Category: Talent Acquisition Strategy

PeopleScout Canada Jobs Report Analysis — August 2018

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Canada Jobs Report Analysis — August 2018

Statistics Canada released its August 2018 Labour Force Survey which shows a loss of 51,600 jobs from the Canadian economy, driving the unemployment rate up to 6.0 per cent from 5.8 per cent in July. The loss of 92,000 part-time positions contributed to the drop.


The Numbers

-51,600: The economy lost 51,600 jobs in July.
6.0%: The unemployment rate rose to 6.0 per cent.
2.9%: Wages increased by 2.9 per cent over the last year.

The Good

Offsetting the loss of part-time jobs, full-time jobs rose by 40,400. For three provinces, the news was more positive than the nation as a whole. Employment in Alberta increased by 16,000, where the unemployment rate remained at 6.7 per cent because more people participated in the labour market.
In Manitoba, employment rose by 2,600, due to an increase in part-time work, and the unemployment rate was 5.8 per cent. While over the last year, employment in the province was unchanged, the unemployment rate increased 0.8 percentage points as the number of people looking for work increased in August. In British Columbia, employment edged up and the unemployment rate increased 0.3 percentage points to 5.3 per cent as more people in the province were brought into the labour market.
Compared to 12 months earlier, Canada’s overall employment is still up 0.9 per cent, following the addition of 171,700 jobs, including 326,100 full-time positions.

The Bad

The job losses in August wiped out the gains made in July. Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, lost 80,100 jobs last month after gaining 60,600 in July, both of which were almost entirely caused by volatile swings in part-time work. Ontario’s August decrease, a drop of 1.1 per cent, was by far the biggest decline among the provinces.
Average hourly wage growth continued its gradual slide in August to 2.9 per cent after increasing 3.2 per cent year over year in July and 3.6 per cent in June. The slowing of wage increases may create difficulties for Canadian employers who could see workers leave for jobs in other companies with the hope of substantial salary increases.

The Unknown

The result of the current intense negotiations between the U.S. and Canada regarding the future of the North American Free Trade Agreement or NAFTA may have a profound effect on the Canadian economy for years to come. Because the United States is Canada’s biggest trading partner, employers in the many sectors that depend on exports for profitability may hesitate to expand their workforce until a final agreement is reached.

Military Spouses: How to Hire the Overlooked Talent Pool

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While a strong focus on veteran hiring has significantly lowered the unemployment rate of U.S. veterans, many employers are now starting to focus on another challenge. Military spouses still have a difficult time finding employment that matches their skill sets.

According to a study by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, the unemployment rate for military spouses has hovered around 20 to 25 percent over the last decade. This means that military families are more likely than average to rely on a single income.

As employers work to support the military, the focus should now shift to the entire military family. While many employers have built robust veteran hiring programs, military spouse hiring programs struggle to gain traction despite the help and stability employment can provide for military families. By focusing on military spouse employment, organizations have the opportunity to not only support the military but also hire strong employees. In this article, we will dig into the demographics of who military spouses are, the challenges they face and how employers can hire and retain these valuable workers.

Who are Military Spouses?

In order to effectively recruit military spouses, it’s important to understand who they are. Military spouses form a diverse group with a variety of backgrounds and skill sets, but there are some commonalities.

They’re Overwhelming Young and Female but not Exclusively

A White House report on Military Spouses in the Labor Market shows that 92 percent of military spouses are female, and the average age is 33-years-old. The average American working age is 41-years-old.

This means average military spouses are within their prime working years. While the population is mostly female, employers should also recognize that male military spouses face many of the same challenges as female military spouses, but often lack support groups or feel overlooked.

They May be Veterans Themselves

According to the White House report, 12 percent of military spouses are active duty military themselves. Male military spouses are much more likely to be veterans. Nearly half of all married female active duty military members are in dual-military marriages.

They are Highly Skilled and Highly Educated

Military spouses are more likely to hold a bachelor’s or advanced degree than the general population. According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation study, 34 percent have a college degree and 15 percent have a postgraduate degree. In the general population, according to census data, those numbers are 32.5 percent and 12 percent, respectively.

They Often have Children but not Always

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation study finds that 41 percent of military spouses have dependent children, and more than 70 percent of those children are 7-years-old or younger.

Having young children in the home can increase the pressure on military spouses to find flexible work, but military spouses without children can also benefit from flexible work arrangements.

They Manage Stress Effectively and Work Well Under Pressure

Because of the pressures associated with being a military spouse, including frequent moves, managing change and running a household through a deployment, military spouses learn to effectively manage stress and deal well with pressure.

