By Justine Eden, Director, Eden Ritchie Recruitment

The start of a new year normally brings renewal, hope and optimism, but we are not in “normal”times. Given current COVID situation and the uncertainty it can be difficult at times to feel optimistic and energised. Early in the calendar year is usually a good market to launch a recruitment campaign; as people have had time to recalibrate, reflect and are often ready to make a change. Indications have been that the market will be active, job opportunities will be plentiful and much has been said about “the great resignation” and time will tell in Australia if we follow the US lead. To that I would say, if you are thinking about resigning do what is right for you, make sure you consider all aspects of your decision to resign, the pros and the cons and have a go forward position that ensures you are in a better position for resigning – whatever “better” looks like for you.

If I could wave a magic wand over 2022 and create the ideal year there are a few things I would love to change…..  I would love to see the end of staid recruitment practices that draw out time to hire, don’t address bias and don’t deliver diversity. I would love to see different approaches to interviewing and assessing fit, particularly cultural – I would love to see employers being able to accurately and honestly articulate their culture and describe how they build a connected and productive culture. Proactive workforce planning would be a welcome change as well, rather than policies and quotas aimed at addressing skills and diversity gaps or reactionary recruitment approaches that don’t deliver the optimal outcome.

More organisations providing leadership development programs for emerging leaders would be so amazing, as would career pathways that address non-traditional ways of working – I mean, how can we expect to get different outcomes when we keep doing the same things? Better understanding and agreement from all sides around working from home and how we define, measure and deliver productivity would also be enlightening. Does anyone even do meaningful exit interviews any more or analyse why one appointment was so successful while another wasn’t? Process – I would love to remove or reduce process and focus more on the person, don’t you ever question how you can decide to hire someone if you have only spent one hour of a structured interview talking to them?

At the heart of all of this is a desire for us to work collectively to make things better, in whatever way we can as individuals, to be kind and less judgemental of each other and keep our minds open to change, difference and adversity. At times it feels like we pull apart and blame or criticise, I believe we need to question, explore and focus on how each of us can contribute to a bright future.

To meet the team at Eden Ritchie, visit us at Eden Ritchie Recruitment