As the world continues to grapple with the Covid-19 crisis, we’ve seen a fundamental shift within the recruitment industry. What was a well-established candidate-driven market has been turned on its head almost overnight, we’re now well and truly in an employer-driven landscape.
As recently as February this year, 90% of the job market was candidate-driven. Talented, skilled professionals had their pick of roles and employers were competing with each other in a bid to secure the top talent. For many organisations, this presented a challenging recruitment environment. While experienced, specialist recruiters have access to passive candidates and can help attract coveted professionals to organisations, candidate-driven landscape mean offers need to be competitive, salaries high and employer brand strong.
With that in mind, what are the benefits of recruiting in an employer-driven landscape? And how can organisations make the most of this time to attract the best sales and marketing candidates on the market?
Taking advantage of a broad talent pool
The business world is facing unprecedented challenges – but if you’re lucky enough to be bringing new talent into your business, you’re in an excellent position to snap up some of the market’s best candidates. Redundancies, an increase in unemployment, furlough schemes and an uncertain future for many organisations means there are more people actively seeking new jobs than ever. If you’ve been considering bringing on fresh talent, have gaps to fill or are looking at a restructure to help pivot your business, now might be the perfect time to secure a professional who may have otherwise been lured away by a competitor.
A candidate-dense landscape doesn’t mean you can rest on your laurels when it comes to what you’re offering, however. While you may be able to be more selective and take your time with the recruitment process in a way you wouldn’t in a candidate-driven market, truly exceptional professionals will always be in demand in their industries and you can still miss out on securing the best people if you don’t put your best foot forward.
Treat this as an opportunity to find the right person who is a perfect culture fit, has a depth of experience, can bring something new to the table and who will add real value to your team. Just remember that you’ll want them to commit to your business long-term, not just to fill the pandemic gap, so you still need to provide an exceptional candidate experience and onboarding process.
How to make sure you’re hiring the best people
Start by defining exactly what type of candidate you’re looking for, and write a clear brief including all the must-haves, nice-to-haves and can’t-haves. If there was ever a time you could afford to be choosy, it’s now. Then make sure this is reflected in your job ad and description. You’ll want to avoid being inundated with CVs, and this should start right from determining the role you want to fill and who you want to fill it. Brief your recruitment partner thoroughly and make sure they have a deep understanding of what you’re looking for, and what the job entails.
Be prepared to implement technology in your hiring process, from video interviewing through to virtual onboarding. With home working set to be a reality for many industries into 2021, businesses need to adapt to a more digitally-driven work environment, and this should start from stage one of the recruitment process.
Working with a recruitment partner
While some businesses may have considered bringing recruitment in-house in a bid to save on costs, many are realising that this is actually counterproductive. A recruitment agency can save you time, effort and ultimately money, acting as a guide and partner during this time to make sure your business needs are met. A specialist recruiter will have a well-established candidate pool to select from, with existing relationships to help identify and attract professionals you may not be able to find otherwise. As a result, they’ll be best placed to help you make the most of the benefits of recruiting in an employer-driven market, allowing you to secure the best candidates and keep your business moving forward.
Interested in partnering with us? At BMS, we can help your business reach its recruitment goals, whatever they may be. Find out more about recruiting with us, or view our latest blogs to find out more insights.
