The economy has been on a roll lately and businesses are hiring to meet the demand. There’s just one problem: they can’t find enough people to fill their open positions.

According to a recent report from ADP and Moody’s Analytics, employers are having a hard time finding qualified candidates to fill the record 6.7 million job openings in the US.

“Business’ number one problem is finding qualified workers,” Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, said. “At the current pace of job growth, if sustained, this problem is set to get much worse. These labor shortages will only intensify across all industries and company sizes.”

With the current talent shortfall, many economists predict employers will start doing more to attract workers. If your company is having a hard time finding quality candidates, what can you do to attract more qualified applicants? Here are some ideas:

Offer Better Wages and Benefits

According to the 2018 Job Seeker Nation Study by Jobvite, compensation was the most cited reason for leaving a job in 2017, followed by a lack of growth opportunities. To retain their best and brightest, many companies have already begun offering higher wages to new employees while increasing pay for their current staff. In this current hiring climate, you may consider following their lead to ensure your company has the best people possible.

Reduce Your Time-to-Hire

Time-to-hire is the time it takes between engaging a candidate and the candidate accepting an offer. Employers are recognizing that, because of the current talent shortage, they must speed up their hiring process to compete or risk losing their best candidates to competitors. Consequently, many companies have begun analyzing their time-to-hire to reduce wasted time in their hiring process.

Pursue Passive Candidates

Passive candidates are the cream of the crop, the star players. Because they are so desired by employers, they already have a job. The good news is, 45 percent say they are willing to learn about other opportunities.

When pursuing passive candidates, simply posting your open position on a job board and hoping they apply won’t work. You need to actively go after passive candidates. Utilize social media, especially LinkedIn, to find your ideal candidates. Employee referrals are also a solid source for passive candidates.

The only downside to recruiting passive candidates? It takes longer than recruiting active candidates. You may not have time to scour the internet and sift through hundreds of resumes to find your next best employee. That’s why many companies work with a staffing firm like Burchard & Associates to find passive candidates.

While you focus on your day-to-day responsibilities, our team is solely focused on finding your ideal candidate. We have the recruiting expertise and experience necessary for attracting and landing these highly sought-after professionals.

If you’d like to learn more about how we can help you hire the best people for your open position, contact us today.