By Chris Mead
•
17 Mar, 2022
The excuses we hear: Unemployment is high People don't want to work anymore Why work when the government will pay you when you are out of work (pandemic unemployment assistance) Initial thoughts: Before we get too far into this we do want to point out that some of these excuses reasons may have been valid at one point through the COVID-19 pandemic. However, many employers are still struggling to fill job openings in their businesses and they aren't sure why so they continue to believe these reasons are still valid. So whats different? The recruiting industry has changed. It's not about people not wanting to work. The unemployment rate is relatively low now, and in some areas we are back to pre-pandemic levels. The perception that business owners have though is "I have all these jobs and no one wants them". The real problem is that many companies have increased the need for headcount to deal with backorders and inventory/supply chain issues that we are seeing across North America which has increased the supply of jobs but the supply of workers has remained unchanged. Look at recruiting like you look at sales Think about recruiting like your sales team. Most businesses have inside sales (customer service) and outside sales (boots on the ground). However, your HR team only has the time, tools, and ability to be the 'inside sales' of recruiting. They are only dealing with the people who are actively looking for your product (in this case jobs). You have to change your recruiting strategy and find a way to target people who aren't looking for work (usually passive candidates who have jobs already). You need to have the 'outside sales' of recruiting. Not someone hiding behind Indeed waiting for an applicant to apply. Time to close Another way to look at this (sales analogy again) is to think about time to close. When you have a business prospect reach out who is interested in your product you need to follow up with that prospect within 24-48 hours for them to stay interested. The same goes for candidates applying for open roles. You have to engage them within 24-48 hours after they apply or your odds of losing them increases substantially. We can help We work with you to actively recruit candidates across every level in your organization. Want more information on how we can help.