How to Maintain Talent Pools Amid Economic Slowdowns

During economic slowdowns, businesses often struggle to maintain and manage their candidate pool. This can be attributed to various factors, including decreases in available jobs, heightened competition, and limited resources. However, even in these difficult times, employers can still take steps to effectively manage and maintain a successful candidate pool.

Read on to explore the challenges of maintaining a candidate pool during an economic slowdown and your organization can overcome them. 

Building and Nurturing Relationships with Candidates

One challenge of maintaining robust talent pools amid an economic slowdown is the reduction in top talent. This means attracting and even finding candidates is much more challenging. As job openings grow scarce, candidates will likely become more selective in their job search and more hesitant to apply for positions that are not a perfect fit. To overcome this challenge, employers must remain proactive in nurturing relationships with candidates.

Organizations should focus on creating a talent network or community to help in their nurturing campaigns. This can be done through various channels, including social media, email marketing, and targeted advertising. By building a network of potential candidates, employers can stay top-of-mind and ensure they have access to a pool of qualified candidates when positions become available.

Another critical aspect of building and nurturing relationships with candidates is maintaining open lines of communication. This can be achieved through regular updates and check-ins, even when no job openings are available. Employers can also use this time to gather feedback from candidates and learn more about their career goals and aspirations, which can help inform future recruitment efforts.

Optimizing Recruitment Processes

In addition to building and nurturing relationships with candidates, employers must also focus on optimizing their recruitment processes to ensure they are as efficient as possible. This can be especially vital during economic slowdowns when resources may be limited and competition for top talent is fierce.

Organizations should leverage analytics and other data to gain insight into the recruitment process. This can include analyzing past recruitment efforts to identify areas for improvement, as well as using data to track and measure the success of current recruitment efforts. Organizations can use this information to better understand which strategies are and are not working and adjust accordingly.

Another essential aspect of optimizing recruitment processes is ensuring the recruitment team is fully trained. Be sure to provide ongoing training and development opportunities. This will help employers to maximize their chances of success and maintain a consistent candidate pool, even during economic slowdowns.

Focus On the Right Candidates

Another strategy during economic turmoil is to focus recruitment efforts on the right candidates. This means shifting resources from quantity to quality and establishing relationships with candidates who can help improve retention in difficult times. 

Here are five kinds of candidates that could boost retention efforts amid economic uncertainty:

1. Boomerang employees: Boomerang employees have worked with your organization before and are now returning. When employees return to a former workplace, they bring new skills and strengths that they can share with their team. Since these employees are already familiar with how to work in your organization, they know exactly how their new skills will fit into the office dynamic. 

2. Retirees: With the economic changes caused by the pandemic, many people retired earlier than planned. As inflation increases and a recession looms, around 3% of retirees are returning to the workforce. 1.7 million Americans “unretired” this year after re-assessing their financial needs. Retirees can provide a wealth of experience and developed skills. They have a proven work ethic and likely trained others in their time, so they can greatly benefit teams with new hires.  

3. Veterans: Veterans are excellent hires because of their proven work ethic, resiliency, reliability, and discipline. Veterans rely on work ethic and discipline to get things done in a structured, efficient manner. Having a team member who confronts issues, head-on should attract employers seeking problem-solving recruits. 

4. Immigrants and refugees: The most immediate advantage to hiring international employees is the global perspective they bring to your organization. All businesses can benefit from diverse points of view, and hiring employees from another country is a great way to bring variety to your collaborations. 

5. Formerly incarcerated applicants: Many organizations have begun to embrace second-chance hiring and with good reason. About 70 million Americans have a criminal history, which makes these applicants a considerable part of the labor pool. But even more important, formerly incarcerated workers often make top-notch employees. A recent SHRM survey found that 75% of HR managers believe workers with criminal records are at least as dependable as those without.

Leveraging Technology to Streamline Recruitment Efforts

Employers can also leverage technology to streamline recruitment efforts. This can include a variety of tools and platforms, including applicant tracking systems, social media recruitment tools, and virtual interviewing software. By using technology to automate and streamline recruitment processes, employers can save time and resources while also improving the candidate experience.

One effective technology platform for streamlining recruitment efforts is an applicant tracking system (ATS). A great example is BerniePortal’s applicant tracking system, which will help employers easily manage candidates throughout the employee lifecycle. 

An ATS can also help employers automate many aspects of the recruitment process, including job postings, candidate screening, and interview scheduling. By using an ATS, employers can save time and resources while also ensuring that they can identify and attract top talent quickly and efficiently.

Another effective technology platform for streamlining recruitment efforts is social media. Social media can effectively reach potential candidates, build relationships, and promote job opportunities. Ensure all your campaigns and resources are streamlined and working together to provide the most optimal recruitment experience possible. This will ensure you take the proper steps toward improving your talent pool amid the economic slowdown. 

Additional Resources

You can also stay informed, educated, and up-to-date with all things HR by using BerniePortal’s comprehensive resources:

• BernieU—free online HR courses, approved for SHRM and HRCI recertification credit

• BerniePortal Blog—a one-stop-shop for HR industry news

• HR Glossary—featuring the most common HR terms, acronyms, and compliance

• HR Guides—essential pillars covering an extensive list of comprehensive HR topics

• HR Party of One—our popular YouTube series and podcast, covering emerging HR trends and enduring HR topics