The good news is that the employment outlook in UK plc is positive and many employers are looking to increase the size of their workforce (the UK net score is +37). However, this may be easier said than done; recruitment is proving a challenge and some vacancies remain unfilled despite hiring efforts: ‘Forty-five per cent of employers have hard-to-fill vacancies. These are most common in healthcare (54%), the voluntary sector (49%) and education (49%).’[i]
So, why is this? Well, there are many positions being advertised and unemployment is low; so it’s a job seekers market place – and candidates can afford to be fussier about what they go for. Moreover, workplaces and work values have changed for many people. Based on the businesses I’ve talked to flexibility, freedom and non financial incentives are typically viewed as more important to employees. In other instances, there may of course be a mismatch of skills and job requirements.
To overcome these hiring challenges, one solution is to re-focus efforts on developing internal capability (re-skilling or up-skilling the workforce to meet with future business requirements), the other is to re-think or re-vamp the overall talent engagement strategy.
Five steps to help you find the talent you’re looking for:
1. Consolidate and diversify your talent sources – consider where to develop or build new relationships with regional and national partner organisations, educational institutions or professional bodies where you’re likely to find talent; and keep an ongoing dialogue with them about what profiles you’re looking for. Influencing providers and partners to develop individuals with the future skills you need is a long term piece and takes considerable time and effort; but is worth it in the long run. Identify specific sources to find the skilled capability you need – whether this be tech gurus, engineers or salespeople. Locating specialist tech directories and becoming active and visible on professional groups (such as those on LinkedIn) can help attraction and engagement. Have you considered hiring highly skilled individuals from completely different backgrounds such as former armed forces personnel or sports people? Being an Armed Forces Covenant holder, for example, opens up many new possibilities. [ii]
2. Engage your target candidate pool ‘pre-application’ – give them a real and positive experience of the organisation. Running an ‘insights event’ or informal networking session are powerful ways of introducing prospective candidates to the organisation, its culture and finding out what it’s really like to work there. This is particularly effective for those who are uncertain about applying and have lots of questions. Invest time in implementing structured mechanisms to create a pipeline of ‘vetted individuals’ such as work experience weeks or placements – these are an effective way to test the water on both sides of the fence and ‘try before you buy’. Seen perhaps traditionally as geared towards entry level talent they can also be valuable for those candidates undergoing a career pivot – such as ex-forces personnel or sports people, who may be struggling to figure out where they best fit.
3. Sell the job and its value – be clear on the selling points of the role and the organisation and the holistic experience of working there. Tap into employee intelligence to make it compelling. Make it realistic however; don’t over-embellish the job or the company. And as part of your sell, communicate what your employee value proposition is – what is it you’re offering across the whole employee lifecycle? Identify what your talent pool value in their workplace and what is attracting them to apply for jobs – agile working, more holidays and lifestyle related rewards need to be factored into the mix as well as competitive salaries.
4. Streamline requirements – It’s important to consider what the post-holder actually needs to do the job and do that job well – what is really essential and what isn’t? What is a ‘nice to have’. So many job specifications I’ve seen are overly long and wordy and seem to want everything; as well as expect the new hire to be a clone of the former post-holder. Keep the language transparent, inclusive and jargon free – appealing to hires from different backgrounds and demographics. And consider how those individuals from other industries and with different career pathways can add real value and new insights.
5. Develop a positive and responsive candidate experience – this means considering every step in the end to end candidate journey and collecting and analysing meaningful data on the existing experience. Experiences are always more impactful than words; and the experience is important for all candidates; both the ‘hire-able’ who become part of your talent pipeline, as well as those who aren’t in the running – reputational profile is still at stake with every interaction. First it’s key to define a vision for the ideal candidate experience and from this, create warm and engaging campaign communications. Then there is reviewing and optimising the actual selection and assessment process; so it’s effective, as well as meaningful and inclusive for all participating. Lastly, it’s vital to keep your hires ‘warm’ and engaged during the onboarding process and ensuring they’re ready to hit the ground running.
These are just some of the ways in which you can build your talent pipeline and find the talent you need. If you’d like some help figuring out how to approach your talent management get in touch: liz@empoweringinsights.co.uk
[i]https://www.cipd.co.uk/knowledge/work/trends/labour-market-outlook#gref
[ii]https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/defence-employer-recognition-scheme/defence-employer-recognition-scheme