Recruitment practices in Australia: a review and comparative research agenda

Although the Australian economy suffered, recruitment defied the global financial crisis and continued a 'war for talent'. Simultaneous skills shortages and relatively low unemployment in this unique historical context pushed Australian recruiters to adapt their practices and strategies. This review examines practitioner and peer-reviewed literature on the current Australian recruitment context. The review documents how economic drivers have reshaped recruitment as a form of employer branding and a process increasingly reliant on technology, social media, outsourcing and recruitment metrics. The practitioner literature reveals the new style 'science of recruitment sourcing', including the introduction of job boards, job board aggregators, applicant tracking software, online interviewing and recruitment process outsourcing. Employers' use of employee value propositions, employer of choice and other branding strategies are presented. The paper highlights the shortage of peer-reviewed literature documenting the particular Australian experience, and concludes with a discussion of a comparative research agenda.