A Change in Recruitment Strategy as Job Applications Dwindle

We all know that talent is the key to a successful business. Your people and their passion power your business, setting you apart from the competition and enabling you to achieve your business goals. And with the recent shifts in the workforce’s interest in and ability to work, businesses are being forced to re-evaluate their organisational and operational needs. And while many employers are eager to hire with vacancies pleading to be filled, one is left wondering “Where are the job seekers?” as already dwindling application rates continue to fall.

Looking at the latest statistics, the number of professionals applying for new positions dropped almost 37% between February 2021 and February 2022, with vacancies spiking to almost 52%.

This contradiction between keen employers and active job seekers could suggest that organisations have put contingency plans in place, prepping to be able to work through uncertainty. Despite this, the job seekers are still very much feeling the impact of the last 2 years both personally and professionally.

This means employers need to rethink their teams, as well as their approach to attracting, engaging, hiring, and most importantly, retaining the best talent as job seeker behavior and predilections continue to shift. One of the biggest factors is nurturing a culture of recruiting, to approach hiring as an always-on practice.

Across all sectors, the statistics show a significant decline in the number of people applying for roles across the engineering, IT, retail and healthcare sectors. In retail, applications fell 45% per vacancy between January and February of this year, and in the engineering and IT arenas, applications were down 41% and 38% respectively. Medical and nursing job applications have also seen a decline by almost 30%, revealing the continued pressure being felt throughout the healthcare sector as it struggles to catch up on routine services following two years of significant demand.

The upswing in recruitment with a flurry of activity at the beginning of 2021 was very much welcomed in a Covid-hit economy, but we all soon felt the squeeze on resources as we found ourselves in a unique situation where everyone was recruiting at the same time.

There is no quick fix in rebuilding the diminishing talent pools, and employers should expect a further squeeze on resources over the coming months. What we are seeing and watching with interest, is more and more Employers maximising partnerships with external talent partners and recruiters to tackle this skills crisis, with recruiters themselves progressively using innovative technology to ensure candidates quality and qualification. The old approach of a spray gun effect when searching for the right talent for your business is no longer a strategy that works. Businesses across the UK are realising the value of partnering with recruitment and talent acquisition companies to find the best talent to suit their needs and sustain their business.

Whatever your future talent acquisition strategy involves, it’s likely going to need to be supported by the right tools and resources to measure its success. For organisations with long term growth goals, this will likely include partnerships with talent sourcing agencies who utilise cutting edge technology to help map the future skills required and to identify current competencies and skills gaps within your business.