After working in recruitment for well over a decade in the for-purpose sector, its safe to say it has always proven challenging for organisations to source top talent (especially in fundraising). That’s why specialist recruiters in the space (of any credibility) have been kept extremely busy.
And this was pre-Covid-19.
Changes have occurred in the market since the pandemic first hit in Australia which are both extraordinary and noteworthy.
We have never experienced anything like the shifting supply/demand dynamic which is ever more prevalent in the 6 months.
Cause Recruitment launched at the very beginning of the pandemic and at this time whilst initially the job market was very quiet;- from July 2020 onwards organisations were hiring in a talent rich candidate heavy market.
Processes were relatively straight forward; engage search; shortlist from several applications; interview and offer. Job done!
Those days seem like a distant memory.
Over the last 18 months, recruitment processes have proven anything but straightforward.
The ‘Great Job Boom’ is upon us with Seek publishing a record number of jobs advertised – in February 2022 we saw an increase of advertised roles by over 41% compared to February 2019.
Simply put, candidates have more options.
All well and good however Seek also reported that applications to roles advertised fell by over 37 %.
What does this mean? A proactive approach to recruitment is required. Gone are the days when you can simply post an advert and been pleased with your applications and fill a role.
Candidates are receiving more counteroffers, there are increased dropouts (the Great Resignation is real and is happening), increased salary expectations and demand for flexibility and/or part time hours is on the rise.
If you are hiring in this market here are some key tips and considerations to help you secure your next star team member.
Agility and Speed
It’s a candidate’s market and the market is buoyant. Candidates often are interviewing for several roles simultaneously so if you like someone, move quickly! This doesn’t mean cut corners but prioritise the process and make sure to effectively sell the role and your organisation (accurately of course) and the opportunity effectively.
NB: It really does help if you engage with a recruiter because they can inform you of where the candidates are up to in other recruitment process and offer insights into the specifics of what they are looking for.
Lateral ‘Out- the-box’ thinking
One of the biggest frustrations I have over the years is the rigidity of direct experience in a role before hiring them.
In today’s market the best organisations acknowledge that whilst experience is hugely beneficial, its more aptitude, transferable skills and capability to learn in the role that is important (as well as culture fit of course).
This can’t be the case for every role, but my suggestion would be to look at what your absolute must haves are, can you be flexible? What is it you really need?
Negotiate
Be prepared to negotiate.
It’s best practice to be clear on salary brackets before beginning a recruitment campaign.
However, I’ve recruited several roles recently and the charities were fortunate enough to have budget to increase salary offers by $10k + minimum together with offering a change of title to successfully secure their preferred candidate. Of course, this is hard if you have budget constraints but what else can you be offering if not a salary increase? An extra week’s annual leave? What budget do you have for L&D? Can you offer bonuses/career development opportunities?
More and more candidates prefer WFH/flexibility. Is this something you can offer? If you can’t what else do you offer that would tempt the candidate to choose your organisation?
Strategic Proactive Sourcing
This means using your Linked In, your networks and asking for referrals.
Over 90% of the roles Cause Recruitment are managing are search campaigns – that means effective talent sourcing, mapping and approaches are standard methods of securing talent for our client partners.
We would always recommend exhausting all avenues prior to engaging a recruiter.
Last piece of advice? Use a specialist recruiter in your required industry/role type.
With current challenges as they are today, it makes sense to engage in a specialist recruiter with the networks and a good reputation as they are way more likely to understand how and who to approach target market more effectively and guide you through the process to secure your ideal candidate.
If you would like to learn more or are looking for some assistance with a hard-to-fill role please reach out to us today! [email protected]