RECRUITMENT CHALLENGES IN A TIGHT LABOUR MARKET

The latest Unemployment figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics show that the Unemployment rate for August 2022 was 3.5% (seasonally adjusted).  A slight increase from a low of 3.4% in July 2022 but well below the high of 7.5% some 12 months ago.
 
For the same reporting period, the Australian, National Skills Commission’s, “Recruitment Difficulty Rate” eased slightly by 1% over the previous month of July to 74% but at that level, remains at the second highest rate ever recorded for this series. These statistics only back up what employers already know and that is; It’s become increasingly harder to recruit in this market.
 
In this article we will explore the top 5 challenges that employers face when recruiting in a tight labour market.
 
1. Labour/Talent Shortage.
At the risk of stating the obvious, the current record low levels of unemployment and corresponding level of near full employment means that there is a shortage of available talent for each role.  As a specialist Sales recruiter, our focus is on Sales Talent and the data shows that the availability of experienced Sales staff is even more acute as advertised sales roles continue to be experiencing strong growth amongst all job categories. (see following)
 
2. Fewer people are looking for jobs
Anyone who has recently tried to advertise a vacant role on one of the Job Boards will have experienced underwhelming responses to their job ads. According to SEEK, Applications per Job Ad across all sectors has improved slightly between July 22 and August 22 but remain down 20% over a 12 month period and down 50% over a 24 month period. Sales Job Ads were up 5% for the month of August 22 , which puts further pressure on Applications per Ad for Sales roles.
 
One of our clients recently shared with us that they had only 3 applicants for a recently advertised mid level sales role. By comparison, similar roles they advertised 12 months ago had received 30- 40 applications.  In response, employers are rightly turning their focus to Passive Recruitment activity (i.e., headhunting), which was once only a recruitment strategy considered for senior Executive level roles. Passive Recruitment is not without its own set of challenges though, chief of which is its heavy time-resource requirement.
 
3. Good Candidates are getting multiple offers
As one might expect, good candidates in this market are getting multiple job offers each week. Candidates know that the “balance of relative power” has swung in their favour and so they can be very selective in which approaches they choose to respond to. While remuneration is still a major driver for salespeople, Company growth strategy, clearly defined pathways for candidate success and departmental culture are factors that are strongly considered by sales people and therefore need to be addressed in any communication.
 
On the issue of remuneration, this should be discussed early in the discussions with candidates to help avoid a bidding war down the track.
 
4. Getting the candidates attention
Being an attractive proposition to a candidate starts well before the placement of a job ad. Your organisation’s website, employee feedback on forums such as Glassdoor, organisational profile on Social platforms are the first places that prospective candidates will look to when weighing up their decision to move.
 
Also, in this current climate, once you have a candidate’s attention, you need to keep it. Communication with candidates should be regular, even if decisions have not yet been made. Don’t keep them waiting to hear as they now have options.
 
 
5. Always Be Recruiting.
A mantra for salespeople, as immortalised by Alec Baldwin’s character in the 1992 film, Glengarry Glen Ross is, Always Be Closing (ABC).  The current mantra for Organisations needing to recruit should be- Always Be Recruiting!
 
In times of higher unemployment, the recruitment process from start to finish (offer of employment) would ordinarily take 6 – 8 weeks. (Longer for more senior roles).  In today’s market, where Passive Recruitment strategies are more at the forefront, the recruitment process can take several months.  This means that organisations need to take a longer-term view of their recruitment process and see recruitment as an ongoing activity and its associated costs built into the budgetary process.
 
In Summary
1. Passive Recruitment (Headhunting) activity is becoming increasingly important in the recruitment process for roles of all levels and not just Executive level roles
2. Beyond remuneration, organisations need to sell themselves to candidates.
3. Follow up with candidates. Don’t leave them waiting.
4. Remuneration should be discussed early in the process
5. Recruitment needs to be ongoing and built in to the budget process.
 
 
 
Fifth Executive is a specialist Sales Recruitment agency.