The evidence is now compelling that Generation Y (born between 1981 and 1994), Generation Z (born between 1995 and 2009) and Generation Alpha (born 2010 onward) will not only have more jobs over their working life but also be more transient across industry sectors and even role functionally relative to their baby boomer (born pre-1963) and Generation X (born between 1963 and 1980) counterparts.
Workers will inevitably become more mercenary in the pursuit of a better deal (which many of us baby boomers have already observed over the past decade!) as the lack of housing affordability remains, their education cost burden escalates and the age of consumerism continues to grow.
This is not a positive outlook for employers seeking to recruit and retain the best talent within constrained budgets.
The most credible predictors show a doubling of employee turnover over the next few years with the added complexity of re-training in line with constant organisational change. On the surface this appears to be a recipe for escalated cost…so what can be done to alleviate the cost escalation tsunami staring at employers?
1. Shun dealing with recruitment firms who continue to charge exorbitant rates for services
At Capability HQ, we charge a flat 10% of Total Fixed Remuneration (TFR) placement success fee, plus a one-off retainer of $1,500 + GST for roles up to $100,000 TFR and $3,000 for all roles over $100,000 TFR. This is less than half of what is charged by most agencies and needs to be seen as a reasonable standard for the future given the expected rise in employee turnover.
2. Invest more in ensuring a greater alignment of the capability of candidates to the current and future needs of the role/business.
At Capability HQ, we believe that no management employee should be recruited without mandatory capability assessment specific to the proposed role they will perform and that there is a sound business case to capability assess ALL EMPLOYEES to promote greater performance and tenure in a role.
3. Internalise recruitment where possible to reduce cost but partner with an external SME such as Capability HQ to make capability assessment a mandatory part of the recruitment process.
4. Use capability assessment as part of the engagement and re-education process for employees who are affected by organisational change to re-energise their commitment to the business and restore employee confidence and performance.
5. Engage with a Change Management SME to educate employee groups and in particular senior management who need to champion the change well ahead of any change implementation.
Brett Dunstone is a Director of Capability HQ with over 25 years’ experience in recruitment & change management