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The talent and recruitment market are ever evolving, and HR leaders are at the centre of shaping the future of work. With evolving workforce expectations, tech advancements, and an increasingly competitive talent market, attracting and retaining the best talent to thrive, innovate, and stay engaged.
In 2024, the average employee tenure in Australia is less than 5 years, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. For HR leaders, this means retention strategies need to be as strong as their recruitment efforts. And with the ongoing trend of ‘job hopping’, understanding what truly drives employee loyalty has never been more critical.
The question isn’t just how to hire top talent but how to support hiring managers and business leaders in attracting, engaging, and retaining the right people.
Here are five key areas where HR can make the biggest impact in 2025:
Attraction
1. Candidates want more than just a job & are choosing purpose over pay
Given the economic climate (I’m sure we can all feel the pressure) compensation still plays as a key driver but alone is no longer enough to attract and retain the best talent.
Candidates are looking for roles with purpose, alignment to their values, and inspirational leadership and learning development opportunities to support long term career growth.
HR can play a key role in ensuring hiring managers can articulate the company’s purpose in a way that resonates with top talent. This plays a key role in particular during the recruitment process to drive engagement within a competitive talent market.
How to support hiring managers:
- Alignment - Define and communicate a clear Employee Value Proposition (EVP) that explains the company’s vision and the impact employees can have.
- Security - Develop interview talking points that connect each role to the company’s mission and clear pathways.
- Growth - Encourage leadership transparency, ensuring employees see how their work contributes to the bigger picture.
"In 2025, a strong feedback culture is more important than ever, as evolving technologies like AI shift workplace expectations, requiring both team members and leaders to adapt quickly. A psychologically safe environment where feedback is encouraged fosters growth, innovation, and engagement in this era of rapid change. When employees feel valued and motivated, they collaborate more effectively, reskill and upskill with confidence, and generate better ideas - driving continuous improvement. This is vital for organisations to remain relevant and competitive. A culture where feedback is open, respectful, and constructive builds trust, empowering employees to share ideas, voice concerns, and challenge the status quo without fear." - Alex Mathews, Head of People & Culture, Six Degrees
2. HR leaders can advocate for DEI goals from end to end
Diversity in hiring goes beyond age, ethnicity and gender - or the new movement of generational bias. DEI needs to include diversity of thought.
It’s HRs responsibility to hire diversely meaning capability over technical experience, hiring outside of the regular bubble and seeking skills in other industries you may not have considered.
Many businesses have made progress in hiring diverse talent as mentioned above, but many organisations forget that diversity means being open minded about hiring talent outside of the narrow scope and looking for the soft skills and drive in other industries where skills can transfer.
How to influence DEI to hiring managers:
- Review and consider your hiring process – even from the initial job add. For example, if you need a ‘bubbly’ receptionist, you’re not using gender inclusive language.
- Train managers on inclusive leadership - Ensuring the decision-making process values different perspectives.
- Play an active role in internal process - remove bias and challenge your recruitment partners to meet DEI targets from outset.
Retention
3. Career development is key to retention
HR professionals are seeing it first hand - employees who can’t see a future in their company are the first to leave. But does this fall on the organisations lack of clear and transparent pathways? This is a key characteristic of businesses who are considered choice – so yes.
Career development & growth remains one of the top drivers of job satisfaction, yet many businesses lose talent because although the communication of development pathways may seem clear, many organisations fail to champion this.
Learning and development initiatives need to be backed by the HR team – and they need to be product of what employees want and need. You can't create an L&D program on what you ‘think’ employees need. You need to ask the questions.
How to improve career development strategies:
- Follow through - Coach hiring managers to highlight career progression in interviews and ensure regular check ins on career pathways. Implement structured mentorship and leadership development programs.
- Provide and promote internal mobility opportunities - so employees can stretch into new roles and diversify their experience, keeping them engaged in and challenged within the company before looking elsewhere.
- Empower and develop your leaders to have tough conversations with their team – creating transparency and productive feedback.
- Psychological safety – A positive culture that promotes innovation and growth mindset creates safety and aids retention.
4. Do what you say you’re going to do
A key issue for retention is being overpromised and underdelivered – I’m sure unoriginally we have all experienced this in some way during our career.
Be open and honest in communication, building trust and security and not leaving anyone in the dark. This needs to come from the leadership team - knowing an employee can trust their leaders because they have best intentions at heart.
It starts with being an advocate in a creative and inspiring leadership team who value reward and recognition and foster a culture based on outcomes and creating people first opportunities.
How to be an advocate:
- Support community engagement - Partner with organisations aligned with your DEI goals, such as refugee support programs, food banks, or DV initiatives.
- Create connected environments - Drive collaboration, purpose and psychological safety through open communication and inclusive leadership.
Recognise achievements - Celebrate team successes and individual accomplishments to create a sense of belonging.
5. Supporting leadership to create a people-first culture
A strong culture has and always will start at the top, and HR leaders play a vital role in ensuring leadership teams set the right tone. As mentioned, employees want to work for companies where they feel valued, supported, and inspired.
When leadership is authentic, transparent, and aligned with the company’s values, it creates an environment where people want to stay and grow.
How to support leadership:
- Invest in leadership development programs – with a focus on equipping managers with the emotional intelligence and coaching skills necessary to create inclusive, high-performing teams. Leaders who inspire and support their people are often the strongest drivers of retention.
- Being transparent goes a long way - Encourage open dialogue between leadership and employees to ensure feedback is actioned.
- KPI driven - Develop initiatives that reward and recognise leaders who foster inclusive and high-performing teams or create leadership KPIs that reflect cultural and people-focused goals.
The benefit of partnering with a recruiter
Use recruiters as an extension of your team, not a last resort. Without the right attraction strategies, retention is not possible.
You may be able to identify top talent in the market, but having long term relationships with top talent, knowing their desires, drivers and interests is what ultimately influences.
The thing to highlight here is not all recruiters are made equal. Giving a brief, fulfilling the brief and not speaking to you for 3-6 months is not how Six Degrees works.
Building a strong and ongoing relationship with a recruiter where we understand your goals, growth plans, and you let us in – is how we can work together to not only find the best talent market but retain them too.
Beyond this, we can drive your employer brand to market and ensure top candidates understand your EVP, leadership goals, and cultural fit requirements.
“The most successful hiring strategies involve collaboration. HR leaders know their organisation, and consultants bring access to talent and market knowledge - together, that creates the outcomes that make the biggest impact for the business.”
- Natalie Rogers, Executive Consultant, Six Degrees Executive
Even with the best internal hiring processes, HR teams don’t have to do it alone. Specialist recruiters bring market insights, deep industry networks, and access to passive candidates - helping hiring managers make informed decisions faster.
If you're looking to build a team, find a new leader or curious about any of the above insights - reach out to the team below.
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