kingstonhumancapital

Executive Presence: What is it and why it matters.

Thu, 22 May 2025 14:31:57 GMT

Executive Presence: What is it, why does it matter and four ways you can improve yours.

As an executive recruiter, I frequently engage in conversations with leaders aspiring to elevate their careers. One term that consistently emerges is Executive Presence (EP). So, what exactly is it, and how does it influence your career trajectory?

What is Executive Presence?

Executive Presence isn't a singular attribute; it's a composite of traits and behaviours that command respect and inspire others. According to Sylvia Ann Hewlett, the author of "Executive Presence," EP is a blend of behaviours and traits that send a specific message, influencing how others perceive us.

The Impact on Your Career

In the executive panel interviews I facilitate, I've observed that a positive Executive Presence can serve as a career accelerator, while a lacklustre one can act as a roadblock. While leadership and strategic skills remain paramount in executive hiring, the importance of cultivating your EP cannot be overstated.

Executive Presence Shapes the Decisions Others Make About You

The influence of Executive Presence extends beyond the surface. It subtly shapes conscious and unconscious assessments of your leadership capabilities. When key decision-makers evaluate you for a job, or a promotion or a critical project, your EP often becomes an unspoken factor. It serves as a lens through which others view your leadership acumen, strategic foresight, and ability to navigate complex challenges. Your Executive Presence can either amplify or diminish your professional strengths.

What are the Core Components of Executive Presence?

Hewlett breaks down Executive Presence into three core components:

How You Act (Gravitas):

Grace under fire
Decisiveness
Integrity and speaking truth to power
Emotional intelligence
Charisma

How You Speak (Communication):

Tone, pace, diction, vocal strength, and quality
Ability to read a room
Commanding a room without forcefulness
Assertiveness without aggression

How You Look (Appearance):

Grooming
Attire
Physicality
Vigor and vibrancy

Detractors of Executive Presence

So, what undermines our Executive Presence? Here are five common detractors I've observed:

Inconsistency
Poor Listening Skills
Overconfidence
Inability to Adapt
Poor Communication

Four Ways To Enhance Your Executive Presence

We're all busy, but it's still important to develop your EP, just like you do your other skill sets.

Here are four things you can practice at work:

Know Your Audience: Before any interaction consider who your audience is and what signals you want to send during interactions.

Practice Grace Under Fire: Mastering composure during stressful situations is key. It not only elevates your EP but also portrays you as a grounded leader.

Identify your EP Strengths and Weaknesses: Work with a trusted colleague to pinpoint your EP strengths and your biggest EP weakness. Working on this can be a game-changer.

PBSB Technique: Before speaking, Pause, Breathe, Smile, and then Begin. Taking a moment to pause then breathe, then smile before you speak portrays you as grounded and in control, this technique is especially useful during high-stakes executive interviews.

Final Thoughts

Executive Presence is more than how you act, speak, or look; it's the message you send to the world and it influences what others think about you. Just as you work on your leadership skills, it is important to work on your Executive Presence too.

I'd love to hear your thoughts. Have you got any EP advice you'd like to share with our community?

Feel free to reach out to me at Gerard@kingstonhumancapital.com.au.

New Title

Recruiting a Commercial Advisor for Container Exchange

Thu, 22 May 2025 11:55:39 GMT

About Container Exchange

Established in 2018, Container Exchange (COEX) is a not-for-profit organisation running Queensland’s Containers for Change Scheme, ensuring that over 3 billion drink bottles don't end up as landfill.

The Containers for Change Scheme allows people to return eligible drink containers for a 10 cent refund at over 270 sites across Queensland, reducing container litter and encouraging enterprises to raise funds from donations of container refunds.

In addition to the Containers for Change Scheme, COEX promotes recycling and helps the local community from donations to charities, community and sports groups, as well as not-for-profit organisations registered with the scheme.

Matching a high-performing talent with a high-performing organisation

Container Exchange is an incredibly high-performing organisation, packed full of first-class professionals, each one dedicated to making a real difference in the world.

The Commercial Advisor role is quite a unique role because of the context and structure of the business. This role needed someone who could do a bit of everything. And do it very well.

The perfect candidate would have advanced financial literacy as well as technical knowledge of commercial analysis and reporting. They also needed to have project and program reporting skills from an ICT point of view, with the commercial acumen skills to work collaboratively across the organisation.

The Hiring Requirement

COEX tasked Kingston Human Capital with recruiting a new Commercial Advisor to replace the promoted incumbent.

Role We Hired

Commercial Advisor

Channels We Used

Facebook, LinkedIn, Seek, Kingston Human Capital Database, Search Algorithms, AIPM, PMI, IACCM, CIPSA.

The Challenge

Three different skills for one role, with just 2 weeks to fill the position

Container Exchange needed someone who could fill this role with experience and skills across all three aspects, this is quite hard to find in the talent market.

We had to find the best three worlds as well as ensure our candidates had an alignment with the high performing culture and its strategic direction that Container Exchange had built.

The successful candidate also needed to be adaptable, flexible, willing to learn, and grow with the business.

Kingston Human Capital had two weeks to search for this role. It was a short time frame, however, we worked hard and fast to turn it around.

Container Exchange is very strategic when it comes to finding new talent. Kingston Human Capital has worked closely with COEX on an exclusive basis. This allowed our search team to dedicate 100% of our time, energy, resources, and expertise toward finding the perfect person for the job.

The Process

Different crossover skills needed extensive interviewing to get the balance right

Because of the three crossovers skill sets, the Kingston Human Capital recruiting team were looking for a candidate who was a niche within a niche within a niche. We were looking for someone with experience in a role that traditionally doesn't exist in organisational structures.

It required the specialist strateigc HR and talent search team at Kingston Human Capital to perform comprehensive interviews to unearth skill sets beyond what a traditional CV would portray.

We investigated the candidates extensively by asking them a broad variety of evaluation questions, which were designed to surface their skill sets.

We also focused on understanding the individual's drivers, emotional intelligence and soft skills that they would bring to the role and their alignment to the strategic growth and direction of the organisation.

How Kingston Human Capital helped Container Exchange find the right candidate?

We did a deep dive analysis to understand the challenges facing the role and the outcomes the perfect candidate would need to produce.
We developed a specialised search strategy and developed a multi-channel attraction strategy that would appeal to passive and active talent.
We utilised our expertise in sourcing, networking, and activating candidates in the passive talent market to develop a strong shortlist.
We provided our advice in candidate evaluation and behavioural interviews alongside designing a high-impact interview format. We acted as a concierge for three rounds of interviews.
Supported the client by facilitating the discussion as to who was the most value-adding candidate. We supported COEX in extending the offer to the successful candidate.
We liaise with internal HR to ensure a smooth onboarding process.

Learn more about Kingston Human Capital Recruitment Process

The Result

A High Quality field of Talent identified that resulted in a second position being created

Container Exchange was impressed with the shortlist and extremely happy with the quality of the applicants.

Kingston Human Capital met the challenging turnaround times as well as providing excellent candidates.

After the first stage interview, Container Exchange was already very impressed with all candidates.

Due to the quality of our shortlist, they found it challenging to decide who was the best candidate and moved to the second stage interviews.

After the second stage interviews, COEX decided to hire one candidate and create a new position for another candidate. Effectively making two hires out of one recruitment project.

Container Exchange has a reputation for hiring the best of the best. They are forward-thinking and highly strategic when it comes to talent acquisition and we're proud to partner with them.

What did Container Exchange value most about Kingston Human Capital's Recruitment Services?

"A first class service, very impressed with the quality of the candidates and the recruiting process."

There were 10 business days to deliver on a shortlist. This was a tight timeline, because of the nature of the complexity of this role.

We were also working with passive candidates in the mix, it made the timelines tighter.

Great recruitment is all about executing a diligent and thorough process, managing timelines, and keeping our clients and our candidates well informed. We always move quickly, but never at the cost of quality.

We work with organisations that change the world. Container Exchange is not only delivering incredible outcomes for the environment, they are an employer of choice as well.

We help recruit great executive talent

Discover how we’re different and give you a competitive advantage.

Discover how Kingston Human Capital are different and give you a competitive advantage.

We work as an agile team across retained recruitment projects, ensuring we can commit the time and effort of our entire search team. This allows us to reach further into the market, which means we get to evaluate more candidates and get high-quality results.

Ai Has Changed What Boards, Ceos And Chros Want When Hiring Executive Talent.

Wed, 21 May 2025 10:03:20 GMT

AI has changed what Boards, CEOs and CHROs want in Executive Talent

Boards, CEOs and Chief Human Resource Officers have significantly shifted what they want when it comes to hiring executive talent.

Here are my key observations:

Strategic AI Leadership:

When it comes to recruiting for executive roles, the bar has been raised. CEOs and CHROs are not just looking for leaders who can manage AI; they're seeking Executive talent who view AI as a strategic asset to the organisation’s long-term success.

Ability to Steer Through Change:

The ability to guide an organisation through periods of change has become paramount. As we learn, understand, and ultimately operationalise AI, leaders must be adept at leading change associated with both technological and cultural shifts.

Commitment to Lifelong Learning:

The fast-paced evolution of AI and other technologies means that adaptability and a commitment to continuous learning are now non-negotiables in the executive leaders who drive our organisations. The attitude and appetite for lifelong learning is now among the top four traits decision-makers are looking for in the executives they hire.

Emotional Intelligence Version 2.0:

As AI takes over more functional tasks, the human elements of empathy and emotional intelligence are becoming key differentiators in the hiring process. Leaders who demonstrate the ability to understand the ‘’current emotional state’’ of the organisation they lead are being more favourably received by the interview panel.

Actions to Take Before Starting Your Next Executive Recruitment Process:

Before diving into your next executive search, reevaluate your hiring criteria. Move beyond just technical leadership skills. Your next executive leader should excel in navigating complex changes, particularly as AI becomes a cornerstone in operations. Look for a leader equipped to guide your organisation through both tech-driven and cultural transformations. Good luck!

Let's Discuss:

I'd love to hear your thoughts. Do these observations resonate with you? How are you adapting your hiring strategies to meet these new demands? If you'd like to connect, you can reach me at - Gerard@kingstonhumancapital.com.au

Hiring a Financial Accountant for All Hallows' School

Wed, 21 May 2025 07:10:07 GMT

About All Hallows

All Hallows’ School, is a community alive with the charism of Catherine McAuley and the traditions and culture of a 160-year history.

Established in 1861, All Hallows’ is grounded in the Catholic traditions and values of the Sisters of Mercy. Catherine McAuley’s vision lives on today as the first girls’ school in Queensland and the oldest secondary school in the State.

All Hallows engaged Kingston Human Capital to Hire a Financial Accountant.

Adding to the recruiting challenge, the All Hallows team are always looking to improve existing functions to drive efficiency and productivity. A key part of this project would require very advanced Excel skills.

Most Financial Accountants possess good Exel skills, but very few possess the high advanced Excel capabilities that our client was looking for to support the review and redevelopment of complex Excel models.

The skillset our client needed fell squarely into the Finanical Analyst category.

The Hiring Requirement

All Hallows engaged Kingston Human Capital to hire a Financial Accountant with advanced Excel-based financial modelling skills.

Role We Hired

Finanical Accountant and Financial Analysts with advanced Excel skills.

Channels We Used

A combination of our professional network of existing Contractor base, referrals, and then a combination of strategic sourcing techniques of algorithmic searches on LinkedIn.

The Challenge

How did we overcome this challenge?

As a specialist recruitment business, Kingston Human Capital recommended that the client consider a job share arrangement.

This way we could ensure our client would benefit from the strengths of cross-functional skillsets.

Kingston Human Capital provided All Hallows with an excellent candidate for the financial accounting part of the role. We also provided them with an incredible Financial Modeller and Analyst. Both candidates were happy to undertake the role on a part-time, jobshare basis.

By thinking outside the box, we helped our client achieve great outcomes.

The Process

An out of the box solution provided the client the best of both worlds.

We work with some of the smartest clients in the world. That includes All Hallows. They are open to approaching challenges from innovative angles. During the recruitment project planning session, Kingston Human Capital provided the recommendation that a jobshare arrangement would provide the client with the best of both worlds.

By having a solid understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the talent available in the market, we were able to explain why an innovative change to the scope was beneficial.

This recruitment solution didn't hinder the budget or make the client spend more than they anticipated. But it did afford them the advantage of providing two quality skill-sets for the price of one.

We liaised with the client to take a detailed briefing and understand the nuances and the challenges of the temporary assignment
The team then worked together to speak to our network of temporary staff, evaluating who would be the best fit and who would match the client's availability requirements.
After an in-depth search, a shortlist of candidates was presented to the client.
Provided advice and insight into the personality of each of our talented temporary workers.
Within one week of receiving the brief we had provided ur client with a spectacular shortlist and they were beginning to run their interviews.

Learn more about Kingston Human Capital Recruitment Process

The Result

Hiring took just 5 days

Kingston Human Capital turned around the shortlist, in line with the requirements of All Hallows. By the time we submitted a shortlist through to candidate commencement, it was just five days.

Kingston Human Capital discovered 67 candidates in the talent pool From there, our recruitment experts screened that pool down to 19. From there, seven candidates went to interview with our internal team, to create a shortlist of four for All Hallows.

What did the All Hallows value most about Kingston Human Capital's recruitment services?

All Hallows School liked that as a Brisbane recruitment firm, we were there to provide innovative solutions to get the right outcomes.

Kingston Human Capital guided them throughout the whole recruiting process, and we took the time to understand the strategic focus of the role.

It was important that as recruiters in a specialist space, we were able to deliver an out-of-the-box solution that provided quality candidates who would deliver outcomes right away.

We help recruit great temporary staff

Discover how Kingston Human Capital are different and give you a competitive advantage.

Kingston Human Capital are a Brisbane based recruitment company that work as an agile team across retained recruitment projects. Our dedicated team of HR specialists seek perfection for you in your recruitment challenges.

Ai Has Already Changed What Ceos Are Hiring For In Leadership Teams

Tue, 20 May 2025 14:22:49 GMT

How AI has already changed what CEOs are Hiring for - The Impact of AI on Leadership Recruitment

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is no longer a futuristic concept; it's here, and it's making waves in the hiring strategies of CEOs and Chief HR Officers around the globe. This blog post delves into how AI has already reshaped what qualities CEOs are looking for when it comes to hiring executive leaders.

The AI Revolution in Leadership Recruitment

One CEO recently shared her enlightening experience of listening to Microsoft's WorkLab podcast. Erik Brynjolfsson, director of the Stanford Digital Economy Lab discussed AI in work and the pivotal role leaders will play. This conversation deeply resonated with me, reflecting the shift I've observed in the skills and attitudes CEOs are seeking in their leadership teams.

AI: More Than Just Automation

Brynjolfsson is a staunch advocate of AI, especially the recent advancements in large language model AI. He views these tools as game-changers leading to widespread prosperity. However, he emphasizes the need to use AI to enhance and complement our human capabilities, not merely for automation.

Echoing Brynjolfsson’s sentiments, I've noticed that CEOs are not just seeking leaders who will use AI for automation. They're on the lookout for leaders who have contemplated how AI can enhance, boost, and complement human work. Leaders who are well-versed and highly researched in AI, LLMs, and the various emerging generative technologies.

The Emerging Qualities CEOs are looking for in their leadership teams

Being well-researched on AI might seem like a subtle differentiator in an executive recruitment process for a division head or general manager. However, it's been a deciding factor that has swayed several executive recruitment processes we have delivered recently.

So, what are the emerging qualities that CEOs are seeking in the leaders they interview?

Leaders who embrace AI: CEOs are seeking leaders who will integrate AI as a key component of business strategy, understanding its offerings go well beyond just automation. Leaders who have actively explored how AI can enhance organisational productivity are emerging as the top candidates.
Leaders who foster a learning culture: The AI world is evolving at a rapid pace, and we need to ensure our teams have the skills and knowledge to utilise these tools effectively and responsibly. CEOs are looking for leaders who can demonstrate their ability to create continuous learning and adaptation cultures.
Leaders who lead with empathy: The rise of AI can be intimidating for many. CEOs are seeking leaders who can lead change with empathy and understanding, ensuring their teams feel supported and reassured.

Embracing the Future of AI in Leadership

As Erick Brynjolfsson wisely states, “AI won’t replace managers, but managers who use AI will replace those who don’t”. Let's face AI with a combination of curiosity and educated caution. Together, we can shape a future that's not just about surviving but thriving.

Conclusion

As we navigate this exciting era with curiosity and caution, it's crucial to stay informed, stay curious, and stay positive.

Connect with the team at Kingston Human Capital. Email Talent@kingstonhumancapital.com.au

#AIinLeadership #FutureOfWork #EmbraceChange #ContinuousLearning #EmpathyInLeadership #AIandHumanity #KingstonHumanCapital #Recruitment #Hiring #TalentStrategy

New Title

Hiring An 'Infrastructure Planning Finance Specialist' for Economic Development Queensland

Tue, 20 May 2025 04:18:48 GMT

Economic Development Queensland (EDQ) is a unique government agency that combines property development with specialist planning functions.

Recruiting an Expert in Infrastructure Planning and Accounting

How did we overcome this challenge?

About Economic Development Queensland

The Hiring Requirement

Economic Development Queensland approached Kingston Human Capital to hire an Infrastructure Planning Finance Officer.

Channels We Used

A combination of our professional network of temporary staff, as well as referrals, and extensive use of our talent database.

Roles We Hired

Infrastructure Planning Finance Officer

The Challenge

Economic Development Queensland gave Kingston Human Capital this role knowing it would be difficult to apply a standard accounting finance search methodology. We had to conduct detailed phone screens and design highly tailored interview questions to identify the right skills for the infrastructure planning related parts of the role.

We also needed to find someone who was a strong cultural fit.

The Process

Understanding the Role. Delivered a Swift Outcome.

We took a detailed role briefing and really got to know the challenges associated with this role
The team worked together to speak to our network of temporary staff, evaluating who would be the best fit and who would match the client's availability requirements
After an in depth search, a shortlist of candidates was presented to the client
Provided advice and insight into the personality of each of our temporary workers
We helped the client develop a set of robust interview questions
We supported EDQ in extending their offer and securing their candidate

Learn more about Kingston Human Capital Recruitment Process

The Result

Shortlist to Commencement was executed within 15 days.

Kingston Human Capital turned around the shortlist, in line with EDQ's requirements and within the constraints of a structured public sector process. This entire process took only 15 days.

We worked hard and fast, but not at the cost of quality.

What did the Economic Development Queensland value most about Kingston Human Capital's recruitment services?

We help recruit great temporary staff

The Infrastructure Planning Finance Specialist position was a unique role. It was different because EDQ was looking for someone with strengths in accounting as well as all the nuances of an infrastructure orientated environment.

The successful candidate needed to understand the lifecycle of medium to long-range infrastructure projects and how to create great relationships with all stakeholders associated with those projects.

Discover how Kingston Human Capital are different and give you a competitive advantage.

Kingston Human Capital is a recruitment company that works as an agile team across retained and exlcuisve recruitment projects. Our dedicated team of HR specialists seek perfection for you in your recruitment challenges.

Economic Development Queensland liked that as a Brisbane recruitment firm, we were there and available for them.

Kingston Human Capital guided them throughout the whole recruiting process, and we took the time to understand their strategic focus of the role scope and delivery.

It was important that as recruiters in a specialist space, we were able to deliver distinction in candidates at the interview process, with excellent reference reports, which then led to a quality shortlist of candidates.

EDQ has over 20 locations throughout Queensland providing land solutions to help retain existing industry as well as to attract new business investment and development in Queensland.

This is paragraph text. Click it or hit the Manage Text button to change the font, color, size, format, and more. To set up site-wide paragraph and title styles, go to Site Theme.The candidate we presented was offered the role and was able to start with one day's notice.

We found an incredible candidate who had great technical knowledge and some incredible data analysis, modelling and reporting capabilities. They also had outstanding relationship development skills and we knew this would bode well in our clients' environment.

Angela Ng is the extraordinary brains managing and leading the delivery of strategic human capital insights, recruitment services and solutions in accounting, finance, procurement and supply chain at Kingston Human Capital.

Her recruitment career began in 2010 in what she thought was merely a stepping stone towards a generalist HR career. It didn’t take long for Angela to realise that recruitment and talent management was a perfect fit for her driven, focused and caring nature.

Meet Angela Ng

Economic Development Queensland was impressed with their proactive attitude and extended them an offer.

The Bannister Effect: Using Your Recruitment And Hiring Process To Improve Productivity In Teams.

Mon, 19 May 2025 13:52:55 GMT

The Bannister Effect: Using your recruitment and hiring process to improve productivity in teams.

Greetings, fellow hiring managers! If you've ever found yourself in a talent strategy meeting, you're likely familiar with the whirlwind of buzzwords that get tossed around. But have you ever heard of "The Bannister Effect"? If not, strap in, because this concept is about to revolutionise your approach to team building.

Who the heck is Roger Bannister?

Our story begins with Roger Bannister, the first athlete to break the 4-minute mile, a feat previously considered impossible. He achieved this in 1954, running 1,600 metres in 3:59.4. The fascinating part? Once Bannister broke the record, it was only weeks before another athlete, John Landy, beat Bannister's record by more than a second. Since then, countless athletes have run a sub-4-minute mile.

The Bannister Effect: Breaking Barriers in the Workplace

The "Bannister Effect" refers to the mental shift that occurs when a significant barrier is broken, demonstrating to others that what was once thought to be unachievable is, in fact, possible. It's all about changing the way we think about challenges. Now, you might be wondering, "How does this help me build a high-performing team?" Well, let's dive into that.

The Bannister Effect in Hiring Strategies

Applying the Bannister Effect to your hiring strategy can help you improve productivity in your team. The process involves understanding your team's current performance, identifying the performance standards you need, and then hiring only those with the skill set that are above and beyond the benchmarks you need. Clear metrics or benchmarks are the secret to success here. Over time, this approach will improve the overall team productivity. Essentially your aim is to make every new hire a Robert Bannister, and this in turn encourages some of your team to become John Landys and lift their performance once what was originally thought to be difficult to achieve is proven to be possible.

A Step-by-Step Guide to Harnessing the Bannister Effect to Improve your Hiring and Recruitment Outcomes and Increase Productivity in Teams.

Identify your top performers: Start by identifying your best people. What do they do differently? What hard and soft skills do they exhibit? What tangible measures to they achieve. These top performers will give you an idea of the performance standards and metrics you're looking for.

Understand what a top performer looks like: High performers are self-managed, have a growth mindset, hold themselves to high standards, are hungry for feedback, and are passionate about their work.
Identify key metrics before you start your next hiring process: Take a moment to gather two to three measures or metrics are associated with high performance or productivity in your area. Be mindful about what you choose - not all metrics are of equal value.
Find a way to identify the metrics you want in your hiring process: once you’ve got a handle on the metrics you are going to look for in your future hires, think about who you will test and measure for these in your hiring process.
Translate these characteristics and metrics into your Job Description: Make your job description clear, goal-oriented, and attractive to high performers. Describe how the role fits into the bigger picture and describe what success looks like in this role.
Choose your interview panel carefully : Involve your top performers in the interview process. They know what you need from a candidate. Remember, top performers hire top performers.
Use your behavioural questions : Ask for multiple examples of a situation. Top performers can provide several examples and give you the details! And they can usually provide you strong metrics too.

A Real-World Example: The Bannister Effect in Action, Improving Team Productivity - A Kingston Human Capital Case Study

Let's look at an example where we helped a client with a large accounts payable team to improve their productivity by changing their hiring approach. Our client required more productivity per person in the accounts payable team. We were able to map this to a key metric of correctly processed invoices per person per day. We noticed that only 17% of the team were meeting that productivity metric. We considered the group in the 17% as our base line for performance.

We benchmarked things like their data entry speeds and accuracy, their process design, and their interruption rate. Once we understood the baseline of a productive team member in this team, we put together a hiring programme. Every time the client needed to make a new hire, we made sure we provided them with talent who were able to perform above these important benchmarks and metrics.

Over a period of two years, as natural attrition occurred and staff in the low or average performer categories moved on to other roles, we purposely replaced them with new hires who were better performers. Three things occurred by the end of the two-year period.

74% of the team were able to comfortably meet or exceed the productivity benchmarks.
Overall output of the group increased by 24%
Team engagement scores went up by 19%

The organisation experienced improved output for less headcount. But it's important to note that this isn't a perfect process. About 3% of the existing team resented the higher performance of the new staff. Interestingly, they belonged to the group with the lower levels of productivity and over time they left the business, leaving us with the opportunity to hire a replacement who would deliver more output for the same salary.

By applying the Bannister Effect to your hiring strategy, you can not only improve the productivity of your team but also create an environment that fosters growth, innovation, and excellence. So, why not give it a try? After all, most of the barriers that exist are the ones we create for ourselves.

Can our talent strategy team help you improve productivity and performance? Get in contact today.

Connect with our team on 07 3211 7719 or email talent@kingtstonumancapital.com.au

New Title

Recruiting a Media and PR Advisor for Container Exchange

Mon, 19 May 2025 04:54:53 GMT

Established in 2018, Container Exchange (COEX) is a not-for-profit organisation running Queensland’s Containers for Change Scheme, ensuring that over 3 billion drink bottles don't end up as landfill (with this number rising every day).

Recruiting an individual to match a high-performance team culture

How did we overcome this challenge?

About Container Exchange

The Hiring Requirement

Container Exchange were seeking to recruit a Media and Public Relations Advisor

Channels We Used

Kingston Human Capital database, our talent networks, Facebook, LinkedIn, Indeed, Boolean search

Roles We Hired

Media and PR Advisor

The Challenge

As Container Exchange needed an exceptional and unique individual with niche responsibilities, Kingston Human Capital knew that this recruitment drive, to locate this rare diamond, required an in-depth briefing with Container Exchange.

As a result of this briefing, Kingston Human Capital brainstormed a list of questions to ensure our evaluation interviews were ideal for Container Exchange’s needs, both for the present and the future.

As the role requirements were niche, Kingston Human Capital developed a customised search strategy to find the perfect candidate.

Kingston Human Capital took a strategic approach to finding new talent, working closely with COEX on an exclusive basis. This allowed the Kingston Human Capital team to dedicate 100% of their time, energy, resources, and expertise to find the perfect person for the job.

The Process

Experience in delivering swift outcomes

Kingston Human Capital liaised with the General Manager of community and Engagement to receive a detailed briefing that allowed us to understand the challenges of the role and the expertise and skills necessary for success
Kingston Human Capital was the only consultancy firm working on the role which allowed our entire search team to work on finding the right candidate
Using our wide network, Kingston Human Capital's dedicated search team were able to present a shortlist to Container Exchange within 5 business days
We offered advice and insight into the personality and experience of each candidate in order to help the client make a final decision
Supported the client during the interview process, offering insight and advice
Arranged the onboarding and commencement of the new team member, making it easier for the candidate to hit the ground running

Learn more about Kingston Human Capital Recruitment Process

The Result

Strong candidates shortlisted with successful hire offered on the spot

Due to the in-depth search provided by Kingston Human Capital, COEX was presented with a shortlist of strong candidates, each with the necessary skills, experience, and drive to hit the ground running and blow away their new team members at Container Exchange.

As a result of the strong recruitment process, Container Exchange felt comfortable enough to offer the role to the lucky candidate on the spot during the interview.

What did Container Exchange value most about Kingston Human Capital's Recruitment Services?

We help recruit great marketing talent

Container Exchange is a fast-moving organisation made up of a team of first-class professionals who are focussed on ensuring Queensland stays beautiful.

When the CEO reached out and asked for Kingston Human Capital to help recruit a media and PR advisor, we knew we had to identify a pedigree professional, someone who would complement the high-performance team culture.

Right from the beginning, Kingston Human Capital knew that an in-depth candidate evaluation plan was necessary to find the perfect candidate. There was no shortage of applicants and the team worked hard to build a quality shortlist.

Discover how Kingston Human Capital are different and give you a competitive advantage.

Kingston Human Capital enjoys helping businesses find incredible and rare talent.

Container Exchange valued Kingston Human Capital’s ability to turn the project around quickly. The client knew that, due to our in-depth and tailored search process, they wouldn’t just be given any candidate. They know our search and evaluation would be thorough.

The inspirational Containers for Change Scheme allows Queenslanders to return eligible drink containers for a 10 cent refund at over 270 sites across the Sunshine State. Not only are COEX promoting a sustainable green future, but they are also encouraging Queensland companies to raise funds from donations of container refunds.

Kingston Human Capital liaised with the client to fully understand the challenges that any future client would have to overcome. We then used our entire search team to find the best applicants available, presenting the shortlist to the client within 5 business days of receiving the brief, along with advice and insight into the personality of those shortlisted.

How Kingston Human Capital helped Container Exchange find the right candidate?

Hiring a Director of Marketing & Communications for QMF

Sun, 18 May 2025 12:34:36 GMT

About Queensland Music Festival

The Queensland Music Festival uses the magic of music to bring people in regional and remote Queensland, together.

Since its debut in 1999, the Queensland Music Festival has delivered awe-inspiring musical events to over a million Queenslanders across more than 100 towns and cities. These stunning events have helped bring communities together through music, celebrating the cultural identity of Queensland and promoting local artists in the process.

Recruiting a forward-thinking executive for Queensland Music Festival

Queensland Music Festival wanted an executive with a keen eye for target audiences, the ability to craft and curate targeted campaigns and experience engaging new communities across Queensland.

The QMF wanted to attract a forward-thinking director who would execute the company’s bold vision.

The Kingston Human Capital search team knew that the perfect candidate would possess experience in the entertainment or music industry, a background in the tourism sector and a deep understanding of Queensland and its diverse culture. The perfect candidate would be someone with an eye on the digital future as well as a solid foundation in traditional marketing and media.

If this skill set wasn’t rare enough, Kingston Human Capital understood that the right candidate would need to align with QMF's inspiring philosophy.

The Hiring Requirement

QMF contacted the team at Kingston Human Capital to find a permanent Director of Marketing and Communications

Role We Hired

Director of Marketing and Communications

Channels We Used

Kingston Human Capital database, our talent networks, Facebook, LinkedIn, Indeed, microsite, Seek, Queensland tourism council.

The Challenge

How did we overcome this challenge?

This was a unique challenge for Kingston Human Capital, but not the first time we had to be on the lookout for a rare individual.

After searching high and low and considering candidates from local, interstate and international markets, we identified an outstanding candidate with the experience and cultural aligment necessary to help Queensland Music Festival deliver on its ambitious plans.

The Process

Experience in delivering swift outcomes

Kingston Human Capital worked closely with QMF to fully understand the challenges at hand. We developed an effective advocacy campaign that spoke to a much broader audience than just a job board. We activated our referral networks and used a multichannel approach to find the right talent pool.

After an extensive search, we found an incredible candidate.

How Kingston Human Capital helped QMF find the right candidate?

Kingston Human Capital liaised with the CEO and the executive team at QMF to take a detailed briefing and understand the nuances and the challenges of the role.
Our team worked with a network of Marketing and Communication referral partners to evaluate who would be the best fit, and which candidates would match the client's specific requirements.
After an in-depth search, Kingston Human Capital provided a short list of candidates to the client.
We offered advice and insight into the personality of each candidate for the client.
Offered support to Queensland Music Festival during the onboarding process.
Arranged the onboarding and commencement of the new team member to allow the candidate to hit the ground running upon starting the role.

Learn more about Kingston Human Capital Recruitment Process

The Result

Successful recruitment campaign attracting experienced candidates

After careful use of their experienced referral networks, Kingston Human Capital were able to find the diamond the QMF was looking for and the perfect hire was made.

What did Queensland Music Festival value most about Kingston Human Capital's Recruitment Services?

Kingston Human Capital has decades of experience in tracking down elusive diamonds for business across Queensland. Over this time, we have learnt that honest and open communication doesn’t only ensure that businesses receive the best hire, but it also makes businesses feel part of the recruitment process.

We help recruit great executive

Discover how Kingston Human Capital are different and give you a competitive advantage.

''Work Vibe'' - it's real and it's here to stay!

Sun, 18 May 2025 07:07:58 GMT

''Work Vibe'' - it's real and it's here to stay!

In today's fast-paced world, the concept of 'work vibe' is gaining significant traction. It's a term that emerging talent uses to describe the energy, culture, and overall atmosphere of the workplace. As recruiters, we've noticed a shift in the priorities of job seekers, especially those entering the workforce. More than ever, they are placing a high value on the work vibe of potential employers. But what exactly is a work vibe, why is it becoming so important and how do we make sure we create a good one?

Understanding Work Vibe:

Work vibe is the energy and atmosphere in a workplace. It's the feeling you get when you walk into an office, the sense of camaraderie between colleagues, and the overall culture of the organization. It's about more than just physical space; it's about the attitudes, values, and behaviours that are encouraged and celebrated within the team. A positive work vibe can significantly increase job satisfaction and retention, while a negative one can lead to stress, dissatisfaction, and high turnover rates.

Creating a Great Work Vibe:

Creating a positive work vibe is about fostering a supportive, inclusive, and engaging environment. Here are some strategies to consider:

Encourage Open Communication: Foster an environment where employees feel comfortable expressing their ideas and concerns. This can lead to increased trust and collaboration.
Promote Work-Life Balance: With the rise of remote and flexible work arrangements, it's essential to respect employees' personal time. Encourage them to take breaks and disconnect from work when needed.
Recognise and Reward: Regularly acknowledge and reward employees' efforts. This can boost morale and motivate employees to continue performing at their best.
Foster Diversity and Inclusion: A diverse and inclusive workplace can lead to increased creativity, innovation, and employee satisfaction.
Invest in Employee Development: Provide opportunities for employees to learn and grow. This can lead to increased job satisfaction and retention.

The Importance of Work Vibe:

A positive work vibe can have a significant impact on an organisation's success. It can lead to increased job satisfaction, improved performance, and lower turnover rates. Moreover, it can make an organization more attractive to potential employees. In a recent study by Citrix, 86% of employees and 66% of HR directors asserted that a diverse workforce will become even more important as roles, skills, and company requirements change over time.

In Conclusion:

In the post-pandemic world, the importance of work vibe cannot be overstated. As recruiters, we need to understand this shift in job seekers' priorities and advise our clients accordingly. By fostering a positive work vibe, organisations can not only attract top talent but also create a more engaged, satisfied, and productive workforce. Remember, the vibe of your workplace is a reflection of your company's culture and values. Make it count!

Email our Team right now.

By Elizabeth Kingston.

If you'd like to contact Elizabeth, email her here

The Top Five Reasons Why People Are Leaving Their Jobs in Australia in 2023

Sat, 17 May 2025 13:21:56 GMT

The Leading Causes of Job Turnover in Australia for 2023

As recruiters, at we have a unique insight into the job market. Every day, we talk to candidates who are considering leaving their jobs, and we hear firsthand the reasons behind their decisions. In this article, we're going to share the top five reasons why people are leaving their jobs in Australia, based on our conversations with candidates so far in 2023.

1. Managers Who ar Failing at At Hybrid Leadership

The pandemic has fundamentally shifted our work dynamics, introducing a new normal - hybrid working. This model, where some team members work from home while others are in the office, requires a fresh set of leadership skills and techniques. Unfortunately, not all managers have been able to successfully navigate this transition. Many candidates we speak to express that their managers are struggling to effectively lead in this hybrid environment. This struggle often manifests as miscommunication, decreased team morale, and a sense of disconnect. Ultimately, these challenges are prompting employees to seek new opportunities where hybrid leadership is better understood and implemented.

2. The Stagnation of Learning and Development

The desire for continuous learning and development, both professionally and personally, is a significant motivator for many employees. However, a common sentiment we encounter among candidates is a sense of stagnation in their current roles. They express a feeling of having hit a learning plateau, which leaves them yearning for more growth opportunities. Organisations that can consistently provide and effectively communicate about these development opportunities are becoming increasingly appealing to job seekers. Interestingly, many of the employers we collaborate with do offer exceptional learning opportunities. This raises a question - could there be a disconnect between the learning opportunities an organisation provides and how effectively these are communicated to the employees? It's a possibility we believe is worth exploring.

3. The Quest for a Balanced Work-Life Equation

The concept of work-life balance has always held significance, but the advent of the pandemic has amplified its importance. In our conversations with candidates, we've noticed a growing desire for roles that offer greater flexibility and a more harmonious equilibrium between their professional and personal lives. The era of sacrificing personal time in the name of work is fading. Candidates are increasingly seeking roles that allow them to approach their weekends with vitality still intact, rather than being drained by the workweek. The notion of being solely defined by one's career is becoming outdated. The sentiment "work to live, not live to work" is gaining traction, especially among newer entrants to the workforce.

4. Unsatisfying Salary or Benefits

With the rising cost of living, salary and benefits are a major factor in job satisfaction. In fact, a recent survey by SEEK found that 40% of Australian workers are looking to move jobs in the next six months, with the number one reason being for more money. Candidates are seeking roles that not only offer a competitive salary but also benefits that align with their lifestyle and values.

5. The Significance of 'Work Vibe'

Indeed, it's a real factor. The atmosphere and energy of a workplace, or the 'work vibe', profoundly impact an employee's job satisfaction. A toxic work environment can be a significant stressor, leading to dissatisfaction and, ultimately, employee turnover. Conversely, a positive work vibe, characterised by supportive colleagues and a sense of value, can dramatically enhance job satisfaction and employee retention. The element of enjoying one's time at work, the quality of interpersonal relationships, and the pleasantness of the physical environment are becoming increasingly important considerations for certain demographics in the job market.

In conclusion, understanding why people are leaving their jobs is crucial for organisations looking to attract and retain top talent. By addressing these issues, companies can create a work environment that not only attracts great candidates but also keeps them long-term. If you're a hiring manager struggling to retain your staff or attract new talent, we at Kingston Human Capital are here to help. Get in touch with us today to learn more about how we can support your recruitment needs. Email our Team right now.

By Elizabeth Kingston.

Elizabeth@kingstonhumancapital.com.au

New Title

Recruiting a Marketing Manager For QMF

Sat, 17 May 2025 12:33:22 GMT

Since its debut, the Queensland Music Festival has delivered unforgettable musical events to more than a million Queenslanders across over 100 towns and cities. These awe-inspiring events have helped bring communities together through music, celebrating the cultural identity of Queensland and promoting local artists in the process.

Recruiting an adaptable individual with rare skills to take QMF forward

Queensland Music Festival (QMF) approached Kingston Human Capital with a unique challenge. They needed a highly-skilled marketing manager with a deep, understanding of the music and events sector in Queensland. This wasn’t all, they also needed an individual who would hit the ground running.

Due to the nature of the Queensland Music Festival, the successful candidate would need to possess the drive to deliver QMF's ambitious plan.

Right from the start, we knew we needed to search high and low to find the right person.

How did we overcome this challenge?

About Queensland Music Festival

The Queensland Music Festival uses the magic of music to bring people in regional and remote Queensland together.

The Hiring Requirement

QMF reached out to Kingston Human Capital to find a Marketing Manager

Channels We Used

Kingston Human Capital database, our talent networks, Facebook, LinkedIn, Indeed, microsite, Seek, Queensland tourism council.

Role We Hired

Marketing Manager

The Challenge

This isn’t the first time Kingston Human Capital has had to recruit an individual with a rare skill set. We kick-started the project by activating our proven referral networks to locate this unique individual.

Due to the strong brand of the Queensland Music Festival and their ambitious plan, Kingston Human Capital were able to find a fantastic, highly qualified selection of candidates for the QMF.

The Process

Experience in delivering swift outcomes

Kingston Human Capital worked closely with the QMF team to identify the future challenges the organisation would face. Right from the start, we knew it was important to find a Marketing Manager who would be able to keep pace with QMF's growth.

How did Kingston Human Capital help QMF find the right candidate?

Kingston Human Capital liaised with the CEO and the executive team at QMF to take a detailed briefing and understand the nuances and the challenges of the role.
Our team worked with a network of Marketing and Communication referral partners to evaluate who would be the best fit, and which candidates would match the client's specific requirements.
After an in-depth search, Kingston Human Capital provided a shortlist of candidates to the client.
We offered advice and insight into the personality of each candidate for the cient.
Offered support to Queensland Music Festival during the onboarding process.
Arranged the onboarding and commencement of the new team member to allow the candidate to hit the new team member to allow the candidate to hit the ground running upon starting the role.

Learn more about Kingston Human Capital Recruitment Process

The Result

Successful recruitment campaign attracting experienced candidates

In less than four weeks our team were able to find the diamond that QMF was looking for and a fantastic hire was made.

What did Queensland Music Festival value most about Kingston Human Capital's Recruitment Services?

QMF valued the depth and quality of the search process we deployed. The extent of Kingston Human Capital’s search process gave Queensland Music Festival the confidence that they had made the right decision.

We were on a mission to find a candidate who was so strongly aligned with our Client that their transition into the business was seamless.

Discover how Kingston Human Capital are different and give you a competitive advantage.

We help recruit great marketing talent

Delivering sustainable benefits for current and future generations of Queenslanders

Sat, 17 May 2025 06:00:06 GMT

Project Background

The Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy’s vision is to utilise ‘land, water, mineral and energy resources deliver sustainable benefits for current and future generations of Queenslanders’. And we are proud to support them in their initiatives. Natural Resources, Mines and Energy need to identify and onboard a range of high calibre candidates for a key project. They identified that our Unbundled Recruitment Services” was exactly that they needed to help them get there.

How we helped

We partnered with the selection team
Supported them in their shortlisting processes
Managed client and candidate communications
Acted as their administration support function – booking interviews, arranging interview rooms, scheduling the panel meetings
Provided Scribing services
Helped the Panel to design effective interview questions
Supported the panel with “unconscious bias awareness”
Assisted the Department with reporting

Container Exchange Recruiting a Communications Manager

Fri, 16 May 2025 13:17:48 GMT

Container Exchange (COEX) is a not-for-profit organisation bringing the Containers for Change scheme to Queensland. As part of promoting a sustainable future, the organisation supports return and partial refund of eligible drink containers. To date, the Containers for Change program has successfully diverted an incredible 3 billion bottles from landfill!

With a mission to reduce waste, encourage recycling, and support local charities and community groups, Container Exchange is committed to positive development. That’s why we were thrilled to help the organisation find the right Communications Manager to facilitate ongoing education and engagement campaigns.

We Needed a Candidate Who...

Our Challenges Included...

About Container Exchange

15+ years marketing & communications experience

experience independently delivering end-to-end campaigns

tertiary degree in marketing, communications, or a similar field

Overcoming Challenges

We knew we’d have some challenges to overcome before we could find the diamonds we were searching for.

The role on offer was a part-time 12-month fixed-term contract with a requirement for flexibility if the workload increased over time.

In a competitive labour market, we had to ensure that our recruitment strategy helped Container Exchange stand out from the crowd.

Support at Every Stage

The Recruitment Process

Kingston Human Capital worked with the Container Exchange corporate team to identify the organisation’s hiring goals and requirements.
We developed a comprehensive understanding of the organisation, as well as the Containers for Change scheme.
Using our expansive network, we searched locally and interstate to find a candidate who could demonstrate large-scale communications experience.
Our talent acquisition strategy generated interest fast. We received applications from 96 skilled and qualified candidates.
Container Exchange trusted us to take control of the hiring process. We supported our client through applicant vetting using a proven talent recruitment methodology.
Our work didn’t stop there. We helped to facilitate effective interview processes. When we found the right candidate, we supported onboarding and commencement.

Learn more about Kingston Human Capital Recruitment Process

The Power to Succeed

Our Recruitment Result

Success! Within just two weeks, we found the perfect candidate to join the Container Exchange team!

The new recruit had extensive communications experience, having delivered end-to-end marketing campaigns across a variety of channels and initiatives. The candidate had previously worked in a council role supporting the NSW Recycle and Save initiative and displayed a strong interest in sustainability.

By choosing a candidate who not only had incredible professional experience but was also a great cultural fit for Container Exchange, we set our client up for success.

Adding Value for Our Clients

We help recruit great talent for great leaders.

This Communications Manager role needed to focus on COEX’s special projects, from building communities to engaging with a diverse audience on multiple initiatives.

We needed a candidate who had:

Discover how Kingston Human Capital are different and give you a competitive advantage.

Starting Our Search

strategic approach to planning, management, & delivery

knowledge of PR, communications, & stakeholder engagement

a commitment to sustainability in Queensland and across Australia

The Kingston Mission

At Kingston Human Capital, we put our passion and drive into every recruitment campaign we work on.

For Container Exchange, we facilitated a deep collaborative partnership, helping our client to trust our expertise and our ability to deliver results.

Bringing years of industry experience and vast professional networks, we were able to manage the recruitment process from start to finish. We found strong candidates to support Container Exchange’s mission. We identified the right person to support the organisation’s next steps.

With a focus on quality and retention, we made talent acquisition and recruitment easy for our Client. We continued to build our relationship with the Container Exchange hiring team so that they know they can count on us next time they need recruitment support.

