Candidate to bank: I'm not taking a job in Australia - it's too expensive
Last week we told you what delegates at the recent eFinancialCareers roundtable thought about compensation. Today's report focuses on the twin terrors of finding foreign talent and dealing with agency recruiters. The event in Sydney was attended by 16 senior HR people from international and local financial institutions, all of whom asked not to be named.
The costly country
Representatives from several large firms said the rising cost of living in Australia is making it more difficult to recruit or internally relocate overseas candidates, especially professionals with young families.
Candidates from Europe think Australia is a "paradise where the sun always shines" and they have high expectations about working here, said one delegate. But that's before they do the salary, tax and cost of living calculations, he added.
"Global competition for talent is heating up, especially with the growth of Asia, and we have recently lost candidates from Europe to low tax places like Singapore and Hong Kong," said another attendee.
Employers need to re-educate candidates that Australia is not a cheap destination. "It's very important to mention costs early on in the hiring process. We don't want to get to offer stage and they say 'wow, Australia's so expensive, no thanks'."
Coping with recruiters
The financial services sector is becoming less reliant on recruiters as more roles are handled in-house. Many banks have reduced the size of their recruiter panels but have included a higher proportion of niche agencies who can fill senior and/or specialist roles.
"Smaller panels mean you get better commitment from the agency. It has a greater chance of securing each role because it's not up against so many competitors," said one roundtable attendee.
However, as firms do more of their own hiring, some recruiters are trying to bypass HR and "float" CVs directly to line managers. "They are doing this out of frustration. We in HR are increasingly viewed as competitors to them."
One bank has a tough policy to stop recruiters contacting the business: "If they float, we won't pay them. It works pretty well."
A representative from another firm said managers should be told not to encourage the practice. "More internal education is needed about the reasons why recruitment should be channelled via HR. We have to prevent leakage into the business."
An additional problem plaguing the HR/recruiter relationship is that having been "decimated" during the GFC, agencies are now rebuilding with less experienced staff. "A lot of them think that international investment banks are all the same. Recruiters must prove that they know about our particular business."
