This New Year brings some interesting and challenging opportunities for you as a leader, and for us as a search firm. For the first time since 2001, we have entered a candidate-driven marketplace. This means that A-Players may be acting a little differently because they realize the power has shifted to their favor.
A few things to consider in this new climate:
- With unemployment at its lowest since 2008, the best candidates have choices. Jobs are staying open longer and competition is high for those few top-tier contenders. Because turn-over has increased, a company is going to work harder to keep their best talent through counter offer efforts.
- The candidate experience matters. Not only do we, as your search firm, have to continue to do an excellent job communicating consistently with the candidate throughout the interview process, you as the hiring leader must provide timely feedback and act decisively when you believe you’ve found “the one.” It’s important to balance gathering the right information to make the best hiring decision, with speed and quality throughout the interview process.
- Partnering with experts will improve your hiring process. A-players require a trusting relationship and a bit of courting before they consider leaving their current job. Our job is to regularly check in with candidates within our network – most of whom are not actively looking, but are open to hearing about that next great career step. Because we focus on building those long term relationships, we know their hot buttons and can get those candidates in front of you fast.
