Whether it’s with a Chief HR Officer that’s been working in Boston for 30+ years, or with a new recruiter that’s just starting out, I’ve been having the same conversation on an almost daily basis when it comes to looking for new talent: the demand is at a level that we’ve not seen since the […]
ght now isn’t easy. It’s incredibly competitive, and candidates are in control. Everyone is on the hunt for the same talent, looking in the same places and competing for the same individuals. Even established businesses are having trouble attracting talent. With so many current opportunities for candidates, many companies are being left behind. Then there’s the issue that employers are pulling out all the stops to hold on to their existing talent, as they know the recruitment market is so competitive; it will be damaging to lose them.
have a lot on your plate, and recruiting talent in the current climate will only add to this pressure.
mselves with relevant and exceptional talent. Therefore, we’re rounding up some of the biggest hiring challenges that startup businesses are currently facing and how to solve them.
We’ve talked a lot about how the tech recruitment landscape has been changing recently. We all know that hiring tech talent is now highly competitive, with more and more companies, both tech native and not, competing for the same skillsets and experience. As a result, great tech talent is being swept up incredibly quickly, and it’s causing many challenges for scaling businesses that do not have the advantage of a big name or reputation to tempt talent their way.
However, what does a competitive market actually mean? It’s one thing for us to keep stressing that the market is changing and growing increasingly competitive, but how does it affect those searching for talent? As we have many recruitment experts in-house who spend their time navigating the tech talent landscape and speaking with leading scale-ups about talent acquisition challenges, we decided to ask them about the everyday difficulties they’re seeing.
Times are changing, and the fact we’re all embracing tech more could work in favour of scaling tech businesses looking to recruit talent. As we all use technology daily, we are becoming quite savvy, and younger generations especially are more acquainted with technology than ever before. They’re naturals! There are also more ways than ever to develop skills, especially tech skillsets, which are no longer seen as an elitist or inaccessible skill, with online learning platforms and non-traditional education taking over.
Therefore, we’re asking whether talent really needs a traditional Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree to succeed in the tech industry? Or is there another way to give talented people opportunities without the expensive and inaccessible background?
Well, the truth is that with the race for tech talent so tight, scaling businesses need to look for talent elsewhere, or they’ll simply never hire. If they wish to grow their business, changing attitudes around tech skills and opening up a more diverse talent pool when it comes to experience could be the key to recruitment success.
Virtual hiring events have some huge advantages but some equally significant disadvantages. They certainly have a place within the future of tech recruiting. That’s undeniable. However, it depends entirely on the demand, speed and the number of roles you need to hire. It’s important to remember that other alternatives to relieve HR pressures may be more cost-effective, such as outsourcing your tech recruitment to a flexible RPO provider who can take on the burden for you. Virtual hiring should never replace engaging and having a conversation with candidates personally, as this is how you ensure more diverse and better-quality candidates who fit your organisation perfectly. However, this provides an alternative for those situations where you need to hire 100 people incredibly quickly and should not be discounted.
Notice periods have long been an issue for recruiters and employers. In a scaling business, you often need to hire talent quickly to meet a sudden increase in demand or to help you reach the next level of growth. Of course, having to wait for your perfect candidate to start is never ideal, but many of us are willing to do so for the right person, even if it pauses growth plans slightly. After all, you want to hire them for a reason, and they could be the perfect fit for your scaling business with all of the right skills and attitudes you need.
However, at Talent Works, a trend our recruitment experts are seeing more and more of is extended notice periods even for junior candidates. For roles like UX designer, where the only requirement is a Bachelor’s degree, many of our recruiters are seeing three months’ notice periods instead of the usual, and often expected, one month. Which, if you’re a scaling business looking to hire quickly, could pose a problem. Especially if you’re expecting candidates to have a month-long notice period.
On first September we hosted a Leaders Talk Talent Roundtable with Talent Acquisition professionals from Moderna, FinancialForce, LexisNexis Risk Solutions Group and MassTLC. We discussed the impact of the pandemic and what it’s brought for talent acquisition including how these employers had to adapt their talent strategy. We also shared some tips for post pandemic […]
Survey of professionals finds that over a fifth are looking to pursue their career elsewhere in 2022 38% of organisations don’t have a working from home policy in place, and being asked to be in the office negatively impacts one in five employees Manchester, UK, 1st September 2021: 38% of respondents have been approached over […]
tial team members is one of the most crucial moves that a startup can make; these people come with a lot of influence and power over the future of your business. Therefore, you must get it right. However, you may not have experience recruiting. Entrepreneurs are ideas people, and innovators, so hiring may not be something you’ve thought about or had experience with.
Many talent acquisition professionals think that the role of recruitment marketing is to fill the job role and little else. However, this couldn’t be less true. Just like consumer marketing, digital campaigns can give you a vast amount of insight into your potential candidates and talent pool. You can create innovative and more intelligent strategies with the knowledge these campaigns provide, and the tools are ready to be used, as consumer marketing teams have been using them for the last decade. It seems it’s the mindset surrounding recruitment marketing that needs to alter.
