a recent podcast, global HR expert Josh Bersin said that every company he talks to is “freaked out about hiring, retention, burnout, and employee experience and asking ‘what do I do?’”
In this market it makes a lot of sense for businesses to think more about how to hang on to the workforce that they already have.
There’s a lot to think about when it comes to retention strategies and so many levers to pull. Do you look at pay and benefits, or learning and development, or leadership, or rewards and recognition, or wellness, or flexibility, or career and succession planning?
Bersin says the answer to all of these questions is a resounding YES! You have to do all of these things. The balance of power in the labour market is shifting, and this is ok – he says – because “workers do great things. It’s the employees that make your company grow, and moving more of your investment into your workforce is a good thing”.
We’ve seen a lot of movement in remuneration in recent months. Bersin says that every employee has their own mini market for pay based on a range of factors. It’s not a question of minimum or maximum wage, but rather a question of required wage. What do you need to pay someone to take this job and be happy?
Aside from what’s going into pay packets, many organisations offer a huge range of benefits. But how many of them fully communicate what’s on offer? There’s no doubt that money is important, but so is career progression, being able to balance work and home life, feeling valued, and having a job that aligns with your personal values. Be sure to tell your full rem and benefits story.
If you want to find out just how well your remuneration and benefits are meeting the expectations of your workforce, why not ask them? You’ll get a pretty clear steer on what’s hitting the mark and what’s missing it. Armed with those insights you can make adjustments that will help you not only hang on to the staff that you’ve already got, but also attract more people to be part of your team.
