News of layoffs and hiring freezes are increasing as some companies are beginning to stall their recruitment initiatives while many other companies continue to hire, taking advantage of those overextended unicorns who never planned for the proverbial rainy day and assumed that boom times would last forever, they don’t.  While the job market is still strong, there are many mixed messages, and indicators coming from the press, economists and executive leadership with resulting directives often changing on a monthly if not weekly basis.

Regardless of the economic climate, (and there is plenty of room for interpretation of late), to not continue to recruit for talent is a mistake. If workers feel that their company is stalling or freezing, growth opportunities elsewhere become more appealing.  In other words, talent you would not normally see become more prevalent. This is highly significant in this “great resignation or great reshuffle”, (call it what you like), era. Companies that take advantage of hiring now can exponentially improve the quality of their workforce. It’s easy to acquiesce to the news headlines, bury your head in the sand and wait it out, but the great talent leaders will take the market uncertainty as opportunity to grab talent that will not be on the market for long.

As of the July numbers reported, the labor market is the strongest it has been in about 70 years! There are 11.3 million job openings, which amounts to nearly two jobs for every person looking for work. While it’s a weird, jittery economy, the job market is still very strong, especially for highly skilled and experienced technical and creative talent enabling digital initiatives.  For those talent leaders and hiring managers with your heads NOT buried in the sand, there are specific action items that you should be doing now! 

• Shift or allocate your budget accordingly. Full time, fully burdened cost employees are more expensive than hiring contractors or moving work to project-based budgets.  There is an amazing contingent tech and creative labor pool.  Digital transformations and evolutions don’t stop!  Find the resources to do this work without breaking the bank on full time hires. 

• Focus on recruitment optimization. Why? Eventually, the recession will end and when it does, the hiring market will rebound aggressively. Since recruiters are often cut first during a recession, it’s likely resources will be limited when that time comes. Taking the time to create better recruiting efficiencies now will position companies into a more competitive position later. What can you do to streamline or automate your process now while perhaps you aren’t as busy?

• Never stop sourcing!  Markets move faster than ever these days. One week there is a hiring freeze and the following week your hiring managers will be asking you why there are no candidates to review.  If you clearly and honestly communicate timing and expectations to your candidates, they will stay engaged in the process.

These are just a few examples of what the best talent leaders are doing in response to a jittery market that is recalibrating.  For more information or to have a conversation with one of our subject matter technical, creative, or business general recruiters, contact us at ursusinc.com or @ursusinc