How to secure the best talent in today’s candidate-driven market
Demand for workers in today’s economy has surpassed pre-pandemic levels while staff availability is falling at a record pace. In fact, new research from KPMG and the Recruitment Employment Federation has shown that the current shift towards a candidate-driven market has triggered the highest increase in starting salaries in 24 years.
A recent survey indicates that 86% of recruiters feel the current labour market is now candidate-driven. Indeed, at Australasian Recruitment Company we’re seeing that a shortage of suitable business support candidates is igniting competition between organisations to attract the top talent.
What does a candidate-driven market mean for you as a hiring manager?
Research shows that companies who offer a strong recruitment experience can attract up to twice as many qualified candidates per vacancy. So how can you optimise your hiring process to ensure that top business support talent says “yes” to you? Here are eight tips to position your business for hiring success:
- Make sure the salary is competitive: Recent ONS figures show that there was an 8.4 per cent pay growth over the same period one year ago, as a shrinking pool of labour in the UK has had an impact on salary rates. This means you will need to be aware of, and match market rates as a baseline.
- Be explicit about the salary: On average, job adverts that include salary information receive 41 per cent more applications compared to job adverts without. Therefore it’s important to state the salary upfront as this will attract the calibre of candidates you are after.
- Have clear values: Your brand’s impact is significant. Make sure your values are made clear and all the touchpoints at which a candidate might do their own research are aligned. People don’t just apply for the technical elements of a job; they’re also attracted to the prospect of being part of a particular company with a particular culture.
- Focus on core responsibilities: A long list of ‘nice-to-have’ competencies on a job spec will cause potentially good prospects to drop out of the race early if there are requirements on the list that they don’t fit. It’s about casting the net as widely as possible, therefore it’s better to pin down the essential requirements and be honest with yourself about what’s vital and what isn’t.
- It’s all about wellness: Make it clear that you care about employees’ wellbeing, with documented policies that speak to people-centricity. In addition, the more flexible you can be when it comes to working patterns, the greater the number of people who’ll be attracted to your vacancy. Indeed, this will often be the deciding factor for a candidate.
- Move quickly: Candidates are not short of options right now and employers need to react accordingly. 66 per cent of today’s candidates won’t wait longer than two weeks if they don’t hear back from an employer. If you take your time to regroup after an interview or before you contact a candidate in the current market, you are at serious risk of losing them.
- It’s all in the title: Does a job title matter? It does indeed! Titles need to be pitched to reflect the external market, giving candidates a realistic feel for what the role is and the level at which they’ll need to operate. If the title is vague or too specific to your organisation, the right people may screen themselves out. You want as many suitable candidates as possible to be curious and take a look, even those who might not be actively looking.
- Make your hiring data-driven: Take the time to create a success model so you can define what a great hire looks like for every vacancy. Then consistently apply this success model to identify and predict your best talent fit. This will also empower you to easily define and configure a pass/fail threshold.
Getting your interview style right
Eighty-three per cent of talent say that a negative interview experience can change their mind about a role or a company they were once considering.
Candidates appreciate employers who are transparent about job duties, benefits, perks, and possible flexibilities, so make sure you’re clear about your offerings and expectations.
Be as descriptive as possible about the company culture and brand as this is what differentiates you. Candidates will be in a better position to make a decision if they have a good overview of what it’s like to work for you, over a competitor who just wants to talk about competencies.
Making sure the candidate chooses you
Time is of the essence if you find a great candidate. Make sure your internal hiring setup allows you to move quickly if you meet a candidate you really like, as chances are there are other companies vying for them too.
Be prepared to engage in a negotiation at offer stage that the candidate can come out of feeling that they’re getting, if not the salary they’d asked for, then some equivalent benefit(s). These could range from additional training to a pay review promise to flexible working arrangements, health insurance and any other perk that would make a difference to them as well as salary alone.
How Australasian Recruitment Company can help
Enlisting help from the right recruitment partner will support you through the end-to-end hiring process. At Australasian Recruitment Company we build honest, genuine and long-lasting relationships with our clients and candidates.
Through regular touchpoints with candidates we’re able to build up a picture of what matters to them when looking for a job amidst changing market conditions. This enables us to work with our clients to position their vacancies in a way that will stand out amongst competitors.
Get in touch today to discuss how we can match you with the best talent.