The year 2024 holds special significance for me to share the latest trends in attraction, retention, and reward in maritime, as we celebrate our 25th anniversary as a business. It's an opportune moment to express my profound appreciation to my dedicated team, esteemed clients, invaluable candidates, and the sectors we serve.
Leveraging our knowledge, the feedback from our esteemed clients and candidates and the trends we see across the maritime sector, I want to share the biggest recruitment trends for this year and beyond. I aim to equip you with actionable strategies to navigate the evolving recruitment landscape with confidence and agility.
The Maritime Recruitment Landscape
The maritime landscape is undergoing profound transformations, driven by technological advancements, shifting workforce dynamics, and evolving industry demands. Our ongoing surveys across diverse maritime sectors illuminate these changes, highlighting the evolving relationship between individuals and their work. With a multigenerational workforce navigating the seas of change and the emergence of disruptive technologies like decarbonisation and AI, the imperative for innovative recruitment practices has become more pronounced. Industry stakeholders must embrace these changes proactively, reimagining their recruitment paradigms to attract, retain, and reward top talent effectively.
Attracting Maritime Talent
Despite the enduring demand for talent within the maritime sector, attracting the right candidates has become increasingly challenging.
You tell us attraction in maritime is more:
Difficult
Competitive
Time-consuming
Complex
But feedback from industry stakeholders also underscores several key challenges, including perceptions of the industry's digital maturity, compensation competitiveness, and diversity initiatives.
Generation Choice
The rise of Generation Choice means encompassing digital natives and forward-thinking professionals, and it necessitates innovative attraction strategies. These are people who have more career choices than ever. In fact, The Institute for The Future predicts that 80% of jobs available in 2030 have not even been invented yet.
I cannot see maritime not being impacted by this.
Everything Now
In the era of "everything now," our lives are defined by instantaneous access and immediate gratification. Consider your own evolving expectations regarding services and products, and apply this paradigm shift to recruitment processes. Speed and responsiveness have become integral aspects of our daily lives, and they are increasingly pivotal in attraction and recruitment endeavours. Lengthy processes not only deter potential candidates but also jeopardise successful recruitment. In today's fast-paced world, individuals are unwilling to wait, underscoring the urgency for streamlined and efficient recruitment processes.
This means that new attraction and recruitment strategies are needed, and one of the strategies to use is:
Micro-Moments
If you have seen me speak or read any of my thought leadership from the last 12 months, this may be becoming a familiar term to you.
In the age of instant gratification, employers face the challenge of engaging digitally native generations by crafting multiple micro-moments. These fleeting yet impactful interactions are vital for capturing the attention of individuals who are constantly connected and immersed in digital environments. To effectively seize these micro-moments, you must leverage diverse mediums, including mobile applications and social platforms.
With a generation that is perpetually "always on," it's imperative to understand how they consume information. Capturing their attention has become the new currency in recruitment strategies. It's not merely a matter of shorter attention spans but rather the proliferation of mediums competing for their focus. To successfully engage this audience, employers must strategically deploy content across various channels to effectively connect with and resonate with digitally immersed individuals.
Getting Attention
You need to get the attention of the right people, not the most people.
Ensuring that your attraction strategies effectively target the right individuals, rather than merely casting a wide net, is paramount. Failure to do so runs the risk of attracting candidates who may not align with your company culture or values, ultimately leading to potential misfits within your business. By focusing your efforts on engaging with the right audience, you can enhance the likelihood of attracting individuals who not only possess the necessary skills and qualifications but also resonate with the ethos of your business, fostering a more cohesive and productive work environment.
The Importance of Communication
Effective communication plays a crucial role in the recruitment process, assuming paramount importance. Prospective candidates assess a business’s communication practices as indicative of its overall employer brand. Poor communication during the attraction and recruitment stages prompts candidates to question the business's professionalism and reliability. Consequently, they may question what the employer-employee relationship will entail. Prioritising clear and timely communication is essential to establish a positive initial impression and foster trust and transparency throughout the recruitment journey.
You will be judged.
Communication is so important in the attraction and recruitment stage because of the ‘Great Regret’.
