In a fierce talent market, consciously designing your supply chain & recruitment process is essential

Based on the data, the current talent market conditions are the toughest they’ve been in many years. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nearly 3% of the US workforce resigned in October 2021, following record-high resignation numbers in September that saw over 4.4 million workers leave their jobs. Elsewhere, the BBC reports salaries increasing anywhere from between 15% to 50%. 

With competition getting fiercer by the day, it stands to reason that the recruitment models of the past may no longer be fit for purpose, in the world we now live in.

This includes not only the processes – which now need to adapt to harness virtual recruitment practices, for example – but also the actual delivery mechanisms for talent and the supply chain that is deployed to achieve that.

The typical models include:

• In-house delivery by Talent Acquisition teams
• Large frameworks of recruitment agencies
• Approved and Preferred Supplier Lists
• Exclusive or retained packages of work
• And more holistic talent partnerships such as RPOs and MSPs

Some of these models – particularly at the more transactional end of the scale – are unlikely to fare as well in the current conditions.

With talent harder to find than ever, talent partners with the networks, candidate attraction tools, and skills to look under every rock and stone, to locate the necessary talent are going to be essential to successful talent acquisition.

Adapting your supply chain to be more focused via exclusive and retained packages of work will mean you get more bang for your buck against the changing landscape of 2022. These fixed-cost alternates to transactional supply recruitment services allow you to grow and expand your team without the hassle of managing the entire recruitment process.

Fixed-cost recruitment includes CV filtering, telephone screening, shortlisting, and interview scheduling and planning. Some retained suppliers - as is the case with our Employer Branding Consultancy programme for companies hiring STEM talent businesses -will also formulate a plan to articulate and distribute your brand offering, so that candidates have an accurate and compelling picture about their future with you from the outset.

Other benefits of exclusive suppliers include:

• High priority consideration compared to commission-based placements
• Less risk of bad hires, as the focus is on finding quality candidates for crucial roles
• Assistance sourcing rare skills by head-hunting candidates that may already be employed elsewhere in niche roles
• Dealing with fewer recruitment agencies – saving you time and removing the scenario of too many un-vetted and ill-fitting candidate suggestions

So - whilst of course you need to be looking at consciously designing an excellent candidate experience to stand out - remember that the recruitment models that really get the most out of supply chain partners are more likely to succeed in the fight for talent.

To get started, click here for a free, no obligation talent consultation with one of our workforce solution experts who can help you figure out your recruitment model to work for the realities of 2022.