Trouble recruiting? – It’s a candidate’s market!
Employment levels are at an all time high and there are more open vacancies then there are registered job seekers. A recent survey has indicated that the majority of employers are planning to recruit staff in the next three months – But employers are often struggling to attract candidates, let alone candidates of the right calibre.
So, its a candidate’s market simply because the number of vacancies available outweighs the number of people searching for employment. This creates a highly competitive market with candidates in the driving seat, potentially receiving multiple job offers and unafraid to command better renumeration packages.
Recruiters are increasingly finding that candidate don’t respond to call backs or simply don’t show up for interviews (even virtual ones!). This has given rise to the newly coined terms of ‘benching’ (engaged with multiple employers at the same time and picking the best offers) and ‘ghosting’ (appearing engaged with the process and then disappearing).
The CIPD quizzed businesses for their Labour Market Outlook report in May 2022, and 45% of those asked admitting to having vacancies they were finding difficult to fill, so what can you do when you come across this problem?
A common strategy would be to raise salary, however with the cost of fuel, energy, food, and transport all at an all time high, businesses are reaching their limit on staffing budgets and need to get creative. Here are 5 tips to help you attract and hold on to the top talent
Keep it real
Think realistically about the key skills required for the job and remove the rest from the specification, keep it simple. Offer training for candidates who fall short of professional qualifications and hire for potential, not experience.
Keep it short and quick
Make your recruitment process as short and user friendly as possible. The job market is moving so fast that if you are slow to react there is a real possibility someone else will snap up your candidate so deal quickly with applications fast.
Highlight Flexible Working Opportunities
Home or hybrid working, flexible or compressed hours. Making that work / life balance…. balance, is what people are looking for today. The more flexible you can be, the more candidates you will attract.
Works Perks
Instead of a higher salary think outside the box about what perks you can offer. Some ideas include paid charity day, mental health / duvet day, company off sites, company fuddle once a month, a snooker table in the break room.
Articulate your brand
With so much choice, a candidate isn’t going to pick a company based on the job role alone. Look at your branding, the way you speak and sell yourself online and your visible company values. Make sure your website and social media is attractive and vibrant and selling you as THE place to work.
If you are struggling to recruit, perhaps we can help – give us a call (01484 841776) or drop us an email ([email protected]) to find out more about our service that starts with job and candidate profiling, through to advertising, selection and appointment.