14 Questions to ask a recruiter before you start working with them

Fri, 16 May 2025 11:33:33 GMT

14 Questions to Ask a Recruiter Before You Engage Them.

In the world of recruitment, asking the right questions can make all the difference. Whether you're a hiring manager looking to fill a position or an executive seeking the best talent for your team, knowing what to ask a recruiter before you engage them will ensure a successful partnership. Here are fourteen questions you should consider asking before working with a recruiter:

What services does your recruitment agency offer? Understanding the range of services a recruitment agency offers can help you determine if they're the right fit for your needs. Look for agencies that offer a comprehensive range of services, including executive and board recruitment, HR support services, and temporary recruitment.
How will you make sure you understand my needs? A good recruitment agency will take the time to understand your unique needs and requirements. Ask about their process for getting to know your organisation and the role you're looking to fill.
What is your recruitment guarantee? It's important to know what guarantees a recruitment agency offers in terms of the quality of their candidates and their services. Ask about their policies for situations where a candidate doesn't work out. Most recruitment agencies offer a free replacement but it is important to understand the terms and conditions surrounding that free replacement.
How will you keep me up to date on my hiring process? Communication is key in the recruitment process. Ask about the agency's communication practices and how they will keep you informed throughout the hiring process. Listen closely to their answers. A mature recruitment agency will have a number of communication milestones woven into their recruitment process. A successful recruitment process is a partnership, and open communication is key. We're here to help you find the right people for your organisation. Email us now
What happens if you don't succeed in finding me the right candidates? It's important to know what happens if the recruitment process doesn't go as planned. Ask about the agency's policies and what steps they will take if they're unable to find the right candidates for your role. Listen closely for how open and honest the answer is. While a recruitment agency will rarely fail, it still important to know what will happen if they do.
Are you working on my role exclusively or are you working on a number of roles at once? Understanding the agency's workload can give you an idea of how much attention they can devote to your role. Ask about how many roles they typically work on at once and how they manage their time and resources. It is important to know if your recruiter is working solely on your role, or if your role is one of many in their pipeline. This will help you determine how much time and labour they can allocate to your job vacancy and hiring requirements.
What industries do you specialise in? While many recruitment agencies work across a broad range of industries, others may specialise in specific sectors. Knowing an agency's areas of expertise can help you find the best talent for your industry.
How do you ensure the quality of the candidates you provide? Quality is crucial when it comes to recruitment. Ask about the techniques and metrics the agency uses to vet their candidates. Only a small percentage of candidates should make it into their available talent pool.
How quickly can you fill a temporary position? If you need temporary staff, speed is often of the essence. Find out if the agency offers a 'fill on the phone' service and how they ensure they have the right staff on hand when you need them.
What is the culture like in your agency? The culture of a recruitment agency can often reflect the type of candidates they attract. Look for agencies that value bringing out the brilliance in each other and bringing joy to work. Look for recruiters who are high performers and who will happily provide references and tell you about recent hiring and recruitment projects they have delivered for their clients. If you'd like to talk about the culture we've developed contact us at Talent@kingstonhumancapital.com.au
What is your approach to stakeholder management? Understanding how a recruitment agency manages its relationships with stakeholders can give you insight into their communication and collaboration skills. Ask about their strategies for managing expectations and maintaining open lines of communication.
How will you check in with me to know if I am happy? Regular check-ins are crucial for ensuring a successful partnership. Ask about the agency's process for gathering feedback and how they will ensure your satisfaction throughout the recruitment process. If they don't have a check-in process, be worried!
What is your plan for representing our business to the talent market? A recruitment agency should have a clear strategy for how they will represent your business to potential candidates. Ask about their marketing and branding strategies and how they plan to attract the right talent for your organisation.
Is one recruiter working on my project or will a team of recruiters be working on my project? Knowing who will be working on your recruitment project can help you understand the level of attention and resources your role will receive. Ask about the agency's team structure and how they allocate their resources.

Remember, the goal of asking these questions is to ensure that the recruitment agency is a good fit for your needs. A successful recruitment process is a partnership, and open communication is key.

If you have any other questions about recruitment or hiring, don't hesitate to reach out to us at Kingston Human Capital. We're here to help you find the right people for your organisation.

Email us now

Case Study: Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy

Fri, 16 May 2025 07:58:26 GMT

Project Background

How we helped

We partnered with the selection team
Supported them in their shortlisting processes
Managed client and candidate communications
Acted as their administration support function – booking interviews, arranging interview rooms, scheduling the panel meetings
Provided Scribing services
Helped the Panel to design effective interview questions
Supported the panel with “unconscious bias awareness”
Assisted the Department with reporting

A Leader's Guide To Hybrid Teams: 7 Critical Traits You Need

Hiring Temporary Staff for Surf Life Saving Queensland

Fri, 16 May 2025 07:42:31 GMT

About Surf Life Saving Queensland

Formally established in 1930, Surf Life Saving Queensland (SLSQ) has a proud history of equipping, developing, supporting, and empowering its members to save lives across Queensland.

The central goal of Surf Life Saving Queensland has always been to have zero preventable deaths across Queensland’s waters, whether it be beaches, waterways, or lagoons.

Recruiting a high-quality temporary team member

Surf Life Saving Queensland wanted a temporary team member who would immediately gel with their existing team members. The role in question would also require a specific skill set that is rare, not only in Queensland but in Australia.

In addition, SLSQ also wanted to see a shortlist of candidates within 24 hours. This time frame left no room for error in selecting the correct candidates.

The Hiring Requirement

SLSQ contacted the team at Kingston Human Capital to quickly find a high quality, temporary team member.

Role We Hired

Temporary Staffing

Channels We Used

Facebook, LinkedIn, Indeed, Kingston Human Capital database, microsite, Seek

The Challenge

How did we overcome this challenge?

We evaluated our pool of temporary staffers to identify those who would be qualified, willing, and ready to immerse themselves in the role.

As a result, we were able to identify a number of strong candidates who would be perfectly suited to the role.

Because of our experience in temporary staffing, we were confident the temporary staff didn't only have the necessary skills to parachute into the role, but that they would also have the ability to hit the ground running and gel with the existing team.

The Process

Experience in delivering swift outcomes

Kingston Human Capital liaised with the client to fully understand the challenges that any future client would have to overcome. We then used our network of temporary staff to find the best applicants available, presenting the shortlist to the client within 24 hours of receiving the brief, along with advice and insight into the personality of those shortlisted.

The team then worked together to speak to our network of temporary staff, evaluating who would be the best fit and who would match the client's availability requirements.
We liaised with Surf Life Saving Queensland to take a detailed briefing and understand the nuances and the challenges of the temporary assignment.
We presented the shortlist to the client.
Provided advice and insight into the personality of each member in our temporary staff pool.
Supported the client during the interview process.
Arranged the onboarding and commencement of the new team member.

Learn more about Kingston Human Capital Recruitment Process

The Result

Successful temporary candidate commenced the following week

We were able to deliver the shortlist of candidates to Surf Life Saving Queensland. Not only did we build an excellent shortlist in 24 hours, but we also got our client interviewing within 48 hours. As a result, the successful temporary candidate commenced their role the following week. We were able to do this because we are an experienced team and know how to work well together to deliver a client's desired outcome.

What did Surf Life Saving Queensland value most about Kingston Human Capital's Recruitment Services?

The client valued high-quality recommendations over high-quantity recommendations. With this in mind, the client wanted a solution delivered in a timely fashion and to a high standard.

During this project, we demonstrated that we have fantastic experience temporary staffing solutions, as well as a well-screened and talented pool of temporary candidates ready to take on a role.

We help recruit great temporary staff

Discover how Kingston Human Capital are different and give you a competitive advantage.

Meet Angela Ng

Meet Angela Ng, the extraordinary brains managing the delivery of recruitment services in accounting, finance, procurement and supply chain at Kingston Human Capital.

Angela has a proven track record delivering exceptional service and outcomes to candidates and clients in a very competitive market. Her ability to match the right talent to each role is demonstrated through her long-term recruitment solutions and strong and sustainable relationships across both the public and commercial sector.

How Kingston Human Capital helped SLSQ find the right candidate?

Hiring A Temporary Finance Officer for The Department of Transport and Main Roads

Thu, 15 May 2025 12:54:59 GMT

The Department of Transport and Main Roads approached Kingston Human Capital to ask for help in finding a temporary Senior Finance Officer.

The Department of Transport and Main Roads needed an experienced and driven financial accountant to join their team to help deliver the annual statements. The individual would be joining at a hectic period, so we had to locate a candidate who could hit the ground running, gel with the team, and add instant value.

Recruiting an experienced candidate in short order

How did we overcome this challenge?

About The Department Of Transport and Main Roads

The Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) is one of the most critical government bodies in the Queensland state government. They are responsible for ensuring Queenslanders can travel across the Sunshine State safely, effectively, and efficiently.

The Hiring Requirement

The Department approached Kingston Human Capital to hire a Temporary Finance Officer.

Channels We Used

Facebook, LinkedIn, Seek, Kingston Human Capital Database and Network, Search Algorithms

Role We Hired

Temporary Finance Officer

The Challenge

As the Department of Transport and Main Roads needed a fast turnaround, our entire sourcing team worked in unison to find the perfect person for the role. The number of team members we were able to allocate to this role ensured we evaluated a high number of candidates, giving us more chance of finding that perfect person.

For this role, we were able to tap into our pool of incredibly talented temporary staff to fill the vacant position within the Department of Transport and Main Roads.

The Process

Agile teamwork delivering a swift outcome

Kingston Human Capital liaised with the client to fully understand the challenges that any future client would have to overcome. We then used our network of temporary staff to find the best applicants available, presenting the shortlist to the client within 48 hours of receiving the brief, along with advice and insight into the personality of those shortlisted.

How Kingston Human Capital helped Department of Transport and Main Roads find the right candidate?

We liaised with the client to take a detailed briefing and understand the nuances and the challenges of the temporary assignment.
The team then worked together to speak to our network of temporary staff, evaluating who would be the best fit and who would match the client's availability requirements.
After an in-depth search a shortlist of candidates was presented to the client.
Provided advice and insight into the personality of each of our talented temporary workers.
Within 48 hour of receiving the brief, we were able to submit our recommendations to the Department of Transport and Main Roads.

Learn more about Kingston Human Capital Recruitment Process

The Result

Shortlisted candidates submitted 48 hours from the brief

Due to our fast and agile teamwork, we delivered an excellent outcome for the Department of Transport and Main Roads. Overall, it took Kingston Human Capital 48 hours to submit our recommendations for the role.

What did the Department of Transport and Main Roads value most about Kingston Human Capital's recruitment services?

The Department of Transport and Main Roads valued a recruitment process conducted as quickly as possible and to the highest standard.

We help recruit great temporary staff

The challenge was finding an experienced candidate who was ready and willing to start as soon as possible. In the past, the Department of Transport and Main Roads found that candidates recommended by other recruitment firms did not possess the right level of experience in Financial Statement preparation

Additionally, the Department of Transport and Main Roads also required this role to be filled as soon as possible. This time constraint meant that we had to work around the clock to find the ideal candidate.

Discover how Kingston Human Capital are different and give you a competitive advantage.

Meet Gerard Kerr

Gerard Kerr is Co-Founder and General Manager of Search and Selection at Kingston Human Capital.

With more than 20 years’ experience in recruitment, Gerard has deep networks and extensive expertise managing complex search and selection projects across a range of sectors including local state and federal government, statutory authorities, government-owned corporations and ASX-listed companies.

Frequently Asked Questions - Working with Recruitment Agencies

Thu, 15 May 2025 07:22:55 GMT

Got Questions? We've Got Answers About Working with Recruitment Agencies

What services does a recruitment agency offer? Recruitment agencies offer a range of services to help businesses find the right talent. These services include sourcing and screening candidates, conducting interviews, coordinating the hiring process, and providing HR support. They also offer specialised services such as executive search and temporary staffing.
How does a recruitment agency ensure the quality of candidates? Recruitment agencies use a variety of methods to ensure the quality of candidates. These include thorough screening processes, skills assessments, and reference checks. They also use their industry knowledge and expertise to identify candidates who are not only qualified but also a good fit for the company culture.
How quickly can a recruitment agency fill a temporary position? The speed at which a recruitment agency can fill a temporary position depends on various factors, including the complexity of the role and the availability of suitable candidates. However, agencies often have a pool of pre-screened candidates ready to start at short notice, enabling them to fill positions quickly.
What is the process of executive and board recruitment? Executive and board recruitment is a specialised process that involves identifying, attracting, and securing individuals for high-level positions. This process often involves a combination of networking, headhunting, and advertising, as well as thorough screening and assessment processes.
What industries does a recruitment agency specialise in? Recruitment agencies can specialise in a range of industries, from technology and finance to healthcare and education. They use their industry knowledge and networks to find the best talent for each specific sector.
How does a recruitment agency handle HR support services? Recruitment agencies can provide a range of HR support services, from advising on HR strategy and policies to handling administrative tasks such as payroll and benefits administration. They can also provide support with performance management, employee relations, and legal compliance.
What is the role of a recruitment agency in temporary recruitment? In temporary recruitment, agencies help businesses find short-term staff to cover for absences, cope with increased demand, or complete specific projects. They handle the entire process, from identifying suitable candidates to managing contracts and payroll.
How does a recruitment agency maintain a balance between being client-focused and scaling up? Recruitment agencies like us maintain this balance by focusing on delivering high-quality service to each client, rather than simply trying to increase their client base. This often involves setting limits on the number of clients we work with, to ensure we can provide each one with the attention and support they need.
What is the culture like in a recruitment agency? The culture in a recruitment agency can vary, but it often involves a focus on teamwork, performance, and client service. Many agencies also place a high value on integrity, transparency, and respect. We constantly work on our culture.
How does a recruitment agency handle a difficult hiring decision? Recruitment agencies can provide valuable support in difficult hiring decisions, by providing objective assessments of candidates, facilitating decision-making discussions, and offering evidence-based expert advice.
What is the experience of a recruitment agency with creating and managing a hiring budget? Recruitment agencies often have extensive experience in creating and managing hiring budgets. They can help businesses forecast their recruitment needs, calculate the costs of different hiring strategies, and track spending against budget.
How does a recruitment agency handle senior management roles? Recruitment agencies handle senior management roles by conducting a thorough search and selection process, often involving headhunting, extensive screening, and in-depth interviews. They also provide support with contract negotiations and onboarding.
What are the common pain points in recruitment and hiring? Common pain points in recruitment include finding qualified candidates, managing the time and cost of the recruitment process, ensuring a good fit between the candidate and the company culture, and dealing with the uncertainty and risk involved in hiring decisions.
How does a recruitment agency ensure cost-effectiveness in the recruitment and hiring process? Recruitment agencies can help ensure cost-effectiveness in the recruitment process by streamlining the process, reducing the time to hire, and improving the quality of hires, which can reduce turnover and associated costs.
How does a recruitment agency handle stakeholder expectations in a hiring process? Recruitment agencies handle stakeholder expectations by communicating clearly and regularly, managing expectations about the recruitment process and timeline, and delivering on their promises.
What is the recruitment and selection process in a recruitment agency? The recruitment and selection process in a recruitment agency typically involves job analysis, sourcing candidates, screening and assessing candidates, conducting interviews, making the job offer, and onboarding the new hire.
How does a recruitment agency find the right cultural fit? Recruitment agencies find the right cultural fit by understanding the company's culture and values, and assessing candidates not just on their skills and experience, but also on their values, attitudes, and compatibility with the company culture.
How does a recruitment agency handle a 'fill on the phone' temporary recruitment service? In a 'fill on the phone' service, a recruitment agency aims to fill a temporary position as quickly as possible, often by drawing on a pool of pre-screened candidates who are ready to start work at short notice.
How does a recruitment agency handle Retained HR Services? In Retained HR Services, a recruitment agency provides ongoing HR support for a fixed fee. This can include a range of services, from advice on HR strategy and compliance to handling administrative tasks.
How does a recruitment agency handle the expectations of hiring managers, candidates, and other stakeholders? Recruitment agencies manage expectations by communicating clearly and regularly about the recruitment process, the roles and responsibilities of each party, and the likely timeline and outcomes.
How does a recruitment agency handle the recruitment process to remain cost-effective and aligned with the company's financial goals? Recruitment agencies can help ensure cost-effectiveness by streamlining the recruitment process, reducing time-to-hire, and improving the quality of hires. They can also provide advice on salary benchmarking and negotiation to ensure competitiveness while staying within budget.

We hope this FAQ list has provided you with valuable insights into how a recruitment agency like Kingston Human Capital operates and the benefits we can bring to your organisation. Our commitment is to deliver exceptional service, high-quality candidates, and effective HR solutions that align with your unique needs and goals.

If you have any more questions or if you're ready to experience the difference that a dedicated, client-focused recruitment agency can make, we invite you to get in touch with us. Let's start a conversation about how we can help your organisation attract, hire, and retain the best talent in the industry.

Email us now

Recruiting an Outstanding Human Resources Lead for Cooper Fluid Systems

Wed, 14 May 2025 13:46:38 GMT

Cooper Fluid Systems has a proud history, not only of high-quality work and results but also of professional customer service. The team at Cooper Fluid Systems comprises highly experienced project managers, engineers, operations managers, and workshop staff; all of whom are dedicated to providing the best possible service for customers.

Cooper Fluid Systems contacted Kingston Human Capital to find the perfect Human Resources Lead.

Finding an experienced executive to take Cooper Fluid Systems forward

How did we overcome this challenge?

About Cooper Fluid Systems

The Hiring Requirement

Kingston Human Capital was appointed by Cooper Fluid Systems to find the perfect Human Resources Lead.

Channels We Used

Facebook, LinkedIn, Indeed, Kingston Human Capital database, microsite, Seek.

Roles We Hired

Human Resources Lead

The Challenge

To overcome this challenge, Kingston Human Capital immersed ourselves in the Cooper Fluid Systems work culture. We visited the site, met the leadership team, and discussed the company's executive plan to understand the kind of candidate we'd need to hire to take the company forward.

As a result, we gained a deep understanding of Cooper Fluid Systems’ needs and work culture, allowing us to alter our framework to find the perfect candidates, not just for the company at the time, but also for the company's future.

The Process

Combining traditional and contemporary techniques to hire the right executive

The Result

A comprehensive shortlist in three weeks

After three weeks of searching and over 52 candidates screened, we presented a shortlist of four, highly skilled candidates to Cooper Fluid Systems.

Cooper Fluid Systems was thrilled with the shortlist we presented and, not only was the successful candidate outstanding, but they also helped the business deliver on their strategic goals.

We help recruit great executive talent

Cooper Fluid Systems tasked Kingston Human Capital with finding the right Human Resources Lead after they felt other recruitment firms had rushed the process in the past.

Cooper Fluid Systems felt as though other recruitment firms hadn't fully understood both the role and the company.

Discover how Kingston Human Capital are different and give you a competitive advantage.

Founded in 1972, Cooper Fluid Systems specialise in the design, manufacture, installation, supply and repair of hydraulic, lubrication, refuelling, fluid dispensing, fire suppression, and high force tooling systems and components.

We worked hard to fully understand the role, factoring in cultural, behavioural and unspoken expectations. We created a personalised search plan that would reach the right candidate markets.
We initiated our search across multiple channels spanning both passive and active candidate pools.
We implemented core market updates and reporting mechanisms to inform candidates in the market.
We launched face-to-face briefings, telephone screening of candidates, behavioural interviews, qualification checking and created a digital candidate shortlisting presentation.
Complete recruitment services were completed within 7 business days from the time of brief to shortlist delivery and interview.
The search plan led to a great outcome - our client hired a fantasting candidate who remains with Cooper Fluid Systems today.

Learn more about Kingston Human Capital Recruitment Process

Using contemporary and traditional techniques, Kingston Human Capital worked closely with the executives at Cooper Fluid Systems to find the right candidate who could take the company forward and reach its strategic goals.

How Kingston Human Capital helped Cooper Fluid Systems find the right candidate?

What did Cooper Fluid Systems value most about Kingston Human Capital's recruitment services?

After disappointing experiences with other recruitment firms, Cooper Fluid Systems valued a recruitment process that would be completed on the first attempt and to the highest possible standard with a high-quality outcome.

With Kingston Human Capital, this is exactly what they received.

Meet Gerard Kerr

Gerard Kerr is Co-Founder and General Manager of Search and Selection at Kingston Human Capital.

Frequently Asked Questions - Our Team Answer Your Questions.

Wed, 14 May 2025 10:15:11 GMT

Got Questions? We've Got Answers - Here are the latest FAQ's about Kingston Human Capital

Q1: What services does Kingston Human Capital offer?

At Kingston Human Capital, we offer a comprehensive range of services tailored to meet your unique needs. Our services include executive and board recruitment, HR support services, temporary recruitment, and more. We're committed to helping you find and develop game-changing talent for your organisation.

Q2: What industries do you specialise in?

We work with a broad range of industries, leveraging our extensive experience and industry knowledge to deliver exceptional results. Whether you're in the technology sector, finance, healthcare, or any other industry, we're equipped to help you find the right talent.

Q3: How do you ensure the quality of the candidates you provide?

We use a variety of technical evaluation techniques and qualifying metrics to vet our candidates. Only a small percentage of candidates make it into our available talent pool. We're committed to providing you with high-quality candidates who are not only skilled but also a good fit for your organisation's culture and values.

Q4: How quickly can you fill a temporary position?

We understand that when you need temporary staff, you often need them quickly. That's why we aim to provide a 'fill on the phone' temporary recruitment service. We're constantly attracting and evaluating temporary candidates to ensure we have the right staff on hand when you need them.

Q5: What are your Retained HR Services?

Our Retained HR Services is a tool for organisations that don't have an in-house Human Resources Officer. For a small monthly fee, you gain access to an HR expert who can provide support, guidance, risk management, and strategy. Whether you need a second set of eyes on a contract, a sounding board for a talent strategy, or guidance on HR issues, we're here to help.

Q6: How do you maintain the balance between being a nimble, client-focused boutique business and scaling up to compete with larger recruitment agencies?

We maintain this balance by limiting the number of clients we work with. This ensures we always have the time and resources to deliver for our clients. We're committed to providing a high level of service, and we're proud to have a list of clients who are waiting to work with us.

Q7: What is the culture like at Kingston Human Capital?

At Kingston Human Capital, we're focused on bringing out the brilliance in each other and bringing joy to work. We believe in having hard conversations (nicely) when necessary and living our culture and values daily. We're committed to creating a great place to work and to hiring high performers who are good humans.

Q8: I have a question that hasn't been answered here. How can I get in touch?

If you have a question that hasn't been answered here, please don't hesitate to contact us. We're here to answer your questions and help you find the right people for your organisation. Email us now

Becoming Kingston: Our Journey So Far as a Boutique Recruitment Agency

Tue, 13 May 2025 06:43:22 GMT

Talent acquisition and recruitment are always changing, and when it comes to finding talent, organisations must keep up with the pace.

At Kingston Human Capital, we help hiring managers and workplace leaders find diamonds, the perfect talent solutions, by searching where no other recruitment agency thinks to look.

With more than 50 years’ cumulative experience , we’re a close-knit team of recruitment professionals who specialise in finding outstanding talent. We focus on supporting our clients to build teams of fire-breathing A-players.

Guided by our commitment to excellence without arrogance, we’re proud to be making waves as a market-leading, fearless team of career creators, team builders, recruitment consultants, and talent acquisition specialists.

Here’s a little insight into our story so far.

The start of our story

Over eight years ago, Kingston Human Capital began with a simple idea. Our founder and CEO, Elizabeth Kingston, wanted to create a company that created solutions driven by people.

Elizabeth, after working for a decade with international recruitment agencies, realised that people can make or break an organisation, no matter the industry, no matter the size.

She had a mission to help the leaders of both private and government industries by providing premium talent solutions that they could not get anywhere else.

So she created Kingston Human Capital, a talent acquisition agency focused on the most important asset: people. Kingston was grounded by a modern culture that valued work-life integration while providing the best possible results for clients and candidates and still remaining humble. Not afraid to have honest conversations, Elizabeth and her team believed that clarity was kindness.

We prioritised offering government and corporate organisations an easier way to discover incredible professional talent. At first, we stayed small, but soon, Kingston grew into a creature of its own. We began to receive recognition for our unique recruitment strategies and relationship-building skills. We delivered consistently excellent results for our clients, helping them build outstanding workplaces that were the envy of their industries.

Developing long-term partnerships, we showed our clients how deeply we cared about the value we could provide, connecting people with purpose. Before long, we began to refine our methodology and expand our team, scaling from a one-person operation to a humble team of eleven value-driven talent acquisition and recruitment consulting specialists. With a collaborative mission, we developed a strong talent community network and an advanced understanding of market trends.

Together, we recruit with a purpose.

What sets us apart

Kingston’s success can be attributed to our innovative approach to talent acquisition, founded on the premise that extraordinary candidates belong with extraordinary organisations.

Our business relies on respect, honesty, and hard work. We aim to find a win-win in every agreement, and we always deliver what we promise. We do our very best to deliver the highest-quality work for our clients and candidates.

We help our candidates build the careers of their dreams, matching roles with their ambition, personality, experience, and character. We do our very best to deliver the highest-quality work for our clients, helping them create teams that can take their organisations to new heights.

At Kingston, our growth is motivated not only by our own goals but by what matters most to our clients.

Diversity in our team

Kingston Human Capital remains a Queensland-owned small business. Our female-led consulting firm is home to a diverse team of passionate recruitment consultants from all walks of life.

Our diversity allows us to reach people across the country, building relationships and connecting candidates and organisations with the right opportunities.

Our recruitment philosophy

As our world faces a challenging decade ahead, we strive to do better for the people we engage with, helping other companies work towards positive change.

Our philosophy is simple. We find incredible talent for incredible roles at incredible organisations. We’ll go to the ends of the earth to achieve that goal.

Commitment to growth

At Kingston, we continue to build a contemporary workforce, offering inclusive environments and a better work-life balance that focuses on the essence of well-being, productivity, and work-life engagement.

We are committed to scaling our consultancy, customising our offers to support the needs of every team member who supports our professional journey.

What’s next for Kingston?

The Kingston Human Capital story is far from over. We have big plans for our company’s evolution as we grow and improve over the course of the next five years.

By building our brand presence, working with mutually-aligned value-match partner businesses, and helping candidates build the careers of their dreams, we know that we can contribute to creating a brighter global future.

Want to know more about how you can be a part of our next chapter? Contact Kingston Human Capital today.

Recruiting the next Executive Director for the Department of Environment and Science

Tue, 13 May 2025 04:39:44 GMT

Queensland boasts one of the most diverse and beautiful environments in the world. Without even counting the Great Barrier Reef and its cultural and economic significance to Queensland and Australia, over 64 million visitors flock to Queensland's national parks, forests, and arts and cultural facilities every year. The Department of Environment and Science (DES) exists to protect Queensland's environment so that future generations can enjoy its beauty.

Finding the right executive with a rare skill set

How did we overcome this challenge?

About The Department of Environment and Science

The Hiring Requirement

Kingston Human Capital was appointed by the Department to recruit for the role of Executive Director.

Channels We Used

YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook, microsite, Science Monthly, Australian Science Network.

Roles We Hired

Executive Director, Science Delivery and Knowledge, DES

The Challenge

As the talent pool was so small and the necessary qualifications and experience particularly rare, it was our experience in talent mapping, combined with our research and algorithmic search capabilities, that truly made the difference on this project. Additionally, we also completed a comprehensive needs-analysis with not just a few but all stakeholders involved.

As a high number of potential candidates were based interstate, Kingston Human Capital developed a 'Living in Brisbane' report to help these candidates assess life in Brisbane. Examples of what was featured in this report were economic data, local school information, and house prices.

The Process

Traditional and contemporary recruitment techniques combined to give the DES the right executive

We established a social media attraction campaign and developed a highly effective recruitment video campaign to communicate the DES' requirements and engage passive talent.
We formed a needs-analysis for the role and met with the internal candidates to discuss the project and its timelines.
We activated our referral networks and deployed our executive search and algorithmic search teams who searched both nationally and internationally.
We completed relevant reporting, presented the candidate shortlist to the panel, and facilitated interviews while acting as scribe.
We supported the panel with pre-interview diversity awareness and unconscious bias training, designed a comprehensive set of interview questions and hosted the interview panel debrief and discussion.
Supported the client to extend the offer to the successful executive and completed Candidate Evaluations, providing feedback and coaching to those executives that were not successful.

Learn more about Kingston Human Capital Recruitment Process

The Result

The right executive hired within 6 weeks

Not only did our client make the right executive hire at the end of the executive recruitment project, but we also received feedback from both internal and external candidates who commended our customer service and the frequency of our communication.

What did the DES value most about Kingston Human Capital's recruitment services?

We help recruit great executive talent

The central challenge with the DES project came from the unique nature of their organisation. Due to the requirements of the role, the right executive would have to possess a rare and distinct skill set.

In fact, this skillset was so rare that our initial projection identified there would be fewer than 70 people in Australia with the necessary qualifications and experience.

Discover how Kingston Human Capital are different and give you a competitive advantage.

The Department of Environment and Science valued an executive with the right culture fit and the ability to deliver great outcomes. Kingston Human Capital worked tirelessly to fill this role to the requirements of the DES.

Working closely with local government, stakeholders, and communities, the DES works to achieve a better environmental, economic and social future for Queensland. To continue its vital work of protecting Queensland's beautiful, delicate environment, the team at the DES reached out to Kingston as one of their executive recruitment partners.

The DES wanted to make sure they partnered with an executive search firm that used both traditional and contemporary recruitment techniques. In addition to ‘traditional executive search’, they saw the power of video and understood how contemporary social media talent attraction campaigns would benefit their recruitment project.

Kingston Human Capital approached the recruitment project using both traditional and contemporary techniques. To find the right talent, we created a recruitment video and use attraction campaigns to engage the right talents.

How Kingston Human Capital helped the DES find the right candidate?

Meet Gerard Kerr

Gerard Kerr is Co-Founder and General Manager of Search and Selection at Kingston Human Capital.

How to Overcome Bias in the Hiring Process: Take the Harvard Implicit Test!

Mon, 12 May 2025 14:37:05 GMT

How to Overcome Bias in the Hiring Process

When adding new staff to your team, it can be easy to let unconscious bias influence your hiring choices. Could your unconscious biases be damaging your ability to build a high-performing team?

Overcoming unconscious bias in recruitment is essential if you want to establish a strong and diverse workforce with the power to lead your company to success. By challenging your biases, you can ensure that you always choose the right people to join your team.

Not sure where to begin when it comes to identifying and overcoming recruitment bias? You’re not alone. Here’s what you need to know to tackle the issue right now.

What is unconscious bias in recruitment anyway?

Unconscious biases are social stereotypes about people that we form outside our conscious awareness. Everyone has unconscious biases stemming from our unconscious tendency to organise social worlds by categorising.

The impact of bias in hiring

Unconscious biases have a powerful impact on hiring, especially if hiring managers aren’t aware of their own biases.

They contribute to homogeneous hiring and lack of diversity. They influence your hiring decisions, you can miss out on the best candidates and fail to build a strong team.

Unfortunately, bias in recruitment can also reinforce discriminatory stereotypes. These can prevent you from developing a diverse and multicultural team. It may even contribute to the marginalisation of specific people and groups.

These detrimental impacts show how important it is to learn to overcome bias in talent acquisition. When you challenge your biases, you can make the right choices to support your company’s growth trajectory.

How to overcome recruitment bias

There are many things you can do to begin challenging recruitment bias at your workplace. Here are five steps you can take to get started.

1. Be aware of your biases - Take the Harvard Implicit Test (we're serious, take it right now?!)

The first step to overcoming unconscious bias is identifying your own biases. Take the Harvard Implicit Test and get to know what biases influence you and your decision-making processes.

By becoming aware of your biases and the ways in which they affect your hiring choices, you can start to challenge assumptions. Soon, you’ll learn to look beyond your biases, allowing you to make more informed decisions.

2. Establish a diverse hiring panel

Next, it’s important to establish a diverse hiring panel at every stage throughout your job recruitment process. A diverse hiring team represents the diversity of your workplace.

While it’s not always possible to represent everyone in your hiring panel, it is helpful to utilise the perspectives and experiences of people from a variety of groups and backgrounds. A strong hiring panel should never be homogenous. Instead, it should include a mix of people from all walks of life.

When you need to set up a hiring panel to conduct your next round of interviews, ask yourself whose voices are being championed at your company. Does your panel include people from a diverse range of ethnicities, abilities, gender identities, and cultural backgrounds?

3. Set up standardised evaluations

If you’re still concerned that bias may be influencing your resume evaluation process, it is a good idea to establish standardised evaluation systems.

By using a set of standard benchmarks and questions to assess job applicants, you can remove subjectivity from the resume evaluation process. Instead, standardised systems can help you objectively judge each application in line with a clear, comprehensive set of benchmarks.

Next time you need to recruit a new staff member, identify a few standard benchmarks before you begin to look at resumes. When a resume meets your required demands, put it in the ‘maybe’ pile, regardless of other biases or concerns that may apply. This can help you ensure you’re giving all applicants an equal chance.

4. Use a skills test or sample process

Finally, if standardised evaluation methods aren’t enough to help you navigate bias-free hiring, you can develop a skills test or sample process to assess applicant suitability.

First, you’ll need to identify a list of candidates who may be suitable for a role at your company based on resume details and selection criteria. Once you’ve done this, a skills test or sample can help you ensure they have what it takes to succeed as part of your professional team.

When setting up a skills test or sample requirement, ensure that the test you use is directly related to the skills required for the role you’re hiring. Ensure that you have a fair and consistent way of evaluating results, even if this means removing identifying details for a completely unbiased evaluation process.

Your next steps

Are you still searching for ways to overcome biases in recruitment as you seek to grow your team? Contact us today to learn more about how Kingston Human Capital can support you through the talent acquisition process!

This article is licenced under a Creative Commons Attribution NoDerivatives 4.0 International Licence.

This article is licenced under a Creative Commons Attribution NoDerivatives 4.0 International Licence, which permits use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source and provide a link to the Creative Commons licence. If you make any changes to the work, you are not permitted to distribute the modified material. The images or other third-party material in this article are included under the Creative Commons licence unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material.

New Title

Recruiting a High Performing Executive for Container Exchange

Mon, 12 May 2025 07:47:02 GMT

Established in 2018, Container Exchange (COEX) is a not-for-profit organisation running Queensland’s Containers for Change Scheme, ensuring that over 3 billion drink bottles don't end up as landfill.

Matching a high-performing executive with a high-performing organisation

How did we overcome this challenge?

About Container Exchange

The Hiring Requirement

COEX tasked Kingston Human Capital with recruiting their General Manager of Audit and Risk

Channels We Used

Facebook, LinkedIn, Seek, Kingston Human Capital Database, Search Algorithms, CIA and Risk Associations

Roles We Hired

General Manager, Audit and Risk

The Challenge

We used our diagnostic needs-analysis to gain a thorough understanding of the role, its deliverables, and the team culture at COEX.

Our team at Kingston Human Capital also brainstormed the current state of the role, the future state of the position, and what the accountabilities would look like across a three- to five-year horizon.

As the requirements for this role were very niche, we had to develop a customised search strategy to find the perfect candidate. This search strategy required a fair amount of time investment, as well as extensive due diligence to find the correct individual.

Container Exchange is very strategic when it comes to finding new talent, Kingston Human Capital has worked closely with COEX on an exclusive basis. This allowed our team to dedicate 100% of our time, energy, resources, and expertise to find the perfect person for the job.

The Process

Combining traditional and contemporary techniques to hire the right executive

We did a deep dive needs-analysis to understand the role and diagnose what type of leadership style the COEX team needed, then created a three to five-year skills roadmap to identify challenges the new leader would need to undertake to be an ideal future fit.
We developed a specialised search strategy and developed a multi-channel attraction strategy that would appeal to passive and active talent.
We utilised our expertise in networking and referrals to develop a shortlist of strong candidates for the CEO.
We provided our advise in candidate evaluation and behavioural interviews alongside designing a high-impact interview format. We acted as a concierge for three rounds of interviews.
Supported the client by facilitating the discussion as to who was the most value-adding candidate. We supported COEX in extending the offer to the successful candidate.
Arranged for the onboarding, ongoing monitoring and debriefing services with the CEO. We did a 12-month follow-up with COEX and the successful candidate.

Learn more about Kingston Human Capital Recruitment Process

The Result

Incredibly successful recruitment drive with the candidate hired in 5 weeks

The recruitment drive was an incredibly successful campaign; we received applications from both national and international candidates.

Using our specialised talent pools, as well as our risk and audit network, we were able to engage passive and active candidates. We focused on finding not only the right person for the role right now but the right person for the organisation in its future state; leading us to a shortlist of four incredible candidates, one of whom was selected as the best fit.

What did Container Exchange value most about Kingston Human Capital's Recruitment Services?

We help recruit great executive talent

Container Exchange is an incredibly high-performing organisation, packed full of first-class professionals, each one dedicated to making a real difference in the world.

When the CEO reached out and asked for our help to recruit a General Manager of Risk we knew right away that the biggest challenge was to find someone who would complement the high-performance team culture at COEX, while also holding the necessary qualifications and experience in risk.

In addition to the essential skills and qualifications, the candidate would have to have highly developed soft skills and advanced emotional intelligence and be an all-around star player.

Meet Gerard Kerr

Gerard Kerr is Co-Founder and General Manager of Search and Selection at Kingston Human Capital.

Kingston Human Capital enjoys helping businesses find incredible and rare talent.

As this was a highly specialised role, Kingston Human Capital approached the recruitment process using both traditional and contemporary techniques.

To find the right talent, we executed a full search and selection process, with the inclusion of multi-channel attraction. We also developed a three- to five-year roadmap, which meant we were able to ensure candidates aligned with the future accountabilities of the role.

How Kingston Human Capital helped Container Exchange find the right candidate?

Discover how Kingston Human Capital are different and give you a competitive advantage.

Recruiting Screen Queensland's Chief Executive Officer

Sun, 11 May 2025 07:34:25 GMT

About Screen Queensland

Screen Queensland is a government-owned company working to make Queensland a global leader for the film and TV industry.

As a result of Screen Queensland, the Sunshine State was host to some of the biggest movies of the past decade, including Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, Kong: Skull Island, and Thor: Ragnarok.

In addition to attracting interstate and international productions to Queensland, the company also fosters homegrown talent in Queensland, investing in the diverse, entertaining, and ground-breaking talent in Queensland; creating jobs, stimulating the economy and upskilling our local industry.

Screen Queensland has an ambitious plan for the screen and film industry in Queensland, and Kingston Human Capital helped them find an equally ambitious CEO to steer them towards achieving their vision.

Finding an adept leader who understands the screen industry both locally and globally

Our challenge was to find an expert leader who could offer a deep understanding of the screen industry in its global and local contexts, while also improving national and international relationships.

Screen Queensland knew that they needed someone with the necessary abilities and experience to liaise with boards and state governments to develop and advance the film industry in Queensland. The required skills and experience aren't common, so our search team knew they needed to craft a strong campaign with a robust search strategy to find the perfect candidate.

The Hiring Requirement

Kingston Human Capital was appointed on an exclusive basis by Screen Queensland to recruit this key role

Role We Hired

Chief Executive Officer

Channels We Used

Arts Hub, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Seek, Kingston Human Capital Database, traditional search and selection and our Search Algorithm.

The Challenge

How did we overcome this challenge?

We overcame this challenge by building a strong candidate attraction strategy, leveraging Screen Queensland's incredibly worthy mission in the process.

One of the most critical elements of this recruitment campaign was to express Screen Queensland’s fantastic culture by creating a compelling and authentic narrative. This strategy ensured we were bringing suitable candidates to the table. Additionally, we also reached out to our referral partners in the industry to locate the best-of-the-best.

As a highly sought after executive appointment within Queensland, it would be essential to take the time, diligence and care to assess every candidate. Therefore, we also had to develop a robust screening process to ensure only those most suitable were considered.

The Process

Leveraging digital channels and media with traditional recruitment

Screen Queensland has an incredible work culture and a high-performing team. It would've been impossible to distil these factors and highlight the needs of Screen Queensland into a single job advertisement.

Therefore, we augmented our traditional recruitment activities with a recruitment video.

To further extend campaign reach, we promoted this content across all our digital channels. Our experts also developed a customised talent-skills-evaluation and applied psychometric testing to identify the right person and whether they'd be the right fit for the role.

We conducted a 'needs-analysis' to understand the role and Screen Queensland's requirements
We developed a multi-channel attraction strategy that would appeal to passive and active talent, which included a recruitment video campaign
We utilised our expertise in networking and referrals and candidate evaluation interviews and psychometric testing
We presented a candidate shortlist to the board, designed a high-impact interview strategy and facilitated discussion on who was the most value-adding candidate
We supported Screen Queensland to extend the offer and develop an onboarding plan
We conducted a 12-month follow-up with Screen Queensland and the successful candidate

Learn more about Kingston Human Capital Recruitment Process

The Result

Successful appointment of a world-class Chief Executive Officer

At Kingston Human Capital, we know that excellent executive search practices never go out of style. Using our expert approach, we were able to facilitate the successful appointment of a world-class CEO.

We know that combining contemporary recruitment methods with traditional recruitment strategies ensures we can get the best results for our clients — extending reach and meeting diversity goals. The development of a compelling recruitment video meant we were able to attract talented individuals suited to the mission and great culture of Screen Queensland.

What did Screen Queensland value most about Kingston Human Capital's Recruitment Services?

Screen Queensland valued a well-designed recruitment strategy that produced a diverse shortlist. Kingston Human Capital was able to design a well-balanced recruitment process; attracting high-calibre talent and delivering on measurable outcomes.

We help recruit great executive talent

Discover how Kingston Human Capital are different and give you a competitive advantage.

Meet Gerard Kerr

Gerard Kerr is Co-Founder and General Manager of Search and Selection at Kingston Human Capital.

How Kingston Human Capital helped Screen Queensland find the right candidate?

Overcoming Hiring Challenges In a Talent Short Market

Sun, 11 May 2025 06:32:58 GMT

It’s no secret that hiring is hard right now. Today’s labour market is making it more difficult than ever for hiring managers to find and keep great staff. So what should you do if you just can’t find your next team member?

Fortunately, current hiring challenges don’t have to mean the end of effective talent planning. With the right skills, knowledge, and strategic approaches, you can overcome hiring hardship and return to quality talent acquisition.

Wondering what you can do to get your hiring process back on track? You’ve come to the right place. This is the Kingston Human Capital guide to rising above hiring stress!

What’s going on in recruitment?

Increasingly, hiring managers are reporting that job seekers are not accepting employment offers.

Instead, applicants are seeking alternative roles, often with competitor companies.

Recent shifts in the labour market have opened up new opportunities across many industries. As unemployment rates drop, it becomes more difficult for hiring managers to find the staff they need.

Today’s job market belongs to jobseekers, often forcing hiring managers into competition with one another.

What stands in your way?

When it comes to acquiring new talent for your company, there are several things that could be standing in your way.

Job Seekers often complain that hiring processes just don’t meet their needs or expectations in a way that motivates them to sign a contract. When hiring managers don’t impress at the interview stage, would-be employees explore their other options.

When hiring staff for your company, it’s important to consider how you communicate what your business can offer its employees.

Simply offering a job is no longer enough to turn candidates into team members. To truly impress new talent, you need to offer them a better reason to choose you.

What can hiring managers do?

The good news is that many of the elements holding you back from effective talent recruitment are within your control. Here’s what you can do to improve your chances and start onboarding new employees.

Improve job advertising

Before you can find great staff, you’ll need to create a great advertisement!

When the job market is slow, it can be easy to overlook the power of good communication. When the market is saturated, effective copywriting could help you earn a skilled cohort of applicants.

Always be as clear as possible about your company and its values. Offer a detailed position description and selection criteria for new recruits, and give job seekers a sense of what value your business can offer them, at work and beyond.

Find out what matters most,

Next, find out what matters to your candidate.

Understanding what’s important to applicants will optimise your recruitment outcomes. As you develop a stronger understanding of the needs and wants of your ideal candidate, you can adjust your communications to address the things that are most important to them.

The easiest way to find out what your best candidates want is by asking them!

As part of your interview process, add these two powerful questions to the start of your interview and watch your hiring outcomes skyrocket

��“When it comes to making your next move – what is important to you?

��“Why are those things most important to you?”

As you communicate with candidates throughout the hiring process, take note of recurring themes, and look out for patterns.

Some staff needs may vary from person to person, but others might be a universal offering you can provide to improve hiring value.

Provide value

When hiring, it’s always important to show candidates what value you can offer.

There are many ways your company can serve its employees. You might provide learning opportunities, great compensation rates, and a range of supplementary benefits. Your business might be the chance your employees need to make an industry impact.

As part of your hiring process, communicate your employee value proposition (EVP) clearly and succinctly, but don’t stop there. It is important to go beyond the generalist nature of your EVP and address the things that matter most to your candidate from their individual perspective.

Demonstrate your culture

A positive corporate culture is always important, especially at the recruitment stage. Staff spend a significant portion of their lives at work. This makes it all the more important for workplaces to have good cultures.

By demonstrating that you have a good culture, you can provide candidates with a reason to join you.

During the hiring process, steer clear of making generalist statements like “we have a great culture” and instead, provide examples of that culture. The more real life examples you can provide, the better.

Be willing to adapt

Finally, willingness to adapt is essential for hiring managers hoping to make the most of opportunities.

As the labour market continues to change gears, new developments are always on the way. Adapting to quickly changing hiring environments can allow you to seek great talent whenever you need to.

When hiring a new staff member, approach every interview with an open mind.

Remember to ask candidates what is most important to them and understand their ‘why’. With the right approach, you can help the best candidates see your company’s value.

This allows you to build a productive, cohesive and talented professional team.

Case Study: Recruiting Tom

Tom is a highly-skilled candidate. On Monday, he attends an interview with the hiring manager at Jeff’s Office Supplies. The hiring manager runs a standard interview, asking Tom basic questions about the job on offer. Then the hiring manager promotes the job to Tom by discussing the organisation’s Employer Value Proposition (EVP), which includes a range of benefits like discounted gym

memberships, and 10% off health insurance.

On Tuesday, Tom has another interview, this time with the hiring manager at Kate’s Office Supplies. This hiring manager avoids discussing the company EVP at the start of the interview. Instead, the hiring manager asks what’s important to Tom and why.

Adding those two questions to the interview help the hiring manager at Kate’s Office Supplies find out that Tom needs to pick up his children from childcare by 3:30 pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays in order to avoid extra fees. He wants to know if he can start work at 7:30 am on these days, allowing him to finish at 2:30 pm and beat the traffic to pick up the children on time.

At Jeff’s Office Supplies, the hiring manager knows nothing about Tom’s needs and doesn’t realise that Tom doesn’t care about a cheap gym membership. At Kate’s Office Supplies, the hiring manager knows what is important to Tom and is able to offer him the flexibility he needs to be a great employee.

When both hiring managers offer him employment, Tom recognises the company that will put his needs first. For this reason, he accepts the role at Kate’s Office Supplies.

Your Next Steps

Need help hiring talent? Find out how Kingston Human Capital can help revolutionise your recruitment process.

Recruiting Local and Interstate Talent for Cross River Rail

Sat, 10 May 2025 13:32:48 GMT

This project will allow more trains to run more often, easing pressure on our roads and keeping SEQ’s transport network moving. It will change forever how we travel, the shape of Brisbane as a city and the whole region. It was our pleasure to support the Cross River Rail Delivery Authority to attract the right talent.

Finding the right type of talent in a competitive market

How did we overcome this challenge?

About Cross River Rail

The Hiring Requirement

Kingston Human Capital was appointed on an exclusive basis Cross River Rail to recruit a number of key appointments.

Channels We Used

Facebook, LinkedIn, Seek, Indeed, KHC DataBase, KHC Search Algorithms, customised micro-site, market-mapping and Rail Network.