According to Military.com, military spouses are quick learners, committed to service, adaptable and they bring a diverse set of skills. Military spouses pick up these skills dealing with the high stress of the military lifestyle, including managing and adjusting to frequent moves and taking on extra responsibilities and stress during a deployment. These traits often make them strong employees.

The Challenges Faced by Military Spouses

The issues faced by military spouses have broad implications. Finding work and managing a career is one of the top stressors for military families, just behind deployments and moving away from friends and families.

That stress plays a significant role in a veteran’s decision to leave the military, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation study, and impacts the military’s readiness and ability to recruit.

Increased Difficulty Finding Work

When searching for a job, military spouses say the most frequent issue they face is that employers don’t want to hire them out of fear that they will move. They also struggle explaining gaps in their resume and often need a more flexible schedule while their spouse is deployed.

Because of these challenges, about a quarter of military spouses say it has taken them more than a year to find a job after a move and many work part-time or seasonal jobs or work more than one job when they want permanent, full-time employment.

Need for a Flexible Work Environment

Military spouses may move frequently. In the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation study, more than half of the military spouses surveyed report having moved more than 50 miles three times due to their spouse’s military career.

Additionally, more than 80 percent of military spouses have experienced a deployment during their spouse’s career. A deployment, especially for a family with children, can be disruptive to work life and make it more difficult for a military spouse to maintain a strict schedule. Because of this, positions that allow for remote work or flexible hours are ideal for military spouses.

Underemployment

When military spouses find employment, about 70 percent report that the job does not take full advantage of their work experience and education. Nearly two-thirds of military spouses say they have taken a decrease in pay or responsibilities in their current role.

Most military spouses with post-secondary education say that the military lifestyle does not support career opportunities for both spouses.

Best Practices for Recruiting and Retaining Military Spouse Employees

Identify Ideal Positions for Military Spouses

Because of the unique pressures faced by military spouses, organizations should determine if any positions would be an ideal fit for a military spouse or if any adaptations can be made to help a position fit better with the military lifestyle. Flexible working hours and the ability to work remotely should be considered.

Set Hiring Manager and Recruiter Expectations

Military spouses may have long resume gaps or short tenures at previous jobs. They may also have taken positions outside their area of expertise or made lateral career moves. Organizations should educate recruiters and hiring managers and set reasonable expectations. These factors alone should not disqualify a military spouse candidate.

Find Military Spouses Where They Are

Organizations looking to hire military spouses should post to job boards that target military families and partner with military advocacy organizations. A variety of national and local veteran organizations have job boards specifically targeted to military spouses. Employers should research to determine which are most often used in areas they are targeting. While job posts targeting veterans should use language that reflects their military experiences, military spouses have a wide range of experience and expertise. Because of this, employers don’t need to use military-specific language, but highlighting job benefits that are appealing to military spouses and stating a commitment to hiring military spouses can be beneficial.

Establish an Affinity Group for Veteran Spouses

Hiring a military spouse is just the first step. Much like veteran affinity groups, a military spouse affinity group can help new employees feel welcomed. An affinity group is a voluntary, employee-driven group of people with a common interest or goal. An affinity group is an opportunity for military spouses across a workplace to connect and support each other and help with the stress and pressures of being in a military family.

Focus on Retention Through Life Transitions

Because of the military lifestyle, a military spouse may need to relocate to follow their partner or adjust work hours to take care of their family if their partner deploys. In order to retain strong military spouse employees, organizations should determine what types of adjustments can be made to retain these employees through times of personal change – including remote work, temporarily reduced hours or a flexible schedule. This can increase employee engagement and help the military family through transitions.

Find a Partner with Experience Hiring Military Spouses

Organizations without experience hiring military spouses should consider turning to an RPO partner with experience hiring veterans and military spouses. RPO providers can bring their strong connections with partners like Hiring our Heroes and share their expertise in veteran and military spouse hiring.

Healthcare Workforce and Recruiting Trends to Watch

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The healthcare workforce is highly specialized. As a result, the healthcare workforce and labor market are uniquely competitive. To gain a competitive edge, healthcare organizations are looking for innovative recruiting solutions to find top-quality candidates who provide world-class care for patients.

In this post, we examine the trends in the healthcare workforce that will influence the future of healthcare recruitment.

Employer Branding for Healthcare Workforce

Top healthcare candidates have many options when it comes to employers and can easily research the experiences of employees in your organization on career sites such as Indeed and Glassdoor.

In fact, a survey conducted by LinkedIn found that 75 percent of job seekers consider an employer’s brand before applying for a job. What’s more, a study conducted by Healthcare Recruiters International found that over 90 percent of candidates think employer branding is an essential recruiting resource. So, how can you ensure you have an impactful employer brand?

