Finding and hiring employees with the right skills and background is proving more and more difficult for employers across the globe. Business leaders are likely to continue to face talent shortages. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics found out that nearly 4.3 million workers quit their jobs in January 2022.
The growing skills gap is making it even more difficult for recruiters to find qualified talent. McKinsey & Company conducted a study and found out that 87% of companies were having a skill gap. A survey from NFIB reported that 47% of businesses had job openings they couldn't fill.
Employers often receive plenty of applications but they still can’t find the candidates with the needed skills. The question is why so many companies are unable to find qualified candidates to fill their open positions and what they can do to improve the situation. If you’re finding it hard to find the right people, this post is for you. In this blog post, we’ll come up with 6 strategies that will help you counter the ongoing talent shortages.
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Effective use of talent pools
As an employer, you need to take a broader approach to address talent shortages. Expanding your talent pool is surely a great strategy to find the talent you need to ensure sustainable growth. For this, you have to realize that there are diverse, largely untapped talent sources and that you need to develop strategies according to the priorities of those sources.
In today’s competitive world where businesses have to fight the war of talent, you should focus on creating a network of future talent. Building meaningful relationships with workers early in their careers can help you eliminate talent shortages down the road. Engaging overseas candidates is also a good approach if the domestic talent pools don’t supply the talent you need.
To build and effectively use talent pools, be sure to deploy platforms like Wiggli that automate most of your repeated and complex tasks.
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Build talent pools with Wiggli
If you’re still relying on old-fashioned, ineffective ways of finding, hiring, and retaining talent, take a step back and rethink your strategy. It’s almost impossible to connect or work with the top talent without having a robust talent management solution in place, especially in the face of talent shortages.
Wiggli is a leading, all-in-one platform that addresses most of your longstanding HR challenges. With Wiggli’s talent pool, you not only attract and nurture candidates but also hire the right talent with great ease. Whether you’re a recruiter, hiring manager, HR leader, or C-level, Wiggli will make your life easier.
To learn more about Wiggli and how it works, request a free demo!
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Re-evaluate traditional requirements
Since you’re already going through talent shortages, it’s high time for you to re-evaluate your job requirements. For example, you can reconsider requirements like industry-specific knowledge, number of years of experience, degree, work history, and proficiencies in software programs.
The objective here is to expand your talent pool and connect with candidates who might be perfect for your roles. Rather than being concerned about education or experience level, you should look for candidates who can adapt to emerging circumstances and learn quickly.
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Address employee retention
One of the most important strategies to tackle talent shortage is to improve your retention rate. It’s critical for your business to identify and address issues within your organization that force employees to leave in the first place. There is a broad range of factors that make employees quit their job and find another one.
For example, poor culture, work-life balance issues, bad managers, and lack of flexible schedules lead to employee turnover. If your existing employees feel valued and optimistic, it will have a positive impact on your bottom line. So, respond swiftly if your employees don’t stick around for long.
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Look at your culture
To comfortably win the war for talent, you need to develop an incredible culture. Wondering why? Because your potential candidates evaluate your culture before applying. Therefore, make sure to examine your career page, press releases, and what your employees are saying about your employer brand. Besides, your environment must support learning, career advancement, and flexibility.
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Consider hiring freelancers
An increasing number of companies are dipping into the gig talent pools. Building a talent pool of freelancers is probably the fastest way of addressing your talent-related challenges. Whether you want to augment your team or need particular expertise to get the job done, freelance marketplaces can meet your needs.
Finding the right freelancers is easier than ever before. There are so many freelancing platforms that offer quick access to millions of workers around the globe. However, finding freelancers through those platforms could involve heavy fees. A quick solution is to reach out to freelancers through platforms like LinkedIn and Facebook.
If you really want to address the talent shortage in the future, learn how to attract and work with freelancers. An efficient freelance management system will enable you to build a talent pool of freelancers based on your unique business needs.
Closing thoughts
Microsoft conducted a survey and found out that 70% of workers want remote, flexible options moving forward. To overcome talent shortage, you have to be flexible and learn how to meet the emerging needs of the existing and future workforce.
Most importantly, you need to implement smart tools like Wiggli to automate everything from recruitment marketing to applicant tracking and candidate relationship management. Wiggli is surely a perfect platform that enables you to manage employees, freelancers, interns, consultants, and team workers.
