Not-so Mini Budget

Kwasi Kwarteng’s statement towards the end of last month saw a wealth of revelations from the Truss administration. Perhaps the greatest shock for the recruitment sector was the repeal of the IR35 regulations. APSCo has been calling for a reversal on Off Payroll or at least a review of the legislation, which we felt was simply unsuitable for the modern world of work for some time. While we were surprised at the unexpected U-turn, it was certainly testament to the success of our public policy and lobbying teams who have worked tirelessly to communicate with the relevant Ministers and Government bodies to voice the concerns of the recruitment sector on this matter.

It was also highly promising to see the recognition that a localized, sector-based skills focus needs to be prioritized to drive growth. Changes to Income Tax and the reversal of plans to increase Dividend Tax will help grow the flexible workforce once again, following a decline in contractor activity post-IR35. And while plans for immigration reviews are in the pipeline, it’s encouraging to note that the government is currently recognizing the need to bolster the country’s skills and resources.

But that doesn’t mean that the talent troubles of the UK are over. In fact, the dearth of skills is still being widely reported. And according to our latest data, talent shortages could be set to increase further in the immediate future as salary increases fail to keep up with inflation.

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Staff Demand Soars While Salaries Drop

When looking at APSCo’s own Recruitment Trends Snapshot, it is certainly interesting to see the changes in pay over the last few years. Looking back on August 2020, when Covid restrictions were first beginning to ease, the number of vacancies and placements across permanent and contract roles had spiked. In fact, the number of permanent jobs added between August 2020 and August 2022 increased by 48%, while contract vacancies rose by 71%. However, despite the growth in demand for staff since Covid hit the country and the current cost-of-living crisis, average permanent salaries dropped by 8% during the same period.

The data, provided by the global leader in software for the staffing industry, Bullhorn, also shows a similar picture in pre-Covid comparisons, with remuneration dropping 7% between August 2019 and August 2022. This suggests that salaries across the professional recruitment sector haven’t risen despite the record-breaking inflation rates and increased demand for talent, forcing people to look for new roles that offer them a competitive salary or a pay rise that can protect them from the rising cost of living.

Amplified Skills Struggles

The notion that the cost-of-living crisis isn’t inflating salaries is also supported by the latest ONS labor market statistics, which revealed that total pay between May and July 2022 — when adjusted for inflation — fell by 2.6%.

Increasing salaries while our economic stability is being questioned is understandably unlikely to be a priority or even feasible for many businesses, but to see a decline in pre- and post-Covid salaries is worrying. Since 2019, we’ve witnessed a demand for talent on a significant scale and an initial surge in economic activity as restrictions were lifted, but salaries across the professional, highly skilled sectors haven’t risen in line with this. The result is now being felt across the country. With the impact of Brexit also still playing out, this decline in financial incentives for new hires will only have a detrimental impact on the country’s ability to attract the skills needed to bolster the UK’s economy.

In a post-Brexit and Covid-hit economy, the strength of the labor market will be paramount to the UK’s ability to become — and, crucially, remain — a global powerhouse. While the Chancellor’s Mini-Budget demonstrated steps to help bolster the country’s labor market, more will be needed.

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Permanent Job Numbers Take a Hit

Taking a detailed look into the white-collar jobs market, our latest Recruitment Trends Snapshot report reveals that the contractor recruitment market remains buoyant in light of the ongoing dearth of resources, with vacancies up 2% month on month and 7% between July 2021 and 2022. This increase in contractor demand has translated into positive sales revenue trends for contract placements, which grew 3% between June and July 2022 and 15% annually.

In contrast, permanent job numbers have dropped, down 1% from June to July 2022, also reporting a similar decline annually in July. This decline in permanent demand has impacted both placement numbers and sales revenue for recruiters, which both saw a 7% drop month on month in July.

While this dip in permanent recruitment appears to be marginal, in a market impacted by a cost-of-living crisis, recession fears and a shortage of skills, these figures present a potential indication of economic instability. In fact, when we look at the pre-pandemic comparison, we can see the extent of the drop in permanent recruitment, with vacancies falling 23% between July 2019 and July 2022. In comparison, contractor job numbers rose 13% during this same period, highlighting the extent of the reliance on contingent labor to fill resourcing gaps in the current economy.