The Great Regret
Feedback from individuals highlights a common trend: businesses often inundate prospective employees with flattery and promises, painting an idealistic picture of the role and workplace. However, the reality frequently falls short of these lofty expectations, leading to feelings of disappointment and regret among new hires. This discrepancy between expectations and reality is not exclusive to entry-level positions; even senior executives have experienced it. It serves as a poignant lesson for employers and recruiters alike: while it's natural to strive to attract top talent by presenting an enticing job offer, these promises must align with the actual work environment and opportunities. Ensuring congruence between promises and reality is essential for building trust, fostering employee satisfaction, and minimising turnover in the long run.
The shift from Us to You
Shifting your focus from the company to the prospective employee marks a crucial transition in recruitment strategy. It's not solely about showcasing the company's achievements or offerings; rather, it's about crafting a narrative that resonates with the individual candidate. By emphasising personalisation and tailoring the recruitment process to cater to the unique needs and aspirations of each candidate, you can create a memorable and meaningful experience.
This approach taps into the power of the word "you," which is often overlooked in attraction strategies. Incorporating "you" into communication efforts fosters a deeper connection with candidates, enhancing engagement, clarity, and overall connection. In the competitive landscape of maritime recruitment, the ability to connect with individuals on a personal level during the attraction stage serves as a distinct advantage for both the business and the prospective employee, paving the way for lasting relationships and mutual success.
Start with Purpose
In today's landscape, our actions must align with our beliefs and words more than ever. The significance of purpose and values has heightened, influencing individuals' perceptions and decisions. As businesses, embodying authenticity and integrity in our purpose and values not only fosters trust and loyalty but also attracts like-minded individuals who align with our mission. Thus, establishing a strong foundation rooted in purpose and values sets the stage for meaningful relationships and sustainable success.
People want the 3Cs
In today's competitive job market, individuals seek more than just a salary; they desire opportunities for personal and professional development. The 3Cs - Career Growth, Continuous Feedback, and Constant Learning - have emerged as essential components of an attractive employer value proposition.
Offering avenues for career advancement, regular feedback loops, and access to continuous learning opportunities are not only crucial for attracting top talent but also for retaining them in the long term. Businesses that prioritise these elements within their employee experience stand to differentiate themselves as employers of choice, fostering a culture of growth, development, and mutual success.
Retaining Talent
Now this may come across as a strange topic for a recruiter, but we know this has become one of the most pressing factors for you, perhaps even more so than attraction.
People in Maritime Plan to Change Jobs
Even in our most recent senior executive survey, 40% indicated their intention to switch jobs within the next two years. From a recruitment perspective, this signals an opportunity, as it means more talented individuals are available for placement in the maritime sector. However, it also poses challenges for businesses, as the demand for experienced and dependable senior talent intensifies. Employers must not only consider the implications of their employees seeking new opportunities but also the potential impact of key executives departing on the stability and strategic trajectory of their business.
Seeking Growth – Why Challenge Matters
The pursuit of growth underscores the prevailing theme of 2024, as individuals and businesses alike strive for advancement and expansion. This desire for growth is not only a preference but also a necessity in today's dynamic landscape.
Employees are often seeking challenges and growth as intrinsic motivators for staying with their current employers. Extrinsic motivators like reward, title and power can only keep you going at your best for so long.
The Meaningful Work Matrix
To enhance retention rates, our goal should be to elevate more of our employees into the top right quadrant – meeting both intrinsic and extrinsic motivations and creating enjoyable and meaningful work.
(Matrix adapted from Herzberg’s Two Factor Theory of Motivation)
In the top right quadrant, is where employees find enjoyment in their roles, feel challenged, and experience career growth, all while enjoying job security, recognition, and rewards.
Conversely, we should be wary when a significant portion of our workforce falls into the bottom left quadrant, indicating dissatisfaction and misery in their jobs, characterised by low intrinsic and extrinsic motivators. Assessing where your employees reside within this matrix is crucial for understanding retention dynamics and implementing targeted strategies for improvement.
Where do your employees sit?
Enjoyable and Meaningful Work Creates Retention
So, think, challenge, growth and advancement, purpose, responsibility and autonomy, achievement, pride, satisfaction, and flexibility.
