1. Tony Wiggins
AHRI Queensland Vice President and
Convenor Attraction, Recruitment and Retention Forum
HR Manager Queensland Health
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2. My contribution today
… analyse the current strategies used by the rail
industry, rail HR practitioners and possibly your
organisation to attract skilled staff
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3. Outline
Analyzing the current strategies in place to
attract skilled staff to rail
What is working well and lessons learnt for 3
organisations
Attraction, Branding and Gen Y
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4. Current situation
• Ambitious agenda
• Skills shortages - performance
• Certain skills shortages remain critical
• Competition
• International pool
• Australia - skilled trades, engineers and
technicians - ranked 1st, 3rd, 6th
• Little research - attraction and branding
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5. Rail and ageing workforce
FTE 2005
250
200
150
100
50
0
20 23 26 29 32 35 38 41 44 47 50 53 56 59 62
David Ellwood (Dean of Harvard University`s Kennedy School of Government) in J. Barrett "An impending work crisis" ( Newsweek, 2002) Source: BCG analysis
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6. Rail and ageing workforce
Demography poses an risk for many companies
Loss of competence
Declining productivity
Lower motivation
Increasing costs
Less innovation
"If there is a crisis, it will be too late“
Mindset cause the talent shortage
Little bit of imagination - beat the skills shortage
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8. 2009 - Privatisation Westrail
Granted 49 year lease
Controls 5100 km rail infrastructure - SW W Aust
Access management, signalling, controls,
communications, rail construction ...
240 employees
500 million tonnes hauled per annum
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9. Challenge - 2008
Skills crisis, labour shortage, resources boom - GFC
Poor image
Strategies – Critical Workforce Areas
Electricians
National training qualifications
Train controllers
Training, meaningful work, recruitment (cultural fit),
multi-users
Engineers
Graduates +5, lifestyle (not $), supernumeraries,
opportunities to „mix and match‟,
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10. 2000 - Merger Clyde Engineering + Walkers
2001 - Merger Downer Group with EDI
Provides rolling stock services to the A/Asia
1,900 people (rail) 25,000 (group)
30 facilities centres – A/Asia
Challenges
Branding – 1 EDI Downer group
Not seen as a sexy career
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11. Strategies
Graduates
Structured, strong robust program
Ongoing coaching and development
Transitioned into the business
Apprenticeships
Linkages with schools – cadets (Newcastle)
Manufacture Sydney trains
Sponsorship local football teams
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12. Location - Queensland based/national entity
Assets - $12 billion
People - 5,000
Revenue - >$3.5 B
Freight - 238 M tonnes p.a.
Locations – delivery 500
Capital works portfolio - $1.5 billion
144km of new track - next 20 years
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13. Challenge
Male, pale and stale
Oil, gas and mining
Poaching - Australian market
International projects - impact
QR/Rail not sexy - not EOC – first contact
Does not feature on the radar - job hunters
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14. Strategies – Critical Workforce Areas
Rebranding QR 2000
“QR more than I‟d imagined”
It is not trains, it‟s logistics
Fresh look - going places, new opportunities
Female, graduate and fresh
International
Recruitment – expat engineers
Bowen Basin projects
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15. Strategies – Critical Workforce Areas
Australia
Social Media
Thinking outside square/
transferable skills
Designing job families
Recruitment - cultural fit
“Not just a job, a lifestyle”
Financial, career, work and lifestyle benefits
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16. Different problems, similar strategies
Recruitment + cultural fit
On-boarding
Learning and development
Lifestyle
Job variety
Career development
Employer of Choice
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18. Townsville Hospital
Tired of living to work, rather than working to live?
Fed up with traffic slowing you down?
Interested in professional development &
achievement?
Want to be an integral member of a
service dedicated to caring for the community?
Then why not consider a rewarding career
working in tropical North Queensland?
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19. Attraction and Branding
Critical to talent acquisition and retention
Blend - culture, reputation, products and
services, and the way it deals with and values its
workers.
Difference - place to work - potential and current
employees.
Challenge - the way rail currently thinks and
behaves.
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21. Where is rail at the moment?
Has a low brand awareness
Poor brand image
Potential recruits - see rail as little value
Seen as
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22. Employer brand - critical questions
What are the major factors that are
influencing rail to develop and maintain
employer brands?
How will an effective rail brand assist in the
attraction and retention of quality staff,
particularly Generation Y?
How does the rail industry/individual rail
entities undertake research and develop an
employer brand that delivers results?
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23. Asking critical questions leads to …
Culture and values
Employees are passionate about, and fit in.
More than recruitment
Focus - candidate market
Living the brand values internally - build the
brand externally – attract high demand recruits
Draw people in, right people in & with the right fit.
