The latest inflation expectations survey from the Bureau for Economic Research (BER) shows that analysts, businesses and trade unions expect better salaries to be paid in 2024 – all while anticipating a steady decline in inflation.

The latest survey’s findings are a double boon for hard-hit consumers, as the lower inflation expectations should further solidify a more positive rates decision from the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) later in September and also indicate an easing of price pressure on households.

According to the BER, the average headline CPI inflation expectations of analysts, business people and trade unions seemingly peaked in the second quarter of 2023, as expectations declined significantly in the third quarter.

It was also the first drop in average 2023 expectations in two years, it noted.

“Lower expectations were also evident over the entire forecast horizon (2023 to 2025) and mostly due to downward revisions by business people and trade unionists. Analysts were the exception; they virtually retained their forecast for the second quarter,” the BER said.

The downward revisions in inflation expectations come against the background where headline inflation dropped from 6.3% in May to 4.7% in July.

Average five-year inflation expectations continued to tick down, reaching 5.1% in the third quarter, from a peak of 5.6% in the second quarter of 2022.

The one-year-ahead inflation expectations of households subsided from a recent peak of 8.1% in the second quarter, to 7.0% in the third quarter. Their 5-year expectations declined from 10.7% to 9.8%.

Not only are inflation expectations improving, but respondents are also more optimistic about the state of the economy. During the third quarter of 2023, the survey respondents, on average, forecasted economic growth to be 0.8% in 2023, before rising to 1.4% in 2024.

“This forecast is slightly more optimistic for this year, though similar for next year, compared to the second quarter,” the BER said.

Salaries and wages

On average, the three social groups expect salaries and wages to increase by 5% in 2023, and to then gain momentum to 5.4% in 2024.

Previously, they expected 5% for both years.

Of the three social groups, business people are the most bullish on 2023 salary increases, pushing up expectations from 5.2% in Q2 to 5.4% in Q3. Unions are also more optimistic, anticipating 4.8% in Q3 versus 4.6% in Q2.

Analysts again are the exception, with 2023 salary expectations dropping from 5.2% in Q2 to 4.8% in Q3.

For 2024, however, all three groups revised their expectations higher, from 5.2%, 4.6% and 5.2% in Q2 to 5.5%, 5.2% and 5.4%, respectively.

While the prospects for 2024 are a significant improvement, the 5.0% salary growth expectations for 2023 are still muted compared to the Q1 forecast of 5.4%.

Interest rates

While salary growth expectations are tempered, the expectation that headline inflation will track downward is good news for interest rates.

The BER Inflation Expectations Survey is one of the market surveys commissioned by the SARB to measure key variables related to inflation.

Rising inflation over the last two years has been the main driving force behind interest rate hikes since November 2021, and the Reserve Bank has maintained that the only thing that would stop the cycle is a sustained path of disinflation towards its target range of 3% to 6%.

The SARB’s Monetary Policy Committee would be worried if the survey results showed key stakeholders expecting higher inflation, and this would factor into any decision to hike rates further.

However, with the survey showing the opposite trend, the latest results should further cement the bank’s most recent position to hold rates.

According to economists at Nedbank, the cumulative 475-basis-points rise in interest rates is taking its toll on the local economy and is keeping both business and consumer confidence subdued.

Even with a weaker rand, more load shedding and inflation risks ahead (thanks to rising fuel prices and the knock-on effects), the Reserve Bank should keep the impact of the current cycle in mind when it meets next at the end of September.

Anyone in the thick of the hiring process will tell you that waiting, in the words of Tom Petty, is the hardest part. The pathways between candidate screening and signed offer letter are often long and windy, strewn with hurdles that can stretch days into weeks into months. 

This slow roll to filling roles can be a thorn in the side of hiring managers too. 

“I think a lot of us needed to lose a candidate because we were slow to make a decision,” says John Vlastelica, founder of Recruiting Toolbox and a frequent Talent Blog contributor. In a recent LinkedIn post, he conjured the image of a grimacing Ron Burgundy, the fictional anchorman played by Will Ferrell. The caption reads: “When that great candidate informs you they have already accepted another offer.” 

