KEY POINTS:
Labour market conditions in New Zealand are set to get worse and not better over the next five years, workforce trends expert Peter Sheahan says.
And the most important thing employers can do is to actually recognise the trend.
"Acknowledge the fact that the power has shifted from the organisation to the individual. The business is getting crushed between customer expectation and staff expectation. But all it does is make you a better business," says Sheahan, author of FLIP: upside down thinking.
He says good candidates are receiving five and six offers, with some selecting an employer based on their carbon footprint.
"For the first time in 40 years, we have a sustained period of supply exceeding demand. There are probably more jobs out there than quality candidates."
Sheahan admits that statement is a bit over-generalised because some sectors are doing better than others. But the situation is forcing companies to focus on their employment brand.
"Not only do you have to become a great place to work but you've got all these other intangibles that people are starting to use to differentiate one employer from the next employer. And you go: 'Well it shouldn't be that way.' Well I know it shouldn't but supply and demand says it is."
A job interview used to be where an employer interviewed a candidate for the position but Sheahan says nowadays it's the candidates interviewing the employer for their career.
And younger workers also have a different definition of loyalty. Sheahan says loyalty is not all it is cracked up to be.
"They would consider loyalty to be: 1: I say nice things about you when I'm not here. 2: I'll engage when I'm here. I'll do the work and I won't steal stuff."
There's more to employment branding than name recognition. It's about being known to the market you need to recruit and not about being famous.
The job ads are a good venue for employment branding, Sheahan says, but most of the ads he sees on both sides of the Tasman are terrible. He mocks ads which totally miss the boat. One ad was for a chef in a top restaurant.
"It's only 25 words, so why waste it saying you need experience as a chef? If I'm looking in the chefs' section, there's a pretty good chance I've got experience working as a chef."
Sheahan says employers need to have some barriers to entry but they should be used carefully in print ads. The print ad should say why someone should leave their current job and work for you. Again he uses chefs again as an example.
"Are you sick of working in the same boring, narky, cranky kitchens? Looking for a new experience in a dead-set happy and fun kitchen?"
This is one way a small business such as a suburban restaurant can compete for talent against the top names.
"You have to find the bit about you that's unique, the bit about you that's attractive and that's what you've got to lead to the market with. That's what employment branding is about."
Sheahan was forced to move his office because his young staff in Sydney wanted to be in the CBD.
"I couldn't get the right staff. They weren't staying because it was too far to go. Too far to go? It's 10 minutes from the CBD."
To cater for his staff, Sheahan keeps a fridge stocked with food and beer on hand at all times.
Clients don't even visit the office. It's just for employment branding to make the office an appealing place to work. "A good candidate these days has choices. They can afford to be pickier and they are."
But Sheahan says it is not about the fridge. It's about the environment.
The first step which companies need to take is to find out what sort of organisation they are.
"This is a strategy conversation. It's not a recruitment/advertising conversation. Recruitment/advertising is just one expression of the employer brand. What you should be asking is, 'Who the hell are we and what are we like to work for?' "
Managers shouldn't worry about what the employment market is going to want until they've identified what's great about working for their organisation.
"Of the things that we are good at, which of those are the market most likely to respond to?"
Sheahan says it can be as simple as asking your staff why they like to work for you. No matter how large or small the organisation is, Sheahan says you should do a focus group and don't assume you already know the answers.
"There are some New Zealand companies which are first class at this stuff. They're really good companies and there are others that are terrible."
Good employment branding also has quantifiable results.
"There is an increased size of the talent pool applying for jobs, higher acceptance rates, better retention and higher engagement scores. There is a whole host of things."
There is also the matter of money.
"The average amount of money that somebody leaves a job to go to another for is 16 per cent. If you get them at an 11 per cent premium then straight away you can tell whether your message is working."
But Sheahan says unfortunately most companies do not keep track of these conversion rates.
"It's still economics. If the cost of loving exceeds the cost of divorce, you get divorced. It's not about pandering."
Despite the hot employment market, Sheahan says companies are maintaining their economic imperative.
"People aren't throwing a bunch of money at candidates. They are being careful and prudent with what they do in most cases. People aren't stupid."
Employment branding also keeps wage inflation down by offering employees other reasons to come to work for you.
"This is the answer to how not to throw too much money at it," Sheahan says.
"It's the intangibles but you've got to be able to put it together in a compelling proposition and a compelling story."
