UK 
United States
Employment confidence has continued its upward surge this quarter, according to the CIPD Labour Market Outlook findings. This optimism brings a new challenge for some employers that may emerge in the shape of skill or labour shortages.
In this insight, we review the latest research and what this means for candidates and employers and share some practical ideas for improvement.
Candidates in demand
The recent fall in the supply of overseas workers and the introduction of migration restrictions impact labour availability. Coupled with some sectors such as Healthcare, Leisure and Hospitality starting to recover from the disruption caused by COVID-19, businesses across the country are facing a staffing challenge.
When you then add into the mix that Amazon has announced an additional 10,000 new permanent jobs in the UK by the end of the year, it means that organisations have to be super savvy to get the best candidates.
The Healthcare, Leisure and Hospitality industries are already starting to experience pinch points, with talent now being snapped up for roles in other sectors. Potential talent may have moved industries to positions that are perhaps deemed a better quality or provide more security, a change in working hours and maybe even better pay.
Getting ahead
The time to become more creative about candidate attraction and talent pipelines to ensure that you can continue to access and develop key skills is now. This is likely to include a mix of attracting new and diverse talent and upskilling existing employees.
Slick and quick recruitment journeys are so important. Talent won’t wait and expects a world-class candidate experience. It is important to manage expectations by clearly communicating your recruitment stages and ensuring there are no significant delays throughout the process. These will be costly.
Recruitment intentions
The Office for National Statistics, Labour market overview, UK: March 2021 stated:
“Over two-thirds (66%) of hospitality firms plan to recruit in the second quarter of 2021, up from 36% in the winter quarter. Meanwhile, the proportion of construction firms with recruitment intentions has increased to 59% from 44% during the same period, while hiring intentions among administration and support service activities’ employers have jumped from 45% to 63%. More than two-thirds of voluntary sector respondents (67%) are planning to recruit, which is consistent with recent reports”*
Attracting staff back into sectors experiencing talent shortages is only the beginning; keeping them is the next big challenge. Understanding why do employees stay with a brand? Is it their Career path? Working arrangements? Benefits? A mix of factors?
Practical ideas to be prepared
Evaluate your tools, processes and resourcing and acquisition readiness.
Know your bottlenecks and barriers across the recruitment process. Use your data and analytics to identify where the real problems are.
Can you access a talent pool of warmed up talent? If not, why not?
Are your job adverts accurate and engaging?
Check your employer branding across the recruitment process – what does it say about you?
Does your careers site contain compelling, candidate-centric content?
If you need some help on getting started, here are some free resources to use.
Our free report download on Candidate Attraction has a handy section on careers site peak performing content so it’s easy to check how you compare (Page 30-33).
Download Candidate Attraction Report | Improve Recruitment Processes | Using Data Video Guide
