Recruitment, like many industries, has seen a significant transformation in recent years. A diverse and dynamic workforce is crucial, and the role of women in the field is more important than ever. Australian Women in Recruitment (AWIR), a community group founded by women at LinkedIn, is on a mission to empower and uplift female leaders in the Australian recruitment industry. I recently had the privilege of attending an enlightening seminar hosted by AWIR, which brought together three outstanding leaders in the recruitment field. This article will delve into the key takeaways and insights from this seminar, shedding light on the challenges and successes of women in recruitment.

The AWIR Initiative

AWIR, a passionate community of women in recruitment, has set out to create a platform for conversation, learning, and community-building within the industry. Their goal is to empower both current and future female leaders in recruitment by providing a space for discussion, networking, and knowledge-sharing.

The seminar showcased the incredible achievements of women in the industry, highlighting the challenges they have faced and the impacts they have made. It is not only a celebration of their successes but also an opportunity to learn from their journeys and apply those lessons in our own careers.

The Gender Disparity in Recruitment

LinkedIn reports that approximately 64% of recruitment consultants are women, indicating a significant presence of women in the industry. However, when we look at upper management positions within recruitment, the number drops to a mere 31%. This glaring disparity is a reminder that there is much work to be done in fostering gender equality and empowering women to rise through the ranks of leadership roles in the field.

Key Takeaways from the Seminar

The AWIR seminar featured three prominent leaders in the recruitment industry who shared their insights, challenges, and the impact they have made. Here are the key takeaways from these inspirational women:

1. Data-Driven Leadership: One crucial skill for leaders in the recruitment industry is the ability to draw insights from data. It’s not enough to rely solely on experience and intuition. Effective leaders combine data analysis with their existing knowledge to build relationships and make informed decisions. This is how you become an expert in your field.
2. Personal Branding: Building a personal brand is essential, especially in a people-centric industry like recruitment. People are more likely to trust and connect with you as an individual before they buy into your services. Keeping your personal branding natural and in alignment with your values and identity helps create a strong personal brand. Remember, on platforms like LinkedIn, it’s about fostering conversations and connections, not about presenting perfection.
3. Self-Understanding for Leadership: As women move into leadership roles, understanding themselves, their values, and motivations is key. This self-awareness allows them to better understand, advise, and manage others. By harnessing their unique strengths and qualities, female leaders can navigate the challenges of leadership with confidence.

Acknowledgments

The AWIR seminar was a powerful and enlightening event, made possible by the dedication of LinkedIn and the wisdom shared by the remarkable speakers. We extend our gratitude to LinkedIn for organizing such an enriching event, and to the seminar’s speakers for sharing their expertise.

In conclusion, women in recruitment are a formidable force, contributing significantly to the industry. However, gender disparities persist, particularly in leadership roles. AWIR and events like the one I attended are vital steps toward empowering and uplifting female leaders in recruitment. By embracing data-driven leadership, personal branding, and self-awareness, women can continue to shatter the glass ceiling and inspire the future generations of leaders in the recruitment industry. The path to gender equality and diversity is one we must all tread together, supporting each other and learning from the remarkable women who have already paved the way.

Article written by Mhairi Lamrock-Pierce

A perfect storm in from Western Australia

The collision of talent shortages and a self-imposed island state

The global pandemic, coupled with the climate change movement has created a momentum that is forcing corporations to review their purpose and impact. Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) measures are now taking a front seat in corporate conversations across Australia, and perhaps most notably in the mining, resources and energy industries.

In Western Australia we find we are in the perfect storm – a candidate sparse market combined with authentic and considered socially conscious career seekers looking for employers of diverse and engaged workforces with an environmental and clean energy focus.

For the mining industry, which has often had one eye on the concept of “sustainability”, this has caused a flurry of ever-increasing activity. Although sustainability has been around for some time, understanding and measuring the direct impact on the performance of variables such as diversity and inclusion has been something of a dark art.

Company ESG performance is increasingly a data driven and measurable necessity that investors, lenders and rating agencies are increasingly scrutinising and in some instances e.g., the black coal segment totally withdrawing investment. These nonfinancial metrics are set to cause change at all levels of industry, shedding light on diverse social and environmental risks.

Many junior and intermediate miners are in the early stages of their ESG journey and have strategically or have been forced to review their purpose, their impact, and their role in society. As Western Australia has maintained its island-like status, mission critical talent shortages have been rife and have significantly impacted across all industries, resulting in corporations scrambling to attract and retain quality talent.

The talent driven shift brought about by COVID has meant that higher salaries are no longer the only employee concern.  Along with work life balance, companies have had to re-evaluate their ESG practices and how they demonstrate their performance on social and environmental issues.

