The Australian Retailers Association (ARA) has launched a new recruitment platform for the retail industry.
Addressing the retail hiring needs that have emerged through COVID – such as the accelerated need for eCommerce specialists – the ARA Talent Registry is set to help retailers hire the right candidate.
According to the ARA, the platform will help remove bias and reduce recruitment costs.
CEO Paul Zahra said that the Registry joins the organisation's portfolio of services, which also includes a training institute.
"The retail industry is going through an incredible transformation.
"COVID has accelerated a decade worth of trends and dynamic new roles are emerging.
"Hiring the right people at the beginning ensures better retention rates which is a huge cost saver for all businesses.
"The data science behind the ARA Talent Registry is extraordinary, as it guides employers to the right type of candidate for any particular role by matching them on the required skills, qualifications and organisational fit.
"It then ranks them whether they are a direct applicant or pulled from the pool of available job seekers.
"The ARA is now a one stop shop for retail training and recruiting, with the Talent Registry joining the ARA Retail Institute - a registered training organisation - in our portfolio of services," he said.
Jewellery retailer Pandora has already used the service and praised its attributes.
"We are very fortunate that Pandora continues to attract strong applicants for our advertised roles, which can mean large volumes of resumes and cover letters to review," Pandora HR director Shaun Ruming said.
"To understand if an applicant fits our culture and values we use targeted interview questions, success profiles and screening guides to match a candidate.
"The ARA Talent Registry allowed us to digitalise our review process which improved our productivity and saved us a lot of time.
"The platform also provided us a more considered and scientific approach for HR and line managers to match up a candidate’s overall attributes throughout the application process.
"This has given us greater confidence in ensuring the candidates we take forward for a shortlist have the right cultural fit to be successful at Pandora," he said.
The ARA's Talent Registry is available to all employers and job seekers.
ARA employer members are offered a discount to use the service to list their vacancies.