Recruiting in a Full Employment Market

Have you looked at a graph of the national unemployment rate recently?

It looks like a ski slope – and we’re currently at the bottom of the mountain.

No matter where you’re located or what industry you’re in, you’re probably feeling the talent crunch. From coast to coast, it’s getting progressively tougher (not to mention more expensive) to attract great people.

With unemployment rates near record lows, what recruiting methods work best? At PrideStaff, we’re experts at adjusting our strategies as employment conditions change. Here are three things you can do to hire the best talent in today’s market:

Be proactive.

Don’t have any open positions right now? That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be planning for the future. Time-to-hire increases dramatically during periods of unemployment, which means you need more lead-time to source qualified workers. Even if you’re not actively hiring, make sure you:

• Forecast your long-term needs. Assemble your leadership team to discuss turnover, internal promotions and new business, so you can develop a clearer picture of your hiring needs for the year ahead – and plan accordingly.
• Discuss hiring projections with your staffing provider. It’s never “too soon” to discuss an upcoming need with your recruiting partner. By giving them adequate lead-time, you optimize your chances of finding the right person for the role.
• Look for ways to streamline and accelerate your interviewing and decision-making processes.  Do whatever you can now to shorten your time-to-hire (without sacrificing quality), so you lose fewer candidates during the process.

Careful planning will reduce the stress recruiting puts on your team and give you an advantage over competitors.

Develop a strong partnership with a national employment agency like PrideStaff.

When good candidates are hard to find, a qualified staffing firm is an indispensable ally. Build a better relationship – and get better recruiting results – by helping them get to know your organization better.

Invite your staffing representative in for a tour. Discuss your business goals for 2017, your corporate culture and the challenges you’re facing. Benchmark high performers, so your rep understands what it takes to be successful in your organization. When you do have a hiring need, your staffing partner will be primed to quickly refer qualified candidate who are a great match.

Benchmark salary.

Fair compensation is a moving target. Factors like experience level, geography and candidate supply can make setting the “right” salary extremely challenging.

To ensure you’re offering enough to recruit the best, arm yourself with data from PrideStaff’s Compensation Portal. Combining proprietary and 3^rd party information that represents 90% of the labor market, we can generate real-time data and insights that:

• compare your compensation ranges to competitors’;
• drill-down by industry, position and geography;
• allow you to hire in-demand candidates in a low-unemployment market.

To get your FREE customized salary report, simply contact your local PrideStaff office.