Feb 3, 2016
The opportunity to move to Australia from the UK is attractive for many and especially for recruiters when you weigh up the climate, lifestyle and opportunity that exists. Aside from the usual questions regarding spiders, snakes and “Is everyone called Bruce and Sheila” we usually get asked: “What is it like recruiting in Australia compared to the UK?”
We spoke to some experienced recruiters who have made a move from the UK and below are the stand out differentiators they felt and found when starting in their new positions down under.
1) Candidates are king
Australia has an ageing population known as baby boomers and a talent short market. In fact, there are half as many children born today than 50 years ago. Advertising does not fill your inbox with candidates of the highest quality as it might in the UK.
.Net Specialist and Senior Recruiter at Precision Sourcing, John McMahon comments: “I spend over 90% of my working week focused only on pro-actively sourcing and engaging talented candidates who are what I would call dormant and happy in their current positions. Good quality candidates don’t use job boards, and in the last 24 months, only 14% of my placements have come directly from advertising”. McMahon went on to explain that he has had had to adopt sourcing strategies he did not previously use in the UK: “I attend conferences, meet ups and rely heavily on referrals now from those quality candidates I trust”.
2) Meetings play a large part in a recruiter’s day
Australia is a nation first built on immigrants and the number one destination for those taking flight from the UK, therefore, expect to engage with like-minded people in similar circumstances who are open to meeting, enjoying socialising or doing business.
Senior SAP Recruiter Michael Church comments: “I analysed my client base and over the last three years 52% of those clients originated from a meeting. Unlike the UK, where I enjoyed client relationships that were telephone based, I find that Australia is very gregarious and people are very open to meeting. The benefit of this is you get to understand your clients and candidates enabling you to deliver a better service”.
3) The standard of candidates is lower
The UK has a workforce of over 30M people and is the 5th largest economy in the world. In comparison, Australia has a workforce of just over 12M and is the world’s 12 largest economy.
Managing Director of Precision Sourcing Simon Hair comments “When I first started recruiting in Australia over seven years ago I immediately noticed that not only was the volume of talent available small but also the standard of candidates across the board was lower than that of the UK. In my opinion the top 5 or 6% of professional Australian’s move overseas to Europe, Asia or the US for their careers. I am not sure why but I don’t see the experience, in-depth knowledge and skill levels that are ever present in the UK. Maybe this is why so many Australian’s pursue careers overseas for a period as they look to tap into larger more complex projects that arise in broader economy”.
4) The demand for contractors/temps is high
The temporary staffing business is worth over $19Billion alone in Australia and is thriving. In 2014, the number of temps working in the Australian workforce grew from 2.9% to 3%. This is above that of the US at 2% and the global average of 1.6%.
5) Talented recruiters are a commodity
Over 90% of staffing businesses in Australia have less than ten staff and are always challenged by the reality of attracting and retaining recruiters. A talented recruiter stepping off the plane from the UK will find a long line of agencies ready to meet them and offer them an attractive package. The recruitment market in Australia is worth 21 Billion USD and sits in 6th place in the US, Japan, UK, France and Germany. The competition to engage talented recruiters to attack that 21 Billion USD is high.
6) The recruitment industry is growing
Some highlights from the most recent Recruitment Industry Benchmarking (RIB) Report in Australia and New Zealand show some interesting insights. RIB have been collating financial data now for ten years and figures for the 2015 financial year show;
Sales 29% up on the prior year.
Temp and Contract – 15 Months of Year-on-Year growth.
Perm placements – Year-on-year 26% up on previous FY.
GP up 25% compared to 2014 FY (YTD).
OP profit up 78% on last FY to date.
7) Candidates do not like to travel
Unlike London where a 90-minute commute is acceptable and the norm for many, Australian’s just do not embrace it. Whether it is the climate, the outdoor lifestyle that comes with it or the laid back Australian culture who knows but candidates do shy away from opportunities that are not acceptable commuting times from home.
Senior Data Analytics Recruiter Kevin Doran feels that Australian’s value their work-life balance more than the UK: “I noticed that some candidates would walk away from excellent opportunities if the location weren’t under an hour away from their front door. After recruiting in Ireland and the UK for over four years, I found this strange initially and had to take it into account when filtering candidates for positions”.
What do you think? What differences have you mostly experienced noticed when recruiting in Australia compared to the UK?
