As 2023 kicks off many businesses are planning for the year ahead and defining business goals and objectives. For some, this may mean an opportunity to grow their teams.

As regional recruitment experts JK Personnel’s Managing Director, Tim Walshe, and our in-house Organisational Development Psychologist, Jonathon Gamble, discuss what we have learned over the last couple of challenging years, and what recruiting in 2023 looks like for businesses in regional Australia.

Tim says, “It’s really important to understand that it’s a candidate’s market at the moment so as an employer I think it’s incredibly crucial that before you begin a recruitment process, you have to have a really in-depth understanding of what the role is and what makes it attractive. You need to know exactly what kind of person you’re looking for and what your culture looks like and what your values are, because from the moment you make contact with your applicants or candidates, they are interviewing you. So, from that first interaction through to the last, you need to be making a concerted effort to sell the business and sell the opportunity, especially in regional business where there is more competition to win really great talent.

You also need to move swiftly and be screening and interviewing great candidates as they come through rather than waiting which, for us at JK from a consulting perspective, that’s what we’ve really focused on.

In light of all of this, the two main focus areas for us as a recruitment agency has been really taking the time to understand our clients and their businesses and taking time with job briefs to make sure we can sell their opportunity and role where they might not be able to find the words. From there our purpose is to fill the jobs, with the right people. We can move swiftly and respond quickly as candidates come through.”

Jonathon Gamble shares his expert insights, and explains what we are doing to help our clients in the current market:

“I certainly agree with Tim that having a really strong EVP (employer value proposition) is crucial for businesses now, especially in regional markets. I think that’s not only because it’s a candidate’s market, but also because COVID has really been a prompt for a lot of people to re-evaluate what they want from work. It has changed a lot of people’s relationship with work. From that perspective, potential employers need to understand that we’re not playing in the same business landscape as we were, perhaps three years ago. And that people will make their decision of where they choose to invest their effort and their energy based on more than just pay.

In addition to that, one of the things that becomes a lot more central in our conversations is the non-monetary elements of the role. So, things like flexibility, working from home and work life balance, where we’re being the brokers of those sorts of conversations a lot more often than we were before the pandemic. We’re seeing people move for lower salaries, because there are other parts of the job that align better with where they want to be.

Because we really take the time to understand our clients, we know that they have been pretty focused on keeping their businesses afloat and keeping the doors open for the last couple of years during COVID and have navigated a lot of uncertainty and a lot of change. One of the things we’re helping to do is reframe our clients’ expectations of what the modern employment landscape looks like and re-orientate them so that they can put forward more attractive value propositions for candidates.”

If you’re looking to grow your business in 2023, we’re here to help. Get in touch with one of our regional recruitment experts now.

Key takeaways:

• Ensure you have an in-depth understanding of what the role is and what makes it attractive.
• Having a strong EVP (employer value proposition) is crucial for businesses now, especially in regional markets.
• Move quickly when screening and interviewing candidates to avoid missing out on great talent.
• Potential candidates will make their decision of where they choose to invest their effort and energy based on more than just pay.

Get more expert insights and learn more about the current state of the market for regional recruitment in our latest blog post.