How to deal with job vacancies

Overcoming talent shortages is easier said than done. However, these tips can help give businesses an edge.

Many organisations are struggling to attract talent. This can affect efficiency and hinder growth. While the natural reaction may be to just hire anyone and everyone you can, GigaComm advised against this.

By blindly hiring without thought of the repercussions, GigaComm said, businesses can create future issues, such as poor customer experience, relationships, and productivity, not to mention the time and money it takes to hire and train a candidate.

If struggling to attract skilled workers, organisations should turn inward and recognise the potential they already have. Keeping existing staff happy and engaged can help to mitigate issues as you’re getting the most out of them.

This begins with rewards and recognition. Don’t just expect employees to bend over backwards. Appreciate them when they do. Showing appreciation through rewards, gestures, gifts, or even praise can help to motivate and empower.

Attraction should always be a consideration during talent shortages. GigaComm noted that this could be bolstered through branding. Culture should not be understated as an attractor for candidates, and building on this is an effective way to bring people in the door.

Moving fast in recruitment is also important. Candidates often apply for multiple roles, which means those who take too long to secure talent run the risk of them going elsewhere. By ramping up recruitment and getting people in the door fast, the competitors can be left behind.

As with anything in the workforce, tech is crucial. Utilising tech in recruitment can make the process much more effective by streamlining and automating tasks.

Tech isn’t just useful in recruitment, however. Tech implementation can also help in attraction and retention as employees value up-to-date systems. Making it easier to complete a task can be an attractive thing for a candidate.

GigaComm urged employers to ask themselves these questions:

• Have I adopted cloud-based workflow management tools that enable teams to easily collaborate and track work?
• Have I integrated software platforms for administration and manual tasks that could be automated, enabling team members to focus on more value-adding work?
• Do I have the right level of internet for your business needs, or is your team wasting time and energy due to downtime, slow speeds and internet that simply doesn’t have the increased speed and reliability for today’s workplace?

The power of tech should not be ignored. It’s reported that 75 per cent of successful businesses have purchased some form of technology in the past year. Investment in up-to-date systems can help employers to stand out from the crowd.