SA’s Talent: Shaping the Future of Work
The future of work is global, and South Africa has the talent to lead it. But with top professionals increasingly looking abroad for better opportunities, how do we compete to keep our best minds at home?
South African Employer of Record
Too often, offshore and expat workers are undervalued — even when they deliver exceptional results. After 15 years in the EOR space, we’ve seen how investing in people, especially South African talent, pays off in more ways than one.
The 7 Stages of Grief – when letting an employee go
Letting an employee go can feel quite close to saying goodbye to a loved one. Sure, the feelings themselves are not the same, but you do go through a few very similar stages. The 7 Stages of Grief of letting an employee go 1. Shock & Denial It is never easy to let something go, especially when you were the one to take on the something. In this case, an employee. When you started the journey, you would have taken the time to source and research the perfect candidate. You would have spent time and often money breaking it down to the ideal top 5. The interviews, the conversations, the recruitment sign up, the teaching, the mentoring – all takes it out of you. And, when you realise you either made a mistake or missed something along the way, you can go into a state of shock and often denial. 2. Pain & Guilt Paired with the shock, you will feel a real pain and possibly guilt. What did you do wrong? Why didn’t it work out? Is everyone looking at you now and blaming you? The guilt of failure, the pain of revaluating your abilities as a boss, a recruiter, and a person. Yes, it actually can go that deep at times. 3. Anger & Bargaining This can quickly revert to anger where you turn it back on the employee. You blame them for not doing their job properly, for putting you in this position, even for deceiving you. You may even think about going back and not dismissing them. Perhaps you can rectify the situation and remedy what is clearly wrong. You think about approaching them and questioning the hell out of them, with the view to finding out what THEY did wrong, as this is better than taking the blame yourself. 4. Depression As drastic as it sounds, you may even go through a bout of depression when letting an employee go, feeling worthless and a total failure. You will question your own ability again and not want to deal with any of the other employees, which can be tough on them. 5. The Upward Turn However, on the other side of the darkness sits hope and here is where you can start to turn things around. Dealing and going through these stages is an important journey. And, believe it or not, every time you will go through them, you will find the transition easier and quicker each time. You will learn as you go. 6. Reconstruction & Working through The steps to recovering from anything needs firm building blocks and renovation. You have to, essentially, go back to go forward. You need to work through it all and look at the process with an open mind and an open heart. 7. Acceptance & Hope The last stage is the toughest to deal with, but in the end, it brings a sense of achievement and clarity. There will be areas you could have done better, for sure, but there will be those areas where you can feel assured that you did all you could. In my time, letting go an employee has been part of my growth, many a time, and it’s never an easy journey. I have had to assist employers in letting their staff go (especially over this pandemic), and the one element that always stays true is that with the right recruitment process, you can avoid or at least skip quickly through a few of these Grief stages. If you are struggling with the recruitment process or in letting an employee go, please reach out and chat with me. Anthony Kettle is the co-owner of West Coast Personnel, a successful recruitment agency that has been around for going on 21 years in the Table View, Western Cape area. Anthony specialises predominantly in the engineering and manufacturing space; however, he has a wealth of knowledge to impart all aspects of recruitment. He has recently published his books, The Job Seeker’s Handbook and The Recruiter’s Handbook, available on Amazon as eBooks. You can connect with Anthony via email, web, or social platforms – Facebook – Instagram – Twitter – LinkedIn
5 ways to ensure you recruit right the first time round
