How is the economic slowdown affecting the recruitment sector? Are there really fewer positions to fill? Have employers and candidates adjusted their attitudes and expectations during negotiations for a new employment contract? We took the pulse of recruiters to understand the current state of the market.
| This article is part of the special report > The New Trends in Recruitment |
Whether there’s a slowdown or not, it must be recognized that a majority of recruiters still say they are “very busy”. Leila Senoussi, CRHA, explains the situation as follows:
“There are many candidates, but not the candidates we are looking for…” notes the HR consultant. “Some employers are looking for very specific skills in niche areas. Also, in the IT field, many candidates still have in mind the salaries that were granted during the pandemic. There is a mismatch between what candidates are looking for and what companies are willing to offer.”
Headhunter Xavier Thorens offers a slightly different perspective, perceiving a “slight slowdown” in the market.
“It makes it easier to recruit candidates because they are being approached a bit less than during the peak of the crisis. Salary increases have also been capped, which has given companies time to rebalance their pay scales. Salary negotiations are easier today,” he observes.
Watch out for those rolling up the red carpet
However, he acknowledges that there is a balance to be found between what candidates and employers want.
“When we were at the height of the labor shortage, employers gave everything to employees. We saw some quite extraordinary things, like the concept of unlimited vacation. Then, as the market began to calm down, we saw a strong pullback, where employers started cutting these conditions. There was pressure for people to return to the office…”
For Xavier Thorens, there’s no doubt: employers who roll up the “red carpet” will regret it when the recovery comes.
“If you are an employer who has abandoned these policies, you will lose credibility when the crisis returns. It will affect your employer brand. Today, while the market is not under pressure, it’s the time to rethink policies on remote work, diversity, and inclusion, etc. You need to prepare for the recovery now.”
Employer advantage, for a while
More conservative in his predictions, Julien-Pier Boisvert, director of talent acquisition at a software firm, anticipates the beginning of a new employer-friendly era.
“We are coming out of about ten years where the market has heavily favored candidates. I think we are moving toward a market that is somewhat more favorable to employers. Currently, I think it’s extremely difficult in technology for entry-level individuals. There are very few jobs available. When hiring today, we want an immediate return on investment,” he observes.
However, the recruitment director agrees with Xavier Thorens on the importance of preparing for the recovery.
“In a period of acute labor shortage, each recruiter must hire 60 people a year, or one hire per week. We don’t have time to optimize our processes. However, when recruitment slows down, we need to switch to project mode. We use slow periods to deploy projects that will improve the candidate experience in anticipation of the next wave. It’s a cyclical industry. We need to prepare for what’s next.”
New Recruitment Realities in 2024
- TREND 1 – Candidates Are Listening
In 2024, there’s no need to pretend to have a “dentist appointment” to have lunch with a recruiter. One can take advantage of a remote workday to schedule an “exploratory call” with a recruiter or manager from a competing company, without raising suspicions with their employer.
“One impact of the virtualization of the recruitment process is that it allows candidates to keep an ear on the market,” explains Julien-Pier Boisvert.
The talent acquisition director cites a survey conducted in May by Lever, which found that 79% of job seekers are open to new opportunities, even though 86% of them report being “satisfied with their jobs.”
- TREND 2 – Reference Checks
Previously, we checked a candidate’s references to complete their profile or validate their skills. Today, it’s more about ensuring that the candidate is who they claim to be.
“There have been cases of fraud, where a candidate interviews with someone who tells them what to say behind the screen. I’ve heard stories of people going through an interview process just to get a laptop, and then disappearing. Recently, a candidate who claimed to have worked at a major bank gave us the customer service number as a reference. And no one had heard of him,” recounts Julien-Pier Boisvert.
Without wanting to exaggerate the phenomenon, Julien-Pier believes that employers need to enhance their background checking efforts, not so much to evaluate the candidate but to validate their real identity.
- TREND 3 – New Use of Psychological Tests
At the height of the labor shortage, companies did not have the luxury of selecting candidates based on psychological tests. However, over the past six months, Leila Senoussi notes a renewed interest in these tests, but for a different purpose.
“Previously, we used them to select a candidate. Today, the requests I receive are for candidates who have already been hired. We want to know their strengths and areas for improvement, to create an integration plan.”
| This article is part of the special report > The New Trends in Recruitment |
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