Economic downturns can be the stuff of nightmares for hiring and recruiting teams. While large corporations have mostly recovered their workforces since the start of the pandemic, smaller businesses are still trying to fill open positions. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the number of individuals looking for work not currently in the labor force has declined by 361,000. Meaning there are fewer candidates actively seeking employment than there were in July. Recruiting during economic uncertainty takes creativity and is a time to refine strategy.
If you are a recruiter for a smaller company or your business requires many new hires, current economic outlooks may have you slightly shaken up. We will discuss the problems hiring and recruiting teams face during economic uncertainty and how you can overcome these challenges and stay agile.
Challenges of Recruiting During Economic Uncertainty
While hiring quality employees is always a challenge for many industries, economic uncertainty can increase the pressure on recruiting teams. It is natural for recruiters to have some fears during a downturn, but you can overcome many of these difficulties. You can find opportunities in tough economic times if you focus on how to improve the recruiting process from start to finish.
Increased Hiring Difficulty
Hiring will likely become more of a challenge during an economic downturn. Your hiring and recruiting budget can be drastically reduced or frozen entirely. During economic uncertainty, you may need to change the scope of your recruiting work.
Prepare your recruiting and hiring process for a rebound by working on improving internal recruiting KPIs (key performance indicators) and expanding your talent pools. If your company needs additional support, you may be able to leverage external recruiting and remote sourcing. Outsourcing some recruitment responsibilities can help you get the talent you need affordably and make up for gaps in your or your team’s skills.
Hiring Freezes
If your organization has frozen hiring temporarily or indefinitely, it can indicate more problems down the road. When times are uncertain, companies stop hiring and may even begin laying off staff. While this is typically up to company decision-makers, you can prepare to hire when the economy rebounds.
Your company may ask you to suspend current recruitment initiatives. You can soften the blow by reaching out to candidates in your recruitment pipeline and letting them know it could take longer for their application to reach the next steps. You can focus your efforts inward on retaining your top talent. See if there are ways to improve employee satisfaction and make your organization the one employees prefer.
You can also improve your recruiting and hiring process as the market starts to recover. Revise old recruiting sources, forms, templates, advertisements, and candidate profiles to optimize your next hiring season. Focus on your skills by getting new certifications and updating older ones.
Rising Attrition Rates
While you might expect attrition rates to decrease during a slowdown, it may not be the case. You may wonder why employees leave in an unfavorable market, but opportunities may be more plentiful than expected. The Wall Street Journal found that many businesses are still understaffed and hiring despite uncertainty.
Employees have many reasons to leave a company, and it may not have anything to do with the economy. If your company recently laid off employees, you may be able to prevent rising attrition by reassuring workers of their jobs and benefits. Find out what is causing employees to resign and try to provide relief to those who may be considering it.
Unemployment Levels Are Rising, But Your Applications Are Not
When unemployment levels start rising, you may think it will be easier to find candidates. In many cases, it can be quite the contrary. In a highly competitive industry, unemployment can have little relation to an increase in applicants. Companies looking for only the most qualified candidates have increased difficulties.
In the current recruiting environment, large companies like Amazon are not taking any chances with losing talent. According to an article in Inc., large organizations with enough resources strategically hoard talent, trading payrolls for long-term productivity. With many businesses recovering from the Great Resignation, finding talent is increasingly difficult. You can overcome this challenge by keeping the talent you have and improving your sourcing with external recruiting and referral programs. It may also be worth contacting past applicants or candidates that may fit the current needs of your organization.
New Hires Leaving as the Economy Recovers
When a recruiter manages to make quality hires during uncertain times, they may question whether the new hires will stay with the company as the economy recovers. While you can’t stop anyone from deciding to move on to other opportunities, you can screen candidates more thoroughly and improve their chances of staying. The problem can be prevalent in small business and startup recruiting when new hires seek a more established company as opportunities open up.
Evaluate your candidate’s future plans by asking questions like “Where do you want to be in five years?” If your organization can’t offer them what they expect, they may be in it for the short term. Overqualified candidates may settle for underemployment while they wait for a better opportunity. If you can’t find a place for these hires that will challenge them long-term, they may resign after the economy improves.
Company culture can make candidates more likely to stay with your organization. Remember that full cycle recruiting includes onboarding. Make sure to support new hires and sell your company as a place they can grow to win them over for the long-term.
Partner With a Recruiting Platform to Optimize Your Recruiting Strategy
Companies that face recruiting and hiring problems during economic uncertainty can leverage strategic recruiting partners to solve challenges in their recruiting process. An ideal partner can streamline your hiring process to ensure you can hire desirable candidates before your competitors. It can reduce the cost per hire and improve your productivity.
Comeet is your partner in uncertain and scary times. The hiring platform can help you expand your sourcing without costly subscriptions and reach out to candidates using their preferred method of communication. We help you choose the best candidates, avoiding bad hires that can cost your company. Schedule a demo with Comeet and be less fearful about spooky economic times.
