Thanks to economic uncertainty that has been in place since 2020, stable staffing levels have become relics. Economic shifts, AI, changing markets, and even global events force corporate recruiters to operate in an uncomfortable state of flux.
Here’s how corporate recruiters should prepare for constantly changing staffing needs:
- Strategic Planning:
The days of filling open requisitions and moving on to the next…are over. Recruiters have no choice but to become partners in strategic workforce planning.
- Collaboration with Leadership: Build strong relationships with C-level leaders, sales and marketing, HR business partners, and finance. Recruiters should know the company’s roadmap as well as any department in the company.
- Leverage Data Analytics: Utilizing historical hiring data, attrition rates, and economic trends and indicators, recruiters can help build predictive staffing models.
- Plan for Skills Not Just Headcount: Identifying critical skills needed for future success allows for internal mobility and reskilling initiatives that can minimize external forces.
- Is Your Pipeline “Always On”?
When staffing levels are unpredictable, a strategic talent pipeline is your best defense.
- Proactive Sourcing: Recruiters should continuously identify and nurture potential candidates for critical roles. This “always-on” sourcing ensures a talent pool when needed.
- Building Talent Communities: Engage niche communities with content relevant to their growth and industry insights. In essence, become known for addressing and always seeking certain types of talent.
- Maintain Relationships: After a search, candidates who were not selected for previous roles that had good qualifications, should be hearing from you periodically.
- Become a Magnet for Talent
I don’t believe it would be unfair to say many companies do not focus on an employer brand and to a certain degree, it’s understandable. Some are too busy struggling to sell their wares and their use of contract recruiters does not encourage employer branding. We have written articles about this several times in this column. Check our blog at execsallied.com/blog for more on building an employer brand but here are three tips.
- Authenticity: Your employer brand must accurately reflect your company culture and employee experience.
- Use Successful Case Histories: Highlight employee experiences through testimonials, videos, and social media content. Having an employee describe how they are treated during the hiring process and on the job in a short video is quite powerful.
- Communicate Your Company’s Vision: Articulate clearly what your company stands for, its mission, and its impact as part of your recruitment collateral.
- Prioritize Reskilling, Special Projects and Cross Functional Opportunities:
Increasingly, companies struggling to find the skills they need are investing in upskilling.
- Invest in Learning: Attractive employers offer robust programs to prepare current employees for future roles. This is especially important for jobs impacted by shifts in business strategy.
- Internal Talent Marketplace: Systems or platforms that allow employees to view and express interest in cross functional roles or skill development opportunities (ITM’s) are growing in popularity.
- Succession Planning: This is another aspect of planning many companies fighting to make a profit, often do not do. Identifying and developing internal candidates for critical leadership roles can help with attrition rates and also help your company become a magnet for talent.
To summarize, recruiters can and should become agile, strategic, business partners aware of every aspect of a company’s roadmap. They should be powered by data and proactive recruiting, and have an eye toward building an attractive employer brand.
Are you having difficulty finding talented employees to fill your open positions? With 25 years of experience, a 4.8 Google rating, an average experience level of 22 years, our own Thought Leadership Team, and an A+ rating from the BBB, you will quickly see why we’ve built so many permanent, long-term client relationships. Visit our website at www.execsallied.com/employers or Email us at info@execsallied.com. We are here to help!