There is no doubt that the recruitment process can be costly. However, you can make sure it’s worth every cent if you recruit right the first time around. Not only will you save money, but you will increase the productivity within your company, build a team that will easily run the business well, and protect your brand and ensure longevity. And, it all starts with a very simple step. 5 ways to ensure you recruit right the first time round 1. Work that job description The job description needs to be on point, and even if you have to draft an essay, it should cover all angles. Your job description should not only cover the job description, which nowadays means very little but should also list the exact duties and experience. In addition, underline the job’s purpose, what the role should fulfill, and how it affects the overall company structure and future. Be clear about who they would report to, what the future opportunities and growth are, and when you require them to start. 2. Source and sift process This is where you do your searching. Yes, put the job description out on various platforms, but do your head-hunting. LinkedIn is a great place to start and, if they are not on LinkedIn with a great profile, keep searching. Once you a few firm favourites, start digging deeper and have a checklist to compare to. 3. See deeper than the obvious A candidate can often look fine on paper, but when you go deeper, you will see they don’t suit or have huge red flags attached to their application. Know what you are looking for and know what you definitely don’t want. 4. Ensure there is a company culture fit You may not think it’s important, but if someone moves into your home (which is what your business is in this instance) and does not fit socially, culturally, and emotionally, you will regret your decision to employ them. Getting a divorce from your employee can be a costly and draining process. 5. Let them sell it to you If you are very clear about what you need, then once you have done your part, it is up to the candidate to sell it to you. They should be telling you why you need to employ them; however, know the fine line between desperation and confidence in themselves. It seems like a simple enough process, this recruiting game, but let me tell you, after almost 2 decades in this business, there is never an easy moment, only learnings. If you are struggling with the recruitment process and want to ensure you do this once, please reach out and chat with me. Anthony Kettle is the co-owner of West Coast Personnel, a successful recruitment agency that has been around for going on 21 years in the Table View, Western Cape area. Anthony specialises predominantly in the engineering and manufacturing space; however, he has a wealth of knowledge to impart all aspects of recruitment. He has recently published his books, The Job Seeker’s Handbook and The Recruiter’s Handbook, available on Amazon as eBooks. You can connect with Anthony via email, web, or social platforms – Facebook – Instagram – Twitter – LinkedIn
LinkedIn – recruiting clients and not just candidates
For the longest time, the LinkedIn platform was primarily used as a space for job seekers to prime their profile and find work. And, in conjunction, many recruiters and companies would scan LinkedIn for talent. As of more recently, LinkedIn has evolved into so much more. It is the professional media platform now, as opposed to social media platform such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. LinkedIn is now a space where professionals and companies can craft a place to show off their know-how and expertise. Yes, job seekers are still prevalent on this platform; however, it is hugely used to show off, network, and add value. As a company or even fellow recruiter, you can still find skilled candidates via LinkedIn, especially if you are using the Premium membership, where you can hone in your searches with added accuracy. But don’t stop there. Use LinkedIn to source and connect with possible new clients. And, who knows, what starts out as a candidate may end up becoming a client. Here are a few LinkedIn stats that may interest you, whether you are using LinkedIn to find new candidates or clients: After the US (171 million+), India (69 million+), China (51 million+), Brazil (45 million+), and Great Britain (29 million+) have the highest number of users. 24% of Millennials (18-24 years old) use LinkedIn. 50% of internet users with a college degree or higher use LinkedIn. The average income of a LinkedIn user currently stands at $46,644 per year. 51% of US College Graduates use LinkedIn. 90 million LinkedIn users are senior-level influencers, and 63 million are in decision-making positions. There are 17 million opinion leaders and 10 million C-Level executives on LinkedIn. In using LinkedIn, you will find that you can start to build up a reputation that will be both beneficial in your search to find new clients and secure talent. From both angles, you need to portray the expert that you are in your specific field. You need to be more attractive to both, and you can do that by creating a polished profile, posting value-add content, and by building a community, giving back wherever possible. I, for one, use LinkedIn daily, ensuring I have relevant content published often and always make sure I either comment or like other’s posts. If you’re not using LinkedIn effectively, you’re missing out! And, if you are struggling with the recruitment process, please reach out and chat with me. Anthony Kettle is the co-owner of West Coast Personnel, a successful recruitment agency that has been around for going on 21 years in the Table View, Western Cape area. Anthony specialises predominantly in the engineering and manufacturing space; however, he has a wealth of knowledge to impart all aspects of recruitment. He has recently published his books, The Job Seeker’s Handbook and The Recruiter’s Handbook, available on Amazon as eBooks. You can connect with Anthony via email, web, or social platforms – Facebook – Instagram – Twitter – LinkedIn
