3 Key Steps to Securing Top Talent in 2022

Securing top talent in 2022, is undoubtedly a challenge.

The jobs market is completely saturated and the latest figures from the ONS seem to suggest that the struggle is only going to get more difficult at least in the short term. 

The number of job vacancies in January to March 2022 rose to a new record of 1,288,000; which is an increase of almost 500,000 jobs since pre-pandemic levels of Jan to March 2020. Whilst the largest increases in vacancies were seen within human health and social work, many other sectors have also seen the ratio of candidates to vacancies dwindle. 

Therefore securing top talent in 2022 looks set to remain a constant headache for many HR and in-house recruitment teams. 

As a leading recruitment solutions provider, IRIS not only provides recruitment software but fully managed recruitment services too. Our team of experienced recruiters works tirelessly to secure top talent on behalf of our clients and currently achieves a first-time fill rate of over 86%.

Their ability to continue to fill roles during this time is the result of many factors. 

Below we share our 3 key steps to securing top talent in 2022. 

STEP 1 - Stop doing what you have always been doing and look at new opportunities

With an optimistic ratio of around 8 candidates to even 1 vacancy, competition on the job boards is high. In fact highest than it has ever been. The visibility of your adverts is quickly impacted as new vacancies continue to be added and compete for the limited pool of candidates available. 

Whilst job board advertising may have previously been the primary source of your candidates, for many organisations this highly competitive arena will result in minimal success in return for your investment. 

So what else can you do? 

Over 75% of the workforce is actually passive candidates, so by using job boards you have only been targeting a small number of candidates anyway. Looking to explore new talent pools is undoubtedly key to helping increase your success. Here are a few options for you to consider: 

Social Media - Millions of passive candidates won’t see your job adverts as they are not on job boards looking. Platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram can help you reach potential individuals within your target location and promote your vacancies to much wider and targeted audiences. 

Internal Talent - Look at your current employees and see which individuals are already invested in your business and are ready to upskill. Managing your internal talent will also help improve retention. 

Your Own Database - How many candidates have you attracted for previous roles? Could any of these people be a good fit? Sending details of your vacancies to your talent pool and highlighting potential opportunities that may be of interest can help to attract quality applications with minimal costs. 

Employee Referrals - Who do your current employees know that are currently looking for work? Make sure that your employees are aware of the opportunities that you have and incentivise them to share details with their own networks. 

STEP 2 - Focus on making every click count. 

Regardless of how you attract candidates, you should also be focused on converting advert views and applying clicks into completed applications. There’s little point investing in innovative advertising strategies if potential candidates are put off by your advert or application process. 

With so many vacancies available to choose from, candidates can be picky and first impressions are more important than ever before. Not only does your advert need to be the best it can be in portraying your employer brand and making people want to apply for your role but the application process also needs to be as quick and as simple as possible. 

How to maximise your job adverts

Depending on the source, your job advert could be the candidate's first introduction to your organisation. Therefore any information you want to provide candidates with needs to be included in your advert. If the information is just on your careers page then many candidates may miss this. Think about how you introduce your organisation, sell the role, outline the company benefits and can encourage applications to submit an application. 

How to speed up your application process 

If you haven’t applied for one of your vacancies then that’s the first step you should take. Understanding what you are expecting candidates to do to apply for your roles will help you streamline the application process. Whilst you will always require the same basic details, application forms should be tailored for every role and only ask what is required to allow you to conduct a shortlist. Allowing candidates to simply register their interest by submitting a few key questions as part of a 2 stage application process can also help boost applications too. 

Once you have their details then you can follow up accordingly. Don’t put people off by using long cumbersome application forms that take too long to complete, especially if you looking to target passive candidates!  

STEP 3 - Speed up your processes. The competition won't be far behind you!  

Understanding it’s a highly competitive market is critical to your success. With an abundance of opportunities to apply for, candidates are in high demand and even if they are not actively applying for a number of roles, you can guarantee that they have been approached by an agency or headhunter. 

With this in mind, speed is again key. If you receive a top application at the beginning of your advertising period, then you simply can't wait until the vacancies close before you reach out to them. You need to engage immediately and strike whilst the iron is hot so to speak. If you don’t, someone else will. 

It’s not just about keeping things moving as quickly as possible but also about how you engage with your new potential employees. The process needs to be slick and representative of the kind of organisation they will be joining. It needs to reassure and provide confidence that the opportunity and the company are the best options to pursue. 

Securing top talent in 2022 is undoubtedly going to be one of the most difficult years Talent Acquisition specialists have encountered, however taking stock of your current processes, reviewing your situation and simply optimising the recruitment journey for you and your candidates will have a positive impact on your recruitment success. 

Check out our IRIS networx solutions if you would like help doing this and would like one of our experts to review your current recruitment strategies.