What Women Want At Work
With the Great Resignation and more recently the Great Re-Evaluation, the Australian job market is currently experiencing a widespread talent shortage, declining job application rates and changing career priorities.
The first half of 2022 has been dominated by candidate shortages, job growth and tough economic conditions.
JobAdder has released their ANZ Talent Acquisition Report 2022 – Q1-Q2 which examines data across Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Canada and the US and stated that candidate shortages were an ongoing issue for talent acquisition professionals in 2021, as applications fell and candidate interest dried up.
Analysing the results from the first six months of 2022, we can see that these candidate shortages are unfortunately worsening this year, with applications per job continuing to fall over the last two quarters. Employers across the globe will have to rely on proactive sourcing strategies and innovative technology to address this tight talent market and find the talent they need.
The report stated that it is taking an average of 42.4 days to place permanent roles with job applications dropping from 42 in 2018, and 29 in 2020 and now sitting at around 13 job applications per role in 2022.
Recruitment Expert Greg Savage said, “Traditional tactics to attract candidates are simply no longer sufficient. Organisations, both agency and in-house, that rely on job boards and LinkedIn only to attract candidates are being left far behind. The science and art of candidate attraction, engagement and management is a complex cocktail of branding, outreach and consistent communication, and will be the differentiator going forward. Even though it’s true that an economic slowdown might free up candidate supply, the shift is a fundamental one, and superficial and knee-jerk responses to hiring needs will lead to failure.”
“It’s absolutely clear that one of the primary benefits agencies can provide for clients is the ability to find candidates that those hiring companies can’t find themselves. Innovative candidate acquisition is that primary differentiator.”
While Freelancing Gems is focused on connecting professional women with Australian employers across freelance, consulting, contract and remote roles, we’ve recently launched Gem Recruitment out of demand for recruitment support for permanent part-time and full-time roles. A tight job market, with a lack of candidates interested in permanent roles, means having to reinvent how recruitment is done and Gem Recruitment is offering a service to recruit differently.
JobAdder reported that in 2019 the split between job posting v. proactive sourcing was 78% v. 22% respectively whereas it is now 55% job posting v. 45% proactive sourcing meaning you need to strategically headhunt to find the right candidate for your role.
We have been quietly doing our business, placing women in awesome roles behind the scenes, and Gem Recruitment has had 100% success rates on all full-time placements since we started in February of this year. So while finding talent is challenging in this market, we know what women want at work and our different approach to recruitment is showing positive placement results.
What women want at work
In our conversations with talent over the last two months, these are the key trends of what women want at work:
- hybrid working arrangement
- some candidates are after 100% remote roles
- want to work for a meaningful company
- flexible work hours and an outcome-focused role
Candidates are in the driver’s seat right now and we are seeing most full-time talent comparing multiple offers at once and negotiating offers against each other.
So how do you win in this current candidate-led market?
You need to put your best foot forward. What benefits, work environment and salary package can you offer to attract the very best talent your budget can afford? What is your employee branding proposition? Here are the four key changes successful employers are making to their recruitment practices.
Check out our Women on the Rise Report 2021 to see what 200 women said would help them reach their fullest potential in their personal and professional lives. From what led them to leave their 9-to-5 to the ongoing challenges they face, the Report has uncovered the face of the modern female freelancer. And she has a lot to say about how employers can embrace, support and leverage a female-first labour force.
