It’s 2021, and the latest trend in the talent world is resignation.
Coined for the movement of workers ready to leave both pandemic restrictions and their current jobs behind, ‘The Great Resignation” has caused many employers to take a deeper look at what they’re specifically offering candidates and if a high paycheck is enough anymore.
According to The Microsoft Work Trend Index, at least 40% of workers polled were looking to switch positions this year. For myriad reasons – hybrid working, paid leave, better benefits or just simply not being the “right fit” – employees are demanding more value from both inside and outside of work. So how can employers find and retain talent during and beyond a global pandemic that has ultimately altered how many people view their professional and personal lives?
The fact of the matter is employees stay at a job because they want to. This could be for any of the reasons listed above, but it ultimately highlights that recruiting and hiring processes need to be more in-depth and comprehensive than they currently stand. Taking a broader view of a candidate will help recruiters get to the core of who that person is and what they’re looking for in their career.
Many workers were recruited or found by a talent professional through a software solution that listed pay as the top factor for a good match between employer and employee. The algorithm sifted through thousands of resumes, searching for buzzwords and years on the job. Then, the technology made a suggestion based on incomplete assumptions and past learnings that, frankly, don’t apply to today’s job market.
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The crux of the problem is that outdated tools and technology weed out nontraditional candidates as “bad fits” before they’re even given a chance. These people have skillsets and experience that might not be specific to the job title or industry but are still applicable to success and growth in that position. The only way to discover these diamonds in the rough is via the following:
- Hiring managers must look beyond the resume and technology and put in quality, hands-on time to get to know the candidate before filling the position.
- Incorporate the concept of “transferable velocity” into the hiring efforts to determine not where a candidate has been, but where their potential trajectory could lead them in their career path.
- Invest in reskilling and upskilling by offering training and opportunities to “unqualified” candidates to retain talent and gain a loyal workforce.
- Leverage sophisticated technology solutions used in the recruitment process to ensure that regression-based models are removed from the hiring scheme.
Through automation and job boards, businesses are inundated with candidates claiming they’re the right fit for the open position. As recruiting managers wade through the applicants, hoping to gain a loyal and determined employee, they must be willing to move away from plug-and-chug application processes and candidates that look good on paper, getting to know the person behind the resume. By updating hiring strategies, technology and mindsets, businesses can gain access to quality talent that will not only be the perfect match, but can usher in a new generation of workers not constrained by their past experiences and ready to bring in the future of work.
