A war for talent

The “war for talent” is a phrase you will hear regularly from HR professionals and recruiters this year.  This follows the great resignation, when candidates started to move jobs after coming out of lockdown, and has been compounded by the cost-of-living rise also.  According to LinkedIn, 53% of candidates aged 18 – 34 are looking to change jobs this year due to the increasing cost of living, making it even harder for employers to attract and hire the right talent into their teams.

Today’s workforce is very focused on areas such as fair pay, hybrid work, meaningful work, the ability “to be oneself” at work, and wellbeing.

Top three tips for employers to consider to attract, hire and retain good talent are:

It is imperative that private businesses review their pay scales and employee benefits to ensure that they’re competitive.  It’s a challenging time to find the right talent, so when you do, don’t lose out to another organisation.

It’s here to stay!

Most businesses are either working through their new normal ways of working post lockdown, whilst others have nailed this!

Historically, employers have struggled to attract top talent because of where they live geographically.  Lockdown taught us that with the right technology and processes in place, you can successfully work remotely.  Offering hybrid working options will not only strengthen your ability to attract top talent, but it shows that you trust your employees to work away from the office.

Employees often have more than one job offer on the table at a time which is why showing who you are through a strong employer value proposition is a must.

Employees want to work in an environment where they can be themselves, with a strong sense of purpose for whom they work.  Ensuring that you have a strong brand presence externally at all candidate touch points is key.  From your corporate and careers site, social media content, brand and attraction campaigns, job descriptions and recruitment processes, showing consistency, honesty and authenticity will add value to help you attract the right talent into your organisation.