For anyone working in talent acquisition, having a top prospect slip through your fingers can feel, as one commenter put it, “like a punch in the gut.”

But gut punches can be incredibly effective teachers. John says that losing a candidate to glacial hiring practices taught his team to “engage and respond and communicate and set up a basic process for getting feedback from our interviewers to make a decision faster.”

It’s just one of the lessons that hiring managers have to learn on the job. In his post, John solicits others from the LinkedIn community. Here are four important lessons every hiring manager should learn. (Visit the comments on John’s LinkedIn post for a host of other ideas.)

1. Stop chasing pedigree 

“Avoid fixating on candidates from shiny brands and fancy colleges,” says hiring veteran Chetta Crowley. Often they fall short of expectations, she warns. Instead, Chetta suggests embracing undiscovered talent — what she calls “happy accidents.” 

Rather than falling in love with a candidate’s bio, she recommends clearly defining your hiring standards and measuring job seekers against that. 

“Remember, you’re dealing with living, breathing candidates,” she says. Chetta believes hiring managers should take into consideration everything from qualifications to background to whether or not the person is genuinely excited about the job. “Don’t waste time,” she says, “chasing imaginary ideal candidates.”

Indeed, the concept of the “ideal candidate” has been reexamined recently, leading to a rise in skills-based hiring. “A degree is no guarantor of success,” says talent strategist Sarah Fell. She thinks managers should be attracted to candidates who continue their education while on the job. “Success depends on the slope,” Chetta says, “not the candidate’s starting point.”

2. Never hire on the cheap

You get what you pay for — it’s an age-old adage and one that many business leaders ignore, especially during a downturn in the job market.

Daren Mongello, a talent advisor in New York City, shared a cautionary tale in which a manager hired a team of engineers at a cut rate, only to struggle later when the market rebounded. “He realized significant raises to catch up to market rates would be nearly impossible,” Daren says. 

The results were catastrophic. Glaring pay disparities between new hires and current employees breeded discontent, roles remained unfilled, and eventually the manager was dismissed.

Lowballing candidates during a rocky labor market may be a tempting way to cut costs, but in the long run it almost never pays off, often leading to employee dissatisfaction, poor performance, and high turnover rates.

A similar lesson hiring managers should learn: Be practical about the talent they can afford. Senior recruitment consultant Cheryle Elder perhaps sums this up best: “You can’t afford a Porsche on a VW budget.”

3. Let the competition inspire you

Talent acquisition isn’t always a level playing field. No matter how solid your pipeline is or how many college fairs you’ve posted up at over the years, there’s always someone with deeper pockets and bigger promises waiting to snatch up your dream candidate. 

No one knows this better than Ron S. Williams, a global TA consultant and lecturer who speaks on such topics as career transitions and military hiring. His advice for getting a leg up on the competition: See what they do and let it inspire you. 

He shared a story about a time when he took a group of business leaders to a career fair for engineers. When the team arrived, they were astonished by how fierce the competition for talent was. Upon their return, the recruitment budget was immediately increased and a strategy was put in place. 

The takeaway: It’s a lot easier to get buy-in from leadership once they see up close how the game is played. 

“You have to pay to play!” Ron says. “It was a great lesson for the whole organization.”

4. Maximize your time — all of it

“I would love for hiring managers to understand that recruiting is a team sport,” says Jennifer Anker Kaufman, head of global talent acquisition for Wiz, a cloud security firm. Even during hiring lulls, she says, there’s plenty that a recruiter could, and should, be doing to add value to the team. 

For Jennifer, the winning lesson is that you don’t have to wait for there to be a job opening before you start networking. “Build your personal brand, take those coffee chats, stay in touch with people you meet who’ve impressed you,” she advises. “This way, when a job does open, you already have a network of candidates to pull from instead of starting from scratch,” dramatically decreasing your time to fill. 

In fact, time management was a recurring lesson on John’s thread: how to speed it up, how to slow it down, and how not to squander it.

