The turbulent job market continues to put pressure on talent professionals to find and hire qualified talent. Significant challenges, including record levels of turnover and job openings have increased competition for employers. And most importantly, they have given job seekers a leg up in negotiations. Labor market and recruiting experts believe that the tight competition for qualified talent won’t be changing any time soon.
So, how can employers navigate such a chaotic labor market with challenging headwinds and talent teams stretched thin? To answer this question, Employ studied the latest labor market data, surveyed more than 1,200 recruiters and HR decision makers, and examined benchmark data from more than 18,000 Employ customers. The findings were synthesized into the Employ Quarterly Insights Report that provides analysis and practical takeaways for organizations to stay the course in such a challenging hiring environment.
For executives, we’ve taken highlights from the report to provide purposeful insights on how they can support their talent acquisition function and turn it into a strategic lever within the business. This means recognizing the challenges recruiting teams face, how they can listen, and how they can prepare for the future.
Prepare for (More) Turbulence
According to the Employ Quarterly Insights Report, 81% of talent acquisition professionals shared that attracting top talent has become more challenging over the past year than in previous years. And with high levels of turnover and low levels of unemployment in the market, recruiters are expecting that trend to continue.
This means that employers should optimize their talent acquisition initiatives to make it easier for their recruiters to compete for talent. Talent acquisition and business leaders must adopt strategies that focus on their people, processes, and technology to attract a better quality of candidate in a challenging market. For many leading organizations, this means:
Emphasizing hybrid work options: Candidates today expect to have remote-first or hybrid work options when searching for jobs. Employers have found that it’s a must-have in order to attract top talent. Emphasize remote work options in job postings and in recruitment marketing efforts.
Supporting DEI initiatives: Modern recruiting teams know the importance of continuously improving diversity, equity, and inclusion in their company culture. Candidates are seeking employers that prioritize DE&I in all areas of the organization.
Adjusting compensation and rewards: High levels of turnover in companies have shown that candidates expect more when it comes to salary and benefits. Employees are no longer accepting sub-par wages and lack of benefits from companies, and they’re in a strong position to get what they want. Talent acquisition teams are staying agile by adjusting compensation on job postings as well as for existing employees to increase retention.
Addressing applicant flow: Recruiters are examining the hiring process at all stages to spot areas of improvement and optimization. They’ve found that leveraging purpose-built recruiting technology has helped overcome challenges, including stagnant applicant flow and low conversion rates.
Understand Recruiting Teams
Executive leaders must take time to value and understand the day-to-day roles, responsibilities, and challenges of their recruiting teams to shift talent acquisition from a tactical, functional area to a strategic driver of business performance. Recognizing the contributions of recruiters, their opinions on the technology they use, and their treatment within the organization is vital. Not only for retaining top employees, but for the actual growth itself of the business.
An overwhelming 81% of recruiting teams shared that hiring is more challenging today than just one year ago, according to the Employ Quarterly Insights Report. Click To TweetRecruiters need all the help that they can get to manage hiring in today’s complex landscape. Leaders must prioritize internal communication, quicker feedback loops, and streamlined processes to get a better picture of recruiting and to improve hiring outcomes.
Centralized technology helps organizations keep an eye on the recruiting function, gather valuable data, and ensure talent teams have what they need to compete effectively in the hiring environment. By leveraging key recruiting metrics, companies can also identify where bottlenecks exist in the hiring process and learn how to streamline their recruiting function to compete in the market more effectively for talent.
Invest in the Future
Talent teams need the best technology and processes to find and hire qualified candidates in this turbulent labor market. 62% of recruiters stated that improving the quality of hire is their top priority right now, and strategic companies are working to provide them with everything they need to do so. Leaders must take a long-term approach by investing in the future and adopting advanced technology, streamlining communication, and looking for areas to optimize in the hiring process that makes them more competitive in the labor market.
Employ benchmark data indicates that leveraging a purpose-built recruitment technology solution can speed time-to-hire by 27%, lower candidate acquisition costs by 30%, and increase referral hiring by 18%.
Top talent acquisition teams incorporate automation and AI into their programs and are seeing dramatic results. Recruiters can save valuable time by letting automation take over tedious manual tasks, allowing them to focus on the more human aspects of recruiting. This type of investment has given companies an advantage in recruiting top candidates and in retaining quality employees.
Start Listening & Supporting the Needs of Talent Acquisition
In this current hiring environment, leaders must respond to bridge the gap and help their talent teams avoid burnout. Getting focused on strategies that will drive performance and support your recruiting function is essential. To ride out this market, business leaders can — and should — invest in solutions and services that will help them hire better and faster, and prepare for the future.
The trends and insights in this blog are only a preview. For more data, key takeaways, and actionable insights, download the full report here: Staying the Course In a Challenging Labor Market.
