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      6 Reasons You Think You Don’t Need Hired

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      Or, Why It Could Be Your Best Recruiting and Hiring Solution

      We meet a lot of people who think they understand what Hired is, and what we do. Truth is, there are a few misconceptions out there. We’re not a recruiting agency, a job board, or a social network. We work for employers, connecting them directly to qualified candidates for tech and sales roles. We focus on talent most in demand by employers, which are generally Software Engineers, DevOps, UX Designers, Product Managers, and Data Scientists. For sales, it’s mostly Candidate Experience and revenue-based roles, such as Sales Managers. 

      It’s free for candidates to submit a profile and interview requests from employers. We also have a dedicated Candidate Experience team to support them. Using sophisticated AI and transparency into compensation expectations and preferences, we surface matching talent to employers, saving both parties loads of time. Despite this, we know hiring managers, recruiters, talent acquisition professionals, and C-Suite executives have questions – even objections.

      So, is Hired the right fit for you and your hiring needs? Let’s see. If we are, super! Let’s continue the conversation. If not, keep visiting and enjoying our content for recruiters, hiring managers, and talent leaders. Maybe we’ll connect down the road. Here are some common reasons you may think you’re not the right fit. 

      1. “We’re under a hiring freeze.”

      If you’re on a hiring freeze, it’s likely attrition is a risk for retaining talent. Recent data from LinkedIn shows the typical attrition rate for tech and sales talent is between 10-12%. This only rises in times of uncertainty. If retention is a concern for you, we can help in several ways. 

      Our research shows that highly-rated aspects of an ideal company culture and work environment for software developers include opportunities for professional development and career growth. We work with several partners, who help our customers upskill and develop their tech and sales teams.

      Hired offers the most efficient solution for sourcing talent when you need it. Plus, our Customer Success team is happy to work with you to improve your hiring processes through an interview guide revamp or company profile page review. Then, once the freeze lifts, you’re ready to go while your competitors are just warming up. 

      2. “We’re in the midst of layoffs.”

      We know that’s a tough experience for everyone involved, and we’d like to support you and your colleagues with free resources during this difficult time. 

      If, however, you want to reduce the cost of vacancy, and you need to backfill crucial roles, but outreach or recruitment marketing is discouraged during layoffs, we can help.

      Working with Hired to discreetly source and screen candidates for immediate roles or to nurture your pipeline avoids the optics of “spray and pray” LinkedIn outreach or job postings on your site. If your hiring managers and sourcers are stretched thin, Hired offers services to act as an extension of your team.

      For individuals seeking a new role, we offer free career resources, including a Jobseeker’s Guide to Bounce Back Better than Ever, which may be useful to share in your networks. 

      If you want to earn new certifications and skills, or even want to attend an immersive bootcamp, we have partners to help. If you’re on the platform, earn badges to broadcast your skills using Hired Assessments. Candidates with badges earn more interview requests. 

      Keep in mind, Hired also has hundreds of companies continuing to interview and extend job offers. They know some pretty amazing talent suddenly becomes available after layoffs and it’s a prime opportunity to connect and establish a relationship with them. 

      If you’re already on the platform and need assistance – reach out to our Candidate Experience team. They’re there to help you be successful!

      3. “We’re focused on other initiatives during the hiring slowdown, like Employer Branding.”

      We understand, and we’re happy to help with that too! We also offer employer branding services such as co-marketing or events to participate in that would allow you to maintain a brand profile while hiring is on pause. 

      Need to rethink your funnel or customize them for specific roles or regions? Our team is available to assist by auditing your messaging and processes before making thoughtful recommendations. 

      Let’s create more productive experiences for your hiring teams in the future and optimize the candidate experience. Now could be an excellent time to tackle some big rocks or strengthen areas deprioritized during hypergrowth modes. Reconsider policies, rethink requirements, and redraw maps of how you attract, hire, and retain employees. 

      Check out these related resources: 

      4. “We’re not a ‘tech company,’” or “We don’t have many tech roles to fill.”

      Are you sure? Your company may have an industry focus on healthcare, consumer goods, or agriculture, but you probably employ tech workers. You may have one, two, or 10, compared to the hundreds employed by global household names like Amazon or Google. 

