3 Smart Things to Do During a Hiring Freeze

By Anna Michalson for Insight Global

Is your company experiencing a hiring freeze right now? As a leader or hiring manager, are you still trying to figure out what this means for your team's future??

We get that halts hiring can be unnerving at first—you still need to be productive, often more so, with the same number of people! This may be your first time experiencing this as a manager, or you may have been through these a couple of times. ?

Here are three ways you can plan ahead so you’re ready when the hiring freeze thaws.?

Learn Your Market and Have a?Plan?

One of the first steps in navigating a hiring freeze is really knowing your market and your company’s recruiting processes. How long does it usually take to hire? How many candidates do you need to bring in the door to settle on a candidate? How much does it cost (in time and effort) to hire a new person? ?

Knowing the answers can help you be ready to both make the case for a new hire and develop a plan when things thaw out from the freeze.?

This year, the average cost of hiring a single candidate is approximately $4,700 according to a study from SHRM. This figure is largely attributed to “soft costs” such as management time to source candidates and putting job postings out internally—and the number only climbs the more leaders need to become involved or the more roles you need to fill.?

If you need some help developing a hiring plan in a pinch, check out our Emergency Hiring Plan . ?

It has tips for developing:?

• Job descriptions and requisitions?
• An interview plan?
• A solid onboarding process?
• Your (and you company’s) LinkedIn profile?

Consider Pipelining Highly Skilled and Qualified Candidates?

Just because your organization is in a freeze right now doesn't mean it will be this way long term. ?

Use this time to explore and connect with talent in the candidate pool through networking and social media and have conversations with your team to see where they may need extra support when the freeze lifts.?

You can also look into hiring partners who can help you with your recruiting efforts. With them, you can alleviate the pressure of a lengthy talent acquisition process. Placing your confidence in highly skilled professionals can cut down your time to hire in half, reduce sourcing costs, and greatly improve the overall access to and quality of your candidates.?

Explore Ways to Improve Current Employee Retention?

Hiring freezes call for a pause to ensure current employees are content in their position and see their future with you. According to a 2023 Gallup poll, more than half of U.S. workers surveyed say they are not only doing just what their job description requires but also that they seldom know what is specifically expected of them each day at work.?

?These feelings can lead to things like?feeling overworked, having a lack of boundaries, or no clear visibility into long-term goal or growth opportunities from the work they are putting in each day.?And those feelings can lead to turnover —the last thing you want as a manager when hiring is on pause.?

?Use this time explore pain points within your own team before they get out of hand, and as a result, positively impact employee happiness and retention . ?

Get Through Hiring Freezes Together?

These tips aren’t a fix-all for everything in navigating a hiring freeze , but they’re a starting point for getting through it with a plan—and while keeping your staff engaged and valued.??

Not sure what to do when it comes time to hire again? Insight Global can help you with everything from perfecting your job descriptions to finding outstanding candidates. ??

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