The overall unemployment rate in the US is around four percent, but when you isolate professional labor, unemployment is actually two percent for skilled talent. Finding impactful sales and marketing professionals for ag businesses in today’s market can feel impossible, but companies cannot afford to leave critical roles unfilled. Use these strategies to overcome the challenges of a tight candidate market and find the people you need to drive your business forward.
Streamline The Hiring Process
In a tight candidate market, talented people will not wait around for companies that drag their feet during the hiring process. They want to work for companies that are interested in hiring them and prove it by providing a straightforward and streamlined hiring process, by remaining responsive through every step and by sticking to a timeline. If you’re losing candidates due to a complex, confusing or disorganized process, now is the time to overhaul your practices because it will cost you talent.
Look At What’s In Front of You
Recruiting from within is a tool that many organizations overlook when they need to fill a role. However, if you’ve got a talented staff, you may have people on your team today who are interested in making a move upward. Encourage good employees to apply for internal openings and give those candidates the same consideration as outside candidates.
If you are struggling with an open role, think about re-engaging with former candidates who might have been a second choice or who might not have been right for the role they applied for, but might still be a good fit for the company. It’s possible the right fit is sitting in your “filed resumes” folder.
Reframe Your Approach
In a tight market, companies cannot afford to wait for the perfect candidate, to stick to the local talent pool only, or to rely on available, active candidates. To find the right person for the job, it is necessary to diversify your tactics, change your expectations and expand your talent pool.
Instead of insisting on a candidate that doesn’t need training, take a look at coachable, high-potential candidates with transferable skills. Rather than requiring hires to live locally and commute to the office every day, open roles to remote work – this will instantly expand your talent pool on a national scale. Instead of waiting for active job seekers to find you, build connections with employed, passive talent who may not be looking for a new opportunity but would make a change for the right employer and role.
Work With A Recruiting Expert
To instantly improve your hiring process and gain access to a deeper talent pool, partner with recruiters who are experts in the ag industry. If you are ready to overcome this tight candidate market, the recruiters at Morris Bixby are ready to help. Our proven processes will instantly shorten your time to hire while improving the quality of your hires. Contact us today to get started.