The HR recruitment market in East Anglia is tough right now.

No, I’m serious. It really is. Despite news headlines of high unemployment, redundancies and restructures, the reality is high-quality HR support is more in demand than ever – and therefore , the shortage of candidates is the reality.

Headlines would have you believe the market is awash with immediately available candidates but in reality, many HR professionals are not actively looking to move. There are more vacancies than there are candidates.

A global pandemic, lockdowns – events that in our lifetime we have never experienced, has meant HR has had to rise to the challenge. In the vast majority of organisations HR has been put firmly on the map and been recognised as a shining light in what has often been dark and gloomy times. HR professionals and teams have demonstrated their ability to adapt and learn, provide the framework and support for restructures, furlough, hybrid working, as well offer mental health and wellbeing support on a scale never previously imagined. They have never been as valued (or as busy) as they are now.

So, filling an HR position with the best person, let alone doing this quickly is a real issue. Due to the pandemic, candidate shortages are unusually high – fewer people are actively seeking a job move and their reasons for moving have gone. No longer are they commuting distances to work or feeling that they have to fight to be allowed to work from home. Their needs are being met, and many of them now have the ‘balance’ that they were missing. HR candidates are reluctant to move for anything less than the offer of a lifetime. If they have security and stability, they are staying put.

What can you do to ensure you fill your HR vacancy?

First off, companies need to invest the time in ensuring they recruit the right person the right way. Taking the time to fully understand what it is they are wanting to achieve, understanding the current market and considering the compromises they are able to make.

Asking whether you can take on ‘potential’ over ‘experience’ due to the candidate shortage is one thing; the right person will develop into the role and quickly add value.

What is the cost of taking on the wrong person? Is rushing to fill the job more costly than taking the time and waiting for the right person to come along?

This is when specialist recruiters like Waddington Brown come into our own. Rather than a one-size-fits-all floodgate process that gambles on volume and funnels applicants in the same way, specialist recruiters will be working on personal relationships. We’ll be working on understanding your needs – and this means the rapidly changing needs of the last year that will mean the person you need now might be different to the one you needed 18 months ago. We can draw out and sell your opportunity to people we genuinely believe will make your organisation better. And we have those on-going candidate relationships, where we know the motivates and reasons candidates will move. They trust us to know our clients and to know them.

If you need help on your next HR recruitment project and are looking for a trusted recruitment partner, call us on 01473 359159.