Navigating the Unemployment Rate to Find Top Talent

August 12, 2019 in HR Best Practices

 

 

If you’ve been keeping up with national workforce trends, you know the U.S. economy is booming! While this is great news for the job market as a whole, this unprecedented shift has presented some unique challenges for many companies, especially those in the food and beverage sector seeking midlevel professionals to fill a variety of management and operational roles. With the U.S. unemployment rate at an all-time low since 1969, employers must meet growing business demands  even with decreasing pool of qualified workers to fill vital roles.  

 

Despite a limited talent inventory, there are many ways to effectively adapt your company’s hiring strategies for the current market conditions. According to U.S. News’ “Best Places People are Moving to in 2019,” some states with the hottest job markets currently include Florida, California, Texas, Michigan and Ohio. If you are located in one of these states, use it to your advantage to entice job seekers and improve your hiring outcomesAdditionally, here are three key strategies for navigating the competitive marketplace and attracting highquality candidates to your company 

 

1.  Maintain a strong employer reputation.  

When it comes to successful recruiting, your reputation can make or break your success. Building upon your employer brand and maintaining a positive online presence is critical for maintaining a pipeline of candidates actively seeking opportunities at your organization. In addition to marketing, reputation management involves monitoring online reviews and conducting damage control as needed. This means establishing a communications plan in which you respond to negative reviews both internally and externally, as well as encouraging your existing employees to be ambassadors for your company online.  

 

2.  Be open-minded 

In a candidate-driven market, employers must be open-minded when it comes to finding candidates with the right skills and abilities. While it may be tempting to develop a job description with a long list of credentials and qualifications, you’ll quickly discover that finding candidates with dozens of skills will be hard to come by. Being open to candidates with non-traditional educational backgrounds and work experiences is critical for expanding your talent pool and attracting a broader range of applicants to your employment opportunities.   

 

3.  Make your hiring process more efficient.  

One of the most important steps to securing top talent is to implement an efficient hiring process. When too much time goes by during the interview process, it’s common for candidates to become frustrated and move on to other opportunities. As you vet applicants and make your hiring decisions, either secure your top candidates quickly or communicate your next steps with them. You’ll want to move the onboarding process along to avoid wasting time and resources.  

 

Though the low unemployment rate can certainly have an impact on recruitment, incorporating the strategies above will help you achieve the best hiring outcomes for your organization – even during the most challenging times.  

 

 

Is your company struggling to recruit highquality food and beverage candidates?

Get in touch with Kinsa Group and let us help you grow your workforce.