In this interview, we sit down with Rahim Chunara, the Talent Acquisition Leader for Hitachi Construction Machinery in Australia and New Zealand. Rahim provides a glimpse into his dynamic role, overseeing recruitment strategies for the entire region, managing teams, and navigating the ups and downs of the ever-changing labour market. Rahim discusses the importance of employer branding in today’s digital era, and the pivotal role Indeed’s employer branding tools as well as hands on customer service played in helping to bring more quality candidates through the funnel for Hitachi.
Kamellia: To kick us off, can you tell us a bit more about your role at Hitachi and what you do?
Rahim: I work for Hitachi construction machinery as a Talent Acquisition Leader for the business. What I look after is the recruitment function and strategy for the whole of Australia and New Zealand. I have a team of four here in Australia and two in New Zealand, and we are responsible for building a robust pipeline of candidates for our vacancies, as well as overseeing our apprenticeship programs.
Kamellia: What do you love most about your job, and what do you find most challenging?
Rahim: What I would say is most challenging about my role is definitely the ever changing labour market. Every month is so different because the supply and demand of candidates keeps going up and down, and the flow of candidates coming through is so reliant on the economy, which makes aspects of my job much more challenging.
At the same time, this is also what I like about my role. You will never be in full control or know everything, my job is always changing and we have to change with it which makes it exciting.
Kamellia: You’ve shared with us what you do at Hitachi. But for those who are still not sure of what Hitachi does, can you explain in two sentences or less?
Rahim: Hitachi manufactures equipment, especially heavy earth moving equipment in Japan, and sends them to clients in Australia. So we are the dealers of Hitachi construction machinery and we supply these machinery to customers in the mining and construction industry. We have 25 branches and 1,300 staff across Australia.
Kamellia: Before you started working with Indeed, what were the biggest pain points you experienced in your recruitment strategy, and what was the number one challenge Hitachi faced?
Rahim: My biggest pain point is with the recruiting industry as a whole: there just never seems to be enough talent.
In recruiting, the paint point is always going to be getting more candidates, and it really doesn’t have anything to do with any particular job board or solution. But that’s why it’s so important to have multiple different avenues to help bring in more candidates through the funnel.
Rahim: Something else that I’m really focussing on for Hitachi is branding. I want candidates to see Hitachi and be like, ‘Yes, I want to work there’.
Kamellia: So would you say that employer branding is a really big focus for you?
Rahim: Of course. In this digital world that we are living in, your presence, and what you represent, is so important, especially to the younger generation as they start coming into the workforce. I'm very fortunate to work for a world renowned brand as Hitachi, which most people do know of, so I don't have to work very hard. But, it’s still something that I’m actively focussing on in my recruitment strategy.
Kamellia: Yes, employer branding is so important. How has Indeed helped with your employer branding goals?
Rahim: When Michael, our account manager, came on board, he really helped us revamp our Indeed Company Page. He gave us advice on what information and types of images to add that would attract job seekers and encourage them to apply for our open roles. Michael also recommended the Featured Employer product to help get our brand and logo out to more job seekers. Adopting the Featured Employer product was really a no brainer for us, it has been such a useful tool in our employer branding strategy.
It’s been really great to have such a dedicated account manager, someone who can delve deep into our account and identify the solutions that will solve our problems and bring in more candidates. Michael really does a great job of bringing new ideas and solutions to my attention which has been so helpful because, as you know, I have a lot going on and I sometimes don’t have the time to have my eye on everything. So having an account manager who is doing that analysis work for us has been a game changer.
Kamellia: How did you first hear about Indeed?
Rahim: Indeed is a very well known brand, and since I've been in the recruitment industry, back in 2007, I’ve always known about Indeed. I remember when I first heard about Indeed I had no idea you were scraping our jobs from our website, but that was how I first learnt about Indeed and your services.
Kamellia: Since you’ve known about us and our services for a while, what made you bring on Indeed at Hitachi?
Rahim: Well we were always using Indeed in some capacity, but in the early days we were just using it to scrape our jobs. We never invested in Indeed. Back then, I felt like, why do we have to pay for something that is already free? I didn’t quite understand the value that Indeed would provide at the beginning when it was already pulling our jobs for free.
But my account manager back then, Tina, convinced me to give it a try and invest some money to see how it went. And sure enough, I turned the corner and I started to see the benefits almost immediately.
Kamellia: What made you want to take that leap and try Indeed out for that very first time?
Rahim: I try to keep things as a matter of fact, and Tina, my account manager back then, captured that pretty straight away. She shared some insights with me on what Indeed was currently doing for me, including what I was getting for free and what I could be getting sponsoring my jobs, and I looked at the numbers to see where our candidates were coming from and realised, ‘Okay, this is worth spending money on’. From there, that’s when we started investing more with Indeed, because at the end of the day, I want to do what is right for the business, and I was seeing that the business was really benefiting from using Indeed.
Kamellia: That’s so great to hear. And how is it working with Indeed? Has it impacted your day to day in any way? Have you or the company seen any benefits?
Rahim: What we've seen is a significant rise in the number of applicants coming through from Indeed, I think Indeed is bringing in the second or third highest number of candidates. Indeed has definitely helped us to broaden the funnel and bring in more applicants.
The biggest benefit with Indeed is that we’re getting really great value, especially per placement and per click. Indeed really is good value for money. The costing method is a game changer, and I feel like it's a fair and honest method. Compared to the other job boards, and no disrespect to any of the other ones, Indeed has shown a very different pricing method which I feel is quite transparent.
When I’m getting an invoice from Indeed at the end of the month,
I know exactly what I’m paying for.
Kamellia: Maybe you’ve just answered this question, but how would you say Indeed is different from some of the other solutions you’ve tried?
Rahim: You know, you’ve said it. Some of the other job boards you pay upfront and hope for the best. But with Indeed, and its no commitment, no contract policy, you have true flexibility, which I think is a very good deal. When you work with Indeed, your cost is variable as opposed to fixed, which gives you a flexibility that you just don’t get with other job boards.
Kamellia: Do you have any advice for other recruiters that have faced some of the similar challenges that you have?
Rahim: I think my advice will be to just give Indeed a go. I think what they'll enjoy is the flexible pricing strategy. Indeed’s products and services really are good value for money, and there are a lot more candidates on Indeed than I thought there would be. So my advice would be to give it a go as Indeed will certainly help add more candidates to their pipeline.
And I think it’s important for recruiters to remember that Indeed is a global, successful brand. So you’re not backing someone new to the market. Indeed is very well known and has been around for many years.
Kamellia: If you were to recommend Indeed to a colleague or friend, how would you sell it?
Rahim: I would say there are many good job boards and vendors out there, but I have found that Indeed always produces really exceptional account managers. I genuinely felt that both of our account managers, Tina and Michael, cared about our needs and worked hard to solve our challenges and bring in quality candidates. The care factor that Indeed has for your business is on another level, and that has been very valuable to us.
I would also say that Indeed will work with you to package their product to how it will fit your business. It’s not like a ‘you have to spend this much ad pack’ take it or leave it method. Indeed will work with you to tailor their products to your needs.
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