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Conduct an Employer Brand Audit

Before developing your employer brand, you should conduct an employer brand audit. Your employer brand audit will help you understand how your brand distinguishes itself from competitors and provide a starting point from which you can build your strategy. Below are key questions to ask yourself during the audit:

  • Why would someone want to work for you?
  • What is the perception employees and candidates have about your organization?
  • What percentage of your employees would recommend your company as a great place to work?

Set your Employer Brand Strategy

Prospective healthcare employees are similar to patients in that both select the healthcare provider they feel most comfortable with. Your employer brand strategy should help make a candidate’s choice easier and provide assurance that he or she has chosen the right employer. Your employer brand strategy should contain the following three components:

  • Differentiators: A list of the benefits and unique qualities that are different or better about working at your healthcare facility.
  • Employee Value Proposition: Using your list of differentiators, craft a brief paragraph that positions your organization against other healthcare employers and demonstrates why candidates view you as an employer of choice.
  • Employer Brand Promotional Plan: Develop a plan to share your employee value proportion with candidates, including the tactics you will use, the tools you need and the schedule you will follow to attract potential new hires and retain current employees.

Promote Your Employer Brand to the Healthcare Workforce 

Once you have established your employer brand, it is time to promote it. You can promote your employer brand by highlighting your workplace benefits and culture in recruiting materials, on your website and social media channels and in your job postings and candidate outreach emails. Some examples of ways to promote your employer brand include:

  • Sharing videos and pictures of your workplace to show what working for your healthcare organization is like.
  • Leveraging your social channels to show off your workplace and company perks so that a candidate can assess what you have to offer.
  • Building a career site that makes visitors feel welcome and gives applicants the information they are looking for, such as details about employment opportunities, company culture and work environment.
  • Telling engaging stories from current and former employees to better attract the type of healthcare candidates who could see themselves in those stories.

Diversity in the Healthcare Workforce

Healthcare is experiencing a shortage of workers, and professionals of diverse backgrounds are particularly underrepresented in many occupations and in the upper ranks of many healthcare organizations.

Minority Workers in the Healthcare Workforce

With demand in many healthcare professions at record levels, career opportunities abound for individuals of all backgrounds. However, Black, Hispanic and Indigenous Americans make up almost a quarter of the U.S. population, yet as a group, they account for only 6 percent of physicians, 9 percent of nurses and 5 percent of dentists according to the Sullivan Commission on Diversity.

Healthcare organizations can play a significant role in addressing this issue by:

  • Promoting healthcare careers to diverse populations via school programs and community organizations.
  • Encouraging students to shadow healthcare professionals and explore careers in healthcare.
  • Recruiting ethnically diverse individuals for every-level positions to increase current minority representation.
  • Offering internships, residencies and fellowships to ethnically diverse students. For example, the Institute for Diversity in Health Management in Chicago offers summer internships to college students.

Healthcare Workers with Disabilities

Individuals with disabilities can pursue successful careers in the healthcare field. Opportunities are available, but so are obstacles, from expensive equipment to accommodate workers to licensing requirements.

Some disabled healthcare workers take advantage of programs specifically designed to recruit those with disabilities. Project Search at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center gives high school students with disabilities the opportunity to learn about careers in healthcare. Healthcare organizations can also provide assistance to workers with disabilities by:

  • Creating formal policies and procedures on accommodations for staff with disabilities. Invite employees with disabilities to work with on these policies.
  • Making the online application process easier to use, with fonts that can be enlarged or a site that can be used with a screen reader.
  • Advertising your healthcare organization as an equal opportunity employer and including contact information for anyone having problems accessing your organization because of a disability.

Aging Healthcare Workforce

According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing the median age of a Registered Nurse (RN) is 46 years old. Plus, more than a quarter of RNs report they plan to retire or leave nursing over the next five years. These demographic trends portend significant employment challenges in the near future in the U.S.

Healthcare employers will need to rethink their current employment policies and practices to simultaneously retain talented older staff and create job opportunities for new workers of all ages. Many healthcare organizations are taking proactive steps to confront the problems that will occur as the healthcare workforce matures. Some of these strategies include:

  • Developing strong outreach mechanisms to attract promising senior candidates to healthcare management careers.
  • Publicizing career advancement opportunities, such as continuing education, professional development organizations, networking events and vacancies inside the organization, in a manner that appeals to everyone, especially older individuals.
  • Creating environments that encourage retention, development and promotion of qualified elderly or senior employees.

Greater Use of Technology

As technology continues to become more sophisticated, it will play an increasingly important role in finding and hiring talent in healthcare. In fact, according to Ideal, 96% of senior HR professionals believe AI has the potential to greatly enhance talent acquisition and retention.

