Recruitment

The recent labour market squeeze has employers and employer groups predictably call on the Federal Government for more, and faster, immigration to assist them employ the workers they need but (supposedly) can’t find. Immigration has been one of the primary policy levers used by (predominantly) first-world governments to expand a country’s labour supply. Employers much…

The RCSA Awards Dinner last Thursday took an unexpected twist. After the eleven award winners had been announced, RCSA CEO Charles Cameron took to the lectern to announce an award that was not listed on the program. The CEO’s award for Outstanding Contribution recognises “an individual who has donated their time and demonstrated outstanding dedication…

Sunday 8 May was Mother’s Day this year. ​My family accompanied me to the Mother’s Day Classic (MDC) at the Domain in Melbourne (pictured above) and we completed the event along with thousands of other participants. We participate in the MDC each year in memory of my sister, Mary, who died of breast cancer in…

New Zealand’s widely-praised response to the initial wave of the COVID-19 pandemic led to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s profile receiving a significant boost. In the past year, our Trans-Tasman cousins have flown under the radar in Australia as the 2022 Federal Election grabbed a lot of media attention. The New Zealand Budget was handed down…

The Federal Election on the weekend was notable not just for the change in government but for the entry into parliament of a number of new members of the lower house that represent a welcome widening of the Parliament’s range of backgrounds and competencies. In 2017, analysis by Fairfax Media on the makeup of the…

This recruiter made some astute observations about my presentation and then asked me what I thought were the biggest changes in agency recruitment over my career. My on-the-sport answer was incomplete. Having reflected on the question since here is my considered answer: Technology: Index cards as my database, print ads in Saturday’s classified Positions Vacant…

In August 2020 Australian tech company Atlassian took a decisive step in differentiating themselves as an employer of choice by introducing TEAM Anywhere, a distributed work policy giving their employees more control over where they live and work. A month ago, Atlassian released data showing the impact of TEAM Anywhere. From February 2021 to February…

Some years ago one of my clients had a consultant who was perpetually average. He recruited in a niche part of their business where he was working with one colleague or he was running things solo. He caused no trouble and he was generally liked by his colleagues yet he struggled to hit his target…

Each year the National Skills Commission (NSC) produces employment projections to provide a guide to the likely future direction of the jobs market over the next five years. Each year these projections are updated to reflect emerging trends and developments. The latest data released covers the five years to November 2026 and reflects the continuing…

In 2011 I reviewed the careers page of 14 prominent recruitment agencies. My reasoning was: Given most job seekers who want to find out about working for a company will head straight to that company’s website, I thought I would make some observations about the attraction efforts of a sample of Australia’s largest recruitment agencies…