A joint program between RCSA and the Queensland Government is having great success linking businesses with skilled staff during the COVID-19 crisis. The Jobs Finder Queensland program, launched almost a month ago, gives employers direct access to the skills and experience of more than 200 professional recruitment and staffing agencies across the state. One agency which has had great success through Jobs Finder Queensland is AWX, which has placed two workers on the Sunshine Coast, one in Brisbane, another in Bundaberg and one in Mt Isa. AWX National Development Manager, Luke McFadzean, said he was impressed by how the program had brought businesses and job seekers together. One example was AW

In the latest of RCSA and LinkedIn’s The New Face of Recruitment: Female Leaders Paving the Way series, Melanie Clark, Learning and Development Consultant, with Randstad, talks to LinkedIn's Hannah Kissel and Clara McCarthy about the increasing focus on L&D within the recruitment industry, the impact ofCOVID-19 on the workplace and her advice for smaller firms looking to keep their staff educated and engaged. Q: What’s been your experience with L&D and what drew you to L&D in the recruitment space? I’ve been with Randstad for over 25 years, so I can’t say with my hand on my heart that I set out to have a career in L&D but I definitely feel that I’ve landed in my space. I started as a recruit

One of Australia’s most experienced recruiters has urged his colleagues to “stay brave”, be adaptable to change and remain proud of their industry as they negotiate the COVID-19 crisis. Geoff Morgan, a veteran of more than 40 years in recruitment, says agencies which not only have the ability to adapt to rapid change but also the courage to make mistakes along the way will survive the pandemic when others don’t. “A lot of people won’t survive this pandemic but recruiters who are quick to adapt, flexible and willing to look at what’s happening around them and change will have the best chance,” the co-founder of the iconic Morgan & Banks agency said. “Recruiters can’t afford to be stuck in a r

Visitors to the website of Auckland’s Lynx Recruitment will likely come away with two impressions. Firstly, “what a chilled, fun-loving crew they are”. Secondly, “did they say they had a stuffed lynx as their mascot?”. The answers are: Yes, they are and yes, they did. Lynx founder and managing director, Peter Stewart, is a big believer in standing out from the crowd and less than 18 months after opening the doors on the firm he is doing exactly that. The team he has gathered is young, vibrant and happy … which comes through on the many videos and photos on the company’s website. Lynx is a specialist recruitment business that focuses on construction sales and office support professionals at t

Global technology recruitment leader Talent has increased its support to tech contractors in an effort to alleviate the effects of increasing isolation due to COVID-19. Talent has launched a number of new initiatives to its Talent Engage member base of 10,000 contractors. Engage is an industry-first digital community that provides contractors with the tools to work effectively and offers loyalty and wellbeing benefits typically only afforded to permanent employees. Feedback from contractors indicates that they are feeling more isolated, disconnected and uncertain during this time of crisis as they do not have access to the level of support offered to permanent employees. To assist contractor

Leading superannuation fund Prime Super is the principal partner and long-time supporter of the RCSA. The Brief sat down with Regional Manager Mark Redman, based in Sydney, to discuss his personal life, his career and the superannuation challenges facing RCSA members during the COVID-19 crisis. Watch Mark's video here Q: You have an extensive background in recruitment and executive search - tell us about your professional career to date. How did you get into the superannuation game? I grew up in Zimbabwe and in 2006, after a few years in the UK working in the Armed Forces, I moved to Australia. I was sold “the recruitment dream” whilst interviewing for another role by a recruiter and never l

With more than 18 years’ experience in recruitment across Newcastle and the Hunter region, I have navigated many challenging markets, including the GFC and multiple mining downturns. The COVID-19 outbreak has presented another hurdle for me and my team, so today I wanted to provide an insight into how we have managed to innovate in a competitive and unprecedented environment. My business has been impacted in several ways by the pandemic. Members of the peoplefusion team are all working from home and meeting up twice daily online to remain visually connected and to help each other stay motivated. As recruiters, we enjoy being around people, so it’s important to keep up what motivates team mem