      Regardless, the tech roles you have may be challenging to fill, especially if your turnover is low, (congrats on your retention!). If you have a lean tech team, odds are the company is pretty dependent on them and needs open roles filled as soon as possible. Whether it’s moving projects forward or ongoing support for the business or its customers, chances are you need a specific skill set and you need it fast. 

      We can empower your internal team to efficiently source the precise subroles you need. Frontend, backend, full stack engineers? We’ve got them. DevOps, data analysts? You bet. UX designers and product managers? We have a lot of them, too. 

      We have a vertically-deep pool of pre-qualified, responsive candidates for a simple pay-per-hire rate with a dedicated Customer Success team at less than the cost of recruiting agencies.

      Eliminate the waiting game and move faster. How? Our candidates’ profiles with salary expectations and wishlists plus our system’s robust filters provide better matches and enable you to personalize your interview requests. This helps you connect with candidates at a deeper level immediately and generates amazing response rates. 

      5. “Hired is too expensive,” or “It won’t work with our current hiring tools budget.”

      Passive sourcing can bury your inbox. But, the candidate pool slows you down because of outdated profiles or the search functions don’t deliver the candidates with the skills you need.  Lockdowns changed the way many people regarded work/life balance and what they wanted from their job or career. The Great Resignation, or Reshuffling, had tech workers flexing their power in a competitive market. 

      A survey of technologists in October of 2022 indicated 74% are actively looking for or open to a new role. Despite the layoffs that thundered through the second half of 2022, the unemployment rate for the tech industry fell to 1.5% in January from 1.8% a month earlier. The national rate fell from 3.5% to 3.4%, for comparison. 

      There is no slowdown in the number of tech professionals who are looking for new opportunities at other companies.  

      So, when you do have open roles, they are more critical than ever and the competition for top-tier candidates is intense. We provide the most efficient solution as our candidates are fully vetted for experience, skills, and salary requirements so we connect you with the people you need quickly. 

       Plans

      We offer various models including a subscription-based scenario with a predictable flat fee and unlimited hiring. This level offers beta access to new features, more compensation data, and premium customer support. Data shows customers often average 50% savings on cost per hire using this model.

      If flexibility is more important for now, go Pay Per Hire. You get access to the same tools and features for DEI to surface more underrepresented candidates and eliminate bias, as well as compensation transparency, completed assessment scores, and third-party integrations like an ATS. Depending on your needs, this allows you to get started quickly and further evaluate before making a commitment. 

      Whichever works best for you, ensure you and your team benefit from the highest value-add tools to meet hiring needs, achieve DEI goals, support your brands through volatility, and deliver the strongest ROI.

      We found a lot of companies could use assistance in working with decision-makers to get support for hiring and recruiting tools. We created this to help – Get Internal Approval for Recruiting Tools: A Step-by-Step Playbook.

      6. “We don’t need Hired – our inbound pipeline is flush with candidates.”

      Perhaps. But who are they? Are they qualified? Are they willing to work in a hybrid environment? What’s their visa eligibility? What’s their preferred working time zone? How much time will you spend screening and are they legitimately a good fit for the open role(s)? 

      Hired brings you the right talent, right away. It’s likely your team is expected to do more with fewer resources. Take advantage of the widest pool of the most active and curated talent on the market and enable them to source in the most efficient way possible. 

      Lean on Hired Assessments and candidate-earned skills badges to quickly filter and vet your full pipeline of candidates. Using this asynchronous tool frees up your team from in-person proctoring, creates a better experience for candidates, and empowers your team to assess a greater volume of candidates across multiple time zones.

      Need temporary or ongoing help to source, screen, and manage communications with candidates? Use Hired Sourcer to shortlist and coordinate the back and forth between candidates and hiring managers. It protects your employer brand by providing a better experience for candidates and allows hiring managers to focus on their daily priorities.

      Want a customized report of time and cost savings estimates? Check out our Savings Calculator. 

      Conclusion: Hiring the right people has never been more important.

      Let’s talk. Let’s explore how Hired can help you with more than quickly attracting and hiring qualified and experienced tech and sales talent. 

