By Deb Walker, Associate HR Consultant, Chemistry Consulting Group

Does it feel sometimes like you are immersed in a game of pick up sticks and someone has just dropped them all randomly on the table?  The chaos of all those sticks seems daunting in the beginning.  How to pick them up, in accordance with the rules, and get the most points to win seems overwhelming and definitely not a simple task.

Recruiting these days can feel a little bit like we are starting a new game of pick up sticks. Technology is rapidly shifting how and where we access candidates; potential employees are radically shifting their expectations of workplaces; and priorities are realigning for best practices in attracting and retaining candidates.

The Job Market Today and Why it Has Changed

There has been much talk about the Great Resignation that has risen to the surface in the last few years.  Within that discussion are thoughts about people reassessing what they want to do, how they want to do it and which organization(s) to connect with.  The advent of the gig economy where people are shifting from working for someone else to being their own boss and potentially working for multiple organizations has played a factor as has the role of AI and the rapid advancement of technology that can streamline the workflow process as well as open up new career paths that didn’t exist even a couple of years ago.

In addition to shifting work agreements, however, is something that has been forecasted for many years but we are now seeing come to fruition.  Baby Boomers started exiting the workplace beginning in 2011 and their ages as well as the pandemic has accelerated some of that movement.  In 2022, the youngest of the baby boomers will be 58 and there are not the numbers in the upcoming demographic groups to replace them.

(Source:  www.cbc.ca; www.forbes.com; www.washingtonpost.com)

What that translates to is there is more competition for fewer qualified candidates.

So what can we do as potential employers in this new environment to attract and hire good fits to openings and opportunities within our workplaces?

Best Practices Include Establishing and Maintaining Solid Foundations

1. Conduct regular job assessments to validate that the activities for each position are removing non-essential duties and activities that are no longer required or provide minimal value-added.
2. Ensure job descriptions are in place and accurately reflect the needs of the role, providing clarity for incoming employees and incumbents alike to connect with their roles and how they aid the organization in meeting core values of both the individual and the organization. That is, assist candidates to make connections between their purpose and values with those of the organization.
3. Regularly review benefits that are available to employees, ensuring that they are aligned with expectations of employees as well as fitting their evolving needs. For example, learning and development is a mutual benefit for the organization and the individual.  As technology, in particular, shifts the deliverables for a position, proactively working with employees on their next career step is fundamental to developing skills and expertise in-house that may fill gaps otherwise accessed through recruiting.
4. Being open to alternative work statuses may assist in bridging. Having options for employees such as: onsite vs remote work vs hybrid; full-time vs part-time; semi-retirement and consulting roles; leaves of absences to aid in work life balance; flexibility with work schedules.  All of these are hot topics for potential employees as well as existing and contribute to providing environments that allow employees the flexibility to meet both personal and professional demands.
5. Psychological health and wellness in the workplace requires ongoing leadership development and fostering open dialogue for a culture of safety and wellness. Mental health and recognition of the impact on health and wellness are key cornerstones being actively sought by candidates.
6. Respect in the workplace is not a new concept within work spaces but what this encapsulates is continuing to evolve. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion need to be integrated and woven into the culture of an organization as these are core values that employees are seeking out as part of their decision on which organization to devote their professional time to.
7. Streamline and speed up your recruiting processes. In a different time, it can take weeks to complete a recruit, from drafting the posting, gathering applications, interviewing and making the selection/offering the position.  This is a luxury that few have in this market environment and many organizations are finding that by the time they complete their process, the candidates they wanted the most have long been scooped up.
8. Interviews are two way information exchanges and marketing the organization through an effective and well strategized brand is key to leading with your best foot forward in attracting and selecting candidates for your organization.
9. Continually re-evaluate the technology platforms that are accessed for finding where your potential candidates are spending their time. Gone are the Career page ads in newspapers but replaced are platforms such as LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter.
10. With a shrinking candidate population to draw from, total compensation is a factor, albeit not the sole one. Regularly reviewing to ensure that candidates are being offered a fair, market aligned wage but also that the structure of the compensation plan builds in strong opportunities for both reward and recognition.  These assurances are actively being sought out and monitored by candidates.

All of these are foundation building blocks for building effective tools for recruitment.  It is a sellers market out there at the moment and will continue for the foreseeable future.   Hiring practices in many ways are reflective of retention strategies.  It is the ground work with culture and communication that will provide the basis for attracting and developing employees that will sustain and nurture the sustainability of an organization.

(Source:  www.theglobeandmail.com; www.washingtonpost.com)

So here we are back at our game of pick up sticks.  The rules of the game have changed slightly so how we prepare to play now is to become familiar with the changes, adjust our strategies accordingly and then just roll up our sleeves to begin making sense of what seems at first to be haphazard chaos with sticks everywhere.