Staying Ahead of the Candidate Led Market
“Candidate Led Market”. “Candidate Driven Market”. You’ve read and heard both of these phrases a lot over the last few years, and you’re going to keep hearing them over the next few. The recruitment market in 2016 is proving to be even more candidate-led than ever.
Finding and hiring exceptional candidates will continue to be a challenge with salaries and counter offers rising, budgets won’t necessarily fix the problem. So how can you attract and retain the talent you need for your business to succeed?
One very simple and practical factor to consider is timeframes. Whilst identifying game changing, relevant candidates who are open to a discussion around a new role takes time, one thing to remember is those candidates will remain interested and available for a very short time and no doubt will have multiple different options to consider.
It’s now critical that the hiring process is streamlined, and moves forward at a swift pace – employers should 100% be committed to moving forward with hires in the shortest time frame possible.
From the time you receive a CV, don’t take weeks in terms of having an initial conversation then following up with second and third round interviews as quickly as possible after that point, because – momentum is key to keep candidates engaged with an opportunity and also an organisation.
As we’re in a Candidate Led Market , individuals are consistently being approached by other organisations and recruiters alike about different opportunities. And speed and response is sealing deals. Any truly outstanding candidate with great specialist skills and a substantial body of experience will be forced to take one of their other options if your process isn’t as streamlined as possible, with regular, clear communication between client, recruiter and candidate.
The factors making your candidate consider other employers are likely to be more complicated than salary – in the age of social media and Glassdoor a company’s employer brand and reputation can be a key decider. Remember that every interaction a candidate has with your company is a part of your branding – if a company doesn’t seem to care very much about potential employees, why would they think it’ll be any better if they work there? In general hiring managers will need to think in broader terms about what might draw a candidate to their role, or push them away.
So before you start looking for your next hire, put yourself in a candidate’s shoes for a moment, and take the time to consider ways you and your organisation might want to approach the recruitment process differently to stay ahead in the Candidate Led Market.
