The UK has hit a hiring crisis. For the first time, there are more vacant roles than jobseekers. 

New statistics have even demonstrated that the number of unfulfilled positions in the UK has risen to 2.7% or 33,700. There’s now an imperative that companies look at recruitment as competing for talent rather than just finding talent.

Attracting top talent is a lot easier said than done. While the market is now driven by the candidate, it’s not just sky high salaries or the offer of flexible working that is enough to sway a new hire.  Consider that the candidates you want to target are being courted by many other companies at every stage of the recruitment process.

Companies need to reevaluate their recruitment infrastructure as a whole. Their inability to hire can be down to many things. Inadequate talent acquisition skills and processes, outdated technology, gaps in branding or even data and processes, are just some of the blocks to success we’re seeing at the moment. 

Increasing headcount is all well and good. But if your candidates are not adding real value, or cannot be retained for the long run, this is going to stunt organisational growth. Leaders must consider the real reason they are failing in this area.

Your employer brand isn’t ready

To compete today, companies need to modify their recruitment approach to create the most compelling employer brand. Having a strong employer brand is no longer a ‘nice to have’, but a must.

Despite this, many businesses don’t even know what an employer brand is, or they don’t believe they have one that’s very strong. Our recent study demonstrated this, with 42% of HR leaders saying they don’t believe they have a strong awareness as an employer or don’t measure their brand awareness. This is a huge problem. If a company doesn’t even know their values or what they stand for, how can a candidate? 

When positions are equal in terms of salary, development opportunities and the role itself, employer branding will differentiate one employer from the next. In turn, businesses need to express the values, overall mission and culture they can expect at each and every touchpoint. 

A dated social media page or negative online review might be the thing that puts your potential recruits off. Simply saying it’s a ‘social office’ and it has a ‘great culture’ is also not good enough in a market this crowded. Businesses need to communicate their employer brand consistently should they want to attract the best of the best. 

You don’t understand your candidates

The post-pandemic world has created a complete power shift. The professional world and working habits are now being driven by the employee, not employer. In this case, businesses need to really understand what their candidates want. 

Employers can no longer demand unrealistic working processes from employees, or it’s guaranteed they’ll look for different opportunities out there, and there are lots of them. The future of work is looking very different. Candidates may want to work hybrid or remote. You also need to consider things like wellbeing, diversity, equal pay and sustainability. 

Whatever it may be, it’s time to reassess your offering and see if it aligns with the modern world. 

You’re not quick enough

While taking the time to ensure a candidate is the perfect fit for your business is ideal, it’s becoming evident that a slow approach is now a luxury few employers can afford. Long, drawn-out candidate experiences will only increase the number of candidates who drop out of your recruitment process. Even if the role is hitting the mark, candidates want to move at speed. 

You can’t afford to sit on CVs or inbound approaches but need to snap someone up before a competitor does. This doesn’t mean compromising on quality, if your process is correct, you will be filtering out the inappropriate candidates. To ensure that you’re not making mis-hires, you need to have  an authentic and relevant 2022 employer brand ready to go. 

Your advertising isn’t resonating with candidates

As a business, you may be tempted to post mass job openings, but the reality is that without knowing that your campaigns are resonating with the right candidates, you’ll be missing a trick. In a competitive talent pool, salaries are increasing but paychecks aren’t everything today. Candidates want to be wooed by a company as a whole. Differentiating via your marketing assets will therefore be key to building future campaigns.

Technology plays a key role here, in driving digital marketing and recruitment expertise to engage with top talent like never before. Having the ability to track every penny, pull metrics and report on candidate responses from first engagement to application is a real game-changer. 

Attract the best of the best from now on

All of the above are equally critical when transforming your recruitment processes for the better. While it may take time now, it’ll be worth it in the long term.

It’s a candidate’s market and businesses simply can’t afford to make mistakes in their approach to hiring anymore.