How To Hire From An Increased Talent Pool

After years of a tight labor market, small and mid-sized businesses are now facing a radically different recruitment landscape. The available talent pool is deeper than ever before, and the number of skilled candidates has never been higher. Even if your company’s focus is on cutting costs during this stage of the global pandemic, it’s still important to keep an eye on the ever-evolving hiring landscape.

Is now the perfect time to hire?

While most business owners are currently focused on immediate cash flow, those in a position to hire have a unique opportunity to choose from one of the largest groups of talent in history. If your business has been impacted by years of skills shortages, now’s the perfect time to find the missing pieces on your team. Hiring can also be a defensive measure—new hires can help you navigate the crisis and emerge stronger than ever.

Remote work means more opportunities

The switch to remote work means you can widen your search more than ever before. If your business, like many out there, has adapted to working from home faster than you thought possible, you may find yourself in a position to hire staff outside of your immediate geographic area. Video-conferencing and remote collaboration solutions mean you can target high quality applicants, wherever they are.

Use referrals

Before posting a position externally, you should first ask your current employees if they know of any high-quality candidates. You can add incentive by formalizing the referral process and offering a bonus if an employee’s referral is hired.

Get out there and start recruiting

Your dream candidate is out there, and it’s your job to find them. Recruit proactively by reaching out to top talent on LinkedIn or using an agency to expand your reach. You may also find it beneficial to sponsor job listings on recruitment websites like Indeed. This can lead to far higher visibility, and in turn, more candidates to choose from.

Be selective

Increasing your talent pool means a broader funnel, but it doesn’t need to mean more headaches for hiring managers. You (or rather your technology) just need more filtering. With a high number of applicants, you can afford to be more selective than ever before. Only consider highly qualified candidates with skillsets that perfectly match your needs.

Prepare for the future

Even if your business isn’t prepared to hire right now, there’s still a lot you can do to prepare for the future. Start by managing and expanding your database of potential candidates, implementing a formal referral system, and establishing a presence on job recruitment websites if you haven’t already done so.

When growth does return, you’ll be better placed to find the right talent.

 

Sources:

Paycor, 2020, How to Hire From an Increased Talent Pool

https://www.paycor.com/resource-center/articles/how-to-hire-from-an-increased-talent-pool/