Why candidates wear the pants now
Good talent is extremely difficult to find. The most sought after candidates (those with the most experience/desirable experience) are usually already working and satisfied in their current job.
It is no longer the case that companies can take their pick of a vast amount of candidates for all of their jobs, taking as long as they want with lengthy recruitment processes and playing hardball, particularly in fields such as technology, specialist finance etc. In a candidate-driven market, it is the candidates who get to pick and choose who they would like to work for and often have a number of offers to choose from.
Candidates are now looking further than just what the salary is that’s on offer. They’re taking their job hunt seriously. Social media and various online platforms have given candidates more access and insight than ever before. Gone are the days when candidates would just check out a company’s website. They’re checking Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, publications, press releases Glassdoor reviews and more. They want to know what the brand is really about, what are the people about? Who will they be working with?
With the competition so high for companies to secure good, quality talent, they need to really stand out. In LinkedIn’s Global Recruiting Trends 2017 we learn that although 83% of HR leaders agreed that acquiring talent was the number 1 priority, 35% argued limited budgets and having a small recruiting team (27%), meant they faced challenges. 80% acknowledged that employer branding focused on career growth and culture would significantly increase their ability to secure great talent, yet not all companies are actually investing in it.
Other methods that employers could utilise when seeking to hire the best talent could be focused around improving the candidate experience, especially if this is already a focus of the recruiter on the search. I often advise ways to shorten recruitment processes – can Skype calls take place rather than waiting for senior Heads to be in one place? Can numerous managers attend the interview at once? Can psychometric testing take place earlier on in the process? Also, give the candidate as much access to the people the will be working with throughout the process – is there a hiring manager or potential colleague they can correspond with to get a better idea of the culture of the organisation? Can they receive a tour of the offices? Be given samples of the work? Review benefits/incentives beforehand? Taken out to lunch/inner before an offer is made? The list goes on…
In the midst of negotiating terms with a client once, I got the response “well Chelsea, I guess it just balls down to how badly you want to work with us”, but honestly in a market as tight and candidate-driven as it is now, I think the real question the candidates get to ask employers is “how badly do you want to hire great talent?”