Telecommunications in Australia is such a small and niche industry, and understanding how your brand reflects in the open market is essential to attracting and retaining new talent.
What would a contractor say about your company's brand?
Telecommunications in Australia is such a small and niche industry, and understanding how your brand reflects in the open market is essential to attracting and retaining new talent.
Contact us here for a discussion about the latest telco recruitment trends
Employees and contractors are becoming savvier about who they want to work for. With websites like Glassdoor making it easier for employees to share feedback on a company and the experience working with them, project teams need to be aware of how poor branding can impact hiring strategy.
Here are three ways to attract the best talent - and understand how your brand is performing in the market.
1. Work closely with your recruiter.
A good specialist recruiter is acutely aware of the perceptions (good or bad) of employers out there. Use this knowledge to advance your brand. Understand what your competitors are providing in the way of employment benefits, their company's future direction, salary ranges and training benefits.
Quality candidates will do their research and ask contacts for their opinion about your company. A recruiter can help provide this valuable information so you can pre-empt these questions at interview stage.
Your brand has a unique selling point. As a hiring manager, you will need to understand your USP and how this compares with other brands. Once you know your USP and competitor landscape, you will be able to target your approach to attract the best-suited candidates to your business. Ask your HR team for their view too, as well as your recruiter's insight into what the market perceives this to be.
Beyond what makes you different, candidates in the telecommunications space want high rates, good work-life balance and career development. Read more in Seek's latest survey here.
2. Create your best impression at interview stage
Gone are the days where a company with a good job held the higher ground.
Hiring today has changed markedly compare to doing so during the baby boomer generation.
In Australia, we have low unemployment and a small relative population, so good jobs are plentiful and candidates are in short supply. Within this landscape, companies now have to pitch for skilled candidates.
Imagine that - getting into a bidding war for top talent.
It’s easy to see why this is so important where IP and experience are quickly turned into profits.
With all this in mind, invest time and thought into getting your interview performance refined. Like a keynote speaker, have your strategy in place early and practice your 'moves' - namely what you want to discuss and how you will pitch your role. Don’t forget to ask lots of relevant questions and allow ample time for the candidate to ask theirs. Make sure you have answers to all their queries. Again, preparation is the key.
3. Make candidate referrals a priority
Referral candidates are 100% pure gold for companies, especially if secured by a known person or entity.
This task is easier for a specialist recruiter focusing on an industry sector, but generalists have a harder task ahead. As opposed to the 'post and hope' approach of online advertisers, referrals are closely aligned and come with a recommendation.
Recruiting referrals can be cheaper and faster to hire than traditional hires.
When have a high number of roles to fill, implementing a solid referral strategy gives you the ability to mobilise a workforce faster.