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Firms look to brand-building to overcome skills shortage
As nearly 70 per cent of organisations face a skills shortage, many firms are now focusing on improving their employment brand to attract much-needed talent.According to a 2011 Hays white paper,…
Lawyers Weekly
As nearly 70 per cent of organisations face a skills shortage, many firms are now focusing on improving their employment brand to attract much-needed talent.
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According to a 2011 Hays white paper, Bridging the Skills Gap, creating a strong employment brand to attract like-minded candidates aligned to the values of the business is a key strategy currently being adopted by a number of organisations to overcome existing skills shortages.
"The epidemic of absent skills is one of the most important issues affecting the labour market today," says Hays director Nick Deligiannis. "The skills lacking vary between regions and sectors but the question facing employers and governments remains the same: how do we respond and close the gap?"
As organisations attempt to overcome the skills shortage, improving a firm's brand is becoming increasingly important - particularly for those firms in Brisbane and Perth.
According to the 2011 Mahlab Recruitment Survey, organisations in Perth and Brisbane are facing a significant shortage of quality lawyers, leading to a highly competitive market in which employers often compete for the same pool of lawyers.
"This high level of competition has led to upward pressure on salaries, particularly amongst lawyers with a highly sought after skill set," the survey states. "Energy, resources, engineering, construction and infrastructure organisations are often paying at the top end of the Australian market to secure quality lawyers."
To adequately improve an employment brand, firms need to be consistent, according to Hays.
"If you claim to support work/life balance or ongoing development, but do not provide ongoing training, study leave or flexible rosters, the reality of your workplace does not match your promised value," the report states.
In another Hays survey conducted this year, 32 per cent of respondents said the experience of working for their employer was nothing like the company claimed it would be, with just 26 per cent claiming their experience of working for their employer was what they were expecting.
"The impact of not being consistent or delivering what your values promised during the recruitment process will be seen in turnover levels."
