What steps is your agency taking to maximise candidate applications?

New roles created and an exodus of talent

The fallout from the pandemic has pitched the employment world into upheaval. The worldwide shortage of workers is well documented as employers struggle to meet increased demand. However, the problem is made acutely problematical by many workers quitting after riding out the COVID storm while remaining employed. Dubbed ‘The Great Resignation’, millions of people, from frontline workers to senior executives are on the move in an exodus of talent.

The phenomenon has been strongly identified in the UK and the US. With Australia behind the vaccination curve, and cities such as Melbourne (the world’s most locked down at 262 days) only recently emerging form lockdowns, the situation is still developing. According to research by Microsoft, more than 40 per cent of the global workforce are considering leaving their employers this year.

70% of businesses faced difficulties in recruiting over the three months to June, according to a British Chambers of Commerce survey of around 6,000 UK firms published in July. With staff shortages caused by the creation of new vacancies and talent vacuums created by the loss of existing experienced personnel, how can recruiters attract more candidates?

Attracting more talent

There is a real need to make opportunities attractive. Job roles really need to be ‘sold’ to prospective candidates. There are some aspects where recruiters can work with clients to make sure that jobs are as compelling as possible to those looking for new positions.

• Salaries and market rates – Of course, the obvious thing that is happening as agencies and employers battle to attract more suitable applicants is that salaries are being driven up. In industries where shortages are critical such as HGV transport and healthcare, signing on bonuses of thousands of pounds are being offered, as well as significant salary hikes. Agencies and employers need to make sure that their roles offer competitive rates of pay.

• Must have Vs. Nice to have – When it comes to skills and experience, there is always a desire to bring on new recruits that tick as many boxes as possible. However, loading a job spec with lots of ‘must have’ requirements is likely to seriously impact applicant numbers. Women, BAME and disabled candidates are most put off by long lists of must haves. Theses applicants only feel confident in applying when they meet 80% of the criteria. However, men are likely to feel confident meeting only 60%. Agencies and employers need to make sure that their job specs and ads do not feature lengthy lists of requirements.

• Flexible working – This has become one of the most significant trends of the pandemic. For roles suited to remote working, companies were able to leverage technology as an enabler. Zoom, Microsoft Teams and a myriad of other industry-specific cloud applications and platforms are flourishing as a result. Post lockdown, many workers now see a hybrid arrangement of part in-office and part remote working as an intrinsic part of what they do for a living. 92% of millennials make this a top priority in the search for a new job. Agencies and employers need to make sure that as many roles as possible include a remote working element.

• In work benefits – For some, the offer of perks such free lunches, or showering facilities for cyclist commuters might suffice. However, for many there is a desire for higher level benefits that have a cash value, such as healthcare insurance, childcare/creche and family benefits. The pandemic has also opened up the scope for benefits to include meeting home office expenses for remote workers. Agencies and employers need to put together meaningful workplace benefits packages that support physical and mental wellbeing.

Putting the right recruitment back office technology in place with ETZ

The quest for talent and securing it remains one of the keys to the success of businesses. It is also very important to have the right technologies in place and, for recruitment agencies, ETZ remains a technology of choice.

ETZ’s market leading timesheet, invoicing and payment solution lets recruitment agencies transform efficiency of back office processing, for all agency workers and contractors. To find out more about how we simplify the complexity of RecTech for agencies like yours, call us on 0800 311 2266 or book a demo.