At our weekly webinar on August 24th, Matt Roessler discussed recruiting tips and best practices that he has been seeing come up in discussions with MEA members and Peer Group meetings. Roessler focuses his discussion on how organizations can positively impact their recruiting processes.
Hiring Struggles: The Impact of COVID-19 on the Labor Market
After talking to MEA members in the manufacturing, professional services, nonprofit, healthcare, and education industries, Roessler learned that everyone is experiencing difficulty finding talent. In his discussion, he reveals that many restaurants and stores that closed their doors due to COVID-19 are now struggling to reopen as a result of the labor shortage. Some of the major reasons why we are seeing this tight labor market are listed below:
- Compensation: Bigger employers are poaching employees with higher salaries and unique benefits.
- Health Concerns: Many employees are still concerned over returning to the office for fear of catching the virus regardless of the safety protocols in place.
- Childcare Difficulties: Many parents are experiencing childcare difficulties with back-to-school right around the corner. If their children go back to remote learning, parents need to manage their children’s schedule on top of their own work schedule.
- Lack of Engagement: With many employers choosing whether to enact a hybrid, fully in-person, or fully remote workplace, they also need to consider how to keep their employees engaged and connected with one another, especially after experiencing burnout from the pandemic.
Recruiting Process: What to Consider?
When thinking about the recruiting process, Roessler recommends these four considerations:
- Compensation Analysis: First and foremost, compensation plays a large role in an employee’s decision to stay with or leave an organization. Many of MEA’s members are competing with larger retailers who offer employees higher salaries. As a result, Roessler suggests that employers analyze their compensation plans and make them more creative.
- Benefits & Other Incentives: This goes hand in hand with your compensation analysis. Ask yourself: What bonuses and incentives can I offer to retain and hire employees? Is it a sign-on bonus? If so, how will that be paid out? In full upon hiring or staggered over the course of a few months? Some unique benefits that our webinar attendees have seen are paid days off for employee birthdays and work anniversaries, subscriptions to wellness technologies, and gas cards.
- Your “Story”: The compensation and benefits you offer your employees add to your overall story, but it is also important for you to showcase what sets your organization apart. Do you have a strong mission statement and an attractive company culture? Is your organization working on an interesting project? Do you offer any training or mentorship programs to help develop your employees? Once your organization knows your story, tell it! Share what makes you unique on your website, social media, and job postings.
- Analysis of Recruitment & Interview Process: Lastly, analyze your organization’s recruiting and interview process. Roessler explains that we all have unique drives and motivators. Because of this, employers should really highlight those areas in job descriptions and postings. Is your organization looking for a creative employee willing to collaborate or are you looking for someone analytical who can work mostly on his/her own? Tailoring your descriptions will actively speak to the right candidate.
It is also important to consider the interview process and how you can keep your candidates engaged. In order to do this, employers should consider clear understandings, timeliness, and flexibility when conducting interviews. First, clear understandings go for both candidates and internal employees. It is imperative that hiring managers and interviewers are prepared to discuss the next steps and answer any questions the candidates may have. Ambiguity can result in candidates pursuing other employers who have a clearly laid out process.
On top of educating your managers and candidates, it is important to communicate your timelines with your potential hires. When will you make a decision? How long will the interview process take? Roessler suggests that your managers check in regularly with candidates as needed in order to tighten control of the process.
Lastly, be flexible. Being in this hybrid environment, many interviews are conducted over the phone or via zoom. Be understanding of the potential technical issues that may arise. You are looking for talent that will fill the role and fit in with your organization. You shouldn’t discount talent because of background noise or pets crossing the camera.
Need Help? Reach out to MEA
We have helped our members fill a wide variety of positions. If we are unable to assist, our team can make a referral to someone who can fulfil your request. Here are our services:
- Sourcing: MEA Senior Recruiters to identify, vet, and present candidates for your position.
- Full Life Cycle: MEA support in designing job descriptions, conducting compensation analysis, candidate sourcing and screening, interview scheduling, and more.
- Supplemental Staffing: On-site, part-time, professional support for HR, Benefits, Payroll, Recruiting, Administration, and Management roles.
- HR Outsourcing: With an HR Consultant and MEA’s subject matter experts, we become in whole or in part your HR team.
For more information, email Matt Roessler at mroessler@meainfo.org.