The UK is experiencing unprecedented workforce shortages and a record million vacancies as firms compete for top talent. It’s across every industry and demand is certainly outstripping supply, meaning pay rates are skyrocketing. Several industries are affected more adversely, notably transport and manufacturing, as they hit the headlines with extraordinary vacancy figures. As an organisation that is deeply connected with the recruitment industry, Access Group recently hosted a panel discussion with several leading staffing experts who discussed Combatting the Candidate Crisis as a result of the impact of new market dynamics. Here, Jason Martin, Head of Strategy, Access Recruitment shares a summary in blog post form!
The workforce is undergoing radical transformation and innovative attraction and retention strategies must be enacted now by staffing firms to align with the everchanging world of work.
A perfect storm of events such as Brexit and COVID have affected the workforce exponentially and there wasn’t much of a storm warning. Resolutions could take a long time and agility and efficient recruitment strategies are vital as we enter the seasonal period and move forward into 2022. As we depart from ‘survival mode’, the panel explored how can we accelerate upskilling and combat the candidate crisis.
Personalisation and tailored recruitment powered by technology
Companies are clamouring for top talent, and competition is tight. How can you stand out from the crowd? James Skellington, Head of Strategic New Business at Force24, shared the importance of keeping up with the changing times with engaging job advertising and utilising a data-driven candidate communications strategy. “Technology allows you to champion personal experiences in recruitment with considerations of your candidates’ lifestyles; when do they check job vacancies on their device, and where are they browsing on your site? By accessing this information, you will have a much higher propensity of engagement with your job applications”.
Agility and thinking outside the box
Unprecedented challenges require extraordinary solutions and the candidate crisis is no different. Agility and resilience in recruitment are vital now. Gary Callow, Director of Meridian Business Support, highlighted the significance of engaging candidates by moving quickly and efficiently to outperform the rest of the market. Gary also stressed the importance of businesses “maintaining a non-judgemental outlook and exploring why previous employees have left as we accelerate new hiring strategies”. Meanwhile, Dave Pye, Director of Jump Advisory, suggested that now is the time for people to act as “recruitment and retention consultants”.
Data-driven, customised strategies for the changing workforce dynamic
The impact of the new market and workforce dynamics in the recruitment sector means vacancies are soaring. By tapping into new candidate pools by challenging the status quo, recruiters and HR professionals can work intelligently and efficiently to hire top talent. Data-driven, tailored strategies will ensure you are reaching your best potential candidates.
Here at Access Recruitment, we are helping agencies to improve their candidate engagement with a mobile worker app, , Access WorkView. Designed to help candidates easily find work, post their availability and log their hours on their mobile device, as well as view and potentially draw down on their accrued pay as and when they like.Digitisation and the use of apps, especially in industries who expect a busy seasonal period like hospitality and e-Commerce, will prove invaluable for delivering faster hires at scale.
However Pete Taylor, Managing Director, Encore Personnel, urged not to overpromise to clients. “These unprecedented labour supply issues have no immediate fix”, he warned.
Watch the full Access All Areas Candidate Crisis panel discussion here.
