News and Articles
The Untapped Candidate Market
6th August 2007
Throughout their careers people take time out of the workforce for various reasons, be it to raise children, care for elderly parents, for health reasons or to pursue other interests. The returning to the workforce market is often over looked by employers viewing these candidates as out of touch and out of date. However they can have a lot to offer and can provide a viable option in today's tight labour market.One must not forget the additional skills these employees will have gained in their time out of the workforce, whether this be a broader perspective on life skills, maturity or further qualifications, the multitasking of parenthood should not be under estimated.
Recently introduced childcare subsidies make the return to the workforce a more viable option for stay at home mums and dads. Starting from July this year the government has introduced a 20 hour childcare allowance for 3 and 4 year olds. This gives stay at home Mums and Dads the option of considering a returning to part time work where previously due to high childcare costs, this may not have been feasible. This new incentive is providing a new pool of workers who are talented, capable and keen to get back into the work force and are providing employers with a candidate market that perhaps we haven't seriously considered before.
Often returning parents are seeking a less demanding role than they have held previously, providing you with a highly skilled and talented individual. Consider part time or job share arrangements to attract these employees. Perhaps two part timers could cover a role, rather than one full time person. Just because an employee is in the office 40 hours per week does not mean you will get 40 hours of productivity out of them. A part timer who has to pick the kids up from day care at 2pm is going to be more focused to get stuck in and get the job done so they can walk out the door on time - you have heard the saying if you want something done give it to a busy person, this can not be more true than for working parents.
Current employees who are leaving to go on maternity leave provide another pool of valuable workers. Government paid parental leave means mothers now get 14 weeks paid leave up to a maximum of $391 gross per week. Larger organisations offer quite considerable incentives to attract these mothers back to their jobs by offering return to work bonuses and additional leave, recognising the benefits of a highly skilled and trained worker returning even on a part time basis far out way the costs of recruiting and training a new individual as well as offering increased productivity.
For any new or returning employee there will be a period of transition, whatever the case the transition will need to be managed. With a clear training plan and an agreed set of boundaries and expectations on both sides you will probably gain a dedicated and hardworking employee who is relishing the opportunity to contribute to the household income and keep their skills up to date.
Prepared by Liz Plank