Overcoming Recruitment Difficulties

According to the latest Quarterly Recruitment Outlook survey by The British Chambers of Commerce (for Q2 2021) 70% of firms are currently facing recruitment difficulties, up from 63% in Q1, itself a steep rise from 53% in Q4 2020. So how do we overcome this or at least position our organisations effectively to attract the right people?

Firstly, we need to understand what motivates candidates to change jobs being mindful that money is only one influencing factor. Culture and values play a key role in both attracting and retaining talent and should be widely promoted. It is essential that we do this in an authentic manner as if not, new hires will catch on quickly, become disillusioned and leave, sharing their bad experience with others.

When we promote our organisational culture through our purpose, mission, vision, and values this helps attract like-minded individuals. It may be a good time to refresh your organisational purpose so that it becomes inspiring and meaningful. And when people understand the role they play in helping the organisation achieve it’s purpose they are more likely to exhibit discretionary behaviour and be intrinsically motivated.

It is also important to showcase your total rewards offering, not just basic pay. As we know, money isn’t the only part of the remuneration package so be sure to celebrate all your financial and non-financial rewards including the things that make you stand out from your competitors and are maybe even a little bit quirky.

Many of us want to work for an organisation that offers challenging and interesting work with the chance of progression. The majority of candidates want to know that there are development opportunities available to them through structured career pathways that are attainable and fairly rewarded.

All of the amazing things about your organisation’s career experience can be summarised in an Employee Value Proposition or ‘EVP’. Your EVP is effectively your sales pitch detailing all the reasons why someone should come and work for you based on reward and benefits, culture, career opportunities and more. Think about what attracted you to your organisation and share this if it is a positive story. Your EVP can be used as your blueprint from which you can create a content calendar of recruitment marketing activities to entice talent. This is why it is always a great idea to partner with your Marketing department who can really help shape and promote your messaging whether this is through online blogs, videos, animations or other forms of digital marketing. Social media and your own website are obvious platforms for promoting your employer brand but don’t forget about internal marketing to your existing staff and also industry magazines, educational careers events and encouraging your employees to boost your online status through likes and shares. Use your EVP on an ongoing basis to build your brand and then again when advertising. Also share with candidates during the selection process.

When considering any barriers to recruitment we also need to consider the candidate experience. How easy is it for candidates to apply to your vacancies? If they have to jump through hoops by clicking on more than one link and then having to complete an online profile and/or application form you are likely to lose them early on. Remember a significant proportion of candidates are passive and will not be interested in a cumbersome application process. Ask candidates and new hires for feedback on the recruitment process and use this insight to modify as necessary. And what about pipeline talent? You know that pool of really eager and immediately available candidates that we all crave? Do you have a process for keeping these people “warm” like telling them that their experience looks really interesting, and you’ll be in touch as soon as a vacancy arises?

Admittedly a lot of these interventions take time and resources to develop and maintain and you may not see the benefits overnight, but it is also worth considering if there are any small changes that can be done in the short-term. These quick wins could make a sizeable impact on your ability to hire.

Remember anything that we do to promote our employer brand must be authentic and that means starting with nurturing talent internally first. Professionals that actively network will be easily able to gain an insight into what it is actually like to work in your organisation through your employees or the likes of Glassdoor. If you’re not working hard to keep your people happy, they can give you a bad reputation. On the other hand a great reputation will be a powerful draw for candidates and will also retain your existing talent.

Useful reading:

Quarterly Recruitment Outlook https://www.britishchambers.org.uk/news/2021/07/quarterly-recruitment-outlook-70-face-difficulty-finding-staff-as-workforce-growth-expectations-surge