Adopting new techniques to navigate a tight labour market

The talent market remains tight well into 2023. Businesses may benefit by adopting some new recruitment techniques.

Roxanne Calder, founder and managing director of EST10 Recruitment, highlighted the benefits of utilising remote workers.

“Pre-pandemic practices won’t suffice. Remote recruitment is innovative, entrepreneurial, fast and must factor in retention,” said Ms Calder.

“Remain realistic. It is a seismic opportunity to source talent further afield, including emerging markets. However, it is still competitive, so you can’t ask for the world.”

Technology is important when adopting the remote recruitment approach. Without the tools to support this method, teams will suffer as a result.

“Depending on volume, consider recruitment-specific CRM systems to track communication and traction. Artificial intelligence is valuable for efficient screening and identifying talent and reducing human bias. However, because of the algorithms, AI can also create its own bias. Use tools such as LinkedIn and networks to verify resumé details,” explained Ms Calder.

“[Utilise] the virtual interview. Enlightened virtual interviewers consider culture and language. Sensitivity, understanding, reserving judgment, and being attuned to your cultural frame of reference helps avoid misinterpretation and missed hiring opportunities.”

If your organisation plans to go across border to find remote workers, keep in mind language and cultural barriers that could affect processes.

Ms Calder said: “New hires may be from different cultures, and English may not be their first language. Be creative in conveying the job description so it is fully understood. A video job description, as well as in writing, may do this and will assist retention.”

Expanding your remote worker portfolio isn’t the only recruitment strategy that could assist through talent shortages. Ms Calder said that existing employees should also be considered as this removes the recruitment aspect all together.

“How well do you know your existing employees, their education, degree, interests, other skills, previous experience, potential, motivation, and career aspirations? Don’t take your team for granted or view them only from the prism of their current role,” Ms Calder said.

Understanding skills that are transferable can also open up your talent pool: “Understand your current job vacancy well to detect the transferable skills. Hiring on transferable skills requires upskilling, patience, compromise, and support on the employer’s part as well,” Ms Calder outlined.

“Look to candidates with admirable attributes who lean in to take responsibility, be accountable, dependable, and are willing to learn, grow and receive feedback.”

To further reach outside traditional talent pools, organisations may benefit by using temporary workers and removing bias. By finding capable temporaries, or older workers, students, part-timers, and parents, you open yourself up to underappreciated members of the workforce.

“As trained and skilled workers, temporaries alleviate immediate business burdens. If suffering from a prolonged empty seat, consider the inevitable cost to your customer base and your existing employees. You might just discover your next employee,” said Ms Calder.

She continued: “Look to our mature workers, students, part-timers and return-to-work parents. It is my assertion that 55-year-olds and above are our new mid-career candidates. Additionally, the share of workers over the age of 55 has doubled from 9 per cent in 1991 to 19 per cent in 2021, a significant, untapped sourcing pool that is rich in expertise, talent and skills.”