HR professionals face new hiring challenges every year to keep their company staffed with highly skilled employees. Advancements in technology, changes in the economic climate, and lack of talented candidates could all affect your ability to find and retain new employees. 2016 is already in full force so you may have already encountered some of these challenges, and if you haven’t, there’s a good chance you will. Find out what these challenges are and how you can overcome them.
Finding Talented Professionals
During the days of the recession, it was easy to find plenty of talented of professionals eager for a new position and to be employed. But as the economy and job market continue to improve, top candidates have many options for employment and can become more selective in the position they choose. This once large talent pool has dried up and the recruiting techniques used even a year ago will no longer work today.
HR professionals need to get creative in the strategies they use to reach out to both passive and active candidates. Social media is one way to reach out to candidates and LinkedIn is a must for connecting with potential candidates. Another strategy is to really showcase your employer brand. Since candidates have more options than ever, their decision will often come down to which company they find most appealing and it’s your job to show them the perks of both the position and of working at the company. Adopting both new strategies and remembering what worked before the recession will help you find and recruit more candidates.
Speeding Up Your Recruiting Process
Speed is becoming a big hiring challenge in many businesses. There’s a disconnect between how long candidates are willing to wait for the hiring process to finish, and how long it actually takes. According to new research, the average interview process takes 23 days, up from 13 days just four years ago. Companies who are able to speed up their recruiting process will increase their chance of growth and success.
Again, using social media is one way to speed up your recruiting process. Many candidates are using social media to search for jobs anyways so reaching out to them through this medium can increase the response time during your interaction. Instead of waiting a day for an email response, many people will respond immediately to LinkedIn messages. Another tip to speed up your process is to schedule multiple interviews closer together. Don’t wait weeks in between interviews or else the candidate could become disinterested or accept another position. For more tips on how to speed up your recruiting process, check out the article: How To Speed Up Your Recruiting Process to Hire Top Talent.
Hiring Flexibility
Hiring flexibility is a challenge that is not going away by the end of this year and we will continue to see in the years to come. As millennials and young professionals continue to demand greater flexibility in their professional and personal lives, they are going to turn down positions where they don’t provide this flexibility. While it’s certainly not an option for every position, there are many positions in marketing, recruiting, etc that can be done remotely.
Consider what your current policies are and how you can improve on them. Offering professionals the option to come in and leave early or the option to work from home two days a week may be the difference between them accepting a position at your company and seeking employment at a more flexible company.
As the economy and job market continue to improve and technology advances, these challenges will become more prevalent and more difficult to combat. Addressing these issues early and trying to find solutions that work best for your company will help you continue to hire and retain top talent.
