The HR Leader in discussion with Collar Group CEO on talent shortages

Unfortunately, talent shortages are persisting. Although, there are ways to stay ahead of the competition, says Collar Group chief executive Ephram Stephenson.

Mr Stephenson joined The HR Leader to talk about standing out from the crowd, the impact of talent shortages, and how to deal with these issues.

Jack Campbell, journalist at HR Leader: “How can businesses stand out from the crowd when they’re looking to attract talent?”

Mr Stephenson: “It’s about all your value adds and all about unique selling points. Branding and marketing plays such a huge part in talent attraction these days … Companies need to be able to pivot and look at tapping into a talent pool that they wouldn’t normally have … Is this person going to add value to what we’re doing as an organisation? And culturally, are they going to fit well within the business? Do they eat and sleep our values?”

He continued: “When we’re speaking to clients, that’s something we’re trying to educate them on … Yes, salaries are key, and the business history, the hierarchy, the leadership, etc. But why would somebody want to come and work for your business as opposed to [joining] one of your competitors? Take out the monetary components, what else do you offer? That quality of work/life balance, the additional training, the parental leave, the mental health days and mental health initiatives, the EAP systems, I think that’s got more of a weighting in talent attraction than offering somebody an increased salary package.”

Journalist: “How have talent shortages impacted your and your clients’ industries?”

Mr Stephenson: “The skills shortage has had a huge impact on businesses being able to continue to scale and grow. And the borders being closed as well, immigration is a big driver in that. But it’s great to see over the last few months, the immigration laws have changed a lot. So now, the working holiday visas have come back, and they’re now being processed within 24 hours.”

“It allows a different talent pool of individuals, who 12 months ago, we just weren’t able to tap into. The students are now coming back in as well. So, there [are] so many opportunities for businesses to fill some of these skills shortages. Again, I just think they need to think outside the box.”

Journalist: “How can businesses adapt to better deal with staff shortages?”

Mr Stephenson: “Rather than just reject somebody based on a resumé … why not [implement] a strategy. Whether that’s AI, a chatbot to find out more information about the application before they just reject them straight off the bat.”

“It’s all about the candidate experience as well, right? It’s about first impressions, do they leave a lasting impression about their brand, because referrals at the moment is something that is really big, and potentially businesses are missing out on those opportunities because of that first impression from a candidate who’s leaving that business with a really bad experience.”

“So, that candidate experience is something we keep drilling into our clients day in, day out that if you get a really good candidate experience, in essence, you’re going to have candidates reaching out to you directly as opposed to applying for job adverts.”

Mr Stephenson added: “It’s still very much a candidate-driven market in a sense that the candidates are ultimately the ones that are going to be responsible for choosing your business. The candidates who are meeting a lot of the criteria for job adverts, they still might have four or five interviews, or four or five job offers on the line. So as employers, we need to be doing everything within our power to make sure that you do your absolute utmost to sell the features, the benefits, also talking to them about the pros and cons of working in your business. It’s about that transparency and not setting anybody up for failure.”