Recruitment and jobs blog

I’m okay. Societal convention says that the answer to the question ‘how are you?’ is always two words and in the affirmative; acceptable answers include ‘going great!’, ‘yeah good’ and ‘I’m okay’. Whether out of politeness, indoctrination or just not wanting to cause a fuss, the respondent is painted into a conversational corner. So even when ‘how are you?’ is offered up as a genuine question rather than a proxy greeting, and even when a person is feeling far from fine, the answer remains the same. Good thanks. Checking in on their workers was already a challenge for business leaders, but remote work has added yet another layer of complexity to the act. Sure, Zoom is a handy substitute for in-person communication, but it’s not an equivalent. What then can a manager of a remote team do when they sense that something isn’t quite right with one of their workers? How do you uncover issues and help to ensure employee morale, motivation, satisfaction and engagement remain high? Build meaningful rapport Feeling pressure from above, many managers intentionally hold their team at arm’s length and keep it all business. But taking the humanity from your team dynamic is a recipe for low morale – if your team doesn’t feel like you care about them or understand what motivates them, they’re unlikely to want to work hard for you. What’s more, they’re guaranteed to avoid opening up about issues. Rapport is vital. Building it takes time, but the process is incredibly rewarding. Break up your team’s day with digital watercooler conversations – what they did last night or over the weekend, family life, their hopes and dreams. Establish a relationship that goes beyond that of a traditional employer and employee. Take opportunities to lighten the mood with a dedicated banter channel on Slack, Friday Zoom drinks or friendly intra-team virtual competitions. The strongest relationships are built on understanding and trust; one where employees feel they can reply with something more earnest than I’m okay. Ask the right questions An employee won’t open up instantly, so it’s vital that you not only ask the right questions, but you ask them frequently. These questions will change with the audience, but no matter who you’re speaking to, they should be relevant, unique and open, designed to elicit a more detailed response than ‘yes’ or ‘good’. Examples include: What challenges are you currently facing? What wins – no matter how big or small – did you have last week? What part of your role is the most purposeful, the most energising, the most draining? Asking similar questions regularly, say at the end of every week, will give you a more detailed view of a team member, and will allow them to gradually build trust and expand on their answers over time. It’s also important to note that while asking questions is important, listening and showing empathy is perhaps even more so. Maintain regular check-ins Checking in regularly with your team is so much easier when there’s a structure in place. Routine digital catch-ups, whether one-on-one or encompassing the entire team, are vital in maintaining connection and communication in remote work situations. These catch-ups grant you the opportunity to ask the questions mentioned above, while also helping you monitor employee moods and identify signs of trouble; ideally you’ll catch small issues before they become larger ones. Lead by example What’s good for the goose is good for the gander. A good manager leads not through words, but through actions, and by showing yourself to be open and even somewhat vulnerable, you’ll encourage your team to be the same. Let your team members know how you’re feeling. If you’re stressed, say that you’re stressed. If working from home is proving a challenge, outline that challenge. If you’re feeling down for no apparent reason, there’s no harm in saying so. It’s every bit as important to highlight the positives. Celebrate every individual and group win. If you’re proud of your team, make sure they know you are. Explaining how you overcame a remote working challenge may help a team member to do the same. An atmosphere of openness will generate a real sense of unity, trust and cohesion driving improved performance of your team. Reading between the lines I’m okay. These two words are seldom a sign that an employee is feelin’ fine. In fact, by surveying the limited batch of socially acceptable responses and choosing the least upbeat, they’re more likely telling you that they’re anything but. As remote working evolves from emergency fix to new long-term workplace reality, it’s imperative that business leaders find ways to create an atmosphere of clear communication, trust and openness. Doing so will ensure the health and happiness not just of your team members, but of your organisation as a whole. And for those looking to build such a team, Ignite is ready to help.  

