It’s fair to say that times are tough for recruitment. In July 2022, the British Chamber of Commerce revealed that 61% of firms were on the lookout for staff in the second quarter of the year – similar to 60% in the first quarter – but that 76% were reporting difficulties.
The pandemic has largely contributed to these record levels of recruitment challenges. During the crisis, many businesses were forced to let go of staff in order to weather the storm. However, now that the UK has emerged from COVID, those same organisations have struggled to acquire the talent that they need to recover from the losses they have incurred.
While there are many reasons for this, the crux of the issue is that coronavirus has fundamentally transformed the world of work beyond all recognition, and too many firms are failing to adapt to the new times that we found ourselves in. If companies are looking to beat their competitors in attracting fresh talent from the much-reduced pool of skilled workers, they must take inventive new approaches to recruitment.
Use social media to demonstrate company culture
Thinking back to 20 or 30 years ago, corporate culture was nowhere near as popular a point among candidates as it is today. Back then, people’s primary concern was finding a job that paid well and gave them the opportunity to move up the ladder, with workplace culture often being something of an afterthought.
However, according to Glassdoor, 77% of job seekers recently said they would consider a company’s culture before applying, with 65% of millennials claiming that they are more likely to care about work culture than salary. It is clear, therefore, that candidates’ priorities have fundamentally changed in recent times, with far more importance placed in the enjoyment of the job, rather than solely the payslip that comes with it.
This means that businesses need to make company culture a key selling point in their job ads, but it is not enough to merely claim that yours is a fun, vibrant place to work – jobseekers want to see evidence of this for themselves. Social media is a highly effective tool for firms to use in this regard. Documenting a company social, a visit from the office dog, or a business-wide bake sale, etc. –all of these things may seem trivial on the surface, but they actually provide a great way of demonstrating how important culture is to your organisation, and could act as a big draw factor for prospective hires.
Ask existing employees to share their positive experiences
People have understandably become increasingly focused on having a job that brings them happiness as well as a healthy salary. One of the best ways for jobseekers to get a sense for company culture is by learning about the experiences of those who already work there.
Business leaders should therefore consider asking existing employees to provide positive ratings and testimonialson websites like Glassdoor, where would-be candidates are likely to be looking. These reviews should be entirely optional, and staff members should never feel coerced into sharing their experience if they don’t want to. In this way, bosses and jobseekers alike can be assured that the reviews that are being posted are genuine and paint an accurate picture of what working at the firm is like.
After all, if your reviews should not present a skewed view of the business in a bid to attract talent. This is likely to come back to bite you when new hires realise that they have been sold a false image. Those who feel that they have been wronged and then quit may be motivated to leave a negative review in a bid to stop others from making the same mistake, and before long you may find your Glassdoor score plummeting. As such, it is always best to be honest about what working for your business entails, and there’s no better way to demonstrate this than by getting your existing employees to share their experiences.
Are your perks and salary suitably enticing?
In the wake of the pandemic, the types of perks that are important to job seekers have changed dramatically. Prior to the lockdowns, many workers wouldn’thave thought that remote working would have been a possibility for them. Now it has become the norm, with 50 of the UK’s biggest employers stating that they have no plans to return all staff to the office full-time in the near future, according to a study conducted by the BBC.
Because millions of people have grown accustomed to dividing their working hours between being in the office and at home, having remote working options as an ironclad part of their contract has become a big priority for many, and something that they will actively seek out in job ads. Because of this, any employer who is failing to openly embrace remote working is likely to miss out on some top talent. With so many organisations trying to hire, candidates have a wide range of options to choose from, and if you aren’t able to make your perks stand out from the crowd, they’re likely to simply look elsewhere.
Of course, providing a competitive salary is still important, but it is by no means as prominent a perk as it once was. Lifestyle perks like remote working and sociable hours are arguably more important to many jobseekers now, so being able to offer these could really help to set you apart from your competitors who are failing to adapt to the evolving priorities and expectations of candidates.
Conclusion
While many businesses might have seen their recruitment may have hit the rocks in the wake of the pandemic, there are still many ways for organisations to pull ahead of their competitors in the race to acquire new talent.
However, bosses should not be so eager to onboard workers that they don’t take time to properly vet candidates, ensuring that they will integrate well into their organisation. Although the talent pool may not be as deep as it once was, there are still highly skilled individuals out there, so don’t feel that you need to settle for less purely because times are hard.
By selling the benefits of working for your business, and what people stand to gain in accepting a position with you, you’re bound to see the CVs pouring in before you know it.
