Welcome to 2018 and a very Happy New Year to all of our valuable clients and candidates. 2017 was a busy year for NGO Recruitment, and the sector in general, and we’re looking forward to another rollercoaster year ahead.
In the world of not-for-profit (NFP) recruitment, 2018 will not be without its challenges, as the skills shortage across most job roles and skillsets continues to bite. Throughout the sector, senior level fundraisers will remain scarce and the demand, especially for highly experienced technical fundraisers, will remain extremely high. And with the increasing sophistication of the online world, digital marketing skills will also be highly sought after.
The disability sector is also facing enormous challenges this year with the continuing rollout of the National Disability Insurance Scheme. With the Productivity Commission predicting one in five new jobs will come from this groundbreaking policy by 2019, we all definitely have our work cut out to find the best people to make the scheme a momentous success.
Despite all this, there will no doubt be some amazing NFP organisations achieving the most incredible things, often against all the odds, into 2018. We’re proud to be supporting the sector with the recruitment services we offer and are committed to finding the very best people for our clients every step of the way.
So, here’s to 2018 and, for what they’re worth, my top three recruitment tips for the year ahead.
Top three recruitment tips for 2018
1. Prepare for an even tighter candidate-short market
With good candidates in even shorter supply, NFPs need to focus on improving employee retention and attraction strategies, now more than ever. Employee engagement and creating a positive workplace culture should be a top priority, not only to help you retain your existing team, but also to attract the best candidates during the recruitment process.
In addition, the increasing power of social media, and the rising popularity of sites such as Glassdoor, a website where employees and former employees can anonymously review their employers, also means your workplace culture is more transparent than ever before. Job seekers are now able to gain a much clearer idea of what it’s like to work somewhere before they even apply for a role.
Recognise the importance of good leadership, invest in training and personal development for your team and if possible, make sure you have good promotion and succession planning in place, not only to motivate your current employees, but to make sure you’re prepared for when someone leaves.
2. Embrace social recruitment
If you’ve only just dipped your toe into the social media waters, it’s time to embrace social recruitment and invest in your social media and online recruitment marketing strategies.
Driven by the increasing number of 18-35 year olds, or Millennials, now active in the workforce, we’re seeing candidate expectations and the way in which people engage with organisations shifting due to the prevalence of social media and adoption of new communications and interview technologies.
According to Glassdoor, almost 80% of current job seekers are now using social media in their job search activities. So, you need an engaging, authentic and responsive online presence and be prepared to interact with potential employees in this way.
In the NFP sector specifically, social tools and sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Glassdoor are being used by prospective employees to filter and shortlist organisations that are clearly able to articulate their strong purpose and vision for the future.
3. Prioritise soft skills assessment over psychometric testing
Although there will always be a place for psychometric testing, thorough soft skills assessment has never been more important. That’s because for a successful hire, you need talented people with the right cultural fit possessing highly developed soft skills such as leadership, relationship building, communications, adaptability, strategic thinking, learning and interpersonal skills.
At NGO Recruitment, we’ve always taken a values-based approach to our recruitment process and we continue to do so with great success. But now we’re prioritising the results of psychometric testing less and less, and instead are more interested in how well a candidate will use their soft skills to adapt to a new workplace culture and become an integral, and more importantly, longterm team player.
Although soft skills are arguably the most difficult to assess, there are now a few online skills testing options that are useful. But the best way to find the right fit is to make sure you’re clear about the most important soft skills for the role even before you start the recruitment process.
Make sure you include essential soft skills in job advertisements and include specific questions during the interview stages. It’s also a good idea to ask the potential candidate’s referees about their strengths and weaknesses in this area.
If you would like to discuss your recruitment strategy and requirements for 2018, please contact us today and we’d be happy to assist.
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