A booming job market is music to the ears of applicants.
However, it can be a significant problem for recruiters and the hiring managers they partner with to drive talent.
Find out what it takes and commit to integrating employee experience into your recruiting strategy.
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I received a call from an irate hiring manager demanding the termination, or at the very least, a performance improvement plan for one of my most seasoned and talented recruiters.
A requisition for a hard to fill role had been open for 22 days with no qualified applicants. That is except for two that we lost to competitor when the hiring manager himself was not able to interview either candidate due to a bike race that took him out of state for five of 22 days.
I was even warned if I did not ‘take action’ the matter would be escalated to top, which as far I knew, was me. Having heard enough. I retorted, ‘why stop at a performance improvement plan? Why not shackle him to a pillory in the lobby and pelt him with rotten produce for all to see?’
The conversation in a flash shifted to my sarcasm, which thankfully the hiring manager hated more than he did the recruiter.
It did, however, provide a momentary deflection, just long enough for me to shift to a more realistic discussion, one that did not vilify the recruiter as the reason for not being able to find labor on demand.
To hiring managers and organizations, everywhere – I implore you to breathe! Stop blaming your recruiter for the state of this unprecedented labor market. They are not the enemy.
We are experiencing a tight job market during a time which job openings outnumber job seekers. So far, we have survived one of the worst pandemics on record, and somehow emerged with a record number of job openings.
Per the Bureau of Labor Statistics, we will have more than 20 million job openings in the US in 2022 bringing the percentage of unfilled jobs to one in eight. The good news is the pool is saturated qualified talent. The bad news is demand for labor is also historically high.
A booming job market is music to the ears of applicants. However, it can be a significant problem for recruiters and the hiring managers they partner with to drive talent. The disruption of virtual workplaces became the norm during a time when workplace culture, mission, and core values became paramount to job seekers; along with flexibility and balance-all of which are new factors in the negotiation process for recruiters to contend with.
People are no longer looking for job – they are looking for an experience. Layer on the Great Resignation and the pay compression that resulted; and it’s clear that the labor shortage has emerged from a culmination or events, not your talent acquisition partners. While it is easy to blame the recruiter for empty seats. It is simply not their fault.
Things may get worse before they get better
What we know is that the past two years has changed the job market forever. While the future remains unpredictable, much of how we mitigate the impact of labor challenges is well within our control:
Focus on retaining the employees you have
Prioritize building retention strategies that include redefining the employee experience and understanding the impact of fostering an environment of well-being and belonging. Leaders should focus more on retaining their good employees.
This requires examining their corporate culture, compensation packages, technology, and company policies from the perspective of retaining, rather than just attracting, employees.
Change your paradigm
Even as many organizations struggle to find talent, they remain unwilling to recognize that the workplace looks, feels, and operates very differently than it did two years ago; and they choose to hold on their ‘old ways’ of doing business which oddly enough has little to do with creating an positive employee experience that is not strictly about profitability, but is also about treating people well and creating a culture that sells itself.
It is about becoming the organization that job seekers are drawn to and actively seek out. Find out what it takes and commit to integrating employee experience into your recruiting strategy.
Focus on culture and leadership
Start engaging your recruiting and talent acquisition teams as strategic partners, they deserve no less. Recruiters align the right people to the right roles.
Your recruiter can be your best asset when combatting a tough labor market. Not only do they have a broader perspective your organization’s culture and can more readily persuade a candidate what differentiates you from your competitors; but they have a deep understanding of the labor, and the ability to proactively source candidates using any number of the tricks of their trade.
They are often well connected, have multiple ways to achieve an organization’s labor objectives, and are eager to work with their hiring managers at a higher level beyond the administrative.
Conclusion
Make building relationships with your talent acquisition team and examining your objectives around the employee experience priority.
No business can survive without labor. Convincing candidates to join your organization grows more challenging daily.
Make supporting the team with the expertise to overcome those challenges a part of your long-term HR strategy.