      We’re eager to understand your needs today and down the road, so we may support you and your goals. We are happy to show you a demo of the platform and connect you with team members to learn more about sourcing, events, tech assessment tools, and more.  More

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      Navigating Layoffs, Leveraging Strengths, & More: Talk Talent to Me January ’23 Recap

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      Catch up on the January 2023 episodes of Hired’s Talk Talent to Me podcast featuring recruiting and talent acquisition leadership who share strategies, techniques, and trends shaping the recruitment industry. 

      Layoffs and the importance of networking with Jason Walker & Rey Ramirez, Co-Founders of Thrive HR Consulting 

      Individuals’ greatest strengths with Dr. Scott Whiteford, Director of Leadership Analytics at Talent Plus 

      The value of talent acquisition with Rahul Yodh, VP of TA at New Western

      1. Jason Walker & Rey Ramirez, Co-Founders of Thrive HR Consulting 

      Given the current economic climate, employers and employees around the world are becoming better acquainted with the reality of layoffs each day. Guests discuss the ins and outs of layoffs, including the factors affecting them, the typical process, who’s most at risk, and how to mitigate that risk. They also provide insight into the current hiring (and firing) landscape and the push and pull of navigating remote work post-pandemic. 

      Related: How to Improve Job Security During an Economic Downturn: Career Advice for Recruiters

      “You’ve got to treat employees respectfully because the same people you’re laying off today are the ones you’re going to be trying to re-recruit in nine months.”

      Listen to the full episode.

      2. Dr. Scott Whiteford, Director of Leadership Analytics at Talent Plus 

      Dr. Whiteford delves into what it means to focus on strengths over weaknesses, the importance of self-reflection, and how to become increasingly specialized throughout your career. He also shares advice for young people on how to discover their strengths, the importance of looking at the whole person when you want to hire successfully, and how to form a constructive partnership with a hiring manager.

      “Understand what parts of your job you like, what parts you don’t like, where you’re good, where you’re not so good. The better prepared you are to have that conversation with your leader, the more likely you’re going to see a strong outcome.” 

      Listen to the full episode.

      3. Rahul Yodh, VP of TA at New Western

      Without a specific revenue amount associated with it, talent acquisition is often viewed as a cost center. However, Rahul explains there is a direct positive revenue impact to each hire a business makes and how important it is for TA leaders to make others aware of this. He also shares advice on how to change the way talent acquisition is viewed in organizations, his philosophy on interviews, and the importance of building cross-departmental relationships.

      “As a TA leader, you’ve got to think like a revenue org leader, like a COO, like a chief marketing officer, chief sales officer. You’ve got to really sharpen your business IQ and be able to demonstrate quantifiable terms that your team is providing.”

      Listen to the full episode.

      Want more insights into recruiting tips and trends?

      Tune into Hired’s podcast, Talk Talent to Me, to learn about the strategies, techniques, and trends shaping the recruitment industry—straight from top experts themselves. More

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      7 Ways to Message UVPs to Tech Candidates Now: Recruitment Marketing in 2023

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      What You’ll Learn

      Why it’s not about hyper-growth anymore

      How to be creative and considerate when structuring and communicating benefits

      Why emphasizing flexibility is key

      About this eBook

      At the beginning of 2022, a common recruitment message to candidates was how rapidly a company was growing, or about the latest round of funding. 

      After companies of all sizes laid off workers in mid through late 2022, those messages needed revisions. Now, there is an unprecedented volume of high-quality, seasoned talent looking for their next role. 

      To make the most of this opportunity to reach previously passive candidates and slingshot your teams forward, use this eBook to proactively address jobseeker priorities or concerns. More

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      How to Onboard Successfully & More: Talk Talent to Me December ’22 Recap

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      Catch up on the December 2022 episodes of Hired’s Talk Talent to Me podcast featuring recruiting and talent acquisition leaders who share strategies, techniques, and trends shaping the recruitment industry. 