Roles We Hired

Precinct Lead Project Manager Economic Development Lead Program Managera

The Challenge

Kingston Human Capital was able to overcome this by utilising our nationwide market map to identify relevant individuals to whom we made direct approaches.

This was in addition to the development of a comprehensive recruitment and search process that worked to engage and attract potential candidates.

The Process

A full search and selection process with multi-channel attraction

As multiple roles needed to be filled at the same time, Kingston Human Capital approached the recruitment project using both traditional and contemporary techniques. To find the right talent, we executed a full search and selection process, with the inclusion of multi-channel attraction.

How Kingston Human Capital helped Cross River Rail find the right candidates?

The Result

4 key appointments hired within 5 weeks

Kingston Human Capital was able to find the right people for each of the four roles, in a tight timeframe, despite the challenge of talent shortages.

We were able to commit the entire search team to the recruitment of these roles, because Cross River Rail saw the commercial sense in engaging us on an exclusive basis, allowing for the evaluation of more candidates. In turn, this meant that we were able to find high-quality candidates in a short time, leading to 4 new appointments hired within 5 weeks.

We help recruit great executive talent

Cross River Rail required our help to recruit a number of critical roles, and they need it done swiftly. The greatest challenge was finding the right type of talent in a competitive market.

Due to the significant projects that hired similar functions during this time, there was a talent shortage. This meant that the search for the right candidates would need to be extended further across Queensland, interstate.

Discover how Kingston Human Capital are different and give you a competitive advantage.

What did Cross River Rail value most about Kingston Human Capital's Recruitment Services?

Cross River Rail measured value by outcomes and valued the delivery of these outcomes in a short time-frame. Kingston Human Capital worked to ensure the right people were found for each role as quickly as possible.

Cross River Rail is one of Queensland’s highest priority infrastructure projects, working to unlock a bottleneck at the core of our rail systems.

We conducted a 'needs-analysis' to understand the roles and requirements from the client.
We developed a specialised search strategy and multi-channel attraction strategy that would appeal to passive and active talent.
We leveraged our expertise in networking and referrals, searching nationwide for the right talent.
We completed candidate evaluation and psychometric-testing and presented a candidate shortlist to the CEO.
We designed a high impact interview strategy and facilitated the discussion as to who was the most value-adding candidate for each role.
We supported Cross River Rail to extend offers and develop an onboarding plan for each role.

Learn more about Kingston Human Capital Recruitment Process

Meet Gerard Kerr

Gerard Kerr is Co-Founder and General Manager of Search and Selection at Kingston Human Capital.

Oh Talent, Where Art Thou?: How to Find Staff in Unusual Places

Sat, 10 May 2025 07:58:47 GMT

New Title

Companies are facing acute hiring difficulties as businesses are recovering after the pandemic, and customer expectations roar back to life.

But because of a variety of complicated factors , it has become exceedingly difficult to both recruit and retain employees.

There is undoubtedly a labour shortage across Australia if not the world right now.

As staff becomes more situationally aware and conscious of their employment options, they tend to become more active in the job market.

From our engagements with job seekers, many are open to opportunities and/or/are willing to relocate out of the capital cities for the right lifestyle, pay or career advancement opportunities.

People have learned to adapt to working from home, wherever they want, whenever they want, and see greater value in work-life balance. We have seen organisations with inflexible work from the office culture having to settle for second best when the best candidates have had similar job duties with more suitable work-from-home arrangements.

But that doesn’t mean the right talent doesn’t exist.

Here are five ways you can hire people for your organisation:

1. Hire Internally

Internal recruitment can save you a lot of time and resources because there is no lengthy interview and onboarding method.

Internal hiring also improves the morale and retention of other employees as this demonstrates that the organisation values and develops their staff.

Compared to low-performing organisations, high-performing organisation prioritise internal recruitment as this improves culture, business efficiency, and profitability.

The potential disadvantage of internal recruitment/promotion is that it can reduce the innovation, and diversity that an external hire could bring if staff learning and development have been neglected.

2. Hire Your Customer or Supplier

More employers are hiring those who already connect with their company: their customers and/or suppliers.

The upstream or downstream stakeholders are already familiar with your company and the service/product and any improvements that can be made to both organisations as a part of the supply chain or operations.

This may imply that they will require less training after joining the organization, resulting in improved productivity/ return of investment from the hire.

3. Use a Talent CRM

Given the additional challenge of a skilled labour shortage in many professions, streamlining, and expediting the hiring process is crucial.

A CRM software (e.g Salesforce) main advantage is that it enhances the effectiveness of hiring and applicant governance, making the process faster and easier.

CRM also enables recruiters to find and easily assign applicants to open positions, requiring them to deal with fewer applicants to focus deeper on quality candidates.

The tool shortens the time to shortlist and organise interviews thus increasing acceptance rates, especially in the current job market where speed to market and offer and acceptance can and have been made during an interview.

4. Promote an Employee Referral System

Establishing an employee rewards program is an excellent way to hire qualified individuals and keep your current employees delighted.

Make use of your company's staff members as brand ambassadors. Request that they refer qualified Candidates to earn rewards.

Motivate them by providing appealing employee referral incentives – such as cash incentives, additional paid leave, gifts, or an exotic vacation package.

Don’t forget to consult your finance department on the tax implications.

5. Speak to a Talent Acquisition Expert

You can also utilize the service of a talent acquisition professional to manage your hiring. These professionals can handle complete end-to-end recruiting on your behalf.

This is not just about recruiting. Talent acquisition is the engagement in extensive strategic planning, examining an organization’s strategic objectives, workforce plans, capabilities, projected growth, operational proficiencies, maturity, and the current and future skill set requirements, and experiences that an organisation and its employees require to succeed.

A skilled talent acquisition expert employs employment branding strategies to attract quality candidates. The expert manages and keeps associations with applicants who exhibit potential. This can help improve the speed and efficiency to find a candidate to meet a job brief. They spend time understanding organisational needs, strategic direction, work culture, environment, business, and staff needs and provide up-to-date market advice. They partner with both the candidate and the organisation to embark on their development journey, whilst providing sound advice.

Suitable performance measures and analytics are intended to improve hiring decisions continually. Competition for the top candidates is fierce, and professional talent acquisition professionals can support an organisation to gain that competitive advantage.

That’s what we do at Kingston Human Capital – everyday.

Good luck and enjoy your Easter talent hunt!

Avoiding the Great Burnout: This is What You Can Do

Fri, 09 May 2025 11:11:47 GMT

Much has been recently written regarding personal burnout, but equally significant is the effect of organisational burnout .

This is something that exercise, healthy eating, good sleep and hygiene cannot address.

And to avoid the "great burnout" (which I foresee as the beginning of the end for many organisations who don’t change), this is something critical for businesses and workplaces to address.

Workplace stress is a mental health issue that affects employees in all industries. According to a Gallup study , those who experience workplace stress are 2.6 times more likely to search actively for another job.

If we approach the “Great Burnout”, we won’t just deal with even worse staff shortages. We’ll go down a road we can’t turn back from – leading to a massive collapse in our organisations.

What is organisational burnout?

While you will need to have someone in the role, you should always be aiming to improve your business with each new hire.

The World Health Organisation defines 'organisational burnout' as resulting from "chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed".

Organisational burnout refers to not a personal problem, but a systemic problem rooted in organisational structure.

It means burnout is impossible to fix by an individual without the systems around them changing.

If left untouched by businesses, I fear we quickly approach a period involving a colossal increase in mental illness, family breakdowns, and the fall of workplace culture.

This can lead to companies collapsing, as they’ll never be able to recover the effects of a workforce burnt to exhaustion.

Ways to prevent employee burnout from an organisational perspective

There is no single technique for overcoming burnout. But the solution always lies in identifying the source of the problem and confronting it head-on.

Consider the following suggestions for enhancing workplace culture and avoiding employee burnout.

1. Establish an environment of flexibility

Flexibility is not just a buzzword. It’s everything.

It means flexibility in scheduling, assignments, location of work, and other factors. This demonstrates that employees' time and efforts are valued.

Encourage staff to take time off with their family and assign their workload elsewhere.
Allow for flexible leave policies, so employees don’t have to worry about their leave balances when they want time off.
Make work-from-home opportunities available to employees who desire them.

2. Don’t be bosses – be leaders

Leadership and transparency are also everything. Lead by example and show empathy to every staff member around you.

Equip employees with the tools necessary to practice active listening, feel comfortable asking questions, and speak up when they have concerns and ideas.

Create a team-wide communication strategy to enable positive change.

3. Care for employee wellbeing

One surefire way to prevent organisational burnout is to make sure that the business culture prioritises the health and wellbeing of staff.

Look beyond just salary and conventional benefits. Consult with your employees closely to determine what they believe would be most important for encouraging wellness within the workplace.

Encourage employees to engage in activities and obtain information that will benefit their health, wellness, and productivity.

Health coaches, emotional and practical care, communities, and cost savings in healthcare are just a few ways to help improve workplace wellness.

4. Provide feedback and resources

Once staff understands what is expected of them, providing them with the resources necessary to perform their job effectively enables them to perform at their best.

This means having enough people employed to ensure the workload is evenly spread.

Checking in with your team and providing constructive feedback helps to strengthen the excellent work the employee is doing and fosters a more positive work culture. Don’t place the onus on employees to “speak up” – it may be too late if you do that.

5. Recognise employees through rewards and praise

Outstanding work is the result of engaged employees. Provide exceptional performance incentives, praise the customer-facing team for positive customer feedback, or congratulate the group sales team on their best quarter yet.

Employees feel valued when they receive genuine, timely recognition.

Likewise, do not keep it a secret: inform others of accomplishments or significant milestones. Make recognition public!

Organisational change will prevent the “Great Burnout”.

Burnout not only hurts a person's health and career. It hurts the organisation.

But having a nice workplace culture will not be enough to prevent the upcoming ‘Great Burnout’.

Organisational change is absolutely imperative to making this happen. Everything from leadership and flexible policies to routine ‘checking in’ and frequent feedback.

Every company's starting point will be unique on the path to exceptional employee experiences.

One company may be great at delivering training and wellness, while another may struggle to improve flexible working alternatives.

Ultimately, businesses facing the danger of organisational burnout must prioritise helping their employees regain the balance we all need in life.

Not just for their sake. But for your organisation’s sake too.

Finding a Visionary Leader for Queensland Music Festival

Fri, 09 May 2025 07:51:51 GMT

About Queensland Music Festival

The Queensland Music Festival (QMF) is one of the most important cultural events in the Sunshine State. The festival itself brings extraordinary music and experiences to Queensland, across cities, regions, and even remote areas.

Over its 20-year history, QMF has delivered events to over 1 million people across over 100 towns and cities across Queensland. QMF is currently undergoing a significant transformation of the way it partners with communities, artists and other organisations to stage music events that create measurable social and economic value for Queensland's cities and towns.

The QMF contacted Kingston Human Capital with a real 'diamond in the haystack' job — to find their new CEO.

Finding a CEO to take QMF into a new era

After hearing about Kingston Human Capital’s fantastic reputation with executive recruitment, QMF contacted us to find their ''diamond in a haystack''.

As Queensland Music Festival was looking for a CEO, they needed a visionary leader with the ability to guide them into a new era.

The Hiring Requirement

Kingston Human Capital was appointed by Queensland Music Festival to recruit a CEO in a niche market.

Role We Hired

Chief Executive Officer

Channels We Used

Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, a customised microsite that we developed for QMF, Kingston Human Capital Database and our Search Algorithm.

The Challenge

How did we overcome this challenge?

We were able to help by facilitating the right type of conversation with QMF by listening deeply to their needs. As a result, we were able to determine the qualities and experience their inbound CEO would need to possess.

We used our 'needs-analysis' process to thoroughly understand QMF's past and present, with a focus on what they would like to achieve in the future. In addition, we also developed a recruitment video to help aid with global reach.

To find the right person, we needed to diagnose precisely which attributes would bring the Queensland Music Festival success, and what type of leadership style would best deliver their strategic plan.

The Process

Leveraging digital channels and media with traditional recruitment

As we were on the hunt to fill a highly specific role, we approached recruitment using both traditional and contemporary techniques.

To find the right talent, we executed a full executive search and selection process. One of the greatest successes of finding talent for this role was the creation and deployment of a highly compelling recruitment video that communicated QMF’s vision and mission.

Conducted a 'needs-analysis' to understand the role and Queensland Music Festival's requirements.
We developed a specialised search strategy and multi-channel attraction strategy that would appeal to passive and active talent including a recruitment video with a global reach.
We leveraged our expertise in networking and referrals, searching nationwide for the right talent.
We competed candidate evaluation and psychometric-testing and presented a candidate shortlist to the board.
We designed a high impact interview in strategy with questions and facilitated post-interview decisions to help the board identify who was the most value-adding candidate.
We supported QMF to extend the offer and develop an onboarding plan.

Learn more about Kingston Human Capital Recruitment Process

The Result

Perfect candidate recruited within 4 weeks from brief

As an incredibly successful recruitment strategy was rolled out, we received applications from both international and national candidates.

However, the perfect candidate came from our customised outreach to passive-executive candidates, who we found via our network of high-calibre individuals.

What did Queensland Music Festival value most about Kingston Human Capital's Recruitment Services?

Queensland Music Festival valued communication and service. We are always completely transparent. We kept QMF up-to-date with regular progress updates on the project's health. At all stages, the QMF team had a full understanding of what stage we were up to and what the next steps were.

We help recruit great executive talent

Discover how Kingston Human Capital are different and give you a competitive advantage.

Meet Gerard Kerr

Gerard Kerr is Co-Founder and General Manager of Search and Selection at Kingston Human Capital.

How Kingston Human Capital helped QMF find the right candidates?

It’s Not All Bad: Finding our Post-Pandemic Strength in Times of Despair

Thu, 08 May 2025 14:04:29 GMT

If you’re feeling a bit like me, you may be a little fatigued.

We had raging bushfires across the country in early 2020. Followed by a pandemic that decimated the global economy. Now that the pandemic is slowly fading into history books, we’re faced with more horror.

The Taliban re-took Afghanistan. There’s a senseless war in Ukraine. Over 200 civilians have been killed so far. Floods have devastated parts of New South Wales and Queensland. 17 people have died so far. We learned that legendary cricketer and Aussie icon Shane Warne passed away from a heart attack.

And to top it off – Adelaide has just experienced an earthquake .

I can’t blame you if you’re feeling angry, upset, scared, or heartbroken.

The pandemic is almost over – so how can we recover?

New Title

It seems like, at least here in Australia, the pandemic is showing signs of fading into the history books. Nearly 80% of Australia is fully vaccinated. The economy is showing some signs of recovery.

So, the news of war, floods, earthquakes, and the deaths of Aussie icons comes as a major blow to a lot of us.

But this is where we must band together – and find our post-pandemic strength.

The strength we were talking about as the pandemic was taking its toll on the Australian population.

This is the time we must pull ourselves together and find our silver lining so that we can conquer these times of despair and come out the other end as better people.

This is time for resilience.

This is the time for us to bite the bullets that fly toward us.

We may be experiencing tremendous heartache due to what’s happening across the country and the world.

But now is not the time to shut down.

This is time for us to feel the pain, and fight through it. This is the time to transform this pain into energy – so that we can take positive action.

This is time to help others.

With that positive action, this is the time when we can lend out our hand and help others.

If you’ve got family members or colleagues stuck in the floods, show your support.

This could be anything from a text message to donating money or goods to joining the SES and physically assisting in recovery efforts.

If you’ve got a colleague at work feeling down, don’t ignore them. Speak to them, take them out for lunch, and talk about it. You’ll be surprised at how much they’ll appreciate it.

This is time to make new friendships.

The time our strongest friendships are forged is when we experience challenging times together. That’s why friendships and bonds in places like the military are unbreakable – because individuals constantly experience challenging times together.

Now that all of us are experiencing some form of grief, fear, or heartache, it’s our opportunity to reach out to others who are feeling the same.

Being resilient and lending a helping hand – is how we can build new friendships that can last a lifetime.

Well beyond the pandemic.

This is time to be leaders.

As the times of despair close in on us, we can grasp our resilience, our friendships, and our willingness to help --

-- and use it to become leaders.

It could mean leaders within our family, as people who are closest to you, come to lean on you for emotional support.

It could mean leaders within our friendship circles, as friends, turn to you for help and guidance.

It could mean leaders within our community, especially if we’re using our resilience to help our neighbours suffering from the disasters plaguing the world.

It could also mean leaders at work - everyone as leaders, regardless of title, position, authority, tenure, or status. Everyone is a leader because everyone influences someone, and that someone will look to you for compassion and advice.

How will you get your post-pandemic strength?

Whether it’s building resilience, helping others, making friends, or becoming leaders – there are dozens of ways we can find our post-pandemic strength.

We’re already seeing signs of resilience and strength across the world right now.

We’re seeing locals in Lismore helping their neighbours because emergency services have become strained.

We’re seeing people across Europe rush to help refugees pouring out of Ukraine.

This is resilience, teamwork, friendship, and a responsibility to care for humanity in action.

How will you embrace your post-pandemic strength?

Six Important Steps to Retaining Your Employees Once You've Recruited Them

Wed, 07 May 2025 07:29:17 GMT

Don't just hire great staff. Keep them.

The labour shortage is something we're all trying to grapple with.
So once you hire a diamond employee...

...fight to keep them.

The average staff turnover rate in Australia is around 8.2%.Many businesses are experiencing higher rates than this.

Late last year, 1 in 3 Australian companies said they were dealing with high turnover rates - as their staff come to re-evaluate their lives after the pandemic.

So how do you keep great staff once you've caught them?

New Title

Hire right to begin with. If you hire someone who ruins the work culture, your best employees will leave.
Unbeatable salaries. Money really talks, so offer way above market rate and the best employees will see that they are valued - and therefore they will stay on board.
Monitor and remove the bad apples. Toxic employees are incredibly hard to find. So, pay close attention to work dynamics, and regularly check in with staff to ensure everything is okay and solicit honest feedback. Actively listen and act upon their advice.
Reward, recognise, and - if you have to - raise. Praise the amazing work your staff is doing. Recognise their contributions and efforts. It doesn't matter how busy you are in the business. Don't take your employees' work for granted. Ever. If they deserve a salary bump, give it to them.
Be flexible. Working from home, coming into the office late and leaving late, coming in early and leaving early, office in the morning and home in the afternoon. It's the new world of work - let your staff embrace it.
Create career paths. Give employees a road to walk down. If they can see a bright future with you, they will stay.

We know that today's marketplace is incredibly competitive in every industry globally.

Finding the right staff is one thing.

But it's only half the battle.

Once you've got them, you'll have to fight hard to keep them.

5 Ways to Minimise Job Offer Rejections in a Competitive Market

Tue, 06 May 2025 12:51:50 GMT

It is painful when a job seeker rejects your offer of employment and then goes and works for one of your competitors :(

Here are five things you can do about it:

1. Remember you have competition.

Some job seekers are in the running for two, if not three, roles. They are comparing you against the other leaders they are interviewing with. Candidates have become consumers; it's no longer a one-sided interview.

2. Have more meaningful conversations with your candidate during the interview.

Instead of asking generic interview questions, get to the heart of what matters to them. One of my favourite interview questions to help me do this is:

New Title

"What matters to you most in your next role, and why does it matter?"

3. Make quality hires at speed.

Slow and drawn-out recruitment processes are one of the reasons your competitors are hiring top talent right out from underneath you.

Some of your competitors have reengineered their hiring processes from two weeks down to three business days. Good process design with a focus on quality and speed means they are able to outcompete almost anyone to secure top talent.

So, take a look at your hiring process, and consider how you can optimize it. Quality hires can be made at speed without compromising quality assurance and due diligence.

4. Ask questions like:

"What does great leadership look like to you?" or "What's the next challenge you'd like to take on?" and "What are deal-breaker leadership behaviours, in your view?". Also include "What gives you a deep sense of satisfaction at work and why?" and "When did you fail and what did you learn from it?"

Questions like these provoke better conversation and provide you with better data as to the candidate's suitability for your organization. Your candidate will also appreciate you asking them.

5. People can tell when you have not read their resume.

Stop showing up frazzled and late to the interview not having read their resume prior. You look bad. No one wants to work for a leader who looks like they are barely treading water.

Your candidate can tell when you have not read their resume. They are just too polite to tell you. So, take the time to review their resume before the interview and develop questions about their unique experiences. They will appreciate it. And you will get better hiring outcomes.

You can have the best strategic plan in the world, but without the best people on your team, your results will be vanilla at best. It's time to make sure your talent acquisition skills are sharp.

At Kingston Human Capital , we attract the best talent to your organisation. Working with our team of recruitment specialists, you will experience our unwavering commitment to supplying game-changing talent, every time. Discover what makes Kingston different to other recruitment agencies.

Good luck with your hiring.

Seven Practical Ways Employees and Leaders can Avoid Burnout

Tue, 06 May 2025 12:12:00 GMT

Working past midnight. Supervisors calling after hours. Almost collapsing under unbearable workloads. Sweating in the face of imminent deadlines.

Have you found yourself hitting a roadblock and wondering what is going to happen next?

It might be normal for some.

But at what point do we say, "Enough is enough"?

Employee burnout is on the rise - especially now that working from home has blurred the lines between our personal and professional lives.

How is Burnout Affecting Workers Today?

A February 2021 poll conducted by Indeed.com revealed that the situation has gotten worse.

Over 52% of respondents reported feeling burnout. 67% feel it has worsened over the pandemic.

Burnout is not a badge of honour.

Our minds/brain may be working overtime as it finds it difficult to switch off from work.

Ever find yourself glancing at your work computer as you walk past your home workstation or doing that little bit of overtime just to send that last email?

Burnout happens when you avoid being human for too long.

If you're feeling it - something is seriously wrong and must not be ignored. You may be overstressed, disconnected, and/or disengaged.

These emotions can be symptoms of depression and anxiety and in the worst case lead to suicide.

What can Workers do to Avoid Burnout?

Here are a few things to remind ourselves:

You are the pilot of your life, manage your time and set boundaries so you get enough self-care. You are the one that can control actions and destinations.
Take a step back and evaluate each block of time in your week. Find opportunities to limit your exposure to the things that create negative energy and increase your exposure to what's good for your mind, body, and soul.
Change the way you think. If you’re exhausted, focus on the important stuff. If you're frustrated, set aside the parts that frustrate you, and focus on the positives of your role or the workplace.
Communicate and network. Find like-minded individuals who can challenge the way you think and motivate you to move forward. Talk about how you're feeling - chances are people around you may be able to assist you.

What can Leaders do to Avoid Their Team Members Burning Out?

If you're a workplace leader, here are 3 things to consider:

Forget "check-in" meetings over Zoom / Teams. Do a walking meeting outside. The sun can do remarkable things to a person's level of energy by triggering the increased release of serotonin improving their mood, calmness, and focus.
Forget promoting "work-life balance". That term is a fallacy, especially now that many of us are working from home. Instead, promote "work-life engagement", and help your employees find engagement in both their jobs and in their personal lives.
Monitor workloads. Take time to deeply understand, care, and act for your employees. We’re all human beings with human needs. Be compassionate, empathetic, and realistic. Be ready to be truly flexible as each will be unique.

Work together. Beat the burnout. You are the one who can define your version of happiness. Now go live it.

“Emotional Tagging” is Real When Recruiting New Hires: Here’s Why It’s Dangerous.

Mon, 05 May 2025 13:59:24 GMT

What is emotional tagging?

We have come a long way since blatant discrimination when hiring people.

Most of the time, it’s not as overt as it was once.

Openly choosing not to hire somebody because of their race, or their gender, or their physical characteristics – a lot of that’s just a relic of the past.

Or is it?

We can’t ignore the numbers.

People over 50 years old are more than twice as likely as others to be unemployed for two years or more if they lose their job.
Nine out of 10 women feel that discrimination still exists in today's workplace across Australia and New Zealand.
Australia also has one of the lowest employment rates of disabled people in the OECD.

Why is this?

Well, a lot of discrimination happens unconsciously.

And much of it happens because of what we call emotional tagging.

'Emotional tagging' is where the brain stores a memory of an event or an action, and also stores an emotion associated with that event or action.

Think of it like playing cards. Say you are playing cards and you have to pick a card from two decks (the left and right deck). You feel no emotion because you have no experience between either deck.

But as you keep playing, you begin to experience the pain of picking up a bad card from what you would call a ‘bad deck’ - and your emotions tell you not to pick up a card from that deck again.

A lot of it happens when we are kids. We hear our parents saying something negative about a particular category of individuals, and then we grow up associating those individuals with a particular negative emotion.

How does that work with recruiting staff?

A leader who is recruiting a staff member may have had a negative experience with somebody of a particular skin colour, age, gender, historical background, or sexual orientation.

This could be work-related or not.

This person may then experience an irrational sense of ‘emotional tagging’, where they would tag that person – and other people of a similar characteristic – with that negative emotion.

Without them even knowing it, this could adversely affect their hiring practices – leading them to favour those people who aren’t associated with a negative emotional ‘tag’.

They may have had a poor experience with somebody when they were kids or may have been completely influenced by their parents’ views.

It is all in our subconscious, whether we like it or not.

Why discrimination (unconscious or conscious) can hurt your business and your team

Whether or not emotional tagging is affecting leaders in a business, it’s patently clear that the practice of discrimination can have a detrimental effect on a workplace and our teams.

More particularly, it can have a colossal negative effect on workplace diversity .

Some of these detriments are as follows.

Your workplace will become narrow-minded. Everybody will think in the same way, because your emotional tagging is unconsciously stopping you from hiring the ‘different’. This will stop creativity and innovation, harming the potential growth of the business.
Your workplace will suffer a skills shortage. You have no idea what skillsets people from all walks may have, and you’ll miss out on taking advantage of those skills. You may even end up missing a perfect candidate.
Your workplace will lack cultural awareness . In a world where international business is vital, and Australia is becoming increasingly multicultural every year, cultural awareness and understanding is essential. This is impossible when everyone in your company is thinking in one way.
Your talent pool is reduced . By limiting your own employees – and focusing on only what your emotions want you to do - you are ignoring a massive talent pool. The employees of which may be absolutely stellar for your organisation.
It’s illegal. Discrimination in the course of hiring an employee is unlawful under both state and federal laws, so simple – just don’t do it!

If you catch yourself emotionally tagging a candidate with an experience you had, and an emotion you felt - stop.

It leads us to act irrationally.

And it ultimately leads us to make bad decisions.

Look at the person for who they are - not what your biases think they are.

I hope this article gives you a little more insight into why ‘emotional tagging’ when interviewing new hires is dangerous. Diversity and inclusion are essential parts of the modern workplace.

Five Ways to Hire Passive Candidates who Aren't Looking for a New Job

Sun, 04 May 2025 05:33:32 GMT

You have a position to fill, but the best talent is not actively searching for a role. This is a significant challenge for employers, especially when it comes to recruiting for hard-to-fill positions. So how can you attract the best candidates if they are not in job-seeking mode?

This article shares five ways to recruit top talent- even if they are not job-seeking.

1. Become More Social

Social media is the ideal forum for posting unique content that promotes your employer brand and resonates with prospective recruits. There are often people in your social network that think highly of you and your organisation.

Announcing that you are recruiting on your social media feeds makes people aware of the available opportunities. This is important because they don't have time to visit your careers page. But don't stop there. Take a moment to send direct messages to people you think highly of. Ask them if they are looking for their next career move or know of anyone who is.

2. Encourage Your Employees to be Company Advocates

The most authentic insights into company culture come from your current employees, so give them the resources they need to become your company advocates.

Ask your employees to think about the top performers that they know. These may be people they have worked with in the past, people they have networked with, or competitors they respect. Get your employees to reach out and connect with that person. Ask them to be direct.

3. Stay Connected With Past Employees

Past employees can be the perfect candidates for your next role. Don't lose touch with great people just because they no longer work for you. After they resign, your past employees continue to grow and will often return to work with you a few years down the track if you maintain a good relationship.

4. Keep in Contact With Your Silver Medalists

In most hiring processes, there are at least three candidates but only one winner. Stay in touch with the silver-medalists who were a close fit for your role but slightly lacking experience because it's highly likely that they'll continue to build their knowledge and that you'll need to hire in future. Silver-medalist candidates are often forgotten. Don't waste this valuable talent pool.

Show an interest in their skills development and career goals and keep them informed about what's happening in your organisation; this way, you'll have an excellent chance of attracting them when the next role becomes available.

5. Ask for Help

All too often, there is a highly talented candidate out there, but they don't know about your job. So, ask for help in putting the word out to the market. Ask people you trust to think about the top talent they know and if they would refer their details to you. You'll be surprised at how willing people help.

And finally, if you don't have the time, reach or expertise to run a recruitment campaign that engages active and passive talent - let us do it for you. If hiring top talent is part of your talent strategy, let's get started right away. Arrange a time to speak with us or tell us a little bit more about the role you want to hire.

"Hey, I think highly of you. We have several opportunities available right now, and I wanted to reach out and see what is happening for you on the career front. You are someone I respect, and we have an incredible team here. I wondered if you are open to speaking with my boss about a career move".

Myth Busting: Think Your Recruiter Is Two-timing You? You Might Be Right

Fri, 02 May 2025 12:22:55 GMT

In your organisation, if you often hear your hiring manager complain that they feel like their external recruiter just ‘whipped a few resumes off a database', we would hazard a guess that you are entering into a 'contingent recruitment' or 'multi listed' relationship with your recruiters of choice.

It's fair to say that contingent recruitment has been around for a while. Sadly, despite its vintage, 'contingent recruitment' provides less than ideal outcomes for both the customer and the recruiter.

This is why most high-quality recruitment firms have moved away from offering it as a service.

What does Contingent or Multi-listed Recruitment mean?

Its a scenario where you:

brief multiple recruitment agencies on your requirement
give them a crappy deadline
and then race them against each other
and only pay the one who provides you with the candidate you hire

Sounds good, right? Nope, it’s a stupid move. Here is why:

Let’s draw back the curtain and spotlight what really happens when you list your recruitment project on a contingent basis with multiple recruiters.

First, that contingent recruiter will open their database and pop up a quickly written advertisement for your recruitment project. They'll pull a few quickly chosen resumes off their database.

They will work on your project, but it is not the only project that they are working on. More often than not, contingent recruiters are working on 5-15 recruitment projects at any one time.

If that is the case, how on earth can your urgent and important requirement get the lion's share of their time and attention?

So how do you get high performing recruiters to work 'exclusively' on your urgent recruitment project?

Recruitment (talent acquisition) is one of the top priorities for every CEO right now because getting the right talent on your team determines if your organisation will be a phenomenon or a flop.

Recruitment and talent acquisition is a professional service. So, just like you wouldn’t brief three accountants to do your tax return and then give them a crappy deadline to do it by, you shouldn’t multi-list or list your role on a contingent basis with a recruiter – it doesn’t generate quality results.

Instead, ensure your recruitment project gets all of your recruiters attention and expertise by asking them for an 'exclusivity' arrangement

When they are exclusively focusing on your recruitment project they will evaluate more candidates against your role and develop a much higher quality shortlist for you, and you’ll end up with a much higher quality new team member, reducing stress, increasing productivity.

Recruiters who take on contingent work are not in an exclusive relationship with you. This means they are also working on 5-15 contingent recruitment projects for other people.

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Don’t hire wrong; it causes so much anguish and pain. It creates significant drag, decreases productivity and can even affect the retention of your other staff.

To be guaranteed a higher level of service and to access better talent, opt for exclusive or retained arrangements with your recruiters and avoid contingent and multi-listed recruitment arrangements at all costs. You deserve amazing service and amazing outcomes.

How Resignations Can Help Your Business

Thu, 01 May 2025 11:00:08 GMT

The mere thought of resignations leads to panic among executives.

Leaders worry that they may be unable to replace that person or that productivity could drop while the recruitment process is carried out.

Fear of resignations is common among business leaders around the world, but this shouldn’t have to be the case.

Rather than aiming for a direct replacement, consider this a tactical opportunity and aim to hire someone who brings you at least 20% more than the prior team member.

Bridge skill gaps

Identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the resigning employee can help you when seeking to fill the role. What were their skill gaps? Hire someone who can account for the previous team member’s skill gaps, allowing for an instant improvement in your team’s capability.

Hire for the future

After a resignation, it’s crucial that you look to leverage the opportunity and seek improvement rather than a replacement. Hiring someone as a replacement is hiring for the past rather than the future state of your organisation.

Don't waste the opportunity to learn

Don't waste the opportunity to have someone conduct an exit interview. This allows you to learn from potential challenges and improve things for current employees. This will enhance your staff retention rates.

In the case of a resignation, you may be losing a valuable team member, but it’s important to acknowledge the opportunity and be tactical with your mindset.

Kingston Human Capital has decades of experience in the recruitment field. To learn more about our range of services and how we can help you find the right diamond for your business, click here .

Need help with your talent strategy or recruitment? Book a talent strategy today or attend a webinar.

You don’t have to fear resignations; not every resignation will negatively impact your business. Instead, some can be hidden opportunities that allow you to move your business forward.

In this article, Kingston Human Capital will exp lain how to turn a resignation into a positive experience for your business.

Plan well. Don't be caught off guard.

Resignations don't have to come as a surprise. Here are three things you can do to reduce your rate of unexpected resignations.

Keep a retention list . This is a list of the high-value team members that you need to retain. Review that list frequently and ask yourself "what am I doing to keep the people on this list engaged in purposeful work?"
Identify flight risk employees . Know in advance who your flight risk employees are, and evaluate what impact their exit would have on your organisation. Sometimes the impact is a minor one, other times it will be significant. The important thing is to have thought through the impacts in advance.
Know what your team members' satisfaction points are . You’d be surprised how many leaders can not answer the following question “what gives Jane a sense of job satisfaction and growth?” Knowledge is power. By knowing what gives them a sense of growth and satisfaction you will improve your ability to curate a more satisfying work experience for your team.

If you can't prevent it - leverage it as an opportunity

Prevention is best but it’s also important to know that sometimes a team member will be intent on leaving. If this is the case, then you can't force them to stay. But you can leverage the situation and use it as an opportunity to aim higher with your next hire.

Aim higher

A common mistake when hiring for a new role is aiming to hire a 'direct replacement'.

While you will need to have someone in the role, you should always be aiming to improve your business with each new hire.

Low Vs High Cost Recruitment. What Is The Difference?

Wed, 30 Apr 2025 07:29:34 GMT

Considering engaging with a recruitment partner to support you to make the best hire?

With more than 7,000 commercial recruitment businesses operating in Australia, there are plenty of options available.

Finding, attracting, and engaging the best available talent is critical to your team’s success - every hiring moment should be viewed as an opportunity to improve your organisation.

Partnering with a recruitment agency can be incredibly powerful for our hiring outcomes. From expert market insights to extensive reach and a supported, robust process; a professional recruitment partner can have a significant impact on your business talent outcomes.

While the services provided by one recruitment agency may seem to be the same as the next, this isn’t always the case.

Each business will approach recruitment talent acquisition strategy slightly differently, so it’s important to understand how your recruitment partner will approach your requirement and the value they can add.

You might also want to consider how they will represent your employer brand during the recruitment process.

This article is designed to help you to better understand the different types of recruitment service offerings, the benefits and features of each.

Low-cost recruitment services

Some organisations only need help with certain aspects of the recruitment process.

Whether it’s a search and shortlist service, talent mapping or reference checking - sometimes an ‘unbundled’ recruitment service offering is the way to go.

Many (but not all) recruitment agencies offer flexible, low cost services which include:

Reviewing applicant responses. The recruiter reviews the applicant responses, assesses their suitability and provides a recommended shortlist for your consideration.

Shortlisting service . The recruiter takes a brief from you and manages the advertising, search and shortlisting stages of the recruitment process. You’ll be provided with a recommended shortlist of which applicants to take to interview.

In both of the above scenarios, the hiring manager/organisation would manage the interview, feedback and offer process.

Talent mapping. This service can help you understand where and how to reach hard-to-find talent. Talent mapping is used when organisations are looking to employ the best talent in a particular industry and/or location.

Reference checking. References are a critical evaluation tool. Using a recruitment business to conduct unbiased references checks can be a useful way to validate claims made during the interview process.

These flexible recruitment service offering provides organisations with ultimate flexibility, but as the saying goes, you get what you pay for.

The important difference between these offerings and the traditional model is that you are paying for a distinct service/s, not a complete recruitment process.

A low cost model can work very well but it is essential to ask the recruiter the following questions:

What inclusions/exclusions and guarantees apply to this service?
What resources will be allocated to this service, ie how many people, who and what is their experience level/specialism?
Is there is a cap on the number of hours spent on this service?
What is the process for conducting the service provided?
For shortlisting services, how big will the candidate pool be? Make sure you’re not simply getting three CVs from candidates who apply first!
How will they communicate with candidates?
How will they manage your employer brand?

If a respected full-service agency is offering these services, you’ll more than likely be happy with the results.

Be aware that some businesses only offer low cost and fixed price recruitment. Unless the consultant you partner with has extensive recruitment experience and can provide reference and testimonials, be wary of this option.

Traditional, end-to-end recruitment service (360* recruitment or full cycle recruitment)

Think of this traditional offering as something akin to the concierge desk at a top notch, 5-star hotel. This is a ‘we’ll take care of everything for you’ level of service.

Recruitment should never be viewed as a transaction but rather a strategic, consultative process - and an opportunity to transform and lift your organisation.

With this traditional style recruitment offering, you can expect your recruitment partner to:

Conduct a detailed needs analysis
Undertake a realistic assessment of the skills, experience, attitude required for the role
Ask lots of questions and potentially challenge and/or manage your expectations as required
Develop recruitment marketing content to position your role in the most compellingly and engaging way
Recommend a process to find, attract and engage top talent
Manage the advertising, research and engagement process
Review and evaluate applications
Phone screen potential candidates
Interview suitable candidates
Provide a comprehensive report on all shortlisted candidates
Be prepared to discuss a ‘longlist’ of candidates with you if required
Work with you to design an effective interview process and interview question design
Facilitate interview scheduling and feedback
Extend an offer to your preferred candidate
Manage any offer negotiations, as required
Conduct professional reference checks for your preferred candidate
Follow best practice candidate communication and engagement
Promote, manage and protect your employer brand
Keep you updated every 48 hours throughout the recruitment process
Support you and your new employee during the first few months

As you can see, the ‘concierge’ recruitment offering really is an end to end service and a robust process.

When you work with an experienced, professional recruitment partner through this process, you’ll really feel the difference - and see the results.

Regardless of which option is right for you, remember that recruitment is a professional service. Like any consultant, your recruitment partner should help you solve a problem/s, save you time and add value.

How To Create An Excellent Candidate Experience

Tue, 29 Apr 2025 07:46:04 GMT

Have you ever stopped to think about the experience people have when they apply for a job with your organisation?

Just as customer experience is central to modern marketing, candidate experience is a critically important (yet often overlooked) aspect of recruitment.

Most organisations, leaders and hiring managers are so busy with their ‘business as usual’, they may have never considered the candidate experience they are curating.

Here’s the thing - whether you like it or not, when there is a recruitment process, there is a candidate experience.

It’s not something you chose to provide or not. It simply is .

So, let’s explore what a good candidate experience looks like (and identify some things that might be considered a poor candidate experience).

4 simple ways to create a positive candidate experience

1. Clear communication at every touch point

From the job description to the job advertisement and every email, phone call and message, be straightforward, positive and clear.

If someone’s profile doesn’t seem to be a match - be up front and tell them so! If the salary you have on offer isn’t aligned with their expectations, be honest about that.

Even if someone isn’t a good fit, communicate with them in a professional and positive manner and leave a good impression.

Think about how your job advertisement will make people feel. Aim to write a job description that will engage and inspire people (rather than a shopping list or ‘wanted’ ad style of communication that focuses on all the things you want your new employee to be and have.

Recruitment is a two way street and the start of a professional relationship: Let your communication reflect that mutual respect.

2. Don’t forget your manners

Common courtesy will never get old.

Be respectful and don’t forget how ‘big’ the little things can be.

Work is an incredibly important part of most people’s lives - it gives us a sense of meaning, belonging and purpose.

If a job is an important relationship in life, how that relationship begins will leave a lasting impression.

Who you work for - and how they treat you - is massive.

Best practice communication and engagement during a recruitment process includes responding to every applicant. This is one of the worse-managed aspects of recruitment and candidate experience.

It’s pretty straightforward and not very complicated to explain: Respond to every applicant. Plain and simple.

When you’re involved in an interview process, don’t run late. Leaving someone waiting in reception (or on a video call) sends a message that that person is not important (and that you’re disorganised).

Similarly, don’t turn up to an interview having not read the CV and/or application. This sends the same ‘you are not important’ message. Everyone is busy. If you have to read the CV in the lift or Uber, do that - make it happen.

How you conduct yourself during an interview process speaks volumes about how you treat employees and teammates in general.

Be kind and respectful, always.

3. Be honest and authentic

Like most situations in life, honesty is the best policy.

No job, team or employer is perfect and it’s no secret that people respond to authenticity.

In all of your communication and conversations during a recruitment process, try to ‘keep it real’.

Quite often, making a good impression is more about how you communicate more than what you say).

And what’s more - don’t shy away from talking about the challenges that lie ahead. Top talent want to know about challenges.

Don’t forget that making a good impression and being authentic costs nothing.

4. Make it personal

While you’re remembering your manners, don’t forget to make an effort to personalise your email communication whenever possible.

Personalised email communication is super simple yet super powerful. Most modern recruitment software enables personally-addressed emails, even if the body of the email is a template.

At the very least, if you’re managing hundreds of applications and need to send bulk emails, use the features available to make your communication as personal as possible.

As for template emails, they don’t have to be heartless and cold.

No one likes receiving a rejection email. Investing a little bit of time, effort and personality into thoughtful email communication could go a long way (and make someone’s day).

Following an interview, ensure you provide personalised, meaningful and constructive feedback, especially to candidates who are not progressing to the next round. Wherever possible, post-interview feedback should be provided in a phone call (not email).

A positive candidate experience includes acknowledging the time and effort that candidates invest in an interview process.

As you can see, a positive candidate experience is all about communication and engagement. It’s not rocket science, but it does take time and commitment.

What does your organisation’s candidate experience look like? Is it time to lift your game?

Candidate experience during the recruitment process is an important part of your employer brand and can have a significant impact (either positive or negative).

Remember, candidates are customers, too.

Why does a temp staff member cost more than a permanent staff member?

Mon, 28 Apr 2025 13:48:05 GMT

On costs

These include superannuation, payroll tax, workers compensation and general insurances.

Some agencies may include administration fees here.

As a general rule, on costs only change in three circumstances:

When the compulsory superannuation rate increases
When the state-based payroll tax rates change
When the recruitment agency’s payroll administration fee changes
When payroll tax rebates are applicable in the not for profit sector

Recruitment agency margin

Working with a recruitment partner is a commercial relationship - this means we charge a fee to find and supply you with temporary staff.

The Recruitment agency’s margin depends on the industry, market demands and the supplier/fee agreement in place. Standard margin percentage is 22-25% of the total candidate cost.

How much does a temp get paid?

The candidate pay rate can be hourly or daily and is impacted by:

Fair market rates/salaries
The relevant award
What the candidate is happy to accept

In most cases, temporary staff are paid above the minimum/award wage, because their skills and experience are in demand and because they may be due a casual loading.

Temporary employees cannot be paid below award rates . While not all employees and roles are covered by an award, there will always be a minimum rate that applies to each role.

Your recruitment partner will discuss the candidate pay rate with you, taking the above factors into consideration.

While some roles are not covered by a modern award, your recruitment partner will help to guide you through the process of landing on an appropriate rate of pay. Your recruitment partner will also take into account budget constraints and the requirements of the role.

In the end, if you’re still concerned about whether your recruiter isn’t charging a suitable amount, don’t hesitate to reach out for clarification.

Disclaimer: This article was written in 2021 and may be time sensitive.

If you’ve ever hired a temporary employee via a recruitment agency, you might’ve been surprised by the hourly rate you are charged for that temp.

Rest assured that most recruitment agencies is not taking advantage, even if the costs are higher than you’d imagined.

For a variety of reasons, temporary employees can actually cost more than permanent employees. Why?

As you might be aware, temporary workers aren’t afforded the same benefits that permanent workers are entitled to ie they don’t get annual, sick and carer’s leave.

So, to offset the fact that they do not get these leave benefits Temps usually receive a causal loading. This can make it seem like they are earning more per hour than a permanent employee.

When your permanent employee takes a two-week holiday, they are still paid at the same rate (assuming they have leave accrued). When a temporary employee takes a two-week holiday, they don’t get paid at all.

Temporary workers are entitled to a select few types of leave (as stipulated by Fair Work Australia) but these allowances are unpaid responses to extenuating circumstances like carer’s leave, domestic violence leave and compassionate leave.

Ultimately, when hiring a temporary worker, you’re paying for the benefits of flexibility and upgrading your organisation’s skill set for a period of time.

Who decided temporary workers should be paid more?

It wasn’t your recruitment agency.

Fair Work Australia legislates t he award rates for casual employees and stipulates the leave which they are entitled to. It also protects temporary workers from the risks associated with short-term employment through casual loading - an arrangement that requires that casual/temporary workers be paid a slightly higher rate to accommodate the lack of other benefits.

What about the other costs on my invoice?

When you hire staff through a recruitment agency, you’re paying for a professional service.

While there are many benefits of hiring temporary employees, understanding the costs can be confusing.

Temporary recruitment fees can vary depending on industry, role type, how rare the required skills/expertise are and if your recruitment agency partner follows a low, medium or high pricing model.

In simple terms, the cost of hiring a temporary employee is as follows:

Candidate pay rate + on costs = total candidate cost + agency margin = cost to the client

The Problems Working With An External Recruitment Agency

Sun, 27 Apr 2025 07:02:04 GMT

For more than 20 years, it's been my full-time focus to support organisations to find, attract and engage top talent.

When I think about all of the recruitment stories I’ve heard during this time (good, bad and downright ugly), the one thing that really stands out is that the quality of a recruitment process and the results can vary greatly.

Some stories are shining examples of best practice recruitment, making me proud of my industry. Others are cringe-worthy stories of poorly managed processes, terrible client service and even worse candidate experience.

To help you get on the front foot when it comes to building an effective and successful recruitment partnership, this article unpacks 5 of the most common complaints about working with a recruitment agency.

