Open Letter To Clients
- Publish Date: Posted over 2 years ago
- Author: Sophie Brocklebank-Fowler
I am talking to SO many frustrated clients at the moment! It’s no surprise why; recruitment in this current market is very difficult. In this short article I've pin-pointed some of the main issues and given some advice on how to tackle them and avoid losing out on top talent.
If you are trying to recruit currently you will have noticed the following things;
Speed
The market is moving incredibly quickly at the moment. It is more important than ever to keep the process moving and make sure candidate engagement stays strong. Things that help this are; reviewing CV’s quickly, reserving 1st & 2nd stages in diaries ahead of time, and providing prompt feedback.
Choice
Candidates have a LOT of choice. It’s very much a candidate driven market which means both HR and line managers need to be ready to sell their business and the role they are interviewing for. The candidate is interviewing you as much (or more) than you are interviewing them! It’s so important to talk about culture and ask what the candidate is looking for, talk about progression and why they should pick you.
Salary
Candidates are expecting and getting much bigger salary hikes than they were pre Covid-19. I’ve seen polls and read articles that confirm most candidates aren’t even considering roles that are offering less than a 20% increase. In order to get passive candidates interested in moving companies, the draw of growth, more responsibility and a much higher salary is more important than ever. I’ve had conversations with clients who know this, but are having trouble navigating this internally as you risk upsetting the balance of salary with those already working for you. Sadly, this is the market at the moment, and if you don’t adjust then there are other clients out there who will and you could lose good talent.
Counter offers
This is happening so frequently it’s almost a given! If you have made an offer there is a very high chance that when the candidate goes to resign, their current company will try to keep them. I’ve seen promotions and salary hikes offered to resigning employees more in the last month than in the 5 years I’ve been recruiting. To prepare for this, make sure you are happy with the offer you have presented. Then if the candidate does choose to stay with their current employer, you will be assured you did all you could to get them over the line. There is nothing worse than losing a candidate for the sake of a few thousand pounds. Through-out the offer process it is essential that line managers are available to speak with their new potential employee. Often, it takes one final call to remind the candidate how excited they are about the opportunity or how much they like their future line manager. Going silent or being offended that they are entertaining another offer could result in you losing them.
Flexibility
The days of offering 2/3 days in the office vs. home as a stand out benefit are slipping away. Due to Covid-19, this is now largely the norm and not offering this will deter candidates, but sadly it’s no longer a big draw. Most companies have adapted over the last 18 months to this new way of working. Some inventive new flexible options I’ve seen are offering 7-14 days work from any location a year, so for example, candidates can visit family that live further afield without having to take the bulk of their holiday. Another option is offering Summer Fridays/ early finish Fridays to make the most of the weekend.
As you can see from the above, the world of recruitment at the moment is a bit of a jungle! Hopefully some of these points have been useful in validating experiences you've had in the last few months and maybe even given you a few ideas on how to tackle some of the issues moving forward. If you are struggling with recruitment at the moment, then I'm more than happy to set up a call with you and see if I can help at all.
Whilst writing this, I've come across a couple of useful articles that are definitely worth a quick read;