There are no surprises in saying that this last financial year has seen the war for talent reach new heights. We have gone from receiving over 150 applications per advertisement, prior to 2020 for our technical roles, to now classing a high-performing advertisement as 30 applications. Across our industries, we have seen the number of jobs registered increase by 60% and yet job applications reduce by 30%.
This last financial year has been the year of the passive candidate. We have noticed a trend in talent reaching out to discuss their careers with an eagerness to understand the ever-changing market and opportunities, however what we have seen is that only 60% of the talent reaching out will follow through the entire process of transitioning into a new role.
The passive candidate has also meant that the candidate experience has also had to change, as talent is being more selective in their job search. Job seekers are wanting a high level of detail from the prospective employer, really exploring the value proposition of the organisation, which includes the management structure, and how their career will progress, not only in their first year with their new employer but also in years to come.
We have seen talent withdraw their interest if a recruitment process drags on, and a handful of employers have also had new employees resign within weeks of stating employment due to not having a structured and integrated induction process.
There has been a significant shift over the last year to flexible working, and this has seen a number of businesses having to adapt to a hybrid working environment. The challenge now, will be how businesses deliver this type of environment without harming learning and development opportunities, collaboration, innovation and a thriving productive work culture.
In the first half of the year, we saw salaries being a key driver for talent to reach out in search for a new opportunity, however this year we have seen a shift, where culture and structured career development is the top consideration for candidates when they are searching for a new role. As salaries continue to slowly increase across the state for all roles, we are hearing from many employers how this is impacting their bottom line and therefore, now, more than ever, there is a greater importance on how business communicate and commit to providing a thriving environment to not only attract but retain their talent. If this doesn’t happen, the only way a businesses will be able to attract talent will be purely driven by salary.
So as we head into the new Financial Year, we can’t see too much changing over the next 12 months.The good news is that project pipeline is still strong but unfortunately, there will still be a high demand for people and the passive candidate will still be a challenge to manage. Our advice to all businesses, is to really think through how you going to entice the right talent your business and make sure you have a detailed and streamlined recruitment process where you can communicate a strong message around your business strategy and culture.