



Recruiting News Network
Recruiting
News
OperationsThe Recruiting Worx PodcastMoney + InvestmentsCareer AdviceWorld
Tech
DEI
People
People on the Move
The Leaders
The Makers
People
People on the Move
The Leaders
The Makers
Brand +
Marketing
Events
Labor +
Economics
SUBSCRIBE





Operations

10 Ways Employers Can Turn the ‘Great Resignation’ into a ‘Great Recruitment

Candice Harris and Jarrod Haar

December 7, 2021

Operations

10 Ways Employers Can Turn the ‘Great Resignation’ into a ‘Great Recruitment

Candice Harris and Jarrod Haar

December 7, 2021

Photo by Paul Skorupskas on Unsplash

Internationally, and especially within the US, there has been a lot of talk about the so-called “great resignation” – the trend seeing large numbers of workers leaving their jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic, having reevaluated their priorities or simply because there are more opportunities than ever before.

While there isn’t enough firm data to confirm this is happening in New Zealand yet, there is little doubt a chronic skills shortage has given workers more bargaining power. Perhaps not surprisingly, research shows more and more workers are at least thinking about either changing or quitting their jobs since last year.

But this phenomenon – defined as “turnover intentions” – could also fuel what we’re calling the “great recruitment”. After all, as physics teaches us, for every action there is a reaction.

Calling it the great recruitment is obviously related to the sheer volume of recruitment activity that logically follows a great resignation. But it is also a reference to the related importance of a positive – great – recruitment experience for potential employees.

Not a negative trend

Classic supply and demand principles tell us that if more workers are seeking greener employment pastures, there will be more ready-to-hire talent in the marketplace. For that reason alone, we urge organisations not to consider the great resignation a negative trend in the job market.

Of course, to be successful the great recruitment must be supported by businesses that prioritise the recruitment process, from candidate care to the vetting and hiring team, to the use of technology and protecting the organisation’s reputation and brand.

Read more: Over 20 Million Americans Plan to Resign Over Next Two Months

However, there are many practices that not only undermine but entirely defeat the positive potential of a great recruitment, including:

  • “ghosting”, where candidates apply for a role but get no response or experience a sudden silence part way through the process
  • posting vague or corny job descriptions – “customer services expert” anyone? – that do nothing to excite or provide context for potential applicants
  • relying too heavily on quasi-scientific personality profile tests and asking questions that are at best tokenistic, at worst discriminatory.

If your org is reeling from a tsunami of resignations, how do you not let this completely deflate the people left behind?

We joined #HBR's #IdeaCast this week to continue the importance of re-recruiting the employees that choose to stay: https://t.co/PfGM1mtONE

— HumanityWorksBetter (@humanityworks_) November 30, 2021

Making recruitment great

We also see recruitment processes stumble at the last hurdle by engaging in Game of Thrones-style salary negotiations, where candidates feel like they’re challenging a noble family. This is particularly disadvantages women and ethnic minorities.

How then to ensure your organisation is capturing the talent potential released by the great resignation and maximising the employment potential of the great recruitment? Here are our top 10 tips:

  1. Choose your words carefully: write inspiring, authentic job advertisements. If your recruitment team can’t do it, get someone who can.
  2. Be realistic: create reasonable candidate specifications – wanting extreme levels of skill, attitude and experience is likely put off good candidates.
  3. Canvas others: when designing employee value propositions, get input from recruiters and current employees.
  4. Remember glass houses: recognise there is no such thing as perfect behaviour when using behavioural-based interview questions, especially given the organisation itself may be questionable in some of its conduct.
  5. Consider the context: give due consideration to reference check results – if a candidate’s last boss says he or she was disconnected in the end, perhaps it’s because they were already in a high state of turnover intention.
  6. Go back to the future: be open to hiring past employees. Initiatives such as alumni programmes can be used to connect with and recruit former employees.
  7. Know your team: be open to conversations about the attributes and attitudes of the person a successful candidate will be reporting to, and the team they will be working with.
  8. Be technology wise: use automated recruitment technology (such as SnapHire, JobAdder or QJumpers) to enhance – not replace – an integrated people-oriented recruitment experience.
  9. Provide clear pay ranges: if an applicant knows what the pay is from the outset, it saves everyone valuable time and energy.
  10. Be gracious: formally thank all candidates for applying – this can help ensure you retain them as future applicants and/or customers.

Read more: 75% of the Global Workforce is Changing How They Live & Work

Great expectations

With more talent in the market, those in recruitment will need to sharpen their games. Given much recruitment activity is outsourced and many recruiters will be booming in the current climate, organisational clients should have great expectations of recruitment professionals, too.

Employees face enough challenges in their working lives without having to endure a recruitment experience that is anything less than great.

Finally, the great recruitment must also account for future talent. Before we know it, the Roblox generation will be hitting the workforce, already adept at digital creation and collaboration, and expecting similar things from recruiters.

If we get it right, the great recruitment is a chance for employers to recast the great resignation as an opportunity for everyone to do better – now and into the future.

RNN periodically curates content we believe is of interest and importance to the recruiting industry. For the original copy of this article, please visit The Conversation.
The Conversation

‍

As any savvy investor will tell you, a down market represents an opportunity, if you know how to play it right

What we're reading

‘We’re all fighting the giant’: Gig workers around the world are finally organizing

by
Peter Guest
-
rest of world

Gig workers are connecting across borders to challenge platforms’ power and policies

Got Zoom fatigue? Out-of-sync brainwaves could be another reason videoconferencing is such a drag

by
Dr. Julie Boland
-
The Conversation

I was curious about why conversation felt more laborious and awkward over Zoom and other video-conferencing software.

How to Purchase an Applicant Tracking System

by
Dave Zielinski
-
SHRM

Experts say the first step in seeking a new ATS should be to evaluate your existing recruiting processes.

View All Articles

Events
No items found.
View All Events
Related Articles

HR efficiency benchmarks: the key to boosting business outcomes

May 22, 2025

The power of partnership: How CEOs and HR leaders can lead transformation together

May 5, 2025

© 2024 recruiting news network.
all rights reserved.



Categories
Technology
Money
People
TA Ops
Events
Editorial
World
Career Advice
Resources
Diversity & Inclusion
TA Tech Marketplace
Information
AboutContactMedia KitPrivacy Policy
Subscribe to newsletter
