As the post-COVID talent shortage continues, Australia’s unemployment rate has hit the lowest point in fifty years (3.4 per cent). Competition for top talent and the skilled worker shortage is affecting business growth, write Elise Hendriksen.

Employers need to ensure the best talent is attracted and retained, so we asked ten business owners for their #1 hiring hack.

1. Focus less on perks and more on your growth trajectory

Colin Kleine, CEO of Scalerr and Entrepreneurs’ Organisation Melbourne Member

When you post a job ad, interview, or make any form of advertisement, the most important things to mention are the problem in the world you solve as a business, your strategic vision, and why your company will create an incredible adventure for someone’s career.

People want to work for aspirational companies with a clear vision and a strong sense that this is a voyage rather than just a job.

So focus less on perks and benefits and focus more on your growth trajectory – what makes you amazing, why you will transform the person’s life, and the aspirational dream you fulfil.

2. Always ask candidates, “When was the last time they learned something new?”

Victoria Butt, founder & CEO of Parity Consulting and Entrepreneurs’ Organisation Sydney Member

In the first interview, I always get their line manager’s name and question them as to what they would say about them. I tend not to necessarily listen to what they say and focus on how they react. If the person has been an under-performer or ‘bad leaver’, they tend to look uncomfortable and less confident with their answer.

Curiosity and agility is integral to our growing business, so I always ask candidates, “When was the last time they learned something new?”. Most people need time to think on this, however, some of the best hires I have made give me great answers to this question and share how much they have learnt recently. The folks who share they have not learnt many new things in the last six months are not the type of people we like to hire.

We like to learn from every candidate we interview, so we use a derivative of the following question (role dependent):
“Looking at our online presence (for example), what are we not doing well?”. Incredible candidates who are well-prepared will provide you with constructive critique, which more often than not, helps your business (regardless of whether you hire them).

3. Hire slow

Shivani Gupta, CEO of Leadership Engineers and Entrepreneurs’ Organisation Queensland Member

Everyone says hire fast, fire faster. I say Hire Slow! If you make the wrong decision, it can cost you 3x salary.

This is an issue for culture and morale if you keep hiring fast and firing fast.  My #1 tip is hire slow – slow down the hiring.

For key roles:

1. Have the position description crystal clear, so you have the right person applying.
2. Do three interviews and ensure the person is the right fit. Also, have some of the team involved in meeting the new candidate at the second or third interview.
3. Ask about the person’s passions and what they love doing, not just their CV.

4. Understand what motivates an applicant and hire accordingly

Rory Boyle, CEO of Promotions Warehouse and Entrepreneurs’ Organisation Melbourne Member

Finding the best staff is a critical task for any organisation, and it requires a thorough understanding of what makes a good fit for both the company and the employee. In my opinion, the key to hiring the right staff is understanding why the job will benefit them and hiring accordingly. This means looking beyond just the qualifications on paper and understanding the individual’s motivations, values and goals.

When hiring, one important factor I consider is the candidate’s ability to commit. Whether it’s demonstrated through a previous job or a university degree, seeing that someone has stuck with something shows that they have the ability to see things through and a commitment to follow through on their goals. Even if their degree is not directly related to the position they are applying for, this type of dedication speaks volumes about their character and work ethic.

I do not believe in poaching staff or chasing talent who will work for the highest bidder. For me, it’s more important to find employees who are aligned with the company’s mission and values and who will be committed to the organisation’s long-term success. This means looking for candidates who share our integrity and ethics and are passionate about our work.

In summary, to find the best staff, we need to understand what motivates them and hire accordingly. Commitment, integrity and a shared passion for our work are all essential qualities I look for when hiring. By taking the time to understand what makes a good fit for both the company and the employee, we can build a strong and committed team that will help us achieve our goals and succeed in the long run.

5. Use social media like LinkedIn actively and effectively

David Fastuca, co-founder of GrowthForum.io and Entrepreneurs’ Organisation Melbourne Member

One hiring hack for entrepreneurs is to utilise social media platforms to find potential candidates. LinkedIn, in particular, is a great resource for finding qualified professionals.

To start, craft a compelling job description and post it on your LinkedIn company page, along with any relevant hashtags to increase visibility. Then, use LinkedIn’s search function to identify people with the skills and experience you seek. Reach out to them directly through LinkedIn’s messaging system and introduce your company and the job opportunity.

WATCH: The Digital Guide, Tracy Sheen, explains how to use LinkedIn search:

 

Another strategy is to post about the job opening on your personal LinkedIn profile and ask your network to share it with their own connections. This can help spread the word and increase the pool of potential candidates.

