It has never been easy to hire top performers to fill job openings, as there is always fierce competition to land their services. However, challenges that have arisen in the digital era–and complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic–have made recruiting more difficult than ever for HR professionals.
The following breakdown looks at some of the top challenges recruiters face in the quest to identify top talent in 2021, as well as some logical tips on how to solve them.
A Fickle Workforce
Younger professionals have been noted for their fickle career tendencies. While our grandparents started with one company and stayed with it until they retired, it is not uncommon for the contemporary worker to change jobs 10 or more times in their career. Technology has changed the way people work and search for jobs, so any time modern professionals become bored or restless with any facet of their lives, they have the ability to offer their skills in any number of places across the globe.
And then the pandemic struck, causing an unplanned acceleration of this trend. Even the most stable employees were forced to find creative ways to generate income, with people turning to online tutoring, asset trading, and digital affiliate marketing as ways to keep their heads above water during the difficult time.
Now that pandemic restrictions are starting to subside, professionals are not exactly rushing back to their old jobs. Prudential Financial’s Pulse of the American Worker Survey finds that 26% of workers will look for a different job once the opportunity to return to their former company arises.
Advice: Compensation packages have to evolve to be enticing to this fickle talent pool. Modern professionals know how to make money. Therefore, benefit packages need to be next-level. In addition to standard health insurance and retirement plans, lifestyle benefits, such as paid childcare, customized schedules, and wellness subscriptions are attractive perks that can make the difference when recruiting equivocal candidates.
Revenue Challenges
Many indications reveal that the economy is recovering from the pandemic-induced recession, with the government providing a hefty economic growth figure of 6.4% last quarter. However, it will take multiple quarters of strong earnings before companies are in the clear following the diminished returns in 2020, meaning that coming up with enough cash to pay employees will remain an issue throughout 2021.
Advice: Take advantage of part-time and gig workers while your company makes up for revenue shortfalls. Use flexibility of schedule and upskill training within your company to attract workers until you are able to offer full-time positions again.
A Constantly Evolving Brand
While it used to take decades for industries to form, evolve, and die out, it seems to take nothing more than a tweet from Elon Musk to cause seismic shifts in the economic landscape in the era of instant media. In addition, businesses are continually being assessed for their stance on social matters, sustainability, and efforts to improve employee well being. Finally, thanks in large part to the pandemic, companies are expected to deliver products and services in a number of ways to meet ever-changing needs.
According to Marla DiCarlo, CEO of Raincatcher, these factors make brand management and innovation never-ending priorities for companies in 2021. Businesses must recruit professionals with open minds and diverse skill sets to be in a strong position for success.
Advice: Although experience has traditionally taken the cake in recruiting, give more attention to education when sorting through candidates. Ask yourself if 20 years of expertise in a specific role is preferable to someone with less experience but the malleable skillset to adapt to the unforeseen changes likely to occur to your company’s brand.
How to Sort Through All of the Information
Although technology has aided HR’s ability to attract a broad pool of candidates, it has also created information overload. According to Glassdoor, the typical corporate job posting will attract roughly 250 resumes. Thanks to the proliferation of one-swipe apps and bot-assisted applications, only a handful of these applications will be from qualified candidates who are actually interested in the job.
This makes finding the ideal candidate the proverbial needle in a haystack. While software can help companies sort through applications, the amount of time and effort to narrow down three or four resumes for more extensive consideration is nonetheless daunting.
Advice: Don’t wait for the perfect applicant to fall in your lap. Move entry-level talent up within your company when feasible. Don’t be afraid to scour the workforce of competitors to target professionals for similar roles within your organization.
Adapting to Remote Recruiting
Remote recruiting has the ability to significantly reduce the time and costs associated with cultivating candidates. However, if not properly executed, the candidate experience will suffer, as remote recruiting can feel cold and impersonal. In addition, with millions of job scams arising as a result of the pandemic, workers have good reason to seek the comfort of the in-person interview to feel comfortable about a new position.
Advice: Make use of a multitude of media and communication channels when recruiting remotely. While email and messenger are undoubtedly convenient, visuals are critical in making your position seem attractive. CareerBuilder found that postings with video received 34% more applications than those without.
How to Solve Recruiting Challenges in 2021
The pandemic helped complicate many of the challenges HR professionals faced when recruiting top talent. By considering the solutions to the aforementioned recruiting challenges, you can more effectively sort through the chaos and land a top performer in 2021.