Less time to hire
Objective - employer of choice (EOC)
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24. Gen Y, branding + recruitment
“If you're not willing
to have good
leadership,
challenging work, not
willing to mentor me,
then I‟m not coming
to work for you”
Avril Henry ,
Executive Director, AH Revelation
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25. EOC
Traditional strategies - not any more!
Identify and establish key points of difference
4 most important EOC attributes
Excel in people leadership
Create a compelling employment offer for employees
Fast track development of people
Culture and values are viewed as critically important.
Hewitt Associates
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26. EOC - Bottom Line Results
Job applications – x2.5
Staff turnover - 15% compared to 20%
Sector share prices - higher
Revenue growth – 2 times higher
Profit growth – x4 higher
Long-term investment of 5-7 years
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27. HR strategic partners in business
Sourcing - Recognition and Involve Onboarding
Cultural Fit Rewards Everyone
Source: BCG Creating People Advantage 2008 Leadership and Interesting and
Culture Fun
28. Where to from here?
Past and
Future
Current
Solutions
Restraints
Whole of Industry
Global and national
Approach -
skills shortage
Rebranding
Fluctuating global
Cultural Change
financial markets
Harmonisation of
Ageing workforce
Rail Industries
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Rail - try has been tasked with the most ambitiousinfrastructure agenda in recent history, yet skills shortagesin key areas have the potential to affect the industry’s abilityto perform.Certain engineering and technical skills shortages remain criticalfor rail and the Australian economy in general. The rail industryspecifically is in competition with other industries such as mining,construction, electricity, water and gas to recruit from a dwindling international pool of individuals with these highly sought afterskill sets.
Baby Boom generation will turn 62By 2050, 40 percent of Europe’s total population and 60 percent of its working age population will be people over 60.8Globally, the number of elderly has tripled over the last 50 years and this is expected to further triple in the next 50 yearsIn Australia, by 2020 employees retiring will outnumber those entering the workplace CRUNCH TIME
Challenge - 2008Skills crisis, labour shortage, resources boom - GFC Poor image (1900 technology in 21 century)Strategies – Critical Workforce AreasElectriciansNational training qualificationsTrain controllersTraining, meaningful work, recruitment (cultural fit), multi-usersEngineersGraduates +5, lifestyle (not $), supernumeraries, opportunities to ‘mix and match’,
Downer EDI Rail was established in October 2000 following the merging of Clyde Engineering and the rolling-stock activities of Walkers Pty Limited. Each organisation has over 100 years operating experience in railway rollingstock. Downer EDI Rail then became a key division of Downer EDI following the merger of the Downer Group with Evans Deakin Industries in early 2001. Provides rolling stock services to the A’asian rail industry. Delivers comprehensive whole-of-life asset management solutions to our clients, Downer EDI Rail:Employs over 1900 people across AustraliaOperates 30 maintenance facilities, manufacturing facilities and design centres throughout AustraliaSpecialises in nationwide maintenance servicesOur clients outlay large capital investments in their rolling stock. We work to optimise these assets from the initial scoping, throughout the life of the asset to the point where it needs to be replaced.
Provides rolling stock services to the A’asian rail industry. Delivers comprehensive whole-of-life asset management solutions to our clients, Downer EDI Rail:Employs over 1900 people across AustraliaOperates 30 maintenance facilities, manufacturing facilities and design centres throughout AustraliaSpecialises in nationwide maintenance services
Extending our operations beyond Queensland,QR is moving forward with a national freight strategy and anexpansion of our inter-urban commuter rail infrastructure $12 billion in assets15,000 people Generates over $3.5 billion revenue.Moves 238 million tonnes of freightDelivers to 500 locations nationallyCapital works portfolio - $1.5 billion144km of new track - next 20 years
Launched national recruitment campaign – “QR more than I’d imagined” - strongly support ARA led study into attraction and retention for the industryMale, pale and staleOil, gas and mining Poaching - Australian marketInternational projects - impactQR/Rail not sexy - not EOC – first contactDoes not feature on the radar - job hunters
Job families: • Improve competencies of the workforce through better selection and placement; • Increase training and development participation; • Increase retention of competent employees; • Improve individual performance and contribution; • Provide flexibility to line managers in staffing decisions; • Provide flexibility to line managers when assigning job duties.