Slow Processes lose hot prospects
The early bird catches the worm! You snooze, you lose! First come, first served! These idioms and many others like them are pretty cliché, but they are accurate to the point that we should be more aware and more wake up. When it comes to recruitment, the buck does not stop with the candidate. In fact, the candidate is the one, very often, who calls the shots. If you’re in the market for quality and high-level talent, then you have to move fast to secure them. Waiting for that possibly better option is like waiting for the right life partner to come along. It may never happen, or you will miss them because you were looking elsewhere. Slow processes lose hot prospects What do I mean? Simply, if you don’t know when a hot prospect is presented to you and don’t act fast, you will lose a good thing. And, it all starts with knowing what you’re looking for, understanding the value in a hot prospect, and what that looks like. What are you looking for, and have you communicated that well? First, if you don’t know what you’re looking for, how in the blazes is the candidate supposed to know if they fit the bill? Have a clear understanding of what it is you want. Make this openly clear in your job description and be realistic about it. This will save time from the get-go and will wean out those that don’t suit. Know what HOT looks like From your job description to the finer and softer details, you should have your ideal candidate plotted out in your head, on paper, and certainly, in the public advert you place. If you’re using a recruiter, then this applies as well. Another cliché idiom is “not know a good thing when it stands right in front of you.” Research your perfect candidate down to what they do for fun. All areas of their lives should be analysed. Yes, stalker 101, but it’s necessary to find THE ONE! Use technology. It has been one of the saving graces in this recruitment industry. It saves time. It helps you. Just know how to use it effectively. Once you know exactly what it is you want, you have to have a checklist, which you then sit with each and every time you come across a potential. Literally, tick off all the elements that match your checklist. I do appreciate that you may not get them all ticked, but you have to decide what are hard yes’s, and what are hard no’s. Weigh it all up afterward and put those closest to one side for further processing. Move quickly A high-level candidate won’t be available for long. You are not the only one looking for them, and if someone else acts quicker than you, they will be lost. And, the last thing you want is to get into a bidding war over them. Learn to recognise them quickly and take action, i.e., offer them the job. And, do approach your possible Unicorn with kid gloves. Again, they may have been approached by others, and you want to, first, come from a place of power, however not overbearingly so. You want to let them know you are an expert in your field, and you chose them for a reason. The reason being that they are possibly the best available candidate in their field. Do show off your company too. Impress like you were on a first date. Not too arrogant but with enough confidence to make them sit up and listen. Now, this might sound like you are on the back foot and almost at the point of begging. Not so. You need to be clear about what you want, that you believe they are the right fit, that you want to put forward a serious offer, and that you are there to guide them through the process. In this case, ‘slowly does it’ only pertains to slow cooking a Sunday stew. If you are struggling with the recruitment process, please reach out and chat with me. Anthony Kettle is the co-owner of West Coast Personnel, a successful recruitment agency that has been around for going on 21 years in the Table View, Western Cape area. Anthony specialises predominantly in the engineering and manufacturing space; however, he has a wealth of knowledge to impart all aspects of recruitment. He has recently published his books, The Job Seeker’s Handbook and The Recruiter’s Handbook, available on Amazon as eBooks. You can connect with Anthony via email, web, or social platforms – Facebook – Instagram – Twitter – LinkedIn
What makes for a good interview?
