Is recruitment going to be more difficult in the coming years?.

Research published last week in the Totaljobs’ February Employer Insights Report has found that 71% of British businesses still do not believe that David Cameron’s target of full employment will be achieved in the next five years. ​

The report, which surveyed 100 UK businesses and over 4,000 jobseekers, goes on to state that 49% of British businesses also see recruitment becoming more difficult over the next couple of years.

Results also revealed that 43% of jobseekers say that they are more selective about the roles that they have taken over the last three years. As a result, 23% of companies have experienced less growth due to a shrinking talent pool while 55% state they currently have a skills shortage in their business. This is not surprising with the national unemployment rate at 5.1% (the lowest since May 2008) and 68% of employers saying the market is now more candidate led than at any time over the last five years.

Despite employers finding it harder to find new talent, 65% of jobseekers think it has been more difficult to get a job compared to the last time they were looking for a new role. However, is that a direct result of individuals being more discerning with their job search?

At Park Street People, we firmly believe that for 2015 and so far in 2016 its definitely still “The year of the candidate”.It’s very clear that individuals now have a greater influence and are realising they hold the power when it comes to getting the job they want. Whilst this is great for skilled talent looking for their next career step, as they’re in the enviable position of being able to pick and choose between employers, it’s making it much harder to attract and retain the best talent for businesses across most sectors.

We recognise that the recruitment industry needs to adapt to this market driver. We ensure the jobs we advertise for our clients are not only appealing to their target audience, but are actually promoted in the right way to reach and actively engage with these individuals. This means using multi-channel advertising options suited to both the sector each client operates within and the type of skill set they are looking at attracting. Inevitably this can lead to different solutions being needed from role to role within the same organisation. These options could be a job board, social media such as LinkedIn and Twitter, but also email marketing and mobile messaging such as Whatsapp, and usually a combination of all those that are relevant to the target audience.

We also believe it’s about engaging with not only those who are actively looking for new opportunities but also the more passive candidates who could still be open to the idea of a new job, if it proved to be the right option for them.

Lastly it is important to understand that today’s candidates are not just saying “Show me the money” either. According to the research from Totaljobs this is important for 66% of jobseekers, as you would expect, but 31% favour career development, 26% want a short commute or a decent work location, 24% desire flexible working options and 23% look for work/life balance. So successfully attract the talent that is the best match for a business, any style of job advert should really headline what it’s like to work within that organisation, not just the skills and experience the company requires. This can include company culture, the type of working environment and even a business’ approach to work-life balance.

It is clear that the 2016 recruitment market is definitely not a one-size-fits-all when it comes to candidate attraction and engagement. If you would like to find out more about our multi-channel approach then contact the Park Street People team today.