The climate is changing, but we are not talking about global warming. Our global business climate is going through a significant transformation as we are experiencing the beginning of a talent crisis. To prepare for the coming job market conditions, employers can plan responsive strategies to attract and keep the best employees.
Quality shortage
The current issue is not a shortage of applicants, but rather lack of the right ones. Few candidates meet the required qualifications, either in terms of education or professional experience. Therefore, the best candidates are frequently approached by headhunters, making it more difficult to sell in opportunities. Current employers have also become proactive, giving Counter Offers to keep their top employees.
Five job market trends
There are five trends causing the climate change:
- More vacant positions than qualified people to fill them
- A work force that covers several generations
- End of the retirement life as we know it
- Stronger demand for flexibility for the employee
- Strong decrease in average seniority
Talents are an organisation’s most important asset. Therefore, attracting and keeping talents is crucial in today’s job market conditions. In other words, employers must walk the extra mile to appeal to the top employees.
Sell a career, not a position
The first challenges occur already in the early stages when getting the candidate on-board. Instead of selling a position, hiring managers must be prepared to sell a long term career plan. Not only does it sound more enticing to the candidate, but it also builds employee loyalty and motivation.
Make job switch easy
No matter how appealing a job offer is, switching jobs can be troublesome. In order to secure a passive candidate, one must offer smooth recruiting processes and keep the candidate’s effort to a bare minimum. Another way of easing the transition from one company to another is to offer mentor programmes for new hires to encourage learning and adoption of the corporate culture.
Employer flexibility
Lastly, companies must adapt to today’s mobile world and hectic lifestyles by being flexible in terms of work location and work hours. Letting employees work from home proves trust and will give the employee a sense of independency. Moreover, it allows influences from other environments than the office walls.
There will be more and more changes in the coming years and it is time for businesses and recruiting advisors to recognise this new reality. In the bottom line, the talent crisis means that organisations will not be able to find, attract, hire or keep talent easily. Employers must take this into consideration and decide how to overcome it.