A good or successful interview begins long before the actual interview. This may seem odd; after all, how can the time before an interview bode for a favourable interview? You have not met the candidate yet. Sure, that would be true, but it is in the planning and pre-interview screening where you can start to predict and almost visualise the type of interview you want. To be clear, a good interview does not mean you may find that perfect candidate. It merely means that you have made the most out of your time spent with the candidate. The interview is not just where you will get to know your candidates better, but also where you will learn. The Pre-interview Screening Besides that the pre-interview screening period allows you to sift through all the candidates and decide which suits the position best; this time is where you get to know your ideal candidates better. Now, there are the obvious areas to check on: experience, employment history, and education, but do not forget about these aspects: Their social standing in the community; The type of social posts and the way they conduct themselves online; Are they on LinkedIn, and are they active? What kind of posts do they put out to the public, who do they follow, and how do they socialise and contribute? Do they belong to any organisations or networks, and can you find out anything about their activities there? Have they appeared on any media platforms, and can you gauge their attitude and personality at all from these? Do they appear to fit the culture of the company? This does feel like stalking, but it makes sense to utilise our digital age to find out as much as you can about a potential employee. Those minutes before the Interview When the candidate arrives at your office, assuming this is not a virtual interview, have your receptionist suss them out a little whilst they wait. Are they sitting on their phone the entire time, or have they taken this opportunity to either read perhaps a brochure of your company from the reception area or have they asked the receptionist about the company, engaging them and showing interest? The Actual Interview The interview can be equated to an interrogation, and in some ways, it is. However, it is essential to start off the interview on a good note. You want to, much like you would at a new business meeting or may I say even a first date, help the other person feel comfortable. Small talk, even if about the weather, is a good start. Perhaps ask them if they managed to find the building fine, how they got there, where they live, have they had a good week so far. They will be nervous, and rather than letting their nerves get the better of them, assist them in calming down and relaxing. Dress-Sense Much? Take note of what they are wearing but without making it obvious. Are they appropriately dressed? Have they taken the time and care to present themselves well for the interview. (this applies to a virtual interview too). This is important in more ways than one. Someone who has thought about what would be best to wear for an interview is someone who will think ahead with future endeavours. Questions Questions When it comes to the interview questions, yes, prepare them ahead of time, some standard, but also others specific to that candidate. You would have been able to come up with these specific questions based on what you found out from your pre-interview screening time. The interview questions should not be blasted at your candidate but rather dropped in as you make conversation. To save on time, avoid asking obvious questions, pretty much anything you can read on their CV. Not only are your interview questions important, but also the questions your candidate asks you. Do they show interest in your company? Do they want to know more about the position? And, do they speak as if they were already working there? – this bodes well as it shows that they are interested and can visualise themselves there. Mums the word So much can be gleaned from those silent moments, which, to some, will come across as awkward but, if managed well, can speak volumes. Does your candidate feel they need to fill that silence with idle chit-chat, or do they ask questions, or are they happy to wait for you to take the lead and start the conversation again? This can give you some insight into how they manage other similar situations in life and work. A Cultural Fit You want a candidate that fits with your company culture. Although it can be tough to gauge that in just a quick interview, hopefully, you have seen something in them from your pre-screening time (aka stalking). Do they have the same values as your company? – a few tactful questions can bring that to the forefront. Ask about their work ethic and not by simply a direct question but give them scenarios – their answer can help you understand how they would handle future situations. Consider behavioural questions – there are two kinds of behavioural questions you can ask: – self-appraisal and situational questions. Behavioural questions ensure spontaneity as candidates cannot rehearse these, and these can provide a base for later referencing. In ending, the interview is not the be-all and end-all, but it can make a real difference in finding that ideal candidate – and know that practice does make perfect – you will eventually build and cultivate your own style of interviewing. Anthony Kettle is the co-owner of West Coast Personnel, a successful recruitment agency that has been around for going on 21 years in the Table View, Western Cape area. Anthony specialises predominantly in the engineering and manufacturing space; however, he has a wealth of knowledge to impart on all aspects of recruitment. He has recently published his books, The Job Seeker’s
Why you should be hiring remote workers
With communication across countries being so easy and the many platforms for online team collaboration on offer, hiring remote workers is not only easy but offers many benefits for businesses. Of course, it’s not for every business and has its downsides. But, by setting up procedures for training and communication with remote workers, chances are you can make it work for your company. Here are four reasons why we believe hiring remote workers is a good business move: Productivity There are fewer distractions at the home office – no impromptu meetings and idle chit-chat while making tea. Rather, employees can focus on and complete tasks much easier and quicker. One of the top benefits of remote working, for employees, is that it reduces the amount of stress and wasted time that comes with the work commute. This frees them to have a better work-life balance or put in some extra time on a project without getting resentful. Loyalty and retention Research shows that remote workers are more loyal to their employees. Why? Because they feel trusted, as their employers allow them to get their job done without being micro-managed. A loyal employee is so valuable because the cost of replacing them, especially if productive and competent, can be disruptive and costly. Saves money Businesses can save money by having smaller office spaces and saving on all aspects that come with having more people in the office. Also, research shows many employees will accept a lower salary for the ability to work from home. And, employees save too, by cutting out the cost of a commute. Wider talent pool Your pool of talent is much broader if you’re not limited to hiring within your commutable area. If you are hiring across the globe, you can have employees working around the clock. This can come in handy with customer service response times and social media issues. Having employees of different cultures also provides a variety of perspectives, which can be helpful in problem-solving and reaching a broader audience. Offering your employees remote work options is a smart move. You can attract top talent, have happier, more loyal employees with a work-life balance, and you can save your company money. Now that’s a win-win-win. Broaden your scope of top talent and alternative interview techniques by getting in touch with us at West Coast Personnel. We can help assess potential candidates in the most effective way. Get in touch at https://westcoastpersonnel.co.za/find-staff/ Follow us on Facebook to keep up to date.
