Following reports from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) of continued record-breaking vacancies in the UK, global recruitment software provider, JobAdder, has highlighted three key steps employers need to implement to help fill vacancies in the midst of a skills shortage:
- Be more flexible about role requirements – As talent remains scarce, businesses mustn’t be overly selective when addressing their deficiencies. While it’s important to recruit individual’s that suit specific needs, it’s also essential for companies to grow their talent pools by considering candidates who have transferrable skills and can easily be retrained or reskilled to company standards.
- Build your employer branding – The pandemic has reshaped the workplace and accelerated technology, leaving many companies with outdated branding that is not suitable for attracting the new wave of talent. Updating employer branding and cultural initiatives will make your company a more appealing place to work and is crucial in building a sustainable organisation.
- Redeploy existing talent – As the skills gap continues to widen, employers should reassess current workforces and consider internal mobility pathways, promoting the workplace as a place of growth. Doing so will help close the skills gap while improving employee retention, which will be key to maintaining a successful business in the new year.
Rob Brodie, Head of Corporate Sales at JobAdder comments: “With skills shortages rife and vacancies continuing to rise, businesses must be strategic if they hope to attract talent in 2022. Retraining and reskilling candidates will be essential in addressing this shortage and building talent pools for company growth. Similarly, reassessing the skills of existing employees and upskilling, when necessary, will help to fill vacancies and increase your firm’s reputability.
“Having a strong employer brand will also help businesses attract a new wave of candidates. The Great Resignation has shown us just how valued company culture and employee treatment now ranks and this will continue to be a key theme in 2022.
“One thing we will also see is an increased reliance on technology to remove some of the burden of already over-stretched hiring teams. The pandemic has accelerated the growth of technology and if employers hope to remain agile during unprecedented times, they need to harness the latest technologies to stay ahead of new trends and engage new talent in new ways.”
