NAVIGATING TALENT ACQUISITION IN A RAPIDLY CHANGING BUSINESS LANDSCAPE

Let’s compare 2020 to 2023 in three different areas:

1. Tech advancements
   1. 2020: video interviews/meetings and working from home wasn’t new; it just wasn’t embraced across the board.
   2. 2023: 60 percent of recruiters use video to interview job candidates, even for on-site positions; there now are three times more remote jobs than there were three years ago.
2. Changing consumer behaviors:
   1. 63 percent of all shopping journeys begin online in 2023, whether or not the consumer ends up making their purchase online or in-store.
3. Economic shifts:
   1. The economy tanked at the beginning of the pandemic but recovered quickly within months. So much so, that inflation arrived, nudging the U.S. Federal Reserve to start raising interest rates slowly in order to help economic growth slow – and thus tame inflation. The slow interest rate increases so far haven’t led to a recession and prices have been falling (at least as of June 2023). Jobs, so far, remain plentiful, and unemployment has stayed low.

Below are talent acquisition strategies that have proven to be successful in today’s always-changing business environment and how they can bring new opportunities to your company as you navigate our new work world.

• Remote work.

This by far is the most benefit/perk beloved by practically any candidate whose position could move to one that’s off-site. Many employers think a hybrid arrangement of working from home two or three days a week and coming into the office the remaining days of the week should be enough. But your team members and candidates think differently: in one survey, an incredible 98 percent of respondents said they “want to work remotely for the rest of their careers.”

If you can offer full-time remote work to those candidates with the tech skills that allow them to do so, it’s wise to consider providing it, particularly for those candidates with in-demand skills, such as IT professionals.

• DEI initiatives

The United States has been focused in a big way on systemic racial and other disparities for three years now and diversity, equality and inclusion initiatives show no signs of fading any time soon. Yet, according to a recent McKinsey report, “data shows that progress is slow.”

How can you ensure that your business speed up that progress? McKinsey has some ideas:

• Understand the problem based on facts.
• Set clear “and quantifiable” goals.
• Make your DEI efforts a “core” part of your business’ priorities.
• Create scalable solutions that address root causes.
• Define KPIs and create a “rigorous tracking process.

• Upskilling/reskilling programs

Some of your best “new” employees probably already are working for you. That is, training terrific team members in new skills, thus allowing them to potentially earn more (because they provide more value) is a terrific way to retain them. In fact, reskilling/upskilling is so valuable to employees that 94 percent of them told LinkedIn “they would have stayed with their employers longer if career development was prioritized.” What’s more, from an employer’s perspective, this “skills-focused approach to career development just doesn’t give employers a competitive edge when hiring new candidates – it also transforms talent into a renewable resource.”

• Leveraging emerging tech for talent acquisition.

We mean, of course, artificial intelligence. Here’s how LinkedIn recommends recruiters use AI:

“AI-powered applicant tracking systems can “analyze resumes, cover letters and applications more effectively. ATS systems use algorithms to analyze keywords experience, qualifications and then match them to the job requirements. This makes the screening process more efficient and helps companies find the right candidates faster.”

That’s just the beginning of what AI can do in regards to recruiting. Read the entire Linkedin post to learn more.

• Utilizing the skills, experience and laser-focus on recruiting provided by staffing/recruiting companies.

Company HR departments and the recruiters within them, as well as department hiring managers focus on many things in their positions, including recruiting. Allowing a staffing firm to take that on that task for them – at least in the sourcing and first-stage vetting portions of the recruitment process – can free up the time, as well as the mental space for other top priorities.

Debbie’s Staffing offers recruitment services for companies across the eastern half of the U.S. Contact us today to learn more about our talent acquisition services.

Learn more about how we can help you with this business-critical undertaking for your company.