This blog has been updated in 2025 to reflect more recent trends.
Recruitment and retention strategies must be flexible enough to reflect the current market; whilst more candidates are available now than 12 months ago, finding the very niche or specialised skill sets remains extremely challenging.
Organisations waiting for ‘unicorn’ candidates will find their recruitment strategy unsuccessful.
Embracing alternative methods has had good results for some defence industry organisations.
New recruitment approaches
When the perfect candidate just cannot be found, it’s time to consider alternative ways of bringing someone suitable into the role. This might be through alternative sourcing methods or through an exploration of what the perfect candidate really looks like.
Role re-discovery
Embracing a shift towards vocational qualifications and alternative experience will help broaden the search for talent. Ask yourself these questions:
What are the desired outcomes here?
What does our client really need?
Are there alternative ways we could achieve this that we haven’t considered?
By getting back to basics and engaging in a rediscovery process, your ideal team might go from consisting of five software engineers and two systems administrators to one senior and one mid-level software engineer with a team of supporting systems administrators.
Re-discovery, at a project or individual level, can be transformative in broadening access to available skill sets.
Alternative candidate sources
It’s also worth asking yourself:
Where else can workers be found that we haven’t considered yet?
Would a worker from an adjacent industry be able to do the role, if given adequate training and support?
Could an ADF veteran fulfil this role after completing a short training course?
Some defence industry organisations have found great success in integrating adjacent industry workers with well-aligned skill sets. Industries like commercial airlines, automotive or financial services often produce talent well-suited to defence industry roles.
This does come with challenges. Cultural differences, security clearance or citizenship requirements, and customer push back must be addressed prior to onboarding workers from well-aligned industries to ensure the process is smooth and the worker reaches their full potential. Proactively educating the Defence customer on candidate availability and your upskilling and integration program has helped some organisations overcome these challenges.
Harnessing existing talent
Tapping into the talent you already have within the business is also an excellent solution. Finding ways to provide internal talent with access to upskilling programs is an effective way to broaden the talent pool and grow engagement with current staff.
There are industry bodies working tirelessly to connect industry employers to training providers and additional sources of talent. Examples include the Australian Industry & Defence Network (AIDN) or the government-run defence industry skilling website: https://www.defenceindustry.gov.au/. Get to know these organisations and understand how they can help you.
Retention
Looking after the workers within your organisation is of paramount importance at all times, and particularly in the current climate. This applies both to new hires and established staff.
It’s important to remember that retention and engagement strategies might need to be tailored based on who you recruit, at what volume and the size of your business.
Employer Value Proposition (EVP) and employer brand are really important elements for becoming an employer of choice. We have a great blog on the topic that covers this in great depth: EVP and Employer Brand; How to Position Your Business As An Employer of Choice.
Onboarding
Advanced onboarding strategies have proved powerful in the integration of adjacent industry workers or those who have been out of the workforce for some time. It’s vital to make those workers feel welcome, comfortable, and poised to succeed in their new work environment.
The use of buddy systems has proved successful within defence industry organisations. If you have a new hire with little defence industry experience, buddy them up with a defence industry old-timer. In this way, you facilitate the transfer of industry knowledge, as well as providing a support system for the new hire.
Benefits
Think about what your organisation can offer your employees to keep them happy, outside of statutory leave, remuneration etc. Kinexus surveys benefits & job satisfaction, and has collected a list of common employee benefits. Deciding which benefits your organisation offers is a very personal thing, but considerations include:
What can your business offer, considering its size, employee demographics and locations
Any budget or time restrictions
What really matters to your employees
More information is available in this blog: What Employee Benefits are Primes and SMEs Offering
Conclusion
Overall, those defence industry organisations faring best in this challenging environment are those accepting manageable talent risk by approaching their recruitment and retention policies and procedures differently from their closest neighbour.
Embrace the shift towards hiring based on behaviours or potential, rather than experience or qualifications, and tailor your processes to match. In this way, the unicorns, while no less elusive, might seem less vital to business success.