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Salaries Show No Signs of Inflation Increases

The data, provided by the global leader in software for the staffing industry, Bullhorn, also reveals that perhaps rather concerningly, given the widely talked about cost-of-living crisis, average permanent salaries have fallen 7% year on year, despite July seeing a 10% annual increase in permanent placement numbers. This will no doubt exacerbate the shortage of applications for current roles, further increasing the reliance on the contract market. However, a further worry is that these underwhelming salaries could also lead to a drop in staff retention rates. There have already been reports of sector-wide strikes, with recent plans for an autumn strike by those in the education sector fueled by anger over the government’s below-inflation pay proposal.

An Unsustainable Talent Pipeline

While the reliance on the contractor market to fill resourcing gaps is evident, as Global Public Policy Director Tania Bowers explains, this isn’t a long-term solution: “This reliance on the non-employed segment of the workforce simply isn’t sustainable at a time when the UK’s attractiveness as a destination to work for international contractors is dwindling post-Brexit. And with the impact of Off Payroll still being felt in the temporary recruitment market, the longer-term availability of these resources and the ability to tap into skills in a cost-effective manner is at risk. We urgently need some stability from the government and a clearer direction on the regulation of the employment market to ensure that the UK can manage through the difficult times ahead.”

The data is painting a worrying picture for the UK’s permanent recruitment market at a time of continued instability. We are still seeing the impact of the pandemic play out, but to see such significant spikes in contractor recruitment when comparing pre-pandemic levels with today, while permanent jobs decline, suggests that the country’s skills agenda is balancing on a knife’s edge. Companies are faced with no other choice but to turn to contractors to keep business as usual operations running, but for many, that’s not a sustainable approach. With average permanent salaries also dropping despite the cost-of-living crisis, our economic stability is at stake. While we await the decision around a new prime minister for the country, my hope is that the successful individual prioritizes a solution to the UK’s skills crisis.

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Regardless of your take on this issue, one thing is undeniable: We’re operating in extremely uncertain economic times.

Let’s table the recession/no recession issue and focus on a critical issue — namely, how you should adjust your recruitment marketing for today’s (and tomorrow’s) economy.

The current volatility is impacting everyone. Whether you’re a business owner, recruiter or job seeker, each person is experiencing unique challenges related to the supply chain, lack of job candidates and/or inflation. But there are job seekers out there searching for jobs for a variety of reasons. And your clients’ jobs need to be filled.

So in times like these, what should you be doing more of, less of, or differently? Below, I share a few ideas for adapting your recruitment marketing to prepare for different scenarios in this uncertain economy.

Build Your Employer Brand

Employer brand will be vital, regardless of which way the economy trends. Why is employer brand important?

If we do go into a recession, featuring layoffs, then top talent will return to the market. That’s the perfect time to top grade. (Think about the layoffs in Q2 2020.) When top talent starts to search for a job, they will have their choice of employer. What does your content say about your company on your career site, in your job postings, across your social channels and in your reputation management?

And if a recession doesn’t materialize, highly qualified candidates will continue to have their choice of opportunities. How can you showcase your firm’s brand now to be prepared to be their top choice? While it’s important to push jobs, it’s also vital to showcase why your staffing firm is an employer of choice.

PREMIUM CONTENT: The Future of Identity Verification in Contingent Work: Flipping the Paradigm

Spend Smarter on the Job Boards

“Spend more” isn’t the correct recruiting strategy during uncertain time, but spending smarter can lead to better results.

When looking at the data recently for a caregiver recruitment company, the numbers showed they were overpaying for clicks:

Two pieces of data reveal this company was overpaying for clicks:

1. The conversion rate (clicks that leads to apply) is very consistent.
2. The cost per click bounces all over the place.

Look at the last two rows of the chart — the conversion rate has a 1.8% difference, but a 45% difference in cost per click. Seeing a constant conversion rate and a variable CPC means you are overpaying for clicks.

Messaging on Your Career Site and Social Pages

Right now, job seekers want to work at the best places and progress professionally. Does your content say that right now? If it doesn’t, it’s time to change.

But now I’m going to throw a few curveballs into this one. What if the open jobs go away? What if unemployment increases? Are you ready to shift quickly?

