Why are some companies in NI outperforming the market when sourcing the best Technical Talent?

• Talent is scarce
• It's too difficult to source good talent in Technology
• We won't meet our workforce goals
• We will miss deadlines

Does any of this sound familiar?

The "Great Resignation" throughout the Spring/Summer hasn't quite ended, with forecasters expecting more movement over 2022 with many candidates looking at how companies approach the "Great Return" to a more normal working environment.

Attitudes towards office-based working, learning and development, approaches to collaboration and reward and recognition will be reviewed before current employees decide to make a move they have been considering for some time now.

Yet with all this flux, there is opportunity. Although we (and the entire Technology Recruitment Industry) have seen a rise in job orders to unseen levels throughout the summer and early Autumn, we have also seen the movement of talent unseen in many years. Current trends report:

• Over 75% of our current Software sector want to build their teams and cannot source enough talent.
• The majority need to grow significantly across Technology.
• Senior leaders would like to put more roles and build bigger teams but fear failing and look for other options.

Despite all these challenges some companies outperform the market, not only growing but showing outstanding retention results.

WHY and most importantly, What are they doing differently?

1. They plan

Top recruiting clients in NI, whether that be an FDI, an indigenous company, or a start/scale-up, have a plan for what they need to recruit for – sounds easy but do you know what you are going to need over the next 12-24 months (including a plan for potential leavers).

 2. They value Data (And they ask questions)

• How many people are in the market in the space I am recruiting for?
• How long does a typical interview process look like - How are we doing against this?
• What rewards are others giving?                                                                 
• How can we provide a better candidate experience?

With the correct information, these companies have reacted to the market and gained a competitive advantage. 

For example, pre-March 2020, the average time from CV submission to 1st stage interview was 10 days; now it's under 4. CV to offer stage was just under 20 now it's 8.

If you are slower than this, you are losing talent. However, speed doesn't mean skimping on quality.

3. They build their employee brand

Not just a LinkedIn post or a picture of new starter swag. Building an employer brand takes work, and one marketeer or team in talent acquisition can't do this. Meetups, volunteering, advertising, ensuring that you are seen where you should be, events. This is an engagement piece that requires a team of people to achieve any great success. It makes it much easier to have a consistent brand message and enables you and your team to "talk" to the candidates you want.

 4. They expect more and go all in

Suppose you are outsourcing a critical area of the business - marketing, support, finance, human resources, or anything else. Would you choose multiple suppliers and ask them to prioritise speed over delivery/quality?

Would you have them competing on a model where only one gets paid? Can you imagine the amount of buy-in and investment of resources you would get using this model?

Yet we still operate this model in recruitment – highlighted as the biggest concern for both HR and Hiring Managers in Technology. If you expect more from your talent partner, try and commit to them, set SLA's and ensure you and your project are top priority, go exclusive and run a campaign together, then manage a supplier for results. It is the way to ensure that you get the service, resources, and focus on the other side. Reference them as you would with any other supplier, ask for testimonials - have they done it before?

The trends in 2022 will look much the same. It will not become easier to source talent, and it will take work. There will be more resignations as candidates work out what they want their working life to look like in the future. 

In a market with huge movement, the question might be: what can you do to ensure you are the destination for this talent.

At MCS Solutions, we partner with companies differently to try and do more of the heavy lifting, dedicate the right levels of resources, build brands, and ultimately help companies hire talent that they need when they need it.

The recruitment market has evolved, customer and candidates needs have evolved, now the service offered and expected must grow.

To inquire about improving your talent acquisition strategy, improving our interview-to-hire ratio, and ensuring you are building the right pipeline in the Northern Ireland market, contact Sean Devlin, Director of MCS Solutions on 07501500523 or s.devlin@mcsgroup.jobs.