Adrian Holtham, a senior recruiter at Atlassian, says that one of the biggest and most common time guzzlers is when hiring managers chase unicorn candidates. Doing this, he says, often takes longer than hiring and onboarding someone with comparable skills who’s more likely to be motivated by the job.

How does he communicate this lesson to managers? By getting others in the organization to share their success stories. “Peer persuasion can be useful here,” Adrian says. Highlighting the tension between job requirements and speed to hire lets managers know that “they have something to lose from wanting too much.”

Jennifer’s words bear repeating: Recruiting is a team sport.
...

Originally posted on LinkedIn

About 97% of Gen Z workers say work is part of their identity, yet 83% consider themselves to be job hoppers, according to a Sept. 4 report from ResumeLab.

However, for Gen Z, job hopping isn’t a sign of instability. Instead, it’s a strategic way for these workers to diversify skill sets, pursue new challenges, and seek environments that align with their values and ambitions.

“The top three Gen Z work-related goals cover having a good work-life balance, starting their own business, and achieving success and recognition,” Agata Szczepanek, a career expert at ResumeLab, wrote in the report.

“Employers should be prepared that Generation Z workers are not just passive consumers of workplace dynamics but active contributors to a transformative journey,” she added.

What motivates Gen Z workers?

In a survey of 1,100 U.S.-based Gen Z workers, the top driving forces that motivate them to work were personal development (35%), ambition and desire to prove themselves (28%), family responsibilities (28%). About 1 in 4 cited money, the desire to make a difference, or a sense of purpose. Likewise, 24% said “passion” was a driving force behind their professional pursuits.

In Resume Lab’s survey, Gen Z workers prioritized a healthy work-life balance, satisfying job duties, a good relationship with coworkers, and meaningful job and career development over a high salary.

What makes Gen Z workers want to quit?

At the same time, money is still important. For 70%, a competitive salary plays a major role in deciding whether to stay with their current employer. Among the top reasons for leaving a job, Gen Z workers mentioned working too much overtime, having a clash of values, feeling unhappy due to their job, having a low salary and having a bad manager or boss.

In addition, more than 70% of respondents said they would quit their job if the working environment was toxic, if they lacked development opportunities and if the job hurt their work-life balance. About 75% said they’d quit without having another job lined up.

How can HR attract more Gen Z employees?

In terms of recruitment and talent acquisition, Gen Z workers named several “must-haves,” such as a flexible work schedule, a healthcare package, regular pay raises, regular development opportunities, remote work opportunities and mental health days off.

Gen Z workers also noted that a “perfect boss” would have good decision-making abilities, a focus on employee development and growth, and the ability to inspire and motivate.

In the tumultuous landscape of the current economy, marked by the lingering impact of businesses slow to adapt to the digital age, as a byproduct of the pandemic, business resilience has been put to the test. Statistics SA recently revealed that over 900 South African businesses shut their doors in 2023, underscoring the complex interplay of factors influencing business viability.

Business liquidation emerges as a significant consequence that struggling companies might face. This refers to a process of winding down a company's operations, selling off its assets, and distributing the proceeds to creditors and stakeholders. This procedure is typically set in motion when a company becomes insolvent (incapable of settling its debts) or when it proves incapable of attaining profitability over a prolonged period of time. More often than not, economic uncertainties and the challenge of business adaptation contribute to business liquidations.

Through economic uncertainties, the role of a Professional Accountant (SA) becomes paramount. Accountancy experts are not mere number-crunchers confined to producing historical financial reports. Armed with a profound understanding of business dynamics, they possess the unique ability to delve into the intricate web of financial data, extracting narratives that unveil a company's financial health. By deciphering these narratives, Professional Accountants (SA) are able to identify internal and external factors that could lead to business liquidation.

To effectively navigate unprecedented challenges, businesses must consider the subsequent factors and trends and adjust their strategies, under the guidance of experienced advisors.

Economic challenges and disruption

In today's dynamic business landscape, economic challenges such as recessions, market fluctuations, and unforeseen disruptions can create a domino effect on businesses. Sudden changes in consumer

behaviour, technological advancements, and shifts in global trade dynamics can significantly impact a company's profitability and sustainability.