3 Tips on Hiring Top Talent in the Future
The landscape of business is rapidly evolving. This means the way you recruit top talent for your business needs to change too. Are you ready? Employees are looking for a lot more out of the company culture they are joining. Understanding the factors that influence how professionals choose a company is important in order to find the best available talent. What Drives Top Talent? Career Progression Learning and development are what pushes a professional forward in their career. This up-skilling is often left up to the individual but your company needs to have its own internal training and development plan too. This is a huge driver for candidates. Being committed to further educating your staff shows your commitment to their career. Flexibility You need to consider how your company’s everyday working arrangements can be flexible, from flexi hours and a dynamic working policy to a flexible benefits package (allowing professional to select their benefits) and restructuring the way your teams communicate. Management teams also need to be flexible by requesting frequent feedback from their teams. This way they can implement necessary changes in the workplace. Inclusion and diversity As diversity within an organisation improves, it’s important to have the right support available for your employees. This includes a working inclusion policy, to ensure difference is embraced in the workplace. These policies should be continuously reviewed and renewed so that they are serving your business in the best possible way, and developing alongside your workforce. Broaden your scope of top talent and alternative interview techniques by getting in touch with us at West Coast Personnel. We can help assess potential candidates in the most effective way. Let us know what position you’re recruiting for, and what work experience, qualifications, and skills your ideal candidate need to have and we’ll help you get the best professional for the job. Get in touch at https://westcoastpersonnel.co.za/find-staff/. Follow us on Facebook to keep up to date.
5 Encouraging Ways to Manage Coronavirus in the Workplace
WHO (The World Health Organisation) has declared the Covid-19, or as more commonly known, the coronavirus, a pandemic. How does this affect those in the workplace and their sick leave? In essence, nothing really changes – you simply follow your company’s sick leave protocol and policies, as laid out. For employees, if you’re sick, you put a sick leave request in. If you’re required to submit a doctor’s certificate, do so. And, above all, if you feel unwell and have any of the symptoms associated with the coronavirus, then rather stay off work. The question that is coming up is, “what if I have exhausted my sick leave, what now?” Well, unfortunately, then it will be put in as unpaid leave, should you stay off for longer than your sick days allowed. What we do suggest from an employers point of view is the following: Ensure you have given your staff all the information about Covid-19 so that they understand the risk and how to look after themselves Encourage sick employees to rather stay at home and where possible (especially where sick leave has been used up, set up a remote working office for them). For the most part, the symptoms are very much like having a cold or flu – and one is still able to function Be doubly careful with cleaning arrangements – in fact – have your cleaners in more often Where employees or management must travel, advise them on the precautions and where they are travelling to very high risk areas, consider delaying or postponing Limit face-to-face meetings and encourage remote access meetings via Skype, Zoom, WhatsApp, etc. One can still continue with work via these virtual methods We are here to assist with any questions you may have that hasn’t already been communicated by the government and other parties. Get in touch at https://westcoastpersonnel.co.za/find-staff/. Follow us on Facebook to keep up to date.