The series of webinars RCSA is offering to members has proven a big success, with more planned for next month. Wellness was the focus of first four webinars presented by GroundWork leader Bec Mitchell to help members get through the COVID-19 crisis. RCSA Learning and Development Manager, Cheryll Seslija, has announced the inclusion of Lifeline Accidental Counsellor on July 8. The 2.5 hour video workshop will cover: Recognising when a person is in crisis Responding in an appropriate and compassionate manner; and Referring to ongoing support This course will give recruitment and staffing professionals the confidence and the skills necessary to support someone in their moment of need, and to be

It’s been a worrying time for Australian business, as they try to navigate the economic fallout from the COVID-19 lockdown. We’ve had figures on Australia’s budget deficit that even the Treasurer described as “sobering”, and closer to home for the recruitment industry, the unemployment figures were also grim reading, with the figure rising to 6.2% from 5.2% a month earlier. Given this flurry of negative data, it’s understandable that recruitment firms across the country are considering battening down the hatches, reducing their cost base even further to offset reduced revenues. One of these costs in many businesses is marketing, which begs the question: Is now the right time to cut marketing

During my colourful 20-year career working with government incentives, I have been approached by many organisational leaders with one major question … “Is there anything available for us?”. The answer in 99% of all cases is a resounding yes, and the COVID-19 curveball means there is a lot more to come! Recruitment agencies play a fundamental role in assisting the unemployed back into the active job market. During this COVID-19 time we have found many people in situations where they have never accessed government funds before, and they are keen to get off these benefits, resume normal life, making them highly motivated candidates. I’m sure you know about the JobKeeper and the JobSeeker paymen

RCSA members will receive topical and expert advice on how to survive and thrive during the COVID-19 crisis in an interactive virtual micro-conference to be held on May 28, spanning the recruitment and staffing industry in Australia and New Zealand. The RCSA events team has been engaging with thought leaders and innovators from within, and beyond, the industry to ensure this digital event is well placed to provide ongoing and real value to members during this time. RCSA Re-Form will be a virtual conference for owners, consultants, managers and operations to share, adapt, compare and dare to do things differently for the good of our people, our firms and our industry. An outstanding line-up o

RCSA is continuing to distribute regular video podcasts to keep members informed on how best to deal with the Coronavirus. RCSA CEO Charles Cameron said three podcasts, dubbed “COVIDeo-19”, were being filmed every week and would continue to be until the pandemic had passed. They include a wealth of information on how members can “navigate the difficult waters that is the COVID-19 pandemic”. “Three times a week we explore the world of staffing and recruitment done differently – done creatively,” Charles said. “I’m a big believer that through every challenge there is opportunity, so I am looking forward to being able to keep RCSA members fully informed with expert advice on all aspects of surv

One of the most commonly cited assumptions is that the balance of power has shifted from candidates to clients almost overnight, and therefore all marketing efforts should be geared towards clients. There is most definitely a degree of reality here as there are fewer roles in the market and finding and securing them is going to be tougher. However, I believe, for most sectors, one of the biggest challenges is going to remain: convincing high-quality candidates to consider a new opportunity. Speaking to several recruitment leaders who have managed through previous crises, they all agree that risk aversion takes a while to wear off for candidates, with many electing to stay put when they may h

Australian Border Force has released an online information sheet for reporting entities under the Modern Slavery Act about the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The sheet provides guidance for organisations and businesses impacted by COVID-19 about how to report under the Modern Slavery Act, including how to address the impact of COVID-19 in a modern slavery statement. This includes, for example, where entities are unable to undertake planned activities to address modern slavery risks, have limited capacity to prepare statements (including due to staffing changes), or have experienced significant changes to their supply chains. It also includes a hypothetical case study which sets out how a

RCSA received a record number of applications for this year’s Industry Awards - a result that has delighted RCSA CEO Charles Cameron. “This is an incredible achievement and is testimony not only to the hard work of our awards organisers, but also shows how proud RCSA members are of what they do,” Mr Cameron said. “It’s even more incredible considering the challenging environment in which members were working within during the time they were preparing their application. “Despite all of this, this year saw 81 individual firms in Australia and New Zealand put together nominations – more than ever before. “The numbers represent a 13% increase in award applications in Australia and an incredible