Why should you partner with a recruitment agency?

Effective recruitment is a robust and time-intensive process.

Gone are the days of posting an ad, receiving applications and making a quick decision. Without internal resources to manage the recruitment process, asking hiring managers to be responsible for an entire recruitment process is rarely a wise choice because of the time and productivity cost to them.

Time is money - and partnering with a recruiter will save you a significant amount of time.

It’s a recruiter’s ‘day job’ to analyse job requirements; recommend how to position each role to the talent market; identify potential talent; assess a large pool of candidates; conduct evaluation interviews and assist you in designing an effective, selection process.

Beyond job boards and careers pages, a recruiter can reach an extensive network of talent through proactive searching and sourcing, technology-enabled search and tapping into specialist communities and interest groups. Hear me clearly when I say, most recruiters are not just sitting at their desks processing job add responses, they are trawling through vast amounts of data to find non-active candidates, making polite advances and bringing the best talent to market – as well as processing job advertisement responses.

Because most recruiters have a specialist area/s they recruit for, they’ll have access to industry networks and will know where to source this talent.

5 common complaints about working with a recruitment agency

1. Cost

Permanent recruitment fees range from 16 to 25% of the candidates’ total salary package. For some businesses, the cost of an end-to-end recruitment service can be a barrier.

What you may not realise is partnering with a recruitment agency in this traditional model does come with a financial safety net (which you don’t get when you choose to DIY your recruitment).

This safety net is called a recruitment guarantee. It’s a little like a warranty - if your new employee leaves the organisation under stated conditions and within a predefined time frame, your recruitment agency will find a suitable replacement for you, possibly without additional cost.

You can read more about the recruitment guarantee in this article .

Recruiters also spend a lot of time evaluating a tonne of candidates, before they bring you their final recommendations. Take my teams for instance. On average we review 120 candidates for every recruitment process we run. When we bring you our “shortlist” you are seeing the tip of the iceberg (the results of our work).

Before we bring you that shortlist, we invest a tonne of time and labour evaluating a mass of talent (the part of the iceberg that sits below the waterline). We recover part of that time and labour cost in our fees.

2. Lack of quality candidates

A shortage (or absence) of suitable candidates can be frustrating, especially if you’re working with a recruitment partner and have been waiting for them to provide you with a shortlist.

There are a wide range of reasons which could be behind the lack of candidates.

Over reliance on job boards. Proactive, strategic sourcing (ie engaging with passive candidates) is a critical part of an effective recruitment process. If you’re facing a lack of quality candidates, getting proactive with the search process (i.e. beyond applications) is critical.
Poor job description. Many job descriptions are outdated and bland. Strive to develop a job description that informs, intrigues and inspires action ie applications!
How strong is your employer brand? Your reputation as an employer and the experience your offer to employees can have an impact on your ability to attract top talent.
Can you articulate your employee value proposition (EVP)? A considered, honest and well-articulated EVP can set you apart from your competitors and help attract top talent. What ‘matters’ to each applicant is quite unique, so it’s important to communicate your EVP through the recruitment process and allow candidates to determine if there is an alignment.

3. Lack of communication

Communication is both one of the most important things to get right - and the biggest bugbear among hiring managers and leaders who’ve had problems working with a recruiter.

Unreturned phone calls, slow response times, over promising and under delivering - the list goes on.

You should expect a quality recruitment partner to update you every 48 hours during the recruitment process and be honest and transparent, always.

4. Lack of true understanding

Unfortunately, there can sometimes be a situation when your recruiter simply doesn’t understand the requirements of the role at a deep enough level to do a great job for you.

This can usually be avoided by working with specialist recruiters who have a lot of experience working on similar roles to the one you have vacant.

Good recruitment is much more than a keyword matching exercise, so if your recruiter doesn’t understand the role and skills required, there’s a good chance you won’t receive suitable candidates. Expect your recruiter to ask lots of questions at the beginning of the process.

5. Poor process

Effective recruitment is a comprehensive, robust process.

If you’re wondering what a ‘good’ recruitment process looks like, we outline the key stages in the article What does permanent recruitment cost and what am I paying for?

Some indicators of a poor process include:

Critical information was missed in the initial briefing and/or needs analysis stage
Recruitment marketing requirements haven’t been considered.
Candidate experience, communication and experience is lacking.

For every not-so-great story about a recruitment process going wrong, there are at least 10 stories of satisfied hiring managers and organisations thriving as a result of good hiring decisions.

While there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach to effective recruitment, I hope this overview of common complaints and how to avoid them sets you off on the right path.

How The State Government's "Buy Queensland" Procurement Policy Helps Businesses Like Ours

Sat, 26 Apr 2025 12:16:20 GMT

The Queensland government is leading the way in terms of government support for small and medium business, pushing the state on a new path to economic recovery. The Queensland Government is directing 25% of its procurement spend towards Queensland owned SME businesses, with this amount set to rise to 30% by June 2022. The Policy went into effect on the first of February 2021, and it means the world to SME businesses like Kingston Human Capital.

Kingston Human Capital gives twice as much back

Businesses like Kingston Human Capital will give twice as much back to the local community. As a recruitment firm, we help people find work; however, the Queensland Government’s procurement policy helps us to grow our own business and employ more people. As a result, the more people we employ, the more people we can help find work across the Sunshine State.

At Kingston Human Capital, as a member of the labour hire panel, we partner with the State Government to deliver smart recruitment quickly and on-demand. We are working with stakeholders across Departments at all levels to find smarter ways to maximise talent. We are also working actively in the Queensland community to create new mechanisms to help people whose jobs are at risk, helping to redeploy them into new occupations and build the skills needed for their new roles.

Kingston Human Capital's commitment to the Queensland community goes further than helping people find work. Every time we help someone find a job, we make a donation to Queensland not-for-profit, "Suited to Success" . We do this because we know it's one big cycle.

A global pandemic doesn't stop us from wanting to make a difference and donating money to those that need it most. We may be socially distanced, but we’ll always find a way to raise awareness and much-needed funds.

Kingston Human Capital is based in Brisbane; if you’d like to learn more about the clients we’ve helped over the years, read more about our case studies below.

We are all part of the economic system. We know that businesses like ours have to take an active approach to help Queensland's economy recover.

Elizabeth Kingston
Founder and Executive Director, Kingston Human Capital

10 Questions No Candidate Wants to Answer

Fri, 25 Apr 2025 09:32:58 GMT

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You're sitting across the interview table from a prospective team member. The interview seems to be going well; all the responses have impressed you. You feel this candidate would be a great fit with the existing team structure. But your next question is this: "What's your ethnic background?"

Suddenly, the room's energy has dissipated; the smile from the candidate's face has gone.

In a more social setting, you might have gotten away with this question (just). However, during an interview, there are specific questions that you, as the interviewer, should avoid.

During a hiring process you must make sure that you are not breaching the Anti-Descrimination Act, the Equal Opportunity Act, or any other relevant legislation or regulation.

10 Illegal Questions You Cannot Ask an Interviewee

How old are you?
Are you married?
Do you have or plan to have children soon?
Where are you from?
Is English your first language?
Do you have health conditions? Do you have a disability?
What are your religious beliefs?
Have you ever made a worker's compensation claim?
Do you drink or smoke?
Are you a member of the union?

Read our ebook - Interview questions to avoid - to understand why you need to be mindful of asking such questions.

“As a leader, you have a responsibility to ensure everyone is treated fairly and given equal opportunity to demonstrate their suitability for the job. Asking the right questions will uncover powerful insights, but you also need to be mindful of not unintentionally asking inappropriate or unlawful questions.” Elizabeth Kingston, CEO of Kingston Human Capital says,

In this article, we will cover:

10 Illegal Questions You Cannot Ask an Interviewee
How Can You Recover if You Ask an Illegal Question?
How Can You Avoid Illegal Questions at Interview?
When Is It Okay to Ask These Questions?

An interview is the opportunity to assess if a prospective candidate will become a team member. However, the following questions are illegal when asked in an interview as it does not help you assess the person's ability to fulfil a specific role.

Under the Equal Opportunity Act, a candidate doesn't need to share any information that can be discriminatory or cause unconscious bias .

How Can You Recover if You Ask an Illegal Question?

After all, it is human to err. You might find yourself biting your tongue soon after you've asked an illegal interview question. If you've unintentionally done so, be quick to apologise and be genuine. It's also perfectly all right for the candidate to refuse to answer such a question. Having an effective interview plan and a strong technique will help ensure you don't ask any unlawful questions and veer the interview towards a positive outcome.

How Can You Avoid Illegal Questions at Interview?

A well-designed interview is essential to making informed, fair hiring decisions. It will also help you mitigate your risk of asking the wrong question at the interview. You can do this by designing appropriate questions that suit the role. An easy way to decide whether a question might be biased or discriminatory is to ask yourself:

What do you need to know?
Why are you asking the question?
How can you best ask the question?
Is this question relevant to performing the role?

When Is It Okay to Ask These Questions?

Like with all rules, there are exceptions. Suppose the role you're hiring for needs the candidate to undertake heavy-lifting. In that case, you're well within your rights to ask: "Does anything negatively affect your ability to perform heavy-lifting?"

In most interview cases, asking a person if English is their first language is discriminatory, except for when you're hiring for a language-specific role. The Fair Work Act allows for questions of such a nature so long as the purpose is non-discriminatory.

At Kingston Human Capital, we are committed to constantly evolving and improving our knowledge and processes. Our e-book — You can’t ask that: Interview questions to avoid, is a useful guide to help you design an interview process that is fair and gives everyone equal opportunity to demonstrate their suitability for the job.

Diversity & Inclusion In Recruitment

Thu, 24 Apr 2025 10:21:48 GMT

Diversity and inclusion are not passing fads. These are topics that must be addressed by the top employers in order to attract and retain the top talent in the market.

In this short video, we share insights into how D&I should be embedded within your organisation and recruitment practices.

Diversity and inclusion is a hot topic at the moment, and it’s here to stay. It is not a passing fad, and it is an important organisational consideration if you want to continue to position yourself as an employer of choice, particularly if you want to attract and retain top talent.

Embedding your diversity and inclusion into your business also makes strategic sense. Australian businesses are finally understanding that D&I can be a source of competitive advantage. In fact, Boston Consulting Group found in a recent study that diverse teams have 19% higher innovation revenues. It’s no surprise that we are seeing our clients take a good hard look at their D&I initiatives. In every area of their business, especially recruitment.

To start the conversation, let’s define diversity and inclusion. It’s important to understand you can’t have one without the other. And diversity counts for very little without inclusion.

Diversity is any dimension that can be used to differentiate groups and people from one another. It can include inherent differences like ethnicity, age, and gender, as well as acquired differences such as personality style, industry experience, and career path. All of these things are the dimension of diversity.

Inclusion, on the other hand, brings it all together, and it’s an organisational practice in which different groups or individuals have different backgrounds and are culturally and socially accepted as well as welcome.

The global diversity practice report says that having an openness to diversity widens our access to the best talent and inclusion. It allows us to engage talent effectively. Together, this leads to enhanced innovation, creativity, productivity, engagement, and results.

Diversity is the mix and inclusion is getting the mix to work well together. Diversity inclusion is not just about gender mix, although it is one important component.

McKinsey reports that businesses with a healthy balance of men and women are 21% more likely to outperform their competitors. These figures highlight the potential value of team diversity as a practical tool for an uplift in performance capabilities. Diversity and inclusion are firmly on the agenda for job seekers too.

78% of candidates seek inclusion within their environment. It’s time to start looking at your offerings and incorporate them into your website, media, policies, and addressing the diversity and inclusion deficiencies within your organisation.

We’re not suggesting that achieving greater diversity is easy. But as the diversity and inclusion case becomes more compelling, we must take full advantage of the opportunity that it offers, particularly when it comes to attracting, developing, mentoring, and retaining the next generation of global leaders at all levels of your organisation.

Now you can do a lot of this yourself, all leverage of the research and processes we’ve already developed to serve your human capital needs. None the less, some key D&I initiatives include creating space for diversity and inclusion within your workplace. This has a proven outcome. Getting management buy-in to set qualitative and quantitative D&I targets, and of course, embedding D&I into your recruitment strategy.

Given the high returns that diversity is expected to bring, it comes as no surprise that it’s better to invest now. Activating your diversity and inclusion offering now means you’ll pull further ahead whist your competitors fall behind.

How to Improve Your Hiring Processes to Achieve Your Diversity and Inclusion Goals

Employee Churn: What is it and How to Prepare

Wed, 23 Apr 2025 07:37:50 GMT

How successful organisations were at engaging their employees in 2020, will show up in how much employee-churn they experience as the employment market recovers.

What do you do when one of your employee unexpectedly resigns?

Whether they are linchpins or flight risk employees, it helps to have a plan in place in the event your employee resigns.

We identify the 2 types of employees you may have in your team and what you can do when there is an unexpected resignation.

Linchpins

Some team members are more difficult to replace than others. This isn't necessarily a statement about their work ethic; instead, it focusses on their experience in the company and the skills and knowledge they've picked up along the way.

Employees that are difficult to replace are sometimes called 'linchpin employees' and, while they're essential to your company, they can sometimes place you in a precarious situation.

What is a linchpin employee?

A Linchpin employee is an employee who is vital to the performance of your team because:

They are a central point (or the only point) of company knowledge. E.g., no one else knows what they know.
They undertake duties that no one else in the team can do. As a result, if the linchpin were absent, production or productivity would be affected. To fix these issues, someone else would need to be trained to complete the linchpin employee's tasks.
They could create a bottleneck in operations if they were absent. Part or all of your processes or production could slow down.
They have information, skills, or knowledge that others do not. This knowledge makes them integral to the organisation and very difficult to replace.

What happens if I have a linchpin employee in my team?

It's important to remember that you shouldn't panic. This person is likely a linchpin because they've been a particularly remarkable team member. You should never forget to celebrate your best employees; however, you should also make sure that your team structure minimises risk. In other words, it is essential to consider what would happen if you were unable to retain your linchpin employee in the future.

To solve this dilemma, you should take proactive steps to identify the tasks and activities that your linchpin undertakes. After doing so, you can then work towards implementing plans that ensure your business can still carry out the linchpin's tasks and activities in the case of an unexpected resignation.

Linchpin employees, then, aren't necessarily a bad thing for your company. However, it is vital to have plans in place to protect your company's productivity should there be an unexpected resignation.

Flight-risk Employees

It's essential to have plans in place in case one of your employees suddenly decides to tender their resignation.

To have these plans, you must also learn to identify employees who would be deemed a 'flight risk' to either earmark that employee for retention or prepare your business for their absence.

What is a flight risk employee?

A flight risk team member is an employee who is likely to tender their resignation.

When considering 'flight risk' employees it is important to remember that not all resignations or employee departures are a terrible thing.

Sometimes when a team member resigns, it can be an opportunity to improve the skill set of your team with your next hire.

Who could be a flight risk employee?

Employees who are unengaged or have high rates of absenteeism
Employees who are significantly under remunerated. (Under remunerated employees are very likely to resign and move on once they understand what they can earn in the marketplace. It never pays to be cheap when hiring quality staff.)
Employees who feel there is no pathway to promotion ahead
Employees who experience frequent conflict
Employees who appear bored
Employees who are not learning
Employees who don't have their basic needs met

What do I do if I have a flight risk employee?

It's important to remember that not all resignations are bad for the team. Sometimes, the resignation of a team member is an opportunity to improve and upgrade your team.

With this in mind, you must consider if you should earmark your flight risk employee for retention.

If they should be earmarked for retention, consider the following:

Ask what elements of their role keep them satisfied and what aspects frustrate them
Ask them what they would like to learn and master in the period ahead
Discussing their career plans
Find out where they want to go in your organisation
Discuss the source of conflict and friction
Empower them to drive change and improvements
Ask them what would make them feel re-engaged

With flight risk employees, it's important to remember that not all resignations will negatively impact your team and company performance. However, if you determine that you should keep your flight risk employee, you should take care to identify the issues that make them a flight risk, convincing that team member to remain with your company.

Dealing with Unexpected Resignations

Experiencing someone's resignation (especially if it is an unexpected and resignation) can be challenging.

When receiving an unexpected or unwanted resignation, most managers feel as though their back is against the wall. However, you should understand that you do still have some options available.

The importance of a talent review

Hopefully, you already undertook an annual talent review. This review is a session in which you carefully marked out which employees are your highest performers and should be retained.

This talent review allows you to consider which employees are deserving of internal promotion and which employees should be regarded as a flight risk.

If you've already done this, then you'll know if the person submitting their resignation is on the 'retain list'.

If you did not – make sure you book a talent planning session with us here. We love helping leaders de-risk their operations and improve their ability to respond proactively to human capital headaches.

Here are the steps you can take

Decide (or know from prior planning) if the employee is someone you should try to retain. If they are:

Thank the employee for raising their resignation with you
Gently and authentically express that you would like to discuss their resignation with them and understand why they intend to move on.
Move the conversation to a private location.
Understand that the employee has likely been anxious about tendering their resignation and will be in a stressed state.
Be calm, compassionate and considerate in your responses.
Make the time to understand the root cause/s of why they intend to move on.
Diagnose if it is something you can rectify or change for the employee (while also considering the commercial viability of that solution).
Discuss a plan with the employee.
Ask them to consider it overnight.
Meet again to discuss the employee's thoughts and feedback.
If an agreement can be reached, be sure to take action on it as quickly as possible because your employee will be watching you to make sure you are 'good to your word'.

Unexpected or unwanted resignations happen. But by having an effective human capital plan in place, you can quickly identify which resignations you will accept and which resignations you will strive to turn around.

During a resignation discussion, you must be gracious and professional.

However, suppose you do find that you must accept a resignation (or you are unable to turn around an unwanted resignation). In that case, it is vital to consider how you can improve your team's capabilities and performance by leveraging your next hire.

Don't just hire to replace the resigning team member. Hire to bring in an employee who will set a higher benchmark and bring new skills to your team!

Need help to hire the next great team member for your team? Book a strategy session with the team from Kingston Human Capital.

Taking the right step towards community building

Tue, 22 Apr 2025 11:45:50 GMT

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Human capital gets your businesses to the next level, community capital is what will take us to the next level — together.

These are... weird times. There, we said it. This also is the most important time for us to rally together — as a community.

All while socially distancing, of course.

At Kingston Human Capital, we have a deep sense of responsibility towards the larger community. We take this responsibility seriously and work with some really impressive charities who’re doing a commendable job uplifting the community.

How do we do that? Each time we successfully place a candidate, we celebrate by making a contribution to our partner charities.

Most recently, we donated boxes of men’s business shoes — a high-demand item — to the Suited to Success boutique.

Suited to Success is a Queensland-based not-for-profit helping job seekers overcome barriers to employment and gain confidence through various well-designed programs. One of these programs is the Styling Boutique.

We understand very well how employment links to dignity, independence and confidence.

“Right now, we all need to be doing our part to help Queenslanders re-enter the workforce,” says Liz Kingston, our CEO and co-founder.

“Finding a job is hard work. Tamara Smith (CEO) and her team at Suited to Success are doing an incredible job making it a little easier for job seekers and building their confidence while doing it. So we’re doing all we can to order and ship much-needed interview attire to their Fortitude Valley boutique” adds Liz.

Tamara sent us this warm video. Thank you, Tamara.

We’re excited thinking about all the people who will walk into the Suited to Success boutique feeling a bit jittery and nervous, but walk out feeling confident and accomplished.

Thinking about how you can do your bit and help Suited to Success? Call the Fortitude Valley boutique and check what they currently need.

Then jump online and visit any of these affordable stores, add to cart and arrange delivery direct to Suited to Success:

Big W - www.bigw.com.au
Spendless Shoes - www.spendlessshoes.com.au
KMart - www.kmart.com.au
Target - www.target.com.au
Amazon - www.amazon.com.au

How to reduce unconscious bias in your recruitment process.

Mon, 21 Apr 2025 13:21:53 GMT

Are you naturally drawn to people who have similar experiences or opinions to you?

Are you comfortable making decisions based on ‘gut instinct’?

Most people would answer ‘yes’ to at least one of these questions - because we’re all human. However; sometimes when we ‘go with our gut’ we may be under the influence of our unconscious biases.

What is unconscious bias?

Unconscious biases are learned stereotypes that are automatic, often unconscious, unintentional, and able to influence our behaviour and thinking.

They can have a significant impact on our thinking and decision making. In a workplace context, unconscious bias can impact who we hire and their employee experience.

It’s essential for leaders and hiring managers to understand how unconscious bias can impact the recruitment process. Aside from the impact on equality and fairness, biased hiring decisions result in less diverse teams.

To understand how unconscious bias can impact the recruitment process, there are two key things to understand:

Unconscious bias is human nature - and it goes well beyond age, gender and race.
Unconscious bias can have a significant impact, even before we meet a candidate.

Left unchecked, biases can shape the culture and norms of a company - and industry. Iris Bohnet, behavioural economist and professor at Harvard Kennedy School. Bohnet says seeing is believing: “If we don’t see male kindergarten teachers or female engineers, we don’t naturally associate men and women with those jobs, and we apply different standards. When hiring, promoting, and evaluating job performance, leaders need to learn to de-bias their practices and procedures”.

Further to this, to understand unconscious bias, we need to have a comprehensive understanding of the different types of bias that can affect the recruitment process.

What are the different types of unconscious biases?

John Manoogain mapped over 180 cognitive biases in his cognitive bias codex:

Have you ever hired someone based on a good feeling - even if you couldn’t explain why they were the best person for the job?

Today we look at five different types of biases that can occur during the recruitment process.

These include:

First Impression Bias

While first impressions are important, you can’t judge a book by its cover. First impression bias happens when a candidate looks and sounds great i.e they make a great first impression. Because of this positive first impression, we might automatically assume they are great - and this affects our interview and selection process. First impression bias is considered one of the primary causes of hiring mistakes.

When someone makes a great first impression and we’ve unconsciously leapt to the assumption that they are great, we tend to start seeing them through rose-tinted glasses. This bias can make us less diligent in our interview process. Because an effective, robust interview process is essential to making the best hiring decisions, it is critical that we always pay careful attention to asking insightful questions and really listening to the answers we receive. By understanding first impression bias you can identify scenarios when you are under its spell, and avoid becoming too lax with how you interview.

The Horns Effect

This bias happens when our judgement is impacted by one negative thing about a candidate. It could be how they present themselves or speak, something they say during the interview or something about their employment history. It’s always important to look at the bigger picture and not let the horns effect cloud your judgement. As humans, we are all impacted by unconscious as well as conscious bias i.e. our ability to create our own subjective version of reality.

Did you know that Cognitive bias theory demonstrates that we notice flaws in others easier than we notice flaws in ourselves? When interviewing, be aware that a poor first impression or single negative aspect of a person or their interview could cloud your judgement for the rest of the interview.

The Halo Effect

This phrase was coined in the 1920s by psychologist Edward Thorndike as a way to describe the way commanding officers in the army rated their soldiers. The halo effect sees us focus our attention on one great aspect of a candidate that positively influences everything else we observe about them.

The ‘halo’ could be how they communicate, exceptional skills in a particular area, a previous job with a blue-chip brand like Apple or Google, or the latest qualification relevant to the role. Remember, our task as interviewers is to identify reasons to hire - as well as potential risks of hiring. The halo effect can blind us to such risks. In an interview context, don’t assume that because someone is friendly and you like them, they’re also smart and will be good at their job. This type of unconscious bias also makes us less diligent.

Affinity Bias

Affinity is an essential part of human nature - we are naturally drawn to people who are like us. Cognitive bias theory demonstrates that we imagine things and people we are familiar with (or fond of) as better than things we are less familiar with or fond of. Affinity bias causes us to see similar people in a positive light.

This is where hiring managers and recruitment professionals need to be extra diligent with hiring for ‘cultural fit’. Hiring people who are similar to you and the rest of your team could have a negative impact on diversity. Some examples of affinity bias to look out for include: The danger with affinity bias is that we can tend to place too much importance on the things we have in common with the candidate, making us less diligent during the recruitment and selection process.

When you are interviewing, be sure to qualify skills, strengths and capabilities - especially for people with whom you have things in common. When we are under the influence of affinity bias, we can make disastrous assumptions which could have a significant impact and lead to poor hiring decisions.

Confirmation Bias

Confirmation bias is a tendency to interpret new information or evidence as confirmation of our existing beliefs. While this shows up in recruitment as an unconscious bias, it is also recognised as a cognitive bias - that is, our ability to create our own subjective version of reality. We are drawn to details that confirm our own existing beliefs and we under weigh or undervalue information that conflicts with our existing beliefs.

How to reduce unconscious bias in your recruitment process?

It’s important to understand that unconscious biases are deeply ingrained, which makes it challenging to recognise and overcome. Left unchecked, each of these biases can impact the recruitment and selection process. Outlined below are some of the steps you can take to keep unconscious biases in-check when recruiting:

Accept, Assess and Reflect : We are all human. No one is perfect; we all have biases. During this step, you should be looking to assess yourself as well as your opinions and stereotypes. Consider if there may be some unchecked biases in your own circle or your existing teams. From there, you can reflect and think about how you may work harder to avoid biases moving forward. Tackling your own biases can only be beneficial - you’ll end up with a more diverse, productive and engaged team - and better business performance.
Work to create solutions : The next step is to work at building awareness and understanding of biases. By involving your team, you’re raising awareness, promoting understanding and creating ownership of this challenge and the solutions you collectively design to tackle it. Some ways you may choose to tackle this together as a team is by introducing blind resumes, developing a scoring system that extracts factual information from CVs and interviews, or creating a better design for standardised interviews.
Embrace collaboration : It is crucial to challenge yourself to do better, and one way to do this is to embrace accountability and collaboration in the team. Having a sense-check with someone is a great way to build awareness and ensure you don’t make a biased hiring decision. One way you might do this is through the introduction of a hiring team, which is a great way to reduce the likelihood of bias. Interviewing with one or more colleagues is a great way to tackle prejudice. You must always consider the bigger picture and move the element of judgement from the equation, focusing on the evidence at hand. This mindset change requires a group effort.
Set diversity goals : Creating diversity goals for your organisation and recruitment process will put the issue of bias front and centre. While research about the value of diversity in teams is abundantly detailed, having diversity goals for your recruitment process will inherently build awareness of the impact of bias. At the end of each recruitment process, the hiring team can track their progress against these goals. By introducing this framework, you will also ensure that as a team, you are deeply committed to creating a move inclusive and diverse environment.

Unconscious biases can impact the employee experience, organisational culture and overall performance. Due to this, it is essential that we actively work to reduce these biases when recruiting new talent for our teams.

Backed by over 20 years of experience, Kingston Human Capital is in a unique position to offer advice and support to a range of organisations. It is our mission to partner with you to position your organisation for success. Working with our team of recruitment specialists, you will experience our unwavering commitment to supplying game-changing talent every time. Discover how our personalised touch can make a difference in your recruiting strategies, and meet our team of experts.

Discover more ways you can reduce unconscious bias. Download our guide today.

Supporting the Economy & Future Growth of Queensland: The Unite and Recover Strategy

Sun, 20 Apr 2025 13:06:08 GMT

Australia, like the rest of the world, is facing an incredible challenge; one that has impacted our economy, communities and life as we know it.

While this has been an uphill battle over recent months, we cannot deny the tenacity of Queensland and the ability of our community to come together to face this trial as one.

Fast-forward, we are now in the crucial period of rebuilding Queensland and preparing for the road ahead. The Queensland Government has outlined a staged approach to support Queenslanders and speed up our recovery.

The ‘Unite and Recover Strategy’ is placing Queensland jobs at the forefront of importance in stabilising the economy and driving future growth.

Furthermore, this strategy is focusing on three key areas:

Building vital infrastructure;
Strengthening Queensland’s industries;
Enabling future growth.

The strategy represents the culmination of efforts to protect our health, create more jobs and work together to ensure a brighter future for our State. There is no doubt this strategy is crucial for our longer-term recovery, and this investment will strengthen Queensland's industries.

To prepare for this, Kingston Human Capital is working to develop future-ready talent for this economy and to strengthen the bridge between the demand and supply of skilled workers.

We are developing the talent to support the future economy.

It is vital we all work to support Queensland by finding the right people for every role, ensuring that we can assist in continued organisational growth and development. We know that people are the heart of everything, and success comes a few years down the track when there is visible evidence of the impact each person has made - on the organisation and the wider sector.

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At Kingston, we work every day to match the right talent with an organisation's strategy, goals or deliverables. We are assisting in finding the talent that is helping the business move forward and grow. In that way, the work Kingston is doing is benefiting the broader Queensland community. This is a very exciting and fulfilling prospect. - Katie O’Connell

We are strengthening the bridge between the demand and supply of skills.

A significant challenge for our industries is the need for a skilled workforce. However, the solution is more simple than some might believe, and it comes down to skills development. By linking skills development to job requirements, future talent can put their newly acquired skills into practice and create value for their employers. Organisations should be looking to further encourage and enable the hiring and advancement of workers based on achievements, skills and competencies.

Likewise, to strengthen this bridge, we know there is an urgent need to redesign roles and review the structure of our workforce and business models. By introducing processes that identify potential inefficiencies and creating organisational roadmaps, we are enabling the type of forward-thinking that will aid organisational development and the wider Queensland community.

We're doing our part to assist Queensland. We are living and breathing this Unite and Recover Strategy through our own internal cohort. The strategy is present in the way we go about our work. We are remaining conscious about choosing local suppliers, keeping staying focused on supporting small business and community endeavours as well. This strategy is in place to see the further development of Queensland, and we’re aligning our approach to assist and support that, in whatever way that is needed. We are there to help. - Angela Ng

As a Queensland owned and operated SME, we are proud to support the Queensland Government to create a better future for Queenslanders. To achieve that vision, the Government needs to attract, engage and retain the very best talent.

In the last 12 months, Kingston Human Capital have helped the Queensland Government and its agencies solve over 500 complex hiring challenges. As part of the Labour Hire Panel, we will continue to help solve more.

Working with our team of recruitment specialists, you will experience our unwavering commitment to supplying game-changing talent every time.

5 skills leaders must develop to lead hybrid teams.

Sat, 19 Apr 2025 11:56:09 GMT

Today, leaders are faced with a new kind of team, hybrid teams.

'Hybrid teams' refers to contemporary teams, some of which work in the office and others who work from home. As such, leaders now have to learn an additional set of management skills that span both office-based and virtual environments, on top of their already strenuous workload.

For obvious reasons, learning a whole new skill set is an incredibly hard task to master for even those with plenty of times on their hands. Adding this to the list of prerequisite skills is only making it more difficult to find and engage incredible leaders. However; some leaders are meeting this challenge head-on and striving to grasp the new skills needed to manage exceptional hybrid teams.

The leadership skills that apply in a virtual environment differ to those we need in face-to-face situations.

In this article, we uncover the five key skills that outstanding leaders need to develop to lead the workforce of the future, and why some leaders are simply better than others.

In virtual environments, we no longer have the luxury of seeing all our people and reading their posture, body language or tone. Leaders are having to develop skills that suit both virtual and in-office scenarios because now more than ever, we are working with both in-office and home-based staff. And, what is clear is that these hybrid teams are here to stay.

Since March, we've been digging down to find what contemporary leaders who are managing hybrid teams well are doing, and if there are unique skills required. When you are looking for your next leader, it is vital to ensure they possess these skills.

Here are 5 skills you need to develop to stay competitive in this new working environment:

1. The ability to flow through different communication mediums for different uses: Trust us, death by Zoom conference is real.

Many employees complain about zoom/teams fatigue, that's because leaders are not thinking about which of the mediums are the best to use. Instead of defaulting to pulling a team together over Zoom, leaders with exceptional virtual leadership skills pause and think about which channel/medium is best to use to keep their squad actively engaged. Great leaders also think about timing; just because it’s come up now, doesn't mean it needs to be communicated right away.

If it is something that can wait, they ask themselves should it be shared at a more reasonable time rather than interrupting their team right now.

Leaders with well developed virtual leadership skills navigate smoothly between a range of channels. For example, they are proficient at using pre-recorded media for one way group messaging. This could be done by recording a “teams” meeting and sharing the link or, using Vidyard or Soapbox. These one-way mechanisms are perfect for when you need to provide an update, that doesn't require interaction.

Instant Messaging (IM) again is an excellent channel for quick and zest questions and answers. However, it’s rife with challenges as soon as a quick chat transforms into a discussion. This can be dangerous as it’s hard to control tone, and sometimes it’s simply more efficient to use the phone.

Leaders with well developed virtual leadership skills read the play and make sound judgments about when a text-based conversation should be transitioned to a voice or in-person conversation. They are quick to address it, as they are aware of how much information can be communicated by tone.

Great virtual leaders are also well attuned to knowing when a face-to-face session is needed. They understand that it takes time and effort and face to face interactions to build relationships. Furthermore, they are also mindful that not every conversation or meeting has to be about something, and know that some sessions are simply about checking on members of their team.

Another practical skill shared by hybrid team leaders is their ability to block out time to do the actual work. To cater for this, some organisations have moved 12-3 pm deep work time or productivity hours. This is helping them avoid the endless ongoing comms and feedback, creating time for their teams to get the work done.

In summary, one of the critical skills adept virtual leaders demonstrate is not just knowing how to leverage different mediums to communicate; they also know how to flow between those mediums to get the best outcomes from the team.

2. They are skilled at providing their team members autonomy.

We can’t check in on our home-based employees in the same way we can our team members who are in the office. Leaders who have mastered the skills associated with leading hybrid teams have learned to put their trust in workers’ capabilities. But, they are not doing this blindly. These management experts have honed their skills in:

Being clear on expectations.
Delegating projects or packages of work to teams or employees.
Agreeing on check-in points to evaluate how the work is going.
Clearly outlining deadlines.
Constantly developing a culture of accountability.

3. They are proactive about staying in contact with their team, dispersed or not.

Staying in contact can take many forms, and the same approach that works for one of your team members will drastically fail if you apply it to another team member.

A leader who has nailed this skill knows to stay in contact with their team and considers the individual management requirements of each team member.

Individual management could take any number of forms, such as setting up weekly catch-up calls or having frequent team meetings. No matter how it is done, the virtual leader needs to be proactive in staying abreast of what their team is working on. Another observable action was that managers with the most engaged teams seem to communicate with their people at least once a day in a chatty manner, no doubt creating comfortability and building on the working relationships.

4. They have killed ambiguity.

Leaders who are skilled in this space have become precise communicators. They leave no room for ambiguity and work purposefully to remove any confusing language from their communications. They are clear and concise, knowing that when managing teams who span both WHF and office-based environments there is plenty of opportunity for misunderstandings.

Managers of hybrid teams run a proactive, defence strategy to reduce the rate of miscommunication.

5. They have mastered the skill of communicating the big picture, often.

When you are working with a team that is both office-based and working from home, it can be easy to fall into a tactical task. Adept leaders have learned how and when do pull their teams’ attention away from the detail and direct this toward the horizon. Often this is simply an instinct, and ability to read the team dynamics. Some leaders describe this as being able to take the team’s temperature and know when to reconnect them with the big picture.

It is clear that hybrid teams are here to stay; for this reason, leaders must look toward employing the new skills they need to help their team find success.

Kingston Human Capital is a Queensland owned SME that focuses on delivering pedigree recruitment and human resource services to the Queensland Government. See our case studies here .

Leaders Are Shifting To Outcomes-based Thinking, Not 40-hour Work Week

Fri, 18 Apr 2025 09:50:29 GMT

In 1817 Robert Owen declared that we should have “eight hours labour, eight hours recreation, eight hours rest”, a functional theory that rightly suited the industrial era where by most of the working class were factory-base jobs.

This seemed fair and practical, at least at the time of the industrial revolution.

This way of thinking was later re-established by Henry Ford in 1926 the founder of Ford Motor Company, who presented a new working week: the five-day, 4-hour workweek. Or, as we know it, the 9-5 grind. At the time, with no change to wages, the five-day workweek was a ground-breaking proposition. In a statement, Ford wrote, “It is high time to rid ourselves of the notion that leisure for workmen is either lost time or a class privilege.”

Fast forward almost 100 years, and we have entered a new age. No longer are we coveting the factory floors of Ford, workers are now working at lightning speed in rooms lit up with computer screens; an image that likely would have shocked Robert Owens.

And even still, our ways of working are evolving. With the challenge of the pandemic, workers are no longer in the typical office. Much of the workforce is now working at least some of their time from home. This has created a chasm in the way we work and has also meant leadership styles have had to evolve.

Leaders previously had the luxury of observing their staff deliver 40-hours of work when we were all office-based. But, this luxury is no longer. With teams now working from home, leaders are unable to eyeball their staff to ensure the full completion of a 40-hour working week. And, as a result, a new set of questions has arisen:

If I can't see my team working, how do I know they were working?
Do I have trust in my team to know they are working when they are at home?
How do I measure productivity if they are working from home?
Do I believe in the 40-hour work week anymore?

A shift to an outcome-based work week.

As with the previous changes, often the wheel of motion has pushed a need to rethink how we work. Typically, this is purely out of necessity and due to the situation on-hand at the time. In this case, our push into the modern-day workplace has stemmed from a pandemic. Without the observable 40-hour workweek, leaders have had to adjust to a new way of thinking about productivity and staff engagement to understand whether a team is working at the same level as they did before working from home. Now, leaders are looking for ways to create tangible evidence of employee work. This has led to a shift in mindset.

Some leaders are moving to a new workplace model, being outcome-based.

No longer are they worried about whether their teams are completing a 40-hour week, instead they are asking the right question: Is my team member delivering quality outcomes and good productivity?

If team members are completing their fair share of workload, and all required outcomes are being met, then perhaps this indicates a high level of productivity and engagement. For this reason, the archaic ways of the 40-hour workweek are being diminished.

Bring on the benefits.

More than ever, lifestyle and work-balance have become a prominent part of decision-making when accepting a new role. People want to spend more time with their families and doing the things they love, outside of work. An outcome-based approach allows for this lifestyle balance, with research also showing great organisational benefits, suggesting that working less makes us more effective and less fatigued.

There is a growing body of evidence that also supports this claim. Previous studies have shown that commonly the average worker only completes approximately 3 hours of productive work each day. With this in mind, the 40-hour workweek might not be the best way to monitor and gauge team members productivity. Instead, shorter workdays might be the answer. Research surrounding shorter workdays has been the basis of much discussion, most significantly was the findings of an Australian based company and a New Zealand based company.

The COE and co-founder of Collective Campus, Steve Glaveski introduced a 2-week trial of a 6-hour workday for employees of his company. The findings showed a higher production and quality of work.

“The shorter workday forced the team to prioritise effectively, limit interruptions, and operate at a much more deliberate level for the first few hours of the day. The team maintained, and in some cases increased, its quantity and quality of work, with people reporting an improved mental state…”

Steve Glaveski (Source: Harvard Business Review)

Similarly, in 2019, Director of Complectus Limited, Andrew Barnes, presented the findings of the introduction of a four day work week. The results were remarkable. Barnes highlighted in a TED Talk on the matter that the four-day workweek increased productivity, engagement, job satisfaction, and work-life balance. The improvement was so apparent that this four-day workweek is now the model the company uses.

For the most part, freedom in work is a good thing. The absence of boundaries between work and life can have long-term detrimental effects on employee productivity and performance. This is a common problem expressed by employees working the typical 40-hour workweek. For this reason, an outcome-based working model might assist in creating flexibility, trust and increasing productivity.

Ultimately, this highlights a new question for leaders to think about.

Are the hours in a workweek essential when productivity and quality of work are at an all-time high?

We think not.

At Kingston Human Capital , it is our mission to partner with you to position your organisation for success. We help you find the right talent to grow your organisation. Discover how our personalised touch can make a difference in your recruiting strategies, and meet our team of experts .

The Shift Back To The Office A “tough Pill To Swallow” For Some Employees.

Thu, 17 Apr 2025 10:11:42 GMT

This year workplaces experienced a mass exodus away from office-based work, as many organisations transitioned teams to work from home.

Never before had the Australian workforce faced this kind of challenge. And as is seemingly the norm in the wake of a pandemic, new challenges are frequently being realised.

Right now, the majority of organisations (except for those in Victoria at the time of publication) are grappling with bringing their teams back to the workplace. Whether this is by having all staff back full-time or asking their people to return to the office for a percentage of the working week, or experimenting with rotating rosters, employers across the country are working their way back to some kind of normalcy. Regardless of each organisation's approach, the unifying theme is bringing people back to the office.

And with this, a new set of challenges has begun to emerge.

Whilst working from home, many staff adapted rather well. Consequently, the shift back to the workplace has been a “tough pill to swallow”, with pockets of staff not wanting to return to the office at all. The time we spent away from the office has highlighted a lifestyle change that works well for many.

The critical point is that employers are now having to navigate some hard and fast objections to returning to work.

There are few case studies on how to navigate this changing environment. While organisations have become more adaptable, innovative and flexible, the big questions they are asking include:

How do we return our people to the office, in a way that is safe, sustainable and beneficial to both the organisation and our employees?
Do we need our people back in the office five days a week, is a hybrid environment achievable?
What benefits can we realise if we retain parts of our work from home practices?
Did we realise efficiencies or gains during the work-from-home period?
What did we learn, and how can we leverage it?
Does the future of how we work have to reflect how we worked in the past?

Returning staff to the office-based work is both art and science.

What has been brought to light is the need for artful reboarding strategies that address the needs of both employers and ease change back into the lives of employees. Previously, reboarding plans have not been a significant concern. But in light of the current climate, and what may lay ahead, employers need to craft their reboarding strategy with care.

When deploying their strategies employers should consider the unique requirements of their operation, whilst remaining considerate of workplace health and safety legislation, FairWork Australia legislation and also ensuring they are compliant with the COVID-Safe directives of their state.

Accept that there is no one size fits all approach.

Many organisations are grappling with the workload associated with assessing the situations of their staff on a case-by-case basis. For some staff, their individual needs and requirements differ depending on financial, situational and health-related circumstances. While employers have worked hard to ensure their offices are COVID-Safe, there are times when outside factors will play havoc with even the very best return-to-office planning.

Example 1: Some employers are reporting an increase in the number of requests not to return to the office, coming from staff who live with parents or partners in vulnerable age categories. HR teams are rumbling with how to respond in a manner that meets both the employer and employee needs.

Example 2: Approximately 5% of the Australian population suffer from autoimmune disease. Staff with autoimmune diseases may encounter increased exposure risk-taking public transport to get to and from work, or the risk reduction brought about by social distancing in the office may still be too high for their circumstances. With this in mind, employers are moving quickly to consider how they plan to address the unique circumstances of different staff members. A one size fits all solution does not exist.

Understand that reboarding, done poorly will harm retention and your brand.

A pain point shared by many employers is the pockets of employees that have come to enjoy the freedoms of working from home and are resisting returning to the office.

While many employers are approaching this situation in as contemporary a manner as possible, working from home may not always be the most effective or beneficial option for organisations. Some teams work better in face-to-face environments, and some situations demand in-person meetings to allow for greater collaboration and relationship-building.

Additionally, to encourage the move back to the workplace, organisations should ensure that the “why” behind the reboarding strategy is communicated. Many return to work and find the reboarding plans have gaping holes when it comes to explaining why returning to the office is essential. All reboarding strategies must consider this and work to provide sound evidence and rationale.

Ultimately, this will take the sting out and help the employees to see it from the overall perspective, not just their point of view.

By providing a strong rationale in support of returning to the office, you are also communicating that you are responsible and use evidence-based decision-making. This is good for your brand, and you can avoid the creation of narratives in the absence of explanation, by providing the “why” you are instead explaining key rationale that dictates the overarching narrative and employee beliefs regarding the organisation.

Putting challenges aside for a moment, here are three low costs considerations to help your teams make a successful transition back to the workplace:

1. Use the opportunity of reboarding as a way to energise your team.

As well as ensuring the working environment is comfortable and ready for the return of their employees, several smart organisations are also looking toward how they can leverage this moment as an opportunity to re-energise staff. A recent example of this in action was highlighted by one of our clients who has planned a socially-distanced town hall meeting, where the CEO will surprise employees with recognition and awards for outstanding contributions and behaviours during COVID-19. These awards highlighted notable achievements, including those who looked out for their team, maintained a great attitude under adversity and showcased grace under pressure. It is essential to use this period of a transition as an opportunity to bring the team together.

2. Leverage your tech to build easily accessible reboarding modules.

We know that creating a robust reboarding strategy is crucial. As part of this strategy, some organisations are leveraging their existing tech to make digital reboarding-modules for their returning employees. These modules outline the changes that have happened in the workplace, any new staff and the actions the organisation is taking to ensure employee safety and security.

The use of video has become popular in outlining the changes that have happened in the workplace, sharing this with new and existing staff to ensure employee safety and security.

It doesn't have to be high production - it can be a simple video shot on an iPhone. The point is that it's quickly deployable and scalable.

Furthermore, by using video content, you are ensuring that there is a human element to the communication, which makes the content authentic and meaningful. Too often the warmth of a message or the importance of it is lost because the language doesn't translate well to text.

One of our favourite examples using reboarding modules was a case employed by an HR Director, who broadcasted to Facebook Live from Messenger Rooms in the lead up to the return to the office. By doing so, this leader was able to keep the team informed and prepared for their return; educating the team on what to expect and any new protocols. The ‘live’ videos could later be clipped and used for future use, and subsequently sent to new employees. This was a great use of existing technology that their workforce demographic was already using, ensuring an easy return back to the office. Does your organisation have any existing technology that you could leverage in your return to office planning?

3. Make it your own

There is no doubt; every organisation will likely have a different approach and experience during this time. The critical task for organisations is to decipher the needs of your organisation and review case studies to assist in moulding a strategy that is suited to your team and unique situation. It is vital to remember that only you will know what is best for your team, so stay true to this and take courage in creating a plan that may look different to the approach of other organisations. There is no off-the-shelf solution, and this strategy will require customisation. Coupled with transparent and honest communications about reboarding and expectations, this is sure to make the transition back to the workplace easier not only for you as an employer, but for your staff.

4 Tactics Leaders Should Take When It Comes To Leading Wfh And Office-based Teams.

Wed, 16 Apr 2025 12:58:05 GMT

Working from home (WFH) is now commonplace, and hybrid teams that move between offices and home are on the rise.

For this reason, there have been no stranger times to be a leader in the workplace.

With additional strains due to the effects of the pandemic and juggling an extensive workload, leaders are finding it challenging to work on developing the new skill set required to manage teams.