Uncertainties in the business environment

The ever-evolving business environment introduces uncertainties that can catch unprepared companies off guard. Legislative changes, regulatory shifts, and geopolitical events can swiftly transform a once-favourable market into a hostile one. Businesses that fail to anticipate and adjust to these uncertainties often find themselves struggling to stay afloat.

Financial distress and cash flow challenges

One of the primary culprits behind business liquidation is financial distress. Insufficient cash flow, mounting debt, and an inability to secure necessary financing can cripple a company's operations and growth prospects. Inadequate financial planning and failure to adapt to changing financial circumstances can accelerate the descent into liquidation.

Inadequate business management and decision-making

Effective business management is integral to survival. Poor strategic decisions, lack of innovation, and failure to respond to competitive pressures can erode a company's competitive advantage. Weak governance, ineffective leadership, and insufficient risk management strategies further amplify the risk of liquidation.

The intricacies of the current economic climate offer a stark reminder of the challenges at hand. Yet, they also unveil a pathway toward resilience and growth. Professional Accountants (SA) stand as crucial navigators on this path, equipped to support government roles and contributing to economic growth and transparency through principled action, broad expertise, and a commitment to excellence. Their capabilities support enhanced governance and better decision-making, helping to transform challenges into opportunities for South African businesses.

-END-

1. Tell us a bit about yourself?

At home, I am a proud mother to a wonderful boy who is the apple of my eye and truly my motivation. I enjoy the outdoors and find myself re-energising on a hike, river rafting, game drives or a walk through the botanical gardens. Exercising, yoga and running has also been a healthy outlet that I partake in. I have ADHD so when I feel like I’m stuck in a rut or need a new perspective, I enjoy going to quaint restaurants and experiencing good food and hearing the stories of these businesses’ success.

Additionally, I review these places on Google maps as a hobby. In my spare time, I enjoy remodelling houses as I am a visionary of possibilities, and it is the achievement of creativity that brings me the satisfaction of leaving something in a better way than I found it. Spiritually, I have a wonderful teacher Lucua, that does body talk, which I believe is a good “check in” for me to make sure I don’t overextend myself or lose myself in too much doing and not enough living. In my career, I am a leader without a title – a fire starter; I enjoy identifying, implementing, and delivering valuable solutions for business issues.

2. What work do you do?

Professionally, I began my career as a financial accountant and payroll administrator. I then joined Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PWC) in 2011 as a financial accountant, working my way up to Assistant Manager in 2015, thereafter moving into an Enterprise performance role with a fintech focus. Following this, I joined Absa in 2017 as a Functions Business Partner, becoming a Senior Developer in 2019 on accounting systems for treasury, risk and finance businesses.

In 2022, I moved into a more operational role with a focus on design and implementation of governance, control, and benefit frameworks, as well as managing the implementation of strategic technology initiatives. A large part of my job is having conversations and drawing pictures, which I thoroughly enjoy as I constantly charter through complex and challenging environments. This bridges the gap between finance and technology to deliver solutions. My passion is creating structure, process, and innovation and through this adding value to business.

3. How long have you been in the industry?

My perseverance and lifelong dedication to learning has earned me some great experiences in consulting, insurance, and banking. That makes it 16 years that I have been in the financial services industry in different roles ranging from finance, project management, development and management.    

4. Has your work always been your passion? Tell us why?

Yes, it has. The reason I became interested in accounting and how businesses works was because of my mother who is a mechanic by profession and an entrepreneur. She had several small businesses, and I used to help her with admin work. In the process I learnt about quotations, invoicing and how debtors work. Seeing her being able to manage these businesses and doing what she loves, especially as a woman in a very technical, male-dominated industry, was quite inspiring. In hindsight, my mother was hoping for me to be in a more technical career but through spending time with her, I came to enjoy the accounting side more.

5. Being a woman in the industry – what does it take?

In the financial services industry, it is very tough and stressful. Being a woman in the industry you can find yourself in challenging situations. What I prefer to focus on is the growth I get from challenging situations. I have had numerous leaders in my career that have taught me many skills, both work and personal. It takes determination and open mindedness to survive in the industry.

