Professional recruiting has become the Achilles heel of the HR world. Even before the pandemic started, a talent shortage was imminent. Now, as organizations are pivoting and growing, competition is as fierce as ever. Employers can no longer set a salary, benefits, schedules, or work location the same ways they have in the past. Almost everything has become negotiable and employers need to target what recruits want.
As with every other company, MRA’s recruiters have been working crazy hours searching for needles-in-the-haystack to fill positions. Valerie Grube, Director, Recruiting, Background Investigations, and Retention Services and Kathy Seidel, Recruiting Business Partner Lead with MRA, share some insight into what they have seen evolve and what they envision for the future of recruiting.
Q. What is the most significant change you have seen in recruiting practices over the past year?
A. One of the biggest changes is the flexibility requirement candidates have. Most want the flexibility to work from home some days, alter start or end times, and create a work-life balance. They have had that flexibility for the past year-and-a-half and don’t want to completely give that up. Choices are very important. Flexibility used to be a talking point toward the end of an interview, if mentioned at all. Now it is expected and almost required by most candidates. One recruiter on LinkedIn shared, “I’m privileged enough to have a lovely, private home office but that is not the case for a lot of employees. Increased employee choice is a competitive advantage in today’s labor market.”
Q. What is the biggest request from applicants that didn’t seem to be important prior to the labor shortage?
A. It seems as if it isn’t what is asked about, but what is no longer mentioned that is interesting. People used to ask up front about insurance benefits and negotiate payment options. Insurance is now expected and not discussed much. The other things that have become expected, especially in production positions, are sign-on bonuses and shift differentials. These weren’t even talking points until recently and now applicants expect to discuss these items. It seems as if employers need to focus what they offer on who they want to recruit. Younger workers aren’t attracted to a retirement plan. They want the money-in-hand right away. Applicants for salaried positions want more PTO.
Q. What change has been brought about by the pandemic that you think will remain constant going forward?
A. Employers and applicants have become very comfortable with video interviews. They offer more flexibility to conduct interviews between different time zones or outside regular business hours. The process also moves much faster than it used to. Good candidates go fast and employers need to be ready to act when they find one. Pay transparency in job postings has also become the norm and applicants want to know, up front, what they will be paid before they invest time. Many posting sites, such as LinkedIn, have also developed algorithms to boost job postings that include pay information, so there are several benefits to including it.
Q. Will there be a need for more change as employers adjust for labor shortages in 2022?
A. Employers have begun looking at ways to do more with less and evaluating which work is important and which can take a lower priority or be stopped altogether. There is also a new focus on automating processes—determining which functions can be automated to be more efficient or reduce the amount of time spent on them.
Q. What advice would you give to employers trying to get one step ahead of the recruiting game?
A. Know your value proposition and communicate it clearly. Take a hard look at your whole package and make sure the message you put out is what you want people to hear. Make your hiring process more efficient. Don’t overcomplicate it so you can turn it around quickly. Then, constantly review the process. Make sure your team has it down and it’s solid so the process flows quickly and smoothly. This will keep candidates focused on you rather than other opportunities.
Communication is critical. Make it constant and follow up quickly. Candidates want a quick response and will assume you aren’t interested if they don’t hear from you.
Companies are still hiring and there is movement, although it is much slower than most would like. If you are struggling to fill positions, feel as if you are constantly being “ghosted,” or struggle to make connections, it may be time to review your process or your message.
Contact Valerie Grube, Director Recruiting, Background Investigations, and Retention Services at 262.696.3678 or Valerie.Grube@mranet.org, or Kathy Seidel, Recruiting Business Partner Lead at 262.696.3376 or Kathy.Seidel@mranet.org for more information on how MRA can help.
