Hiring Staff

Why Is It So Hard To Hire New Staff In 2022?

Hiring has always been difficult for certain businesses in certain industries. However, across the board, recruitment has become a big struggle. Businesses seem to face a staffing shortage and there’s no sign of replacements filling these holes any time soon. 

Why is it so hard to hire new staff now?

Essentially, most of the points you’ll see below are focused on one thing: the pandemic. We can’t quite understate just how pivotal the pandemic has been in affecting recruitment for all businesses. With that in mind, let’s look at some of the reasons you’re struggling to hire new candidates:

The recruitment sector is playing catchup

A lot of companies forget that the pandemic has a massively negative effect on the recruitment sector. There’s an article titled The COVID-19 Implications For The UK Recruitment Industry that explains this in more detail. One of the key points was that recruitment agencies suddenly had less need for staff and were literally just trying to stay afloat. This means that, right now, they’re still playing catchup. They are unable to provide the same services that they once did, which impacts your ability to recruit. You have to either do it in-house or deal with a recruitment agency that doesn’t have the resources it once did. 

Workers have changed their minds

Another reason for recruitment difficulties is that workers have had a mindset change throughout the pandemic. It gave them time to realise that they didn’t enjoy what they were doing. They had time away from work to assess their life and have come to the conclusion that a career change is necessary. So, many of the talented individuals that used to roam your industry have now pivoted and explored different career opportunities. This is a huge struggle for businesses in common sectors – like retail, hospitality and general business. These industries have been hit the hardest as people realise that they don’t like these jobs and would prefer to do something different. As a consequence, there are fewer candidates to choose from. 

Workers demand more

Furthermore, workers are now clearer on what they’re worth. It’s taken a pandemic for millions of people to stand up and realise that they aren’t getting what they deserve from their employers. People want better wages, better benefits, and so on. This makes it harder for you to hire new staff because you have to make more compromises. Candidates are recognising that, actually, businesses really depend on us. Normally, job interviews are a case of what can the candidate bring to the business. However, modern workers have shifted this approach to make it more about what the business can do for them. So, it’s harder to recruit someone if you can’t meet their demands. 

All in all, some stark changes will be required to get recruitment back to where it used to be. For businesses, this will mean making compromises. Focus on valuing your employees and giving people reasons to work for you. Developing a good company culture and making your workers feel appreciated can help you hire new talent and retain the talented individuals you already have.