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Managing candidate shortages

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Do you know what the most common recruitment problem is in business? Wrong skillset, candidates unwilling to relocate, preference for ‘larger’ companies, nope; the answer is talent shortages.

candidate shortages

With a massive quality gap in the marketplace how does your company cope in the interim with decreased productivity, meeting deadlines, increased cost of retaining existing staff and low morale?

There are a number of solutions your company can turn to, obviously cost will heavily factor into this so it’s crucial to make an effective business decision to maximize what you’re paying for.

One of the easiest ways which doesn’t require splashing loads of money on recruitment fees or job boards, is trying to open conversations with passive candidates. Passive candidates are people who are not necessarily actively looking for a new role but might be swayed by a big opportunity. This can increase your access to a wider pool of candidates of course and sometimes the best candidate for the job isn’t necessarily looking for a job.

When it comes to managing candidate shortages it’s essential to keep an eye on what your competitions doing and to stay ahead of the game, there’s only a certain amount of candidates to spare, so make sure you maximise your recruitment efforts.

If you do decide to work with a recruiter, make sure you’re working with a headhunter who’s dynamic and that you work with a recruitment agency who know the market and region you’re operating within. On your end you can greatly improve the efficiency of the process by mapping out precise role profiles, having a ‘recruitment timetable’ and being flexible about interviews. Candidates won’t stay on the market for long so it pays dividends to move quickly. 

A big thing company’s miss is actually selling the brand and culture effectively. Instead they too often rely on candidates having to impress them first. If you want to make your recruitment process better, perhaps devise a PDF highlighting aspects of your company culture or make sure it’s prevalent on a page on the website.

Additionally consider interim or contract hires. As they work project to project, you won’t have to worry about notice periods and they can cover particular skills shortages.

When it comes to hiring in a candidate short market, don’t leave it until it’s too late; by putting off new hires, employers simply increase pressure on the existing team. This affects your company’s capability to deliver results for clients, damaging your reputation and undermining morale. Flexibility is key in a candidate short market, so don’t spend weeks or months waiting for the ‘perfect candidate’ to materialise. Be decisive and maintain an efficient hiring process.