This Week in Talent (14th October)

Howdy ho!

Welcome back to another Thursday TWIT sesh!

Last week I mentioned that myself and my TA team are attempting to be more strategic in the way we recruit, particularly in a candidate short market. We are a bunch of people-pleasers, as are most recruiters I know. We want to help our clients and hiring managers find the best talent in the shortest time possible – however the “shortest time possible” bit often becomes the thing our clients and hiring managers focus on (for good reason … because they are stressed), and as such we end can end up feeling rushed/bombarded/reactive/uncreative … which is not ideal. This is what leads to a reactive, “pop a job up and hope for the best” style of recruitment.

I’ve now put together a strategy guide to assist myself and the team to be our best strategic selves! It’s a “guide”, not a process doc … because it is to help guide the team in process creation, decision making, and discussions and can be adapted to suit each individual recruitment process. It will also grow and develop as we discover new and improved things to add to the guide. All in all, I’m feeling really accomplished and glad I got that off my ‘to do’ list. AND excited to start implementing it. Will report back – watch this space.

Not long now until us Melbournians are back in the office working our best hybrid lives, and I legit cannot wait. I’m also scared, and nervous. I’m a massive extrovert, but I’ve developed some introvert qualities over the past 2 years of lockdown and I’m pooing my pantaloons about heading back to the office and making small talk with people I don’t know. Pre-lockdown Jody would LOVE the idea, but post-lockdown Jody is not keen. Time to sharpen up my social skills again and start practicing in the mirror!

Have a great rest of your week 🙂

Should recruiters search for “culture fit” or “culture add”?

The latter … definitely. Who wouldn’t want to add something new and fresh to their team? That’s how the most successful companies innovate – culture fit excludes people that don’t fit a certain mould. Having a ‘culture add’ mindset means you are being inclusive and diverse, and diversity of people leads to diversity of thought – and diversity of thought has been proven to lead to more money and success? What company/hiring manager wouldn’t want that?!?!

With so many people quitting don’t overlook those who stay

The Great Resignation is upon us, but not everyone is going to leave. Whilst the focus will be on finding talent, and filling roles … don’t forget about the ones that decide to stay. I also liked this part of the article – make it okay for people to leave, then re-recruit them again down the track!

Why we need to consider switching to a 4-day workweek — now

It wouldn’t be a TWIT without me longing for a 4 day work week 😉 This article outlines the results from Iceland trialling it with its public sector workforce, the benefits, and a cheeky TED talk at the end. Give it a whirl!

Why millions of employees could quit their jobs post-pandemic

Okay sorry for the double up on ‘Great Resignation’ content this week – BUT this article was too good not to include. I like the idea that people aren’t just resigning, but redesigning the way they work and live their lives. This IS an opportunity for employers to reconfigure work so that it’s more desirable and fits in with the way people are living their lives post-pandemic.

From Strangers to Teammates: How Getting on the Same Wavelength Might Be More than a Metaphor

Have you ever gone through a stressful or eventful period at work and found it’s brought you closer together with your teammates? What about something really funny, or a super fun and memorable event. Or those crazy after work drinks that escalated randomly with a select group of work people? There’s a reason our brain is conditioned to bond with people and form a sense of unity when these things happen.

Parallel Play Isn’t Just For Kids

Have you tried this within a remote work environment yet? One of my besties does this frequently with people she works with via Google Hangouts. Jump into a virtual room together and continue working on whatever you were working on but have some other peeps there to banter with and pretend you’re in the office together. I haven’t tried this yet, but I’m keen!

What’s your stress level? Each industry, from arts to tech, has its own profile

LinkedIn’s latest Workforce Confidence survey highlights which industries are feeling the most stress right now. The results aren’t surprising, but the way that stress is profiled across different industries is interesting.