AI can help reduce unconscious bias during the hiring process by anonymizing candidates and focusing on skills, not age, gender or race, auto. AI technology can also be used to improve the screening process and manage interview scheduling.

Drafting Better Job Posts

Finding the right candidate in the healthcare workforce begins with the right job posting. In fact, it is often the first thing candidates see from your organization, so it is important to make a good impression.

Today, AI technology can utilize algorithms to assess and analyze language patterns in job postings to determine why some fail and others succeed and suggest keywords to make job descriptions more appealing to candidates. As the AI technology analyzes more job posts, it becomes more accurate with its language suggestions, helping employers draft precise job descriptions.

While there may never be a perfect job posting, AI technology is getting us closer.

Advanced Candidate Screening

Traditionally, candidate screenings begin with reviewing an applicant’s resume followed by a brief phone call. This means that recruiters and hiring managers have only their judgment of a resume to assess whether a healthcare candidate would make a good hire.

Healthcare recruiters know that resumes are an incomplete picture of someone’s skills, achievements, capabilities and most importantly, personality and culture fit.

AI technology can also be used to cull data and metrics healthcare organizations have on their employees to build predictive models and personality profiles that help lead to candidates who fit the company culture and job requirements more accurately and can reduce time-to-fill metrics.

Automating Recruiting Tasks

In healthcare recruiting, administrative tasks such as resume screenings and scheduling interviews can be time-consuming. With the assistance of AI, recruiters and hiring managers can reduce their time spent conducting administrative work by using AI and Robotic Process Automation technology to automatically screen candidates’ resumes using keyword and qualification searches.

AI can also help schedule interviews with candidates through email or chatbot programs that bring more personalization to the communication process. Not only does this save time that recruiters can spend on more critical tasks, it also accelerates the interview process, helping reduce time-to-hire and ultimately providing healthcare organizations with an advantage when competing for talent.

Conclusion

Your healthcare organization’s success depends on your ability to adapt to changes in recruiting and healthcare talent management. Healthcare RPO is one way the sector is staying on top of a difficult hiring environment.

Paging All Doctors: Effective Physician Recruiting Strategies and Tactics

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The Association of American Medical Colleges has projected that by 2030 there will be a shortage of between 42,600 and 121,300 physicians. This shortage will include both primary and specialty care physicians. Despite the looming shortage, hospitals and healthcare systems are increasingly investing in physician recruiting. Three-quarters of healthcare organizations surveyed by independent consulting firm Sullivan, Cotter and Associates said they plan to increase the number of employed physicians in the coming year.

To attract and hire good candidates in a high-demand hiring environment, healthcare organizations need to create an outstanding physician recruiting strategy. In this post, we explore proven tactics healthcare organizations can implement to recruit and retain top physician candidates.

Make the Candidate Experience the Heart of Your Physician Recruiting Process

The physician recruiting process requires tremendous time and effort, great attention to detail and timely ongoing two-way communication between candidates and employers. Because of the time-intensive nature of the process, poorly executed physician recruiting is expensive.

In a candidate-driven talent market—especially so for physicians—it is important for you as an employer to make a good impression on the candidates you are pursuing. To ensure success when recruiting physicians, healthcare organizations need to roll out the red carpet for candidates and provide them with an extraordinary candidate experience.

Communication

Communication is the cornerstone of great candidate experience. To build strong relationships, recruiters should work to understand the physician’s needs and wants. When contacting a candidate, a recruiter should open a dialog about what motivates them and work to identify issues and concerns they may have.

Transparency 

Organizations should also make it easy for candidates to evaluate their organization to shape their views and impressions early and accurately. To help facilitate this, a physician recruiter can leverage innovative recruitment technologies and techniques such as video interviewing and virtual office tours can engage candidates in new ways and help your organization leave a lasting impression.

physician recruiting companies

Interviewing Candidates

The interview is not only an ideal way to further assess a physician’s fitness for a position, but also an important chance to “sell” your job offer.

Wherever possible, relate what you do to the interviewee’s medical background and previous clinical experience. One of the easiest ways to do this is to ask candidates why they want to work for you and use their reply to tailor your response, highlighting the parts of the job that may appeal most to them.

Technology can help with interviewing as well. Automated interview scheduling can save you time and video interviewing can be used to conduct real-time interviews with physicians in different locations or to pre-recorded interviews that can be watched when it is convenient for the physician recruiter.

Be Responsive                         

For physicians, a typical day on the job can be hard. Often, it includes running non-stop for eight to 12 hours, being constantly interrupted, having patients demanding attention and making rapid decisions. This makes the responsiveness of your recruiters and their ability to communicate with them quickly and effectively crucial to the recruitment process.

physician recruiter

A physician recruiter should leverage technology to help them stay organized and respond quickly to candidate inquiries. Recruiters should also make sure that the next steps in the hiring process are outlined and communicated to the candidate well in advance. When done efficiently, responsive physician recruitment can reduce confusion between candidates and recruiters and cut down time-to-hire.

