‘Post’ Pandemic Recruiting

With talk about economic recovery and relaxing safety measures, the idea of emerging into a post-pandemic society is starting to become a reality after a long year of heavy economic damage. With some industries coming out of hibernation and the potential for growth in a recovering economy, prospects have begun looking up for many.

However, what some have coined “The Great Re-Assessment” or “The Great Resignation” has resulted in additional difficulties with recruiting the talent necessary to recover and take opportunities for growth. But what do those terms mean? 

‘The Great Resignation’, as you have guessed, refers to the large number of people leaving their jobs voluntarily in 2021 and early 2022, leaving behind a large number of vacancies for employers to fill. This should be fine however, since there are now a large number of people looking for work, right? This is where the idea of ‘The Great Re-Assessment’ comes in. It suggests that workers are re-assessing their options, taking advantage of the vacancy situation caused by the pandemic furlough, relocating EU workers, resignations, etc. to switch careers, pursue a higher salary elsewhere, find better hours, work from home or secure other benefits. 

Therein lies the recruitment problem. As the number of vacancies increases, so too does the competition. The need for workers is inelastic, you cannot simply just do without, and unlike other industries, you can’t ask supply to increase production to meet demand. Workers are leaving to search for better offers and so those with the best offers are inundated with applications, while everyone else has fierce competition for those rejected. The further down the list of options you are, the more people have already taken their pick before you. Matching the most common offer may technically be competitive but can lead to being buried amongst 20 other identical offers.

As a result, businesses are under even more strain than they would be in during these economic times, with small businesses suffering the most. Especially considering the increase in living costs, the salary is the main way that you compete and is usually the first thing a candidate sees after the job title, but it’s not everything. Many people have gotten a taste of working from home during the pandemic, and offering the option to work from home can not only be more enticing but also widen your pool of candidates dramatically. Even if they must work in person once a week, people are willing to travel far one day a week, rather than a medium distance every day. 

Other benefits can help with recruiting employees and just as importantly, retaining them. If you receive an offer to do the same job elsewhere but for £25k instead of £22k with the same benefits, would you take it? What about the same job but for an extra thousand and no need to travel 25 minutes each way five times a week, by working from home? Over four hours of time saved a week and less increasingly expensive fuel used.

The real question is, how much more is a talented employee worth, how long can you afford to spend searching and how long do you want them to stay. The answer depends on the role, your business’s size and many other factors that are likely only known to you. We’ve all been having difficulty finding people this past year and the competition for candidates is fierce. You can do everything right, but when it comes down to it you cannot create a candidate. All you can do is your due diligence when making an offer that will genuinely attract the quality of candidate you want and then spread your nets as wide as possible.