The labour shortage in the UK is something that is affecting almost every business. As a recruitment agency, we too are finding the search for candidates the most difficult it has been in years!
There are fewer job seekers looking for a new role and despite the end of the government job retention scheme (furlough), the candidate pool is still much smaller than it was prior to the start of the pandemic.
So what do we recommend to ensure your business finds and recruits the best talent?
Make sure you are recruiting for the right role.
Before you start recruiting, review the job position and how it fits into your business so you can be clear about the skills and experience the right candidate needs when creating your job description and person specification. These documents are essential, as they can be used throughout the whole of the recruitment process to ensure you employ the right person and follow employment law guidelines. They are also what you need to share with your recruitment agency of choice so they completely understand the job function and to allow them to match candidates with the right skills and experience.
Remember that some roles within your organisation may have changed and may not need the same skills and experience as they did 18 months ago. Don’t rely on old versions of job descriptions, review, update and amend as needed.
A detailed job description and person specification can be used to create an effective job advert, to ensure it is seen by the right candidates and sit as high as possible on online job boards. Google also looks for specific keywords when ranking jobs, so getting your advert right is crucial!
Review your benefits
Currently, candidates are controlling the job market and are being more selective about the jobs they apply for. Whilst salary is still a deciding factor on whether a candidate accepts a new offer of employment, job benefits are playing an important part in their decision making with more onus on flexible working, wellbeing and training and development than ever before. Job seekers often have more than one opportunity to consider and the extend of job perks and benefits can be one of the top criteria used to make a decision on accepting a job offer….or not!.
Make decisions quickly
Once you decide to start the recruitment process, the quicker you can make decisions, the less likely you are to lose candidates who have applied for other jobs or receive more than one offer of employment. Businesses that have a streamlined, structured and timely recruitment process are the employers who are currently successfully recruiting into their teams.
We would also advise pre scheduling your interview slots in advance so once you receive applications or CVs from your recruitment agency and have reviewed them, you don’t have the problem of not being able to move quickly.