Below, Kingston Human Capital’s co-founder, Gerard Kerr shares 4 tactics leaders should take when it comes to leading WFH and Office based teams.

1. Facilitate Purposeful Collaboration.

In the office, it can happen naturally. We are all together, gathered around a central problem, nutting out something as a team on a whiteboard. Collaboration happens naturally. Plus, the added benefit of seeing each other in the same room means ideas flow easier and solutions can be found quicker. Fast-forward to current times; leaders are finding this natural collaboration is non-existent, simply because brain-storming doesn’t translate as well over Zoom, Skype or Microsoft Teams. As a result, leaders must now be more intentional about facilitating collaboration, acting as traffic controllers.

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The best leaders in this new-age environment, don’t leave collaboration to chance.

As a leader, you also to work to better your collaboration leading questions during an online meeting, to further discussion.

For example: Let’s say you are in Zoom meeting having a group brainstorm. Your language needs to change from: “ok, does anyone else have anything to add to that?”. Instead, your language should be direct: “Nikki, let’s hear your take on this challenge”, or “Angela, what downstream impacts can you see”. Alternatively, you could use a statement like: “does anyone feel a burning sense that there is something we are not considering here?”. The point is to be the director and facilitator of conversation.

2. Know when to switch.

Working from home means we are often using Teams, Zoom, Hangouts and instant messaging services like Slack, regularly. But, as a leader, you need to know when to move a chat to non-text conversations. It is crucial to do this for more complicated discussions, where the tone needs to be observed and talks when you need to have a better understanding of where your other person is at or how they are feeling.

Remember much of what we mean is communicated in our tone. Leaders should teach their team to know when they need to move to non-text conversations. It’s vital that they too can judge the right time to switch a conversation from text to voice, or from voice-to-face to face.

Hot Tip: Got two team members who are butting heads? It may be that the tone they strike when they are using instant messaging isn’t conductive or warm. Coach them on knowing when to switch to non-text conversations, and you will see improved results.

3. Think outcomes, not hours.

The 40-hour working week is a hangover from the industrial revolution. It was introduced to protect workers’ rights. Now, some organisations are moving their focus and working to emphasise outcomes over hours.

Some leaders who are new to leading remote teams may be prone to fall into thinking that if they can’t see a team member, then they don’t know if that team member is working. And, more than ever, leaders are working to understand how to know employees are working without the ability to directly observe your team battling away. The solution is more straightforward than one might think. Instead of measuring hours consider measuring outcomes (number of projects finished, documents completed by the deadline, parcels of work completed by certain milestones).

You can watch the clock for your employees, or you can measure the outcomes they produce. But, the best leaders know that measuring outcomes is far more productive, and far easier to coach on.

4. Remember what you communicate is often what you get.

Leaders need to be more clear and concise when communicating what is needed to their teams. Without clarity, communications can be confusing and often will garner unintended results of outcomes from employees. The best leaders use a ‘destination statement’ to make known the requirements and clearly outline the task at hand. This is simply one sentence that clearly defines what needs to be accomplished.

Similarly, this same mindset should be employed when conducting meetings. All too often, leaders fail to start a meeting well. They just jumpstart the session and hit the agenda without a direction or thinking about where they need to arrive at the end of the meeting. When this happens, translation of what is needed can be lost. Thus, it is crucial to take the time, think about what you want to achieve from the meeting, and then make sure you can communicate it one clear sentence. You should work to start your meetings by stating your expectations, and by using a destination statement. This will set the intention for the meeting and make all communications precise, working toward the required outcome.

Not only this, but by providing your team with a destination statement you are educating them as to what success looks like for this meeting.

They better equipped to know where the meeting should lead to, and they will be more likely to work with you toward that destination statement. While this sounds simple, it takes practice.

Observe this: In the meetings you attend, observe your leaders. How many start their meetings with a destination statement? How would you rate the effectiveness of those meetings? Teach your team leaders to start their meetings with a destination statement.

Example destination statements:

Ok team, today, by the end of this meeting I want us to have mapped the first draft of our strategic plan.
I am looking forward to our discussion today, by the end of this meeting, I want us to have decided on the framework for how we will address [insert the issue at hand].

Recruitment Videos: How Queensland Government Leverage Video In Its Executive Recruitment Processes

Tue, 15 Apr 2025 10:46:04 GMT

Queensland's Leading Government Organisations are leveraging recruitment videos to attract top executive talent.

Executive boards are reporting that the traditional approach to executive hiring is delivering disappointing outcomes. Using video and modern forms of mixed media is an incredibly effective way for leading organisations to communicate their unique and authentic offering to the top executive talent market. In fact, 59% of executives agree that if both text and video are available on the same topic, they are more likely to choose video.

Would you like to create a recruitment video? Submit a request here.

Additionally, using video in executive recruitment will increase the amount of applications received, as found in a recent survey by CareerBuilder , which found that job postings with videos have a 34% higher application rate!

During 2019 we have worked with a number of leading government organisations to support them in their executive hiring, here are some of our favourite examples:

Screen Queensland: Chief Executive Officer
Queensland Music Festival: Executive Director
The Department of Environment & Science: Executive Director, Science Strategy and Partnerships
The Fringe World Impact: Chief Executive Officer

Screen Queensland: Chief Executive Officer

Screen Queensland is a Government-owned company that has been established in the state for 26 years and sits within the portfolio of the Premier of Queensland and Minister for Trade. Screen Queensland invests in the Queensland screen industry, attracts production including post, digital and visual effects to the state and supports screen culture activities for all Queenslanders.

Queensland Music Festival: Executive Director

Queensland Music Festival (QMF) offers Queenslanders the chance to hear and be heard, with a rich tapestry of musical experiences designed to uncover and empower young musicians, create world-class music in regional communities, and shed light on current social issues.

The Department of Environment & Science: Executive Director, Science Strategy and Partnerships

The Department of Environment and Science (DES) recognises the enormous value a clean environment, innovative society and economy, and vibrant culture makes to Queenslanders’ lives. As a diverse organisation, the department brings together environment, heritage protection, national parks, science and arts functions to help achieve government objectives for a better Queensland.

The Fringe World Impact: Chief Executive Officer

FRINGE WORLD is a summer celebration held in Perth and Western Australia each year. It is the largest annual event in Western Australia and attracts over 900,000 people through paid and free events.

The festival is all about offering a variety of entertainment for everyone. Including events and acts of music, dance, comedy, visual arts, theatre and much more. With a combination of local Western Australian talent as well as performers and artists from all over the world.

The Most Powerful Interview Questions to Avoid Poor Hiring Outcomes

Mon, 14 Apr 2025 09:37:24 GMT

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Poor hiring decisions care are often problematic for a number of reasons.

Apart from the obvious inconvenience and significant cost of rehiring and retraining, more organisations than ever are aware of the negative impact poor hiring decisions have on culture, morale and productivity.

In this short video, Liz Kingston shares a quick tool that we’ve found that dramatically improves the interview process for both employer and candidate whilst providing considerably better hiring outcomes.

Backed by over 20 years of experience, Kingston Human Capital is in a unique position to offer advice and support to a range of organisations. Discover how we help our clients .

Our Unique Government Executive Recruitment Process

Sun, 13 Apr 2025 14:39:37 GMT

The reason Kingston Human Capital has been able to deliver such great recruitment outcomes for Queensland Government departments is that we go through a series of thorough steps and processes before designing a recruitment strategy.

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Approved provider: Queensland Local Buy Panel

Labour Hire Licence Number LHL-00632-M1X4H

Why do some people perform brilliantly in their jobs while others fail?

Sat, 12 Apr 2025 08:54:28 GMT

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Two employees might have the same education, skills, qualifications, and experience, but one outperforms the other by miles. Why?

Some people find it confronting when we say you are 100% accountable for your own performance. We know that is a big statement, but it is true.

Managing yourself in a way that enables you to maintain peak performance is critical to your career success. Employers are looking for team members who are highly self-aware and know how to optimize their own peak performance levels.

Kingston Human Capital met with 302 employees who were nominated as “top performers” by their organisations. Today we share their tips on how they achieve peak performance.

Get Enough Sleep.

Top performers recognise that good sleep is essential to peak performance. You’ll be surprised what a difference a well-rested mind makes to your daily productivity.

Well-rested individuals face challenges with more optimism and energy. Compare your productivity on a day when you are tired, to a day when you had a great night’s sleep. Be honest with yourself. Most people find they are 40 to 50% less productive after a poor night’s sleep.

You are in charge here. Do everything you can to ensure you get enough sleep.

Eat Well.

Another common behaviour observed in the Peak Performers group was a commitment to eating well.

It makes sense; what you put in your body, fuels your body. If you equip your body with the nutrients it needs it will run well – you will be able to rely on it to provide you with the energy and focus you need.

You choose what you put in your mouth. Choose well.

Exercise.

Each of the Peak Performers we met with had a commitment to an exercise regime. The choice of the exercise was broad, from stepping out on a lunch break to a quick yoga class, to throwing on their sneakers and strolling around the building a few times, to running up and down the fire stairs. Peak Performers were deeply committed to finding a way to win 20 minutes of exercise each day.

Build a Daily To-Do List.

We found that 100% of the Peak Performers started their day with some sort of To-Do List. Whether it was a task list in Trello (free software – check it out) or a handwritten list of action – each and every Peak Performer started their day with a well thought out list of outcomes they needed to produce.

Interestingly almost 45% of the subject group allocated the number of minutes they would spend on each task. Its makes sense to determine the amount of time you are going to spend on a task or outcome. Your time is money and thinking about your time as money brings you a greater sense of how you can spend it effectively.

You’re in charge of your time, think about how you should best spend it.

Eat the toad.

This isn’t a new concept. Peak Performers are completely wedded to this concept. They recommend doing the thing you hate the most, first thing every day. Why? When you start your day you are usually in your most energetic state. You are in the best position to work on your most challenging task.

Taking on the task you hate first thing in the morning, enables you to ensure you don’t procrastinate and put off the important things that need doing. It gets the thing you hate most out of your way so you can get into a good flow for the rest of you day. Don’t avoid the tasks you hate. Man up – eat your toad.

Single Burning Task (SBT).

In every day there is a single burning task that needs to be completed. In your daily to-do list – identify your single burning task. After you’ve eaten your toad, kick right into making sure you address your single burning task. By executing your single burning task early in your day, you limit the distractions and interruptions that can send you off- track, rob you of your time and affect your productivity. The Peak Performance group we interviewed were able to clearly identify their single burning task – daily.

Go on, you know your job well – are you executing your SBT daily?

Split up the Big Projects.

Big projects can be psychologically overwhelming. Just looking at a big project in its entirety can kill the energy and zest you started your day with.

Peak Performers have found ways to break the project down into very small and very manageable segments. They get a start on a small part of the project, they tick that off their list then tackle another small segment.

This builds psychological momentum and motivation. It’s a smart trick.

We observed a great behaviour in one of our peak performers who had to undertake large projects that she found uninspiring. She used the “JDI” approach that Michelle Bridges promotes. ‘JUST-DO-IT’, she bargains with herself. She tells herself I’ll JUST-DO-IT for 25 minutes that’s all. Most often she finds herself well and truly into the project and has built momentum and decides to keep going.

Improve your capabilities.

Another common orientation we observed among the Peak Performance group was a personal commitment to upgrading their own expertise. Peak Performers proactively looked for training opportunities, coaching and mentors within their organisations.

More importantly, they did not rely on their Employers to provide all their training. They had a deep commitment to sourcing and participating in courses and opportunities that would enhance their skills.

You really are your own brand/product/resource. It makes sense to invest in yourself.

Insights from 20 Years of Recruitment To Help You Land Your Next Role

Fri, 11 Apr 2025 09:41:29 GMT

At Kingston Human Capital, we understand the recruitment process inside-out. We know our insight can help you land your next big role.

Meet Gerard Kerr, our GM of Executive Search & Selection shares insights. In the above video, Gerard shares the tips and tricks from his 20 years of executive recruitment experience to help you land your next big role.

Transcript.

I’d like to share some insights gained from my 20 years of recruitment in which I’ve interviewed thousands of individuals across a broad range of occupations and industries.

Now, I believe these insights should assist you with being able to secure your next role.

Over my time, I’ve seen a major difference with those candidates that are able to articulate a message to their audience. So, the people interviewing them, that’s targeted to their needs.

So, what do I mean by this?

One of those questions we often get at the interview is one of those openers and it could go something along these lines: So, could you tell us about your working history to date?

Now, it’s a broad question and the panel is usually looking for an understanding of your ability to communicate, but of course, also after an idea about how you see your transferable skills fit into their organisation. [Paragraph]

The trap here is that many of us just talk about our working history to date, don’t we?

We look at those parts of our history within different roles that have appealed most to us without necessarily taking into account our audience.

What I recommend here is while you’re doing your research around the organisation, take a moment to think about your most relevant roles from the past.

So, rather than just relying on your stock, standard responses, “when I was at this organisation, I did A, B, and C”; you’ll be able to go, “Well, I was at this organisation and I did X, Y, and Z. This, I thought would be particularly relevant “to the role at hand”.

Then, you’re able to jump through in a very concise manner, once again, drawing upon those transferable skills that are relevant to your audience.

Now, that’s just not for that one question, that goes for all questions, doesn’t it? We like to fall into the habit of having our standard responses. But in the world of today, we’re needing to be more nimble. We can’t just go with the scripts that we’ve always relied on.

We need to be able to take into account our audience and give them material that’s going to actually mean something to them.

How to Improve Your Hiring Processes to Achieve Your Diversity and Inclusion Goals

Thu, 10 Apr 2025 10:27:42 GMT

At Kingston Human Capital, we love working with organisations who are focused on improving diversity and inclusion in their recruitment hiring.

Most organisations recognise that a ‘tick the box’ approach is not a sustainable way to improve diversity and inclusion in talent acquisition. A focused and sustainable strategy is key.

In this article, we look at how to improve the diversity and inclusion of hiring practices in your workplaces.

What is diversity?

Workplace diversity is the idea is that your workplace should reflect the makeup of greater society. When people think of diversity, they often think of demographic groups like race or gender.

But diversity is a much broader and more inclusive concept.

Workplace diversity can be defined as understanding, accepting, and valuing differences between people of different races, ethnicities, genders, ages, religions, disabilities, and sexual orientations, as well as differences in personalities, skill sets, experiences, and knowledge bases.

What are the benefits of diversity?

Improving diversity and inclusion in your hiring process is key, not just because it’s the right thing to do. It yields incredible (and measurable!) benefits for your organisation1.

Workforce diversity and inclusion is a key driver of business growth and internal innovation2. Groups of diverse problem-solvers have been shown to outperform groups of high-ability problem-solvers3.

Additionally, companies with diverse executive boards enjoy significantly higher earnings and returns on equity4.

Forbes reported that a study of more than 500 organisations found that every 1% increase in gender and racial diversity is correlated with a 3% to 9% increase in sales revenue5.

10 steps to help achieve diversity and inclusion goals in your hiring processes.

1. Send the right message in your employer branding materials.

It’s important to send a clear message in your employer branding content – to communicate that you are an organisation committed to developing a diverse workforce.

Ensure you promote your D&I Initiatives in your employer branding material and communicate how you are meshing your diversity strategies with your mission and values.

If you want to improve your diversity outcomes, communicating this loud and clear. Say it!

Job seekers often wonder: Does this organisation walk their talk when it comes to diversity?

So, if you do, demonstrate this – through case studies, statistics, and highlighting your diversity career pathways. This removes the guesswork for job seekers and you will enjoy higher rates of attraction from diverse groups of people.

2. Craft your job advertisements to attract more diverse candidates.

The language you use your job advertisements makes a huge difference to your diversity outcomes. When it comes to improving your copywriting, a little research about your use of terminology and descriptive terms will go a long way.

3. Design workplace policies that are appealing.

Research has found that one of the best workplace policies to help you attract diverse candidates is flexibility.

If you’re not offering flexibility to your people, get ready to be left behind.

A PwC survey found that compared to older generations, millennials place more importance on a company culture that emphasises work/life balance. Are you promoting this in your employer branding? Discussing it at interview?

McKinsey research found that the #1 cultural value that women are most attracted to is a flexible schedule. Have you reality tested the flexibility you are offering?

Research has found that one of the main reasons why employees quit their job is a long commute. In some cities, distance from office locations can correlate with more diverse neighbourhoods. Have you thought about offering work from home options?

Ensuring your workplace policies cater to what is important to your people will ensure you attract more diverse candidates while also contributing to your employee retention.

4. Be aware that like can attract like.

More often than not, our networks are built of people who are similar to us. Sourcing from your existing networks can work against your diversity initiatives.

McKinsey research shows that 63% of men have networks made up of mostly men. Only 38% of women said the same about their networks.

LinkedIn’s data found that women are less likely to rely on their networks and more likely to search for jobs on third-party websites and online job boards6.

To achieve true diversity and round out your recruitment strategy, it’s important to utilise a range of different channels and networks.

5. Partner with community and diversity groups to create alternative channels to identify talent.

Establishing relationships or partnerships with community or diversity groups will help you build a diverse network and talent pipeline. The good news is that there are plenty of proactive diversity and community groups here in Queensland.

6. Advertise in diverse and inclusive media. This is about being seen where your potential candidates and new employees are reading or viewing content.

Find religious, cultural and ethnic publications and websites or networks and ask them if you can promote your job vacancy through these channels. Most advocacy and community groups are incredibly supportive and will actively help you promote your opportunity to their network or community.

7. Identify your biases. Every single one of us has certain leanings and preferences—called biases. More often than not we are not aware of them – making them unconscious biases. It’s important to uncover your own biases to ensure they won’t get in the way of your hiring choices.

Identifying our own biases can be uncomfortable and challenging. But if you are committed to improving your diversity and inclusion outcomes – dive in and get yourself sorted.

Harvard has a tool called the “Implicit-association test” which evaluates a person’s biases. The test is a little bit clunky but the insights are incredible. Try it!

Once you’ve identified your unconscious biases you can establish a plan to reduce their impact on your recruitment process.

8. Consider using blind resumes. The blind hiring method is a hot topic. And it’s easy to do – simply remove the candidates’ names from their resumes.

The theory behind removing the candidates’ names is that it helps decision makers avoid unconscious biases like race and gender. Some organisations are taking it one step further and removing other identifying information like graduation year, university names, and even suburbs. By removing this data you ensure that you will evaluate your prospective employee’s skills more objectively.

9. Prepare yourself with answers for questions diverse candidates are likely to ask.

If a candidate values diversity and inclusion in the workplace, they will often ask important questions to help them determine whether an organisation is truly inclusive and supportive, and whether they will be comfortable working there. Be prepared to answer these commonly-asked questions:

What are my chances for progressing/advancing my career here?

Can you share with me some of the diversity and inclusion programs you run?
Do you have a formal mentoring program and/or career development program?
Do you have employee affinity groups that focus on the needs of people like me?
What diversity and inclusion training does your organisation run?

10. Select a diverse interview panel. Harvard recommends making sure you select a diverse and inclusive interview team.

In selecting an interview team, consider including people who will bring diverse outlooks, and who are respectful of different cultures and characteristics. Recognise the potential to bring unintended biases to the process, and address this by having a clear and open discussion among team members before beginning the interview process.

A diverse interview panel will help your organisation avoid pitfalls like ‘group think’. Your hiring decision making will benefit from a wider variety of perspectives and you’ll also be able to demonstrate that you walk your talk when it comes to organisational diversity and inclusion.

Ready to get started?

Here are four great kick starter questions:

What are the diversity strengths in my department?
How can I build on those strengths?
What are the diversity challenges in my department?
How can I address those challenges?

Kington Human Capital wishes you well on your diversity and inclusion hiring journey.

We’ve helped hundreds of organisations improve their hiring practices to help them achieve their diversity and inclusion goals.

Footnotes:

1. Workplace Diversity – Ideal.com
2. Forbes
3. Professors Hong and Page
4. McKinsey
5. Workplace Diversity through Recruitment. Ideal.com
6. Diversity in Recruitment: Ideal.com

New interview techniques to help you hire great staff

Wed, 09 Apr 2025 06:38:38 GMT

If you’ve ever conducted an interview before are likely to be familiar with Behavioural Interviewing techniques.

Developed in the 1970s, Behavioural Interviewing is based on the principle that the best indicator of future behaviour is past behaviour.

Behavioural questioning is a line of investigation that delves into your candidate’s past experiences in their previous roles.

Behavioural Questions sound like this:

Tell me about a time when you’ve experienced conflict or tension between yourself and another team member in the past, what did you do?
Tell me about a time you had conflicting deadlines, what did you do?

There is absolutely no doubt that Behavioural Interviewing techniques revolutionised hiring and are still effective today. But over the decades, researchers and hiring experts have discovered new techniques that dig deeper and result in better hires.

Today, we will look at Performance-based Interviewing.

Performance-based interviewing helps employers investigate how their potential hire is likely to perform in a real-life or hypothetical situation than is likely to emerge in their unique workplace.

For example: Let’s say you are a digital marketing agency. You boast a range of loyal clients. You are looking to hire an Account Manager to join your growing team, to deliver greater support to your clients. Before you start your interviews, take a moment to think about future situations your new hire needs to know how to handle. Real or hypothetical, ask yourself what situations might be on the horizon in the next 12 to 24 months that your new team member needs to sail through.

These scenarios might include:

Rescuing the potential loss of one of your major clients to a competitor
Expanding your client’s utilisation of your services into other areas of your service provision
Identifying and onboarding new clients

Once you’ve pinned down your future/hypothetical situations, craft an interview question around those scenarios.

This way you can dive right in and understand your potential hire’s approach.

Here is how the potential scenarios we listed out above, look when covert them into Performance-Based interview questions.

We are always working to ensure we are working to prevent client attrition. Hypothetically, let’s say in your first three months of employment, you note a downward trend in our pipeline and suspect we may be losing clients to one of our competitors. How would you handle this situation?
A number of our clients have been with us for over five years, with the same year on year revenues. What strategies would you consider to encourage our client’s to increase their annual spend with us?
As you know, we are very particular about ensuring we work with the right kind of clients. How would you go about identifying and on-boarding new clients, and ensuring that we are on-boarding only those clients who really do fit our service provision profiles?

Simple right?

If you listen closely to your Candidate, these questions will reveal much more information about how they are likely to handle future situations that might emerge for your business. And based on that data, you have more information from which you can decide if they are a good fit for you.

Predicting performance, instead of just uncovering past behaviours, ensures you’ll find the perfect candidate for the job.

This is an easy and cost-free technique that you can apply today.

Upskill For The Workplace Of The Future

Tue, 08 Apr 2025 06:47:17 GMT

The World Economic Development Forum recently estimated over 50% of the working population will need to upskill or retrain by 2022.

In this video Gerard Kerr, GM of Executive Search & Selection shares 3 easy ways to upskill for the Workplace of Future – handy for those of us who are time-poor!

Can This Candidate Do the Job? The One Question to Ask

Mon, 07 Apr 2025 07:50:46 GMT

The workplace of the future is closer than you think.

Finding the perfect candidate for your company can be a weary task.

There is a multitude of factors that need to be addressed like; experience , cultural fit as well as ensuring you remove your own unconscious bias .

The humble old interview enables you to filter through your candidate pool, but ultimately, as an interviewer, we are all just trying to figure out: Can this candidate really do the job?

Asking the right questions when running your interviews is key. But, there is one ultimate question can help you figure it all out.

The major challenge in this role is (describe the challenge you're hiring for). How would you go about solving that, and What have you done in your past experience that is most comparable?

This question is called the Most Significant Accomplishment (MSA) question and was developed by author and industry expert Lou Adler .

A good way to approach this question can be to give the interviewee 10 minutes of prep time to prepare their response. This filters out ‘on-the-spot tales’ and ‘reflexive stumbles.’ It also allows your interviewee a short window of critical thinking time, which can be important.

After your interviewee gives you their answer, make sure you dig right down to really quantify their answer. You can do this by using the following probing questions;

Describe the scale of the project/situation?
How did the project/situation arise?
Give us a snapshot of the challenges involved?
What sort of resources did you have at hand?
What teams and roles were involved?
Who did what and when? Who else was involved and why?
Describe your manager’s style?
What timeframes or KPI’s were you dealing with?
What skills did you use? What did you learn?
How did you plan your process?
Walkthrough the “why” of a major decision.
What was the biggest problem and how was it solved?
How did you grow?
What mistakes did you make?
What would you do differently?
What outcome did you reach?
What recognition did you receive?

By using the MSA as part of your interview processes, you will uncover many of the themes you need to know about your candidate, like; managerial style preference, complex problem-solving ability and self-awareness. The key difference is that you will be using the job’s real challenges or objectives as the compass or baseline behind these themes.

It helps you and your candidates save time by pairing the right skills and background to the right role.

Asking for detailed evidence (by using the probing questions) will quickly identify those who are prone to exaggerate or those who just interview extremely well.

By using this method, you will elicit complete answers that really do relate to real job-needs. You can be confident your final candidate/s has the critical skills and experience to deliver on the most critical parts of your job.

Good luck with your hiring!

The candidate’s response will let you paint a detailed picture of their accomplishment, from a scale, team and complexity standpoint and compare it to the requirements of the role.

How To Hire A High Performer, Every Time.

Sun, 06 Apr 2025 07:35:52 GMT

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As you've no doubt noticed, your top-performing team members have more than just the education and experience needed for the job. They have an “x-factor”, that indefinable quality, that is hard to quantify.

Can you imagine what it would be like if everyone on your team was a high performer?

What if peak performance was a norm, not an exception?

It may seem like wishful thinking but hiring a team of high performers is achievable - with the right know-how and dedication. Building a team of high performing people is not something that happens over-night. It takes time - sometimes years. And, it takes commitment - your commitment.

In fact, (you are going to hate me for saying this, but here goes) if you lead a team who have a high (and reoccurring) rate of performance issues, you might be accidentally contributing to the problem by making the wrong hiring choices in the first place.

Let me explain.

We know that there are whole range of Hiring Techniques that are there to help you hire great people. But, sometimes the first step in upping our interview game as leaders is to acknowledge the fact that sometimes the person who interviews the best isn't necessarily the best person for the job.

Think of it like this.

A person's interview skills are like a set of golf clubs. The majority of us, drag our golf clubs out of the garage, and dust them off every few years. However some of us are out there swinging down the fairway much more frequently than others . Interview skills are simply the the ability to come off well on the day. Some leaders assume that interview skills equal job performance. In fact the two are barely linked. So as leaders, accepting that a candidate's ''interview skills'' are just a set of skills t hat help them come off well on the day - ensures we are less influenced by interview skills and more influenced by facts.

Here is a great example; A candidate is waiting for you at reception. You walk out and greet them, they look the part, they have great chin-music, they are a little nervous but still composed. You like them, this one seems to have what it takes.

Once your brain has decided you like a person, the unconscious bias called confirmation bias, takes you down an automatic pathway where you collect information to that supports your instinctive decision. And, because it's an unconscious practice, you don't even know you are doing it.

So here you are, merrily gathering all the reasons why you should hire this great candidate, in fact you like them so much, you and your wonderful Candidate fall into conversation, you forget to ask some of your key interview questions.

Your candidate's great interview skills make them seem like the perfect fit, and before you know it you've made a job offer and they start next week. But, somehow (usually after their probationary period) a whole bunch of performance issues emerge.

Hiring is both an art and a science.

While it takes years to build a robust hiring practice, here are five ways you can up your interview game over night.

Acknowledge that great interview skills don't always equal great job performance.
Manage your mind. Take note of your instinctive decisions and when you are getting along like a house on fire with a potential hire, be sure not to let unconscious biases like confirmation bias over take you.
Use behavioural based interviewing AND performance based interviewing techniques.
Benchmark your best performers. Sit down and map out what it is that makes them great. Then, frame your interviews to look for those performance capabilities in others.
If in doubt go without. A common saying in our industry. If something is not stacking up right, but you feel pressure to hire, resist. Your instincts are usually correct. Don't make a bad hire simply because you need someone in the role. It takes much more time and effort to rectify the situation. Instead, if you are unsure, gather more data, meet again, hit the phone to their referees and have a really good chat, or offer a temporary assignment so you can see how things go.

Good Luck and Happy Hiring!

Key Insights from My Future of Work Keynote at IAG 2018

Sat, 05 Apr 2025 12:38:26 GMT

Recently I had the pleasure of keynoting once again at the annual Interdepartmental Accounting Group conference in Brisbane on the topic of The Future of Work.

The Workplace of the Future is something that fascinates me deeply, largely due to the fact it has such huge implications on resourcing talent and training high performing teams.

In the last 5 years alone, we’ve noticed a changing spectrum of skills we need to look for when recruiting on behalf of our clients, and as leaders ourselves, it is crucial we know what training and development areas we need to focus on to continue to be competitive in the future.

People are often surprised, at first even sceptical, when I talk about the impact the Workplace of The Future is already having let alone what it is predicted to have in a few years time.

To that point the first poll I conducted at IAG was around the question:

What percentage of the activities we perform at work could be replaced by EXISTING technologies?

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What would you have guessed? If you said 50% like 42% of the audience did you would be correct.

What was interesting for me was half the audience assumed only 20-30% of the activities we perform at work could be replaced by existing technologies.

The point is the Workplace of the Future is here, is already making an impact and we need to start preparing now.

One thing to note at this point, the Future of Work isn’t about getting ready for new technology or how to use it, far from it, it has a lot to do with the changing nature of skills that matter.

For instance, by the year 2022, the following skills are predicted to decline:

Skills on the decrease will be things like manual dexterity, which we can see with the changes in McDonalds push for full automated restaurants. Flipping burgers and handing cash no longer require humans at the McDonalds at Sydney airport.

Skills growing on the other hand include analytical thinking and active learning:

“Human” skills such as creativity, originality and initiative, critical thinking, persuasion and negotiation will likewise retain or increase their value, as will attention to detail, resilience, flexibility and complex problem-solving.

We can see that leadership and social influence are number seven on the list of skills that we need to develop, where the need for managers of personnel was on the decrease.

Here is more detail around 6 key skills around what employers want the most in 2022:

What does this all mean for our own learning and development?

The World Economic Forum (WEC) warns us that by 2022, no less than 54% of all employees will require significant re- and upskilling . That’s over half the entire workforce!

Employers indicate that they are set to prioritise and focus their re- and upskilling efforts on employees currently performing high-value roles as a way of strengthening their enterprise’s strategic capacity, with 54% and 53% of companies, respectively, stating they intend to target employees in key roles and in front-line roles which will be using relevant new technologies.

The WEC has also figured out how much time we need to be investing to prepare for the Workplace of the Future:

Over 80% of the audience at IAG estimated they are not hitting the recommended WEC quota of learning.

Why is this figure so high? Well it’s obvious: time constraints. But really, it’s perceived time constraints. Turns out the key is really figuring out how you learn best and coming up with a repeatable, easy way to consume information. It’s not supposed to be a chore.

For instance, are you a social learner? Consider attending quarterly events. Are you an auditory learner? Then podcasts and eBooks via Audible should be your new best friend. Or, maybe you're suited to the structured learning program of facilitated learning? Online or on-site courses may be for you.

Then there’s things you can do at work like regular lunch and learns or better yet, hypothetical problem-solving scenario sessions designed to work those creative, analytical muscles.

Putting your hand up for special projects or secondments at work is also a great idea and mutually benefits both your organisation and the skill set you are trying to broaden.

Speaking of audio/visual learning, here is a 2-minute video we prepared on Easy Ways to Upskill for the Workplace of The Future:

Sure, the Future of Work can be viewed as cause of concern but at the same time should be seen as source of optimism and opportunity.

The key is being ready for it.

5 Considerations When Searching for The Best Executive Recruitment Agency

Fri, 04 Apr 2025 12:26:12 GMT

Recruitment is evolving all the time for the mere reason human behaviour is evolving all the time.

Attracting top talent in such a dynamically changing environment is why many organisations engage the services of a professional agency to ensure they find and select the top talent for executive roles.

While outsourcing the candidate search, piles of resumes and initial interviews has a certain appeal for busy HR directors, it's important to engage the right recruiter.

The right recruitment agency can significantly improve outcomes as well as save your organisation time and money. In fact, a recent survey by the Australian found a bad hire can cost a business 2.5 times the employee's salary!

Unfortunately, though, some recruitment agencies do have a negative perception in the industry. This is often due to pressure to fill a role quickly. They may also focus on end revenue, which means they fail to take the time to understand the needs of clients or adequately screen candidates.

As an organisation, obviously it’s important to avoid recruitment agencies that engage in this manner and find one that is willing to take the time to really get to know your organisation and focus on cultural fit as much as qualifications and experience.

Here are five things we suggest you consider when searching for the right executive recruitment agency for your organisation.

1. How much experience and expertise do they have?

The best executive recruitment agencies will have experience in your particular industry. They will have strong referral networks, be familiar with the high performers in your industry and know how to source fresh talent that might not be in your existing networks.

Make sure you also check the experience of the staff that will be doing the actual recruiting for you. The senior partners selling you their services will be experts, but they won’t be the ones who are actually interfacing with candidates. It’s a good idea to check track records and ask if the agents who are going to be talking to candidates on your behalf are members of industry panels.

2. How will they ensure a strong cultural fit?

It used to be that to fill a role you’d advertise online, wait for the applications to roll in and then start shortlisting. While there are still agencies that do this, times have moved on and a more modern approach is essential.

This means looking at far more than the traditional experience, skill, traits and qualifications. Cultural fit is the most important indicator of whether an employee will stay with your organisation over the long term.

The best recruitment agencies will work on attracting the right candidates by demonstrating the value your organisation can bring to their lives. To do this they need to spend time getting to know your organisation, so they can understand and communicate both your culture and your value offering to potential candidates.

3. What advanced search and selection strategies are they using?

The best candidates are almost never actively looking for a new role. Limiting your search strategies to posting a job ad means missing out on the best talent.

Smart recruiters use more sophisticated tools such as search algorithms and machine learning to sift through data and help them find those passive candidates that might otherwise slip through the cracks. Often, these candidates can’t be found on LinkedIn or via Google - without the latest tools, recruiters wouldn't know they exist.

Effective recruiters also have excellent referral networks to make the most of word of mouth in their search.

Once the top talent has been identified, the next step is selection. Top recruiters use behavioural interviewing techniques to ensure that a candidate does not just have the necessary skills and qualifications for the role, but is also a good fit culturally.

4. Can they deliver quickly without compromising on quality?

Time is of the essence when you’re looking to fill a role but that doesn’t mean you should cut corners. Be wary of recruitment agents who promise you results too quickly. They might put forward candidates who haven’t been properly screened in a bid to get the role filled and ensure their revenue.

Good executive recruitment agencies will speed up the process by using the latest tools to find candidates and offering streamlined reports that can be reviewed quickly at a glance.

Effective recruiters know that an efficient recruitment process means they can spend more time getting to know clients and identifying their needs, as well as spend time with candidates to make sure they are a right fit.

5. Will they protect your brand?

When you have a recruitment agency talking to candidates on your behalf, they are representing your brand to the public. If you are misrepresented or candidates have a negative experience, this reflects badly on your brand.

This is why it’s so important to choose a recruitment agency that will protect your brand. Look for an agency that is willing to spend some time on-site to gain a detailed understanding of your organisation.

Choosing a recruitment agency is an important decision and it should be taken carefully. Hopefully these considerations will help you get the best outcome from your hiring processes.

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Handling Emotionally-charged Situations In The Workplace

Thu, 03 Apr 2025 09:59:53 GMT

Humans are emotional beings.

Even the most logical, rational person has emotional responses which impact how they respond to any given situation.

In the workplace, emotionally-charged situations can be difficult to navigate.

If not handled well, these situations and challenging behaviours can be a drain on relationships, workplace culture, employee engagement and productivity.

As leaders, how we respond to these situations and behaviours is critical.

An ability to navigate people’s emotions is one of the most important soft skills that employers look for in leaders.

Kingston Human Capital spoke with more than 300 Directors, Executive Directors and CEO's to find out how they navigate this in their workplaces. We asked them the following questions:

How would much value do you place on a Leader’s ability to handle emotionally-charged situations at work?
What is your best advice when it comes to de-escalating emotionally-charged situations at work?
Where did you learn how to do it?

Here’s what we learnt:

Leaders need to proactively develop the skills to de-escalate emotionally-charged situations and challenging behaviours at work. This skill set has become one of the most in-demand soft skills that fall under the Emotional Intelligence banner.

Leaders should have a firm plan in place to effectively manage these situations and behaviours.

Having a plan will enable leaders to share the required skills with other team members and ensure their employees are empowered to handle emotionally-charged situations and challenging behaviours, when they emerge.

3 tips from Queensland’s best leaders

We’ve gathered the following tips, tools and techniques which Queensland’s best leaders find effective when it comes to managing emotionally-charged situations at work.

Tip 1 - Map your own stress signature.

When faced with high-stress moments, our body experiences a series of biological responses and our brain quickly fires off a ‘threat response’. This response happens in microseconds - before our conscious mind even begins to process what’s happening.

This ‘threat response’ has been proven to reduce our capacity (and inclination) for logical thinking.

When our threat response is triggered, we are no longer in the driver’s seat – our emotions are. And we are likely to REACT rather than RESPOND.

Maybe you’ve seen the threat response in action in your workplace:

A mild-mannered, considerate colleague slams their fist on the table…
A team member receives unexpected feedback and storms out of a meeting, slamming the door…
Or maybe your threat response has taken over and you’ve reacted in a less-than-ideal way.

All of us have experienced challenging situations and behaviours and high-pressure moments in our career. If we know that such events will trigger our threat response, we are able to map out our personal stress signature.

This is according to one of Brisbane’s most forward-thinking leaders. When we sat down with him recently, he showed us how to map out your personal stress signature:

Grab a blank sheet of paper to start.

Think of the last time you were furious work.
Picture the moment it in your mind. Bring it in to tight focus.
Remember how you felt.

Next, leaving all judgement aside, answer the following questions about that moment, using as much detail as possible. Remember not to write down the sanitised version – be absolutely honest here.

In that moment, what happened to your breathing?
In that moment, did your posture change in any way?
In that moment, what thoughts were running through your mind?
What ONE word best summarises your primary intention in the moment you felt your ‘threat response’?

Understanding your threat response and how it makes you feel will help you to identify it in the future. With this new awareness, you’ll have the opportunity to choose how you respond, rather than reacting.

Tip 2 - Consider verbal judo training.

Now that we know it’s more effective to respond to a situation rather than to react to it, let’s look at finding the right language and tactics to de-escalate an emotionally-charged situation.

The Department of Education in WA is setting its leaders up for success by providing them with verbal judo training.

Verbal judo is based on constructive conversations and strategies aimed at de-escalating emotionally-charged scenarios while maintaining mental and emotional safety.

According to the director of Verbal Judo Australia Trevor Lawson , verbal judo provides information and tools to assist staff to remain psychologically and physically safe whilst working with colleagues and the public.

Verbal judo exemplifies how to empower yourself and your employees to have greater control in emotionally-charged situations.

Tip 3 – Get yourself a copy of Crucial Conversations: Tools for talking when the stakes are high.

Stephen R Covey (author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People) believes this book is one of the key thought-leadership contributions of all times.

This is a very commonly referenced book in our conversations with leadership teams. It’s also one of our go-to books when we prepare for difficult conversations, negotiations, or diffusing conflict between two parties.

The first edition of Crucial Conversations revolutionised the way millions of people communicate when stakes are high, and situations tense. The new edition gives you the tools to:

Transform anger and hurt feelings into powerful dialogue
Prepare for high-stakes situations
Make it safe to talk about almost anything
Be persuasive, not abrasive.

Good communication is the lifeblood of every great relationship, professional or personal.

Communicating effectively is crucial in emotionally-charged situations in the workplace and can be especially helpful when diffusing tension.

Great communication skills will not only enhance your ability to perform professionally under pressure, they can also improve your relationships with the people that matter the most to you.

(Disclosure – we don’t have any affiliations with Verbal Judo Australia or the authors of Crucial Conversations. But we certainly do rate them!)

How Great Leaders Can Improve Emotional Intelligence

Wed, 02 Apr 2025 07:41:44 GMT

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Effective leadership is evolving.

The world of work has changed - and will keep changing - in ways we don’t even know yet. While many of the foundations of good leadership remain, what makes a great leader is not the same as it once was.

Once upon a time, leaders executed organisational strategy and delivered results through their teams using a command-and-control model. The manager/employee relationship played out as a supervisor/subordinate situation with an ideas/execution workflow.

Today, there are very few workplaces and teams that resemble that model.

Today’s workplace is characterised by flatter structures, highly cross-functional working, agile and technology-enabled processes and a high degree of collaboration and partnership - across all levels in an organisation.

Effective leadership is about relationships - and how a leader can motivate and inspire people.

As Simon Sinek puts it:

“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader”.

While all leaders need experience, technical skills and cognitive intelligence; emotional intelligence is an important quality that sets a great leader apart.

What is emotional intelligence - and why is it important?

Emotional intelligence (or emotional quotient, often referred to as EQ) is our capacity to be aware of, control and express our emotions.

Emotional intelligence is the ‘other’ type of intelligence - quite distinct from IQ or general intelligence - which is much more tangible and measurable.

While IQ is generally accepted as a measurement of our ability to process information and come to sound decisions, EQ is our ability to process emotions.

Neuroscience tells us that our emotional brain overpowers our rational brain ie emotional responses are faster than cognitive (thinking) responses. Quite simply, humans are ‘hard-wired’ for emotional response.

Emotional intelligence plays a significant role in interpersonal relationships. People with high EQ are more likely to stay calm under pressure, resolve conflict effectively and respond to co-workers with empathy.

EQ is a strong indicator of performance and success in all aspects of life and has been linked to increased sales, productivity and bottom-line results.

It’s no surprise that recent research suggests that employers value EQ over IQ.

The term emotional intelligence was coined in 1990 by psychologists Peter Salovey and John D. Mayer before science journalist Daniel Goleman wrote extensively about this topic. Goleman’s work popularised emotional intelligence and described EQ as having five key elements:

Self-awareness
Self-regulation
Motivation
Empathy
Social skills

In 2004, Goleman told Harvard Business Review:

“It’s not that IQ and technical skills are irrelevant. They do matter.. but they are entry-level requirements for executive positions.

The most effective leaders are alike in one crucial way: They all have a high degree of what has come to be known as emotional intelligence”.

According to Harvard Business Review, emotional intelligence accounts for nearly 90% of what sets high performers apart from peers with similar technical skills and knowledge.

7 ways great leaders can improve their EQ

Building emotional intelligence is completely different from improving other skills. It’s a subtle, ongoing process. While our IQ doesn’t change significantly during our lifetime, EQ can evolve with our personal growth and development.

In the workplace, consider each person in your team, each stakeholder, client, situation and challenge as an opportunity to test and develop your EQ. Here are some practical tips to get you started.

1. Observe and examine

Self-awareness is a key element of emotional intelligence. This starts with observing and reflecting on your feelings and how you react to these feelings, as well as people and situations at work. Really examining these things will build awareness of how you handle stressful situations and how your actions and reactions might affect others.

2. Evaluate

This is about understanding yourself and your own behaviour. Take time to understand what you’re doing - and how you feel about it. No one is perfect. Knowing your strengths and weaknesses is an important part of EQ. Working to improve yourself takes courage and can be incredibly powerful. Ask yourself: What are my emotional strengths? What are my weaknesses? How does my current mood affect my thoughts and decision making? When I am triggered, how does my behaviour change? Self-evaluation can yield valuable insights.

3. Pause and regulate

Once you have built some self-awareness and you have an understanding of your own thoughts, feelings and stressors, you can strive to control them. This can be as simple as:

Pausing and thinking before you act or react
Choosing to respond rather than react
Learning to channel emotions
Taking responsibility for your actions and reactions
Being open to feedback

4. Be positive and motivated

A positive attitude and energy will have a ripple effect on the people around you. Great leaders are motivated and resilient in the face of challenge and see feedback and criticism as a chance to learn. A motivated leader will naturally create motivation in others.

5. Practice humility

Great leaders don’t seek recognition or attention for their own accomplishments, they give praise and let others shine. As a leader, when you commend the work of others, you’re making an important connection and building trust. ‘Seeing’ and acknowledging others will inspire them (and their teammates) to be the best they can be.

6. Practice empathy

Strive to see things from others’ perspective. Not only is empathy key to effective problem solving, but recognising emotions in others shows emotional strength (not weakness).

7. Focus on your social skills

Emotionally-intelligent leaders have very strong social skills. They’re approachable, authentic and clear communicators. Here are some ways you can focus on your social skills:

Smile
Listen to understand
Ensure you understand before you respond
Be mindful of how you communicate and your vocabulary
Give helpful feedback
If you are in a meeting with someone, put your phone away
Always keep your word
Apologise (emotionally-intelligent leaders know that saying sorry doesn’t mean you’re wrong - it means you value your relationships more than your ego).

Emotional intelligence is the ‘other’ type of smart.

Not only is it a key leadership trait - it’s what sets a great leader apart from the rest.

We hope you found these practical tips useful to improve your emotional intelligence - and help take your career to the next level.

How To Out-compete Your Competitors And Win The Best Talent For Your Team

Wed, 02 Apr 2025 07:11:20 GMT

In the lead up to End of Financial Year, organisations are reporting they find themselves in fierce competition for the same Candidate.

You know the drill; You go through the shortlisting and interview process, and you find a great candidate. But that perfect candidate selects another organisation’s job opportunity—a significant waste of time and effort, not to mention frustrating.

You find yourself limited by non-negotiable factors like Position Level, Location, Rate of Pay or Salary, but many organisations often underestimate the range of talent-attracting-arsenal they have up their sleeves.

We know that remuneration and location are two key factors that Candidates assess when faced with competing job offers, however a recent Australian-based study by titled, ‘What Matters to the Modern Candidate’ indicates that Candidates are giving weight to three other non-financial factors in their decision-making process:

Connection + Lifestyle Fit
Meaningful + Dignified work
How they perceive you as a leader.

Sometimes you cant compete on fixed items like rate of pay or location, but you can compete hard on your ability to offer lifestyle fit, meaningful work and your leadership offering.

