The War on Talent is Real!

I have been in recruitment for the past 27 years and I have NEVER seen the shortage of skills we are experiencing in the workplace currently! The Corporate Circle recruits across all levels and all industries and sadly there is not one industry that is not being affected by the current shortages.

Covid brought about many changes. The amount of skilled people that have left SA is being grossly under reported and most people that immigrate to another country have transferrable skills that are in high demand, so we are not losing palookas who have no value! What is not being considered is the fact that we are losing both the first and second generation of skills in any one family – so in short, this problem is here to stay! The issue has been further exacerbated by the fact that people are resigning from high powered jobs to get more work life balance, or because they want to work from home or because they want to work from outside of the country – a myriad of reasons have now come into play.

How can Companies mitigate the issues they are experiencing?

Well in short, the answer lies in partnering with a credible, experienced Agency that is able to collaborate with the company to come up with alternatives but also to fight to get you the best talent. Recruitment has become extremely time consuming because of the incredibly high rate of unemployment and as a result the numbers of cv’s and responses applying to any given role. I personally deal with around 1000 cv’s a day and if I am able to use 10 of the 1000 cv’s I am having a fabulous day, but keep in mind I have to work through the other 990 to get to the 10! Those 10 then have to be interviewed, verified, matched to skills and culture, and referenced. So maybe 1 out of a 1000 might fit – do you have the time, whilst running a department or business to work on those odds?

By working with an agency who understands your needs and your culture, you cut down your time wastage by seeing only those applicants worth interviewing and you know that they have been carefully matched and screened, verified, and referenced. If this process is done properly by a reputable Agency, it will save you both time and money and by using the same Agency for all your recruitment, you are able to ensure consistency of culture going forward.
 
Another aspect which has come starkly to the fore is the enormously high and convoluted rate of fraud. In my opinion, it is reckless to take on a staff member that has not been properly verified and checked. Ironically, the highest fraud we are encountering is being experienced among financial staff, but we are seeing it across the board.
Unfortunately putting your head in the sand is not going to make this problem go away, so be proactive and start building a solid and long-term relationship with an Agency that shares your values and vision!

You are welcome to reach out to me and we can chat further on how we can assist you going forward.