Accessibility
For Australian job hunters, things are looking pretty good (even if it may not feel that way!) But for employers, the current market is much more challenging.
As of 2024, the unemployment rate hovers around 3.5%, a significant improvement since the pandemic era. The workforce participation rate has reached new highs, with more Australians engaged in employment than ever before. However, there are 260,000 job vacancies across the country, a stark reminder that while job seekers have more opportunities, employers are finding it harder to secure talent.
The bad news for employers is that recruiting top talent remains highly competitive. Gone are the days when simply posting a job ad would result in a flood of qualified candidates. According to SEEK’s 2024 Employment Report, applications per job ad remain lower than pre-pandemic levels, with sectors like technology, healthcare, and professional services experiencing critical shortages. As demand outpaces supply, organisations need to innovate to attract, recruit, and retain top talent.
If your company wants to attract, recruit, onboard, and retain top talent, you will need to develop an Employee Value Proposition (EVP) that meets the current needs and expectations of your target demographic and then find innovative ways to communicate with prospective candidates.
Below are key factors to consider when developing an EVP that resonates with today’s job seekers:
Here’s how employers can address what employees are looking for and fine-tune their EVP:
1. Remuneration
Salary expectations have shifted significantly, with inflation and cost-of-living pressures driving demand for higher pay. The latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) shows wages growth at 3.9%, a reflection of talent shortages and inflationary pressures. In-demand professionals—especially in digital, technology, sales, and engineering—are commanding premium salaries.
If you’re not offering competitive pay, you’re at risk of losing top performers to companies that are. It’s also important to highlight any additional benefits such as bonuses, share schemes, and flexible salary packaging.
2. Stability
Following years of global economic instability, employees are seeking reassurance that their job and employer are stable. Potential candidates are more interested than ever in understanding an employer’s financial health, long-term plans, and the steps being taken to future-proof the business. Be transparent about how your organisation has navigated recent challenges and how it plans to sustain growth moving forward.
3. Flexible working
Employees have grown accustomed to the freedoms that come with flexible and remote working. While most businesses now offer hybrid or remote working options, SEEK’s 2024 survey shows a disconnect: while 78% of employers claim to offer flexibility, only 60% of employees feel that this is a true reflection of their experience.
If you’re going to tout flexible working as one of the benefits of working for your organisation, make sure you’re following through on your promises. Employees want the option to work remotely when it suits them, choose their office hours, and manage their own schedules.
By positioning yourself as an employer that truly embraces flexible working, you will gain access to a much larger, and more diverse, talent pool. For example, a job listing for a remote role will result in 20% more geographical diversity among applicants, and people from marginalised groups may face fewer barriers to applying.
4. Culture
You will find it very difficult to effectively communicate your workplace’s culture to prospective employees if you can’t clearly define your company’s values and ethics.
Take time to consider your core values, the attributes you rate most highly in your employees, the initiatives you’ve implemented to build a diverse and inclusive culture, and the work you’re doing to support your local community.
Once you’ve figured out your standpoint, make sure you’re shouting about all the great stuff you’re doing via creative job ads, your company website, at careers fairs, and during the recruitment process to attract talent that both shares and appreciates your values. Culture and inclusive leadership have never been more important.
5. Commuting
Commuting is still a concern for many, especially in cities with expensive or lengthy travel times. f you want to win over your existing workforce and prospective candidates, this is an area where you can make a big difference to employee wellbeing. Consider initiatives such as subsidising the cost of public transport or allowing employees to arrive and leave the office outside of rush hour.
6. Career development and professional learning opportunities
Employees crave career progression as much as they crave security and stability. You can bet that prospective candidates will want to know what opportunities await them should they accept a role at your company. If your organisation has formalised the process of offering promotions and pay rises, that’s great, because your employees know exactly where they stand and when they can expect to progress.
If not, find other ways to reassure your candidates that there is potential for growth, such as funding training programs or additional qualifications.
7. Reputation of organisation
Building a good corporate reputation is vital when it comes to attracting top talent.
Increasingly, applicants will scrutinise your company’s actions to decide whether they want to work for you. But beware, a tokenistic rainbow logo during Pride month or a Tweet of solidarity on International Women’s Day simply won’t cut it. You’ll need to practice what you preach and provide the evidence if you want to earn the respect of your employees and prospective candidates.
8. Well-being & mental health
Employee well-being continues to be a top concern. Data from Elmo Software’s 2024 Employee Sentiment Index reveals that 72% of employees feel more stressed now than they did three years ago. It’s no surprise that the mental health of employees has suffered after what has been a tumultuous and often distressing time.
Could your organisation be doing more to demonstrate compassion and understanding towards your workers? Employees need to feel as though they can express how they’re feeling and that, above all else, that their mental health matters.
9. Diversity at a leadership level
People from marginalised groups want to work for organisations where they will receive support, understanding, and opportunities. Without access to mentors and leaders who share their experiences, it’s hard to trust that they will be able to advance their careers, let alone feel comfortable in the workplace.
Not only do prospective candidates want to know what you’re doing to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion, but they want to actually see evidence of it in practice. If your senior leadership team is void of diversity, you run the risk of discouraging and alienating diverse candidates.
10. Online employee reviews
According to OnHires, 55% of job seekers would abandon a job application if they read negative employee reviews online. Today, there is a whole host of sites where employees, or former employees, can review your organisation, which means bad feedback is almost inevitable.
There’s nothing you can (or should) do to stop this, but what you can do is respond to negative reviews positively and constructively.
Firstly, have a look at what employees are saying about your organisation online on websites such as Glassdoor. If several workers are criticising your company for the same reason, it’s a problem worth taking seriously.
Secondly, be rigorous when it comes to conducting exit interviews so you can quickly identify and resolve issues.
Finally, take control of the narrative by encouraging existing (and happy) employees to leave reviews, or consider incorporating their testimonials to your company website and job ads.
Speak to one of our specialist recruitment consultants for more advice or send us a job vacancy to fill.
Related
