The Challenges of Recruiting in the Recession
The year 2010 has proven an especially turbulent year in recruitment, in the midst of the worst recession in the UK since the 1930s. This has forced internal recruitment departments and employment agencies alike to challenge and re-think their existing resourcing and talent strategies.
According to the Chartered Institute of Personal Development annual resourcing and talent survey, three key themes have emerged in the current recruitment landscape; a rise in unsuitable candidates, skills shortages, and significant reductions to hiring budgets. These findings will undoubtedly have implications for recruitment and staffing professionals.
With fewer jobs available, a substantial increase in unsuitable applications has been recorded. This is due largely to candidates widening the scope of their applications to roles where they have less relevant experience and skills required in relation to a particular role. The increase in the volume of applications has placed pressure on employers’ financial resources in the form of people’s time, technology and external recruitment fees.
Employers and recruiters could potentially tackle this increase in applications by introducing more rigorous pre-selection methods and ensuring that realistic job descriptions are provided. However, protracted recruitment processes may disadvantage organisations, as additional time taken to make a successful hire may put off suitable applicants or result in extended periods of short-staffing.
It may appear surprising that 68% of hirers interviewed cited skills shortages as one of the major obstacles to effective candidate sourcing. Despite the reduction in vacancies and burgeoning labour market, employers are still struggling to fill vacancies requiring professional/specialist skill-sets, technical positions and managerial roles. The CIPD suggests that skills shortages can be addressed by employers providing increased access to training and close mentoring f junior employees by experienced and highly skilled personnel. This challenge to hiring not only affects the UK, but is an international concern, with the Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths professions revealing the biggest skills shortages. In light of this, employers may wish to consider forging stronger links with universities, to ensure that the skills being taught are more closely aligned with those sought in the workplace.
With the reduction in hiring budgets comes the need for internal recruiters to re-evaluate their recruitment and retention strategies. A trend for developing and retaining talent internally has emerged, rather than relying on external recruitment sources. According to the CIPD report, reliance on recruitment agencies has slightly decreased, whilst the proportion of companies using new media and technology has substantially increased. Recruitment agencies will need to add greater emphasis to providing an enhanced service in order to retain and develop new business. External recruiters will however be reassured to know that nearly half of employers surveyed plan to invest more time and effort in the quality of new hires going forward.