Recruiting Tips: How to Find Talent in a Competitive Market
As we head into 2023, companies face a range of challenges in their efforts to find and recruit talent in the current competitive market. No matter the name you call the events taking over our current market – the Great Resignation, the Great Reshuffle, the Talent Gap, and the Talent Shortage (did we miss any?) – we can draw a few clear conclusions: recruiting and retaining top talent is difficult and the situation doesn’t seem to be changing anytime soon.
However, there are steps companies can take to recruit and retain talent. Let’s discuss.
What Does It Mean To Be in a Competitive Market?
According to the Wallstreet Journal, in the United States, there are roughly 11 million open roles and about 6.9 million unemployed people who are actively seeking work. Further, spiking in October of 2022, employees continue to quit their jobs at a rapid pace.
Julia Pollak, a chief economist at ZipRecruiter, stated this is “the lowest ratio of unemployed people to job openings we’ve ever seen and that is contributing to unprecedented tightness in the labor market.”
Let’s Talk About the Elephant in the Room: The Great Resignation
The Great Resignation resulted in 20 million people leaving their jobs in the second half of 2021 alone and shows no signs of slowing in 2022. In fact, according to Forbes, over 40% of employees worldwide are considering leaving their current job this year.
What does this mean for companies looking to hire? Top talent will not only be difficult to attract, but hard to retain as well.
Recognizing the reasons behind this spike in employee resignations can help companies to attract and retain talent in this competitive market. Let’s dive in.
How Do You Hire in a Competitive Market?
There are several things you can do to make your company the place where the most qualified candidates want to call home.
First, Prioritize Hiring the Right People
What do we mean by hiring the right people? We mean prioritizing taking the time and effort to find someone who is aligned with the role in terms of skills, experience and culture.
Hiring the right people can improve employee retention, foster innovation, and save time in the long run.
Act Fast
Candidates are getting offers in days versus weeks. If you wait too long before sending an offer, you may lose your chance at hiring an excellent candidate. Remember: if you really like them, you probably aren’t the only one!
Don’t Low-ball Candidates
In a competitive market, you need to make sure your offers are competitive. If you low-ball a candidate, they’re likely to go with another company that values them more.
Be Creative With Offer Packages
In order to attract top talent, you may need to get creative with your offer packages. This means being open to negotiation on salary, benefits, and other perks like flexible work hours or remote work options. We understand that not all those who are hiring have a ton of flexibility in what they are able to offer their candidates, in this case, try to talk up the perks you are offering!
Prioritize Transparency About Compensation
Did you know 90% of managers say they don’t know how to have conversations about pay? Let’s change that. We recommend being as transparent as possible about what your company is offering– waiting to discuss compensation with a candidate until you send an offer letter is so 2015.
Show the Company is Invested in the Learning and Development of Employees
93% of employees say they will stay longer at a company that invests in their career development. By showing that your company is invested in helping your team grow, you can attract top talent.
Show Off Your Company Core Values
Company core values are a set of guiding principles that reflect your organization’s vision, mission, and motivations. These values should drive your team towards common goals, outline their priorities, and help them navigate through difficult decisions.
According to HuffPost, 94% of millennial employees want to use their skills for good. Further, over 50% of millennials say they would take a pay cut to find work that matches their values. Wow!
So what do these statistics tell us?
Millennials aren’t just clocking into a 9-5 for a salary; they’re interested in contributing to change, upholding their values, and finding a position that means more than just “work.”
If an employee feels as if the company’s core values align with their own, they are more likely to join and stay with a company and be more productive and satisfied with their work.
Discuss what your company’s core values are and how the company is implementing them throughout the recruitment process.
Learn why company core values are essential to success, here.
How Role Alignment Supports Successful Hiring
When you’re clear about the role you’re hiring for, it becomes easier to identify the right candidates and sell them on your company. But what is role alignment?
Role alignment is the process of making sure the responsibilities of a given role match up with the skills, experience, and goals of the person hired for that role. In other words, it’s all about fit.
Role alignment leads to higher employee engagement, satisfaction, and you guessed it – retention!
Need a Little Help Hiring in a Competitive Market?
Taking the time to hire the right people will have a host of benefits in the long run. Finding the best fit may not be as easy as a gut feeling and a round of interviews. Luckily, Culture Works is here to help.
At Culture Works, our team is focused on value and role alignment. Our team creates processes for your hiring manager to implement, that make the hiring process efficient and effective. We carefully review and screen each candidate, administer customized assessments, and deliver value and role-aligned people to fit your needs.Read on to learn more about what we do. Then, read on to learn why hiring the right people can lead your business to success in a recession.