“Cut costs, but also grow revenue, while keeping everything perfectly stable.” Most will assume the role of a Chief Financial Officer is a challenging one – they are an integral part of the C-suite, after all – but few realise exactly how challenging. Today the scrutiny on CFOs is arguably greater than it’s ever been, and turnover in the role has never been higher. Tasked with doing more and more with less and less, and this during a global pandemic and economic recession, the CFO must become a chameleon, wearing a range of different hats. Two of these headpieces – Steward and Operator – have always been part of the role, while the remaining two – Strategist and Catalyst – are more recent additions. These are however increasingly expected to form part of a modern and dynamic CFO’s wardrobe. But what exactly do these four hats represent? And why are they important? Let’s take a closer look. Steward: the protector The Steward hat is one of control and protection. A CFO must work to protect the company’s assets through compliance to financial regulations, thorough accounting and auditing practices, and communicating potential issues clearly to the board and investors. This hat is about monitoring performance, mitigating risk and maintaining control. It’s about securing that which the company has already worked hard to earn and achieve. Unlike other hats, the ROI of this work can be difficult to quantify: rather than bigger numbers on the balance sheet, the pay-off of good stewardship will be things like minimising regulatory offences, enhancing process transparency and granting access to reliable data. In some ways the Steward is like a football referee: the less they are noticed, the better they are doing. Operator: the driver The Operator hat is the financial driver of the organisation. The modus operandi is financial efficiency and effectiveness, which is achieved through a variety of strategies including tax reduction, financial analysis and planning, and any number of other finance-specific operations. In order to position the organisation on the leading edge of financial strategy, the Operator must themselves stay on the leading edge of technology and innovation. Process automation, digital transformation, business intelligence and other technologies are becoming less of a plus and more of a must for the modern CFO if they are to help their organisation stay ahead of the competition. While the Operator doesn’t drive the growth of the company – that is the responsibility of others in the C-suite – they do drive the financial team’s efforts to streamline and maximise that growth. Strategist: the forward thinker The Strategist is one of the newer caps on the hatstand, but one that is increasingly being chosen to accessorise a CFO’s outfit. This hat sees the CFO taking a seat at the strategic table to influence the direction of the company. It makes sense for a forward-thinking organisation to seek the sage advice of a financial expert when plotting its next move, so in some ways it’s a surprise that this hat wasn’t worn sooner. Aligning finance and business strategy, directing merger and acquisition activity, developing capital market financing strategies, supporting long-term investments; the Strategist tackles a diverse range of problems, making it an exciting hat to wear. This is also a CFO’s greatest opportunity to directly affect the ongoing growth of their organisation. Catalyst: the stimulator Like the Strategist, the Catalyst wasn’t always a hat that a CFO was expected to wear, but is increasingly being worn by top talent in the profession. This is about shrewdly driving change: knowing what to do and when to do it. Using their control over the coffers, the Catalyst carefully selects business improvement initiatives (cost reduction measures, pricing execution, enhanced procurement, etc.) that will add value to the organisation, and works hard to efficiently and effectively enact them. This hat combines innovation, evaluation and execution in equal measure, and is increasingly important as the business landscape becomes ever more dynamic. Multi-faceted, challenging, rewarding Looking at the depth and breadth of responsibility that now sits on a CFO’s shoulders – or perhaps more pertinently, their head – it’s little wonder that the role now sees such a high churn rate. In a market that has become used to exponential growth since the GFC, bearing witness to dipping graphs creates discomfort for both CFO and employer. Add in the pace of innovation that we’ve also come to expect in the last decade, and both pressure to and difficulty of maintaining the rage has never been greater. But whether you’re a company or a CFO, you can be confident that the right match is out there somewhere. And it’s these mutually beneficial relationships that Ignite are the experts at forming. Ready to cover your financial head? Get in touch with our team today.

