If you haven’t been recruiting lately, you’re lucky, but could be in for a bit of a shock. The market is shifting and changing at a rapid pace. What was once an employer market pre-covid, is now a scarcity driven candidate market. The search for good talent is becoming increasingly harder and more competitive. Hiring managers are facing two different situations. Understanding the skills needed and attracting the right talent.
Organisations are desperate for skilled talent, fueled by three factors.
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- Positions need backfilling from the great resignation.
- Hiring managers are facing talent challenges as businesses evolve quicker.
- Organisations are growing and scaling at a rate we haven’t seen since the early 1950s. Triggered by innovation and client demands.
This rapid change is placing pressure on hiring managers. With vague role needs and reactive recruitment, costly decisions are being made. Hiring managers are narrowing in on a too specific skill set. The result of this limits the pool of potential candidates, impacting pipeline efforts. However, this approach is benefiting talent with particular skill sets. The talent in this demographic is unintentionally manipulating the market and salaries. The manipulation is evident when we observe the number of reactive remuneration packages. Coupled with dramatic increases in specialist salary banding.
When we pair these factors with a low unemployment rate of 3.9%, the outcome is a hiring challenge across the board. How do we know this? Anecdotally, hiring managers are reporting a decrease in application numbers for roles. So where is the scarcity in talent coming from?
In the past, all a hiring manager needed to recruit talent were two basic components. A position description, which was generally vague and open for translation. And an avenue for advertising. These components worked because there was enough available talent and limited role availability. Creating the perfect supply and demand recruitment environment. Organisations had the ball in their court. They can pick and filter as they desired.
This traditional approach isn’t working anymore. Why? Because employees want more. We cannot keep approaching recruitment this same way. Recruitment processes need to evolve. Why? So organisations remain viable, innovative, and can continue to build high performing teams.
According to a Global Hopes and Fears Survey by PWC, the candidates know that the ball is in their court. When candidates look for new roles, they are searching for organisations with a purpose. Candidates are seeking organisations who align with purpose, value, and contribution to society.
What does this mean for organisations?
It’s not enough to let your brand or reputation carry you.
You need to start with the basics. Get these right and you’re heading in the correct direction.
EVP: If you do not have the strong foundations of a good Employee Value Proposition (EVP) then your hiring managers may be swimming against the current. A strong EVP is just the starting point. Make sure your EVP aligns with your external branding and your organisation’s mission. There should be clear synergies between value and purpose for the ‘give-and-get context’.
Base pay and remuneration: The cost of living is on the mind of the whole nation. Getting your base pay correct is critical. Did you know that over 44% of individuals in the tech sector will be seeking increases in remuneration over the next 12 months, according to PWC’s report? Be mindful of the gap in salary banding between existing employees and new employees. A salary benchmarking exercise will reveal gaps in salary banding. Reviewing your total headcount cost will reduce risk in the future.
Growth and development: The gig economy is nothing new. In today’s candidate market the lure for specialist talent with high remuneration packages and benefits is more appealing than staying put. To put it bluntly, those who were once risk-averse now have the ball firmly in their court. They are making high impact decisions that may have once been aspirational in nature. Developing existing employees drives engagement, retention, and loyalty. Development also retains internal knowledge. Reducing the risk associated with loss of knowledge management.
Transparency and ESG: Transparency around environmental, social, and governance (ESG) aspects are driving factors in PWC’s Global Workforce Hopes and Fears surveys. PWC connects the pursuit of workplace health and safety as a direct impact of the recent global pandemic. Organisations still need to have a clear and transparent position on economic, environmental, and social constructs to win over employee loyalty.
How can we evolve the way we recruit?
The way we did things in the past will not work for the future
We cannot keep the copy and paste approach to recruitment. We need to stop resorting to old JDs that are vague and non-inspirational. Take the time to understand what your team needs and what the organisation needs. Leverage PI’s Job Assessment tool to help you profile the role and target the right people.
The candidate’s journey starts before they start.
We don’t mean to overcook this, but your EVP is vital to the employee experience. Without a strong and meaningful EVP your employee experience will be negatively affected. A candidate’s experience starts the moment they see your brand. This is why it is important that your external and internal brand align. An EVP is like marketing to employees. Get it right and you will get the right people.
Each Role is different – Treat it that way
Move away from vanilla advertising. Each role is unique, just like each person in your organisation is unique. When we hire a person we hire the whole person. When advertising for roles, review the role profile. Make sure there is a customised approach for each role. Look at your language, the style and the feel of what you are positioning to the candidate. Customising your approach to the targeted job profile will attract that job profile.
Think outside the box when sourcing
Do you advertise your roles the same way every time? It’s time to shake things up and look for new and innovative ways to attract your candidates. Google did a great example of this with a hidden job advertisement hidden in a billboard riddle. Get creative! Use different platforms and media. Try leveraging social media, catching Instagram tiles, or geo-targeting optimization.
Attracting the right people is hard, but it doesn’t have to be. If organisations focus on what they can control, rather than what they can’t, then they can attract, hire, retain, and inspire their employees. It’s costly to recruit new team members. Getting the process right reduces unnecessary risk and places the right people in the right roles to thrive. If you want to talk about this more, reach out to our team at Red Wolf Group now!