Recruiting & Hiring Blog for HR Professionals

In years past, when companies had a hard time finding qualified employees, their options were limited. However, thanks to technology, today it’s possible for people to work almost anywhere. In fact, research shows 3.1 million professionals work full-time from home.

As the economy recovers, experts believe skills shortages are going to become an increasingly large problem for employers. One of Bersin by Deloitte’s predictions for 2014 is people with key skills, especially in technical fields, will be hard to find. As a result, it will be necessary for organizations to look farther afield for talent and develop a team of virtual employees.

Getting a “seat at the table” has been coined for years as one of HR’s biggest struggles and opportunities to be seen as a strategic group within the organization. After exploring this issue for quite some time, many argue, “most human-resources professionals aren’t nearly there. They have no seat, and the table is locked inside a conference room to which they have no key. HR people are, for most practical purposes, neither strategic nor leaders,” wrote Keith Hammonds, former Fast Company deputy editor, in 2005. Many continue to challenge the tactical view of HR and suggest what HR can do to earn that seat at the table.

Studies indicate companies are more optimistic about hiring this year, but a shortage of talent could make it difficult to fulfill that optimism. In 2013, 39 percent of U.S. employers had difficulty filling jobs, according to the ManpowerGroup 2013 Talent Shortage Survey. The most difficult-to-fill jobs consisted of skilled trades, engineers and sales representative positions. The biggest reasons attributed to the shortage were a lack of specific technical skills, experience and qualifications required for a particular role in addition to a lack of applicants.

We know your job is challenging. On top of all your hiring and recruiting responsibilities, you may be tasked with employee training, development and engagement as well. Let’s just say you have a lot on your plate and sometimes it may feel like the workload can get overwhelming.

Even though you strive to create a stress-free work environment for employees, you may find yourself stressed out when managing your many HR responsibilities. Here we share eight effective ways to manage that stress so you can focus on the essential HR processes that drive your business forward.

Who can afford to lose top talent? Before discovering applicant tracking software, Maines Paper and Food Service, Inc. wasted time and money throughout the entire hiring process and lost plenty of qualified applicants along the way.

As LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner says, “The world’s best recruiters think like the world’s best marketers,” and it’s time to expand the “recruiting skill set to include branding, targeting and engagement.”

Experts have already predicted 2014 is the year recruiting will begin to look more like marketing. Rather than focus on meeting short-term hiring goals and filling a specific number of positions every month or quarter, your new recruiting approach should be focused on targeted messaging, employment branding and devoting resources to position your company as an attractive workplace.

Gone are the days when workers devoted 35 years to a company, then retired with a gold watch and a sizeable pension. In fact, the average employee holds a job for about 4.4 years before moving on and expects to stay at the next job for just three years, according to the most recent data Forbes reviewed from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The youngest employees stay only about half that time, meaning they could have as many as 15-20 jobs over the course of their careers.

That kind of turnover sounds great for the employee who presumably gains new skills and a pay increase with each move, but the lack of loyalty is bad for business, right? Not necessarily.

In your role as a recruiter, you may already be using an applicant tracking system (ATS). But, have you ever taken time to consider whether your organization is using the right ATS? We know, the typical day in the life of a recruiter is beyond busy, and thinking about new systems probably isn’t top of mind. However, how many times have you encountered one of the following scenarios? Dealing with one or more of these situations could be a sign your organization could benefit from a new ATS:

“Siri … I’d like to find the perfect candidates for my open positions.” In today’s high-tech world, it’s tempting to think an applicant tracking system (ATS) can replace the recruiting function as easily as Siri answers queries for iPhone users. The reality, however, is that ATSs work best when they are used to enhance the recruiting role. Let’s take a closer look at how and why your recruiting responsibilities can become more effective when they are supported by an applicant tracking system. 

Maybe recruiting’s not your forte. It’s just one of the many HR hats you wear, even though finding and attracting talent isn’t your particular expertise. But as competition for top talent intensifies this year, in-house recruiters will be challenged to step up their recruiting game.

Whether you’ve made it a priority to beef up your recruiting this year or you’re simply focused on getting the job done, now’s the time to re-focus and make sure your recruiting tactics are delivering the right candidates in a timely and efficient manner.