Recruitment Just Got Harder

2020 has been an interesting year thus far. It has ruined businesses and entire economies. As such the recruitment sector has also been affected in a big way. Before this year, it had been steadily increasing for a good 5 years, even through the uncertainty of Brexit it managed to keep going. 

However, now that unemployment has hit a new high with an increase of 910% in universal credit claims, how do we get out of this rut? With a staggering 9.6 million people furloughed since March, recruitment just got harder. 

Figure 1: Claims made (weekly), 10 January 2019 to 9 July 2020

Too many fish in the sea. 

Job cuts have been made in various sectors all over Britain, businesses just haven’t been able to keep positions open or justify having so many similar positions open. This means the potential candidate pool is only getting bigger. HR and in house recruitment teams are struggling to sort through the ever-increasing amount of applications. What once may have been 10 or 20 applications for a position could now be hundreds. 

Working from home. 

Conducting an interview over Zoom, Skype etc isn’t a new concept, however, it is now being utilised more than ever before. Remote working is here to stay, so I hope you have your home office-ready. Even if the pandemic ended tomorrow, many companies would continue to implement remote working. However, whilst it has its perks, working and hiring from home has some downsides too. 

‘’Sorry, you cut out.’’ ‘’Could you just say that again please.’’ “Sorry about that, you know what kids are like.’’

Recognise any of these? They may only seem small inconveniences, however, they disrupt the flow of meetings and interviews alike, and should they happen multiple times during a call, it is very distracting and disruptive. 

Not to mention, remote interviews are just a bit strange really. It is difficult enough for a candidate to be themself in an interview, but in front of a camera, it adds an extra layer of awkwardness. How do you get a feel for a person if they are 60 miles away and suited up in their living room? Now, add the few seconds pause that feels like a few hours between each person speaking, and it's not the nicest of experiences. Don’t worry though, you only have another 10 of them to do today. 

Brexit is still happening. 

You may have forgotten all about Brexit, it would be understandable after everything that has happened this year. However, it is still looming over us. I mentioned earlier that the recruitment sector managed to keep going throughout the original steps of Brexit, that doesn't mean it wasn’t a struggle though. 

Even before all the travel restrictions came into place there were fewer candidates from European countries than ever before. This was having a particular impact on the healthcare, hospitality, construction and manufacturing sectors. When it becomes easier to travel internationally once again, it seems as though it won’t do much for cross country candidates until Brexit is finalised. 

Salary or values?

Hopefully, this won’t affect too many of you, however, if you have not always looked after your employees and your retention is low, you may struggle. 

Many candidates are looking for an employer who is employee-friendly, rather than just offering a large salary and that's it. If your company excels when it comes to sustainability, workers’ rights, flexible working, ethics, diversity programmes etc. then people will want to work for you. In this day and age, you have to prove you are right for the candidate, not just them proving they are the best person for the job.

The solution. 

So, how do you overcome these new issues in the recruitment world? The truth is recruitment companies will have a big part to play in the days to come and hopefully what will soon be a post-Covid society. 

A recruitment company can sift through all the applications you receive and pick out the absolute best candidates to interview. Then act as a perfect middle man, not only will they locate the candidates, but contact them and set up the interview for you too. 

Due to such uncertain times, there are more recruitment strategies coming to light constantly. An agency stays on top of all the best plans and utilises them quickly and effectively. 

At Cameron Kennedy, we seek to partner clients and candidates by offering a professional, personalised and transparent service.  Our aim is to treat both candidates and clients with integrity and honesty both during and after the recruitment process.

If for whatever reason your applicants don’t quite fit the bill, we have a vast network to help you locate your number 1 choice. We have numerous contacts and a large array of potential referrals to assist you. 

We also have the tools necessary to locate international candidates. The International division of Cameron Kennedy is an established and professional recruitment business which has been in operation for nearly 20 years. 

We are a business partner to our clients and offer a truly professional and consultative service to our candidates and clients. We specialise in attracting, selecting and securing outstanding top quartile talent, allowing our clients to attain their objectives, and our candidates to further their careers.

We source and place skilled professionals at all levels across a broad spectrum of sectors including banking, insurance and financial services.

We look for high calibre individuals from the UK market and the other leading economies across Africa, LATAM, APAC and USA and Europe such as Germany, Switzerland, Italy, France, Scandinavia, Benelux and Eastern Europe.

So, if you are looking for candidates from near or far and want an easy streamlined recruitment process, Cameron Kennedy is here to help. 

Want to know more, get in touch? 

[email protected] | www.cameronkennedy.com