All eyes are on Australia’s biggest employers, who are rationalising their recruitment needs amid the uncertainty created by COVID-19. In particular, Australia’s banks, who’ve played a key role in minimising the economic damage for Australia over the past few months, are now facing crucial hiring decisions of their own to ensure a quick and effective recovery. The banks currently employ about 450,000 people in Australia, and have traditionally been a major contributor to full-time administration and support services employment across the country. However, the emergence of current employment trends, accelerated by COVID-19, is forcing banks to reassess their employment mix and evolve their recruitment strategy to accommodate various stakeholders and drive organisational success. This article identifies the top five current employment trends of 2020 within the banking sector, as the industry begins to emerge from the shadow of COVID-19. 1. High Demand for digital specialists COVID-19 has accelerated technological investment and innovation by forcing banks to quickly transition towards digital offerings to continue serving customers. Banks are increasingly moving away from physical branches in favour of digital products and services to conserve costs and meet changing consumer expectations. In the last three months alone, the big four banks have closed approximately 400 branches. This online push has resulted in strong demand for digital specialists across IT areas such as security, cloud and infrastructure. NAB has demonstrated this push by growth in its cloud engineers’ team, which has grown from 7 to 1,300 in just three years. Moving forward, banks will continue to invest in technology systems that optimise customer experience and boost their internal capabilities, creating numerous job opportunities for CX and UX designers. With digital specialists already in short supply across Australia, banks are likely to use their superior financial positions to attract top digital talent and gain competitive advantage in the digital banking space. 2. Data is increasingly driving decision-making   Data is increasingly the mechanism underlying most decisions for financial institutions. Banks rely on data for executive strategic decision-making, operational decisions, product and service decisions and even recruitment. Data collection, data analysis and data usage have become core competencies all banks require to be successful in the marketplace. Consequently, this has triggered huge investment in data management systems across most banking functions, creating huge demand for data specialists. Data specialists in demand include business analysts, data analysts, credit analysts, data translators and data scientists, which you’ll now find across most banking departments at all levels of seniority. ANZ recently demonstrated this by promoting its head of data and automation to its executive leadership team. Actions like this highlight the value banks are placing on data, which is set to drive demand for data specialists over the next several years. 3. Compliance and security concerns intensifying Over a year ago, the Royal Hayne Commissions revealed systemic issues across the big banks that initiated a spike in demand for compliance and security talent. Even now, banks remain firmly in the spotlight of financial regulators, as Australia’s financial regulatory environment continues to tighten. To ensure that banks avoid further reputational damage with their customers, demand for talent with experience in risk management, compliance, legal, fraud and money laundering has never been greater. Furthermore, as banks adopt more complex IT systems, which carry huge amounts of sensitive financial data, cyber-security is a growing concern for institutions driving demand for IT security talent. These concerns around regulation and security are set to increase post-COVID, creating new opportunities for relevant professionals. 4. Increased use of contingent talent Employment within the banking sector has traditionally been dominated by permanent workers. However, as banks move into a more fast-paced online environment, and deal with the economic consequences of COVID-19, the need for improved internal efficiencies and flexibility in their employment mix has never been more important. This has already resulted in a stronger appetite for contingent talent. Banks are increasingly outsourcing non-core functions, particularly in areas such as technology and data. Contingent staff enable banks to access highly qualified and flexible specialised professionals capable of filling short-term employment gaps and resolving business problems as they arise. In the current economic environment, these capabilities are essential to combat the unpredictable challenges of COVID-19 and uncertainty around hiring needs of an organisation. As banks are increasingly exposed to the additional value contractors can provide, this transition away from permanent workers is expected to increase.  5. The traditional banking role is changing These five banking employment trends will shape recruitment activity across the finance sector over the next few years. As the industry emerges from COVID-19, banks will be looking for exceptional talent with strong capabilities in digital, data and security/compliance to support their transition into highly competitive and dynamic digital environments. They will seek out a more diverse employment mix by reducing reliance on permanent workers in favour of flexible contingent talent. Finally, they will change the nature of traditional banking roles by seeking out more hybridised, data driven and customer-focused talent to deliver organisational success. These employment trends will influence the hiring decisions of banks moving forward, which will ultimately determine the rate and effectiveness of their recovery from COVID-19. Author: Mark Southwood Executive Business Analyst

