If you’ve tried hiring anyone recently, you may have noticed that it’s more difficult than usual.
There are all kinds of reasons for this. First, there are fewer people looking for jobs (quite a lot of people decided they really didn’t want to carry on working after being in lockdown). Second, there are more jobs in some sectors. In addition, there aren’t enough people with some of the key qualifications required. The list goes on.
This means that it’s very much a candidates’ market at the moment and probably will be for some time.
We have seen fewer applicants overall for most roles, and also, fewer applicants are a good match applying for roles.
So, what can you do about it?
Here are some key things you can do:
- Make sure you are offering the right package – not just pay but also added benefits. If you are a small company, you can often be much more flexible than a large corporation. Offering a few extra days off or some flexibility has huge value for many candidates and can be a very low cost to your company. We have seen clients lose very good candidates because they were not prepared to offer a little flexibility. One client was not happy to offer any time off in the first year. The top candidate’s mother had a heart attack, and the candidate wanted to have a couple of days to visit her as she was some distance away. The client would not include this. To me, this seemed a very short-sighted (and heartless) response. The candidate turned the offer down.
- Respond very quickly to candidates. Many companies take weeks to respond – seriously! In that time, a lot of candidates, particularly the good ones, get other jobs. When I say quickly, I mean within a day. This means you need to have a good system in place for getting back to them, even if it’s just a short call or email to thank them for sending in their resume. (My own daughter applied for a lot of waitressing jobs when she left university. One company got in touch three months after she had applied and asked if she was still available; they seemed surprised when she wasn’t!)
- Make sure you are ready and prepared with your offer, don’t start working it out after you have finally decided to hire the candidate.
I know these things sound really basic, but you’d be amazed at how many people get these things wrong. These key tips can give you an advantage over other employers.
Just get in touch if you need some help; we’ll be happy to talk.
