The so-called “Great Resignation” had gripped the recruitment scene at the beginning of the year. Due to the lack of qualified candidates, businesses started to suffer, and a talent war broke out. Now that this battle has reached its conclusion, brilliance has prevailed.

Are you looking for an Applicant Tracking Software that can help you identify the top candidates for an opening at your organisation? SHRMpro has you covered!

According to the Office for National Statistics, the UK’s unemployment rate for the third quarter of 2022 was 3.6%, which is the lowest it has ever been. In addition to the rising number of individuals leaving the UK employment since the COVID pandemic, we are also seeing a crisis in the cost of living. Huw Pill, the chief economist at the Bank of England, has cautioned that, long after the impact of sky-high energy costs on the populace start to fade, the job market may increase the already spiraling pace of inflation.

The idle talent pool and proactive hiring

Hiring managers must be flexible and aggressive in their approach to acquiring applicants because there are no signs of the talent pool expanding. According to LinkedIn, 70% of the worldwide workforce is passive, meaning they aren’t actively looking for a new job but may be convinced if given the proper chance. This puts an increasing amount of pressure on companies to improve their workplace environments and hiring procedures. You could discover that the remaining 30% of active applicants are frequently not as well suited for your position as their passive peers because they will likely have a wide range of possibilities.

Now more than ever, cultivating relationships with applicants must be a top priority. Too many organisations still saw hiring through a transactional lens even a few years ago, when the employment picture was considerably more favorable to employers than the candidate-driven market we currently have. Due to the talent shortage, many organisations tended to “ghost” applicants when they were no longer useful.

One of the main complaints made by candidates throughout the hiring process is the lack of clear communication, and it has never been more important for employers to manage their public image. It’s also good keeping in touch with candidates who originally didn’t quite qualify for a position since you never know when you could have a situation that might fit them.

Keep an eye on staff retention

What’s the most effective strategy to cut down on the time and money you invest on recruiting talent? Must make an investment in keeping the talent you already have.

Once more, the key to success is communication. You can identify and resolve any issues that might otherwise have built up and caused them to leave, much earlier, by simply checking in with your employees or by having more structured conversations about the training and development they’d like to pursue or their ambitions for their career advancement.

This will go a long way toward resolving the problem of employee attrition, but there will always be situations in which, despite everything you might have done, people’s circumstances may be such that they may still seek to leave. However, your retention efforts won’t have been in vain because a happier workplace will encourage former workers to have pleasant memories of their time working with you. This relates to the earlier discussion of external impressions; before joining a potential new job, individuals will check at websites like Glassdoor, and how they portray their experiences there can have a significant impact on your ability to draw talent.

How HR software can aid in hiring

Did you realize that HR software may help you expedite the recruitment process? SHRMpro provides businesses with the tools and reporting they need to effectively lure and retain the best talent in this fast-paced environment, whether it be through employee engagement, identifying patterns in staff leaving, or recruitment metrics like numbers of applicants and dropouts as well as average time to recruit.

Come and see for yourself instead of taking our word for it! Book a free demo today!