p eo p l e
TALENTED STAFF WANTED.
BUT FROM WHERE?
assignment brief, ‘You need to find me an
employee that can hit the ground running,
has industry experience and who I do not
need to train!’
DAVID ESLER
Principal, Kaizen Executive
I
s finding talented and experienced staff a
continuous challenge? There is a distinct
trend that applicant lists are getting
smaller and that when candidates do apply,
they are more demanding for what they
require to make that all important career
move. For now, gone are the days where you
need to wade through hundreds of (relevant)
resumes and then find that you have plenty
of perfect candidates to choose from. If
you are still in that space, let me know what
you are doing because I want to bottle the
solution to sell it and retire early!
From a national perspective, for every
position that you are trying to fill, there are,
on average, only twelve relevant candidates.
Only seven of these have all the required
qualifications, and from those, only two are
really suitable for the position. In fact, up to
30 per cent of positions still remain unfilled
six to eight weeks after advertising.
Research completed by the Department
of Employment outlined that the reasons
for this are simple; no relevant or suitable
experience and the inability to agree on
terms and conditions. Up to six per cent of
employers give up looking in frustration. It is
even worse in our industry, with the average
fill rate at 55 per cent. In some cases, only
one candidate will meet your specifications,
if at all.
So, what do most employers do? They take
a punt on the most likely candidate and see
what happens. In many cases, they just don’t
fit and you are left disappointed.
After many in the industry go through this
process, they then approach us with a simple
16 Australian Window Association
I have always been the eternal optimist and
generally say, ‘No problem’. But let me let
you in on a little secret, it is easier said than
done. Having tracked all of the placements
we have made over the last eight years and
then compared the result to the placements
over the last 18 months, I have found the
following:
• Placements through advertising have
dropped from 46 per cent to 21 per cent.
• Placements through executive search,
social media and networking have
increased from 54 per cent to 79 per
cent.
This is a massive change and it is not getting
any easier if you just advertise.
So, what is the solution? In my opinion,
there are a number of key aspects that we,
as an industry, need to focus on if we are
to remain skill set strong. The key areas I
believe are attract and retain, train, and have
patience (with the last one being the most
difficult).
Let’s look at each in turn:
ATTRACT & RETAIN
Fundamental to the growth and
development of this industry is our ability to
attract and retain talented candidates from
other associated industry sectors. We must
be viewed by potential candidates as an
industry of choice. To do this we need to be
the best at:
1. Ensuring ongoing and relevant training
programs.
2. Having realistic and achievable objectives
and targets.
3. Promoting an ongoing work / life balance.
4. Continuing with the personal
development of your staff.
5. Developing a clear path for career
advancement.
TRAIN
One area that stood out during my recent
mystery shopping exercise was a real lack of
technical knowledge and skill, relating not
only to the products being sold, but also
to the process of selling them. When we
employ, we tend to believe that just because
they are coming from the industry, they will
have the skills you require. I have found that
this assumption is incorrect, with many (not
all) lacking the depth of skill and knowledge
to be completely competent.
Now, some of you may think that I am being a
little tough, but having now mystery shopped
over 150 businesses across our sector
– windows and doors, glass and glazing,
systems distributors, fabricators, hardware
manufacturers and suppliers to general
building and construction, I think my sample
and conclusions are sufficient to make that
statement. We must continue to invest in
people new to our industry and, of course, in
the ones we already have.
HAVE PATIENCE
This is an area that causes much of the pain
in employment. I am constantly battling with
the expectations placed on new employees
to deliver results that are unachievable and/
or unrealistic in the first three to six months
of their employment. In my opinion, it takes
a minimum of six months to fully engage a
new employee in the business if they already
have some industry experience. With an
industry