Staffing Considerations -- for a changing market

By now everyone has concluded that the job market has changed. Whether you are trying to fill a position or are looking for that next opportunity -- the job market is different than it was just a year ago.

In a number of career areas the market has shifted from being a buyer's market to a seller's market and with this change the attitudes of both employers and job seekers have shifted, as you would expect.

In the HR arena this is particularly true. More opportunities exist today, which we anticipate continuing as job movement increases (professionals moving from current positions to better opportunities). Job seekers are scrutinizing companies, job content and position responsibilities more closely. Successful employers are doing a better job of clarifying their job needs and streamlining their employment processes in order to not miss out on the best talent. Experienced, talented and well-packaged professionals are receiving multiple job offers these days and those employers having difficulty sourcing and making hiring decisions, because of the lack of clarity around their needs, are coming up on the losing end of things.

Success in staffing always stems from advanced planning, which not only includes short and long-term anticipation of talent needs, but also looking at current staff capabilities and making developmental moves before declaring the position to be filled externally.

There also is no substitute for clearly defined job requirements. Before advertising or posting positions for candidates, rethink the critical responsibilities and skills required for the job. They may have changed since the position last was filled. If they have, the level of experience needed now may be different. The business market has changed. Certainly your business requirements may have changed. Shouldn't you re-examine the skills and abilities necessary to gain the results necessary for business success?

And although public or internet job postings are very common these days, if you are not prepared to deal with the quantity of responses (the quality of which will be influenced by how clearly the job is described), and haven't researched competitive market pricing for the position, you may be creating unnecessary delays in successful hiring, beyond the problems of being short handed while the work piles up.

Finally, if your employment process -- which includes everything from job descriptions and compensation analysis, to employment screening, interviewing effectiveness, background checking and testing -- is not efficient (with everyone involved in it trained in their roles), it will be harder to compete for the talent you are looking for and more difficult to prevent your competition from getting there first.

Contract or temporary staffing continues to play a valuable role in support of any business staffing effort, and looking first at the issues just described will lead to better decisions about the most effective use of temporary professionals.

The following short list of considerations may help you decide which approach to your staffing need makes the most sense for your business. To get started ask yourself these questions:

How long can the vacant position remain open?

If the position is a new one created by restructuring as an example then you may be able to afford the time required to properly fill it with a direct-hire employee. If, however, the opening exists because of the departure of a critical player or is required by the onset of sharply increased business levels -- then considering an interim placement, ensuring you have the right expertise to keep day-to-day work flows progressing, may be the answer.

Where should the talent come from?

In the best of situations candidates for move or promotion to open or new opportunities would come from within your business as part of succession planning, skills and knowledge development. The most critical concern is that you select the "right person" for the job. They don't always come from inside. Internal candidates already know your business; on the other hand external hires may bring fresh perspectives and new ideas.

Should you consider an "interim" placement?

Leaving key jobs open while taking sufficient time to find just the "right" candidates is seldom the best approach. Company progress is impeded, and productivity and effective decision-making is slowed. Utilizing other key employees to cover merely reduces the effectiveness of more than one function, and taking a "wait and see" approach can result in more interruptive issues to deal with. Bringing in an interim professional who can focus the right level of expertise on achieving specific company goals while allowing time for the best regular hiring decisions to be made can prevent all of these negative consequences.

We advise clients daily on the best use of these strategies for their particular requirements as we staff human resource professionals to fill a variety of business needs. If you have questions or want to discuss options available to help meet your HR requirements in this market we would welcome hearing from you.