We’re entering the new year with a major shortage of candidates, which is good news for prospective job seekers but can be difficult to manage for employers. As the market remains unstable during the pandemic, more and more workers are seeking jobs with stability and security. As a result, employers are looking at an intense competition when it comes to sourcing top talent. Read on to discover how the shortage came about and how your company can navigate it when it comes to hiring new candidates.
Why Is There a Worker Shortage?
Many of the reasons for the shortage come back to the pandemic. Here are just a few reasons that it can be hard to find workers right now:
- Concern about catching COVID in the workplace (especially considering the variety in vaccine requirements and hybrid work environments)
- Difficulty finding affordable child care while minimizing COVID risk
- While unemployment rates are high, that doesn’t necessarily mean that the qualifications of those who are unemployed match opening jobs.
The market has also seen a surge in startups, which has provided plenty of new job opportunities.
Staying Competitive as an Employer
In the shortage, it’s more crucial than ever to stay competitive. Here are some key approaches that will help candidates find your company appealing to work for:
- Stay flexible when it comes to the office. 60% of recruiters say that organizations will lose top employees if they don’t prioritize a remote work culture. Depending on your industry, requiring employees to come into the office every day may hurt your recruiting.
- Offer creative benefits. For example, some companies are offering free or reduced college tuition to prospective employees.
- Give competitive salaries. With so much competition, it will be difficult to attract top talent without offering competitive wages.
- Think like a marketer. You should be promoting your company culture at all times.
Adjust Your Hiring Practices
In addition to finding new ways to stay competitive, now is a great time to evaluate your internal processes. Ask yourself the following questions:
- Are you using the best recruiting software? Organizational software is a great way to automate your processes and improve visibility within your organization.
- Are you marketing your job openings efficiently and on enough platforms? Ensure that you are promoting not only your job openings but your company culture.
- Have you considered internal vs. external hiring? If you are having trouble sourcing qualified candidates externally, consider internal promotions.
To learn more about sourcing top talent and how to market your company to new hires, check out our article on Seven Steps to Employee Retention.
Conclusion
The worker shortage may complicate your hiring process, but you can get ahead of the issue by offering competitive benefits and streamlining your hiring process.
For more help, consider turning to professional recruiters. To learn more about recruiting and keeping top talent, contact us or visit https://lucasjamestalent.com/.