Battle through and overcome the talent shortage

08/11/22

It can be difficult for businesses to navigate the recruitment process, with many trying to find ways to address the ongoing talent shortage. High employee turnover is a real problem companies are facing, with hiring managers struggling to find and retain talent in today’s economic climate.

In a recent poll on LinkedIn, we asked our followers to identify the most common challenges businesses are faced with when recruiting to gain an insight into the community. In this article, we have identified the most common problems businesses are currently facing and what can be done to overcome these.

Finding quality candidates

We found that 58% of respondents ranked ‘finding quality applicants’ as their biggest challenge when recruiting. While this clearly suggests businesses struggle when it comes to sourcing the best people, that does not mean they are not out there. High quality candidates are out there in the market, it might just be the case you do not know where to look to find that talent.

With the market behaving as it is, finding candidates is as difficult as it ever has been and they ‘cannot find people’. Businesses simply do not have resources needed in the current market to source candidates, so use an expert to support you. Make use of expert databases and cut out time spent headhunting candidates to solve your recruitment problems.

Meeting candidate demands

The second biggest challenge for businesses recruiting is ‘meeting candidate demands’, as stated by 18% of respondents. Due to the candidate shortage, it gives those moving positions an elevated sense of bargaining power when it comes to demands. Graduates are leaving university demanding outrageous starting salaries, and the HR community is no different.

In these situations, it is important to remember your business’ worth and do not offer more than you feel is necessary. Remember to negotiate where possible and use what you have to your disposal. If you cannot offer a candidate an increased salary to cover childcare, why not offer them the flexibility to work remotely instead, allowing them to supervise children while continuing to work. This will help make the candidate feel wanted and more likely to accept your offer.

Offers being rejected

Another substantial challenge businesses are facing is ‘offers being rejected’ by potential candidates, often due to businesses not being able to meet their demands or because they have received a more attractive counteroffer.

A competitive offer will entice a candidate and help you avoid effective pricing yourself out of the market. Despite not entirely meeting their demands, starting too low can put candidates off or push them into accepting a counteroffer. It’s good to bear this in mind when searching for candidates.

To avoid effectively pricing yourself out of the market, start with a competitive offer that will entice a candidate. While it may not entirely meet their demands, starting too low would either put a candidate off or force them to take the first counteroffer. Bear this in mind when searching for candidates.

Time to interview/review

We also found that 11% of respondents stated finding ‘time to interview/review’ as their biggest challenge when recruiting. As mentioned, hiring managers simply do not have the time to sit through applications, conduct interviews and complete the process needed to source the best candidates.

To be truly successful, businesses need to dedicate more time to hiring. It is not in the interest of candidates to undergo a lengthy recruitment process with multiple stages before hearing the final decision.

Businesses need to be much slicker and processes need to be streamlined. By streamlining the process, communicating regularly with candidates and making it less stressful for them, you will instantly be providing a more attractive experience to applicants.

Difficulties in recruiting for hiring managers look set to continue across the HR community. However, you should now have more guidance on what can be done to overcome common challenges businesses are facing after reading this. If you would like assistance in your search for talent, please contact our specialist team for support. Good luck in your search!