How to Attract the Best Talent in a Candidate Driven Market

According to Indeed the number of job vacancies across Builders Merchants in the UK is at an all-time high with over 2000 jobs advertised this month alone. This is an increased of 20% Y0Y.

With businesses across all sectors struggling to fill roles, it is certainly now a candidate driven market. Over 50% of businesses reporting a shortage of workers say they are struggling to meet their talent demands due to not only skills/ experience gap but also due to problems with candidate expectations. With benefits like home working, bonuses, flexible working, and higher salaries constantly being discussed, how can businesses ensure they are attracting the right people into their organisation?

Why is it a candidate driven market?

The construction and merchant sectors were one of the few areas of industry which didn’t shut down completely over the COVID-19 lockdowns. It wasn’t exactly business as usual but organisations took this time to digitalise and relook at their strategy. And due to increased spend on construction supplies, our sectors thrived.

However, candidate expectations have also changed. Talented candidates are now seeking better benefits, flexible working, and greater work-life balance. In conclusion, candidates are refusing to go back to long commutes, long days, poor benefits packages, and unclear routes of progression. Businesses haven’t caught up yet that the old processes, benefit packages and not having the ability to adapt to candidate expectation isn’t going to cut it if they want to attract AND retain the talent which will drive their business growth.

How to make your business more attractive to candidates?

To succeed in meeting talent demands in a candidate-short market, employers must concentrate on developing strategies for both attracting and retaining talented employees.

Here are five ways to make your business more attractive to candidates and fulfill changing employee expectations.

1. Review your hiring processes

Hiring processes that may have worked effectively in the past may not be sufficient for today’s market. Revamp your job postings with clear and concise job titles and realistic requirements and expectations. Ensure application forms are simple and easy to fill out and consider removing unnecessary tests and evaluations. Above all, communicate with candidates, respond and schedule interviews quickly.

2. Offer the benefits that employees really want

Employee expectations are changing. Whilst salary remains important, candidates are increasingly seeking other benefits alongside pay. Remote and flexible working practices, health and well-being programmes and subsidised childcare are all popular and can make you stand out as an employer of choice. Employees are more productive and engaged when they are happy. Research what your competitors are offering and put together an attractive package that can persuade talented candidates to apply to you over them.

3. Build a positive and inclusive company culture and tell people about it

Your company culture and employer brand should showcase your values across all your public-facing channels. 68% of millennial’s visit an employer’s social media channels to evaluate their brand, check out their blog, their careers page and are interested in what current and previous employees have to say. Today’s candidates put time into researching the companies they work for and 86% use reviews and ratings on sites like Glass-door to judge a company’s reputation among employees. Utilise testimonials from current employees to articulate to potential candidates that you offer a positive, inclusive, and fulfilling place to work.

4. Invest in your people

Training and development opportunities are critical for attracting and retaining talent. According to a recent survey by CIPD, 59% of millennial’s think that development opportunities are important when deciding to work for a company and a staggering 94% would stay at a company longer if it invested in their learning and development. Ensure you have a robust onboarding process and that you clearly define paths to advancement for new starters. Launch training and mentoring schemes to upskill employees in the skills they’ll need for the future and encourage continuous learning as part of your workplace culture.

5. Invest in Employer Branding

It can be challenging, but developing a smart, forward thinking employer brand will not only attract and engage potential employees but motivate and retain current employees too. These days it’s not enough to just invest in marketing products and services, developing a robust employer brand will put your ahead of the competition and make your business really stand out to potential employees.

About GCS Associates

From 2 UK offices in the North-West and Midlands, GCS Associates provide specialist recruitment services to the Construction Supply, Manufacturing, Builders Merchant & Hire Sectors. With over 15 years’ experience partnering with a wide range of businesses from FTSE 100s to SME’s & smaller independent businesses – put simply, we provide the right talent to the best organisations.