Include the Candidate’s Family

Family concerns play a significant role when considering a new position for many physicians, especially one that may require them to relocate.

When recruiting a candidate, consider whether the location of your organization provides the candidate’s spouse with professional opportunities or the candidate’s children with good schools. All of those items affect a physician’s decision to accept a new job offer.

If the candidate makes a visit to your hospital or clinic, include family members in the experience. Giving family members the opportunity familiarize themselves with your community can favorably influence a candidate’s decision.

Physician Recruitment and Become an Employer of Choice for Physicians

An employer that offers a positive work culture and environment not only attracts great candidates but also increases the chance of retaining them.

physician recruitment

Becoming a healthcare employer of choice means that physician applicants are eager to work for your organization, that other healthcare workers envy your employees, you receive lots of resumes from eager candidates and that your best employees are likely to remain with your organization throughout their careers.

What is a Healthcare Employer of Choice?

Healthcare employers of choice are motivated by the well-being of both employees and patients. An employer of choice clearly differentiates between themselves and competitors in key benefits, such as life insurance, disability, paid time off and retirement, as well as certain physician-specific benefits, such as continuing medical education expenses, licensing and medical malpractice insurance.

Schedule Manageable Workloads

Organizations that want to become an employer of choice should try to make sure that physician workloads are manageable to prevent physician burnout. This can be done by reducing the number of patients they see during a shift to ensure physicians have ample time to sit down with patients and families to discuss treatment and post-discharge care.

Work-life Balance and PTO

For many physicians, work-life balance can seem like more a work-life puzzle. The healthcare field can make trying to fit in time for family and friends, hobbies, or any other activity that occurs outside of work difficult.

It is a daily struggle. For some, the struggle leads to stress, which leads to a lack of motivation. A large part of your physician recruiting and retention strategy should revolve around providing candidates with favorable or flexible scheduling and a healthy amount of PTO time to show that your organization is committed to a healthy work-life balance.

Clearly Communicate Your Benefits Package

In order to appreciate the benefits your organization offers, candidates need to be clear on the options that are available to them. If your organization provides the opportunity to earn bonuses based on performance, a partnership track or retirement benefits, make sure that your recruitment messaging communicates those benefits clearly.

Sometimes employees can be hesitant to use some of the perks provided by an organization. It is essential that your workplace culture encourages your employees to use their benefits.

Next Steps For Physician Recruiters

Every physician views career success differently, and one of the keys to effective physicians recruitment is discovering what motivates them. Some physicians may be fresh out of residency and concerned about paying back student loans while others might be seeking the prestige of a leadership position or teaching opportunities. Find out what success means to your candidates and discuss how you plan on helping them achieve it.

PeopleScout Australia Jobs Report Analysis – July 2018

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The Australia Bureau of Statistics released its July Labour Force Key Statistics and the Average Weekly Earnings, May 2018 numbers, showing a decrease in employment and missing analyst expectations. The unemployment rate also fell slightly due to a decrease in labour force participation.

Australia Jobs Report Analysis – July 2018

The Numbers


-3,900: The Australian economy lost 3,900 jobs in July.
5.3%: The Australian unemployment rate decreased to 5.3 per cent.
65.5%: Labour force participation decreased to 65.5 per cent.
2.7%: From May 2017 to May 2018, the average weekly earnings of adults increased 2.7 per cent

Upside


While the numbers in the July jobs report are mixed, economists say the overall trend points to a strong economy, according to Business Insider. Experts say the decrease in employment is mainly due to “monthly volatility,” or normal month-to-month variation. Additionally, the loss in jobs can be attributed to part-time employment, as full-time employment actually rose by 19,300 in July. The unemployment rate is also the lowest rate since 2012.


There is also positive news for wage growth in Australia, though it isn’t apparent in the overall number. Staffing Industry Analysts reports that the gender wage gap for adults employed full time has dropped to its lowest point in twenty years. The gender pay gap fell from 15.3 per cent to 14.6 per cent in the past 12 months.

Downside


The decrease in employment is disappointing, as economists had projected an increase of 15,000 jobs in July. Additionally, the decrease in unemployment can be attributed to a decrease in labour force participation.


Wage growth remains slow, and experts say while the economy is strong, it isn’t likely to trigger a stronger increase in wages yet.

Unknown


Looking ahead, economists debate how this month’s numbers impact the country’s slow movement toward full employment, which experts say will occur with an unemployment rate of 5.0 per cent. Growth in 2018 has been slower than 2017, but it continues on a positive trajectory.