      Respecting history, protecting the future, and maintaining healthy office culture with Hadley Haut, Executive Director at The Atlantic 

      Diversity on a leadership level, career path building, and successful onboarding with Amy Cappellanti-Wolf, CHRO at Cohesity

      Educational standards, the importance of soft skills, and India as a source of talent with Aditya Singh, Director of Talent Acquisition at Informatica

      Working for an agency versus in-house, initiating urgency and speed, and the responsibilities of a TA leader with Jodi Cohen, Director of Talent Acquisition at Tombras

      HR personnel versus recruiters, turning a bad interview into a valuable one, and personal branding with The HR Twins Carla Patton & Camille Tate

      Unconventional career journeys, the pressure to specialize, and why sourcing is often oversimplified with Wesley Gilbert, Global Head of TA at On

      A white glove approach to recruiting, reframing job descriptions, and flexibility in the resume process with Alia Poonawala & Emma O’Rourke-Powell, Recruiting Directors at Johns Hopkins University 

      1. Hadley Haut, Executive Director at The Atlantic

      Candidates should approach the company they want to work for with deliberate ambition, adequate research, and the will to uphold company values. Hadley did exactly that on her way to becoming Executive Director of Talent and Culture at The Atlantic. She shares how, despite the difficulties of the pandemic, her company successfully maintained its office culture. Hadley also explains why working in-office is still extremely valuable for all employees. 

      “When you’re ready for a new job, the best thing you can do is reach out to a company where you really want to work, because that’s the first thing anyone who is hiring you will notice.” 

      Listen to the full episode.

      2. Amy Cappellanti-Wolf, CHRO at Cohesity

      The workplace is rapidly changing and there is an increasing focus on the mental health, wellness, goals, and happiness of employees. Amy discusses her interesting HR philosophies and shares how to find the right way to help onboarding employees integrate successfully. Amy also suggests how to lead onboarding to secure employee retention and engage employees in their work. She even offers an example of how to plan an employee’s onboarding process!

      “There’s a ton of studies that if you don’t get onboarding, right within the first month to 60 days, retention drops drastically after the first year of employment. It’s not only the right thing to do for your employees, but there’s real business value in doing that.” 

      Listen to the full episode.

      3. Aditya Singh, Director of Talent Acquisition at Informatica 

      As educational standards constantly change, is it still necessary to hire talent based solely on the educational background? Or, should recruiters look for something else? Aditya helps answer this and emphasizes the importance of soft skills. He also discusses India as a major source of talent for companies based outside of the country, explaining why India is unique in the talent it produces. Learn about the country’s current surge in technical skills development and why startups remain the focus of many Indian investors.

      “I think we need to get away from role-based positions. The guardrails of education are slowly moving out. I think that we find the person who’s able to deliver, focus on the result and what the individual brings to the table, and then the background of the individual.”

      Listen to the full episode.

      4. Jodi Cohen, Director Talent Acquisition at Tombras

      Jodi dives into her journey as a recruiter and how she ended up working in-house, which she compares to working for an agency. She also dives into how she brought urgency and speed to Tombras, and moves quickly while putting processes in place. Jodi tells us her thoughts on the roles and responsibilities of a Director of Talent Acquisition, and why being hands-on is essential. 

      “I am still very reluctant to pass on any responsibilities through the hiring process. Anything that’s communication with the candidate, I’m still going to take on, because that ensures that the relationship with the candidate is going to be maintained throughout the process.” 

      Listen to the full episode.

      5. Camille Tate & Carla Patton, Head of Talent at Strava and VP of HR at RAPP

      For departments that should work in tandem, many find that HR personnel and recruiters often devalue each other’s roles. This episode’s guest duo rectified this common situation and reveal exactly how HR and TA should join forces. In fact, these two guests are twins and work side-by-side to deliver the hit podcast, The Career Saloon. Carla and Camille offer takes on their least favorite aspects of the opposite department too. As for advice, they tell us how to turn a bad interview into a valuable one, why it’s vital to be self-aware, and why personal branding is inherent in each of us. 

      Related: What Happens When TA & Hiring Managers Unite? Best Practices from One Medical, NBCUniversal & More

      “People are always watching you. It doesn’t matter if you think they aren’t; they are always watching you. If you don’t think you have a personal brand, you do.”

      Listen to the full episode.

