Talent Acquisition Strategies for Highly Competitive Industries
Hospitality, entertainment and logistics – three multi-billion dollar industries that employee thousands of Aussies.
The other thing these industries are known for is being highly competitive when it comes to talent acquisition. When people are a key differentiator for your business, you want the best.
And organisations are willing to pull out all the stops to get it.
As the labour market continues to challenge us, we at Aurion thought it might be helpful to share some of the strategies that highly competitive industries we work with use when trying to attract the best talent.
Workforce Planning Is Conducted Regularly
When you’re constantly in a talent acquisition mode, you have to understand talent supply and demand. You need to regularly look at what is happening in the labour market, particularly in technical roles like culinary and flight operations, where having specialised credentials and licenses were necessary.
Successful Recruiters Don’t Wait For Requisitions
Because it’s common to be looking for a needle in a haystack when it comes to managerial positions, if you find someone who is a fit, hire them. If they are the right person, they will be capable of being flexible about their responsibilities. Ultimately, the new hires will pay for themselves.
Hiring Managers Should Be Engaged In The Process
Since managers know they can hire the right talent without a requisition, they are usually very engaged in the hiring process. This doesn’t mean they shouldn’t consult HR or that the sources surfaced by talent acquisition. It simply means that “everyone” is a part of the recruiting effort.
Treat Candidates Like Customers
People who apply for jobs at a hotel, theme park, restaurant or airline could also be customers at the hotel, theme park, restaurant or airline. So, your goal should be for every candidate to remain a raving fan of the business – even if you turn them down for a job. One of the biggest ways to do that is by following up with every single applicant.
Pre-boarding Includes Learning The Product Or Service
Don’t get us wrong. There’s a lot of value in having candidates pre-board by completing new hire paperwork. But take the extra step of making sure new hires are able to experience the product or service. For example, front desk agents spent a night in the hotel to experience the place the same way a guest would.
With unemployment at historic lows, organisations everywhere might consider themselves in a “competitive industry” situation. And it’s important to note that competition isn’t reserved just for your industry. If the majority of the jobs you hire have lots of transferable skills, geography can also be a competition. Working in a highly-competitive industry can really keep you on your toes.
So, as you’re entering the end of the year, think about your candidate and employee experiences. Are there activities that talent acquisition should commit to, like making sure every applicant gets a reply? Now’s the time to start putting those implementation plans in place. Because by all indications, the recruiting function in 2019 isn’t going to get any easier!