When COVID-19 rapidly unfolded across Australia in March, our contracts and compliance team were faced with the mammoth task of transitioning our contractors to work-from-home (WFH) arrangements. With hundreds of contractors working across the country, it was critical that we facilitated a quick and seamless transition to minimise any disruption for them and our clients. Our Contracts, Compliance and ACT Office Manager Sharron Bright said “this was a massive task. We realised the importance of being on the front-foot due to everything happening with COVID-19. Consequently, we set a very quick turnaround to minimise any business disruption”. The process of transitioning contractors to new working arrangements is quite extensive, requiring significant coordination, communication and administration efforts across a range of stakeholders. All contractors were: Required to complete a work-health safety (WHS) assessment form Undergo assessment and approval of potential risks in their chosen remote workplace Informed of all incident reporting procedures Supplied with signed agreements indicating to our clients that they were WFH ready. In just ten days, this process was successfully completed. Hundreds of assessment forms distributed, assessed and signed off. The effectiveness and efficiency of this process ensured that each contractor was ready to transition to a safe working environment when instructed to do so by their employer, many of which are still working-from-home today. Sharron said “this was a combined effort between the contracts & compliance team and consultants to ensure each assessment was completed correctly and all contractors were ready to work-from-home. Everyone was very accommodating through the process and appreciative of the correspondence they received from the broader team”. We would like to thank everyone for their huge contribution in facilitating this transition. Contractor care is an integral component of our organisation showcased by the impressive delivery of this process. Author: Mark Southwood Executive Business Analyst

To use contract staff or to hire permanent employees, that is the question. Whether you’re trying to fill a new role, planning to scale up, down or sideways, understanding contract vs employee pros and cons is absolutely essential.  With contracting on the rise and the gig economy disrupting the way we work, this decision has never been more complicated. Contractors offer a range of benefits for employers, as does hiring an employee on a permanent basis. Both options also have their downfalls. Below we’ve listed the major benefits and disadvantages of hiring contract vs permanent employees to make your life a little easier.  There are obviously a few other options such as freelancers and consultants but for now we’re just focusing on the main two forms of hiring. Benefits of permanent employees  A major pro of a permanent employee, is that they are generally more devoted. They’ve persevered through the rigours of the interview and on-boarding process which means they identify with your culture and are already committed to your vision. Through training, your culture is further entrenched as your employees become increasingly dedicated to your mission.    As they spend time in the office, permanent employees tend to develop strong bonds with other staff and enjoy the familiarity of routine hence strengthening their commitment to the role and the company.  With training, staff can move their way up the organisational hierarchy. They can apply their deep understanding and loyalty to the company as they move into a leadership role.  When you scale and you need more staff, they’re there to help.  You don't have to deal with the stress of constantly hiring new employees.  Employees cost less on a per-hour basis. If your goal is growth, permanent employees are essential.  Benefits of contractors  The best thing about hiring contractors is the flexibility. You can scale up or down, depending on the companies’ activities and your requirements and you can respond to changing business demands easily. Contractors are often available immediately and the hiring process is much quicker and easier than with permanent employees. Once on-boarded, contractors swiftly bring in the skills you require and which your team may not possess. You get the skills you need, at the time that you need them and only while you need them.  Because they are perpetually selling themselves as candidates, contractors are more likely to up skill more often and tend to be more current and up to date with the latest technologies. Plus, each time they work with a new client they add new strings to their bow.  Contractors tend to have a slightly different mindset. They are more accountable for their deliverables in a smaller window of time so they are more efficient and productive within that window.  You can off-board a contractor without the fuss or HR processes required with a permanent staff member.  Although contractors cost more on a per-hour basis, they are usually more cost-effective when you take into consideration the various costs associated with permanent employees. For example, contractors don’t require: training, sick leave, holiday leave etc.  