Candidate shortages aside, investors and lenders are also playing their part. Through our cousins in Europe, shareholders have seen the tangible value creation and shift in profitability that measured ESG initiatives and purposeful work have had. This is in part due to reduced costs, greater risk management and overall improved reporting on various factors. However, there is also evidence that corporate clarity of vision and purposeful activity have a great impact on productivity and performance, all driven by employee engagement.

In the last 12 months, Beilby Downing Teal has been mandated to recruit a number of “ESG Managers”. These processes have given us a unique insight into the multi-faceted nature of this subject, the limited knowledge surrounding it and the problem of targeting traditional talent pools to take on these inaugural roles.

Candidates from Environmental, Health & Safety, Community Engagement, Sustainability, Communications, HR and even Finance/Investment backgrounds can and have been considered. In an unproven marketplace, with organisations often unfamiliar with the nature of this role, we have searched for candidates with backgrounds covering more than one of these specialities. Handling strategy, regulators and implementing actionable deliverables requires a unique skillset and the ability to impact stakeholders across all aspects of a business.

Where the ESG function fits in in an organisation structure is up for debate. In larger organisations, due to the strategic impact of ESG and its wider implications on overall purpose, the natural reporting line is to the CEO. However, in the smaller and mid-tier miners, the most tangible impact can be had by reporting through to the COO, depending on the stage of their operations.

Overall, organisations and hiring managers have various elements to mull over – their purpose as it relates to ESG, ESG as a talent attraction and retention strategy and ultimately, who leads the charge within the company.

Extractive industries globally have woken up to their place in the energy transition and must be able to demonstrate measurable, investable ESG plans to investors.  Companies can expect to be faced with an increasingly competitive labour market, as environmental and social issues become real world business concerns. ESG as a function must not be seen as just part of a branding exercise, investors are beginning to demand transparent and measurable ESG initiatives.

We can expect the adoption of ESG practices and the pace of change in WA to become as fast as anywhere in the world.  Finding experienced ESG professionals to help navigate that change will become an increasingly challenging process.

To date, the clear winners in the ESG war for talent are those with clearly articulated organisational values, competency frameworks, role clarity and purpose. This transparent evidence allows organisations to readily consider candidates with transferable competencies and candidates to align career choices with personal values.

If you are feeling the impact of the current talent shortage in WA, reach out to our General Manager, Nick Verkerk, to find out how we can assist you to capture the right talent for your business.

Article written by Nick Verkerk,

It could be time to leave your job.

David* reached over to switch off his buzzing alarm clock, and his stomach tightened, with the sinking realisation that it was Monday.  That feeling of a lack of excitement was getting to be an everyday part of waking up to go to work.

David used to enjoy his job as Sales Director with a global capital equipment business. When he joined the company ten years ago he was really excited about his work and took every opportunity he could to work hard and achieve his and the company’s goals. He knew he was kicking some goals, and doing well because he had been promoted a number of times over the years. But now…well… where did the challenge go? Now it all just seems a bit routine, day in day out. The excitement David had when he first started working there – about what he was doing and the challenges ahead – had dissipated.

He knew as well that he was probably not being paid at the right level for his job responsibilities as his friend Steve* was in a similar job for another company and earning $50K more. The thought of that bigger salary was enticing, plus the excitement of being somewhere new,  with further advancement opportunities….was it just time to head for the exit?

When is the right time to leave?

We find that executives often ask us “when is a good time to leave a company? When should I look to new challenges and something to get me beyond my comfort zone? A recent executive I met with said “I know the products, I know the industry, I know our company and the processes and whilst it’s enjoyable, I feel like I am not pushing myself and have more to give”. There isn’t a simple answer to this; it really depends on what you are looking for and understanding the reasons why you might want to leave.

Identifying the warning signs

Lacking passion, being miserable or stressed are just a few of the triggers that give an indication of gearing up for facilitating a career change. Others include boredom, not feeling compensated for what you do, and lack of opportunity for promotion. An interesting overview here from The Guardian as we navigate Covid and a desire for new career challenges. Ready to quit your job? 17 questions to ask yourself first.

Sometimes it’s not that obvious what you should do, like the executive I met with, who wasn’t unhappy exactly;  just not feeling really excited and challenged. If you still believe in the company and are happy with the work culture, it can be worthwhile to really explore whether there are further challenges for you internally before you jump ship.

What’s out there for me?