You’ll still need to highlight the content about your company being a best place to work. But if the economy takes a turn for the worse, job seekers might need to know the basics of how to search for a job since they’ll be competing with a lot of other candidates who were recently laid off.

Have a flexible content plan for your blog and social posts. Look at the images and calls to action on your website. What message do they give in the current state of the economy? How can you change it if market conditions change in a few weeks?

The economy is very uncertain right now. Regardless of what’s around the next economic corner:

• Your employer brand is always going to be important.
• It’s always smart to spend smart on the job boards.
• Your content needs to be flexible and meet the needs of your audience.

Just because the economy is uncertain doesn’t mean your recruitment marketing strategy should be.

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The hope was that by now we would have returned to some sort of “normal,” but in fact we’re far from it by just about every measure. The staffing industry is experiencing significant turmoil. And what we do in the coming weeks to tackle these collective challenges will, in many ways, determine how successful our companies — and industry — will be in the coming years.

The process of getting to solutions begins with acknowledging and accepting certain realities. For example, hybrid or completely remote work is here to stay, while people switching jobs many times during their career will continue. In fact, many people just aren’t interested in the old ways of working.

It’s a phenomenon affecting everyone from small businesses all the way up to major corporations. I recently visited one of the nation’s largest companies. They opened a beautiful new headquarters building in early 2020, and it’s essentially sat empty since. Work is still getting done, of course, just not where it used to.

At the same time, we’re still seeing a lot of hiring across multiple industries and positions. However, there are signs this trend will start to decline as a number of converging factors could cause the economy overall to come to a halt. Challenges such as ongoing supply chain disruptions, a volatile stock market, rising prices, wage inflation and decreasing consumer sentiment all suggest we could be in for a rough go during the third and especially fourth quarter.

So, whether we’re actually in a crisis or not, every staffing business needs to make sure it doesn’t waste the opportunities presented by this most unusual moment in time. Now’s the time to assess where your individual business is today, where you want it to be tomorrow and what you need to do to get there.

PREMIUM CONTENT: Companies Looking to Acquire Staffing and Workforce Solutions Firms: 2022 Update

A good starting point is to identify the many incremental expenses you incur so you can get them under control. One way to do that is by asking customers to share at least a portion of the costs for services that bring them excellent value.

Many large customers, for example, use vendor management systems and managed service providers at a cost to the staffing companies that typically ranges from two to four-and-a-half percent for each employee a staffing company places. Pricing discounts can reduce the amount a staffing company gets paid per employee by another three to six percent. It all adds up to staffing companies getting paid less, reducing profitability — resources that the staffing company could put into technology, salaries or other investments that enhance the services we provide and results we deliver to customers.

Additionally, background checks and drug tests are a necessity across the board, and for good reason. But should staffing firms bear the entire cost? Cyber-insurance is similarly necessary for any business but particularly a staffing company given the nature of our data.

Similarly, now’s the perfect time for staffing firms to really assess the revenue side of their business. Is the industry ready to take a hard look at pricing and become more aggressive? Customers want a lot — and rightly so — but when customers continue to drive more ancillary costs to staffing companies, extend the length of payment terms and otherwise make it difficult for firms to receive sufficient compensation in a timely fashion for the services they provide, it hinders companies’ abilities to continuously improve and innovate.

My experience has been that the best approach to dealing with increasing expenses is to be direct with customers: have conversations about the actual costs associated with services and capabilities they want and propose a fee structure or increase that is fair. Making deals that are good for your firm has never been more important because customer demands and expectations have never been higher.

As an industry, we have a unique opportunity to get together, rally around some common themes and make some changes that are probably long overdue. Let’s not waste it.

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How can employers balance these two dynamics? It’s important to reassure employees that the US economy is still strong and unemployment remains low. While sectors such as Big Tech are experiencing a strain right now, IT overall is doing well, and industries such as finance and energy have not slowed down.

With these factors in mind, here are three things business leaders can do to help employees cope with global/national economic concerns and reassure them about the strength of their own organizations.

Get smart about the economy. Inflation has an enormous impact on employees’ lives as they deal with higher gas, food and housing prices. Additionally, fear rises when staff reductions hit the news. Leaders should talk honestly about the economy and how the company itself is staying abreast of economic fluctuations. You don’t need to be an expert to have a candid discussion with employees. After all, many leading economists are uncertain how inflation and the Fed’s attempts to control it will play out.

