Keys to Success for Recruiting In A Candidate Driven Market

The COVID-19 pandemic changed the world in many ways. But one of the most important ways is the impact on the labor market. Talent is in control of their own destinies as the world has evolved and businesses are now recruiting in a candidate driven market.

What does recruiting in a candidate driven market mean and what does this mean for recruitment managers? How should you go about positioning your company to attract high quality talent when the end decision rests more with the individual rather than with your company? Here are some helpful ideas to keep in mind as you focus on expanding your recruitment strategy in a post-pandemic world.

The Great Resignation is a real thing

As coronavirus forced companies all over the world to implement work from home policies, employers were unable to physically monitor their employees. It was not as simple to keep track of tasks and projects completed by workers who were not physically in the same space as their managers. As a result, companies had to accept and support the honor system.

Unfortunately, this work model also encouraged employers to assign new tasks to their workers at even greater frequencies. Many employees felt overwhelmed by the requests and often struggled to communicate those feelings to their bosses. It led to increased rates of burnout and dissatisfaction that helped contribute to the Great Resignation.

The Great Resignation is a movement that began during the COVID-19 pandemic. It describes how employees chose to quit their jobs that left them feeling overwhelmed and dissatisfied with their contributions to the company. Additionally, the lack of opportunities to grow within the organization and earn higher levels of pay encouraged many workers to find new offers among brands that accommodate preferred working conditions in a post-pandemic world.

Workers are in the driver’s seat of their own futures

While pay and lack of career advancement opportunities drove a high number of resignations, there were a number of other factors that continue to fuel the Great Resignation. According to the Pew Research Center, nearly 60 percent of workers said feeling disrespected in the office drove their decision to leave. Among those who felt disrespected, 35 percent said it was a major decision that contributed to their resignation.

Evidence of how disrespect contributes to mass resignations is further exemplified by some of the other main reasons cited by people to leave their jobs. 45 percent of workers said they didn’t have enough flexibility to choose their own hours, and 39 percent said they worked too many hours in their old jobs.

While recruiting in a candidate driven market, each of these reasons contribute to an overarching narrative; if employees feel they can’t control their own productivity, they don’t feel appreciated in their jobs. If they don’t feel appreciated, they’ll go somewhere else where they do feel that way. And there’s no shortage of options; according to the New York Times, there were over 11 million open jobs in January 2022 across the United States, up an astonishing 61 percent from February 2020.

A “how-to” for recruiting in a candidate driven market

Given how many open positions are on the market, it’s hard to make your company stand out and attract high quality talented candidates, especially when recruiting in a candidate driven market. Current conditions have painted a perfect candidate driven market, enabling talent to decide on their own terms with which companies they’re interested in building a new career opportunity.

So what’s the secret to recruiting in a candidate driven market? How do you give talented professionals – many of whom have already left jobs as part of the Great Resignation – incentive to become a viable candidate for openings at your company?

Empathize with the demands of talented workers

Working from home was a sudden adjustment for many companies, but employees quickly caught onto the perks of a home office. Experts anticipate that 25 percent of all professional jobs in North America will be fully remote by the end of 2022.

According to US Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh, workers want more flexibility so they can maintain healthy work/life balances. They’re looking for opportunities to enjoy more of their own lives by adopting a “work to live” mantra instead of one that many workers found themselves living within: a “live to work” dynamic.

“Quite honestly, people are looking to create better situations for them and their family and work in better-paying jobs. The pandemic has really put a light on inequality in the jobs in our country.”

In the spring of 2021, 35 percent of job candidates admitted to rejecting job offers by companies that refused to continue work from home policies. Work from home is no longer a privilege; it’s an expectation from talented professionals. If your company is behind on the times, you’re far more likely to lose out on some truly talented individuals.

Demonstrate your trust in and support of workers who want flexible hours

Flexibility is not just about where employees complete their work; it’s also about when and how tasks are completed. What’s the underlying theme in all of the reasons cited above that workers have chosen to leave their former companies? When you boil it all down, it comes down to a lack of trust between employers and employees.

As the Secretary of Labor pointed out, people are eager to create better working conditions for themselves. They want to have more flexibility over their own days, especially professionals with young children or older parents to care for at home. Rather than force people to remain at their desks for at least 8 hours per day, give them the freedom to make their own hours. This will definitely attract highly talented professionals.

For example, in Canada, 48 percent of senior leaders give their employees the freedom to choose when they work. Additionally, 31 percent of those leaders say it’s fine if people work less than the standard 40 hours per week dictated in an employee agreement…so long as the work gets done.

This is the key; trust that employees will do their work. When companies treat workers like adults, they’ll manage their own time so that they can complete their necessary tasks. As long as things are getting done, it doesn’t matter when or where the work is complete; so long as it gets complete.

Use a platform that connects rocket scientists to future rocket scientists

Once you know how to position your brand’s value and how to speak to the expectations of capable talent, you’re ready to start recruiting those professionals to your business. And what better way to bring them into the fold than through the use of technology designed to streamline the hiring process to help you produce results.

High5 Trusted Talent allows you to build networks of talented professionals eager to find their next great employment opportunity. You can form intimate relationships with candidates in these talent pools to get more insight into what they’re looking for in a business where they could further enhance their career.

Most importantly, High5 Trusted Talent is managed by 18,000 subject matter experts who help interact with, vet, qualify, and recommend candidates for open positions. Our subject matter experts have worked these jobs in the past so they know exactly what types of questions to ask of interested talent to find the great rocket scientists hidden amongst the masses. This will help your in-house recruiters spend 70 percent less of their own time on hiring so that they can devote more resources towards helping the business achieve growth expectations.

Are You Ready For The High5 Experience?

Our team of industry leaders are ready to help your talent management program become the best it can be. Register with High5, your transformative talent management tool for recruiting in a candidate driven market, and make your next new hire the best decision you ever made.