PeopleScout UK Jobs Report Analysis — August 2018

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The Office for National Statistics released its August Labour Market Bulletin which reports on the three months of April, May and June 2018. The bulletin reports 42,000 jobs added in the quarter and a decrease in the unemployment rate by 0.2 per cent from the previous quarter. The report is unchanged from last month in showing that average weekly earnings for employees in Great Britain in nominal terms (that is, not adjusted for price inflation, minus bonuses) increased by 2.7 per cent over the last year.

UK Jobs Report Analysis — August 2018

The Numbers

42,000: The economy added 42,000 jobs over the April-June 2018 period.
4.0%: The unemployment fell 0.2 percentage points from the previous quarter.
2.7%: Wages (excluding bonuses) increased 2.7 per cent over the last year.

The Good

UK unemployment fell by 65,000 to 1.36 million in three months of April, May and June – the lowest in more than 40 years. The unemployment rate has not been lower since December 1974 through February 1975.  Compared to one year ago, 313,000 more people are working in the UK. For people between 16- and 64-years old, 75.6 per cent are working, up from 75.1 per cent a year earlier. For women between 16-and 64-years old, 71.0 per cent are employed, up from 70.5 per cent a year earlier. The employment rate for men in the same age range, 80.1 per cent are working; the employment rate for men has not been higher since February to April 1991.

The Bad

The lackluster rate of wage increases may create challenges for employers who may see an increasing number of employees look for new jobs as the most direct path to raise their wages in a healthy job market. While the wage increase still outpaces inflation, there is doubt as to whether this will have a significant impact on the overall economy.

As Bloomberg notes:


“There remains precious little sign that wage growth is set to take-off – undermining a key assumption behind the Monetary Policy Committee’s recent decision to raise rates,” said Suren Thiru, head of economics at the British Chambers of Commerce. “The pace at which pay is exceeding price growth remains negligible, and is therefore unlikely to provide much respite to the financially squeezed consumer.”

The Unknown

The ONS figures show the number of European Union nationals working in the UK fell by a record amount. This decrease was the largest annual amount since records began in 1997 and continues a trend seen since the 2016 Brexit vote. This decrease contrasts with a rise in the number of non-EU nationals working in the UK to 1.27 million, which is 74,000 more than a year earlier. Without determining the status of EU nationals working in Britain after a final Brexit settlement, the composition of the UK labour force in both the near and long-term remains uncertain.

PeopleScout Canada Jobs Report Analysis — July 2018

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Canada Jobs Report Analysis — July 2018

Statistics Canada released its July 2018 Labour Force Survey which shows 54,100 jobs added to the Canadian economy. That number impressively exceeded analyst expectations of 17,000. Unemployment fell by 0.2 percentage points to 5.8 per cent, a four-decade low. Wage growth slowed from previous months, and the bulk of the job growth came from part-time jobs.


The Numbers

54,100: The economy added 54,100 jobs in July.
5.8%: The unemployment rate fell to 5.8 per cent.
3.2%: Wages increased 3.2 percent over the last year.

The Good

Strong employment gains were made in major service-producing sectors including educational services; health care and social assistance; and information, culture and recreation. Over a one year period, employment grew by 246,000 (+1.3 per cent). These gains were largely the result of growth in full-time work (+211,000 or +1.4 per cent).
For the core-aged (25 to 54) population, employment increased by 35,000, boosted by gains among women (+30,000). The unemployment rate for women in this age group was down 0.3 percentage points to 4.9 per cent. Over a one year period, employment grew for both women (+72,000 or +1.2 per cent) and men (+41,000 or +0.6 per cent) in the core-aged group.

The Bad

According to the July report, Canada added 82,000 less desirable, part-time positions last month and lost 28,000 full-time jobs. The overall positive impact on the economy is diminished by the smaller income available to Canadian families than if the gains had been made in full-time positions.
The public sector made the biggest contribution to the July increase with 49,600 new jobs, while the private sector added only 5,200 positions. National Bank of Canada chief economist Stefane Marion wrote in a report Friday that the public sector is the “only game in town” so far in 2018. Marion’s research note was titled, “Where are the private sector jobs?”

The Unknown

Canadian analysts noted the mixed messages from July’s report. CTV News cited a research note from the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, “In the wacky world of Canada’s monthly employment numbers, July came up with another head-scratcher, with some big headlines but some disappointments in the fine print,” CIBC chief economist Avery Shenfeld wrote Friday in a research note to clients.
Shenfeld added that there are “lots of reasons to question just how good the data really are here.”
Overall, he said the report contained a “good” set of numbers that will keep markets guessing whether the Bank of Canada will introduce its next interest rate hike in September or October. CIBC predicts the next rate increase will land in October as the central bank continues to proceed cautiously along its rate-hiking path.