If you haven’t been doing so already, now is a good time to become more tuned into what’s happening with the economy. One place to start is understanding the role of the Fed and the impact its past actions have made on the economy. Set aside time each day to do research and read the news, mixing in a variety of trusted sources to ensure balance and perspective.

PREMIUM CONTENT: Most Attractive Staffing Markets Globally 2022

Ease stress during uncertain times. Good leaders ease employees’ minds in difficult times. Great leaders dig deep to understand the facts and communicate a strategic path forward that safeguards every employee’s future. Doing this will help lower employee stress levels so they can focus more on their role in the company.

Encourage your teams to discuss what they’re experiencing and offer them solutions. A BrightPlan wellness survey found nearly nine out of 10 employees expect their employers to give them resources to help with their finances. Some examples include investing tools, financial education opportunities and access to financial professionals.

Heighten communication and build transparency. Share success stories and lessons learned during rocky economic times of the past. Use all-hands meetings to discuss how the company is tracking, explain what gauges the business monitors closely and offer insights employees can share with clients. Prepare for questions and acknowledge that while you may not have all the answers, you absolutely support them in uncertain times.

Focus on equalizing pay to foster retention. Market conditions are impacting salary levels for new hires. This can often disrupt pay structures and lead to retention issues with existing employees. To minimize potential wage gaps, ensure you have a system in place to evaluate rates and salaries on a regular basis. This can include reviewing job descriptions, revisiting pay and compensation metrics, and conducting market research. Use this intel to assess compensation plans and ensure they’re competitive.

The focus should always be equal pay for equal work. If you need to pay a higher salary to bring someone on board, give them more responsibilities. If you start to see issues in top pay bands, it’s time to review and reset.

Parting thought: Lead today and prepare for tomorrow. There are two kinds of leaders: those who have endured economic challenges and those who are going to experience them. During such times, business leaders who focus on operating the business responsibly, profitably and transparently will maintain an ample financial cushion and foster an environment in which external economic challenges are discussed openly. Such organizations will have the resources needed to continue nurturing and advancing their people, positioning them to come out ahead during challenging economic times.

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Indeed, M&A activity in the broader staffing sector experienced a meaningful recovery in 2021 following a pandemic-driven reduction of about 25% in 2020, and we expect activity to remain strong this year. From a volume perspective, 2021 saw 134 staffing M&A deals close, representing a 37% recovery from the 98 deals closed in full-year 2020. The buyer universe continues to be dominated by strategic staffing companies, who were responsible for over 80% of successful closings.

As such, it is critical for operators in the space, as well as potential buyers and sellers, to stay up-to-date on this dynamic market to remain competitive.

According to my colleague, Bryan Besco, a member of our national staffing practice, sellers of staffing companies who can articulate a strong value proposition will attract an aggressive pool of prospective investors in this market. A well-run, timeline-driven, competitive sale process targeting the right buyer universe enables owners to leverage the highly favorable dynamics present in today’s market to drive higher values, higher cash payouts and an increased probability of a successful closing.

Calculating value. Valuations can vary for any number of reasons, but in staffing transactions, there are crucial components all buyers search for in a potential acquisition. These key value drivers include a company’s organic growth profile, key performance indicators and scalability, as well as the quality and depth of the leadership team.

Valuations remain robust, particularly within the higher-margin staffing segments. A highly competitive buyer universe, represented by a mix of both financial and strategic acquirers, has repeatedly shown their willingness to pay premium values. Investment banks are uniquely suited to drive exceptional valuations in this market.

We are currently seeing valuations in the ranges of:

• 0x-5.0x — lower growth/margin businesses in the light industrial and commercial spaces
• 0x-6.0x range — average growth/margin businesses active in the professional and general placement agency spaces
• 0x-7.0x-plus range — high growth/margin businesses like those active in the healthcare, life science and IT spaces

“Because of the significant operational differences between staffing companies, we are completing more pre-sale staffing valuations than we have in the past several years,” says Wiley Lane, Analyst, of UHY Corporate Finance.