Here are some recent examples of how our Clients have out-competed other organisations in securing the best talent for their teams:

Meet their lifestyle and emotive needs

Maslow had it right when he identified that we perform best when our primary needs are met. Connecting deeply and understanding your Candidate’s personal needs is critical. More and more we work-to-live rather than live-to-work. We’re seeing savvy departments discuss and identify the lifestyle accommodations their Candidate is looking for during interview. In fact, it is fast becoming a standard interview question. What do they want? Is it more time with their children? Flexible start and finish times? Whatever it is, smart leaders work hard during the interview to identify it, discuss it and then appeal to it. By making sure you go there during the interview, you are likely to leave your Candidate feeling that you care about their needs and have a range of offerings to suit.

Create meaning and dignity

Different individuals have different definitions of meaningful work and no two Candidates are alike. By listening to what gives your Candidate a sense of satisfaction, you can customise your discussions to appeal to their satisfaction-drivers. What substantial challenges will the role be tackling? How does your team contribute to the organisations goals ? You might think you don’t have to connect those dots for a Candidate, but if you do, you’ll see an instant increase in your job offer to acceptance ratio (JO: JA).

Connect more than once + use narrative

Here is a recent example of how one of our State Government Clients used Connectivity and Narratives to engage superior talent. One of our savvy and forward-thinking Clients were competing for a Candidate in the post interview part of the recruitment process. Competing against an unknown role, our Client understood that “connection was key” and established a coffee meeting. Both parties connected again which deepened the sense of trust and engagement. This savvy leader also used the opportunity to share positive narratives as an engagement technique which provided compelling insight to the candidate. The outcome? The Candidate accepted. The Client continues to be one of the most effective and forward-thinking teams in State Government.

You as leader + how your team leaders come off at interview

We know people leave managers, not jobs. That’s not news to anyone. We all want to work for great leaders. Being self-aware about the impression you and your team leaders provide at interview is critical. Are you 100% aware of how you are perceived? We might think we are warm, friendly, and accommodating but the fact is, Candidates report all kinds of interesting “impressions” post-interview, for example:

the interviewer seemed very flustered and distracted
the interviewer asked great questions but in a confrontational manner
the interviewer was very reserved and didn’t seem warm or friendly at all.

The Truth About DIY Recruitment

Tue, 01 Apr 2025 12:56:08 GMT

Some organisations prefer to run their own recruitment process. Here’s a summary of the key considerations of DIY recruitment.

Time

Yes, DIY will save you a recruitment fee. However, the question is: Do you have the time and expertise to invest up to 520 hours in making sure you’re finding and attracting the best and the brightest?

No leader or hiring manager has that time available. Even an in house talent acquisition team is unlikely to be able to invest that much time.

The next question becomes: Without that time available, do you run the risk of simply hiring the next available person? Choosing the most convenient or easiest option (because you have to get back to your day job) rather than finding and engaging the best of the best?

Advertising costs

If you’re going to run your own recruitment process, you need to factor in advertising costs on job boards, social media and perhaps industry network sites and other places where your ideal talent spend their time online.

Compliance costs

Be sure to factor in the costs of checking candidates’ visas/rights to work, criminal history, and professional references.

Your sanity

Most leaders report they don't have enough hours in the week to dedicate to a detailed and rigorous recruitment process. All leaders and hiring managers juggle competing priorities and recruitment is not your core job.

Opportunity cost

Remember, every single time you hire is an opportunity to upgrade and transform. To set the path for the future of your business. There are many costs associated with making the wrong hiring decisions - a missed opportunity could be the most profound.

Making the wrong hiring decisions could keep your organisation standing still, suffering from the same issues year after year.

It stands to reason that finding the right [best] talent is still the number 1 thing on every CEO’s agenda.

Good recruitment is a highly strategic process. Kingston Human Capital is deeply committed to delivering the best hiring outcomes for our clients, every time.

Uncovering The Truth About Contingent Pricing

Mon, 31 Mar 2025 13:31:23 GMT

If you’ve ever worked with a recruitment business, chances are you’ve engaged them on a contingent basis.

Your recruiter will find, interview and assess candidates for your vacant role and you pay a fee if they find the successful candidate.

Because you only pay a fee if they find the successful candidate, perhaps you briefed more than one contingent recruiter on your role. In essence, you created a resume race - but we’ll come back to that later.

Let’s start with what the word contingent means: liable to happen or not; uncertain; happening by chance; accidental.

Hiring the best talent is the most critical challenge facing leaders today.

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“If you think recruitment is a transaction, you are 0 on the deeply strategic nature of what it can be. Every single hire can be used to upgrade the capability of your organisation”.

- Elizabeth Kingston, Co-Founder and CEO

Kingston Human Capital is deeply committed to supporting you to recruit game-changing talent and transform your business with the people you hire.

This doesn’t happen by accident or chance - which is why we don’t do contingent recruitment.

The reality of contingent recruitment.

Contingent recruitment is a casual arrangement - if a recruiter is successful, they charge a fee. If not, no fee is charged. They may invest significant time working on your role, but there could be no return on that investment.

We know that people are the heart of everything and can ‘make or break’ an organisation. We also know that recruitment, when done in a deeply consultative and strategic way, can be a game-changer.

We care too much about these things to do contingent recruitment.

The average contingent recruiter in Australia and New Zealand successfully fills 1 in every 5 jobs they work on.

This means 80% of their time is spent working on jobs that they won’t fill.

No matter how good a recruiter is, they only have 40 working hours in their week. If they’re very good at their job and super efficient, they might be able to evaluate up to 20 candidates in a standard working week.

If they’re working with you on a contingent basis (and you’ve probably listed your role with a couple of other recruiters too), they can’t spend all of those 40 hours working on your role. Because they only fill 20% of the roles they work on, they’re probably working on an average of 8-12 roles at any one time.

With only 40 hours in the working week, your role is only getting a fraction of their time and attention.

Contingent recruitment creates a continuous loop of bad practice, poor client service and discontent.

If you’ve ever felt like a recruiter grabbed three CVs of their database and flung them at you - contingent recruitment is the reason.

In most cases, contingent recruitment will get you a service based on speed (aka the resume race) and often nothing else. You don’t get the hiring outcomes you need, candidates get treated poorly, your employer brand and reputation suffer.

“Contingent recruitment is a fool’s game”

- Greg Savage, author and leading recruitment speaker

Risky business

Think about the most important strategic decisions you make as a leader. The *big* decisions that keep you awake at night.

Do you leave those decisions to chance?

Hiring the best talent is game-changing. You can literally transform your organisation through the people you hire.

Why would you hedge your bets on a decision that important?

Contingent recruitment with multiple agencies is just that: Hedging your bets.

A contingent recruiter simply must work on multiple roles, which means you’ll only ever have a fraction of their commitment. You will never get 100% of a recruiter’s commitment in a contingent arrangement.

Contingent recruitment is a counterproductive model that yields poor outcomes for everyone involved.

Recruitment is a professional service.

Good recruitment doesn’t happen by accident - it’s a highly strategic process.

Good recruiters are true consultants - experts in their field who add value and solve problems.

Your recruitment partner should work with you in a collaborative and strategic way to find, engage and help you hire the best talent.

Like any consultant providing a professional service, you should expect them to give your project the time and attention it deserves - and deliver the best outcomes for your business.

You don’t give your quarterly BAS to three different accountants or your all-important employment contracts to three lawyers - why should recruitment be any different?

With all due respect to the legal profession, hiring game-changing talent shouldn’t be a ’no win no fee’ service.

Building a recruitment partnership.

We have established that contingent recruitment is risky business - and unfortunately, hiring managers who list their vacancies with multiple recruitment firms are part of the problem.

Each time you recruit a new team member, you have an opportunity to upgrade your talent and your organisation.

Do you want to waste this opportunity by listing your vacant role with two or three contingent recruiters who simply can’t give the search and selection process the attention it deserves?

On the other hand, when you work in true partnership with the right recruitment firm - on an exclusive basis - that’s when the magic happens.

If you don’t feel comfortable giving your role exclusively to a recruiter - find a different recruiter. Like any professional partnership, it has to be the right fit.

We care deeply about supporting you to hire the best talent. Which is why we only work on an exclusive or retained basis for permanent recruitment.

As the only recruitment partner dedicated to your search, we can allocate the resources of our full search team to your role.

You will see the difference - we promise.

Human Recruitment in a Roller Coaster Economy

Sun, 30 Mar 2025 11:30:44 GMT

As we get used to the new normal of the world, the playbook for business picking up the pieces from the shock of what has gone down is a challenging one.

This HR playbook has no precedence. Some businesses are rapidly surging while the vast majority are in forced hibernation.

In these radically different times, there are many services we offer that can be of use to the business, beyond that of the traditional full placement service.

What was normal is now no longer, and we have released a range of options to help you with today’s reality.

Help with understanding the rapid changes to employment.

Changes are coming by the day, brought upon by the Federal and State government quick responses. What does this mean for employers? We provide you with strategic advice on what these raft of changes mean for employers.

Rapid Response Shortlisting and Applicant Processing.

We will shortlist your job applications and build you a shortlist within 48 hours. For businesses currently overwhelmed, this process ensures you get quality people in rapid time.

Remote WH&S inspections.

Did you know you are still liable for your employees while working from home? Are they safe? Are you insured?

We help you build policies and get your remote workforce compliant with the legal obligations that expected of your business.

Advice on how to manage a remote team.

As we move into multiple weeks of work from home, the issues are starting to evolve.

How to manage a remote team.
How to drive productivity.
How to monitor KPIs.
How to track work hours.
How to counsel employs that are not complying.How to provide praise and feedback in the digital world.

Reference Checking And Criminal background Checking.

Businesses that are currently scaling up need help. Our team is skilled at doing this and can quickly work through a large number of applicants at speed to match your critical requirements.

Onboarding Services.

Our team can work with your new hires to make sure they are thoroughly onboarded and orientated. We will use your materials and collateral, or develop it for you. We take your employees through a comprehensive preparation process, so they are well prepared and ready to rock on day one.

Temp recruitment.

Temps are critical for business that is booming right now. But what about as we face the real possibility of a term of homeschooling?

Homeschooling is way harder than school holiday time as grandparents cannot assist like they usually do in a school holiday scenario and as a result full attention.

Permanent recruitment services.

We appreciate that many industries have been hit hard. Still, for sectors experiencing an unprecedented surge, we can help you find executive staff quickly to deal with the explosion in demand.

In these challenging times, our dedicated team are here to help. Please feel welcome to contact us if you wish to have a complimentary chat about how we can hel p.

Communication Tips for Remote Teams

Fri, 28 Mar 2025 07:51:26 GMT

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Are you and your team are working remotely now? Are you finding that communicating is difficult when you are not face to face or just down the hall? We give you some tips on communication for remote teams.

As a leader, how, when and what you communicate is more important than ever before. As is your non-verbal communication, even when working remotely. Leaders also need to set expectations about how teams should communicate while working remotely.

As a general rule, frequent communication is a good thing for remote teams, especially those who are used to being co-located in the same office space. Think about how often your team would have informal conversations at work (ie unscheduled chats about challenges you’re facing and what’s coming up) which don’t necessarily happen organically while you’re working remotely.

Inform your team of your expected pattern of team, project and 1:1 meetings and their frequency. You may find that your team needs more collaboration during remote working, so consider implementing a daily morning meeting/huddle.

As a leader, it’s important to share with your team the flavour of each meeting, the role they’re expected to play and provide them with an outline of what the meeting will likely cover. Make sure you and each of your team members are aware of what will be covered in 1:1 meetings.

Will it be the same agenda as it used to be? If yes, that’s great – tell them that – your people are seeking sameness and stability wherever possible right now. While the frequency of communication is important, it’s also crucial to consider how frequent communication between team members could affect productivity.

While each team scenario might be unique, here are some things you’ll need to consider and cover:

What is the best way for your team to reach you as their leader?
As a team, will you use email, text, phone calls, an instant messaging (IM) tool or something else?
How should team members contact each other?
Will you use videoconferencing for daily check-in meetings?
How should each team member communicate that they are unavailable or in a meeting?
Which instant messaging (IM) tool will you use – and what should it be used for?
Do you expect the team to update their status in IM each morning and throughout each day?
Do you expect your team to send you an IM in the morning when they arrive at their desk?
When are you available for calls/questions?
How will you ensure the team IM/chat channel does not become a distraction?
How can your team be sure they have blocks of time free of distraction during the day?
How can we make sure communication channels and practices don’t negatively impact our productivity as a team?

We know that communication can be tricky at the best of times. Hopefully, these tips have helped you put some guidelines in place for you and your team to make your working process as smooth as possible.

Hiring For Impact: An Unparalleled Opportunity For Australian Businesses

Thu, 27 Mar 2025 14:47:02 GMT

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Believe it or not, Australia has not stopped hiring.

Many organisations are avoiding hiring freezes and continuing to hire. Some organisations are scaling up and rapidly, while others are using this time to handpick the best talent out of the market in preparation for the upswing.

But, some of the very best of the bunch are hiring because they know it’s good for their company, good for the economy, and great for society. It is actions like these that will help our economy recover faster.

There is no doubt about it. We are moving through an era of shifting workplace environments and significant economic change.

For many Australian companies, COVID-19 created an ambiguous landscape and incredible volatility. It has also placed immense strain on industries, societies and individuals. Many of the organisational leaders I speak with are in full swing, implementing the strategies that will steer their ships through these choppy economic waters. Each leader’s response is as unique as the company they lead.

For those organisations that can, this is a vital time to hire. By pulling more people out of unemployment; this is how we can heal our economy faster.

Now, this isn’t for everyone. Some businesses are facing challenges too high, with some being forced to downsize. Even some major industries and sectors are disintegrating, which is why the companies and organisations who are thriving must act in a way that works toward keeping the Australian economy developing and growing.

If we look through the time machine of the bygone past, we will see history points us in the direction of how we might do this, and it is rather simple. Keep hiring and lifting people out of unemployment. Those of us who can hire should continue to do so.

The visionary organisations and leaders acting in this way will fuel the fire for post-pandemic recovery, inspiring other businesses and industries to follow suit. With more people unemployed presently than our recent history has ever seen, the availability of versatile and robust talent is ripe for the picking. Working to hire great people now could be the opportunity that sets your company apart in the future. We must do the groundwork for rehabilitation.

Companies that continued to hire through the GFC came out best.

Economic hardship has knocked on our door before. While the temptation to instate company-wide-hiring-freezes may seem productive, that kind of all-or-nothing thinking resulted in hardship, talent bottlenecks and a delayed return to growth. What we know looking throughout history is that the consistent willingness to invest in talent no matter the current economic climate is often the determining factor of future success.

It’s easy for companies to make the mistake of putting a pause on hiring in economic downturns, and unfortunately, this is a mistake made too often. When hard times hit, we tend to forget about our long-term goals and focus instead on the moment at hand. But this has proven time again to be an ineffective tactic for further growth.

Evidence of this can be seen in the lessons learnt during the 2008 GFC. BCG and the European Association of People Management surveyed 3,400 executives at this time , finding that the most likely action for organisations to take was to scale back hiring and recruitment. Despite this, many survey participants agreed that selective hiring of high-performing individuals was considered one of the most effective strategies in staying afloat during a crisis.

Likewise, a study completed by Harvard Business School of the last three recessions echoed similar findings. In an analysis of 4,700 companies, 9% of those were able to come out of these periods stronger , directly relating to the forward-thinking approach. These companies became more selective in their recruitment process rather than battening down the hatches; their crucial point of difference was how they hired people. They viewed people as an investment, and by doing so, they were able to alter their path in the face of recession, finding success.

In Australia, similarly, during the recession, organisations reported that hiring freezes had a long-term negative impact on their ability to acquire top talent. It was discovered that often the most crucial talent comes to the market in an economic downturn. And, those who could see the opportunity in this have always been able to capitalise.

Hire now because it’s good for your company, good for the economy and good for society.

There is no shortage of successful people who speak about the importance of learning from the past to find success in the present, and growth in the future. The learnings we can take from the GFC present an excellent case for the continuance of hiring, even in economic slumps.

For companies with the capital to do so, hiring is the key to future success and also offers companies the opportunity to own their corporate responsibility, to show up for the Australian community and help our economy heal.

“I am proud to see so many leaders continuing to hire. I am proud that so many organisations recognise this as their opportunity to contribute to the defence of our economy and ensure we eventually sail into an economic upcycle with more Australians in jobs and the wind in our sails once again.”

– Liz Kingston, Founder and Executive Director

Big businesses and companies know that both community and business benefits from keeping people employed. Successful industry leaders recognise the importance of protecting the economy as a means of protecting the people. For organisations that are in the position to hire for future success, now is the time to do so.

How to Make Exceptional Hires From Your Interviews

Wed, 26 Mar 2025 10:35:34 GMT

Struggling to make exceptional hires from your interviews? In this video Liz Kingston share practical examples on how you can easily unearth a candidates problem solving capabilities, soft skills as well as their primary motivators.

Transcript

If you're not making exceptional hires from your interviews, it may be because your traditional interview process is not designed to elicit great information. This is because most interviews rely on a standard set of questions that don't really dig into some of the crucial components of what success is in the workplace of today. These crucial components are things like problem solving capabilities, soft skills like adaption and innovation, and of course your candidate's primary motivators.

As a hiring manager, you know by now that the most typical interview questions have already been anticipated and practised for, for your interviewee. So if you're looking to improve your hiring outcomes, consider using some of the interview questions recommended by Dr. John Sullivan.

I want to start with an example of a question that will help you identify your candidate's ability to solve real world problems that occur in your workplace. These questions allow your candidate to show off their skills in problem solving in a context that's very relevant to you. The example might sound something like this;

'John, because we need to understand your capability for solving the problems you'll face in this job, I would love to hear about the approach you would take in solving a problem that's definitely going to hit your desk during your time with us.'
Now, here you'll go on to describe the problem in a fair amount of detail to John. And then you're going ask him to walk you through the steps that he would take to solve this problem. I promise you, you'll get some fantastic insights.

Next up is a question that can help you investigate your candidate's soft skills in innovation and adaption. These questions are important because often our best hires are the candidates that are rapid and continuous learners who are highly adaptable.

So the example of this question could sound a little bit like, 'Tanya, learning and innovation is essential in our organisation. I'd like you to select a subject matter area that relates to this job where you believe you'll need to be on the continuous leading edge of knowledge. Then I want you to talk me through how you would go about maintaining your knowledge in this area.'

Again, listen deeply and consider following up with a question that probes into their past behaviours, like 'could you talk me through an example of when you've done something similar in a previous role? Let's look at a final question that can really help you get to know your candidate's primary motivators.' This question gets your candidate to list and rank their job motivators in the order of importance to them.

The question can sound something like, 'Jane, please list for me the top five factors that you have found best motivate you in your job.' Now, here you're going to get some great insights into the hot buttons and motivators that exist within your potential candidate. Each candidate's motivators will be very different. And you can then evaluate how your role accommodates those unique motivators, and you'll come to understand your candidate so much more.

With the introduction of sites like Glassdoor, candidates can access loads of information about your typical interview questions. So consider innovating and asking some of the less typical interview questions, because they really help you gain a deeper understanding of your candidate, and they will help you make better hiring decisions.

Good luck with your hiring.

Three Keys To Employee Engagement

Tue, 25 Mar 2025 07:06:59 GMT

Three keys to employee engagement

This is possibly one of the most important challenges facing today's leaders.

Employee engagement is about your people's psychological investment in their work. The degree to which their positive or negative feelings about their job, colleagues and employer influences their willingness to perform and learn at work.

According to the famous 2018 Gallup study, less than a quarter (24%) of Australian employees are engaged at work. In case you haven't seen that statistic before, here it is again:

Only 24% of Australian employees are engaged.

Research shows that employee engagement fuels productivity, efficiency and business performance; reduces turnover; drives profits and also has a positive impact on customer retention.

Highly engaged employees tend to stay longer in their jobs. They're also advocates and will say positive things about their employer and workplace. Critically, they're more motivated and likely to strive to help the organisation succeed.

Engagement and motivation are closely linked.

Perhaps one of the most interesting and impactful perspectives on what motivates us is that of bestselling author and speaker on business, work and human behaviour, Daniel Pink.

Pink writes that human motivation is largely intrinsic and has three main drivers: Autonomy, mastery and purpose.

Autonomy is the urge to direct our own lives.

Pink says people don't engage when they are being 'managed'. Of course, he's right. People engage when they are given the opportunity to be self-directed. If you've worked with a leader who has a true coaching style, you'll know the joy and powerful impact of autonomy.

Mastery is our desire to get better at something that matters.

Think about it. Every interview or performance review you've ever done has probably featured one or more of the following phrases: Career development, progression, learn, grow, next step, new skills. This is human nature - your employees want to feel a sense of mastery.

Purpose is the yearning to do what we do in the service of something larger than ourselves.

Pink talks about two types of purpose. The type with a capital 'P' is about making a difference in the world, while purpose with a little 'p' is about making a contribution. Both types of purpose are motivating.

Although Pink first wrote about purpose a decade ago, it's only recently that the concept of purpose has come into clear focus as part of the talent recruitment and engagement landscape.

While the 'what' and 'how' of our work is important, the 'why' could be the difference between a happy, motivated employee and someone who's just plodding along.

3 quick tips for leaders to improve employee engagement.

Your employees don't want you to 'manage'. They want to have a degree of freedom and the opportunity to determine their own outcomes (otherwise known as autonomy).
Don't make your people wait until annual appraisal time to feel a sense of mastery. Give continuous feedback and offer new/greater opportunities and scope (even if in small doses) as often as you can.
Purpose and meaning matter - and is not something reserved for charities and social enterprises. Share the 'big picture' with your people as much and as often as you can. The more they know about the 'why' of what they're doing, the more motivated and engaged they'll be - which is good for them - and good for business.

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The Best and Worst Australian Government Recruitment Videos

Mon, 24 Mar 2025 09:36:29 GMT

It’s hard enough creating a recruitment campaign video. You’ve got to cover a diverse range of different roles in an organisation, overlay this with your Employee Value Proposition and do it all in a creative way that achieves cut through.

If that wasn’t hard enough think of the added challenge of creating a recruitment video in the Government space.

In the Government sector, one of the biggest challenges is battling the perception that Government careers lack innovation and are stale. This perception is false on many levels.

Government careers are like those in any other industry featuring their own spectrums of challenge, culture and pay grade. Some of our most accomplished and satisfied placements were within the Government Executive recruitment space.

Then, there’s the creative element challenge. A brand like Calvin Klein has fewer restrictions in terms of positions (or provocations!) it can take to achieve cut-through in an already very noisy market.

That hasn’t prevented some stellar campaigns in recent years by departments such as the Australian Defence Force (more below) for hitting campaigns out of the park.

Unfortunately for every standout campaign, there’s often a magnitude of those that miss the mark, often hitting a stratosphere of virality for all the wrong reasons!

The Best Australian Government Recruitment Video: 7 Days in The Navy.

Few other employers offer the opportunity to travel the world whilst acquiring skills and qualifications in a trade or profession. However, for those people who have no idea of the diverse nature of a career in Navvy (likely most of us) the idea of being on a submarine for weeks at a time could sound monotonous.

The 7 Days in the Navy campaign by Defence Jobs Australia is one of their most popular videos ever. Sure, it was published six years ago, but it received over 1.1 million views since its launch. The video did a great job at countering perceived sentiments while promoting the Navy’s unique selling points.

Summary lessons from the ‘7 Days in the Navy’ Campaign.

Authenticity is key
Promote roles’ key unique selling points (USPs)
Keep your target audience in mind

Most people are pretty immune to advertising that tells them how good an offer is. Defence Australia instead tries to show its audience, not tell, just how diverse and action-packed a week in the Navvy can be.

The hand-held style of shooting plays into this sense of authenticity and it doesn’t feel overly produced or polished.

The campaign clearly promotes the USPs of the role; adventure, an active lifestyle, travel – all while doing important, rewarding work.

Finally, this video isn’t trying to attract “indoorsy types” or a corporate persona. The shooting style and action-packed imagery appeal well to the intended targeted audience.

The Worst Australian Government Recruitment Video: The Game-Changers Campaign.

Some have described it as possibly the worst recruitment ad ever and that’s saying a lot considering we gave the world the A$180 million ‘So where the bloody hell are you?’ campaign.

The objective, as stated by the Department of Finance, of “attracting and selecting a strong, highly capable and diverse graduate cohort..” was evident. Unfortunately, the execution missed the mark.

The core problem with the ad is simple: it tried to be authentic but ended up being a little awkward.

Like the Defence Australia campaign, the advertisers tried to instil a level of authenticity but the mode they utilised, was scripted, in-situ style conversations, as opposed to a behind-the-scenes authenticity. Unfortunately, authenticity can’t be scripted, and we should not be trying to force it.

As Dee Madigan, creative director of Campaign Agency said best: “This idea that you have to show the target market to appeal to them is incorrect. Having people in situ having fake conversations has very little cut-through.”

The other issue was the attempt at cramming the diversity and inclusivity offerings that Government do so well, into a 3-minute video. The result is a product that lacks a real employee value proposition or unique selling points in terms of why a graduate might want to work there.

Fortunately for us, there are great lessons to be learned!

Summary lessons from the ‘game-changers’ campaign.

Authenticity can’t be faked or scripted
Avoid cramming too many messages into one piece of comms
Keep your target audience in mind!

For more great content, subscribe to our new YouTube channel .

Do you need help with your recruitment strategy? You can contact us here .

How To Get Your Team Emotionally Engaged At Work

Sun, 23 Mar 2025 10:01:31 GMT

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It’s no secret that employee engagement is critical to your organisation’s success.

Engaged employees have high levels of job performance, motivation and well-being.

Leading global engagement research firm Gallup states that engaged employees work with passion and feel a profound connection to their company. They drive innovation and move organisations forward.

Yet Gallup research shows that only 15% of employees across the world are engaged in their jobs.

Engaged employees are emotionally invested in committing their time, talent and energy to their work, adding value to their team and advancing the organisation.

When it comes to employee engagement, Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) research suggests that there are two types of employee engagement - transactional and emotional.

Transactionally engaged employees are engaged with the job at hand. They are focused on earning a living and meeting the minimum expectations of their job.

These people believe they must come to work - and they see spending time at work as something they do in exchange for a paycheck.

On the other hand, emotionally engaged employees want to come to work. They have a profound connection to the organisation, are engaged with its vision and mission, driven by their own passion and they get a sense of joy and non-monetary reward from their job.

What does emotional engagement look like?

Aside from higher job performance, emotionally engaged employees:

Have higher levels of well-being
Are less likely to be stressed
Are more likely to have a positive work-life balance
Are likely to remain engaged through good times and bad.

Emotionally engaged employees are the people who will drive innovation and move your business forward.

According to Gallup, emotionally engaged employees are in roles where they excel and their talents are truly leveraged.

Because of this, these people come to work wanting to make a positive contribution every day. They put in extra effort, go the extra mile and have lower levels of absenteeism.

It’s easy to see why improving emotional engagement in your team should be a priority.

Before we get into some practical ways you can do this, let’s start with this question:

How does a leader or manager know who is emotionally engaged at work?

As part of their research and leadership in the area of employee engagement, Gallup suggest that am emotionally engaged employee can confidently agree with all of these statements:

I know what is expected of me and my work quality
I have the resources and training to thrive in my job
I have the opportunity to do what I do best - every day
I frequently receive recognition, praise and constructive criticism
I trust my manager and believe they have my best interests in mind
My voice is heard and valued
I clearly understand the mission and purpose and how I contribute to each
I have opportunities to learn and grow personally and professionally.

If reading this list leaves you feeling nervous about your employees’ emotional engagement, here is some practical advice to get you on the right track.

How to improve emotional engagement in your team

70% of the variance in a team’s emotional engagement is related to management. As managers and leaders, you create the conditions for engagement - primarily through the relationships you establish with your team.

Are you an engagement-creating coach or engagement-destroying ‘boss’?

Below is a list of suggestions to drive employee engagement in your team:

Define and communicate a powerful vision
Demonstrate how everyday tasks align with and contribute to this vision and mission
Hire and develop emotionally invested managers
Empower your managers with the resources they need to build great teams
Ensure you have people in the right roles
Understand peoples’ strengths
Empower people with opportunities to use their strengths
Give people the training, resources and support they need to do their jobs well
Communicate regularly and with transparency
Give regular and genuine recognition and appreciation
Create social connections and enable healthy personal relationships in your team
Ask for opinions, ideas and feedback
Listen and act on the above
Provide opportunities to serve others ie through social responsibility initiatives that bring purpose and meaning.

If you’d like to talk about further strategies to emotionally engage your team, you can contact us here

The Surprising Things Leaders Can Learn During Job Interviews

Sat, 22 Mar 2025 06:17:34 GMT

Great candidates will have a number of options - and how you conduct your recruitment process will have a direct bearing on how they feel about your organisation - and whether they’re likely to accept a job offer from you.

Just as the recruitment process has evolved, so too has the job interview.

Effective interviews don’t need to follow a strict Q&A format - and the hiring manager/ organisation shouldn’t be asking all of the questions.

Many leaders believe that a great interview is more like a conversation than a Q&A style ‘test’. Just with any conversation, both parties have questions to ask - and it’s important to listen to the answers you receive.

It’s also important that you don’t perceive candidates asking frank or direct questions in a negative light. Asking questions as a job seeker isn’t being confrontational - it shows that someone is highly engaged and pragmatic.

Approaching the Interview Process

If you’re committed to finding the best possible person to join your team, how you approach an interview is very important.

The first thing to remember is that great candidates will ask questions. And some very valuable insights can be gained from these questions.

As a hiring manager, you need to be prepared with clear, comprehensive answers - and practice active listening during your interviews. Coupled with an open, inquisitive mindset, active listening can enable you to learn so much more than simply a person’s work history and technical skills.

Given the opportunity at the end of an interview, most candidates will ask about the recruitment process and when they can expect feedback. This is a great sign and shows that they are engaged and interested in your role.

Some might ask about the team or organisational culture and perhaps about standard working hours and employee benefits.

Beyond those standard ‘what’s in it for me’ questions, really great candidates will ask ‘bigger’, deeper and perhaps unexpected questions. At first you might feel like the interviewee (rather than the interviewer), but remember - this process is a two way street.

Consider this - someone who asks frank and fearless questions in a job interview could make an exceptional employee.

The questions a candidate asks you will arguably reveal more about them than their answers to your questions.

Types of Candidate Questions to Expect

Here are some examples of candidate questions and what you might learn from them. It’s important that your recruitment partner is prepared to answer these questions.

Feedback-based Questions

Towards the end of the interview, if someone asks for feedback on their interview and suitability for the role, they are showing not just a keenness for the opportunity - but a healthy appetite for self-reflection and a level of self-awareness.

Challenge-based Questions

If they ask you about the biggest challenges in this role and facing the person who performs it, they are probably a realist who appreciates an honest/upfront approach. Perhaps they love to be challenged, perhaps they’re concerned about their ability to perform the role. Listen and watch carefully when you answer this question - there might be non-verbal cues to show their appetite for challenge.

Development-based Questions

If a candidate asks you about career development and progression opportunities, they are likely an ambitious/driven person with a growth mindset. If that’s what you need in your team and you can offer progression, great! If there are limited growth or progression opportunities in the role and team, it’s best to address this from the outset.

Fulfilment-based Questions

If you’re asked a question about what you enjoy most about your job and employer, you have a candidate who values job satisfaction, a high level engagement in their work and strong employee morale.

Management-based Questions

And finally, if a candidate asks you about your management style , they’re probably someone who enjoys some autonomy at work - and wants to make sure you’re not going to micromanage them.

It’s important to see candidate questions during a job interview in a positive light. These types of questions often come from intelligent, highly engaged professionals who are likely to be high performing employees.

Even if some of the questions challenged you or were unexpected, remember that the best recruitment outcomes are achieved when both parties are actively engaged in the process and motivated to work together for the right reasons.

Treating the interview as an honest, open conversation between two equal parties is the best way to achieve a positive, sustainable recruitment outcome.

In today’s talent landscape, there’s no doubt recruitment is a two-way street.

Gone are the days of an organisation being in the drivers’ seat and holding all of the decision making power in a recruitment process.

Attracting the best talent is business-critical - and it’s more competitive than ever before.

If you’d like to talk interview strategy you can contact us here

Exit Interviews: Are You Missing Out On A Stack Of Valuable Data?

Fri, 21 Mar 2025 06:23:02 GMT

Finding top talent is no easy task.

Talent acquisition, engagement and retention are critical issues for any organisation. Many do an excellent job of recruiting and onboarding new employees but there are often significant gaps in an organisation’s ability to retain the top talent they’ve worked so hard to recruit.

While employee turnover is a completely normal part of any workforce, high levels of turnover can be costly and disruptive.

But when an employee leaves, it’s not all negative.

Effective employee off-boarding offers a significant opportunity for your organisation.

Why are exit interviews important?

An organisation’s ability to attract and retain the best and the brightest talent is directly linked to business performance.

If you invest a lot of time and resources in identifying, engaging, recruiting and onboarding talent - when talent leaves, you need to understand why.

We’ve recently been working with a number of clients on their exit interview strategy.

Understanding employee turnover is critical for organisational performance - and exit interviews are the key source of data about employee turnover.

Collected, analysed and leveraged over time, exit interview data plays an important role in improving employee engagement, reducing turnover and boosting business performance.

Exit interviews can also be used as a diagnostic tool to solve key issues in your organisation.

Let’s assume your organisation can easily and effectively attract top talent, then invests time and effort in onboarding and training etc. suggests that it takes 1-2 years before an employee is ‘fully productive’ ie as productive as the previous employee.

If your average employee tenure is only 18 months, your recruitment/hiring ROI isn’t great.

An effective exit interview strategy and the process will ensure you uncover the relevant information about each employee’s departure and ensures that common assumptions are inappropriately weighted.

Your employee exit protocol

Most organisations have an established off-boarding process for employees following a resignation. It might look something like this:

discussion about retaining the team member if they are high value
if retention is not an option, establish a handover plan
complete handover
final meeting with manager/team
return company property
arrange a send off lunch.

An effective exit interview should be part of this off-boarding process.

Designing your exit interview strategy

There are several key considerations in designing your exit interview strategy to ensure it’s effective.

What information do you need?

This can depend on the role, employee or other organisational context. It could be different for each interview. It’s important to have a plan of what information you need to gather from the exit interview so you can design the interview questions to elicit the best data.

Who will run the interview?
Think carefully about who is the most appropriate person to conduct the exit interview. It’s important that the information gathered in these interviews is real, candid and useful. Who is in the best position to collect the most useful data? In some cases, it may be the line manager. It could also be HR or even a neutral third party.

How will you best capture the information you need?

Quality data captured over time leads to the greatest insights. To get quality data, you need to consider your capture mechanism. Talk to your business intelligence team about this, they likely already have some great insights and can potentially leverage existing systems to assist with exit interview data capture.

Great questions collect strong data

Crafting effective exit interview questions is essential. These need to link back to what information you need and can vary depending on the role, employee and issues affecting that them. If there are particular ‘pain points’, challenges or issues impacting this employee, team or role, make sure your interview questions cover this.

After the interview: Review and reflect but don’t react

When conducting these interviews, it’s important to be prepared for what you might hear and learn. An exiting employee might:

be disenchanted with the organisation
be unhappy with management and/or their peers
have personal circumstances affecting their decision and state of mind
have simply outgrown their role and want more than your organisation can offer.

Each of these scenarios are perfectly normal.

It’s important not to react to the information and feedback gathered in an interview. Remember that the exiting employee may be emotional at the time. Exit interviews are not about trying to immediately fix or change things that have come to light immediately - remedial action is not the goal.

It’s also important not to get into a management or leadership ‘beat up’ session as a result of feedback received in exit interviews. Instead there is an opportunity to use the data gathered to coach your leaders and enable growth and positive change.

A long term commitment

To be impactful, exit interview data must be collected over time, reflected on and reviewed before it’s leveraged in your organisation.

It’s not useful to look at each and every exit interview singularly and respond to each issue raised. What’s more useful is to analyse the data over time and pick out the key trends and common issues and points of discontent.

Once you’ve reviewed and reflected, only then can you make a sound decision on what trends or issues are the most important to address.

Retention is not the goal

When it comes to employee exit protocol and exit interviews, retention is rarely the goal.

In fact no organisation should ever aim for 100% retention. Having no staff turnover would be unrealistic, unhealthy and could impact growth. All organisations can benefit from new ideas, knowledge and experience and a healthy flow of new people can bring this.

Exit interviews should not be designed to gather data that leads to 100% retention rates. These interviews are a long-term data capture mechanism that enables you to leverage insights from a valuable source.

Exit interviews can also be a great employer brand and PR exercise in the final stage of a person’s employment with your organisation. An effective, professional and respectful exit process will send them off on a positive note.

How Unconscious Bias Affects Your Hiring Process (And What To Do About It)

Thu, 20 Mar 2025 11:17:02 GMT

Have you ever hired someone based on a good feeling about them - even if you couldn’t explain why they are the best person for the job?

Are you naturally drawn to people who have similar experiences or opinions to you?

Are you comfortable making decisions based on ‘gut instinct’?

Most people would answer ‘yes’ to at least one of these questions - because we’re all human.

What is unconscious bias?

Unconscious bias are learned stereotypes that are automatic, unintentional and able to influence our behaviour and thinking. These learned stereotypes can have a significant impact on our thinking and decision making. In a workplace context, unconscious bias can impact the employee experience, organisational culture and overall performance.

It’s very important for hiring managers to understand how unconscious bias can impact the recruitment process. Aside from the obvious impact on equality and fairness, biased hiring decisions result in less diverse teams.

The importance of diversity in the workplace can not be underestimated. Research shows that diverse teams are more productive, motivated, creative and engaged. Diversity and inclusion have been shown to improve business and organisational performance.

5 common unconscious biases

First impression bias

While first impressions are important - you can’t judge a book by its cover.

First impression bias happens when a candidate looks and sounds great - and makes a great first impression.

Because of this positive first impression, we automatically assume they are great - and this can affect our recruitment and selection process.

The halo effect

The halo effect sees us focus our attention on one great aspect of a candidate that positively influences everything else we observe about them.

The ‘halo’ could be how they communicate, an exceptional skill set in one particular area, a previous job with a blue-chip brand like Apple or Google, or the latest qualification relevant to the role.

The horns effect

The horns effect happens when our judgement is impacted by one ‘bad’ or negative thing about a candidate.
It could be how they present themselves or speak, something they say during the interview or something about their employment history.
It’s always important to look at the bigger picture and not let the horns effect cloud your judgement.

Affinity bias

Affinity is an essential part of human nature - we are naturally drawn to people who are like us. The affinity bias causes us to see similar people in a positive light.

This is where hiring managers and recruitment professionals need to be extra diligent with hiring for ‘cultural fit’. Cultural ‘fit’ doesn’t mean hiring people who are similar to you and the rest of your team. Affinity bias can have a negative impact on diversity.

Some examples of affinity bias to look out for include:

You studied at the same university as the candidate
You worked at the same company as the candidate
You share hobbies, interests or life experiences with the candidate

Affinity bias can mean we place too much importance on the things we have in common with the candidate which can make us less diligent during the recruitment and selection process.

Confirmation bias

Confirmation bias is a tendency to interpret new information or evidence as confirmation of your existing beliefs.

In an interview context, this bias influences us to only seek information that supports our assumptions or beliefs about a candidate. When we are affected by confirmation bias, we tend to:

Not listen deeply
Stop probing for more information, examples or explanation
Skip or move on from crucial interview questions
Undervalue or ignore information that might conflict with our assumptions or beliefs.

How to avoid unconscious bias

Left unchecked, each of these biases can impact the recruitment and selection process.

It’s important to understand that unconscious biases are deeply ingrained, which makes it difficult to recognise and overcome. Here are some tips to help you.
Accept. We are all human, no one is perfect - we all have biases.

Be aware. Understand that these biases exist so you can begin to be aware of when they come into play in your interviews and recruitment process. Look for evidence. During an interview, focus on the evidence that is presented to you (not what you’re expecting or hoping to find).

Recruit in a team. Interviewing with one or more colleagues is a great way to avoid bias. If you don’t share the same affinity biases with your colleagues, you’re likely to have more diverse impressions and opinions of the candidates you’re considering.

Challenge yourself. If you recognise that bias is affecting you, talk to one of your colleagues about it. Having a sense-check with someone is a great way to build awareness and ensure you don’t make a biased hiring decision.

Take your time. Try not to make quick judgements about people. Look at the bigger picture and don’t allow yourself to skip interview questions - stick to your interview plan.

Why Agile Learning Is Critical For Your People And Your Business

Tue, 18 Mar 2025 07:17:04 GMT

Are you focused on hiring for agile learning skills? You sure as hell should be...

Recruitment is about finding the person with the best skills and experience...or perhaps it’s not.

That’s traditionally the way it’s been done - but that approach won’t guarantee your organisation success in the future.

We are living and working in a time of unprecedented change. People and organisations need to be highly adaptable. Leaders can’t simply hire for skills - they need to hire for behaviours (and train for skills). This concept isn’t entirely new - but it’s coming more into focus.

In 2017, the World Economic Forum published the whitepaper Accelerating Workforce Reskilling for the Fourth Industrial Revolution . This included a projection that around 35% of the skills required for jobs across industries will have changed by 2020.

It’s easy to see why we need to look beyond skills and experience to things like adaptability, flexibility, a customer/client/stakeholder focus, team working, and most importantly - a desire to learn and grow.

A culture of learning will be an essential ingredient in the most successful organisations of tomorrow.

That’s where agile learning comes in. While the agile framework originated in technology, it is now applicable to many different areas, including learning and development.

Leaders and HR professionals should move away from the idea that learning happens through coursework. Learning should be embedded in every day.

Agile learning is continuous, collaborative, flexible and fast

It happens in teams, with peers and managers, informally and formally - and on platforms that can be accessed anywhere, anytime (and at your employees’ convenience). Agile learning also offers continuous feedback.

A recent Harvard Business Review article quoted Patty Woolcock from the California Strategic HR Partnership as describing the future of learning is about the three ‘justs’: Just enough, just-in-time, and just-for-me.

Some of the features of an agile learning culture include:

Team-based and peer learning
Technology-supported learning
Collaboration between customers and providers to boost learning (and benefit relationships)
Learning investment in the whole team (including freelance and contract employees)
Learning motivated by development (not a deficiency).

The last point above highlights the importance of learning at work being about employees’ professional development (not simply fixing skills gaps).

A recent Deloitte research survey found that millennial professionals value ongoing development over all other employment benefits.

A culture of learning, enabled by agile learning, includes embracing risk-taking and mistake-making as positive parts of the learning - and essential to facilitate growth and success.

In the future, continuous employability won’t be about what employees already know - it will be about their capacity to learn, adapt and grow.

The same is true for organisations. Success will depend on your ability to develop your employees’ skills AND your ability to identify and hire talent with strong agile-learning capabilities.

If this is not already a central part of your talent acquisition strategies, it should be.

Move fast. Don’t get left behind.

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How to Hire for Culture Fit

Mon, 17 Mar 2025 12:45:47 GMT

The result of hiring someone who doesn’t match your organisational culture can stall productivity, create conflict, and affect your customer’s experience.

Hiring a candidate with the right culture-fit for your business is often one of the most challenging parts of any recruitment process. But the good news is that assessing cultural fit is not as difficult as many would think. Here are some ways you can get started.

What is culture fit?

First, we need to understand what culture fit is. We see culture fit as the alignment of the prospective employee’s wants, core values, normative behaviours, fundamental needs, attitudes, and goals – with the company. This means that there is congruency in values, behaviours, attitudes and goals between both parties.

Think of it like this, when you bring someone into your team, you want that person to be a long-lasting, value-adding part of your work-family.

These people need to share (or have similar) values and goals so that they work well with your existing team. While it is easy to teach a skill, it can be hard to encourage someone to align with a core value, that they may not value.

Three steps to help you hire for culture fit.

List the core-values that map back to your company or team mission.
List the attitudes and behaviours work within your team
(Think of the attitudes as the ‘'what’ that works well in your team and the behaviours as the 'how' your group go about achieving its mission).
During the interview don't just talk about the job on offer. Ask questions that help you identify the prospective hire's values, attitudes and behaviours.

Warning: It’s important to remember what cultural fit is not.

Forbes summarises this well; “It’s important to remember where diversity fits into this equation. Don’t risk overlooking different cultures and lifestyles and backgrounds”.

On the surface of things, a father of three might not fit what you think is the “culture” of your young, single team who are willing to work late into the evening — but he likely brings some of the best historical knowledge of where the industry has been or a better sense of what customers actually want.

If you don’t review this regularly, you’ll run the risk of building a team that suffers the negative effects of groupthink and lack of cognitive diversity.

You want your people to be united by your company’s shared mission. You can leverage cognitive diversity and varying backgrounds to help your team to actually achieve it — tackling problems in new ways, thinking outside the box and ultimately bringing your culture to life.

What Flexible Working Arrangements Do Good Leaders Offer?

Sun, 16 Mar 2025 14:26:53 GMT

Here are just some of the ways top leaders are embracing and offering flexible working arrangements for their teams:

Offering flexible work hours: This means allowing start and end times to be flexible and adaptable to the team members outside of work activities and responsibilities. For example, going to the gym before work, or taking the children to school/daycare. Offering flexible start and end times gives your team members more balance and provides value and in turn produces higher retention and happier team members.

Working remotely: Due to the advancements in technology and applications, there is an incredible ability for team members to work at different sites across multiple locations, therefore being able to build deeper relationships with a broader range of steak-holders.

If you would like to learn more about what Kingston Human Capital can do for you, head over to our contact page and we will be in touch!

Transcript

I've recently engaged with some of Queensland's top leaders to discuss what they're doing within their organisations regarding flexible work arrangements. Now, flexible work arrangements aren't just part-time or job share scenarios. It's about being able to offer your staff more flexibility within the environment, so that really has to do with start times, finish times, and where they can work from. So let's have a look at a couple of points that they shared with me in particular.

Now, the first one is actually about flexible work hours. Many of us have activities outside of work that we need to do first thing in the morning. Many of us like cycling, or going to the gym, so if we're able to get that started at the beginning of our day, commence our day a little bit later, and then finish a little bit later, it leaves us in a great situation to get that balance. Of course, many other of us have children that we need to pick up, either in the morning or the afternoon. So if we can arrange these hours to be able to fit in these extra activities, we're being able to offer our staff more balance. And this is offering more value. We're getting more retention and more quality work from them as well because that's what balance equals.