The best thing about a contractor is, if they're amazingly impressive and you don't know how you ever lived without them and if they really enjoy working with you too, you can always offer them a permanent role! Cons of permanent employees  If you need to scale down, letting go of staff can require lengthy, time consuming and costly processes. Although their hourly rate is less, the downside of using permanent staff is that you’ll need to invest in ongoing training and development which is less expected from contractors. You also need to provide superannuation, long-service leave, staff engagement, holidays, sick leave etc. But, of course, you will reap the returns on these investments, so long as your staff stick around.  Cons of contractors   For the various reasons provided, contracting staff are simply not as loyal to a company as permanent staff. As the very nature of their role is transient, they may leave you at any moment for a better opportunity. Contractors cost more per hour. Some training is required, even if it is just to get them up to scratch on the company and its unique processes. This can be particularly time consuming if you have several contractors coming and going.  Situations in which contractors are best  Contract staff are great for shorter projects that don't require a lot of supervision but require specific expertise you and your staff may not have. This way you don’t have to spend time and money on training. A contractor is best for:  Seasonal projects - if you forecast a busier time, contractors are a great way to fill the gaps until things get quieter.  Specialised expertise - marketing, copywriting, web design, administration, IT etc.  Maintenance - when equipment needs maintenance this can be done when needed.    Situations in which permanent employees are best Obviously you want permanent staff who are going to become a future investment to your business.  Permanent employees are great for:  Projects that require close supervision.  Developing long-term relationships with your clients.  Incarnating your culture and your business knowledge and essentially becoming walking advertisements for your company.  Becoming your biggest advocates.    There you have it, folks. To contract or to permanent - that is the question.  Hopefully we’ve made the answer a little simpler for you!   

If you're tossing up whether or not you should use a recruitment agency to hire a new employee, we’re here to set the record straight. Below are five major reasons not to use a recruiter. We should know. We are recruiters! You want to utilise the network closest to you  Recruiting someone within your network means you can trust candidates and you know for sure they’re legitimate. They may not have the exact soft or hard skills you’re after, but they probably live in your area so you’ll be able to rideshare with them home. If your dad or sister can’t take the role, your childhood neighbour will no doubt do a fantastic job. Just remember that you won’t ever be able to fire them because your mum will never forgive you. Why would you use a recruitment agency with thousands of vetted candidates on their database when your neighbour’s hairdresser’s dog sitter is available to start immediately?! You love learning irrelevant facts about random people  What are you up to this weekend? Heading to a bar with friends? Quality time with the family? Well, you can put a big fat line through those ideas if you’re DIY recruiting. You’ll be spending the weekend reading the CVs of candidates who are not at all qualified and are very eager to tell you fun facts about themselves that have nothing to do with the job you posted. The good thing about the internet is that you have access to everybody. The bad thing about the internet is that you have access to everybody. And everybody will be applying for your job ad, whether they have the requisite skills or their only evident skill is ambition.  You’re after some peace and quiet    If you’re recruiting for a niche role, especially if there’s a skill shortage in that area, chances are the aforementioned situation won’t be relevant to you. Sought after candidates are much less likely to apply for jobs via platforms like Seek. Knowing they’re in demand, they often sit tight knowing a recruitment agency will find their dream job for them. This means your social media callout for candidates might very well be met with the online equivalent of crickets and tumbleweeds, as you scream desperately into the void. Fun!  You love to live on the edge  Don’t have time for spin class? No biggy. If you hire an unvetted candidate your heart rate will remain above 100 bpm while you try to ensure this new stranger in your building doesn't run your company into the ground.  Statistics show 85% of candidates lie on their CV. Good recruiters run their candidates through a range of tests to make sure they are who they say they are. They test for high-level technical skills and soft skills, as well as checking such things as their police records, social media accounts and, say, if they have a history of embezzling money from their employers. And where’s the excitement in that?!  You get your pick of unemployed candidates  The thing about DIY recruiting is that you get access to all of the unemployed candidates who are desperately looking for work. That’s great, right? It is. Except, well, many of the very best candidates are working in organisations they don’t love so they can pay the mortgage until the job they do love comes along. The good news is you’re helping one candidate pay the mortgage. Although, you can't entirely be sure they’re not just using you until their dream job comes along. But the other good news it that there are plenty more candidates with mortgages to choose from when the one you just recruited abruptly leaves you!  So, should I use a recruiter?   If you like your weekends, dislike great amounts of stress and hate upsetting your mum, then, well, in that case, you should just ignore this blog entirely and find yourself a great recruiter!