Where to now?

With economic recovery underway, the employment market is looking bright for fresh university leavers. After a dismal 2009, rife with salary cuts and hiring freezes, the market is now leaning more heavily in favour of the job seeker. This is good news for university students graduating this month. “Now that the economy is picking up, everyone is getting more business and requiring more talents to fulfil it.” one recruiter told HRM.

Total employment in Singapore grew by 34,000 in the first quarter of this year, the third quarterly increase after two quarters of decline in the first half of 2009.

Employers are boosting recruitment at all levels, with many eying that fresh batch of graduates in particular. OCBC Bank is one of the many employers in Singapore taking steps early to get the cream of the crop. “We have stepped up our recruitment activities for the different divisions in the Bank in line with our identified areas of growth,” Jacinta Low, Head, HR Planning & Employee Communications, OCBC Bank, tells HRM. Another financial institution, UBS Singapore, says it plans to hire 60% more graduates this year.

Reaching out

Although fresh graduates complete their programmes typically in May each year, companies reach out to them as early as nine months before they are due to graduate. They typically use established avenues such as recruitment fairs and presentations at relevant institutions.

But stiff competition is urging organisations to get more creative with their hiring strategies. Procter & Gamble, for example, conducts function-specific case study competitions, challenges and workshops for potential entry-level recruits. This enables students to experience, for example, a day in the life of a brand manager.

Social media is also gaining ground in recruitment activities. Mobile communications giant Nokia recently ran an online competition seeking suitable interns to work with high-profile employers. Shortlisted candidates in The Rookie will participate in a series of challenges that will be recorded and broadcast over the internet. The final four will win internships with Nokia, Microsoft, Standard Chartered Bank and Zouk.

KPMG’s UK operations engage potential recruits through a specialised presence on social networking site Facebook. It boasts 1600 page members, and advertises job vacancies, summer internships and vacation schemes. The accounting giant also has a strong presence on micro-blogging site Twitter.

Giving graduates a feel of their future work environment is another recruitment strategy adopted by organisations. When recruiting management trainees, SMRT Corporation invites potential candidates for a briefing on its corporate profile, culture, career paths and advancement opportunities. They are also brought on a site visit to key depots and weaved into group activities where their leadership potential is assessed. Those who get through this phase of selection are invited for a final panel interview with the organisation’s vice-presidents.

SMRT has also established an employee referral scheme where staff can refer friends and family members for suitable positions. According to Tommy Ng, Senior Vice President, Corporate Services, SMRT, the scheme allows employees to “screen” suitable graduates in their social networks and provide them with “insider knowledge” on company culture and how SMRT operates. This increases the chances of a positive “job fit” between recruit and organisation.

Winning them over

Remuneration is still, and will probably always be, a big consideration before a graduate signs on that dotted line. Salaries were lower for the graduating class of 2009, due to the bleak economic situation but are quickly rising back up to the high levels of the previous boom.

Ng says higher starting salaries are an inevitable result of the new economic climate. “In view of the recovering economy this year, fresh graduates can expect a nominal increase in salary as compared to last year.”

However, in the war for talent, organisations are also realising that fiscal rewards alone are insufficient. “We recognise that salaries and benefits are not the only factors to attract talent,” Ng says. “They can be easily matched, if not outdone, by our competitors.”

Peter Haglund, Country Manager, Manpower Staffing Services, says graduates are on the lookout for jobs with interesting scopes and challenges, as well as opportunities for advancement. He says graduates often quit relatively high-paying but administrative roles when they find the tasks are too boring or repetitive.

Today’s Generation Y graduates also appreciate the so-called “little extras”, including flexible working hours, telecommuting opportunities, in-house facilities, regional exposures, and managers who give graduates the space to tackle challenges in their own way.

Positive employer branding is essential for winning over job seekers. Haglund says that this can be achieved by identifying the distinctive qualities of the organisation and creating an emotional connection between employer and potential recruit. “It is important that employers engage their employees and make them feel part of the family,” he says. “This will then create a common goal and accomplish the business mission.”

Talent Retention

Getting the right graduate talent into the organisation is certainly important, but it’s really only half the battle won. Today’s newly-qualified students are significantly less loyal and happy to move to greener pastures as soon as opportunities strike.

Adrian Tan, Managing Director, Recruit Plus, says this is certainly true with Generation Y candidates from all fields. “They demand that management listen to them, empower them and accept the way they function,” he says – organisations that fail to recognise this run the risk of losing their most promising staff to a competitor.

Tan says younger candidates also appreciate the so-called “little extras”, including flexible working hours, telecommuting opportunities, in-house facilities, regional exposures, and managers who give graduates the space to tackle challenges in their own way.

It is particularly telling that the average length of stay for fresh graduates in their first jobs is just 18 months, Ng notes. To counter this, SMRT tries to engage and retain employees through various engagement and development platforms. It runs a structured leadership and talent management programme for employees slated for accelerated growth within the company. It also organises quarterly cocktails, tea sessions and leadership exchanges to facilitate dialogue between senior management and employees.

Haglund says such efforts are a vital way for an organisation to stand out in what is a crowded labour market. “Employers should focus on planning the career path for each and every employee as this is essential for them to see a future with the company.”