Recuriting the right staff with the right skills and expertise can be a struggle. Organisations across the UK, from the FTSE 100 company to the 150-employee business have struggled to find suitable fits.
According to the latest CIPD/KPMG Labour Market Outlook survey, 48% of employers anticipate recruitment difficulties this quarter.
Yet many of these companies are actively undermining their chances of attracting the right candidates by using poor, manual recruitment processes that are both time-consuming and costly.
Organisations simply cannot afford to rely on outdated means and methods of recruitment
With an increasing number of workers now coming to the UK from EU member countries, organisations have a fantastic opportunity to boost employee expertise and bridge skills gaps. But that can only be achieved if they adopt tools and techniques that support an effective, proactive recruitment strategy.
While many companies increasingly place job vacancies on their websites, simply dabbling with online recruitment is not enough. It is only by implementing a robust, end-to-end online recruitment strategy which attracts candidates successfully and has streamlined recruitment processes that organisations can drive down costs while improving the candidate experience, and so gain access to the best skills in the market, argues Tim Richards, managing director at Bond International Software.
Strong economy
As the UK continues to enjoy a strong economy, there has been a significant rise in the number of organisations struggling to retain their staff over the past year and recruitment difficulties persist, according to a new report from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).
Key reasons for recruitment difficulties are lack of necessary specialist skills (65%), followed by higher pay expectations (46%) and insufficient experience (37%).
Nicola Monson, author of the report, says:
“Employers will continue to struggle to find suitable candidates and keep staff turnover under control if their approach to recruitment and retention fails to take account of both business and employee needs.”
In an environment where good candidates are likely to receive more than one job offer, the effectiveness and relevance of the recruitment process is becoming ever more critical in securing the right employees across the board.
Indeed, given the clear need to attract high calibre candidates, it is extraordinary that only 51% of FTSE 100 companies have adopted an end-to-end online recruitment solution. The recruitment processes need to be far more candidate-friendly, from initial job description to the provision of continuous, real time feedback on the application status.
Migrant Opportunity
This issue is becoming ever more pressing as companies recognise the value of overseas workers. The CIPD research also shows that recruiting from overseas, targeting migrant workers, training existing staff and better use of employer brand will help UK employers tackle these problems. However, while three quarters say that recruiting from EU accession states has a positive impact, only 14% are currently targeting migrant workers in this way. One in 10 (11%) are recruiting in foreign countries and bringing workers over to the UK.
