5 Ways to Lock In Top Job Candidates
Tech jobs remain high in demand, but the talent pool is growing at a much slower pace. According to Gartner, 64% of IT executives say a talent shortage is the most significant adoption barrier to leveraging emerging technologies needed for digital transformations.
Tech pros know very well that they are in demand. And they have some new demands.
The secret to landing them? Be fast and flexible.
“The tech job market is so hot that we can’t keep top candidates on the market for long,” said Jayson Spaits, MATRIX Director, Direct Hire Center of Excellence. “A top tech candidate can quit their job with no job in hand and go out of the country for two weeks, come back and get a job the day after they return,” he said.
Companies need to fast-forward their hiring process, said Spaits. “I have seen candidates get a job from a single phone interview, so the more you can remove fat from the interview process, the better.”
The MATRIX database supports the trend that candidates are moving fast.
MATRIX job order time-to-fill has shortened over the past two years:
Direct hire jobs – 50 days on average in 2020 vs. 28 days in 2022
Contract jobs – 19 days on average in 2020 vs. 15 days in 2022
How can you improve your talent acquisition processes?
Move fast. Streamline the hiring process to leverage virtual technologies.
Make sure your compensation package is in line with today’s salary expectations.
Be flexible with requirements. Practically no one has all the skillsets needed for today’s niche jobs. Be willing to train up your employees.
Value your employees. They are not just a cog in the wheel - they are the wheel.
Offer remote work flexibility in some form.
Virtual sourcing, recruiting, interviewing, and onboarding technologies have streamlined the process to the point that in-person requirements have almost disappeared from candidate requirements.
And with multiple offers to consider, top candidates are often choosing the companies who offer the big bucks.
According to SHRM, 73% of recruiters report an increase in negotiating for higher salaries among candidates—up more than 20 percentage points since 2021.
According to CompTIA, 58% of companies report that beyond normal yearly increases, they are offering higher starting salaries and wages than last year.
If the pandemic didn’t already prove this, the remote world is expanding. Candidates are expecting remote flexibility to be part of any job offer.
MATRIX Recruiting VP Justin Thomason confirmed that remote work has skyrocketed in client job orders.
“At MATRIX, we have seen a remarkable 469% increase in the number of jobs we staff for our clients that allow for remote work over the same time period two years ago. More than 75% of all of our client jobs allow remote work; however, nearly 50% of these jobs specify the remote option as temporary. There’s no question people are changing jobs and if your organization is offering fully remote capabilities, you’re in a great position to secure great talent,” said Thomason.
If you would like to speak with someone at MATRIX about these trends and receive advisement, reach out today.