We must also know when it is time to say Goodbye
Maintaining a healthy labour turnover ratio is vital for business vitality and innovation. Embracing new ideas, processes, skills, and personnel infusion is essential for staying competitive and adaptable in a dynamic environment.
Cultivating strong relationships, implementing robust review processes, analysing tenure data, and proactively monitoring turnover risks are all integral components for gaining a deeper understanding of labour turnover dynamics and ensuring your business remains agile and responsive to evolving needs.
Micro-Markers
Micro-markers have become increasingly significant indicators within business contexts. There's a growing impatience among individuals for tangible progress, a desire to consistently feel propelled forward in their professional journey. This necessitates a focus on providing opportunities for advancement through avenues like training, involvement in projects, mentoring, and small steps that make them feel like they are making progressive steps.
While grand career leaps still hold value, there's a prevailing preference for incremental growth, with many employees seeking signs of development from the outset of their tenure within a business.
Micro-Recognition and Reward
The concept of micro-recognition and reward has gained traction in modern workplaces, emphasising the importance of continuous feedback and praise, as well as more frequent, albeit smaller, raises and recognition gestures.
Contrary to misconceptions about entitlement, this approach acknowledges the evolving expectations shaped by the constant feedback loop individuals experience through social media platforms, where likes, loves, and comments serve as instant affirmations.
Recognising and rewarding employees in a similar manner aligns with their desire for regular acknowledgement and validation, fostering a culture of appreciation and motivation within the business.
Pay Attention
Employee engagement encompasses various elements, and while I won't delve into all of them today, one crucial aspect stands out: the importance of paying attention to your employees. When employees feel overlooked or unrecognised, they are likely to perceive themselves as undervalued. Therefore, fostering engagement requires actively listening to employees, acknowledging their contributions, and ensuring they feel valued within the business. By prioritising attention and recognition, employers can cultivate a culture where employees feel appreciated and motivated to contribute their best efforts.
Re-recruit your existing employees
Don’t fall into the trap of undervaluing the people you already have. Relationships and communication are key to ensuring you maintain a win-win relationship with your people.
Now I would like to talk about the elephant in the room.
AI Anxiety
AI Anxiety is a looming concern as we stand at the brink of its potential positive or negative impact on retention rates. The question arises: could some of your human employees, or even yourself, become obsolete in the face of advancing AI technology? This potential threat strikes at the core of individuals' workplace identity and sense of value, sparking personal fears about their future roles and relevance. With projections suggesting that as much as 80% of current jobs could be affected by AI (OpenAI statistic), the spectre of automation feels increasingly tangible.
It's crucial to recognise that while AI possesses significant capabilities, it primarily mimics rather than innovates or creates. Despite these anxieties, it's premature to anticipate a total takeover by robots in the workforce.
I don’t think robots are coming for our jobs just yet.
Reward
In today's rapidly evolving maritime sector, understanding the intricacies of compensation and benefits has become paramount.
Highly Emotive
Compensation and benefits are deeply interconnected with various aspects of an individual's life, including financial security, self-worth, perceived effort and reward, quality of life, validation, and overall job satisfaction. Consequently, it's a topic that elicits strong emotional responses from many.
As employers, we must handle these emotions with sensitivity to mitigate negative reactions. Recognising that we hold considerable influence over these emotional responses, it's essential to approach discussions surrounding compensation and benefits with empathy and care, ensuring that employees feel valued and respected throughout the process.
Data-Driven
Compensation strategies are increasingly shifting towards a data-driven approach. This trend stems from the growing accessibility and utilisation of sophisticated analytics tools that allow businesses to gather, analyse, and interpret vast amounts of data related to employee compensation.
A data-driven approach enables businesses to make more informed decisions regarding compensation structures, ensuring they remain competitive in attracting and retaining top talent while also optimising budget allocation.
A Balancing Act
Navigating the delicate balance between the emotional needs of employees and data-driven decision-making is a crucial aspect of effective reward management. Similarly, striking the right balance between attraction and retention strategies is essential.
A notable trend emerges where individuals are enticed by competitive salary and benefits packages when considering new job opportunities, yet they also demonstrate loyalty to their current employer for the same reasons. Consequently, reward management becomes a nuanced balancing act.
