According to the MRI Networks 2015 Recruiter Sentiment Survey, 90 percent of recruiters in over 600 different offices felt that the market was candidate driven in 2015.
Photo Courtesy of MRI Network, a CDI Corporation.
Even after several years, many staffing firms refuse to accept that the IT staffing industry is a candidate-driven market. Our current market is akin to the Y2K and Dotcom era, with the exception that customers and technologists have all matured. Their combined expectations for the staffing firms they work with is far greater. At the same time the technical professionals who possess the qualifications in demand today are in the drivers seat and have multiple employment alternatives when they are seeking to make a career move.
But, what does this mean? It means the old way of doing things just isnt working anymore. You are not going to reach the best technical talent using antiquated talent acquisition strategies and tactics. The fundamentals might be the same, but staffing firms must be willing to evolve or be left behind.
“Even after several years, many staffing firms refuse to accept that the IT staffing industry is a candidate-driven market.”
Being agile and adapting how recruiting teams source and qualify, both active and passive job seekers requires a new way of thinking. Proactive candidate sourcing and pipelining requires that recruiting never sleeps. You arent going to get the best technical talent using outmoded recruiting strategies, technology and tactics to reach and engage with the best of the best. Staffing firms must be willing to evolve in order to remain competitive and positioned to quickly and accurately submit the best available technical talent for their customers open job requirements.
The need for flexible contingent workforces and those firms that specialize in the recruitment of IT professionals is growing at an exponential rate. Technological advancements that facilitate seamless automation of many manual activities and functions allow recruiters to work faster and smarter. Staffing firms that are not leveraging technology to streamline many of their labor intensive recruiting functions can benefit from Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS), like JobDiva, that integrate recruiting best practices through their automated workflows and dynamic search capabilities.
Forward thinking IT Staffing firms understand the need to compress the time it takes from when a job order is released to when the first qualified candidate is being submitted to their customers hiring manager. Shortening turnaround time dramatically increases the percentages of getting to the best candidates first and making a placement. These firms not only realize the need to move faster but they also understand that the market is highly competitive. Dependent on the candidates location and technology specialization, there may be as many as 100 opportunities to consider.
“The need for flexible contingent workforces and those firms that specialize in the recruitment of IT professionals is growing at an exponential rate.”
If you are looking to drive performance and increase placements at your firm, you should take a deep dive into your existing end-to-end processes, as well as your people. As staffing firm leaders, you must also shift the way you are thinking from the way that it has always worked to the way in which your business can grow. In the end, Its All About Delivery!