How the Skills of the Future Will Impact Enterprise Recruitment Teams

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Technology is disrupting nearly every industry, at a pace that has never been seen before. As we shared in our earlier article on how to create a workforce equipped with the skills of the future, this pace of change means that employers need to take a proactive role in ensuring their workforce is prepared for this change. As in-demand skills shift towards prioritising complex problem solving, critical thinking, emotional intelligence and creativity, workforce leaders need to rethink the way they are acquiring talent.

We’ve explored the pending change of skills in the workplace and its impact on employees, but what does this mean for an in-house recruiting team? As roles are redefined and employers move from traditional job descriptions to skills-based definitions, traditional recruiting teams must learn to adapt.

In this article, we’ll examine the need to change the way jobs are defined and categorized to attract the right talent, how the shifting candidate experience drives continued focus on digital sourcing and recruiting strategies and what these changes mean to in-house recruiting teams.

Changing Skills in the Workplace and the Impact on Recruiting Teams

Jobs are being redefined, skills gaps are widening, which impacts the way recruiting teams must work to find the best candidates. How can internal recruiting teams that have traditionally been aligned to specific business units adapt to meet the needs of workforce 4.0?

  • Some companies are realigning their recruiting teams away from business units to talent segments, where they focus on recruiting for a specific skill set
  • Others are outsourcing select talent segments to RPO providers for additional support and expertise
  • Other employers are moving from job-based recruitment to skills-based recruitment

The shift towards aligning recruiters with specific skills creates a challenge for in-house recruiting teams, which may not have the bandwidth or ability to shift to this model. In-house teams are struggling to keep up with the pace when recruiting for a large variety of roles and skill sets, as the number of jobs being redefined to adapt to new skills increases. Analysis of some in-house client teams show time-to-hire is actually increasing as teams find difficulty with new skills and unique roles to fill.

The digitization of work is also having a major impact on recruiting. It’s difficult for enterprise recruiting teams to keep up with the pace of change in talent acquisition and HR technology. Recruitment teams have access to more technology, which should increase productivity and improve the quality of candidates. But in truth, it can be overwhelming. The HR technology marketplace is valued at more than $14 billion, and new technologies continue to enter the space. Tech & digital skills will become more in-demand amongst recruitment teams.

As employers continue to shift their recruiting processes to keep up with the pace of change, many are turning to outsourced providers, like RPOs, to help with talent segments they’re having trouble with. Partnering with an outsourced firm also brings access to improved talent technology. At PeopleScout, for example, our Affinix™ technology is equipped with AI, machine learning and predictive analytics tools that enable our clients to connect with the best talent faster. We are also continuously evaluating and implementing new tools and features, so our clients are on the cutting-edge of emerging technologies in the marketplace.

Changing Candidate Experience: Ways to Engage with Candidates Online

Employers need to contend with changing candidate expectations in addition to adapting their jobs for the skills of the future. Candidates today want benefits like flexible working hours and virtual work opportunities and have in-demand skills that translate across multiple job categories. And, candidates today have more options than ever. With very strong job growth and low unemployment in many of the world’s leading economies, it is becoming a more candidate-driven job market every day.

How do you find these candidates of the future? Employers need to shift their employment branding strategies to fit the digital era.

Many employers invest large amounts of time and money in their career sites and application process, however most candidates are not finding your career site organically and the application process is often still cumbersome and slow.

While it is critical for candidates to have a good experience when they hit your career site, you need to first find and reach candidates where they are. With the rise of Amazon and other personalized online retail experiences, candidates expect to be treated like a consumer throughout the recruiting process. Recruitment marketing tactics must evolve to meet these requirements, with career sites recommending jobs to candidates the way online retailers recommend products to consumers.

Developing candidate personas can help employers understand exactly who they are targeting. With the candidate in mind, you can develop targeted digital advertising campaigns, post positions on specialty job boards and develop recruitment marketing content to guide candidates through the application process.

It is also critical to closely monitor job rating sites. A poor candidate or employee experience can result in a loss of candidates due to negative reviews on sites like Glassdoor and Indeed. A positive review, on the other hand, can be more meaningful as it is coming straight from an unbiased individual, rather than a company career site.

The right talent acquisition technology tool can also help provide a superior candidate experience.

  • AI-enabled sourcing tools help recruiters find the best candidates faster.
  • A streamlined application process can allow candidates apply with just one click.
  • Personalized recruitment marketing tools like chatbots, SMS messages, email campaign and individualized landing pages provide candidates with the consumer-like experience they have come to expect online.

