When top talent is scarce, does it still remain candidate driven?

A candidate driven market is essentially where demand outweighs supply. Top talent is generally harder to come by and quite often you find, especially with technical markets, that there are cycles where top talent will come on to the market at different levels of study and post qualification. This causes difficulties for many, as they attempt to hire skilled professionals to drive their business forward through a continually changing market.

Navigate through a candidate-led market

‘Candidate-driven’ doesn’t only apply to candidates with niche skill sets looking for employment, because niche skills sets are often difficult to recruit for. Adaptability is everything if you want to succeed. If you manage a team and are missing a solid number two to deputise for you in your absence, finding the specific individual to best match your requirements in order to fill in, can be a very difficult hire. There is a lot of risk around things like time, team fit and morale, when going through this process. Which therefore means, the room for error needs to be minimised in the niche skill set hiring process. However, there is more to recruiting than just acquiring candidates with niche skill sets, sometimes you have to be prepared to untick the right boxes to gain access to the best candidates on the market.

In business support roles, the lack of candidates has directly affected the demand for skills, because companies would rather take a punt on high calibre, low-risk graduates on their second/third industry move, over perfectly matched candidates. A lot of development can happen from the role itself, and with technology advancing in the sector, the need for candidates to upskill is crucial when aiming to meet market demands. If businesses are unable to find the ideal candidate, they will look at an individual's ability to adapt. They will also assess their personality to make sure they are the right culture fit. 

It is important to continue to train and develop your teams so that they are able to keep up with business demands. This will not only keep up retention rates, but it will also decrease your need to hire niche skill sets because your teams will be better prepared for business change. Retention is crucial in today’s market, and businesses should be investing in their current teams. There are some candidates that often test the water for pay rises by exploring the market and using that information as leverage for a pay rise, with the suggestion to their current employer that they might resign. They do this even though they have no real intention of leaving.

Businesses need to ensure that their employees feel fulfilled at work, because a lot of the time, we are seeing top talent leave organisations are due to poor management and lack of accountability. Top talent normally has a desire to take responsibility for their role, rather than being micromanaged. Talent wants to learn by their own mistakes and take guidance when they need it to ensure a high level of performance is achieved.

Individuals that come onto the market have a specific skill set and want to be an attractive candidate to prospective employers. Yet that prospect can only be judged by the current state of the market. It may be the case where previously a candidate will have four or five offers in a candidate-short market, whereas six months prior, they may have had fewer options due to a high calibre of candidates.

Tips that businesses can use to attract top talent

A fast recruitment process

Businesses often lose out on top talent on the market due to slow and lengthy recruitment processes. Top talent looking for an opportunity will typically have multiple job offers. So, if you wait too long to secure your favourite candidate, it is likely they will have found work elsewhere.

Execution

Executing a competent internet recruitment strategy will play a key part in attracting the right type of talent. The use of tailored web applications, mobile apps and hiring-centric technology, can help define and streamline your recruitment process.

Promote flexibility

A flexible approach throughout the recruitment process can help secure the candidate, as flexible working opportunities are becoming increasingly important to today’s workforce. If you are able to offer flexible working options to your candidates, then it is best to mention this in the interview.

If you are looking to hire top talent for your organisation, Page Personnel can advise you on how to streamline your processes, as well as provide you with a shortlist of candidates for you to invite to an interview. Please get in touch with one of our specialist recruitment consultants today to discuss your vacancies and to get bespoke advice for your business.

Grant Zaccaria
Associate Director, Page Personnel HR, Secretarial & Business Support
T: 0113 243 7767
E: grantzaccaria@pagepersonnel.co.uk