Well 2020 wasn’t much fun was it? In a year that started out with great promise for JOYN, we found ourselves having to hunker down and ride out a pretty rocky period, particularly during the first lockdown all those months ago.
In a bittersweet kind of way, it meant a spike in work for our HR Specialists as many of our clients got the jitters and looked to rationalise and reduce their overheads. But our Recruitment Specialists, who currently make up the bulk of the JOYN offering, saw their current and future pipeline of work dry up completely.
I am an optimist though, and I do look back on those sunny, scary weeks in April as a time when we were suddenly presented with a rare opportunity to sit back, reflect, and just think…
The best outcomes for us were the accelerated upgrades and improvements of the technology side of the JOYN offering with a better-looking and vastly-improved recruitment portal, with enhanced dashboards for both Consultants and Clients of ours.
In a year blighted by lies, misinformation, social unrest and political upheaval, it also reminded me of one of JOYN’s founding principles – transparency. We launched in 2017 fully aware of the recruitment industry’s reputation for liberally applying tactics more often seen in used car sales yards and no-win-no-fee lawyers offices. JOYN has always sought to remove the smoke and mirrors by breaking down every cost and every action, giving control back to the client, and also keeping our Consultants accountable with a publicly-visible average rating system.
You can always see how we’re doing in real time (since launching in November 2017) right here. And it’s these metrics that I’d like to reflect on for JOYN in 2020:
Clients
Firstly, thank you to everyone who placed their trust in JOYN this year for their people needs. Whilst we have signed up a more modest 54 new clients in 2020, I could never have foreseen a number that high back when the NZ economy was plunged into the deep-freeze.
And for all of our existing clients who re-engaged with JOYN this year, I salute your courage and determination to adopt growth mindsets in the face of great anxiety and uncertainty for many business owners.
Kiwi businesses have proven to be incredibly resilient and we’ve even bounced back out of recession already. Many of you will be looking to continue recovering and growing in 2021, but finding good talent will become increasingly harder while our borders remain closed.
Consultants
Whilst JOYN offers a technology solution, it would be nothing without our amazing community of HR Consultants and Recruitment Consultants who utilise our tools and technology.
Our Consultants are freelancers and 2020 has been a perilous time for those not in secure employment, but our numbers have held steady overall and we have even managed to bring on a couple of new Technology specialist recruiters in Auckland, as this sector is soaring.
Assignments
We completed 380 Assignments in 2020, a number that seemed way out of reach when we went into Level 4 restrictions.
For the majority of our clients who engage JOYN for recruitment services, you can also see your average Cost per Hire based off all your JOYN Assignments by visiting the Analytics page of your new dashboards.
Average Rating
Recruiters get such a bad rap that when I first exited an Uber and was greeted by a rating request, I wondered if such a thing would be able to work in the recruitment industry.
JOYN’s rating system is a cornerstone of our model and provides new clients with certainty, and our remote-working Consultants with accountability, not to mention the kind of feedback we all crave!
I’m proud of our average 9.23 (out of 10) rating since launching in 2017. But 2020 was incredible in this regard, with an average of 9.38 from 146 ratings given. Thanks to all of our clients who took the time to rate their Consultants, and especially those that provided comments and feedback, which happened in greater numbers than ever before this year.
2021 Can Wait…
…but not for long. We are all very much looking forward to a break after a fairly fraught year, but 2021 will roar into life quicker and louder than usual I think.
Thanks for the support from all of our clients this year, enjoy some well-deserved rest and recuperation, and then let’s kick back into gear next year. JOYN will be here, ready when you are.
Merry Christmas all!