      6. Wesley Gilbert, Global Head of TA at On

      Not everyone follows a linear career path, and pursuing a non-traditional route can equip you with useful skills you wouldn’t otherwise have acquired. With a varied and eventful career journey, Wesley is living proof that there’s no correct way to approach your career. He offers a refreshing perspective, sharing how a fortuitous encounter facilitated his first recruitment job and how he realized the inflexibility of a larger organization wasn’t for him. He also discusses the pressure to become more specialized (and the benefits of being a generalist). 

      “It doesn’t matter how senior you are when you come into a company. We’re going to give you some autonomy, we’re going to give you some scope. And we’re going to give you the trust to go and do that. And that means that you just attract a completely different caliber of people.”

      Listen to the full episode.

      7. Alia Poonawala & Emma O’Rourke-Powell, Recruiting Directors at Johns Hopkins University 

      In another episode featuring double the insights, Alia and Emma from Hire Hopkins, the recruiting arm of Johns Hopkins University, discuss university recruitment. They shed light on their white glove approach featuring one-on-one and data-driven work, and share how building an infrastructure streamlines the recruitment process. Alia and Emma also explain how to reframe job descriptions to generate interest from the target market, why flexibility is vital in the resume process, and why you should consider international talent. 

      “The companies that do well are the ones that are teachable and willing to experiment.” 

      Related: Raise the Bar in 2023: Strategies from Top Employers Winning Tech Talent (VIDEO)

      Listen to the full episode.

      Want more insights into recruiting tips and trends?

      Tune into Hired’s podcast, Talk Talent to Me, to learn about the strategies, techniques, and trends shaping the recruitment industry—straight from top experts themselves. More

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      Hiring Tech Talent is Tough. Here’s Why (and What to Do About it)

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      Pandemics change things. They are the cultural equivalent of an apocalypse, and while we can rebuild and recover, the process of adapting to a whole new landscape can be labor intensive and painful. 

      We’re still in the midst of the shifts created by Covid-19 and the ensuing lockdowns. Many of them are showing themselves in labor markets, hiring tools, and overall attitudes towards work. Economic uncertainty over the course of 2023 will only continue to shift the ground under our feet. 

      A 98% chance of a global recession in 2023, as reported by Ned Davis Research, has alarmed experts worldwide. Even with continued efforts to control inflation, 90% of CEOs expect to see a significant rise in cost within the next 12 months. Moreover, 50% of HR leaders expect increased talent competition over the next six months.

      These trends present challenges for the tech industry’s recruitment and talent acquisition landscape. Despite this, software engineer and developer roles continue to be in demand. 

      According to Hired, software engineers received twice the amount of interview requests last year than in 2020. However, reduced hiring will probably continue with the anticipated recession, as well as tech hiring freezes and potential layoffs.

      Related: Cost of Vacancy: Making the Case for Hiring During a Downturn

      How did tech recruiting become even more challenging?

      The technology industry is rife with competition, an overwhelming skills gap, and a shortage of seasoned professionals—a true catch-22 situation. Specific skill-set requirements, high demand for developers, and long hiring processes even lead recruiters to lose candidates to competitors.

      In a nutshell, things have become complex. Entirely new challenges, along with others that were idling in the background for years, are shifting rapidly into high gear.

      1. Remote work sparks a tech boom

      With lockdowns and remote work policies, organizations underwent rapid digitization to support work-from-home. Team meetings, organizational development, and everything in between, forced companies to change tech and revamp policies, which increased demand for tech experts as a whole.

      Related eBook: How Smart Companies are Solving Post-Lockdown Working (4 New Trends)

      2. Tech talent crisis: the skills gap

      Technologies like cloud computing, data science, and machine learning—once esoteric and mostly discussed at the university level—are now ubiquitous. The speed with which this tech has delivered results has been geometric, thus creating increased demand. New roles offering great opportunities for people with the right skill-sets are multiplying, but those skills are often in short supply. 

      Meanwhile, industries and roles that were once mainstream are rapidly becoming obsolete. This is leaving the workforce trained for jobs that either no longer exist or look far different than they did just a few years ago.

      Now, as technology evolves to meet these demands, organizations and jobseekers are struggling to keep up, leaving many tech roles vacant and in need of urgent hire.