Talent brand is critical to both talent acquisition and retentionBlend - culture, reputation, products and services, and the way it deals with and values its workers.Is what differentiates an organisation as a good (or not so good) place to work for potential and current employees.The challenge for organizations' (rail industry) means that they have to change the way they think and behave." Avril Henry, Executive Director, AH Revelations
You are talking about pretty basic stuff - if you are buying a product you want to be aware of the brand and compare it to the competition before you make a purchase decision. The same goes for attracting employees and raising the profile of the organisation.Louis Vuitton – Luxury Good and FashionWoolworths – Fresh Food PeopleHaighs Chocolates - high quality chocolate products Google - Emirates – providing highest possible level of professional serviceFerrariWhat do have all in common?
As an employer, has a low brand awarenessPoor brand image as compared to public engineering companiesPotential recruits – see little value in rail as an employer brandSeen as 19th century organisation operating within the 21st century
Critical Questions What are the major factors at play that are influencing the increased necessity for companies to develop and maintain employer brands? How does an effective employer brand assist in the attraction and retention of quality staff, particularly Generation Y? How do organizations' research and develop an employer brand that delivers results?
It communicates the company's culture and values and helps to ensure employees are passionate about, and fit in with, the organisational culture to help move the company forward. employer brand to be successful, it needs to incorporate more than just an enhancement of recruitment communications or improved internal communications. It should focus on the entire employment experience, organisational personality, goals and values and reflect a true understanding of what motivates current employees and the candidate market. If you are not living the brand values internally then it is very hard to build the brand externally." One of our objectives (in developing our employer brand) is to become an employer of choice.
The importance of employer branding for Generation Y The demographics of the workforce are changing and businesses need to be sensitive to the different values and expectations of Generation Y. Companies will need to manage changing workplace motivations and expectations through their employer brand. "Generation Y really focus on the ethical stance of companies when considering potential employers. They look at things like annual reports to assess the gender and age make up of the board members to form an opinion of the corporate culture. In terms of attracting these people, they will want to work for organisations that are socially responsible. This should be demonstrated in the various channels that potential employees come into contact with an organisation if you are going to be best placed to attract these people." Nigel Barcham, Managing Director, Robert Half ANZ.When developing an employer brand, organisations must take these new generational realities into account, or risk alienating this group of employees. "We make sure we manage the careers of the finance staff, ensuring they obtain the experiences, qualifications and challenges they want...so they are meeting their own career goals." Simon Jones, CFO, AgriQuality.This new demographic tends to be more career loyal and less company loyal. They want to know what the organisation will offer them. Work is something that fits into their lives, rather than the other way around as in previous generations. Cross-functional training, strong provision for career development, work-life balance and opportunities for overseas travel are all top priorities for Generation Y"Gen Y's are sending the message to the corporate and public sector: If you're not willing to have good leadership...challenging work, not willing to mentor me, then I'm not coming to work for you." Avril Henry , Executive Director, AH Revelations.Incorporating corporate social responsibility (CSR) into an employer brand will become increasingly important when attempting to attract Generation Y employees who will assess an organisation's ethics and CSR policy when choosing an employer. Employer branding must also take into account the realities of managing Generation Y, providing greater transparency, job flexibility and opportunities. "Have a weekly meeting that you invite Gen Y's to, tell them what is happening in the organisation. Tell them how what you are doing in your department feeds into that, tell them about how the work they are doing feeds into that. Tell them what is coming up in the future. Allow people to job share or rotate through jobs or to try new things they haven't tried before. Invest in training and developing, not only the skills of the Gen Y's but the skills of the people who are managing them. The challenge for organisations means that they have to change the way they think and behave." Avril Henry, Executive Director, AH Revelations.
Traditional strategies do not workIdentify and establish key points of difference to their competitors ultimately will be the most successful in attracting the best candidates for the job4 most important EOC attributesexcel in people leadership,create a compelling employment offer for employeesaccelerate development of their peopleculture and values are viewed as critically important.“Hewitt Associates
On average, the ‘best employers’ receive five job applications for every 2.8 received by other employers; the average staff turnover is around 15 percent compared to 20 percent; share prices tend to be higher than for other companies in the same sector; average revenue growth between 1998 and 2000 was 48 percent versus 25 percent for others, and profit growth was 62 percent versus 18 percent. All of this requires a long-term investment of five to seven years of constant effort on behalf of the employer.
There is no ‘quick fix’ solution to critical skills shortages, especially given the complexities of global and national skills shortages, ageing workforces, fluctuating global financial markets.Rail industry will continue to face attraction and image problems unless it takes a whole-of –industry approach to rebrand itself, including potential joint media and public relations initiatives . Cultural change in the public sector and improvements in areas such as recruitment practices, could do much to reduce the image of bureaucracy. In addition, rail needs to engaged far more strategically with educational providers and industry skills councils so as to embed rail into vocational and university curriculums . Finally progress , any progress towards harmonisation of rail technologies will improve the portability of rail skills and reduce the perception of ‘pigeon holing‘.