Finally, consider using paid advertising on LinkedIn to target specific demographics and industries. This can help ensure that your job posting reaches the right audience and generates high-quality leads.

Using social media platforms like LinkedIn can be a cost-effective and efficient way to find top talent for your growing business.

6. Have a clear recruitment methodology & DISC profile candidates

Chelsea Briggs, co-founder of the Tactical Tradie and Entrepreneurs’ Organisation Melbourne Member

A stringent recruitment methodology followed to a tee is the key to successful hiring. We use the foundations of Top Grading and add our own flare.

Attracting and hiring the best talent is not just about finding the right candidates but also about sharing your strong employer brand. Focus on your company standing out from the crowd as being ‘THE place to work’. Highlight your points of difference, whether the culture, development opportunities, flexible work arrangements, your company purpose, or benefits.

Secondly, invest the time upfront to undertake a thorough recruitment process, including getting the team involved and DISC profiling the candidates. Then communicate this time investment with the candidate upfront.

The time taken here to ensure you have the right candidate will save you thousands of hours and dollars in the long run.

A critical part of the interview process is having their scorecard prepared upfront (Scaling Up has a great one-pager) so you can ask targeted interview questions that confirm desired experience and behaviours.

And my favourite hack is validating their interview responses with the candidate’s direct manager or supervisor at each company (not just the references they have listed on their CV!).

7. Get input from your network when writing a job description

Jahan Kalantar, Managing Partner at Executive Law Group and Entrepreneurs’ Organisation Sydney Member

My number one hiring hack is to go to my network and get them to help with the job description. You’ll be surprised how often your network will be better equipped then you are to find all of the ideas, flaws and concepts that you have missed and to help you find the right person for the role.

Far too often people think they want something, but they actually need something else. This helps us to best understand the blind spots in our business. This has helped dramatically reduce our turnover rate and improved retention and also staff participation. It was simple but effective.

8. Create a unique test for each role

John Anderton, CEO of Butterfly and Entrepreneurs’ Organisation Melbourne Member

‘The test’ – crafting a test that is unique for each job role. The right candidates will shine, the wrong ones will run screaming.

At Butterfly, we do the test as the middle interview, after first doing a 15-minute screening video chat and before a cultural fit interview. An example for an account manager role would be to take a brief, make a presentation and a written proposal. This tests how the candidate would work by themselves with clients, if they can write well and make a compelling presentation.

We also bury details to test for cultural fit and success criteria in the role: for example, attention to detail is very important, so we request that the candidate emails an Excel file breaking down costs and a Google doc for the proposal – candidates that miss a deliverable are likely to do the same for a real client.

The management writer Patrick Lencioni says the ideal team player is hungry, humble and smart: such people love the test to differentiate themselves.

9. Match the needs of the role with the motivations and priorities of the applicant

Cesar Aldea, founder of Aldea Consulting and Entrepreneurs’ Organisation Melbourne Member

We specialise in hiring doctors – the ones in the highest demand currently (General Practitioners). Our number one goal is to understand the needs and motivations of the person behind the role and their priority (e.g. financial, lifestyle, career challenge).

In parallel to that, we apply the same framework to understand the needs of the clinic – the Wishlist (e.g. gender, special interest, ideal roster, ethnicity fit).

Our approach is subtle and personalised, only contacting those doctors we believe are a good match and in doing so, our engagement rate often ranges between 30-50 per cent with high conversion rates.

We believe in sustainability, so we stopped seducing candidates with financial incentives. We learned this approach was just delaying a problem and that often, the level of disruption caused by bringing in the wrong fit (wrong motivation) is disproportionate to the short-term gain.

Like that, we learned to improve our selection process for acquiring new clients; clients we are now more certain we can service better.

10. Hire remote, flexible workers to find top talent

Paula Tucker, founder of Spark CFO and Entrepreneurs’ Organisation Melbourne Member 

Hiring remote workers who are able to work flexible hours. This gives access to talent located in remote or regional areas in Australia who don’t want to move into the city to get a good job with good pay.

Equally, allowing flexible and part-time hours gives us access to experienced and talented employees who might be working parents who want more flexibility in the roles to be around for their kids more. However, we’re finding that it’s not just parents who want reduced hours or greater flexibility, but increasingly we’re finding many employees want to have more time and flexibility, so they also have time to pursue other activities like extra study.

This doesn’t just give us access to talent, but by giving employees the flexibility they want, it also means our staff retention rates are extremely high. Our current retention rate for employees is 100 per cent.

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Now read this:

https://www.kochiesbusinessbuilders.com.au/a-recruiter-insiders-guide-on-how-to-nab-the-best-talent/