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The deal structure. While valuations are clearly of high importance in M&A transactions, factors that determine just how much cash sellers receive (and when) tend to be just as important in assessing the attractiveness of a deal. Staffing acquisitions tend to include meaningful deal structure (vs. 100% cash-at-close transactions). Deferred consideration, such as performance-based earn-outs, seller notes and escrows, has historically represented 50% or more of total consideration for staffing transactions, which limits the cash paid at closing and shifts the risk of future payouts to sellers. Given sellers’ priority of maximizing cash-at-close, a critical job of any sell-side investment banker is to reduce deferred payouts. While this is more difficult in the staffing space, UHY has had tremendous success achieving 90% to 100% cash payouts in recent staffing transactions — something that we have simply not seen in recent years.

2022 staffing M&A outlook. “UHY forecasts the demand for acquisition-based growth in the staffing industry will remain high as the economy continues to recover from the pandemic and the value of talent acquisition and retention continues to increase,” says Jerry Grady, partner and national staffing industry practice leader. We expect valuations to remain elevated across staffing sectors in 2022, including the potential for stretch values among the most sought-after acquisition targets. Additionally, deal volume will remain in line with 2021 levels, with 130 to 140 staffing transactions expected in 2022. Despite some potential market disruptors sitting out there today, staffing M&A is expected to continue to follow the sustained upswing in activity we saw in 2021. Investors remain eager to put their cash to work, which should result in another strong year.

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White-collar jobs boom continues amid raging talent crisis

It’s official: The hiring market in the UK is showing no signs of slowing. While this is promising for staffing firms and jobseekers alike, skills shortages remain rife across the country, which will only be exacerbated if vacancy numbers continue on the same growth trajectory without a sustainable solution to the dearth of talent. And while the release of the government’s Levelling Up Whitepaper does show a promising commitment to increasing the professional skills of the UK market, there’s still more that can be done, including changes to the Apprenticeship Levy to make it more flexible so that the likes of agency workers can carry training over in their roles.

Perm placements up 84% year-on-year

APSCo’s latest data, provided by the global leader in software for the staffing industry, Bullhorn, reveals a significant increase in placements, with the number of candidates accepting new permanent professional roles increasing 84% between January 2021 and January 2022. Contract placements were up 12% during the same period.

In terms of vacancies, permanent white-collar jobs have spiked once again, up 28% in January when compared to the same time last year, with demand for contractors also up 38% year-on-year. Month-on-month figures also show a rapid rise in job availability, with permanent and contract vacancies increasing 104% and 78% between December and January, which can be attributed to a bounce back following a seasonal lull. This is in line with the latest data from the Office for National Statistics, which shows vacancies hit 1.3 million during the three months to January for the first time ever. Make no mistake, this rise in placements alongside a spike in vacancies will put increasing pressures on the UK’s recruitment market.

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Increase in sales revenue for staffing firms

This boom in demand for skills is resulting in an increasing reliance on professional recruitment firms to help source and secure much needed talent for struggling businesses. In fact, APSCo’s data on sales revenue for the recruitment sector reveals a significant jump in recruitment spend. Figures show a 59% and 60% year-on-year increase in sales revenue respectively for contractor and permanent placement. Clearly, employers see the value in engaging external experts to source vital skills during these unprecedented times.

Exciting market conditions

As Joe McGuire, sales and strategy director, analytics at Bullhorn, highlighted in our latest report: “Based on all the conversations I am having, I don’t think this level of productivity will surprise many. The market conditions remain very exciting, and we are going to continue to see a war for talent for some time. It’s important for agencies to be focused on improving efficiency and utilizing their existing candidate relationships in a much more strategic way.”

A plan to attract and retain access to skills

It is, of course, encouraging to see vacancy and placement numbers increasing. However, we are acutely aware that skills shortages are rife across almost every profession – and access to talent poses a significant threat to UK economic growth.

We also can’t forget that the UK remains a relatively unattractive place for highly skilled independent contractors who still have no viable and attractive visa route into the country. With vacancies showing no sign of slowing down, and employers struggling to source talent, action must be taken to not only allow the development of home-grown talent, but also access to highly skilled individuals from outside the UK.

The professional recruitment sector is best placed to advise on how we can best maintain access to vital talent. In its Access to Skills and Talent Public Policy plan, APSCo highlighted its government asks in order to create a labor market that is dynamic and flexible to address the skills shortages that are being felt across the UK. This includes the need to reform the Apprenticeship Levy to ensure independent professionals and other members of the self-employed workforce can also access skills training. Flexible, pragmatic training initiatives must be designed by government to maximize access across the workforce from school leavers to mid-life “lane changers” if it is to equip the UK labor market with the skills, experience and expertise in demand by employers and businesses both now and in decades to come. APSCo continues to lobby government to ensure the professional recruitment market is able to continue to thrive once the inevitable “settling down” period begins.