But if your talents are untapped, there’s not that much to aim for in your current role and you have the niggling feeling that there might be better opportunities (with better pay!), it might be time to explore opportunities. If you do decide that leaving your job is the right decision, make sure you are well equipped with some good options before you make that crucial move. We’re lucky enough in Australia to have a fairly robust economy and though some sectors have been hit hard by Covid 19 and global economic conditions, we’re still pretty well placed for jobs compared to much of the rest of the world (the unemployment rate for Australia was at 4.6% in July 2021, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics). Your age, financial responsibilities and family circumstances will also undoubtedly factor in your decision making process.

We work closely with our executives and will help you really understand what motivates and excites you about a job (despite what you might think, it’s usually not all about the money!). If you love your job and are passionate about what you’re doing, going to work Monday morning is just another opportunity to do what you love.

*not real name

Article written by Stuart Chandler

As COVID 19 vaccination rates continue to increase, the world moves towards some level of normality following the seismic upheavals of 2020 and the global pandemic. Here, in Australia, our impact was limited but our economic recovery and rebound has been remarkable given where we were 12 months ago. As global populations are being vaccinated the pressure mounts to open up and move on from the pandemic induced recessions.

Pre pandemic, slowly but very surely, momentum was building with global economies, industries and organisations, driving change towards a sustainable future. This focus followed the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) from the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Over the next fifteen years, countries will mobilize efforts to end all forms of poverty, fight inequalities and tackle climate change, while ensuring that no one is left behind. Fulfilling these goals will take an unprecedented effort by all sectors in society — and business must play a very important role in the process.

Achieving the Global Goals would create a world that is sustainable, socially fair, environmentally secure, economically prosperous and inclusive. They provide a viable model for long-term growth if businesses move towards them together.

In Australia and across several Beilby Downing Teal client’s organisations are driving change, supporting the sustainable benefits of the SDG’s and seeking to become more sustainable and responsible organisations.

A terrific example of this is Port Waratah Coal Services (Port Waratah), which operates the largest coal export terminal in the world. In discussions with their Manager Sustainability & Corporate Affairs, Trudie Larnach recently, Trudie stated “Port Waratah has a strong history of embracing sustainability and engaging with all stakeholders, be they internal or external, and we had begun our own sustainability journey prior to aligning with the SDG’s”.

In 2016, when the SDG’s came into existence, the sustainability practices of Port Waratah highlighted a strong alignment and an “official” commitment was made.

Trudie added “further analysis showed that as we have been integrating sustainability into our business as usual practices and implementing systems, programs and initiatives we found that we were touching 14 of the 17 SDG’s. It then became, for us, how can we embed these in everything that we undertake. This highlighted the need for collaboration and developing partnerships with other local businesses and across the resources sector in general”.

In 2020 Port Waratah signed a Memorandum of Understanding with five other leading organisations to grow and improve the localisation of the SDG agenda across the region. Trudie concluded, “there is no right or wrong way to go about supporting and aligning your business with the Sustainable Development Goal program and with 17 goals supporting more than 231 indicators it is daunting. However, our approach was and is ensuring sustainability considerations are integrated into our day-to-day operations and are underpinned by our business strategy, values and drivers for success”. Trudie noted, “integrating sustainability makes good business sense and encourages other organisations to engage with goals and their stakeholders to support the achievement of their business vision and purpose”.

Other companies are also taking inspiration from the global goals to establish new ambitious business strategies, transforming their business models and purpose to align with the 2030 agenda. This approach is gaining momentum but it still needs to be mainstreamed and become the “New Normal“ for running a business.

How can your business join the “New Normal”?

• Assess the impact of your company against the seventeen SDGs and identify related risks and opportunities across your entire value chain.
• Hold a meeting of the board (or the executive management team) to set goals and targets specific to your company that align with sustainable development.
• Tell shareholders and other stakeholders the goals your company has set to contribute to the SDGs and progress made, also analysts and other influencers.
• Engage all your employees in advancing the SDG’s through their own work and distribute responsibilities across the entire organisation for achieving progress.
• Show your commitment by including SDG education and branding in your products, communication materials, and annual report.

Like Port Waratah has demonstrated, this terrific quote below from the current UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres shows the power in localising the effort of the global goals.

“Through the Sustainable Development Goals, the international community has committed to build a peaceful and prosperous future for all on a healthy planet. To achieve these goals we need private sector engagement and leadership. Around the world innovation investment and partnerships are driving transformation. Let us build on this momentum and make the Global Goals local business”.

For all of us, our New Normal post pandemic must embrace or re-embrace the SDG’s to ensure prosperity and well-being for all….including the planet!

Article written by Stuart Chandler,

(See below link for more information on the SDG’s and how business can align and embrace their take-up)

https://www.unglobalcompact.org/

https://www.unglobalcompact.org/sdgs