Human Resources
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This month, the talent shortage is driving many questions. HR professionals are asking ‘do we need mentorships and career path guidance if employees only stay approximately three years in any job?’
Similarly, looking for techniques to save time in recruitment is trending at the moment. Virtual onboarding may save time, but when it comes to a new starter feeling comfortable, human interaction is still most important for success. Likewise, it may be quick and easy to ask the same interview questions you always have, but a review of your interviewing questions and recruitment processes may help your organisation to save time in the long run.
Keep reading to understand the top 5 HR and recruitment trends for June 2022.
This month, Human Resources Director Magazine asks ‘What is the Value of Mentors in the Office?’ At a time when the average tenure for Generation Z at any organisation is approximately two years, why should employers invest in pairing up more experienced employees with new starters? The trick is to see mentoring as a way to upskill and succession plan, with the long term goal of retention.
Understanding a new starter's goals and career path is the first step in encouraging retention. HR Tech Cube outlines why understanding an employee’s performance and career path can be a benefit for employers. Increased performance and retention were two key reasons that the article explores.
Xref has around 70 employees worldwide and we pride ourselves on understanding the career goals of our people so we can help them grow into new roles. This means that while we are rapidly growing and employing new staff, many of our people also have longer tenures - pointing to strong retention.
With remote and hybrid workforces becoming increasingly common, HR Managers are asking - can I onboard remotely? Can I use tech and save time? This article hosted by Toolbox HR covers ‘How to Keep the Human Element During Automated Onboarding.’
The article gives three tips:
To keep the human element alive when utilising automated onboarding, the article suggests taking a new starter for coffee on their first day or organising a team lunch. If the new starter is completely remote, a welcome pack can go a long way in making them feel like part of the team.
At Xref, while we are a remote-first organisation, we aim to meet our new starters in person as soon as possible. For those based in Sydney, this means coming into the office and joining their team for lunch. We also send our new starters a welcome pack and on their first day share some ‘About You’ questions via our WorkPlace social media so other colleagues get to know them.
When it comes to automated onboarding, the 50/50 approach means for every element of automated onboarding that the new starter experiences, there should be an equal amount of in-person interactions. It helps to complete one onboarding task with the help of tech and then one in-person. For example, you may start with paperwork being filled out online, to them providing some in-person training. This approach can save you time and be more cost-effective but also doesn’t leave your new starter feeling isolated.
At this phase, you may wish to ‘buddy-up’ the new starter with someone they will work closely with who is more established in your business. This is so they have one person to ask questions of, providing them with a safe environment to learn as they come up to speed on all things unique to your organisation.
Regular check-ins, even after initial onboarding, are imperative to ensure your new starter is comfortable and has all they need to succeed in their role.
Good business relies on data and results to track success, and workplace culture should not be exempt from this. This article by People Matters combines the results of various studies to reveal just how important it is to analyse cultural sentiment in your organisation and take action on the results.
“Diverse thinking enhances innovation by 20%...Racial and ethnic[ally] diverse teams are 35% more likely to perform better, while organisations with an inclusive culture are also likely to have 2.3 times more cash flow per employee.”
Diversity analytics is people analytics and a workplace that openly champions for strong diversity and inclusion has many benefits. These benefits positively impact company culture, employer branding and support recruitment marketing efforts.
Some tips to ensure diversity hiring as outlined in the People Matters article:
The article explains that data analytics can widen your talent pool, by reducing bias, thereby exposing recruiters to more diverse candidates, meaning more diverse hires to select from. By leveraging data analytics, recruiters can substantially reduce bias in the hiring process and fast-track candidate screening. In turn, this can reduce time to hire.
In a talent shortage market, choosing the right candidate matters. One key component to getting it right is to ask the right questions in an interview. But even the best-laid interview plans can go awry when there are multiple people involved.
In fact, 62% of HR executives believe that their company’s hiring managers are inconsistent in how they interview candidates and 80% of hiring managers could not identify the glaring flaws in a series of attitudinal interview questions.
This article from ERE Recruiting Intelligence explores the good and the bad of interview questions. It offers some steps to select the right questions that work for your organisation including:
The article notes that it often takes a few iterations before you’ve got a highly effective set of questions. This process of thinking more scientifically about your interview questions will not only help you select better talent, but it will also make your interviews far more efficient. In turn this can also positively impact the candidate experience.
Xref recently compiled an article of the 30 best behavioural questions as recommended by LinkedIn. These questions explore soft skills and other important topics to help Hiring Managers and Talent Acquisition Specialists choose the right candidate. Check them out to see what you can ask in your next interview.
As the talent shortage brings more competition for top talent, it’s not uncommon for organisations to offer high salaries to secure the best candidates. To retain loyal employees incentives like flexible work and working from home are becoming commonplace. But some employers are increasing loyal employees' pay to match the salaries of new starters.
This article on LinkedIn’s Talent Blog cites research conducted by LaborIQ that found
“Salaries for new hires are, on average, 7% higher than what current employees earn in similar positions. For in-demand jobs in tech and finance, the pay gap can stretch to as much as 20%.”
Employees are being asked to do more than ever before, often with fewer resources and The Great Resignation is seeing loyal talent move on. The growing demand for salary transparency is another trend having an influence on the rising trend of retention raises or bonuses.
However, it’s not always easy for organisations to increase the salaries of all the employees they retain. Additionally, employees resigning aren’t always fuelled by salary. If your company falls into this category, the article encourages employers to look at all the reasons employees are moving and creatively address the ones they can. Some employees might find comfort in perks and benefits such as training to upskill. Upskilling your employees has multiple benefits for you and the employee and may culminate in a higher salary that they are looking for, helping you to keep that loyal employee even longer.
In June, we’re seeing some new topics trending whilst others such as onboarding and analytics remain evergreen. Finding ways to efficiencies remains a top priority for time-poor HR managers and recruiters and this is why tech-supported processes such as onboarding and analytics remain topical discussions.
More broadly, topics like career paths, mentorships and salary vs perks and benefits have always been at the core of HR, but we are beginning to see change in these conversations. Employees and job seekers are in a position of power. The instability and uncertain conditions created by the pandemic are shifting away. With renewed confidence in the job market and the rising popularity of remote work, candidates and employees are exposed many more diverse opportunities than before.
To understand the HR and recruitment trends covered in last month’s blog, see 5 trending HR topics for May 2022.
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