      3. Shrinking tech talent pools

      The skills gap problem is compounded by a limited pool of tech talent. Datapeople’s Tech Hiring report found that while job posts doubled in 2021, the talent pool shrank by 25%. According to a survey by Gartner, Inc, businesses cited the talent shortage as one of the main barriers to emerging tech adoption and modernization. 

      In addition, 93% of candidates show a preference for remote or hybrid jobs. While companies are more open to interviewing candidates from different markets, Hired data indicates many still limit their search to two time zones, leading to smaller talent pools and causing searches to fall short in a growing market. 

      Navigating the hiring landscape: what’s next?

      It’s true that overcoming these challenges will require consistent time and effort. While various strategies help you efficiently hire tech talent, it’s imperative to start with the fundamentals. 

      Here’s what you need to know.

      Tech talent will prevail

      Economic downturn or not, tech is here to stay. The demand for skilled talent will remain heavy across industries as companies adopt new technologies. Keeping an eye on upcoming market changes allows you to maximize your hiring efforts. 

      Trends to Watch:

      Current skills shortages and in-demand skills

      Popular technologies, tools, and software in use 

      Industry-specific issues like employee turnover and retention

      What employers are doing to meet candidate needs and demands 

      How your competitors attract and retain their talent

      Where to look for tech candidates

      Trends in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)

      Use insights from these trends to develop a robust talent acquisition strategy that allows you to attract your key candidates, stay connected over downtime, and begin onboarding when you are ready.

      Related eBook: 10 Things You Can Do to Reach DEI Goals

      Keep it coming

      Talent sustainability is defined as an organization’s ability to continuously attract, develop, and retain candidates with the skills and qualities required for current and future roles, allowing the company to align business and talent goals as they adapt to a swiftly changing market. 

      A sustainable talent strategy ensures that you hire mindfully by evaluating organizational skill gaps and needs, then building a pipeline of qualified candidates as you rise to meet your long-term goals. 

      In addition, a talent acquisition process that incorporates core values can help strengthen your employer brand. If you need help in this area, we’ve created resources for both startups and larger enterprise companies.

      Always one step ahead

      With the surge in digitization, data science, and artificial intelligence (AI), there is a widespread need for tech experts. However, the skills gap has created a scenario where companies struggle to find skilled talent, and employees struggle to learn new skills. 

      Throwing in an upcoming recession will significantly impact hiring in the tech industry. All these issues will define the forthcoming talent trends and challenges, which will no doubt lead to limited talent pools and labor shortages.

      If you haven’t already adopted a more vigorous and intentional stance to your talent strategy, we can help you get started. Book a demo with Hired today! More

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      3 Ways You Should Use C-Suite to Recruit Tech Talent (+ Free Templates)

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      What You’ll Learn

      How to standardize the hiring process and apply it to everyone

      Why you should take senior leaders out of the “interviewing” function

      How to stand out by integrating senior leadership into candidate communications

      About this eBook

      Hired works with customers of all sizes and we’re grateful to constantly learn from them. Over the last year, we heard some great strategies and in this eBook we share them with you. Use these learnings to help you effectively use your senior leadership in recruiting. More

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      Cost of Vacancy: Making the Case for Hiring During a Downturn

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      Why the cost of job vacancy matters (and how to reduce it)

      As a recruiter, it’s up to you to fill open roles efficiently and minimize the cost of vacancy (COV). This year, a study found 75% of companies face talent shortages and have a hard time filling roles, or more specifically, with the right person. When it comes to filling positions, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) reports the estimated cost to hire an employee is three to four times the job’s salary.

      Many assume leaving a position unfilled simply saves the company from spending. A short-term view may show a couple of months’ worth of savings in salary and benefits. Better for business, right? Not so much, actually. It’s a common misconception that taking longer to fill a role benefits the organization. 

      Enter the cost of vacancy. In this eBook, we’ll examine several topics including: 

      What is the cost of vacancy? What does it mean, exactly? 