To realise you can learn from anyone and to challenge your own thinking constantly. If I reflect on my days at PWC, I learnt from leaders how to build good client relations,  and to ask for advice when you’re not sure of something.. I learnt how to be a better manager to the article clerks as I practiced balancing empathy with delivery. Finally, during my time with Absa I learnt from leaders that there is a softness to a woman that is an enormous strength that we try downplaying in the hardened industry, which we really should be showcasing and using to uplift others.      

6. What has been the most difficult challenge of your career?

Learning how to juggle being a career woman, a new mother and a student pursuing my BCOM Management Accounting degree through Unisa was a challenging, but fulfilling, period of my life. The road to becoming an accountant is long and not without its challenges. I am particularly grateful for the Project Achiever programme, which I took part in through the South African Institute of Professional Accountants (SAIPA).

The programme helped me to prepare to write the SAIPA Professional Evaluation Exam and become a Professional Accountant (SA)– which was the fulfilment of a lifelong dream! Learning how to balance my many priorities took a lot of focus and perseverance, but I can confidently say it was worth it.  

7. What advice do you have for other women in your industry?

Being a woman in a male dominated industry, you need to learn from the environment that you find yourself in, adapt by adopting what works and what doesn’t work, without losing the strengths that you bring to the table. In business there is a fine line between emotions and getting the job done; having the emotional intellect to navigate through these situations will be a vital tool in your toolbox to success.

I would encourage any woman that feels unheard or unsupported to reach out and find a mentor or sponsor that can guide them to becoming more confident – there is much to learn from our counterparts! I recently read an article about women needing to find their voice and different ways organisations can help them in doing so, which I would recommend all women read. 

8. Plans for the future?

I assist graduates and new joiners in the financial industry to become the best versions of themselves and would like to continue doing so as I believe in “paying it forward” as many leaders have done for me. This is reiterated by Shakespeare’s quote “The meaning of life is finding your purpose; the gift of life is giving it to others.”  I am also currently studying through the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS), and I would like to use this to continue to make a difference on strategic initiatives in business, while focussing on some of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) that the United Nations has set out.

I would especially like to work with initiatives to understand how to breach the inequality gaps and promote social mobility, ensure lifelong learning opportunities as I am passionate about education. With my professional SAIPA qualification I would like to help the informal sector grow their businesses which in turn would grow the economy of our beautiful country. 

-END-

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Operation Vulindlela says that three big changes for South Africa’s visa regime are almost ready to be presented to the public for comment.

These measures should go a long way to assisting businesses to draw critical skills to the country, while also making it easier for these skills to actually get here.

This is part of a comprehensive review of the visa regime and immigration changes, it said, which the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) will gazette in August for public comment.

The three key changes include:

• Creating new visa categories for remote workers and start-ups;
• Establishing a points-based system for work visa application routes;
• Introducing a trusted employer scheme.

These three changes would work alongside reforms that have already been implemented, the group said, which includes expanding visa waivers to more countries and publishing a revised critical skills list for priority positions.

“Operation Vulindlela reforms to the visa regime achieved a critical milestone with the completion of the
work visa review and publication of a detailed implementation plan by the DHA,” it said.

Among the coming changes, the group said that other key policy and process updates that will be introduced include streamlining document requirements for work visa applications to ease the burden on applicants.

These changes which are currently awaiting approval by the Office of the State Law Advisor before they can be published for public comment.

In addition to the coming changes – and those already in place – Operation Vulindlela said that the DHA is also expanding its visa waiver programme to additional countries.

South Africa currently waives visas for visitors from about 132 countries and is in negotiations to extend this to a further ten countries.

“Where countries do not have a visa waiver, they have been included in the eVisa system rollout,” it said.

South Africa’s eVisa platform currently covers 34 countries, up from an initial 14 countries. This means that visitors from 164 countries – potentially up to 174 – have or will have eased access into South Africa, accounting for countries with access to the eVisa platform and those where visitor visas have been waived.

Over the next quarter, the group said that it will support the implementation of the recommendations made in the work visa report.

