Do you want to be able to recruit successfully in 2023? Then it’s not just down to having the right set of in-house recruiters, but also how you organize the process. In the current labour market, it appears as if crisis and panic are the constant variables. But if nothing is certain anymore, let recruitment be the oasis of peace, since it is the best-equipped field that knows how to deal with constant uncertainty. My ten predictions for 2023 are just about that. It’s about whether you need to set up a professional recruitment apparatus, whether you’ve got an agency or corporate background.
Read the first three trends here
#4: Scale down on your ‘necessary’ channels
A hammer sees every problem as a nail. In recent decades, the recruitment industry has been dominated by LinkedIn, Indeed and employment agencies. Amidst a wall of staff shortages, a scarcity of talent and bad responses to vacancies – we have to resort to other solutions. Are you looking for a shoemaker? Then your best bet may be to spread actual, real-life flyers. Are you looking for technical talent? You could set up a referral program, such as organising a ladies night for their wives. Do you want to find students? Then work with platform technology, ensure you’re visible on campus in study-rooms.
I prefer to focus on referral and out in the field.
More agencies, sourcing, interim recruiters, recruiter seats, higher budgets and more advertising? I hate to break it to you, but it isn’t going to solve your recruiting issues. They’ve become the proverbial hammer that is trying to turn any problem it finds into a nail. For me, I prefer to focus on referral and out in the field. Close your laptop and be where the candidates are. At events, hardware stores, in schoolyards or even in the supermarket. Or… your own workplace.
It’s about active talent management before calling every problem a ‘sourcing problem’.
Internal mobility is the number one sourcing channel in Belgium – and looks set to be the secret weapon for recruitment success. In many countries, including my country The Netherlands, we have a real tendency to look on the outside first for external candidates. But what we’re seeing is that companies and countries in which HR pursues an active strategy for retention and further training of current employees – are generally much less reliant on outside recruitment. It’s about active talent management before calling every problem a ‘sourcing problem’. Internal promotion and career development is one of the strongest weapons for retention and more productivity and effectiveness of the organisation.
#5: Candidate as the centre
We’re all being bombarded with the importance of the employee journey and candidate experience. And I’m not against putting the candidate first, but I prefer to talk about the candidate as the centre. To me, that is a different approach and let me explain why. We are all used to UberEats and Amazon delivering with speed. In many ways, that speed showcases the level of service at which we want to be served. If you’re interested in something, you’re used to it landing on your doorstep a day later… at the very least.Back to recruitment – when a candidate is interested in a job, they want to schedule an interview immediately rather than having to wait until a recruiter’s finally got time.
Help them flip the script: provide questions they can ask the hiring manager.
In addition to that speed, he or she wants to be treated equally in a transparent process and get a real view on the organisation through potential colleagues. These are all very reasonable questions – yet most candidate processes don’t offer a single answer to these questions. Instead, it is still filled with traditional, time-consuming procedures. Try sending an introductory video from a hiring manager or recruiter to the candidate. Send the candidate cheat sheet with questions that he or she will get during the interview. And help them flip the script: provide questions they can ask the hiring manager. Changing your recruitment procedures is only possible if you really view the candidate as the centre.
#6: Employer impact
Out of sight, out of mind. Being an unknown to a candidate handicaps your chances of recruitment them tremendously in a tight labour market. No real time spent on an employer brand? Then you’re going to struggle in this market – because temporary employment agencies jump on any talent that shows any type of willingness to move. After they’ve reeled in their nets, there won’t be much left for the rest of the market. Building an attractive and well-known employer brand takes at least 18 to 24 months. If you are going to invest now, count on spending at least three-monthly salaries per person you want to hire in the next three years. And even then, you will only reap the rewards in about one and a half years… at the earliest. That’s why it’s so crucial you think about an employer impact strategy.
Build a distinctive employer brand and showcase to candidates that you’re exceptionally good at one thing.
Impact is the common denominator here. Build a distinctive employer brand and showcase to candidates that you’re exceptionally good at one thing. Subsequently implementing consistently it in the application process, the website, sponsoring, events, terms of employment or leadership can be enough. For example, try sending the contract before the candidate applies. Or print the contract on a chocolate bar wrapper. Or pay candidates to apply. Sometimes you don’t need a lot of budget… but you do need guts to try something different. Then you create an environment in which your target group can no look beyond you.
Did you miss the first 3 trends for 2023?
This article is part of a three-part series written by Geert-Jan Waasdorp, the CEO and founder of Intelligence Group, the European market leader in talent intelligence. Part 1 is available here, and part 3 will be published in the coming weeks.
