Why Your Company Should Still Focus on Hiring

Employment numbers still appear to be challenging in the US. According to the December ADP National Employment Report, there were continued decreases in employment seen from November to December. It was a loss of 13,000 jobs for small businesses, and overall, nationally, there were 123,000 jobs lost for December. Despite these employment figures, an article by Harvard Business Review explains how this economic downturn isn’t quite the same as the ones we have been through previously. We shouldn’t rush to assume that high unemployment means that it is an employer’s market for hiring new employees.
When they examined the data and their experience with recruiting executives, they discovered that the hiring environment is more nuanced than it had initially seemed. The conversation has focused on unemployment levels remaining high, but job openings have also stayed at unprecedented high levels. Moreover, employers’ incorrect assumptions that they are currently in an employer’s hiring market could result in companies missing out on the top talent they need to get or keep their company profitable.
This makes it the perfect time to work with your HR function or to have your HR function partner with external consultants to take a different approach on how your company hires talent and your talent acquisition strategy. Employing a data-driven focus to create a talent hiring strategy that addresses the current pandemic hiring uniqueness will allow you to be proactive. HR’s alignment with the company in a common strategic direction to deliver value to the customer is now, more than ever, both critical and essential.
Your company should be analyzing the specific conditions in your locality and industry that are affecting hiring and account for it within your talent strategy. Following the general, nationwide trends might make you miss the importance of where the specific hiring gaps are and how important it is to continue hiring new employees that are right for the job.