Staffing and Recruiting: Why and How Today’s Market is Different

It’s no secret that staffing and recruiting is different today than it has been before. But why is change happening, and how should companies respond to it?

Let’s take a look at why organizations of all sizes and in all industries are experiencing so many changes when it comes to staffing and recruiting—and what those changes mean for their efforts to attract and retain employees.

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Why is Staffing and Recruiting Different Today?

Technology has been advancing at a rapid pace for decades now, and these new technologies have impacted how businesses operate, the skills required for workers and expectations of the work environment.

And while these advancements and shifts have been happening gradually over years at a time, the pandemic sent them into overdrive. If you weren’t sure there was some transitional action afoot before COVID-19, it’s undeniable now.

After many workers experienced what some are calling a “pandemic epiphany” in 2020 and 2021, employees are more inclined than ever to expect flexible hours, remote work options and the competitive benefits that many companies haven’t been prepared to offer in the past.

The result is employees exiting their jobs at record rates for greener grass—with many employers left confused, empty handed and with multiple roles to fill.

While ever-emerging technologies and the pandemic certainly aren’t the only factors contributing to today’s shift, much of today’s staffing and recruiting environment can be attributed to one or both of these influences.

How Is Today’s Staffing and Recruiting Market So Different?

While hiring dynamics in today’s world are beyond complex, here are three key ways that staffing and recruiting is changing before our eyes.

Three Key Ways Staffing and Recruiting is Changing Today

1. Employees and Candidates Have the Power

The recent change in market dynamics requires companies to completely revisit assumptions about recruitment solutions. In August 2021, John Kotter and Gaurav Gupta at Chief Executive discussed how power has shifted from employers to workers in some key ways.

Not too long ago, employers were able to call most of the shots and have their pick of top talent. Today, the pendulum has swung in the other direction. Now, because companies have more roles to fill than they have options to fill them, the market power has shifted to workers, who are leveraging this opportunity in record numbers.

Some factors contributing to this fortuitous trend for workers, which in turn, is extremely challenging for business leaders, include:

• Increased labor mobility
• Stagnating growth in the working age population
• Numerous job openings with attractive benefits, like flexible work hours and remote and hybrid workplace models

2. Shifts in C-Suite Staffing and Recruiting Importance

While most of a company’s empty roles in the past have usually been in lower-level positions, many companies are seeing increased turnover in their C-suite and executive-level employees.

While companies obviously don’t have as many executives as they have employees, they might not need to take on the task of executive staffing and recruiting as frequently, but it presents its own challenges and opportunities, often requiring a deeper search.

When you recruit specialized staffing, such as key executive roles for a company, it is important to not only vet for the qualifications and expertise necessary for significant decision-making, but for executives who can positively influence company culture, support employee work-efficiency and drive success.

When companies are filling a role that has direct influence over an organization’s direction, oversight and operations, companies may find it beneficial to adopt a strategic talent acquisition approach.

3. Employee Retention is a Greater Part of Staffing and Recruiting

Many businesses associate employee retention with staffing and recruiting because of the massive cost of replacing a bad hire. While there’s great validity in prioritizing retention of new hires to save in recruiting costs, there’s also much more to it than that.

In the past, many workers stayed at companies for decades with loyalty and contentment and had limited interaction with other organizations. Today, even your most seasoned and content workers likely have more options than ever before, so it’s vital to concentrate on employee retention as part of their recruitment solution to avoid a revolving door.

Talent is in such high demand that you shouldn’t consider any team member safe from being hired by your competition—perhaps leading to even more roles to be filled at your organization while also giving an advantage to the other company.

In this challenging staffing and recruiting market, it’s important to listen to what your current team members want from your company, consider if your compensation and benefits are competitive and determine how you can best meet the needs that will keep your top talent around.

Partnering With a Professional Staffing and Recruiting Firm Helps You Keep Up With the Market

Small and mid-size businesses face unique challenges in today’s ever-changing staffing and recruiting market. In addition to the challenges we’ve already discussed, many businesses run a tight ship by necessity, and many can’t afford to launch and develop a full-scale HR and hiring department—so they get the job done by any means necessary.

That might mean they end up taking shortcuts, such as conducting all-too-brief interviews and tapping shallow hiring pools. This lack of strategy in a recruitment solution often leads to a poor hiring decision or a series of poor hiring decisions, ultimately costing them time, productivity and profits. That’s why the savviest companies connect with a staffing and recruiting consultant.

Warren Averett Staffing & Recruiting focuses on monitoring the staffing and recruiting market in our clients’ specific industries to ensure they’re up to date and competitive. Contact us to talk about the staffing and recruiting challenges you face and how we can help.