Will Hiring Challenges Continue? New Data Says Yes

Hiring challenges have been rampant in recent years. Terms like Quick Quitting and Quiet Quitting paint a dim picture of retention rates.

To make matters worse, many companies put the brakes on hiring for fear of economic uncertainty.

Many HR leaders and recruiters may be wondering: What will the newest hiring landscape look like? Economic uncertainty and a disconnect between what employees need and what employers can provide may continue into the new year, according to Employ Inc.’s Quarterly Insights Report. 

What Hiring Challenges Come Next?

Hiring leaders will continue to feel the effects of an uncertain economy and looming recession fears, according to the report. Nearly all HR leaders who responded to the survey believe hiring will be more or as difficult as it has been in past years. 

For comparison’s sake, only 23% of organizations reported reducing hiring plans or implementing hiring freezes. One year later, the number jumped to 50%. 

It also found that about half of businesses are worried about layoffs and their potential impact on their organization. To curb this, many are planning to cut back on hiring through methods such as:

• Cutting budgets for job postings
• Canceling or putting technology investments on hold, and
• Reducing HR, recruiting or sourcing headcount.

One of the biggest hiring challenges, according to the survey, will be finding enough quality candidates. Other factors include competition from other employers, more open roles to fill and increased turnover.

Interestingly, 60% of recruiters believe they will make more hires in the coming years, while less than half think the recruiting team in their company will grow in headcount.

“Right now, we’re seeing a disconnect between how recruiters and organizations feel today about the labor market and how they think about their hiring efforts in the future,” says Allie Kelly, CMO of Employ Inc. “This will translate into a continued softening of open jobs as businesses pull back on job openings.”

What Can We Do to Handle Hiring Challenges?

Although many factors, namely economic uncertainty, are out of HR’s control, there are some things that may make things easier for recruiting. Here are some tips to ease hiring challenges heading.

• Prioritize a quick and streamlined hiring process. Slow hiring processes can turn off employees. And with so many open positions, it’s important to ensure your hiring process is speedy and seamless – or you risk candidates accepting other offers instead.
• Look beyond the resume. With respondents naming a lack of quality candidates as a top hiring challenge, it may be time to reassess what a “quality candidate” really means. Focusing on past experience and a traditional career path may mean you’re overlooking top talent that can bring new ideas and perspectives to your company.
• Increasing benefits where possible. Getting more money is one of the top motivators for job seekers to find a new job, according to the report. However, economic uncertainty may mean that upping salaries isn’t an option, so it can be beneficial to find other places where you can offer benefits to employees, such as healthcare costs, commuter benefits or wellness perks to ease hiring challenges.