Demand is soaring for talent globally, but enrolment in recruitment best practices is declining, and younger people are deciding not to pursue a career in the sector. How can the industry do a better job of attracting & retaining talent and changing negative perceptions? The disconnect is alarming – 1 in every 4 recruiters will leave the industry after their first year, and demand for competent professionals has reached an all time high. Add to this a persistent talent shortage across key sectors, and I would definitely report to Houston that we have a problem. Current & Future Challenges Within engineering alone, we are seeing a rise in enrolment into areas like Artificial Intelligence, Renewable Energy, and Biomedical/Healthcare. Understandable given the surges we’ve witnessed in digital transformation, concerns about climate change, and a population that continues to age coupled with the integration of technology. Recruitment has never been more necessary for the challenges we face as a society, and there is strong correlation between (good) recruitment and a sustainable economy that can compete globally. The priority remains to connect good people with good companies, and this is where recruitment can be a difference maker. An average position vacancy can take anywhere from 3 to 6 weeks to fill, but we’ve seen this number increase over recent years with roles being left open for upwards of a year. Factors such as applicant volume, internal approvals, poor screening practices, and an inability to decide on the part of hiring executives have extended this process to the frustration of job seekers. This talent conundrum is being felt globally by decision makers who are facing the reality of not being able to deliver on production targets and strategic objectives. It has never been more complex to hire and retain talent over recent years, and recruitment must step up to alleviate the challenges that organizations are facing and will encounter in the future. Our ability to compete as a nation is directly tied to how we groom, stimulate, place, and retain our best and brightest, and this starts at the ground floor level – a better trained and more competent fleet of recruitment professionals who understand current market pressures, can connect with people in meaningful ways, and lead them into favourable situations. Future Recruitment Professionals The lack of appeal to younger professionals is due in part to misconceptions around recruitment. A train of thought that positions recruitment as a sleezy and ubiquitous career choice with no real guardrails to protect the professions integrity. Recruitment is not an aspirational industry for young people to join. “When I grow up, I want to be a recruiter,” does not exist in most households since there are hardly any good examples for our young people to emulate. You sort of stumble into the sector and make it work. If you catch on quickly, you can experience real success. If not, then it’s unlikely that you’ll remain in the industry beyond a year. This is supported by the fact that there is no direct pathway into the field through formal education or training. Anyone can be a recruiter – great for someone at a career intersection or mid-life crisis, but detrimental to the credibility of the industry. Furthermore, the focus on hitting quotas and punishment rather than support & rehabilitation for underperformers have increased the revolving door or forced recruiters to engage in short-sighted, unethical behaviour. Even though organizations continue to rely on “recruitment practices” to meet their targets, very few have the internal resources & expertise to enter the marketplace, engage in conversations with the top percentile of talent, & bring them over the finish line. The distance between that hiring requisition and filling the position is vast, and there is a misunderstanding of where recruiters actually add value and how they work. The recruitment industry has to do a better job of demonstrating its legitimacy to its marketplace and to future professionals. Void of a better marketing campaign with appeal beyond just earning potential, recruitment will continue to face attraction & retention problems within its own ranks, and those problems will undoubtedly be transferred to job seekers and hiring executives. Rebranding as a Mechanism of Change Recruitment needs to be rebranded to the marketplace, but this starts with making impactful changes internally. This starts with improving our leaders, more formal training that builds character and resilience, compassion during periods of drought, and incentives that actually reward performance. Recruiters will continue to be the drivers of growth for our economy, but they must reposition themselves as an essential service in the marketplace by first changing their own self perception. You cannot allow others to dictate how you work and what you work for. Any rebranding campaign that does not emphasize the human experience & time savings will not gain traction in the market. Automate as much as possible, but the human connection can only come from a human. This cannot be replaced, nor mimicked.
