This Week in Talent (26th April)

Hello Twits! I’m Paul, the Director of Monash Talent Solutions. It’s my turn to be your TWIT editor this week.

Before I get started, if you haven’t secured your tickets for ATC2024, it’s happening 14-15 October @ Fed Square in Melbourne. The first 20 Talent Teams to register get the Super Early Bird discount of $250 off the ticket package. (And if you need any more incentive, I’ll be there!)

This week I’m excited to dive into a topic that has been quietly revolutionising our field—digital talent marketplaces.

Just over two years ago, I made a career shift from a traditional head of talent acquisition role, and joined Monash University to spearhead the development of a talent marketplace aimed at seamlessly connecting talented students and graduates with industry (it’s genuinely unique, but you’ll have to wait until we launch to see why).

It’s been a transformative journey for me as I first approached the challenge from a technology and commercial perspective, based on the concept of finding untapped sources of data and putting it to work. But whilst data is still the “new oil”, and what we can do with it to create opportunities and drive efficiencies is next level, the days of tapping into existing data with relative ease are long gone, and as a result I’ve gained a ton of experience navigating the dark and twisty world of “risk” (guided by experts thankfully).

So I’m eager to share some thoughts on talent marketplaces, their impact on our TA neighbourhood in ANZ, and the transformation I think we all need to make.

Digital Talent Marketplaces are gamechangers. At the core of any good marketplace is a level of ‘matching, efficiency, insight and engagement that traditional people driven methods simply can’t match at scale, so they’re re-writing the rules of recruitment:

They do this by:

Boosting efficiency: Digital Talent Marketplaces automate the routine tasks that typically bog down recruitment. The shift to marketplaces will push recruiters to evolve from process administrators, to becoming strategic talent advisors. If your role still revolves heavily around admin, it might be time to re-think that to remain relevant.
Being cost-effective: By automating the mundane aspects of recruitment, talent marketplaces reduce costs significantly; The value recruiters provide must shift from taking on administrative tasks, to value through genuine consulting and advisors.
Providing data-driven insights: talent marketplaces provide an abundance of data on hiring trends, candidate preferences, job market dynamics and more. This information is invaluable for helping hiring managers make informed, strategic decisions. If you’re not taking a lead on providing these insights, hiring managers will bypass you in favour of direct access to these insights.

But ultimately the main reason I think all TA professionals should start developing an understanding of Talent Marketplaces is because it will set you up to be irreplaceable in your organisation. It’s about showcasing your ability to lead and innovate and securing the best talent for your organisation. You’ll be seen as a forward-thinking leader, with greater visibility and influence within (and beyond) your organisation.

You’ll be able to signal to potential hires that your organisation values innovation and is committed to leading practices. This not only attracts the best talent but also enhances your overall employer brand.

We all know that “recruitment process administrators” are on borrowed time, but despite the continued rise of talent tech, automation and marketplaces, I believe that true talent advisors (and if you read TWIT you’re almost certainly one of them) are just getting started. We’ve got some exciting stuff in the works at Monash Talent, so make sure to connect with me on LinkedIn to get the scoop once it lands.

How to start smart with a Talent Marketplace

Interested in using a Talent Marketplace but not sure where to start? Here’s a great run down of how one company got theirs off the ground, including their first-year lessons learned on user adoption and change management

Podcast: Getting under the hood with Monash Talent

Of course I’d be giving this one a plug! My colleague Lauren Howard sat down with Tapod to chat all things Monash Talent, like how you can tap into early career talent in a way that works for your organisation.

10 Employer Branding Lessons from Taylor Swift

Taylor released her new album on my birthday (the only reason I think my teenage daughters remembered), so I’ve been listening to her new album non-stop since last Friday. Her brand is valued at over $1.1b and is so powerful that just her relationship with an American football player has created an additional brand value for the NFL worth $122m! So here’s a light-hearted look at what we can all learn from Taylor when it comes to our own brand.

Bronwen Bock and Lucy Bradlow want to become Australia’s first job-sharing MPs

A case study for job-sharing playing out in the political arena. Two women want to run as a single Member of Parliament for the Seat of Higgins in Victoria. They’re hoping the move could boost political opportunities for people from many different backgrounds and walks of life — such as women, people with disability and carers — to “have a say on the policies that actually impact their lives” without having to work taxing 70 hour weeks, 22 weeks of the year in Canberra. It will be interesting to see how this one plays out.

Do Male & Female hiring managers interview Sales reps differently?

Have you ever considered how hiring manager gender might impact interviews? Brighthire found that compensation expectations were discussed much more often if there’s a Female interviewer (regardless of the candidate gender). Female hiring managers also seemed to over-index on what a candidate is capable of & role fit, whereas male hiring managers over-indexed on what a candidate has previously done & knows.

LinkedIn Top Companies are using AI to help hire staff

Last week LinkedIn dropped the Top 25 Companies in Australia to grow your career, and this week they’ve pulled back the curtain to show what AI technologies those companies (including Telstra, Optus, and Amazon) are using in their recruitment. Understanding what recruitment AI is out there and how we can apply it will be a key tool for anyone in TA to move away from being “recruitment process administrators” and towards a more consultative and advisory role.

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