You want your HR staff to recruit the right people. You want them to make the right decisions. And you want to train them accordingly. But, as Lynnette Hoffman writes, how exactly do you do that effectively when there’s no guarantee these recruiters you’re investing in will stay?
You want your HR staff to recruit the right people. You want them to make the right decisions. And you want to train them accordingly. But, as Lynnette Hoffman writes, how exactly do you do that effectively when there’s no guarantee these recruiters you’re investing in will stay?
It’s a balancing act,” says Julie Mills, CEO of the Recruitment & Consulting Services Association. “What’s drives training is not just [a desire for] up-skilling, it’s also a retention strategy, so there needs to be some focus on improving opportunities and developing staff for better roles as well,”she says.
To do that employers need to strike a balance between providing the training they deem necessary and allowing the employees themselves to have a say in what training they feel would be most valuable. “It’s about some empowerment. More and more people in this industry are academically qualified even if it’s not in HR. They can make informed decisions about what they need so there’s a greater need for them to be involved,” Mills says.
Emphasis on training is on the rise overall, but rather than organisations running one universal program for all staff, they’re allowing for more selection, based on what’s important to the individual, she says. To keep up with Generation Y’s demand for challenge and opportunity, organisations are looking more and more to mentoring programs. Indeed, 70 per cent of RCSA members are providing mentoring programs for staff.
Businesses are also increasingly partnering with training organisations to provide more training to all their staff (often including on-hire staff). And they’re building connections with TAFEs and universities. “They are accepting that the training they’re doing in-house isn’t going to be enough. It isn’t all they have to do,” Mills says. Currently more than half of RCSA members use more than one provider to implement training.
The good news is turnover is on the decline again, which suggests that the industry is starting to get the balance right. That said, there are still a number of challenges to be addressed. “Historically there’s been no minimum benchmark or standards in the recruitment industry. [Companies are beginning to recognise] that there’s a need for more of that, but it takes a long time to change. You can’t tell 10,000 people who are working in recruitment that they need to redo all their qualifications,” Mills says.
However, organisations have identified a need for more training in the area of candidate care, she says. “We need to know how to better handle candidates from the huge pool of the untapped workforce such as ageing workers, disabled workers and people who are returning to work after a long absence. As the available workforce shrinks due to demographics, these are the people we are relying on more to fill in the places, but they will need crucial help in learning to apply new skills.”
Another area in which organisations ought to consider enhancing their training is client management, specifically in evaluating, assessing and meeting the client’s needs. Increasingly, recruiters are responsible for making sure clients understand the current labour market, as well as meeting their needs and finding the best-fit solution for the task, Mills says. “Also as part of the on-hire environment it is essential that the roles of all players in the employment model are understood and actioned.”
HR professionals can also benefit from regular training around the legalities of recruitment selection, to ensure staff are aware of the latest interpretations of law around key issues such as privacy, reference checking, record keeping and the like. Still, while there’s always room for improvement, the trends look promising. Training is increasing, turnover is beginning to decrease. “So it’s having an impact on helping people feel better in the job. It’s one part of a very big equation,” Mills says.
The stats on recruitment training
Are most organisations providing training for recruitment consultants? If so, what type? Who are they using as providers? In February, 2,340 business managers who are members of the RCSA across Australia and New Zealand responded to a survey regarding just these things. Here is what they said. 86 per cent of organisations surveyed provide training to recruitment consultants. Of those:
81% provide external formal training
77% provide informal in-house training
70% provide mentoring
54% provide formal in-house training
29% provide vendor training