Now the other thing that they've been able to give me some insight into is the advancement in technology that's actually been able to offer us the opportunity to work more remotely. Now, this remoteness allows our staff to be able to work from home a couple of days a week, which is great. But one thing that our leaders really gave us some insight into was the ability for their staff to work at different sites, across their organisation. So not always just going into Brisbane CBD or one of their other sites, but to work across multiple sites, allowing them to gain deeper relationships with a broader range of their stakeholders.

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Flexible working arrangements, means being able to offer your team more flexibility within the entire working environment.

The New Look Of Learning & Development in 2019

Sat, 15 Mar 2025 15:06:31 GMT

New Title

According to the research the number one trend for is the need for organisation to change the way people learn.

The need for evolving skills and competencies is occurrent now more than ever, especially as organisation prepare for the future workforce.

In this short video Katie, our Head of Client Services gives five key considerations for organisations for successful learning and development strategies.

Transcription

Today. I'm here to share with you the new look of learning and development in 2019 and beyond. According to a new human capital trend report by Deloitte, the number one trend for 2019 is the need for organisations to change the way people learn, with 86% of respondents citing that it was important or a very important issue for them. Looking into this, it's easy to see why. The need for evolving skills and competencies due to a faster changing nature of work and the shrinking external labor markets. The idea of lifelong learning and learning organisations has never been more pertinent as it is today. Simply having a learning management system or LMS isn't enough. Learning needs to be integrated and personalised.

Here are our five key considerations in developing learning and development programs according to the human capital trends we see today.

Firstly, rethink your L and D tech or the idea of the corporate university. At most companies, the learning management systems are amongst the oldest and most challenging to use. There are a number of tools that have been modernised that deliver a way of curated content, video, on the go mobile learning and micro learning. Businesses in Queensland are taking notice. In fact, the fastest growing segment in HR technology spending is now the adoption of new employee learning systems.

Secondly, think beyond the software and technological delivery. Instil a culture of excitement when it comes to managing your learning budgets. Last year at Kingston Human Capital, we experimented with allocating a personal L and D budget to each team member. It was their choice on what they could spend it on, and this delivered bigger results than we ever could have expected. Our team loved that the decision was theirs, and they were 100% committed. There was two key criteria for this approach. The first was receive the manager's approval, and secondly, the employee must come back and present their learning for the team within the 30 days of completing their training of choice. This creates a positive culture of sharing, but it also encouraged our team members to really think about the value of what they would be learning, but also bringing back for their team.

Another idea is to track learning metrics as KPIs. We place so much emphasis on performance, and rightly so, but more often than not the emphasis isn't on how we're learning and how we can drive performance. For instance, having a binary goal such as 50 hours of trackable learning a year could be derived from a number of learning sources such as L and D systems, self-directed courses to name a couple.

Another source which leads into our next strategies are group learning sessions. This overlaps the previous idea of bringing team members together to share their learnings, and also things like company town hall meetings that are fixed in the calendar. A good idea is to get the team members to vote on lunch and learn sessions that are suggested topics that they think could add value to their roles.

Finally, internal mobility and secondments. There have been circulated stories that Google used to move people around roles every three years. Now, we are not recommending something as drastic as that. However, secondments or dedicated projects are a great way to facilitate real, practical learning whilst contributing to the strategic goals of the company.

If you'd like more information, particularly around learning and development programs as they pertain to your on-boarding strategies for new teams, we'd be happy to help. For more information, you can go to kingstonhumancapital.com.au.

How to Hire for Diversity & Inclusion

Fri, 14 Mar 2025 10:31:40 GMT

A reactive 'tick the box' approach is not a sustainable way to approach diversity in talent acquisition...

A focused and sustainable talent strategy is needed as it is becoming increasingly evident the link between diversity of talent and profitability in conclusive. In this short video Katie, our Client Services Manager provides 9 ways you can improve Diversity and Inclusion in your organisation.

A focused and sustainable talent strategy is needed.

Diversity and inclusion is a major priority in recruitment strategy simply because the link between diversity of talent and profitability is conclusive. Recently, a McKinsey report found that executive teams were 21% more likely to experience above average profits. And in a separate study, PwC found that 84% of directors said that their boards were performing better when they became more diverse.

Here are some ways you and I can improve D&I within our organisation.

The first is sending the right message in your employer branding materials. It's important to send a clear message in your employer brand and collateral, communicating that you are an organisation committed to developing a diverse workforce. It's important that your collateral articulates how you incorporate diversity and inclusion.
Your mission and values is the second. Let candidates know you value diversity. If you want to improve your diversity outcomes, communicating that loud and clear is critical. Say it out loud. Diverse job seekers often wonder, does this organisation walk the way they talk when it comes to diversity? If you do, say it loud and clear. This removes the guesswork for job seekers, and you will enjoy higher rates of attraction.
The third is craft your job advertisements to attract more diverse candidates. The language you use in your job advertisement makes a huge difference in diversity outcomes. When it comes to improving your copywriting, a little research about the use of terminology and descriptive terms will go a long way.
The fourth is partner with community diversity and inclusion groups for talent. Go outside your normal channels. Establish relationships or partnerships with diversity inclusion and community groups that will help you build a network. And it'll also create a diverse and inclusive talent pipeline. You don't need to wait until your next go to hire. Start actively networking with diversity talent groups now.
The fifth is advertise in diverse media. It's important that your role is seen in the right places. Find different religious, cultural, and ethnic publication groups, websites or networks, and ask them if you can promote your job advertisement there. Most advocacy groups are incredibly supportive. Most often then not, they will help you promote your opportunity to their network.
The sixth, identify your biases. Every single one of us has a certain preference called biases. Working to uncover your biases will help you ensure that they won't get in the way of your hiring choices. Identify your own biases. It can be uncomfortable and challenging, but if you're committed to diversity inclusion, get yourself sorted.
The seventh, consider using blind resumes. The blind hiring method is a hot topic, and it's easy to do. Remove the candidate's name and other identifying information like graduation year, university names, and even suburbs.
The eighth is prepare yourself with answers for questions diverse candidates are likely to ask. Diverse job candidates often ask important questions aimed at helping them determine if your organisation is truly inclusive and supportive. Be prepared to answer these commonly asked questions, such as "What initiatives has your company participated "regarding diversity?"
And lastly, select an inclusive interview team. Harvard actually recommends selecting an inclusive interview team from different backgrounds and genders.

Transcript

Today, I want to share with you how to hire for diversity and inclusion.

Increasingly, Kingston Human Capital is working with more and more clients who understand the need to improve their workforce diversity but struggle with how to prioritise their challenges and do this practically. Most organisational leaders recognise that a reactive tick the box approach is not a sustainable way to improve diversity and talent acquisition.

At Kingston Human Capital, we love working with organisations who are focused on improving diversity and inclusion in their hiring.

Great Leaders Give Feedback & They Give It Often

Thu, 13 Mar 2025 11:40:17 GMT

We know great leaders provide informal feedback to their teams often. At Kingston Human Capital, we refer to this as feedback micro-dosing.

It is no secret that employees perform better when they receive all three of the primary key-performance inputs from their leader.

These primary key-performance inputs include:

1. Support

2. Guidance

3. Resources

However, the best leaders drive more significant outcomes from their employees by adding a fourth dimension to performance-inputs.

Frequent and useful feedback.

Great leaders provide informal feedback to their teams – often, instead of saving it all up for the quarterly or six-monthly performance review. We think of it as feedback micro-dosing and it can happen multiple times a day.

Walkthrough any high performing organisation and you’ll hear the leadership team driving the right performance and behaviours by delivering small, but effective, micro-doses of feedback to their teams. You’ll notice that it’s done with ease. When an organisation has developed a true ‘feedback culture’ you’ll hear conversations like this happening all around you:

Leader to team member “James, that was well executed, in particular, I like how you delivered XYZ. I look forward to seeing you do the same in the next presentation”.

James to Leader “Thanks Chris, I appreciate that, will do. Is there anything you think I could improve on next time?”

Leader to James “Hmm, the only thing that was not as clear as it could be to our audience in that meeting was XYZ. I don’t think they received you as you intended. I have some thoughts about how you feel you could bring more clarity to that next time [or] I recommend you do XYZ next time.”

Both parties part on excellent terms, everyone is happy.

Providing frequent feedback in real-time, helps your team members understand what they are doing well. Moreover, it helps contribute to their overall happiness workplace.

So how do we get there?

Providing constructive feedback in the moment is highly effective, because it helps your employee course-correct, or know what they should work to improve next time. Too often leaders rob their team members of constructive-feedback because they don’t feel comfortable delivering it.

Great leaders intentionally work at building trust with their team members, it’s the precursor to feedback micro-dosing. They also work to master the ‘way’ they deliver constructive feedback.

Great leaders also deliver constructive feedback in the spirit of helping their team members enhance and grow (rather than rousing on them, or making them feel crappy). If you deliver it well, most often it will be well received.

Note: Always be mindful of delivering constructive feedback in the right moment. Ask, is this the right moment? Am I in a good place? Is my team member in a good place? Is this something that is confidential or sensitive? Will this be better delivered one on one?

While there is plenty of feedback that can be delivered in real-ti me, sometimes a one-on-one delivery is more appropriate.

How to use the “More, Better, Different” Feedback Framework.

This is a framework we typically introduce to new team members on the first day with an organisation because it helps them integrate into a ‘feedback focused culture’. It makes receiving feedback routine, rather than something that happens only every quarter. The “More, Better, Different” framework can also be adapted or introduced to existing teams.

The value of this framework is that it is employee-led, meaning the employee has ownership over their own progress. The employee is trained in a framework that empowers them with three easy questions that helps them “pull” feedback from their leader about their progress and performance. It’s quick and easy for new team members to use, and the training time takes a whopping 30 minutes.

Here are the three questions team members learn to ask their Leader:

1. “Hi [leader’s name], what do I need to be doing more of?”

This question pulls feedback about what’s going well, and what “I” as the employee should focus on delivering more of – it helps me identify my good behaviours.

2. “What specifically can I focus on doing better?”

This question pulls feedback about what “I” am not doing so well, and it helps me identify what I need to improve on.

3. “Is there anything I should be doing differently?”

This question pulls feedback about what I’m doing that might need a bit of evolution or change.

The benefits of the “More, Better Different” feedback framework, are threefold.

The questions elicit specific answers for the team member.

They pull information that helps the team member identify particular behaviours that need improving or actions that they can do more of because they are on the right track.

The questions provide the employee with an opportunity to invite feedback rather than wait for it.

This power-shift fuels the employee’s sense of progression and growth.

By having conversations like these with your team, you are breeding a feedback culture.

Also, by providing team members with psychological safety to accept constructive feedback more frequently, they become better and more confident in their roles.

Many managers believe that constructive-feedback is an icky thing that must be delivered behind closed doors.

We agree that judgement and discretion should always be exercised when giving feedback. However, we’ve also observed that one of the differences between a manager and a leader is that leaders have mastered the art of delivering positive and constructive feedback in real-time.

To do this, they’ve:

Honed in on their delivery skills
Built a strong sense of trust with their team members and
Normalised the practice of giving feedback right from the start of the employee’s first day

We help great leaders hire and retain great teams. If we can assist you with any of your recruitment and retention challenges, reach out and get in contact.

Here Is How You Prepare For The Workplace Of The Future

Wed, 12 Mar 2025 13:40:36 GMT

According to new research from the Australian Automation Report by McKinsey , almost 1 million entirely new jobs could be created by 2030 as a result of automation. This is some good news considering all of the statistics that we’ve been hearing about the displacement of our jobs in the workforce.

But, the report also estimates that between 3.5 and 6.5 million full-time equivalent positions could be displaced in the job shift. They also report that there’ll be much job churn as some of the activities that we perform in our roles are automated.

What we know for sure is that jobs will be lost, others will be created, but almost every single job will be affected in some way , and without proactive leadership to manage the transition to the workplace of the future, automation is going to have a major impact

So, as leaders, it’s going to be critical for us to consider now how we can prepare and plan to act in the future. But the good news is, is that with any great change there comes great opportunity.

Now, there is a lot that proactive leaders can do to future-proof their organizations. The key to being ready for the workplace of the future is to plan and prepare and act now. And here are some ways to get you started;

You can think about getting on the front foot by assessing and evaluating the size and shape of the future workforce that your organization is going to need.
Then, you can start identifying and mapping the critical skill sets that your future workforce needs to possess in order to execute its strategic plan.
Once you’ve got this done, partner with your external recruitment providers so that they can support you to develop a proactive and compelling talent attraction strategies that resonate with candidates who possess those future critical skills.
Now, it’s also important to anticipate that there’s going to be many other organizations having the same demand for those must-have soft skills of the future. Some of these have been identified as adaptability, problem-solving, innovation and collaboration.

So, given that many organizations are going to be competing for the same thing, it’s really important that you can articulate your organization’s unique offerings to the talent market in a really compelling way. Churning out a dry old jobs description and a bit of a mission statement probably won’t cut it.

We need to consider now, the contemporary talent attraction tools that share your organization’s narrative and leverage the digital world. Video and robust social media campaigns are already proving to have a strong return on investment.

Another thing that’s going to be key for leaders is to reduce their organizations average time to hire . It’s no longer acceptable to have an average time to hire of six to eight weeks because the best talent will be in high demand, and they’re not going to be likely to wait around for six to eight weeks, particularly when one of your competitors has a compelling opportunity and a swifter recruitment process.

Your average time to hire can be reduced by better talent pool planning, better pipelining , and more effective platform uses , as well as building continual use talent communities , and executing continual engagement and communication strategies
that speak deeply to those communities. So when you are ready to hire, you’ll already have a suitable workforce to select from.

And finally, as leaders, the hiring that we do now will impact our 2030 workforce. It’s only 11 years away. Every single hire that you make right now needs to suit your needs for now, but also your future state needs.

Start now, by thinking about how you can embed questions into your interview processes that will really help you identify those skills that are going to be critical to your future. Good luck in planning your workforce of the future.

The workplace of the future is closer than you think.

According to the recent Australia’s Automation Opportunity report from McKinsey & Compan y , it is estimated that between 25 and 46 per cent of current work activities in Australia could be automated by 2030, helping to drive a renaissance in productivity, income and economic growth.

What does this mean for employers and employees? How are you and your organisation preparing for this future automated workforce?

In this short video Kingston Human Capital Founder and Executive Director, Elizabeth Kingston, provides valuable tips on preparing for the workplace of the future.

Tricky Conversations: How to Tell a Team Member They Aren’t Performing

Tue, 11 Mar 2025 09:02:44 GMT

This is possibly one of the most stressful conversations a leader and employee can have. Although it’s always going to be a hard one to have without sounding confrontational, it’s crucially important to tackle this conversation proactively – and as early as possible.

Of course sub-par performance could be due to a huge range of factors – inside and outside the workplace. After all, we’re all people. Which is exactly how the conversation should be approached – with the individual person and their circumstances front of mind.

Here are couple of strategies that could be good starting points for how to tackle this all-important but tricky [difficult] conversation.

Modify the role for a motivated employee who might be lacking in competency

We all know that good people with a great attitude are hard to find. Some leaders believe that attitude is everything. If you have a good employee who shows up on time, is a positive influence on the team and is motivated to do a good job, you don’t want to lose them!

It’s not uncommon for an employee’s skills and competencies to be below the role they were hired for. If your employee has become overwhelmed with this ‘gap’, they will stick with what they know, and naturally perform the other tasks at a below-par standard. We’re all human, right?

In this scenario, the conversation is all about making the employee feel appreciated and psychologically safe. Talking to them about crafting a role and responsibilities to suit their strengths will make them feel more confident – and set the scene for fair and reasonable expectations for both parties going forward.

Motivating unproductive employees

Making excuses, procrastinating, running ‘everything’ (unnecessarily) past their manager – there are many signs that an employee is lacking in motivation.

Running ‘everything’ by a manager could be a sign of your employee wishing someone else would do the work – or perhaps a feeling of not having enough autonomy in their role.

Although these are very different issues, either way, the employee is unproductive.

In this scenario, the conversation should be centred on what is important to the employee ie what are their current goals, what do they hope to get out of this job, where do they see their career going? Most importantly, the leader should ask how they can support the employee in achieving their goals. For some employees, having this conversation with their manager on a regular basis – even outside of a formal appraisal process – is key in maintaining motivation (as well as productivity).

The key in this scenario is taking action. While having the conversation will give the employee (and leader) confidence, it means nothing without action ie specific goal-setting, additional responsibilities and perhaps a potential future promotion structured around achievement of agreed goals.

Setting ambitious goals

Goal setting isn’t just key to motivating unproductive employees – it’s important for all employees.

Once you’ve identified whether you’re dealing with an attitudinal or competency problem, the key thing is to empower our employees with goals and a reputation to live up to.

In his famous book How to Win Friends and Influence People, Dale Carnegie talks about the theory of ‘giving a dog a good name’. This is essentially about telling unproductive people that you’re excited to see them smash their targets.

Here’s an example of how this conversation might go: I know there’s nobody more qualified to pull this off than you!

Show your employees that you have every confidence in them. Give them a reputation of high productivity and there’s a good chance they will live up to it.

What’s the key to these tricky situations? You guessed it – communication.

At Kingston Human Capital, we often talk internally about the value of a ‘no surprises’ workplace.

What this means is that no team member, irrespective of ‘rank’ should be shy or nervous to raise issues and concerns as soon as they arise. With this ‘no surprises’ approach, issues and concerns don’t have the opportunity to grow in to something ugly.

Kingston Human Capital specialise in helping great leaders recruit and build great teams.

Leadership Qualities Great Candidates Are Looking For

Mon, 10 Mar 2025 06:08:58 GMT

In this video Katie shares (5) key qualities great candidates are actively seeking out in the modern workplace.

Transcript

Today, I'm wanting to share with you the top five things that new hires are looking for within their leaders. There are lot of different perspectives on what makes a good leader.

Some believe good leaders are born, others believe leadership can be taught. Like most things in the workplace, good leadership has evolved. The lead and follow style of management is far in the past, and has given way to a more consultative, and collaborative way of working.

Job seekers are being more and more discerning, about the leadership style of the person that they report to. According to the Indeed Job Happiness Index, leadership style is the second thing, that is impacting job happiness. We've spoken to some of Brisbane's top leaders, as well candidates in the market, and we've asked them to define what a good leader is.

A leader who listens as much as they talk, has topped the list. Most great leaders are naturally strong communicators. However, communication is as much about speaking, as it is listening. It's a simple act that will create respect, trust, engagement and loyalty from your employees. The second was a leader who shows appreciation, and gives recognition. Great work is often a team effort, and good leaders understand the power of crediting their team's work, individual ideas, contributions and achievements. Showing appreciation doesn't have to be a grand gesture, or an expensive reward. For many people a simple well done, or thank you is powerful.

Next was a leader who is adaptable. A study through the University of Melbourne, found that a leader who demonstrated a degree of flexibility in their approach, received better satisfaction ratings from their teams. Perhaps the best leaders are chameleons. Next on the list was a leader who practices honest and transparent communication. If a leader wants to build trust and ability, to achieve results through their people, transparency and honesty in communication is essential. People want to know where they stand, and an open door policy isn't about physical walls or doors, but a leadership style that is open and engaged in the workplace.

Finally, a leader who is consistent, was most important to those who we spoke with. Whatever leadership style or technique you employ as a leader, the most important thing is that you're consistent. Whilst being predictable might seem like an unattractive trait, an element of predictability in consistent leadership, will provide the stability that people need to thrive and achieve. We help great leaders build great teams.

It's Commonly Said 'people Leave Managers, Not Companies'. So What Are Great Candidates Really Seeking In A Leader?

How Great Leaders Give Effective Feedback

Sun, 09 Mar 2025 06:07:07 GMT

The key question of course is how do you do in an efficient and effective way. In this short video, Katie shares an effective and efficient framework you can use right away.

Transcript

The ability to provide effective feedback - is becoming a major point of emphasis of late, particularly when it comes to onboarding new hires - quickly and effectively. Office Vibe report that 4 out of 10 employees feel they get little or no feedback. 65% of employees want to receive move feedback. And that only 58% of Managers feel they are giving enough feedback to their team members.

New hires want to receive more feedback so that they can make sure they are on track and hitting the right benchmarks .We know that employee engagement drives both productivity and retention. And We know that effect feedback maps directly to how quickly our newest hires get up and running within our businesses.

The good news is that some of Queensland’s employers of choice are taking active steps and evaluating just how effective their feedback mechanisms are. Here is one example. Our client decided they needed to develop more of feedback-based culture in their organisation. The problem they were having was that in their company feedback was only given to team members during their monthly Performance meetings.

By waiting this long, they found they were not optimising their team members or harnessing their productivity. And from the new hire’s perspective, they felt that their monthly performance meetings were too heavy covering too many items but lacking any specific examples, that they could work from.

Here’s the solution we helped them implement. On the first day of the new Hire’s induction, as part of the day-one training plan - we introduce the new hire to the More/Better/ Different framework. The More/Better/Different framework is an Employee – led feedback sourcing mechanism.

The employee is trained in a framework that empowers them with 3 easy questions that helps them “Pull” feedback from their line manager about their progress and performance. Its quick and easy for new team members to use, and the training time takes a whopping 30 minutes.

Here is how it works: At a suitable time the new hire simply checks-in with their manager and says: “Jason, I’m just checking in” , “what do I need to be doing more of? (this question pulls feedback about what’s going well, and what “ I” as the employee should focus on delivering more of – its helps me identify my good behaviours.

The next question is “What specifically do I need to do better? (this question pulls feedback about what I am not doing so well, it helps me identify what I need to improve on) and the final question is “is there anything I should be doing differently?” (this question pulls feedback about what I’m doing that might need a bit of evolution or change).

The benefits of the More, Better Different Feedback mechanism are threefold; Because these questions elicit specific answers for the new employee, they identify specific behaviours that need enhancement improving or simply more of… The mitigate the constant employee complaint that feedback is not specific enough.

By making the new hire a “equal partner” who shares the responsibility of sourcing feedback we not only empower them to get solid feedback in real time, instead of waiting for their formal performance meeting, We also remove the onus from just the manager to provide feedback. It becomes a two-way practice, real time, with greater frequency, allowing for more improvement over a shorter period. This is an empowering and proactive move. And by indoctrinating this practice right from day one, it breeds a feedback-based culture, right from the get-go.

New Hires become used to eliciting feedback and managers become use to providing it in real time – this carries through the organisations over time – feedback conversations are no longer scary – they are a proactive part of business as usual. Feedback becomes embedded into culture.

Did You Know 4 Out 10 Employees Feel Like They Get Little Or No Feedback And 65% Of Them Want To Receive More?

The Top 5 Traits New Hires Look For in a Leader

Sat, 08 Mar 2025 07:46:15 GMT

New Title

There are a lot of different perspectives on what makes a good leader. Some people believe good leaders are born; others believe leadership can be taught. Like most things in the workplace, good leadership has evolved.

The authoritarian 'lead and follow' style of management of the past has given way to a more consultative, collaborative way of working with - and getting results through - people.

During the job search and recruitment process, job seekers are becoming more and more discerning about the leadership style of the person they will be reporting to.

According to the Indeed Job Happiness Index 2016, Leadership style is the #2 consideration impacting job happiness (after work-life balance).

While the definition of a good leader may vary from one organisation to the next, there are some common traits in leadership literature - and in the conversations we have with job seekers about what they look for in a leader.

So, what makes a great leader? Here are the top 5 things people look for:

1. A leader who listens as much as they talk

Most great leaders in history were talented orators. They 'held audience' with their people and delivered great speeches that motivated and inspired.While being a strong communicator is an important leadership trait, good communication is as much about listening as it is talking.

A study by leadership training provider Dale Carnegie showed that 88% of people valued 'being heard by the boss'. The simple act of listening to your people will create respect, trust, engagement and loyalty.

Listening isn't just an important leadership trait - it's good business.Creating an environment that encourages people to share their ideas could uncover the next brilliant initiative that your business might need.

2. A leader who shows appreciation and gives recognition

Although great work is often a team effort, good leaders will always credit their team members for their individual ideas, contributions and achievements. Showing appreciation doesn’t have to be a grand gesture or an expensive reward-based exercise.

For many people, a simple ‘well done’ or ‘thank you’ is powerful.

A good leader will never take credit for their team’s initiatives and achievements – without giving the appropriate recognition.

3. A leader who is adaptable

Leaders need to be flexible enough to adapt their style to suit the people they are working with. According to a study conducted by the University of Melbourne’s Business School, leaders who show a high degree of flexibility in their approach receive better satisfaction ratings from their teams.

A big part of a flexible leadership approach is giving people autonomy. According to bestselling author and speaker on business, work and human behaviour Daniel Pink, autonomy—the urge to direct our own lives—is one of the most important things that motivates people.

Pink believes that people don’t engage when they are being ‘managed’, they engage when they work with a flexible leader who allows them to be self-directed.Of course, the degree of flexibility and autonomy required will depend on many things —but perhaps the best leaders are chameleons who can adapt to be whatever their team needs.

4. A leader who practices honest and transparent communication

If a leader wants to built trust—and the ability to achieve results through their people—transparency and honesty in communication is essential.

People want to know where they stand, what’s happening and how your decisions might impact them. An ‘open door policy’ isn’t about physical walls and doors—it’s a leadership style that’s essential to an open and engaged workplace.

Like communication, integrity is an important quality for all good leaders.And when it comes to communication, transparency and honesty are crucial—especially when things aren’t rosy at work.

5. A leader who is consistent

Consistency is perhaps the most important trait of a great leader. Whatever leadership style or techniques each leader employs, the most important thing is that they employ them in a consistent manner.

In 2013, the New York Times lifted the long-time shroud of secrecy surrounding Google’s recruitment and hiring processes. In that interview, Google’s Senior VP of People Operations Laszlo Bock said that consistency of leadership is one of the most important things that employees value.

While being ‘predictable’ might not seem like an attractive trait, in the fast-paced and ever-changing world in which we live and work, an element of predictability and consistent leadership will provide the stability that people need to thrive and achieve both individual and organisational goals.

How to Counter Question a Panel of Interviewers

Fri, 07 Mar 2025 07:33:04 GMT

Gerard Kerr, GM of Executive Search & Selection shares tips on how to take control of the interview process and impress your panel of interviewers.

New Title

Transcript

Today I want to share some insight that I've gained from sitting on hundreds of panels across a broad range of organisations and industries. And one of these is that, panel members and the people interviewing you need to be able to build rapport with you during interview processes. It's actually one of the things that give us an edge. But how do we build rapport during interviews?

We tend to follow a very stock standard process and that process is led by those people interviewing us. There's a little tip here I'd love to share that actually gives you a bit of an edge. Gives you an opportunity to try to change the equation.

Now as humans we build rapport through conversation. Once again, that's hard in an interview because we tend to follow that sort of process where we come in, they ask how our day was and they jump into the questions you answer. Question, answer, question, answer. So here's what I'd like to introduce. Something called counter questioning.

The client asks you a question, of course, you answer it, and then you come back with a really significant and insightful question about that. So for example, they ask you, Bob, could you please share a time in which you had to engage with a difficult staff member to drive change across an organisation.

Of course, you'll respond to that but in the end, you can come back with. Look that was a great question, I really appreciate it. Now in that, you actually mention change within an organisation. What sort of change are you expecting this role to have to lead? What sort of changes do you think that I'm going to have to, if I'm successful, drive across your particular team?

You know when you really hit this on the spot because the panel members turn to each other and go, that's really a good question. And they start a conversation with each other and you. And so you change the equation from a question, answer, question, answer to question, answer, conversation.

And once again, we build rapport through conversation. So this is just one of the tips that I'd like to share.

Are You Ready To Give Feedback? Introducing The Feedback Readiness Checklist By Dr Brene Brown

Thu, 06 Mar 2025 09:46:02 GMT

Each month our team review the latest and greatest Leadership Books. We bring you a sure-fire synopsis on the key Leadership takeaways.

Dare to Lead, by Dr Brene Brown

Dare to lead is for leaders who are looking to develop courageous cultures. Dr Brown defines Brave Leaders as those who are willing to undertake Mission-Critical leadership practices like:

Courageous leadership behaviours
Hard Conversations
Operationalising your organisations values
Giving and Receiving Feedback – the feedback readiness check list

The book is full of great Leadership tips and techniques. But it was Dr Brown’s “feedback readiness check list” which was a key take-away for us.

Giving Effective Feedback:

How often would you run through a feedback readiness checklist before you deliver important feedback to one of your team members? As Leaders we know it’s important not to rob our teams of development by not giving them feedback. But how often do we check-in to establish if we are in a ‘ready to give state’ before we give it?

Check out Dr Brown’s feedback readiness checklist below.

Why You Should Consider Hiring an Executive Recruitment Agency vs In-house Recruiting

Wed, 05 Mar 2025 07:57:40 GMT

If you’ve ever run a recruitment process, either in-house or at a recruitment agency, you know it’s not as simple as throwing up one job ad on Seek and waiting for the star recruits to roll in.

Executive recruitment adds another level of complexity due to the skill and experience required to search, connect and establish a dialogue with high powered candidates at the top of their career ladder.

Not to mention, of course, the strategic importance of these candidates because competition at this level is rife.

All good recruitment involves developing a network of contacts and building relationships with talent. The higher stakes your recruitment needs, the more talent and skills you’ll need to ensure top tier candidates are found and approached accordingly.

In this post, we discuss key considerations for hiring an executive recruitment agency over recruiting internally.

Full disclaimer: This, of course, is a subjective post as we are an executive recruitment firm. However, after being involved in the industry for over a decade, we’ve learned a thing or two when it comes to executive recruitment. Additionally, it's also a question we’re asked often and thought this would help shed some light on an answer.

Executive search technique really is a specialisation.

Searching for the right executive candidate can be difficult. Unbeknownst to someone who hasn’t experienced the process themselves, the act of putting up an ad is only 5% of the process!

It’s not a regular occurrence that you will need to recruit CEOs 4 times a year - if you do, there are probably other issues you might need to address first. It is for this reason that you want someone who is across this process and in touch with the market you're targeting on a daily basis.

At the senior level in an organisation, there are no frequently recruited roles, and internal recruiters don’t generally have solid experience (or cadence of frequent experience) in being able to locate and nab the best talent.

This is different from operational roles or roles which need frequent and regular recruitment.

Most internal recruitment or HR teams have the ability to take care of these operational roles, because of the frequency that they deal with these kinds of projects.

Finding the right executive candidates comparatively requires much more attention to detail. For instance, at Kingston, there is a comprehensive pre-work stage that comes with every recruitment role. This involves meeting with the company and discussing where they are going in their current strategic plan and culture. We do our best to understand the trajectory of the business currently so we can hire for both their present and future needs.

Agencies which specialise in recruitment have been doing so for years and have built up a network of contacts they can refer to. We know how meticulous this process can be, it may involve researching the right candidate through ringing heads of industry or reviewing conferences and finding who is presenting in them or attending.

Aside from a strong network, executive search techniques rely on a variety of technologies and their associated expertise. This could mean analysing advanced Boolean searches or building algorithm searches.

The courtship is an art form.

Most executives are passive. That means they are not looking for a job. And who blames them? Chances are they are happy where they are, built a solid breadth of experience internally and they know what they are doing. Which is why executive recruitment must be a deeply consultative approach with both the potential client and the organisation.

Executives may not have a reason to leave, having already achieved a superior position in their career; our approach, therefore, would need to be well-considered and timed incredibly well.

We could have the most lucrative role for a candidate, but a call at the wrong time or sharing the wrong data based on their public profile could lose them forever.

Recruitment agencies become well-versed with the tender relationship between executive candidates. They run through a deeply consultative approach which an internal recruitment team would not have the experience or expertise.

Companies don’t have the time.

As part of a growing, busy company, the last thing you need is interruptive outbound sales calls. This in line with the complexity of executive candidate search and the lengthy task of putting up the right ad makes in-house recruitment a time-consuming task!

An internal team will have multiple roles at any point. They can be known to have up to 40 roles at any one time. An executive recruitment agency, on the other hand, will only be using one team towards one role. This means they are spending a deeper investment of time and people power. They then repeat this process over and over again, and consequently develop expertise only experience can bring.

Not having the same level of exposure, in-house recruiters may be committing to their many other work roles besides their job of searching for the right candidate. They are consequently less efficient in the process and may take much longer to find the right person.

Simply shooting out a Seek ad or private in-mailing on LinkedIn to someone here is akin to asking someone to marry you after meeting them 5 minutes at a bar.

The other to note is speed. Speed kills, or lack thereof, in attracting the best talent. Speed in candidate placing is key and many companies lose talent because their process takes too long.

Professional recruitment agencies are set a specific role and an allocated team then immediately go on the hunt for the right candidate. They don’t have work roles or enquiries to distract them from their extensive search process.

Culture matching is easier with an external lens.

Finding a candidate that fits the culture of the workspace is crucial to developing high performing teams.

Human Resource teams are traditional custodians of cultural initiatives in the workplace. However, when it comes to larger organisations, they are not exposed to the nuances of their organisation’s culture across different departments and teams. For example, the marketing team's culture or the operational culture.

A good executive recruitment firm, as part of developing the recruitment strategy in their pre-work process, will identify this culture and match it against the candidate pool explicitly or implicitly.

Access to technology.

Trawling databases, scanning public job boards and private networks and then referencing this against our own databases is a time-consuming task.

To tell you the truth, recruitment agencies aren’t in hold of a magic software where we can punch in what you need and it spits out a magical, one-of-a-kind unicorn talent. It’s more about having a complementary tool for professional search and selection teams that simplifies their process for them.

What we’re essentially talking about is (the almost magic) algorithmic search, and it’s wonderfully powerful when yielded correctly.

At Kingston, our search platform was developed by working with very talented minds to build a really clever algorithm. It essentially crawls through information in the public domain, including but not limited to; PR releases, social profiles, posts, conferences, competitor job boards and so on. The Kingston algorithmic search can look for people who don’t have a problem with their current roles or employers, making it a pro at identifying non-active candidates.

Eventual Success.

The number one question we ask a client when they come to us is: Why didn’t your internal recruitment process succeed?

In summary: Experience and time.

Sometimes, the process is run by one person who still has to do their ‘main’ job. This can be wildly inefficient when compared to an executive recruitment team whose main job is finding the right candidate, backed by a wealth of expertise in digital research, gathering information and access to a vast network of professional contacts.

How to hire for values alignment

Mon, 03 Mar 2025 11:15:36 GMT

How do you build a great team? Hint - part of it is about values-alignment.

Management 101 tells us teams that don’t share common ideals don’t perform as strongly as teams that do. Misaligned teams aren’t as productive and leaders may spend unwanted time and resources dealing with team friction.

Reports suggest that up to one in four leaders has hired staff only to discover they did not align with their team's values. Un-knitting the problem is far more complex than avoiding it—so it makes a lot more sense to avoid misalignment issues in the first place by improving your hiring practices.

Creating a great team starts with values-alignment

It’s every leader’s dream: to create a cohesive, collaborative team that communicates well, plans together and spends very little time in conflict. Important work gets done. Petty conflicts go out the window. Workweeks are productive and harmonious, allowing you to concentrate on being a better leader.

This is easier than you may think. Just use the link below to download our values mapping tool and explore the values alignment between a potential new hire and your existing team.

It’s unrealistic to think that new hires will achieve a 100% values match. It’s also not a bad thing. Diversity is important, so you’re looking for shared values or values alignment—not a complete match. One or two would be great. Three would be amazing.

Hot tip: If you are trying to improve your team's performance or culture, talk to us about how our values mapping tool can be used to improve performance and culture.

Creating aligned teams is much easier than dismantling mismatched teams. So if you ask the right questions during the hiring process, you can save yourself a lot of trouble and time down the road.

Kingston Human Capital has successfully helped hundreds of organisations with hiring for many years and we're happy to share with you some of the questions you should include when you’re hiring.

Naturally, if you would like our assistance to help improve your hiring outcomes, just contact us at hello@kingstonhumancapital.com.au

Happy hiring!

Have you checked out our other resources? Learn about "Recruitment Red Flags" and avoid making hiring decisions that you might regret later.

How to Overcome Unconscious Bias When Interviewing & Hiring

Mon, 03 Mar 2025 09:25:48 GMT

New Title

Liz Kingston shares 3 very common unconscious biases in the recruitment process as well as a number of strategies on how to counter these.

Transcript

Recently I've been asked to comment on some of the most common unconscious biases that can affect hiring managers during their interview processes. Three of the most common unconscious biases that can have hugely damaging results are First Impression Bias, Affinity Bias, and Confirmation Bias.

First Impression Bias

First Impression Bias happens to us when a candidate walks in the door, they look great, they sound great. Unconsciously we do leap to the assumption that because they look great and they sound great, that they will be great. This bias influences us in that we start to look at the candidate through rose coloured glasses from the very outset of our interview. It also makes us become a little less diligent in our interview process.

Affinity Bias

The second bias that can affect us at interview is the Affinity Bias, and the Affinity Bias lures us into judging candidates who we share an affinity or similar qualities with n a better light. So for example, you might have studied at the same university as your candidate, perhaps they even worked for the same firm in the past. Perhaps you share the same hobbies and passions. The danger of Affinity Bias is simply that we tend to bestow greater strengths and great skill capabilities upon the candidate without qualifying them.

Confirmation Bias

The third bias is called Confirmation Bias. Confirmation Bias influences us to unconsciously seek only the information that supports our early-stage finding, or assumptions, and it influences us to under weigh, undervalue, and even ignore information that might conflict, or does not support, our early-stage findings. When we're affected by the bias, we stop listening deeply, we stop probing for solid examples and explanation, we might even feel the need to skip or move on from some of our crucial interview questions.

So inaction, these three unconscious biases can form the perfect storm. The candidate makes a great first impression at the interview. First Impression Bias leads you to think they look great, they sound great, they must be great. You've arrived at an early stage assumption and you may have rose coloured glasses on.

Right after First Impression Bias gets a handle on you, Affinity Bias is lining right up behind it. Let's say in this instance, the candidate has worked at one of the companies that you've worked for too in the past, let's say it's Deloitte's. Affinity Bias can influence you into saying things like, "Oh, I see you worked at Deloitte's too, "in fact, we were in the same team but at different times. "I don't need to ask you "about your financial modelling skills today, "you would've nailed it there." Affinity Bias influences you to make even more assumptions about your candidate and it encourages you to feel the need to stop or skip some of your crucial interview questions.

And as the final part of the perfect storm, Confirmation Bias walks into the room. Under Confirmation Biases' influence, you are compelled to seek out only information that supports your early findings. They're the early findings that you made with the help of First Impression and Affinity Bias. Here, you might even steer away from actively listening for information that does not support your early findings and if you do come across that information, you might feel compelled to ignore it.

Steps to prevent unconscious bias

Remember, these are Unconscious Biases and that means sometimes we don't even know when we're under their influence. Being aware of them is the first key to making better hiring decisions. Interviewing with panel members who are different from you is another way to overcome it because you may not share the same Affinity Biases with those differing people. And one of the final ways to manage these Unconscious Biases is to be aware that when you initially have a really strong reaction, you really like a candidate, they sound great, they seem great, or you share common traits with them, is that in those situations they are an absolute flag to be more diligent, not skip any interview questions and most definitely, stick to your interview plan.

3 Inspiring Cover Letter Examples

Fri, 28 Feb 2025 11:25:14 GMT

Are you looking for a new challenge in your career? Do you spend hours searching for the perfect opportunity, filling applications, and applying? If you are counting on your resume alone, you are missing a solid tool that will make your application stand out from the crowd! It's the Cover Letter!

Even if you find it optional to include a cover letter in your job application, it's worth creating a cover letter for each job you're applying for, and it's important to tailor each cover letter to each position, organisation, and culture.

Kingston Human Capital is one of the leading recruitment agencies in Australia, working to provide game-changing talent to organisations across Australia. In this article, we share some tips and examples on how to write a standout cover letter for your future job application.

Why is a cover letter necessary?

A cover letter can be a considerable way to introduce yourself to a potential employer as the perfect candidate for the job. Here is why it's crucial to create a cover letter for each job you're applying for in a nutshell:

A cover letter is an excellent opportunity to showcase your relevant skills, experience, and qualifications and show the employer why you are interested in this role and joining the organisation.
A robust and customised cover letter will explain your value proposition to the employer, reflecting how experienced you are in performing the job duties included in the job description.
If there's a gap in your resume, you can explain why.
If you're about to shift careers, you can describe why you're making the switch and what qualifies you for the new role in your career life.
A good cover letter helps you to reflect some personality between the lines.

The best cover letters I've read are from people who have a passion for my company and can make that passion come to life on a page.

3 inspiring cover letter examples

Writing a good cover letter is a simple step toward your next job role. If you're a job seeker, here are three cover letters to help you craft yours based on your expertise, skills, experience, and the organisation you're excited about joining.

The cover letter that makes an impact

This cover letter showcases your accomplishments rather than your work history. Here, you also include lines and context that demonstrate vital parts of your personality that impact the job, the organisation, and the team.

Find out here a cover letter example for you that makes an impact.

The cover letter that tells your story

In some cases, you may need to tell your story to show the strength of your creative writing skills and highlight your qualifications and work history. This type of cover letter is particularly beneficial when applying for a job in marketing and communications, creative writing, academic research and pitching for clients and customer services.

Check out a sample that may give your inspiration for how to tell your story through your cover letter.

A cover letter that explains your career shift

In that case, writing a cover letter is essential. It's an excellent opportunity to explain and elaborate on your application for this specific position. At the same time, your previous roles are not highly relevant to the industry or the job, as shown from your resume.

Click here to check a good example when you’re at the point where you switch your career.

These are a few cover letters inspiring examples for you to consider in your next job application.

Remember - Writing a customised solid cover letter for each job is a great way to highlight your personality, skills, and experience.

If you're looking for a new job opportunity, make sure to check out our other job seeker tips

Five Ways to get Noticed by an Executive Search Firm

Thu, 27 Feb 2025 14:14:00 GMT

Are you ready to make a career move?

Here are five ways to get noticed by an executive search firm:

1. Start by Developing a Digital Footprint

One of the best ways to get noticed is to ensure that your digital footprint is updated. Executive search firms do a lot of research. Much of this research starts in the public domain.

If you want to be found, make sure your LinkedIn profile is up to date, your speaking bio is up to date, and the industry events you are guest presenting at have published your title and contact details correctly.

2. Be Successful

Success and activity attract an executive recruiter's interest.

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Successful people tend to be highly active in their subject matter expertise. They publish articles, comment on industry trends, share their insights, participate in industry forums, appear on conference lists, mentor others, and guest speaker at industry events.

Successful people tend to generate a lot of content by sharing their knowledge. By doing this, they leave a trail of breadcrumbs that executive recruiters, like the team at Kingston Human Capital - found in the research stages of an executive recruitment project.

3. Be Someone That Others Would Recommend

Seeing yourself as successful isn't enough – what other people think of you counts. This is because one of the steps an executive recruitment agency takes is to reach out to the industry and ask for recommendations.

What does this mean? Executive search firms pick up the phone to key people in the industry and ask, "Who do you know that is a proven performer? Who do you think is great and why?". Your old boss, your colleagues or former co-workers might get this kind of call, so be the person that others would think to recommend.

4. Get Even More Visible, Start Commenting and Collaborating

You can further enhance your digital footprint by making sure you are commenting and collaborating on critical events and trends in your industry. You can do this on any of the social platforms you use, or you can create your own forums or subject matter groups. It can also raise your profile if you offer to speak at industry events or conferences, publish articles, or get quoted in the press.

5. Understand an Executive Recruiter's Mandate and Help Them by Staying in Touch

Understand that an executive recruiter's client pays them a retention fee to design a process to find and attract the best possible talent for a specific role.

But staying in contact is a two-way street. One of the best things you can do to help your executive recruiter keep you top of mind is to keep in touch once every few months. Don't overdo it. Stay in contact and develop a relationship.

Knowing how to get noticed by an executive search firm is one of the keys to taking the next steps in your executive career. Performing well during an executive interview is the next thing you need to consider.

Good luck developing your career.

The more successful you are, the more likely you will appear on an executive recruiter's radar.

Several clients retain executive recruiters in a year, so if you are highly relevant to the roles they are retained to deliver, the executive recruiter is likely to stay in contact with you.

Tips on How to Prepare for a Job Interview

Wed, 26 Feb 2025 13:11:54 GMT

Got an upcoming interview? Being well prepared for an interview enhances your chances of scoring a second interview or a job offer. Spending some time preparing for your job interview can help you exude confidence on the day and communicate more naturally, creating a great first impression.

Kingston Human Capital is one of the leading recruitment agencies in Australia. In this article, we share some tips on how to prepare for a job interview.

The basics of preparing for a job interview

Before we get into the nitty-gritty of how to prepare for a job interview, here are the objectives of the process in a nutshell:

Learn more about the hiring company and the position on offer.
Have well-thought-out answers to frequently asked interview questions.
Understand how (and when) to best showcase your skills, attributes and experience.
Think of what kind of questions you might like to ask the interviewer about the company or role.

Ideally, you should begin your preparations soon after you receive an invitation for an interview.

How to prepare for a job interview

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There are several steps involved in ensuring you're ready to impress the hiring manager during an interview. If you're a job seeker with a job interview on the horizon, the below list can help assist you with your preparations:

1. Review the role

A good starting point is to review the job description for the vacant position. This is especially important if you're applying for multiple jobs, as it helps you focus on the role at hand and its specific requirements. Reviewing the job description will remind you what stood out to you about the position, what enticed you to apply and why you think you'd make a great fit.

Take some notes about the specifics of the role. These notes can help you throughout the preparation process. Some good things to make note of can include:

The duties of the role
The role requirements
The hiring company's preferences
Questions you may have about the job description

2. Get to know the company

Hiring managers are likely to be impressed by a candidate who shows interest in their company and has taken the time to get to know a bit about the business. An essential step of preparing for an interview is gaining a comprehensive understanding of the company that you may end up working for. Doing this research can help you get a feel for the company, their culture and their goals.

There are several ways to obtain this information about a hiring company, including:

Their website
Social media channels
Reviews
News and press releases

Develop a good overview of the products and/or services they offer so that you can discuss them with confidence. Identify any shared interests you may have with the company and make a note of them. For example, the company could donate to a charity of meaning to you or sponsor a sporting team you're a fan of. It's a good idea to communicate these shared interests during your job interview to show you're well-aligned with the company.

