The UK is currently amidst a major skills shortage due to constantly evolving practices. This is especially true of the engineering industry, as it’s a sector of new technologies, resulting in rapid changes in occupational demands. Consequently, employers are forced to sift through the best recruitment tips in the UK to combat the skills shortage.
Any employer knows just how complex the recruitment process is, even without a skills shortage. With the addition of this skills shortage, the struggle is only multiplied. Discover some of the top recruiting tips of 2022 below.
A strong employer brand is critical.
One of the essential tips for effective recruitment is building a strong employer brand. This is because a strong employer brand helps a business establish credibility. With this established brand, a company is then in a position to compete for the best talent. Since this talent is sparse in a skills shortage, businesses must sell themselves to skilled individuals via their branding. This branding must reflect the company’s values and run consistently through each process. Such clarity is vital, as it enables the top talent to make an informed decision about whether they identify with the organisation.
Speed up your recruitment process – remove any unnecessary stages.
Another one of the top tips for recruitment is to streamline your recruitment process. The candidate journey needs to run as quickly as possible, as top talent won’t be on the job seeker market for long. Even if an employer is yet to decide between hiring a candidate, they should remain in contact with them. Without regular communication, they’ll soon forget the company and be snapped up elsewhere. The last thing any organisation wants is to lose the ideal candidate due to dragging out the recruitment process.
Create and use an employee referral scheme.
An employee referral scheme is an organised and structured programme in which employees can endorse candidates for open positions. This is an excellent idea for sourcing skilled individuals, as talent recognises talent. If a company already has a talented and experienced team, chances are the team members will have previous colleagues of the same calibre in mind. Companies might also provide incentives for employees to engage with the referral scheme, such as perks and bonuses. These will be a small price to pay for the recruitment of top talent.
Look for candidates with transferrable skills.
As previously mentioned, the skills shortage stems from shifting practices that adjust occupational demands. Therefore, employers should keep the skill shortage in mind from the initial stages of recruitment. For instance, a company should source candidates with transferrable skills to avoid the skills shortage impacting it further. This is because their role can be easily adjusted should the demands of their job change. With this being said, you should clarify the potential of this happening so your candidate isn’t hit with any unwanted surprises regarding their responsibilities.
Change up where you advertise the roles you’re recruiting for.
If a business is constantly advertising job roles on one platform and finding itself repeatedly unsuccessful, it’s time to change things up. One of the most effective changes a company can make is using different recruitment platforms. After all, you can’t do the same thing multiple times and expect different results. At BMS, we’re incredibly successful in advertising roles to the top sales, marketing, and engineering talent. You can get started with your recruitment process here.
We look forward to helping you optimise your recruitment process in attracting and attaining top talent amid the skills shortage.
