This Week in Talent (2nd February)

Hello, hello, hello! (Channelling RuPaul!)!

I must say, I feel very honoured to be contributing to #TWIT for the month of February. I have been huge follower and supporter of ATC Media and Events for many years, and this certainly feels like a career milestone.

So, readers- thanks for having me present my thoughts each week in February!

I guess I probably should introduce myself to those I haven’t met before (yes, I’m sure there are many of you)!

I have been around in the HR world for 13 years.  I had a change of career at the age of 30 (I was a Florist!) and followed my partner into the crazy world of Recruitment.  I am incredibly passionate about the Australian Industry- I can’t even begin to count the number of incredible talented folk I have met in the Recruitment realm. We truly are world leaders in Talent.

I’ve been dubbed the “Queen of Talent”, and yeah, I’m happy to own that! I run an online support forum called Rubberband. We help each other through the highs and lows of the Recruitment Industry- you know that daily rollercoaster we are all on. Through Rubberband I also facilitate regular LinkedIn Live roundtables and organise our twice annual major online event series called “Bounce”

Anyway, that’s me! And for week one I’ve decided to share articles that have been trending in my networks, rather than those that I have necessarily a strong opinion on (there will be plenty of time for that over the coming weeks, believe me!) *Edit- I couldn’t help myself- I have a strong opinion on all of them!

So, here goes! Thanks to everyone who has shared this content- there is some fascinating reading ahead, for you lovely #TWIT followers!

Enjoy!

Why are Tech companies laying off all these workers

An interesting read which not only gives a good summary of what is happening world-wide, but also offers a different perspective. We have been quick to conclude that these mass layoffs are due to pandemic over-hiring, high inflation, and interest rates. But could this in fact be investor driven, or even simply the result of a “copy-cat” culture in the Tech world?

“So after over 16.5 years at Google, I appear to have been let go via an automated account deactivation at 3am this morning as one of the lucky 12,000.”

Speaking of Tech layoffs, this isn’t an article, but a LinkedIn post that went viral this week. 140,000+ likes, 2201+ Comments, 1535+ reposts and counting……

This is a timely reminder that we must treat our employees with empathy and respect. This is a true example of the opposite. No one should ever feel disposable

The final message from this Engineering Manager;

”Live Life, Not Work”.

It’s a horrible story, but the incredible messages of support in the comments are heart-warming.

BHP could drop vaccination requirements for workers

Remember Feb 2022? We had all run a marathon, rolling out our vaccination polices and sighting evidence of our employee’s “jab” status. It almost destroyed me, so complex and so challenging to get right. Well, look here! It seems the vaccination mandates may soon to be a thing of the past. One to watch!

Loyal Insurance staff penalised, recruiter says

Yes! Yes! YES! We all know it- it’s been this way for far too long. It is so much easier to negotiate your REM on the way into a company, than to have your REM increased to market levels through outdated REM / Performance cycle processes. “Any pay discrepancy between new and tenured employees can impact employee engagement, productivity and turnover unless you address it quickly.” Amen to that!

‘RUN’: Read the bizarre list of ‘pre-interview’ questions a Sydney workplace asked potential employees – with some bordering on discrimination

A reminder to ALWAYS analyse your CX. Often with global ATS roll-outs the CX can be clunky, particularly if you aren’t configuring your screening questions to each geographical region. This goes beyond clunky though- in fact, it is discriminatory. My advice is to always apply for your own roles- get your team and Execs to do the same. Research and experience it for yourself. This will help avoid situations like the one listed here. It is risky business, to say the least.

40 Ideas to Shake Up Your Hiring Process

From Campaigns to Culture – some very good advice listed here in the article. But we want to hear from you! If you were to list 5-10 ideas that would shake up your hiring process, what would they be? What are urgent priorities and where should we start? Shoot your ideas over and we will share some of them in next weeks #TWIT.