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Upskilling has become a buzzword in today’s job ecosystem. Both employees and employers have begun looking at ways to maximize the available opportunities and minimize skills gaps. The world of work is changing at the speed of light, and you need to be able to adapt to it, or otherwise you’ll fall behind. Here is how to stay on top of your game at all times with upskilling.

Why should upskilling enter your vocabulary now?

Upskilling has always been integral to workers. But just like the world of work has changed, especially amidst the pandemic, the necessity of upskilling has changed too. While the half-life of professional skills was once 10-15 years, it’s now been shortened to five years. For technical skills, this can be even shorter. This means that workers must constantly update their skills to stay relevant.

According to the ILO Global Commission of the Future of Work, “Today’s skills won’t match the jobs of tomorrow, and newly acquired skills may quickly become obsolete.” Things like technological advancements, climate change, globalization and Covid-19 are dictating changes in the workplace and the need for upskilling.

PREMIUM CONTENT: Staffing Company 2022 Planning Package

Automation calls for new technical skills

The question of robots replacing humans in the workplace has been pressing for a long time. The 2013 movie Her imagined a future where robots have replaced not only human labor but also human romance. It seems that the line between sci-fi and reality is becoming more and more blurred. According to experts at Fortune magazine, “40% of the world’s jobs will be replaced by robots capable of automating tasks.” Around 1.5 million jobs in England are at risk of being automated in the future, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). This means that human labor won’t be needed. Such jobs include elementary occupations, as well as process, plant and machine operatives.

As worrying as this sounds, there is light at the end of the tunnel. We must adapt to technological innovations, and this calls for continuous learning. Digital literacy, numeracy, creativity and innovative thinking must improve continuously to keep up.

Globalization, Brexit, and Covid-19: How are jobs shifting shape?

It’s fair to say that most job sectors are shifting and so is the workforce demand. Globalized businesses are making way for both high-skilled and low-skilled jobs. However, medium-skilled jobs are being left behind. The job polarization is due to the increased labor-intensive production, liberalization of trade and international transportation and communication. Workplaces within leading economies are looking for highly skilled people who are ready to operate on a global level. Conversely, they are also looking for cheaper low-skilled laborers.

However, both Brexit and Covid-19 have had an immense impact on disruptions to supply chains and trade. The UK is facing a workforce shortage, and Brexit has only worsened the situation. Those who thrive in this changing socio-economic environment will have transferable skills. These skills can be adapted and applied to different occupations and skills.

You might be wondering if your own job is at stake. While many businesses are set to recover from Brexit and the pandemic, others might remain in the shadows. That’s why it’s more critical now than ever to upgrade your core skills. It’s also important to upgrade your more alternative skills that are useful as a backup plan. For example, you can learn to become a ski instructor, a reiki healer or an English language teacher. Obtaining such qualifications will make you an even more desired candidate. They will show employers that you are willing to adapt to new environments and learn new skills.

The world is changing faster than ever with a lot of socio-economic factors at play. In order to adapt to the new world of work, employees are being urged to upskill their abilities and implement innovative thinking. In turn, this will drive both the economy and their personal development forward.

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Resolutions could take a long time, and efficient, personalised recruitment strategies are vital as we enter the seasonal period and move forward into 2022.

Collaboration with industry players is key in determining how we help our customers at Access Recruitment tap into new candidate pools and win at retention with innovative solutions. To this end, we recently hosted a lively panel discussion with several leading industry experts who shared their views and insights on how we go about combatting the candidate crisis.

PREMIUM CONTENT: Global Staffing Front Office Software Landscape

Resilient and agile solutions. Unprecedented challenges require extraordinary solutions, and the candidate crisis is no different. Gary Callow, Director of Meridian Business Support, cited the challenges of eligible workers leaving the UK, alongside the upturn and growth of many industries, resulting in not having candidates to fill many open vacancies. As a solution, he stressed it is paramount to engage candidates by moving quickly to outperform the rest of the market. Gary talked about educating clients and holding “data-led, grown up conversations about the incremental market pay increases.”