3. Prepare answers to frequently asked interview questions

To give yourself the edge over other potential candidates, planning some answers for common interview questions is key. Of course, no two job interviews are the same. However, some questions prove to be popular amongst hiring managers. Often, the following questions come up in a job interview:

Tell me a bit about yourself?
What attracted you to this role?
What is your biggest weakness?
What is your greatest strength?
Can you describe a time you had to deal with a difficult situation at work and what you did to resolve it?
Why do you think you are a good fit for this organisation?
What are your salary expectations?

Planning some answers to questions like the ones mentioned above has several benefits. It allows you to answer the questions professionally. It also gives you a chance to hand-pick the experience, skills and personality attribute of yours that you'd like to showcase to the interviewer.

We recommend that while preparing your answers, you have a go saying them out loud!

4. Think of questions to ask the interviewer

There's a good chance that at the end of an interview, you're going to be asked, "do you have any questions?". And it pays to have some. Asking questions at the end of your interview highlights your interest in being a good fit for the role and the company. So, spend some time thinking of some things you may like to know about the role. These can include, for example:

Is there anything more you can tell me about the role that wasn't listed in the job description?
Why has this role become available?
What is your favourite part about working here?
Can you describe what a day in this role would typically look like?
What are the opportunities for growth and development in this role?

Now is a good time to take another look at the notes you wrote in step 1 to see if there are any questions you jotted down that you can add to your list.

5. Practice your interview questions with a friend

Having completed the previous steps, you're now ready to begin practising for your interview. Doing this with a friend works well. You can provide them with the job description so they can put together some questions to ask you.

Aim to make the practice interview as realistic as possible, customising it to suit the type of interview you have coming up. This could include:

Face to face
Over the phone
Over a video call

6. Plan what to wear

You must be professionally presented at a job interview. Planning how you're going to dress for your interview, ahead of time, can help you achieve this. The type of outfit you should wear depends on the kind of job you are being interviewed for. If it's a high-end, corporate role, consider a suit. For most other roles, casual business attire is recommended.

Trying on a few outfits and getting the opinions of friends and family can help you feel confident in your choice of outfit on the day. The last thing to do once settling on an outfit is ensuring it's freshly cleaned and ironed for the big day.

Benefits of preparing for an interview

Job interviews can be intimidating, especially if you are not feeling well-prepared. However, now that you are aware of how to prepare for a job interview, you can look forward to experiencing the following benefits:

Less pre-interview stress and anxiety
Boosted confidence
More natural flowing communication
The chance to showcase your talents in a well-structured way

If you're planning for an upcoming interview, be sure to check out our other job seeker tips !

How To Explain Redundancy To Potential Employers

Tue, 25 Feb 2025 09:17:16 GMT

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Redundancy may be a scary word. If you’ve been made redundant you may be concerned that this may put off future employers.

However, if you’ve been made redundant in your career, you shouldn’t be afraid to talk about this experience, both on your resume, and in any future job interviews. While redundancy may be a challenging experience, it is something that will happen to most people at least once in their career. It can also be a good opportunity to showcase your character and mindset to potential new employers.

Here, Kingston Human Capital reveals tips on how you can explain a redundancy on your resume and use it to your advantage.

How to explain redundancy on a resume?

When it comes to resumes, it’s vital that you remain as open and honest as possible. As a result, you should include the start and end date of your employment in an accurate manner.

Address the reason why your employment ended and give the context surrounding the redundancy. There’s no need to go into detail, but in one or two sentences you should be able to explain the relevant background information.

While it’s good to be open about your redundancy, it's important to make sure the conversation isn't only about redundancy. Use this moment as an opening to transition the conversation forward and highlight your key achievements in your former role. Talk about some of the outcomes that you delivered that might be of interest to the hiring manager. Think about the problems that the hiring manager has, and talk about how you solved them at your former company.

It can also be a good idea to explain what you’ve been doing since your redundancy. If you’ve been upskilling in this time, say so; if you’ve been volunteering, or even if you’ve been focussing on yourself and your family, explain this on your resume.

You should avoid vague answers, hiring managers can see that vague answers are used as smokescreens to hide uncomfortable truths.

How to explain redundancy in an interview.

The first thing you should know is that you shouldn’t feel ashamed to have been made redundant. After all, it will happen to most people at least once in their career. Take the opportunity and share what was happening for your company at the time. Were they in rationalisation or a restructuring phase? Was there a market downturn? Was there a merger? Whatever the case it can be useful to add context to why you were made redundant for your interviewer. Anticipate this question beforehand and prepare a succinct answer.

Again use this moment in the conversation to talk about your achievements and successes in the role, that are relevant to the role you are interviewing for.

Use positive language to showcase your character here. Highlighting how you've grown as a person, even though you were disappointed to be made redundant, can make you an even stronger candidate for the role.

Being made redundant is tough. Keep this in mind.

Almost everyone will be made redundant at least once in their career. It's normal and there is no shame in it.
It is normal to feel down about it. Our jobs are a big part of our identities, and it's reasonable to feel down for a period of time.
Take some time. After being provided notice of redundancy you might cycle through a series of emotions. That's part of the process. Give yourself time and space to do that.
Stay the course, you will find a new role. And it might even be better than the one you had.

If you are experiencing anxiety or depression - reach out to Beyond Blue . They provide information and support to help everyone in Australia achieve their best possible mental health.

Kingston Human Capital has been hiring perfect candidates for decades, so we understand how job seekers can truly stand out in the eyes of employers. For more job seeker tips, check out our resource bank below.

Want that Big Promotion? Here are 5 Things You Need to Do Now

Sun, 23 Feb 2025 13:45:40 GMT

Stuck in a rut or not getting promoted? Have you considered what your manager really needs from you?

This month we spoke with 102 leaders and managers and asked them what behaviors they really want from their team members.

Here are the top 5 most valued attributes in star employees

#1 Bring Solutions (Not Problems) to the Table

Leaders want solution-focused team members.

While managers are open to discussing issues and keen to help you find solutions, they're not fond of having a problem just dumped on them.

The majority of team leaders interviewed want employees to think about a range of possible solutions that could resolve an issue before you meet with them. Not only does it reduce their workload (for which they'll be grateful), it shows you have initiative and good problem-solving skills.

You don't have to come up with the solution entirely on your own, but getting an idea started will make you more valuable to your manager and the company.

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Tip: Stay ahead of the pack

You don't have to be the one who discovers a problem to be the one to offer a solution. Example: "In the meeting yesterday Bob said there was a problem with backorders. I have an idea that might help, do you have a minute?" Be professional: discuss it with your manager only and never speak poorly of others.

#2 Be On Time and Prepared for Meetings

No doubt you've heard this a thousand times before. However, you'd be surprised at how frequently this topic came up as a major concern for managers. You may have a great manager who doesn't make a big deal if you slide in to a meeting a few minutes late... but it's being noticed.

Why is it such a big deal? Because being late, even by a few minutes, says that you're not able to properly manage your time and resources. Being unprepared or flustered erodes the confidence your manager— and the rest of the team—have in your abilities.

So don't sabotage all the hard work you've done to build your professional reputation! Be on time, be prepared, and be present. Get your preparation done the day before. Plan your day so you know you'll be on time. If you're late, don't kid yourself— it's on you.

#3 Remember You're an Ambassador for Your Team or Department

No matter where you go or what you do, you are representing your team or department. How you conduct yourself reflects on how your entire team is perceived. It's up to you to demonstrate a credible and professional demeanor.

Tip: Stay ahead of the pack

If you can't control the schedule, control people's expectations. For example, if you have meetings scheduled back-to-back, when you arrive at the first meeting let everyone know that you need to leave at a certain time to make the second meeting. Always schedule a 5-10 minute time buffer so you can manage delays.

Tip: Stay ahead of the pack

No matter where you are in the workplace, always remember you are being observed. Conduct yourself in a way that you'll be proud of, no matter what is happening around you.

#4 Maintain a Good Attitude

This was a great point made by more than over 70 of the mangers we interviewed—a bad attitude is bad news for everyone.

Employees with a lot of negativity rarely get promoted. They bring down the whole team, and productivity suffers.

Every job has its stresses, but the key is to handle them as calmly as possible. You may not be able to control the situation, but you can control your response to it. Take charge of yourself and choose to behave in a way that will best serve your long-term professional goals.

Tip: Stay ahead of the pack

When tired, overworked, or feeling undervalued, attitude and optimism tends to decline. If you learn to recognize when you're stressed and take steps to calm yourself, you can prevent negative reactions and resist being influenced by the negativity of others.

#5 Own Your Mistakes and Learn From Them

When we make a mistake, especially at work, the temptation is to downplay it. But covering it up, blaming someone else, or being defensive can actually make the situation worse in the long run.

Managers want team members who will own up to their mistakes. By admitting you made a mistake, you're not showing a weakness— you're actually showing your strength. It demonstrates to your manager that you're responsible, you have integrity, and that you're willing to learn and grow.

Tip: Stay ahead of the pack

Think of your mistake as happening for you, not to you. That allows you to see it as an opportunity. Can you help other team members avoid the same mistake by writing up a new procedure for your manager to review? Can you research a new piece of equipment or suggest a training program? By doing this, you take the spotlight off your slip-up and refocus it on your value.

Good luck - go out there and be great!

Why The New Year Might Not Be The Right Time To Change Jobs

Sat, 22 Feb 2025 07:18:35 GMT

If you’re thinking about a new job for the new year, you’re not alone.

Perhaps you were starting to get itchy feet at the end of the year. Maybe you had time to think over the Christmas break or while you were sitting on a beach or floating in the pool.

In any case, you had an epiphany – you need a new job. But do you?

In our fast-paced, ever-changing world, people are switching jobs more often than ever before. We’re stressed, restless, dissatisfied and hungry for change.

But as the old saying goes, you should always look before you leap. And in the case of your career, think before you leap.

Before you jump on the new year new job bandwagon, consider what’s behind your desire to find a new job.

We'd all like to think that we are rational and make decisions based on facts. However, the truth is that we are emotional beings – we often ‘think’ with our hearts before our heads. Understanding what motivates us is crucial in understanding how we feel about our work.

Work is about so much more than the paycheck. Each of us has unique motivations and things that are important to us, but research shows that salary is not the top motivator for job seekers.

Here are five important factors to consider before you start clicking that ‘APPLY’ button.

1. Check on your growth mindset.

For many people, the most important factor in job satisfaction is career progression and advancement opportunities. Remember that this goes much deeper than your job title and salary. Ask yourself: am I still growing and learning at work?

If you are, you could consider staying in your role to make the most of these growth opportunities.

If the answer is no and this is important to you, then this is a key conversation that you should have with your manager before you start looking for a new job. There could be a new role or project just around the corner that could give you the growth you’re looking for.

Most employers would rather offer you a new challenge and opportunity, and retain you as an employee than hire a new person.

2. Prioritise happiness.

If you’re unhappy in your job and this is driving your desire for a change, it’s important to understand exactly what is making you unhappy.

Is it the environment, the people, the location, your manager, your hours or something about your day to day tasks? Are you stressed, under-resourced or even bored?

Make a list of what is making you unhappy at work. Consider if a new role will be able to make the things on this list disappear. If you can’t be sure of this, don’t be too fast to jump ship.

Think about a few things you’d like to change about your current role and if this list isn’t too outrageous, consider talking to your manager about making some changes that could make things easier for you.

3. Think about your strengths.

What are you good at and what do you love to do? Does your job allow you to utilise your strengths?

Feeling a sense of accomplishment is important for all of us. If you have more to offer at work and could be using your skills or strengths more, have a conversation with your manager about this.

Most of the time, there will be an opportunity to get more involved in the things you enjoy, which could increase your job satisfaction.

4. Think long term.

What are your long term career and life goals? And how does this job fit into them?

Think about what you had hoped to achieve when you started your current job. Are you still on that journey?

If your current responsibilities and the skills you’re developing are aligned with your medium or long term plans, there could be some benefit in staying put. Especially if there are growth opportunities available to you internally.

If your current job isn’t building towards your future goals or your goals have changed, this could be a contributing factor to suggest a change is necessary.

5. Consider the commute.

If the location of your workplace and your commute are factors in thinking about a change but you’re otherwise happy with your job, consider talking to your manager about flexible working arrangements.

Most organisations have a flexible working policy that enables employees to vary their start/finish times, work from home on occasion and even work part-time.

Work can be tough, and the new year can seem like a fantastic opportunity to get a new start. However, it may be better to find ways you can change your existing environment for the better than change environments completely. If that doesn't work, then it might be time to consider finding a new position. But rushing into things without careful forethought can cause problems down the line.

How AI and Big Data Makes Lying on Your Resume Impossible

Fri, 21 Feb 2025 09:02:35 GMT

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Why you shouldn't lie on your resume: Technology and the job seeker

It's been six years since the infamous case of Andrew Flanagan, his 'fake CV ' and the negative publicity that followed had a significant effect on one of Australia's largest retail businesses. But, with the age of AI, bots, and data matching technology, would Flanagan have got to the stage of being offered the job - let alone commencing his employment - without being found out?

Few people go as far as Andrew did by faking a whole career, but even for simple 'white lies', the days of being anything other than 100% honest in your CV are over.

Inaccurate dates, embellished job titles, and misrepresentation of incomplete qualifications are among the most common 'white lies' job seekers tell on their CVs in an attempt to get that all-important interview.

However, with sophisticated Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) and AI-powered data matching and fact-checking in play throughout the recruitment process, the truth is out there for recruiters and hiring managers - and it's easier to find than ever before.

How do you overcome this issue? Make your CV the 'single source of truth'.

Our digital footprints are here to stay, and while you can 'cleanse' your online presence of some things when you're job searching, you can't disappear completely. (And if you do, that in itself can raise alarm bells - 'ghost' candidates (i.e. those without a digital presence) tend to make recruiters a bit uneasy).

Recruitment Superpowers: Big data and AI.

Just as leaders use data and insights to make business decisions, candidate data can provide recruiters and hiring managers with valuable insights to make hiring decisions.

Much of candidate data is automatically checked, extracted, and highlighted when you submit your CV - your contact details, previous employment details, keywords, social profiles, referee details, location and even the personal interests listed on your CV.

Between AI technology and good 'ole fashioned due diligence, you can be sure that the following checks and balances are happening when you are being considered for a job:

Your CV is compared to your LinkedIn profile to find inconsistencies
Your current CV is compared to previous versions to ensure consistency
Your qualifications and previous employment is verified to be accurate
People are Googling you and checking your LinkedIn Profile

Job Seeking in the Age of Big Data and AI: Ten Tips to Help You Find Success

Remember that your job search, your CV, and your digital presence are precisely that - yours.

So, while it may be difficult to 'hide' - you can take control of these complications and their role in your job search. Here are ten tips to help you land your perfect role in the era of AI and big data:

Identify the keywords related to your ideal job: AI in recruitment is based on keywords relevant to the job description. Find keywords that make sense from the employer's perspective, and consider how you can utilise them.
Use the keywords you've identified: Adding keywords to your CV and LinkedIn strategically will increase your chance of landing an interview. Just make sure not to repeat the same keywords again and again.
Follow 1 and 2 above for each role you apply for: Don't skip out by only following this advice when it's easy; put the same effort into each position you apply for.
Be up to date: Make sure your LinkedIn profile is up to date and consistent with your CV; this way, the AI can feel safe knowing you're telling the truth.
Be comprehensive: Include as much experience as possible in your LinkedIn profile, including volunteer work, internships, and anything else that could make you look well rounded and experienced. Even content that isn't relevant enough for your CV has a home in your LinkedIn profile and shows that you have a wide breadth of experience.
Keep it simple: Use a simple CV format like Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF. Using a more obscure format could cause errors and complications from the AI.
Google yourself: This way, you'll know what others see when they Google you. If you see anything you'd prefer employers don't find, it may be best to find the ways you can to remove it.
Do a 'spring clean' of your digital footprint: Check for any images or other content that may be unsatisfactory to your potential employer and clean it up so that they can see your best.
Check your social media privacy settings: Make sure that each of your personal accounts is as secure as possible. This way, your potential employer only needs to see your most professional self.
Leverage your LinkedIn: Start posting quality content on LinkedIn and engage with content posted by others. It shows that you're invested in your career and your growth.

Practical Tips to Perform in Executive Interviews

Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:42:16 GMT

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Are you preparing for an upcoming interview for an executive role?

While interviews can be exciting, they may also be anxiety-inducing, particularly if it’s been a long time since you last interviewed.

To help you prepare for these executive interviews, Kingston Human Capital has compiled a few tips to make the interview feel less daunting.

Whether or not you’re currently in an executive-level role, or you're stepping up from senior management, Kingston Human Capital believes this information will be invaluable to you.

So let's take a look at actions that some of the top executives are doing to ensure that they perform well at the interview.

Research and Prepare

As with any interview, you want to know as much as you possibly can about the organisation and the people that you're about to meet. This knowledge serves as a foundation for your confidence and gives you an idea of who they are, allowing you to confidently enter the room at the executive level.

This research needs to go beyond just knowing broadly what the company does.

You should have a clear idea about the organisation's financial situation, what challenges it's facing, who its leaders are, and their backgrounds.

Now, if it's a publicly listed company, a lot of this information is relatively easy to gain access to through their financial statements or on their website. But if it's a private organisation, you may need to dig a little bit deeper; you'll need to read news articles and reviews in local journals.

Through your research, you'll gain a clear idea about who the organisation is, their competitors, what challenges their industry are facing now, and what challenges they'll face in the future.

State Government Roles

If it's a role with the state government, or one of the departments or agencies, we recommend reviewing the service delivery statements. These are easily found by googling the department's name in parentheses, followed by the word ‘budget’.

You can also use the service delivery statements to get an overview of the objectives and any highlights the department is searching for.

Talking about these points, your key findings, in your interview won't just convey your interest, curiosity and expert knowledge of the company, it will also show the panel that you're the kind of person who is two steps ahead.

After you've armed yourself with relevant knowledge, you should compile some sharp, probing questions to ask during the interview. Asking questions in this manner alters the power balance in interviews, allowing you to hold your own more assertively.

Leadership Qualities

The next part is, of course, around leadership. At an executive level, interviewers are looking for concrete proof that you can deliver measurable outcomes and that your leadership style is a good fit for their culture.

With this in mind, being able to articulate your leadership, philosophy, and back these notions up with real-life examples will strengthen your case.

You also need to keep the panel focused, they need to be paying attention. One of the key ways of doing this is to target your questions, make them a little bit more focused on some of the points they may have risen throughout the interview, and bring it back to areas of interest.

Body Language

Another key piece of advice is to refine your own executive presence.

Your stomach may be full of butterflies, but the last thing you want to do is project that during your interviews; leaders need to be calm and composed. Thankfully, your body language, speech pattern, and even clothing can help protect you and your confidence.

One of the largest challenges that many of us face in interviews is our speaking voice. Job interviews make every one of us really tense and nervous. When we're nervous, we literally tighten our vocal mechanisms, which results in a higher pitch. Now, in order to combat this, we need to just take some deep breaths, give ourselves some breathing room and slow down. When people are speaking too fast and without pauses, the interviewer may find it really difficult to keep up.

So in your next interview, remember to take a moment, breathe, and listen to what the interviewer is saying. There's nothing quite like seeing somebody pause in consideration before they answer them.

Kingston Human Capital has been delivering executive recruitment projects for decades in Brisbane and Queensland.

Our Head Executive Search & Recruitment Gerard Kerr shares his tips on how to excel in executive level interviews. Click on the video link below to watch.

Here are more useful links:

Applying For Executive Level Roles? Here's How to Gain an Edge

Wed, 19 Feb 2025 09:22:02 GMT

New Title

At Kingston Human Capital, our team sees literally thousands of candidates every year, so we know a thing or two when it comes to separating great executive level candidates from the average ones.

Over the years, we've noticed a number of unspoken habits great candidates do time and time again.

In this short 3 min video, our GM of Executive Search & Recruitment, Gerard Kerr, shares 3 key habits successful candidates do time and time again to stand out from the crowd.

75 behavioural questions you might encounter at interview

Tue, 18 Feb 2025 12:30:16 GMT

Recently one of our job seekers asked us about the Behavioural Interview Questions they might encounter at an interview.

Now, while we can’t give you a list of every possible behavioural question out there, we can share some of the most commonly used behavioural questions. You can use these questions to prepare for your next interview.

Behavioural interview questions are designed to investigate skill sets in certain categories. We have grouped the behavioural questions you might encounter into common categories.

Behavioural Interview Questions.

Client focus/customer orientation.

1. When have you had to deal with an irate customer? What did you do? How did the situation end up?

2. Tell me about a time you have “inherited” a customer. What steps did you take to establish rapport with them? What did you do to gain their trust?

3. How have you handled a situation in the past where your client has changed the brief or “changed the goalposts”?

4. Give an example of a time you went well out of your way to ensure a customer received the best possible service from you and the organisation. What was their reaction?

5. When have you ever gone out on a limb to defend a customer? What happened?

Ability to handle stress.

6. What has been the most stressful situation you have ever found yourself in at work? How did you handle it?

7. What have you done in the past to prevent a situation from becoming too stressful for you or your colleagues to handle?

Adaptability.

8. Tell me about a situation in which you have had to adjust to changes over which you had no control. How did you handle it?

9. Tell me about a time when you had to adjust to a colleague’s working style in order to complete a project or achieve your objectives.
10. How was your transition from high school to university? Did you face any particular problems? How did you handle them?

Analytical skills/problem-solving.

11. Describe the project or situation that best demonstrates your analytical abilities. What was your role?

12. Tell me about a time when you had to analyse information and make a recommendation. What kind of thought process did you go through? Was the recommendation accepted? If not, why?
13. Tell me about a situation where you had to solve a difficult problem. What did you do? What was the outcome? What do you wish you had done differently?
14. What steps do you follow to study a problem before making a decision? Why?

Attention to detail.

15. What process do you use to check that you have the right details from a customer?

16. Give me an example of a time you discovered an error that been overlooked by a colleague. What did you do? What was the outcome?
17. Tell me about a time that you were confused by a customer’s request. What steps did you take to clarify things?

Communication.

18. Tell me about a recent successful experience in making a speech or presentation?

19. When have you had to present to a group of people with little or no preparation? What obstacles did you face? How did you handle them?
20. Have you ever had to “sell” an idea to your co-workers? How did you do it?
21. Give me an example of a time when you were able to successfully communicate with another person even when that individual may not have personally liked you (or vice versa).
22. What obstacles or difficulties have you ever faced in communicating your ideas to a manager?
23. Tell me about a time in which you had to use your written communication skills to get an important point across.
24. When have you chosen to communicate a particular message in person as opposed to via email even though the email channel would have been a lot faster?

Creativity.

25. When was the last time you thought “outside the box” and how did you do it? Why?

26. Tell me about a problem that you’ve solved in a unique or unusual way. What was the outcome? Were you happy or satisfied with it?
27. Give me an example of when someone brought you a new idea that was odd or unusual. What did you do?
28. When have you brought an innovative idea into your team? How was it received?

Decision-making.

29. Tell me about a time when you had to make a decision without all the information you needed. How did you handle it?

30. Give me an example of a time when you had to be quick in coming to a decision. What obstacles did you face?
31. What is the most difficult decision you’ve ever had to make at work? How did you arrive at your decision? What was the result?
32. Give me an example of a business decision you made that you ultimately regretted. What happened?

Goal setting.

33. Give me an example of an important career goal which you set yourself and tell me how you reached it. What obstacles did you encounter? How did you overcome the obstacles?

34. Tell me about a professional goal that you set that you did not reach. How did it make you feel?
35. How have you gone about setting short-term goals and long-term goals for yourself or your team? What steps did you take along the way to keep yourself accountable?

Initiate.

36. Describe a project or idea (not necessarily your own) that was implemented primarily because of your efforts. What was your role? What was the outcome?
37. Describe a situation in which you recognised a potential problem as an opportunity. What did you do? What was the result? What, if anything, do you wish you had done differently?

38. Tell me about a project you initiated. What did you do? Why? What was the outcome? Were you happy with the result?
39. Tell me about a time when your initiative caused a change to occur.
40. What has been the best idea you have come up with during your professional career?

Integrity/honesty.

41. Discuss a time when your integrity was challenged. How did you handle it?
42. Tell me about a time when you experienced a loss for doing what is right. How did you react?

43. Tell me about a business situation when you felt honesty was inappropriate. Why? What did you do?
44. Give a specific example of a policy you conformed to with which you did not agree. Why?

Interpersonal skills.

45. Give an example of when you had to work with someone who was difficult to get along with. How/why was this person difficult? How did you handle it? How did the relationship progress?

46. Describe a situation where you found yourself dealing with someone who didn’t like you. How did you handle it?
47. Describe a recent unpopular decision you made. How was it received? How did you handle it?
48. What, in your opinion, are the key ingredients in guiding and maintaining successful business relationships? Give me examples of how you have made these work for you.
49. Give me an example of a time when you were able to successfully communicate with another person even when that individual may not have personally liked you (or vice versa). How did you handle the situation?
50. Tell me about a time when you had to work on a team with someone you did not get along with. What happened?
51. Describe a situation where you had a conflict with another individual, and how you dealt with it. What was the outcome? How did you feel about it?

Leadership.

52. Tell me about a team project when you had to take charge of the project? What did you do? What was the result?

53. Describe a leadership role of yours outside of work. Why did you commit your time to it? How did you feel about it?
54. What is the toughest group that you have ever had to lead? What were the obstacles? How did you handle the situation?
55. What has been your greatest leadership achievement in a professional environment? Talk through the steps you took to reach it.
56. What have been the greatest obstacles you have faced in building/growing a team?
57. Describe a time when you have not only been responsible for leading a team of people but for also doing the same job as your team members? How did you juggle/balance your time?

Planning organisation/time management.

58. Describe a situation that required you to do many things at the same time. How did you handle it? What was the result?

59. How do you prioritise projects and tasks when scheduling your time? Give me some examples.
60. Tell me about a project that you planned. How did you organise and schedule the tasks? Tell me about your action plan.
61. When has a project or event you organised not gone according to plan? What happened? Why? How did you feel?

Sales/negotiation.

62. Tell me about your previous success in building a customer base from a standing start. What steps did you take?

63. What is your greatest sales-related achievement to date? What steps led to the outcome?
64. Describe a time when you convinced a resistant customer to utilize your services.
65. What was the most stressful professional negotiation you have been involved in? How did you handle it?

Teamwork.

66. Describe a situation where others you were working with on a project disagreed with your ideas. What did you do?
67. Tell me about a time when you worked with a colleague who was not doing their share of the work. How did you handle it?

68. Describe a situation in which you had to arrive at a compromise or help others to compromise. What was your role? What steps did you take? What was the result?
69. Tell me about a time when you had to work on a team that did not get along. What happened? What role did you take? What was the result?
70. What was the biggest mistake you have made when delegating work as part of a team project?
71. Tell me about a time when you had to settle a dispute between team members. How did you go about identifying the issues? What was the result?
72. What have you found to be the difficult part of being a member, not leader, of a team? How did you handle this?

Tenacity/resilience.

73. Tell me about a work-related setback you have faced. How did you deal with it?

74. When have you ever found yourself in a competitive situation professionally? How did you handle it?
75. When have you seen your tenacity or resilience really pay off in a professional setting? What was the outcome?

New Title

How to Handle Behavioural Interview Questions

Sun, 16 Feb 2025 06:53:18 GMT

Why are behavioural questions so important to employers? It’s because they focus on how you behaved in the past to predict how you’ll act in the future.

And while these types of questions are favourites of employers, they’re the type of questions Job Seekers fear most. Luckily, with these tips and a little preparation, you’ll master behavioural questions and impress in an interview.

Most companies use behavioural questions when interviewing. In fact it is very likely you've faced Behavioural interviews questions before, you can recognise them quickly as they often begin with:

Tell me about a time…
Give me an example of when…
How did you…

What's Your STAR Story?

The secret to answering behavioural questions is to use your storytelling skills (true stories, not falsehoods)! Stories make the Interviewer feel like a participant in the narrative, and makes them more likely to connect with you. Also, a story is more likely to engage the listener emotionally and be remembered after the interview is over, making you stand out among the applicants. Well crafted and true stories are highly compelling.

But how do you come up with a compelling story spontaneously during an interview? At Kingston Human Capital, we’ve taught Job Seekers how to successfully prepare for these unpredictable questions using the STAR approach.

SITUATION

TASK

APPROACH

RESULT

STAR is a succinct, easy-to-follow framework that ensures you provide the interviewer with all the right details— not too much, not too little.

Figure out your best stories

The first step is to figure out what experiences from your past are going to make the best stories. Think about the top moments in your career; your greatest achievements. Jot them down.

Analyse the Job Description for themes

Once you’ve got your "Greatest Hits or Accomplishment Stories" identified, analyse the Job Description and pick out the key competencies the position requires. You’ll start to see common themes of what’s important to this employer, such as deadlines, teamwork, stakeholder management etcetera. Jot those down as well.

Why bother jotting down the themes? Because its highly likely that you'll be asked a behavioural interview question that is designed to investigate your experience and skills with those themes. So if you identify the themes that are important in advance you are putting yourself in a position to predict (with a high degree of accuracy) the behavioural question you will be asked in relation to exploring your capabilities along that theme. And, when you can predict some of the behavioural questions you will be up against, you have a better chance of preparing a well crafted story/answer that satisfies it. You can prevent off-the-cuff waffle and being caught unaware.

Now, review each "accomplishment story" and ask yourself:

Is this story relevant to the role I am applying for?

Is this story my best story that highlight the skills required?

Is this the best story for the audience? (Interviewers)

Does this story speak to the themes that I identified in the Job Description

Not all of your stories will be a good fit; so save them for later. Focus on the ones that are relevant to the job at hand and best showcase your skill set.

Creating Your STAR Response

SITUATION

The idea here is to give the interviewer(s) the context and background. Its really important to set the scene so the rest of you story makes sense. Essentially, you’re telling them what the challenge was and why it was important to resolve it. Resist the temptation to go into too much detail— but be sure to give enough information to clarify your role and make them understand the difficulty, complexity and scope of the situation.

Most candidates we interview do a fair job of setting up the situation. The key thing to remember is that your Interviewer may not be familiar with your previous employer or your role in that company. So, don’t rely on your interviewer to, "just get it”. Avoid jargon, mention titles of other people important to your story, and leave out unnecessary details that will distract the listener.

TASK

Now that you’ve described the situation, it’s time to get specific about the task. What did you have to do? What were the consequences if the task wasn’t completed? What would the long term impacts be? This doesn’t have to be long or detailed, you just need to clarify the challenge you faced. Here’s an over-simplified example to illustrate Task in relation to Situation:

Situation – "We were very lost, it was stormy, and the four children with me were shivering from the cold."

Task (challenge + consequence) – "I had to find shelter before dark or we would all freeze."

APPROACH

Here you want to describe the actions/approach you took to complete the task and solve the problem! Then back it up with WHY you did what you did. This shows what you are like on the job, what you’re like to work with, and how you tackle problems. Also, consider underscoring your actions by pinning it back to some of the key competencies (and themes) you identified in the Job Description.

Again, here’s an oversimplified example:

Situation – "We were lost, it was stormy and the four children with me were shivering from the cold."

Task – "I had to find shelter before dark or we would all freeze."

Approach (action + reason) – "I used the skills I learned in camp to make a quick lean-to because I knew it needed to be built quickly and there were limited resources."

RESULTS

Every good story has a positive ending. You need to emphasise a positive outcome for this story, not only to show that you are results-driven but also to end in a crisp, upbeat and impactful way that leaves a good impression. When crafting the Results part of your answer be sure to mention any tangible results like:

Revenue Generation
Cost Reduction
Time Saved
Promotions Earned
Clients Won
Clients Saved
Issues Resolved

Give hard data if possible; Interviewers love hard facts, metrics, and percentages. If you don’t have tangible results or metrics, give anecdotal results. Impress your interviewer by sharing the positive feedback you received from your manager, client, co-workers or customers. You can talk about improvements made, friction reduced, culture changed, and relationships improved— whatever the positive outcomes of your Actions were.

So many of the candidates we interview sell themselves short in Results. It does feel strange to sell yourself, but you can’t assume your Interviewer is connecting the dots and understanding how your Action improved the company’s bottom line— so, go right ahead and state it.

Pro Tips

The good thing about doing the STAR exercise is you will find that these professional accomplishments can be used as answers to a range of different behavioural questions and demonstrate multiple competencies. So, take the time to jot down your achievements, put them in the STAR framework, and make those dreaded behavioural questions your shining moment in an interview.

Here are some more quick tips for creating your STAR stories:

When preparing and writing your professional (true) stories, don’t write them word for word or you will sound scripted and wooden. Instead, jot down the general points of your story and keep it natural.
Tell the human side of the story, it creates an insightful narrative that is easy to remember.
If you are a humble person by nature and you have a tough time saying great things about yourself, quote other people saying them, like your boss, customers, or colleagues.
Choose only your best stories; you have limited time to make an impression.
Make sure your stories are relevant to the role.
Review the Job Description, look for reoccurring themes and competencies, then take a moment to predict some of the behavioural questions you may be asked. Decide which of your stories best answers them.
Stories with risk, urgency, drama or great human outcomes are powerful, as are measurable results like percentages, revenue, and sales numbers.

Help I'm Stuck - I'm Constantly Temping

Sat, 15 Feb 2025 09:53:28 GMT

Hi Liz,

I've recently arrived in Brisbane, and my first few roles have been temp roles.

I needed to take a temp role to get my income happening fast. Ultimately I want a permanent role. Some days I'm treated like a full-time employee, other days like a temp. But they keep extending me month by month. As I have not temped for that long I don't really know how to behave. Some days I take loads of initiative but other times, I take a back seat. I've been in my current role for a while now but I'm still confused how to act. They are an amazing company, but I want a permanent role. What can I do?

From,

Temping is Tricky

Dear Temping is Tricky,

Thanks for your question. Temping can be confusing right?

First things first, let’s acknowledge that you must be doing something right if they keep extending your contract each month.

Well done.

I appreciate you really want permanent work but had to take what you could to make sure your income needs were covered.

I am glad to hear that you think the company is amazing.

If permanent is what you want, and you like the organisation you are with, why not consider your Temporary job like a bit of a working interview? You could use the temp assignment as a opportunity to show how much value you can add. This might encourage the employer to transition you to permanent employment. Of course sometimes Employers simply cannot offer permanent roles due to headcount restrictions or hiring freezes so do consider what is happening for the organisaton as a whole right now and in the next 12 months.

Treating your Temp assignment as a working job interview gives you a chance to demonstrate that you are well worth retaining. Sure, this will take effort, energy and initiative, but I've no doubt that its well worth a shot.

These days many Employers are starting their staff on temporary contracts because they find it gives them the opportunity to see past the interview stage and observe how you really function in their workplace.

I'd encourage you to look at your temp role and consider how can you add the most value and exceed your Manager's expectations, it could be a great way to show them what a great operator you are and entice them to hire you on a permanent basis. Also, consider the benefits of being straight up with your Manager. It may be useful to ask if the organisation has any temporary to permanent career pathways.

I hope this answers your question. Good luck, be great, add value!

Liz Kingston

Hi Liz, I'm going to ask for a pay rise. Any advice?

Fri, 14 Feb 2025 14:42:44 GMT

New Title

Asking for a Pay Rise

Thanks for your question!

First off, good for you! If you take the time to prepare well, you'll seriously increase your chances of getting a pay rise. Don't rush your preparation. I'm sure you've already got this covered but here is what I recommend you think about...

Prepare well. Build your 'List of Why' you deserve an increase.

Create a list of specific and measurable examples of where you have exceeded the parameters of your job, added value to the company, increased revenue, affected savings or improved service and efficiency. Make it hard evidence, and a good solid list. Waffle and sentiment wont stack up when it comes to increasing your remuneration, but facts, evidence and metrics do. Consider building the list in a way that you can sum total the value of the savings/income/improvement you've delivered to your organisation. I've always built my lists in excel, but use what works best for you.

Now if you can’t create a list of achievements that demonstrate how you have gone beyond the parameters of your job description and added value to the company.... Stop right now, do not pass go, do not collect $200, get back to the office and start working on exceeding expectations. It's very hard to ask for a pay rise when we cant demonstrate why we deserve it, and in these instances it's very likely your employer might say 'no'. So sit down, start building your list then give your list an honesty test. Ask yourself would I give one of my team members a raise based on these achievements?

Rehearse. Make sure you come off as compelling.

For some people, negotiating a raise can be daunting.

Rehearsing will help you hit the right tone, and iron out the kinks in how compelling your case is. It will help you appear more confident on the day. Make sure that you are not coming across as overly demanding or dramatic, but rather as reasonable, well thought and with a strong set of evidence to support your case.

Consider videoing your rehearsal on your smartphone. You’ll hate the footage but it will increase your performance big time. Ask yourself, do I have an evidence based, and compelling case? If you can’t convince yourself – you won’t convince your boss either

If you’re using “ another employer is prepared to pay me this” make sure you can back it up. Smart employers know to ask you for written evidence, or to see the employment contract. Don’t use it as a ruse- you’ll be caught.

Don't make threats, don't strong arm and don't be demanding.

If you use the approach “give me a raise - or else I will resign” be prepared to tender your resignation. Demands, ultimatums and good old fashion tantrums, demonstrate you’ve got poor negotiation skills, and your employer might just consider you lack of skill in this area, a good reason to let you resign and move on.

Have a fair number in mind.

If you’re serious about a raise and you’ve got a good solid body of evidence behind you, you likely have a number in mind. After you’ve made your case. Communicate that number. Don’t assume people are going to be able to guess your expectations. You’ve come this far, don’t wimp out when it comes to about talking about dollars.

Make sure that number is fair. Organisations have felt the pinch of a tough economy. So be mindful that as an organisation remaining cost efficient is important. Ask for fair dollars and you’ll likely get a fair response.

Prepare for a delay.

In many organisations the manager may need to seek higher approval to grant a salary increase. So anticipate that you might not get an answer on the spot. If your meeting is adjourned without no outcome take the initiative to establish when the next meeting will be. Lock it in.

Hot tip:

When it comes to making a positive case for a pay rise. It helps to keep a record of what you’ve achieved during your tenure. Keep a list ( or even better a spreadsheet ) that documents dates, achievements and value of what you’ve done. This document will also come in handy when you are interviewing for your next internal promotion.

Down the track when you are ready to make a career move, you can use some of this data, to remind you of what to list in the achievement section of your resume.

Good Luck! I wish you well in negotiating your next increase.

- Liz Kingston

The Future of Work: Trends, Risks & Opportunity

Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:19:46 GMT

The world economic forum recently released a report that gives cause for concern but equally, optimism and opportunity for organisations willing to be prepared.

Transcript

I want to share with you new research by the World Economic Forum that takes an incredibly detailed look at the trends and risks that are likely to affect all of our jobs in between 2018 and 2022. Now their research is based around surveys of chief HR officers and chief strategy officers from 12 industries and 20 economies globally.

The report found that 54% of employees within large organizations would need significant up and re-skilling in order to take advantage of the growth opportunities that would come along with the introduction of automation and these new technologies. Now at the same time, just over half of the organizations interviewed indicated that they would only up-skill key roles so those individuals that are in core roles within their organizations.

The report presents a vision of the future that provides grounds for both optimism and concern. Compared to a similar report that they released back in 2016 that covered off very similar grounds, the outlook for job creation is much more positive as businesses are gaining a better understanding of the impacts that automation will have on their own organizations.

At the same time, they predict that the distribution of automation will definitely have an impact on our roles. The report warns us that by the year 2022, we're likely to see 75 million roles displaced globally, such a lot of our jobs that are going to be at risk.

However, it's not all bad news. Because with the introduction of new technologies, there's going to be the introduction of new jobs. And they're forecasting up to 133 million newly created roles globally. That's a lot of opportunity for all of us.

The roles we're likely to see in increase across all industries will include data analysts, scientists, software and application developers, social media experts as well as any sort of role that looks at enhancing or utilizing technology and taking it that further step.

But the good news is that the other roles that are really going to be required are those roles that usually are the distinctively human traits. So the ability to problem solve, the ability to communicate, our social intelligence. So those roles in particular include marketing, communications, even sales.

Now should you have any questions, please feel free to visit our site at kingstonhumancapital.com.au.

Don't jeopardize your reputation by lying on your resume

Tue, 11 Feb 2025 11:25:53 GMT

Desperate times call for desperate measures — and in a tough employment market, job hunters may be tempted to lie on their resume to make themselves more attractive to potential employers.

HireRight.com, recently found that 34 per cent of job applicants lie on their resumes. But job hunters who stretch the truth are playing a risky game according to Elizabeth Kingston, Director of Kingston Human Capital.

“Background checks, tenure checks, qualification checks, job title checks, digital footprint checks, are much easier now,” she says. “It’s incredibly easy to dig for the data these days, and we expect the market to continue on this path of more intense scrutiny.”

One small concession can have big consequences.

Once identified, a significant lie on your resume can result in termination. “Losing the job is just the start of it,” she says “the secondary impacts are long-ranging, with ever-increasing inter-connectivity, an event like this can hit the digital grapevine and have far-reaching consequences on your future employment”.

Even if you win the role with falsified resume, you’ll likely be caught out.

Think you are in the clear because you got the job ages ago? Don’t be so confident. If your company is acquired, for instance, the acquirer may perform a talent audit of its new employees.

What happens if the acquiring company has a more diligent background checking process? Have you considered that some companies recheck your background when you apply for a promotion? Your past indiscretions can come back to bite you.

You’ll have the job, but you still won’t have the right skills.

When employers hire you, they do so on the basis that your resumé is an honest representation of your capability. They are hiring your skills for a reason. If you don’t truly have those skills or possess those experiences you’ll struggle in an observable manner and it’s likely you won’t meet the achievement milestones expected of you in the role. Why win the job just to find yourself struggling on a performance management plan?

Employers know you’re lying.

“Most employers have some sort of background checking process in play and those that don’t should seriously review their hiring processes”, urges Kingston.

Companies focused on hiring top talent have gone far beyond the “two reference checks and a resume process”. You may think you’re perfect for the role, but your employer will soon realize you can’t do your job and you’ll be asked to leave.

It will jeopardize your career.

It won’t take long for your employer to realize the job doesn’t fit you and you’ll be stuck having to rationalize this during future job interviews. Lying begets lying. Don’t underestimate the fact that companies competing with each other are often strongly networked. It’s not unlikely for the General Manager of Company A to pick up the phone and have a chat with the General Manager of Company B.

You’ve worked hard to build a positive professional reputation, don’t jeopardize it.

Do you need help with your recruitment strategy?

kingstonhumancapital

Executive Presence: What is it and why it matters.

Executive Presence: What is it, why does it matter and four ways you can improve yours.

What is Executive Presence?

The Impact on Your Career

Executive Presence Shapes the Decisions Others Make About You

What are the Core Components of Executive Presence?

How You Act (Gravitas):

How You Speak (Communication):

How You Look (Appearance):

Detractors of Executive Presence

Four Ways To Enhance Your Executive Presence

Final Thoughts

New Title

Recruiting a Commercial Advisor for Container Exchange

About Container Exchange

Matching a high-performing talent with a high-performing organisation

The Hiring Requirement

Role We Hired

Channels We Used

Three different skills for one role, with just 2 weeks to fill the position

Different crossover skills needed extensive interviewing to get the balance right

How Kingston Human Capital helped Container Exchange find the right candidate?

Learn more about Kingston Human Capital Recruitment Process

A High Quality field of Talent identified that resulted in a second position being created

What did Container Exchange value most about Kingston Human Capital's Recruitment Services?

"A first class service, very impressed with the quality of the candidates and the recruiting process."

We help recruit great executive talent

Discover how we’re different and give you a competitive advantage.

Discover how Kingston Human Capital are different and give you a competitive advantage.

Ai Has Changed What Boards, Ceos And Chros Want When Hiring Executive Talent.

AI has changed what Boards, CEOs and CHROs want in Executive Talent

Strategic AI Leadership:

Ability to Steer Through Change:

Commitment to Lifelong Learning:

Emotional Intelligence Version 2.0:

Actions to Take Before Starting Your Next Executive Recruitment Process:

Hiring a Financial Accountant for All Hallows' School

About All Hallows

All Hallows engaged Kingston Human Capital to Hire a Financial Accountant.

The Hiring Requirement

Role We Hired

Channels We Used

How did we overcome this challenge?

An out of the box solution provided the client the best of both worlds.

Learn more about Kingston Human Capital Recruitment Process

Hiring took just 5 days

What did the All Hallows value most about Kingston Human Capital's recruitment services?

We help recruit great temporary staff

Discover how Kingston Human Capital are different and give you a competitive advantage.

Ai Has Already Changed What Ceos Are Hiring For In Leadership Teams

How AI has already changed what CEOs are Hiring for - The Impact of AI on Leadership Recruitment

The AI Revolution in Leadership Recruitment

AI: More Than Just Automation

The Emerging Qualities CEOs are looking for in their leadership teams

Embracing the Future of AI in Leadership

Conclusion

Connect with the team at Kingston Human Capital. Email Talent@kingstonhumancapital.com.au

New Title

Hiring An 'Infrastructure Planning Finance Specialist' for Economic Development Queensland

Economic Development Queensland (EDQ) is a unique government agency that combines property development with specialist planning functions.

Recruiting an Expert in Infrastructure Planning and Accounting

How did we overcome this challenge?

About Economic Development Queensland

The Hiring Requirement

Channels We Used

Roles We Hired

Understanding the Role. Delivered a Swift Outcome.

Learn more about Kingston Human Capital Recruitment Process

Shortlist to Commencement was executed within 15 days.

What did the Economic Development Queensland value most about Kingston Human Capital's recruitment services? ﻿

We help recruit great temporary staff

Discover how Kingston Human Capital are different and give you a competitive advantage. ﻿

Meet Angela Ng ﻿

Economic Development Queensland was impressed with their proactive attitude and extended them an offer.

The Bannister Effect: Using Your Recruitment And Hiring Process To Improve Productivity In Teams.

The Bannister Effect: Using your recruitment and hiring process to improve productivity in teams.

Who the heck is Roger Bannister?

The Bannister Effect: Breaking Barriers in the Workplace

The Bannister Effect in Hiring Strategies

What did the Economic Development Queensland value most about Kingston Human Capital's recruitment services?

Discover how Kingston Human Capital are different and give you a competitive advantage.

Meet Angela Ng

Experience in delivering swift outcomes

How did Kingston Human Capital help QMF find the right candidate?

Successful recruitment campaign attracting experienced candidates