Recruitment: trends, ‘talent crisis’ and Ukrainian refugees

March 22nd, 2022 | Industry News

A recent American survey reveals that a third of employees who were consulted, said they are considering changing employer in the next 12 months. It’s clear evidence of the way that people are approaching employment. SAAS recruitment agencies are seeing that candidates are seeking to move companies, a trend that is in line with the talent crisis and which is being driven by the belief (75%) that they are loyal to their employer while their employer, 56% believe, is not loyal to them. Some companies are calling this a ‘talent crisis’ while others are describing it as ‘consumering employment’. In other words, candidates are looking for the same experience in recruitment as they do in purchasing: rapid responses (often automated, like self-checkouts), 24 hour engagement (like chat bots when shopping) and frictionless processes (fewer hurdles, or applications become like abandoned shopping carts).

Automation in recruitment is clearly one way to meet these demands; recruitment CRM software can meet candidates where and when they choose to be met, and automated processes can ensure that people feel seen without feeling hassled or checked up on. Consumer expectations also influence how people are viewing salaries – recruitment management software has shown recently that in terms of pay, minimum wage has become almost a thing of the past – required wage is now the term of choice, and as difficult to fill jobs fall ever further down people’s wish lists, better wages are a necessary inducement to fill vacancies. The best recruitment software for agencies is also able to handle remote working recruitment worldwide, coping with time zone, currency and other issues to give companies their best chance of finding people to fill vacancies.

Ukraine and recruitment in the UK

One response to the Ukraine crisis has come from a consortium of UK-based firms who are seeking to employ Ukrainian refugees. Ranging from M&S to small software creators, the consortium could potentially help thousands of refugees to find work – especially given the skills shortage reported by many UK sectors, specifically digital and IT, engineering and graphic design. Recruitment database software needs to be able to determine equivalent qualifications and to establish skill and language capacities in order to support this kind of initiative. Alongside the new Homes for Ukraine scheme launched by the government this week, industry-based approaches to helping Ukrainians find work and housing are likely to be a key focus for the recruitment year ahead in the UK and much of the rest of Europe.