You want top candidates to work for you, but where can you find them? In recent years, companies have had a more difficult time recruiting top talent. One survey found that 67% of recruiters say that their biggest challenge in hiring is finding skilled and high quality candidates.
Here we list 5 challenges of recruiting and maintaining talent.
1) Shift in the generational workforce
Millennials make up one third of today’s workforce. Career development and progression is crucial to recruit, engage, and retain the younger generations. Here some stats to prove it:
- Career development was the top consideration for younger generations when accepting a job offer.
- Offering career training and development could help keep up to 86% of Millennials from leaving their current position
- 91% of Millennial professional think career progression is a top priority.
- Gen-Z is highly motivated to grow their careers, with 76% seeing learning as the key to their advancement.
Reskilling and upskilling are increasingly important. And at least half (59%) of learning & development professionals rank these as a top priority in 2021. If your organization is not investing in training or development programs, your employees might start looking for opportunities elsewhere.
2) Lack of experience
One study found that the lack of experience amongst applicants is making their job to find the right talent challenging. As there is a shift in workforce from less Baby Boomers and Generation Xs to more Millennials and Generation Z employees, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the pool of highly skilled workers is smaller. One way to compensate for lack of experience is developing mentoring and education programs. Development of soft skills can be addressed by the in-house programs.
It would also be worth checking the requirements you have listed for the job. Most companies have a “perfect” candidate in mind when they write their job announcements, which results in a laundry list of requirements. Too many requirements can deter talented potential employees from considering the vacant position. Craft your vacancy announcements carefully. Only list items as requirements if they are essential from day one or cannot be learned along the way.
“We spend too much time recruiting and not enough time working with the players we have.” – Alex Agase
3) Fierce competition
If the talent pool is shrinking, then it should come as no surprise that the competition for skilled employees has significantly increased. In a candidate’s market, it can be hard to appeal to talented individuals.
Luckily, many employees (particularly the younger generations) want more than a paycheck. Many candidates are prioritizing a good workplace culture, good work-life balance, and flexible/remote working options. In fact, studies have found that 69% of millennials would give up on certain work benefits for a more flexible working space and 76% of respondents would be more loyal to their employers if they had flexible work options.
In order to recruit and maintain top talent, it may be time to re-evaluate the standard 9AM-5PM workday. Not only will flexible and/or remote work make your company more attractive to top talent, but also it increases employee productivity and reduces cost for your business (check out our past article on the advantages of remote working for more details).
4) Lack of understanding of what your employees want
More workers want effective feedback, they want recognition for jobs well done, and they want to develop their hard and soft skills. These are becoming top-of-mind to many applicants as they investigate new careers.
Not only that, but these are becoming top-of mind of many current employees. Lack of recognition, feedback, and developmental opportunities are reasons why your employees may quit their job (check out this article on reasons why employees quit). Simply put, understanding what applicants AND employees want is crucial in today’s workforce.
5) Lack of brand name recognition
Without a strong employer brand, your company is probably missing out on top candidates. Employer branding is a company’s reputation as an employer – it’s the value it brings and what it offers to their employees. It’s what makes your company unique and stand out to candidates who are looking for jobs.
If people are talking negatively about your brand or work culture, job candidates are probably coming across this information and your current employees might be looking for new jobs. Start by understanding what employees want, provide feedback and developmental programs to employees, and be proactive on career websites and social media. Having a strong employer brand will benefit employee retention and fuel talented applicants.
What are your thoughts? Let us know!
