Obviously, we’re currently in a world of fear and uncertainty – these are testing times, and we’re not trying to deny it. But great things often come out of adversity and in this case we genuinely believe that recruitment opportunities are one of them.
Here’s the thing, currently a huge percentage of the workforce are now based at home, free to talk about new opportunities without the concern of someone in the office overhearing. They just gained, on average, 59 minutes a day in commuting time, and they’re not away on business or constantly absorbed in meetings. Each of these factors mean they’re so much more contactable, flexible, and have more time to devote to looking for a new role. Our consultants have reported a 150% uplift in candidate response rates since the Government advised home working wherever possible, which in recruitment is monumental as ultimately it means we have a greater pool of talent to work with, allowing us to present higher quality candidates to our clients and resulting in a greater percentage of successful placements.
The huge uplift in response rate also suggests that more people are interested in hearing about new opportunities within the market and seeking a new role. Of course, as businesses feel the economic pinch and start to reduce spending this will unfortunately result in some people being made redundant and there is no doubt this is a contributing factor, especially in the digital, creative and marketing sectors where lots of work is contracted out on a project by project basis. Beyond this, the current climate means there are many more “passive” candidates on the market – those who aren’t actively looking for a new job but might move if they happen to spot the right opportunity. Job security, the progression of the business and resulting career advancement are some of the biggest reasons that people cite when changing jobs, and all three have been thrown into play with the current uncertainty. People are also sitting at home with time and space to reflect, spending time with their family and changing their routines, and this can realign priorities very quickly. All this means that if you can offer people a compelling opportunity currently, they’d be hard pressed to turn it down.
There is also a huge amount to be said for doing something when many others aren’t, if you have the resources to do so. Yes, there fewer businesses recruiting right now, but does that mean anything other than that there is less competition for the top candidates? The same rings true with the summer months, where fewer people recruit due to the challenges of employees taking time off. The fact is, it’s our responsibility to navigate these challenges and find you the right people no matter what. The less competition there is for the top talent – the better it is for your business.
The fact the country is getting used to working remotely is also a huge bonus. Due to the pressures enforced by social distancing, almost all of our business is now being conducted remotely and online, a shift absolutely tailor made for our new video interview platform, Concept Live Interview. Video interviews make the whole recruitment process faster and more seamless, taking up half the time of a typical in-person interview. When a candidate submits a CV online we can simply respond with a video interview request, there is no need to go back and forth finding a time that suits both parties, particularly when candidates need to arrange time off from their current job. It also cuts out the need to block out diary time to prepare and conduct every single preliminary interview before we prepare a shortlist. It also saves hiring managers time, a CV can often look great and a phone call can prove fruitful, but when meeting a candidate, hiring managers may find they aren’t quite the right fit for their business. Video interviewing can remove any doubt from the outset. The efficiency that Concept Live Interview and our other online tools provide is set to revolutionise the way we recruit, helping us to achieve some incredible results where in some cases we’ve been able to cut the time taken from brief to invoice down by up to 90%.
Fundamentally, it comes down to this: If I told you that right now we have more candidates on our books than ever, responding to us faster than ever, meaning that we can find talent, screen them, arrange and conduct an interview with them and place them in your business more efficiently than ever, you wouldn’t think that was all so bad would you?
