Much has been said and written recently about the increasing difficulty in finding and retaining talent. Much of the attention has focussed on IT and data sciences but similar stories are coming in across a range of disciplines, including of course, the one dearest to our hearts here at PeopleSource, finance.
The Irish economy has once again bounced back quickly from the Covid-related set-back at a faster rate than our EU colleagues and despite the current pressure on the cost of living we are not seeing an impact on unemployment rates. This is a relatively new phenomenon, inflation and high unemployment usually went hand-in-hand. The move to working-from-home during the various lockdowns has created a strong desire for flexibility among workers so HR, hiring and recruitment managers are struggling to understand this brave new world of talent attraction.
The key factors which are impacting the hunt for talent include;
- A desire to work from home
- The need for flexibility
- A desire to avoid commuting
- A shift away from working hours to deliverables
- High cost of childcare (and scarcity of same)
- A Gen Z sense that ‘you can have it all’
- Increasing employee awareness of employers’ values and ESG credentials
In short it is getting more and more difficult to find the right talent, and to retain them once onboarded. Precisely because of these factors, PeopleSource has never been busier as more and more clients resort to external resources to help them source candidates. And yet we recently posted a role that would be normally tricky-to-fill and were stunned by the response rate from quality candidates. The secret? The role was part-time.
So, we wanted to highlight this untapped pool of talented people, who are qualified, experienced and motivated but for whom a 40-hour week doesn’t work. When we started qualifying candidates for that part-time role we were blown away by the quality, depth and breadth of their experience and also by just how keen they were to work, as long as they had the flexibility to work around their domestic situation or personal preferences.
We therefor ask the question of employers; would a little reflection and imagination improve your talent attraction strategy? Think about these questions;
- Is the job you are advertising really a full-time role? Could a talented individual do the job with less hours? What % of the time does your new hire have to spend in the office to get the job done?
- How much better off might your business be with two really motivated and experienced people job-sharing than perhaps having to ‘settle’ for a candidate who is available for full time work?
- What harm would it do my selection process to include some interviewees who are not available full-time?
- Is my company just doing what it has always done without considering how the world of work is changing around us?
- What new perspective could we gain as a business by including some job-sharing and part time workers?
We believe that a new and more imaginative approach to talent attraction and the recognition that there is a significant talent pool waiting to be accessed will not only reduce time and effort in recruiting staff but also deliver significant broader benefits to your business.
I know we at PeopleSource are going ask our
clients to consider this option. There is a huge untapped pool of people looking for flexible work solutions, don’t miss out.