Wrong
Mismanaging compensation can place businesses in a precarious position, as it increases the likelihood of employees seeking new opportunities elsewhere. When compensation packages fail to align with employees' expectations or industry standards, it can lead to dissatisfaction and frustration among the workforce. In turn, this discontentment may prompt talented individuals to explore alternative employment options in pursuit of better compensation and benefits.
Transparency
Transparency has become increasingly prevalent in discussions surrounding compensation and benefits, particularly among younger generations such as Generation Z or Generation Choice. Unlike their predecessors, these individuals are more inclined to openly share and discuss their compensation expectations and needs within the workplace.
Raised in an era of heightened connectivity and information sharing, they view conversations about money as less taboo and more normalised.
However, it's essential to note that the desire for transparency and fairness is not exclusive to younger generations; rather, they may simply be more comfortable expressing it. Regardless of generational differences, the importance of transparency in compensation remains universal and relevant to all employees.
The End of ‘Competitive Salary’
The traditional practice of advertising job vacancies with the remuneration filled out as "competitive salary" may be losing its effectiveness in attracting prospective candidates. Surveys of job seekers indicate a significant shift in expectations, with up to 80% expressing a preference for job postings that include specific pay information. This suggests that simply stating a salary as competitive may no longer suffice to capture the attention and interest of potential applicants. Instead, businesses may need to provide clear and detailed compensation information upfront to entice qualified candidates and remain competitive in today's job market.
Is your reward strategy aligned with your company values?
I’m not saying this is the right or wrong thing to do, but I think it is a good question we should be asking at the board level.
Should we be rewarding our people for the right behaviours?
Should those who align with your mission, vision and values be rewarded?
Should people be rewarded who positively promote your EVP?
Is maritime ready for skill-based pay?
Skill-based pay is rapidly emerging as a notable trend in the contemporary workforce landscape. As the availability of certain skill sets dwindles, businesses may find themselves facing the necessity of offering higher compensation to attract individuals possessing these in-demand skills.
This raises pertinent questions about whether individuals actively pursuing the acquisition of scarce skill sets should be rewarded with higher pay. Recognising and incentivising ongoing skill development could help to ensure that employees remain competitive in the market and contribute to the overall growth and adaptability of the business.
Is maritime ready for this?
Should reward be linked to sustainability goals?
The question of whether rewards should be tied to sustainability goals is gaining traction, particularly within maritime where there is a growing emphasis on environmental and social responsibility. As businesses and individuals increasingly prioritise sustainability initiatives, there's a compelling argument for integrating Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) metrics into reward systems.
By linking pay to the achievement of sustainability targets, businesses could incentivise behaviours that align with broader environmental and social objectives while also reinforcing their commitment to corporate responsibility.
But is maritime in the right place to make this sort of change to reward?
You can’t buy loyalty
Loyalty in the workplace cannot be simply bought with monetary compensation alone. Regardless of whether a business offers the highest or lowest pay, loyalty remains a multifaceted construct influenced by various factors such as relationships, work-life balance, company culture, and opportunities for career advancement.
It is essential to understand that compensation operates within a broader context and cannot be isolated from other elements that contribute to employee satisfaction and engagement.
Overpaying employees does not necessarily lead to increased engagement or loyalty; rather, it's the combination of fulfilling work, a supportive environment, and opportunities for personal and professional growth that fosters lasting commitment and loyalty among employees.
Employers must offer progressive career paths, learning opportunities, and recognition for small achievements, that we like to call ‘micro-markers’.
From leveraging micro-moments to personalised communication, businesses must tailor their approaches to resonate with the preferences of today's dynamic workforce. By embracing digitalisation, enhancing employer branding, and fostering a culture of inclusivity, companies can position themselves as employers of choice in an increasingly competitive talent landscape.
Final Thoughts
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You don’t always need to pay more; you may just need to pay more attention
In the quest to attract and retain top talent, increasing compensation isn't always the solution; sometimes, paying more attention to your employees' needs and experiences can be far more impactful. This means carefully considering how you're trying to attract talent and how you're nurturing and supporting your existing workforce. Merely casting a wide net without genuine attention and engagement is akin to chasing empty metrics. True success lies in the meaningful connections forged with employees, acknowledging their contributions, and fostering an environment where they feel valued, supported, and motivated to excel.
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