In-demand candidates
Over the last few years, Alexander Lloyd has seen the demand for talent in the position of a buyer’s market. With numerous job seekers competing for fewer job roles, competition has been fierce, and potential employers have had their pick of the top talent in the region. The last six months has seen a shift in the dynamics of the market and candidates are starting to have more choice than we’ve previously seen.
However, the demand for the top talent itself has not abated, and instead we see the competition shift from candidates to employers as they battle it out for those candidates with skills in demand. It’s not unusual in today’s market as we establish our toehold in 2013, to find candidates with multiple offers on the table. While positive from a candidate’s perspective, it does mean that employers will have to adjust their recruitment approaches and there are many that haven’t yet caught up with the market shift.
Market pressures for quick turnaround
The established trend has seen many employers lulled into a sense of security that allowed them to take their time with recruitment processes particularly in making decisions on candidate suitability, confident that the candidate would still be on the market and waiting for their offer once they’ve made their choice. Times have changed, however, and it’s entirely possible to find that their chosen candidate has been offered and accepted another opportunity because they’ve been waiting for two weeks to hear a decision. The market is beginning to move much quicker than we’ve seen over the last couple of years and many employers are seeing their ideal candidates slip through their fingers and get snapped up by others who aren’t resting on their laurels, but are reacting to market pressures.
Don't miss out on your preferred candidate
Recruiting is a time-consuming process and there is nothing more frustrating than getting to what you think is the end of the road, only to find that your preferred candidate has been offered and accepted elsewhere and you have to start all over again. What can an employer do to minimise the risk of losing the candidate at that crucial stage?
- Ensure that the role, salary and reporting line is fully signed off by all involved prior to beginning the process to save time at a later date
- Check with the consultant whether the candidate has any other interviews or offers early on in the process. Part of their candidate management should be to establish any other threats to your proposition and they should be fully on top of this
- If a candidate does have other irons in the fire, ensure that you monitor this situation and encourage them to be honest about what else they have going on so you don’t get a nasty surprise further down the line
- Ensure that your internal recruitment process is as streamlined and efficient as possible. Time is of the essence in these situations, and while you shouldn’t be rushing your decision, taking an excess amount of time to offer will increase the risk of losing the candidate.
- Be open with your consultant. Part of their job is to help you manage this situation, so if things are taking longer than anticipated, keep them in the loop so that they can manage the candidate’s expectations accordingly and keep you updated should another offer come through in the meantime.