Reflections on 2021: Recruiting & Staffing

Almost 28 years ago an agency recruiter I was interviewing with for an entry-level help desk role suggested I had the personality to work in his industry. Taking a leap of faith, I began working in a “bullpen” with extremely limited training, a phone, fax, a phone book, and an email address on a shared computer. I've come a long way since then.

I have seen a lot. I have learned a lot. I have contributed where I could, made mistakes, brought value, pushed back on requirements and policies, gained clients, lost clients, fired clients, and was fired by clients.??

2021 was different.?Is this the shape of things to come in 2022 and beyond??

As 2021 draws to a close and the COVID-19 pandemic continues to be top of mind and drag on, I reached out to my business network to get their thoughts about the biggest challenges facing them from a business/employer point of view and a?job seeker point of view.?I was blessed to have a HUGE response from my network and for that, I am incredibly grateful.?

Below are the biggest challenges identified as 2021 closes and we move into 2022.?

Finding qualified, skilled, experienced talent (and being able to hire them when you do).?

This a consistent theme across all the employers who took the time to respond. Challenges in?identifying?and being able to hire skilled labour or skilled professionals into open roles. Skilled professionals are in the highest demand they have ever been, and companies are not seeing qualified?candidate?funnels that they have previously been used to. There are simply not enough people for the jobs available and everyone is looking to hire the same skillsets at the same time. Geography is less of an issue now with COVID-19 work from home policies now in place so companies in Toronto or San Francisco are no longer just competing with other local firms but firms across North America?who are more open-minded about remote workers. Candidates have never had so much interest in their skills and experience and it shows – they are basking in the attention, the multiple offers, and higher salaries. My clients have?identified?a huge shift in 2021 well beyond calling it a “candidate?market” or “candidates are in the driver's seat”. Candidates are front and center, they have the stage, and all lights are on them – they know it and they are acting accordingly. Public sector employers have their hands tied with salary bands and are losing their experienced staff in droves. They cannot compete. Private sector clients have more flexibility on salary but still, have internal equity issues to keep in mind. Name brand big tech companies and start-ups with exciting innovative tech and ideas have the money and brand recognition to outbid and wow?candidates to come to them. Foosball tables at the office and cappuccino machines with subsidized lunchroom meals are not attracting?candidates. Art deco décor, bringing your dog to work, company swag on your start day, etc. is the norm and do not exist in a vacuum when everyone is doing it and more people work from home and never or rarely see their office.??

What can clients do to address this??

Build your recruiting funnel and aggressively hunt for specific resources using all the resources available to you including 3rd?party agency recruiting resources to hunt for them rather than just hope they come to you.?Identify?“hot skills” and “key positions” and pay accordingly.?Be prepared to be uncomfortable with salary ranges other firms in and outside your industry are paying for key skills and experience.?Work From Home and Hybrid work environments are the norms for the near future and if the role has been working successfully through MS Teams or Zoom, give current and new hires the?option?to keep it that way. With the time, energy, and gas money/car maintenance of just getting to work with current inflation, your current people will thank you and new?candidates will be happy?to know they have the?option.?

Is throwing money alone going to solve your recruiting issues??

It will certainly help when you are competing with multiple offers, but money alone is na?ve and short-sighted.?

Retaining current people.?

After the?initial?COVID-19 layoffs in early to mid-2020, companies have been struggling to?retain?current staff. Projects and initiatives on perpetual hold due to COVID-19 and the adoption of recent technology have been a source of contention for leadership and key staff alike. When you feel your career is at stake (especially in tech) as your skills and tech stack are being left behind,?candidates will move to companies that they think more aligns with their career goals. Demanding (and getting) 25-35% and more salary increases when moving is the only way to deal with rising inflation, particularly with real estate prices continuing to climb and the price of everything inching up monthly. Absent and tone-deaf leadership and managers were a?consistent?complaint from candidates as they contemplated making a move.?

What can clients do to address this and keep their people??

Take a good long look in the mirror. Your leadership. Your management teams. Have you been proactive in developing your team's leadership skills? Developing management skills with intention or through some sort of magical corporate osmosis? Are you developing your other staff to become team leads and managers? Do they have an opportunity to learn, grow, advance, and be recognized with more responsibility that aligns with their career goals? Are you recognizing and properly paying your key performers?in accordance with?what the market can offer them. This may force you to recognize that some of your key employees are far more valuable than some of the managers they report to.?Cross-training your staff so that the loss of any single employee could cripple the department's ability to fulfill its function would seem to be something all management teams should?immediately?consider.?

Can title inflation be an effective attraction?and?retention tool??

I have had clients inflate job titles for new hires (and existing employees). Hiring an intermediate-level developer but with an attractive “senior” title bump because their manager “feels they can contribute at that level.” Offering existing staff, a title bump when they are looking at other opportunities or in conjunction with a counteroffer to entice them to stay has been common. Often effective in the short term, I can see issues soon when 2–3-year experienced candidates with “Senior” in their title continue to believe they bring that level of depth and experience to the table, forever skewing titles, and salaries.?

The hiring demand for key experienced talent will move on with or without you.?What is your strategy??

What is top of mind for you and your organization in 2022 as you prepare for continued staffing and recruiting struggles? I believe organizations will be spending 25%+ more time on recruiting in 2022.?Are you a wallflower or will you get up on the dancefloor to compete??

Let’s?start having the right conversations.?

#recruiting #recruitment?#career #hiring #jobsearch?

Questions? Comments? Rude remarks?