Implementing strategic data-driven strategies. Companies are clamouring for top talent, and competition is tight. James Skellington, Head of Strategic New Business at Force24, shared the importance of keeping up with the changing times with engaging job adverts and by utilising a data-driven candidate communications strategy. “Technology enables the delivery of personalised experiences with considerations of your candidates’ lifestyles: When do they check job vacancies on their device, and where are they browsing on your site? By accessing this information, you will have a much higher propensity of engagement with your job applications.”

Re-surfacing from survival mode. As businesses recover from a turbulent period, the greatest asset will be strategic and agile decision strategies powered by innovative technology solutions. The supply and demand relationship in the labour market has drastically shifted as we evolve from an employer market to a candidate-driven one.

Dave Pye, Director of Jump Advisory, suggested that now is the time for people to act as “recruitment and retention consultants”. Employers need to treat their staff well in order to prevent them being poached. Meanwhile, Pete Taylor, Managing Director, Encore Personnel, urged not to overpromise to clients. “These unprecedented labour supply issues have no immediate fix,” he warned.

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Improving Interview Accuracy Leads to Quality Hires

 It’s very common for hires to pass their interviews with flying colors but end up not performing very well on the job. There’s always a possibility of great candidates being overlooked when applicant interviews aren’t streamlined or designed to gauge competency accurately. Underqualified applicants may even get hired if a company’s interview screening protocol isn’t properly developed. Reviewing and improving the interview structure to effectively determine if a candidate is the right fit for the job is crucial to effective hiring.

Job interviews can be very subjective depending on who is conducting them. Many interviewers use an unstructured approach, with the conversation flowing organically. Unstructured interviews tend to be more subjective and may even lead to unconscious bias. Because of this, companies must have a dependable interview structure in place that qualifies candidates based on data. This structure helps avoid human error and increases interview accuracy. Structured interviews typically have a set of prepared questions to assess if the candidate is qualified. These questions should be designed to assess if an applicant’s skills, experience and personality fit the open position and the company’s culture.

Though structured interviews leave less room for error, there is still a possibility for unconscious bias and misunderstanding. To avoid this, all screening protocols must be the same for every applicant, from background checks to any post-interview processes. Panel interviews also help mitigate biases and help gauge how a candidate handles group dynamics. Apart from this, providing written skills tests or job-simulation activities further aid employers in making the right hiring decisions.

PREMIUM CONTENT: November 2021 US Jobs Report

Make Use of an RPO Hiring Model with Speed-to-Interview Efficiency

Today’s job market is so congested that the US staffing industry is expected to reach $157.4 billion this year. This is a 16% increase from 2020, according to Staffing Industry Analysts. Many businesses have turned to staffing agencies to meet their hiring needs, yet even the largest firms still can’t keep up with the demand for top-tier talent. To compensate for this, a significant quantity of companies and even staffing agencies resort to Recruitment Process Outsourcing in an effort to efficiently and quickly fill open positions.

Many benefits come with working with an RPO provider. Outsourcing recruitment processes considerably lowers the cost of hiring, and service requirements can be scaled up or down depending on current recruiting needs. Hiring an RPO provider dramatically reduces the amount of resources and time spent by HR to source candidates. It also streamlines the recruitment process, and with most RPO companies already having a large pool of candidates, the chance of finding quality hires rises dramatically.

For staffing and recruiting firms, utilizing an RPO provider helps manage large quantities of job orders. Many staffing agencies turn to RPO when the demand for talent is too high for the company to fill on its own. An RPO provider sources, credentials, interviews and hires candidates on behalf of the firm. This reduces the cost-to-hire and time-to-hire while improving the quality of hires. It also reduces the need for direct advertising and promotion. When selecting an RPO provider, it’s important to choose one that can handle high-volume recruiting with speed and precision. 

The Bottom Line: Hire Faster and Smarter

With businesses bouncing back after Covid-19, we can expect the market to be more congested and the competition to be fiercer than ever before. It’s a race to the finish, and business executives and staffing agencies that don’t adapt will definitely get left behind. With the right tools and processes in place as well as a committed RPO provider, you can outshine the competition and reach the finish line with the most outstanding talent every single time.

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