Introduction
Recently, it seems like layoffs are the only topic making headlines in tech news.
Any HR professional may find the word “layoff” frightening. It implies that a portion of your personnel will leave your organization.
As an HR professional, it is crucial that you make sure you are equipped to deal with a mass layoff and keep your surviving staff.
How crises affect Hiring
When there is a crisis, employment doesn’t necessarily halt; in fact, for some organizations, it actually increases. While others struggle, your firm may grow when a crisis sparks a spike in demand or offers a special opportunity for your goods or services.
Or perhaps a crisis affected your company, but it is currently in a recovery phase. For instance, you might have weathered the storm and be prepared to employ after layoffs, or you might have changed the focus of your company and require personnel to support the change.
Whatever the state of your business, a crisis won’t necessarily alter the foundations of the employment procedure. Instead, hiring managers’ and job candidates’ mindsets frequently change during a crisis.
Hiring managers pay close attention to how a new worker will advance the company in the future.
In light of all that happened during the crisis, their objective is to find the person who best exemplifies the needed set of abilities and will contribute the greatest value to an organization.
Here are three practical suggestions to help you stand out from the competition when hiring top tech talent while considering recruitment in the middle of layoffs.
Now let’s get started.
Techniques to Find and Hire Top Talent During Layoffs
- Reorient the attention from the value offered to the numbers.
Most computer job seekers already anticipate the substantial compensation that the bulk of IT roles have to offer while hunting for employment.
These typically cost six digits or more. So they are unaffected by a flashy salary.
However, candidates nowadays are less likely to accept a job offer based solely on the promise of competitive pay, especially given that the current labor shortage provides them ample room to demand better terms from a position.
Nowadays, skilled job seekers can prefer to work for companies that put their employees first, provide stability, and value dedication and loyalty. They are less susceptible to being enchanted by famous people and lavish wage offers.
To stand out in the crowded employment market, this is precisely what you need to promote in your job postings. Instead of just stating the numbers on the paycheck, your job postings need to be more sympathetic and address this request.
A fancy salary may appear appealing at first, but it won’t matter if the employee is always concerned about being fired. Stronger incentives include long-term growth and a sense of employment security.
Therefore, if your client has anything to give that can be valuable to prospects, be sure to emphasize it in your job adverts much beyond income.
By doing this, you’ll have a much higher chance of attracting top individuals who are looking for companies prepared to invest in their futures rather than the other way around.
- Try a novel and creative approach
It’s time to abandon antiquated and ineffective hiring procedures. For instance, a prestigious school or previous employers aren’t always the best gauges of a candidate’s abilities and success.
It is no longer acceptable to judge someone’s aptitude based on which of the top 20 universities they attended. Graduates of coding boot camps and participants in apprenticeship programs are currently performing remarkably well on the job market.
An engineer who can produce high-quality code right away is a valuable asset, and it would be a mistake to reject someone based solely on their educational background.
The tech sector in particular has made diversity hiring a prominent topic, and many businesses are vying to hire a more diverse workforce.
Recognizing that exceptional applicants will come from a variety of backgrounds and experiences is crucial if the goal is to attract them in order to develop a successful team, which requires a blend of these qualities.
So stop excluding the best candidates by concentrating on what has previously produced results.
- Keep in mind that, while recruiting during layoffs, you need candidates more than they need you.
The labor market has seen a significant transition in the last few years, giving employees a competitive advantage.
Since your client’s competitors will gladly snag them if you don’t, you must keep in mind that you need great prospects more than they need you given the current economic scenario.
Your hiring procedures should reflect this insight. You need to approach candidates with vigor and aggression.
It’s crucial to demonstrate why your client’s company is the best location for prospects to work and how their corporate culture places an emphasis on the welfare of employees.
Keep in mind that giving candidates a positive experience is of the utmost significance. Your ability to maintain candidates’ interest and engagement will make all the difference.
These sound tactics might assist you in transforming what at first appears to be a significant negative into a fantastic chance to hire top people. What other effects do you anticipate these layoffs will have on hiring in the near future? Tell us in the comments section below.
Prioritize staff retention
Don’t overlook your current employees as you search to fill open positions. It seems obvious that keeping employees engaged in the face of a pandemic that is always changing must be a top priority, but many companies have had trouble finding out how to accomplish it.
According to the 2021 Paychex Pulse of HR Survey, there has been a more than 50% decline in employee engagement over the past year. Since employee engagement and the tendency to stay with a firm tend to be correlated, this worries many HR professionals.
Respondents to the poll reported that they are using strategies including training and development, conducting job satisfaction surveys, giving remote work options where practical, and offering financial incentives to address this difficulty. These methods could really assist you in retaining the excellent talent you already have.
Additionally, employers’ responses to the pandemic (such as whether they implemented health and safety policies at work or provided remote work choices for qualified candidates, etc.) convey a clear message to potential new workers about the kind of company they could be working for. It’s crucial to look out for your employees and show them that you care about them now and in the future.
Conclusion
Hiring in a crisis is all about understanding job candidate attitudes and being adaptable and receptive to input to change your recruitment strategy, rather than completely overhauling commonly used recruiting tools and processes.
Recruiters need to invest more time in understanding a potential candidate’s needs and motivations, addressing any particular worries or issues they may have, and persuading others of your capacity to provide stability and security. This is in addition to selling them on your organization and position.