Tuesday 27 September 2022

Where Have all the Staff Gone?

Forget Covid. Forget sales. The big issue has been the lack of candidates for available roles. Not just appropriate candidates - but any candidates.

Almost every business meeting we have attended this year, staffing -or lack of - has been the main topic. Stories of people not turning up to interviews, people not getting back to you, people just not applying for jobs in general.

So many businesses we have spoken to are looking to expand, and to do that, they need staff. There are businesses that are struggling to stay afloat because they can't get the staff to service their customers.

The lowest unemployment rate in decades is exasperating the employment situation for businesses.

We all think that low unemployment rates are positive for the economy, but in reality, it can have a very negative effect on business.

Lower unemployment makes recruitment and retention more difficult. Essentially, the pool of candidates shrinks and employee turnover increases as the employees have more opportunities elsewhere.

We heard recently where a company's IT staff were being approached by a competitor to join them with a $100,000 increase on their current salary! Some companies just can't compete.

As a value based company, we focus on building our company culture in order to retain our team. We also try to encourage a life-work balance for each of our team members.

We appreciate this can be hard to manage, in any business, and particularly our industry, but so far we are doing okay!

Another area of focus for our company is to invest in our team through training and professional development which offers them a career path within our agency.

It can be difficult for small businesses to compete with the more established, larger corporate brands when hiring staff. However, if the culture is right within your team and you really do what you say you do, then you will be able to retain your employees.

We also utilise our team to 'sell our culture' to potential candidates and to introduce an internal referral system. We have found some of our best employees have come from internal referrals. And as a side bonus, we don't have to pay a hefty recruitment fee, though we do pay a referral fee to our team!

Employment and recruitment are currently big topics in our company. We are expanding the Commercial side of the business, as well as wanting to launch our residential brand, Your Residential.

On the back of a booming property market, it is a big task to ask someone to leave an established residential business to set up a new brand with a new team.

It is a challenge, but one we are confident we will fulfil, in time.

As long as we strive to keep our values at the centre of what we do, work together, be passionate about delivering exceptional customer experiences and not be afraid to approach things differently, then we will find the right fit for our amazing team.

If any of the above is of interest to you, in particular, working with an amazing group of passionate individuals, then please reach out to me on 0412 349 633 or mel@yourcommercial.com.au.