Hiring Hot Topics: 3 Ways to Navigate the Current ‘Perfect Storm’ of Turnover and Secure the Best Replacement Candidates.

The ‘Great Reshuffle’ is still upon us and competition for the best talent is at an all-time high! While turnover has never been a fun situation to work through in the corporate world, the number of employees leaving current jobs has felt like an absolute hurricane to human resources departments. According to a recent survey by CareerPlug, 55% of employees are currently seeking or will seek alternative employment this year, which means you’re still in danger of experiencing more turnover. But on the flip side of that same coin, that also means there is top talent you can scoop up with the right recruitment strategies. If your organization is struggling to retain hardworking team members or attract skilled, new professionals to fill open roles, these three hiring hot topics can help! Keep reading to learn about the most crucial talent tips of 2022.

Staying Cool When Facing a Staffing Heatwave.

It happened. Seemingly out of nowhere, a trustworthy and valued member of your team has given their notice and you were unable to retain them, even with your best efforts. What now?

First and foremost, it’s important to keep cool. While this may be an inconvenience to you and the rest of your organization, your team is going to look to leadership as an example in the coming weeks. Here are the top three items to focus on internally when you’ve received an employee’s resignation:

Focus on your employee off-boarding – The overall transition experience when an employee resigns is important for everyone. Not only do you want to be considerate to the employee who is leaving because you want them to be happy and continue to grow, but seeing how coworkers are treated after giving notice can also create a lasting impression with your current staff. Additionally, if you lose a team member and their next job doesn’t work out, you want to create an open atmosphere where good employees could potentially return one day, if it’s mutually beneficial.

Offer your team the support they need in the interim – How was your team managing before the news broke? How is everyone’s workload? What can you do to help? Regular check-ins will be necessary to gauge the morale of your employees because being a member down can be extremely taxing on even the most efficient and well-balanced team. It’s crucial to create a game plan to help you weather the storm, getting everyone through recruitment, onboarding, and training until your new talent is able to stand on their own two feet.

Ensure recruitment efforts start immediately – According to a recent article published by Industry Today, the average amount of time to fill an open position is 42 days. While covering tasks for a team member on vacation for a week can be typically somewhat manageable or a bit of an inconvenience, your team is going to be under a whole new level of pressure taking on the work of an additional person for a month and a half… or longer! It’s important to start recruiting to fill your open position as soon as possible to minimize the length of time your team is expected to take on that extra workload and stress.  

Share Some Sunshine with Excellent Corporate Branding.

When you are trying to secure top talent, having strong, desirable corporate branding is imperative. Applicants are researching not only the open job positions and responsibilities, but they’re passionate about connecting with the company as a whole to ensure it’ll be an ideal cultural fit. Here’s how to be the sunshine in the hurricane of today’s competitive recruitment world:

Optimize your website messaging – Ensure both your job postings page and your ‘about us’ section of your website personify your company culture. What is your company truly like and what is important for applicants to know about you? What is life like at your company? Making sure this page effectively communicates what your company does, what is important to it, and what working for you is like, can help applicants imagine a future with you – ideally long term.

Research what people are saying – Every person, both internally and externally, can have a different story to tell about your establishment. How can you possibly know what everyone is thinking? Fortunately, there is no shortage of people sharing their opinions on basically everything these days. Take the time to see what the jury has to say – review your company reviews on employment sites, such as Glassdoor and Indeed, as well as Google My Business and social platforms. This serves two purposes: 1. If there are any areas of concern being communicated, address them immediately (if you haven’t already), and 2. Knowing what good things people are saying about your company is helpful in further understanding what is truly important and should be emphasized.

Let’s get social! – It is statistically likely that your next hire has social media. In fact, as of 2022, 3.96 billion people worldwide currently use social media, reports Oberlo. This demonstrates a 4.8% increase over last year. And while Google searches and review sites are obviously very important steps in your corporate branding strategy for recruitment, it would be a grave mistake not to take your social media into consideration, as well. What is your current social media communicating to potential applicants? What tone are you giving off? Are you a fun place to work? Are posts being trolled by (probably former) employees? Your company’s social presence is no longer optional and is a top-tier way to attract more than just customers.

Illuminate Why New Talent Should Choose You.

Do you offer remote or hybrid working? Does your company break room come with a free, fully stocked beverage cooler? Do you hear laughter singing down the halls or are all your offices starkly quiet? What about your company keeps your employees from looking elsewhere?

“Job seekers have more power now than ever before and are being more selective about companies they are willing to join. Companies who fail to stand out are struggling to secure the best talent,” says Marci Caudle, founder of TenFootLine, a full-service talent acquisition consulting company. “The last two years, my firm has seen such a change in recruitment strategies and many companies are finding it difficult to evolve to meet current demands.” So how do you differentiate yourself from the competition in this whirlwind market? 

Share your desirable company culture – Transparency is key when discussing company culture and an easy way to do this is through storytelling. By publishing news on your social channels and on your company blog, top talent can see you care about your employees and will make them consider your job opening more seriously. Celebrate your employee work anniversaries or milestones. Humble brag about contributions you and your team members are making to your local community. Not only will you be creating a bond with potential new employees, but you’re also solidifying a great environment for your current team.

Promote your perks package – Flexible working. Free lunches on Fridays. Discounts on gym memberships or mental wellness apps. Added benefits not only keep your current workforce happy but can help attract new talent. When considering job offers from multiple companies, added perks can sometimes create a competitive advantage, even if your offered salary comes in a little below another’s.

Encourage employee advocacy – Many managers may think it sounds crazy to tell their employees to spend time on LinkedIn while on the clock if their primary job responsibility isn’t social media marketing. We get it – encouraging employees to spend time on social media may seem counterintuitive. But, allowing your team 15-30 minutes a day to grow their network, interact with your corporate page posts, read a little about something that pertains to their job, or share positive experiences about life at your company can make a huge difference to people considering applying for one of your open positions. It’s one thing to publish a post about your great company culture, but seeing happy employees share something they like about where they work is significantly more believable and can help job seekers feel more comfortable with applying or accepting an offer.

Knowing When to Seek Assistance Securing Talent.

In today’s whirlwind job market, hiring top employees involves more than a fun job description on a couple of job boards. Successful recruitment in 2022 requires serious internal reflection, strong brand messaging, and an emphasis on great corporate culture, all while taking proactive measures to also keep your existing talent. If your current human resources department is struggling to devote sufficient time for recruitment and keep up to date on current hiring trends, you don’t have to do it alone. TenFootLine’s team of talent acquisition experts can offer a variety of support levels throughout the recruitment and hiring process. Contact us today to schedule a complimentary 30-minute assessment of your organization’s recruitment efforts.