Why Turn to Outsourced Recruitment?

When enterprise recruiting teams are struggling to implement technology or source the right candidates for positions requiring new skills, some employers bring in a talent partner to focus on specific job functions or skillsets. Talent acquisition leaders are turning to RPO providers for their expertise in hard-to-source talent segments. They’re also looking for a partner who can bring the right technology to improve sourcing and hiring metrics. Learn more about PeopleScout’s RPO solutions.

PeopleScout U.S. Jobs Report Analysis — July 2018

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U.S. Jobs Report Analysis — July 2018

The Labor Department released its July jobs report which shows 157,000 jobs added to the U.S. economy, continuing the longest stretch of job growth in the nation’s history. The unemployment rate fell 0.1 percentage points to 3.9 percent from the previous month.

The Numbers

157,000: The economy added 157,000 jobs in July.
3.9%: The unemployment rate fell to 3.9 percent.
2.7%: Wages increased 2.7 percent over the last year.

The Good

The July jobs report shows continuing and steady job growth. Although the increase in jobs last month came in slightly below expectations, figures for payroll increases in May and June were revised substantially higher. The Labor Department reported that the economy added 268,000 jobs in May, up from an initial estimate of 244,000, while the June gain was revised upward to 248,000 from 213,000.
Healthy expansion continued in key sectors of the economy including manufacturing with an annual increase of 327,000 jobs and business and professional services, which grew by 518,000 positions in the last year.

The Bad

The 2.7 percent annual increase in wages reported in July is not significantly different from the wage growth figures over the last two years. While the burden of major salary increases has not yet directly impacted employers, wage stagnation can create challenges in employee retention.  Wages have remained steady while the cost of living has increased for many Americans. For example, it is estimated that home prices are growing twice as fast as income growth.  In the current job market, candidates can be reasonably confident that there will another job waiting for them if they leave their current position. Because research shows that money is the top motivator for employees to quit their jobs, there is significant urgency for employers to have sound recruitment and retention programs in place.

The Unknown

The recently imposed tariffs on U.S. trading partners does not yet appear to have affected the domestic job market. However, threats of an all-out trade war with China may force employers to rein in hiring projections. It has been estimated that trade with China supports as many as 2.6 million U.S. jobs, and a sharp and sudden decrease in trade with China could have a significant negative impact on the U.S. economy.

PeopleScout Australia Jobs Report Analysis – June 2018

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The Australia Bureau of Statistics released its June Labour Force Key Statistics. The increase in employment by 50,900 beat analyst expectations and is the strongest job growth since last November. Unlike May, the increase was led by full-time jobs. The unemployment rate held steady at 5.4 per cent, in part due to the increase in Australians participating in the labour force.

Australia Jobs Report Analysis – June 2018

The Numbers


50,900: The Australian economy added 50,900 jobs in June.
5.4%: The Australian unemployment rate remained at 5.4 per cent.
65.7%: Labour force participation increased to 65.5 per cent.
+6: According to the NAB, the business confidence index fell to +6 index points.

Upside


The net job gain of 50,900 in June continued the trend of monthly job growth. Since June 2017, full-time employment has increased by 158,200 and part-time employment has increased by 180,800.


The increase in the labour force participation rate can be explained by more Australians having confidence in finding a job. In seasonally adjusted terms, the largest increase in employment was in New South Wales (27,300), followed by Queensland (14,800).


The chief economist head of research, Asia-Pacific for ING noted the significance of the increase in full-time jobs in the Financial Times:


“Strong growth in full-time jobs in June helped to shift a labour market that was beginning to be dominated by part-time jobs. Our full-time equivalence measure suggests that labour demand is now picking up strength. Were this to also be reflected in some improved wages growth, it could radically change the outlook for the Reserve Bank of Australia, which most forecasters see on hold all this year, and possibly all of next year too.”

Downside


According to a study released in June by the Reserve Bank of Australia, the unemployment rate for people between 15- and 24-years-old in Australia is seven points higher than the national unemployment rate. Though this rate has historically been higher than for the rest of the population, Australia has an aging workforce. Businesses need to urgently address the challenge of attracting the right talent from the nation’s younger generation.

Unknown


An opinion piece in Bloomberg notes the shifts in Australia’s key relationships which could drastically impact its economy:


“The most significant are two related shifts. The first is changing relations between Australia’s biggest trading partner, China, and the guarantor of Australian security, the U.S. The second is the nature of Australia’s relationship with each of them. China’s growth is slowing, and its economy is driven less by investment and exports and more by domestic consumption. That means a waning appetite for the raw materials Australia sells it even as China’s economy grows bigger overall. And at some point, China may well have its own recession. Nothing lasts forever.”