With yet another U-turn last week fuelling the continued uncertainty both politically and economically, we wanted to address how this ever-changing landscape is likely to affect recruiting and attracting new talent to your organisation.

It is not news to most business owners and leaders that the recruitment market has been much in the favour of the candidate than the employee over recent years. This has been down to a cocktail of factors. This includes the pandemic, the UK leaving the EU, a war in Europe, rising living costs and now when we needed it the least, interest rates significantly on the rise due a lack of confidence in the current government. But how are these factors affecting your ability to recruit?

With nervousness around rising costs and the volatility of the political landscape, more candidates than ever are reporting their apprehension at leaving a secure role, despite feeling dissatisfied in their current job. The prospect of leaving and risking the unknown is too much for some. With considerations including the stability of their prospective new employer, beginning a new probation period or whether it will be a good cultural and professional fit. In short, if the candidate did move, will they have the security and will they enjoy it enough to be in it for the long haul and to ride out a potentially impending storm.

So, how do employers overcome these challenges and still attract new talent within this incredibly competitive and candidate led market?

Here are our 5 tips to attract new talent through periods of political and economic uncertainty.

1. Careers page

Having an engaging careers page which summarises your company culture and values, sums up a day in the life at your organisation and also has an easy yet professional portal for submitting an application is essential for that all important professional first impression.

2. Culture and values

Given the nervousness to move at this time, candidates want to know what their life will be like on a day-to-day basis and whether their values align with their potential employer. Be really honest about your values and company culture within all candidate touch points, attracting the right talent for your organisation is essential for retention.

3. A professional recruitment process

It’s likely that your candidates also have other opportunities they are considering, therefore ensure that your recruitment process is as professional and sleek as possible. Delays, mis-communication or last minute requests can give a negative impression to a candidate which could make the difference between choosing your organisation or your competitors.

4. Engaging and exciting job ads

Ensure your job advert is engaging and going to be of real interest to your target candidates. Try to keep your ads short, snappy and mobile friendly, whilst still incorporating the core technical details of the role and conveying your company culture.

5. Salary benchmarking

The market is incredibly competitive and salaries are rocketing. Many businesses are reporting that they are unable to compete due to restrictions with their current team and salary structure, with it being commercially unviable to benchmark an entire team. If you have a need for a new role, if you can then ensure the salary is competitive for the current market, if this is unviable to do so then have a flexible mindset as to how that capacity can be filled within your team, possibly at a more junior level or at the same level but over reduced hours. Our HR team can support with organisational design restructures to support and our talent acquisition team will be well placed to advise on benchmarking.

In summary, we are in an incredibly strong candidate led market which is showing little sign of improving any time soon. If you are growing or have the need to recruit a number of live vacancies and are struggling to attract the right talent, please feel free to book a free Recruitment Audit with Talent Acquisition Director, Siobhan Collyer who will be able to advise on improvements to your current processes and give your pointers specific to you and your business.