“Operation Vulindlela will continue to work with the DHA to ensure that these reforms are implemented swiftly and to a high standard,” it said.

South Africa’s current visa regime has been described by immigration companies as being a nightmare to work with, while the processes have been called chaotic.

While a backlog peaking at over 62,000 at the the start of the year – and only expected to be cleared by mid-2024 – workers have not been able to enter the country, and businesses have been unable to draw in the necessary skills.

The promised reforms of expanded visas, easier processes, and new systems have been welcomed – however, doubts remain about the efficacy and ability of the DHA to implement them.
...
Originally posted on BusinessTech

Dear Members of BUSA,

We hope this email finds you well. Please find attached slides presented to the Presidency and a joint media release by the SA government and business.

About 36% of hiring managers say they’ve lied to job candidates about a job or the company during the hiring process, according to a Aug. 14 report from Resume Builder.

Among those, 75% said they lie during the interview, 52% in the job description and 24% in the offer letter.

“Lying to candidates undermines an organization’s integrity and is bad for business,” Stacie Haller, chief career advisor for Resume Builder, said in a statement.

“Candidates are making decisions based on the information they receive, and deceit only leads to bad outcomes for both the organization and candidate,” she said. “Honesty not only upholds an organization’s reputation but also is critical for cultivating success for both the company and the individuals it seeks to attract.”

In a survey of 1,060 hiring managers, 80% said lying is “very acceptable” or “somewhat acceptable” at their company. In addition, 6% said they lie “all the time,” 24% most of the time, 45% some of the time and 25% not often.

Most frequently, hiring managers lie about a role’s responsibilities, followed by growth opportunities at the company and career development opportunities overall. They also said they lie about company culture, benefits, commitment to social issues, compensation and the financial health of the company.

The recruiters said they tend to lie to “cover up negative information about the company” or “make the job sound better than it really is.” They also lie to “attract more qualified candidates” and “deliberately say things that will please the candidate.”

Among those who lie to job seekers, 92% said they’ve had a candidate accept a job offer after being misled. However, more than half said an employee has quit after being hired and discovering they were lied to during the hiring process. These employees often left within a week, a month or after the first few months of being hired.

According to the survey, hiring managers who lie during the hiring process also ghost job candidates, typically sometime during the interview portion. About 10% said they’ve ghosted a potential employee after sending an offer letter.

“Just as organizations seek professional and courteous behavior from candidates, the same should be reciprocated,” Haller said. “Failing to communicate honestly and transparently not only damages an employer’s reputation but also undermines the broader hiring ecosystem.”

Lying and ghosting during the recruitment process could lead candidates to withdraw their applications, particularly if a company gains a reputation for an unfavorable hiring process. In fact, job seekers have said they’ve exited the hiring process for several reasons, such as scheduling delays or a lack of transparency.

Creating a positive recruitment experience can serve as a retention tool as well. Employees have said they’re looking for a new job outside of their organization due to unfair internal hiring practices. Employers can increase the perceived fairness by improving internal mobility through upskilling, boosting awareness of internal opportunities and providing access to these opportunities through professional coaching.

Ultimately, the hiring process is a brand experience, and candidate engagement is crucial, according to a report from Modern Hire. That includes a seamless and timely hiring experience, authentic brand storytelling and prioritization of candidate dignity.
...
Article originally posted on HRDive

As one of the largest engineering companies in Australia, UGL knows how to overcome obstacles when building everything from power plants to rail systems. Last year, the North Sydney–based company was faced with a hurdle of a different kind — finding engineers in a tight talent market.

UGL, which has over 7,000 employees, needed to hire more than 70 engineers and project managers to work on transportation infrastructure projects, wind farms, and other major construction projects. Among the critical roles UGL had to fill were rail systems and rail signalling engineers, highly specialized fields where talent is scarce.

Hiring engineers locally, in Australia, posed major challenges. Australia is in the midst of an infrastructure boom and is facing an engineer shortage. Just 8.5% of Australian university students graduate with engineering degrees — compared with more than 12% in Canada and more than 23% in Germany — not enough to keep up with growing demand.

