The UK unemployment rate dropped to 3.7% in Q1, according to the Office for National Statistics. The number of job vacancies between February to April also amounted to 1,295,000.
If this doesn’t exactly make you feel celebratory, it is because this is marred by news of ongoing global catastrophes – war, inflation, health crisis and migration issues. Recruiting is tough enough as it is. How can we fight against the volatile status quo? What can we do to rise above the current challenges and make the most of the opportunities?
Persevering in the face of difficulties
The culmination of Brexit and Covid has made skills shortage a reality. Everyone remembers last year’s massive driver shortage that affected different sectors. In 2022, it is still an ongoing struggle to fill positions with skilled and qualified candidates.
The global health crisis has brought about a transformation worldwide regarding our work and how we want to go about it. Hybrid working is here to stay. We are all aware of ‘the great resignation’ that led to a surge of vacancies and candidates in the job market.
And the murmuring of recession everywhere just adds to the uncertainty. It is easy for the recruitment industry to feel like it is positioned precariously at the moment.
But I still retain my optimism and see opportunities for those in the industry. Owing to over two decades of experience in the recruitment industry, I feel qualified to say that proactive recruiters who persevere will come out the other side stronger than ever.
People taking on more work to build skills
There was a mass exodus after Brexit and that left gaping holes in various sectors around the UK. At first glance, it might seem like a formidable challenge to deal with this talent shortage, especially if we also consider the great resignation.
But there’s a growing number of people taking up second jobs in the last couple of years. While people could be taking up extra jobs to supplement their income, many also opt for different freelance or part-time roles to try something new.
The Covid scare has made us reflect and revaluate what we want from our career and work-life which has led people to upskill or try to find fulfilment outside of their regular 9-5 roles. Apart from additional income, people find second jobs are rewarding because it allows them to try a new sector without taking a big risk. Other reasons can include padding up their resume, opportunity to learn new things, etc.
Capitalising on this opportunity with recruitment tech tools
Of the many recruiting difficulties, the top two barriers to success – competitive industry and candidate shortage – can be facilitated with the help of recruitment technology.
Consider how efficiency and productivity go up when good recruiting platforms come into the picture.
Use recruitment software to streamline your hiring process. Optimising a CRM software system removes barriers to efficiency while ensuring each step of the recruiting process is well organised. This saves time, strengthens communication, and improves the recruitment results, among other things.
For example, our Infinity CRM clients experience a smooth, streamlined workflow from the moment they put up the job advert till they deliver the best candidates to their client companies.
We know that keeping candidates engaged throughout the hiring cycle is critical.
And communication plays a critical role in this. Our Infinity clients can easily make necessary notes after every phone call, log emails and text messages, etc. Sending automated emails or a meeting invite after a phone call is just a matter of a few clicks, saving hundreds of minutes each week.
Customers also love Infinity’s WhatsApp integration. This allows recruiters to utilise the app’s ‘click to chat’ feature that enables quick and easy communication even between people who might not have recorded each other’s contact numbers on their mobile phones. When recruiters interact with hundreds of candidates, this is often the most effective and efficient way to keep the communication consistent and organised.
Every single employer aspires to hire the best individual for the role. It is up to the recruiter or hiring manager to deliver skilled, well-qualified candidates faster than the competition can snap them up. Leveraging recruitment CRM software systems pushes recruiters to work smarter and better.
And while adhering to the needs of client companies is important, every candidate matters, too. It behoves recruiters to appraise the quality of candidate experience they are delivering to all their candidates.
Make your recruiting work easier
As the ONS survey reports the increase in UK job vacancies and the drop in the jobless rate, proactive recruiters can forge ahead to success with the right software for recruitment agencies.
Choose the best recruitment software to get the best results – from identifying suitable individuals to assessing their skills, maintaining good communication and performing compliance checks to ensure suitability.
The staffing agencies which plan meticulously and arm themselves with the right tools will chart through any kind of recruiting season effortlessly.
Recruitment is hard enough already. Why not make the most of digital tools to save time and enhance productivity?
Voyager Infinity and Voyager Mid-Office are software solutions that make Recruiters’ lives easier. Voyager Infinity is a CRM used by thousands of recruiters globally to source, nurture and maintain the relationships with their clients and candidates, and Mid-Office manages the entire Pay and Bill process (IR35 ready).