To meet its target, UGL would have to recruit workers internationally and convince them to move to Australia. That task, as well as other ambitious recruiting assignments, fell to the company’s hard-working recruiting department which had fewer than 40 people on board last year. 

UGL’s recruitment team turned to LinkedIn Talent Insights,  a talent analytics tool, to pinpoint where engineers were concentrated across the globe. With the data in hand, the engineering company was able to focus its advertising and outreach in the appropriate places. 

The upshot: UGL met its hiring goal, landing 70 specialized engineers and project managers, and cut an estimated three weeks out of the usual hiring process.

Companies can move from decisions based on gut instinct to data-driven action

Things could have easily turned out differently. UGL’s hiring managers had their own ideas about where to look for talent, much of it based on instinct rather than on research, says Jane Wood, national resourcing manager at UGL. 

“Everyone,” Jane says, “had an idea on where they thought the talent would be hiding, but this was based on individual research or a gut feel. Once we were able to show them the data, it made the sourcing a lot more structured, contained, and easier to manage and led to a more cost-effective approach.”

UGL’s recruitment team generated a LinkedIn Talent Insights talent pool report that showed the distributions of different types of engineers globally, as well as engineer workforce trends. The report highlighted regions around the world where various categories of engineers worked, the growth rate for that role in that region, the hiring demand for that role in that area, as well as the top employers for that role in the region. 

Among the important takeaways for UGL: The United Kingdom has a high concentration of a number of the types of engineers UGL was seeking. For example, the data showed that the U.K. had twice the number of engineers with railway systems experience as did Australia, Dubai, South Africa, and the Philippines combined. As a result, the recruitment team decided to focus a portion of its advertising dollars in the U.K. 

But UGL mined the report for other opportunities and found, for example, that the demand for engineers with railway systems experience was quite low in the United Arab Emirates and Malaysia. They also found that South Africa had a rich supply of schedulers and project controls managers. 

In addition to looking at global talent pools, UGL’s recruitment team pulled company reports on the top employers of engineers around the world. These reports showed the average tenure for different types of engineers at those companies. UGL then used that information when planning its outreach to potential hires. Employers with high attrition rates became obvious targets.

“Once we had the report,” Jane says, “we were able to target companies that had higher attrition or where the employees had three to five years tenure. We believed that these were the candidates who were more likely to be seeking new opportunities.”

Insights into Australia’s talent market prompted UGL to adjust its employer branding

LinkedIn Talent Insights also provided some important information about local talent. While Australia is facing an engineer shortage, the country still ranks among the regions with the most engineers in the world. 

That finding led to some questions: How can UGL do a better job tapping homegrown talent and what message does it want to send? 

UGL decided that being a place where local engineers work on game-changing projects in their home country is a powerful message for both retaining its current employees and attracting new ones. The company began weaving employee stories into its employer branding efforts.

Data helped persuade hiring managers to change their search criteria

LinkedIn Talent Insights also helped the UGL recruitment team overcome another obstacle: convincing hiring managers to adjust their search criteria. 

The recruiting team was able to demonstrate that engineers who had fewer years of experience than hiring managers initially sought were working on major construction projects. By lowering the number of years of experience they were seeking, hiring managers could greatly expand the talent pool without sacrificing quality.

“A lot of the hiring managers,” Jane says, “had a preconceived view on the criteria and location of the engineers that they wanted. But once we were able to show them the Talent Insights report, where we had broadened the search criteria, they could see that the target list increased.  This was beneficial as hiring managers drew on their own experiences and started to provide more input into the search criteria.” 

Final thoughts

UGL turned to LinkedIn Talent Insights to gain real-time insights into the global talent pool for engineers. As a result, the company was able to focus its recruitment marketing efforts in the right locations and avoid wasting time and resources in the wrong places. That helped cut a significant amount of time from the hiring process.

On top of that, LinkedIn Talent Insights helped UGL’s recruitment team build credibility with the company’s hiring managers and with the UGL executive team. By using the data effectively, the recruiters showed they have a strategic plan for how to approach the international market. 
...
by Phyllis Furman