      How to calculate the cost of vacancy (formula chart included)

      The impacts of leaving a position vacant

      How to reduce the cost of vacancy

      Why a hiring freeze or slowdown may hurt more than help

      In the longer-term view, an open position may lead to: 

      loss of productivity and revenue, 

      the slowdown of goals and projects’ roadmaps, 

      the negative impact on deadlines and employee morale, 

      retention issues, and 

      even a loss of market share.

      The ripple effect of vacancies means they’re not so great for business. So before issuing a hard stop on hiring, really think through the actual costs and benefits of it, including the impact on your recruiting pipeline. It’s a lot easier to nurture pipelines than to warm them up after they’ve gone stone cold.

      Understand the COV to optimize your recruitment strategy and help leadership discover how open roles really impact your company. More

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      How to Nurture Innovation, Strengthen Retention (Use Professional Development)

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      If you want to foster employee professional development and growth, it’s essential to begin with a positive and supportive work environment. By providing opportunities for learning, as well as a culture of collaboration and open communication, companies encourage their employees to reach their full potential and become valuable assets to the organization. 

      In this blog, we explore laying the foundation for employee professional development beginning with the hiring process, and ways to create a nurturing environment. To help provide real-world examples and insights, we’ll lean on excerpts from episodes of Hired’s podcast, Talk Talent to Me, featuring these experts: 

      Consider growth potential from day one

      Riffat Jaffer shares, “There are so many jobs everyone does. But what are they going to grow into six months or three years from now and how will they add value to your company in the future?”

      Hiring for potential means looking beyond a candidate’s current skills and experience. It’s considering their ability to learn and grow in the role. The specific role you’re hiring for shouldn’t be the bottom line, but rather a starting point to build upon.

      This approach is particularly valuable for businesses ready to invest in their employees and support their professional development. Companies then bring on employees who may not have all the required skills at the time of hire. However, they have the aptitude and willingness to learn and grow.

      Leverage potential to build diversity

      One benefit of hiring for potential is helping companies build diverse and dynamic teams. By considering a candidate’s potential rather than just their existing credentials, businesses bring on employees with a range of backgrounds and perspectives. This contributes to creating a more vibrant and creative work environment and allows for more innovative solutions.

      In a past panel discussion, “An Insider’s Guide to Hiring in Tech,” Nathalie Grandy, formerly with Gem, now Head of Tech Recruiting at Mutiny, shared her insights. She says, “It starts with changing the mindset of what you’re looking for and potentially being open to those nontraditional backgrounds. For us, it’s encouraging hiring managers to think about the 80/20 rule. So 80% existing skill set and 20% coachability.”

      Impact down the line: employee retention

      Another advantage of hiring for potential is helping companies retain top talent. By providing opportunities for learning and growth, businesses support their employees in achieving their career goals and help them feel fulfilled in their roles. This leads to increased job satisfaction and a lower employee turnover rate.

      Riffat explains, “Candidates come in and maybe they’ve not done the job exactly like you want them to do. But they know you trusted them and hired them to do it. They’re willing to give it their all and more than somebody who has done it three times over now.” 

      Take a leap of faith

      Of course, hiring for potential does come with its challenges. For example, it is difficult to accurately assess a candidate’s potential. There is always a certain level of risk involved in bringing on employees who may not have all the required skills at the time of hire. 

      However, with careful consideration and a robust onboarding process, companies can successfully hire for potential and reap the many benefits of supporting employee professional development and growth.

      Riffat says, “Maybe they’re not where we want them to be today but our onboarding and training come in to get candidates where they want to go. Typically, you end up hiring the best candidates when you take a leap of faith.”

      According to Riffat, hiring for potential is all about “being able to partner with the hiring managers and make sure they see potential in a candidate. It also depends a lot on product maturity and if we can afford to give a candidate six months to become what we want.” 

      Build an inclusive environment to foster employee growth

      An inclusive workplace values and respects diversity, and is where all employees feel welcome and supported. By fostering an inclusive workplace, businesses create an environment to support employee development and growth. Here are a few ways to do this:

      1. Establish guiding values to support professional development and growth

      These values must emphasize the importance of providing opportunities for employees to learn and grow in their roles, and support their professional development. By adopting such values, companies create an environment that encourages employees to learn new skills and take on new challenges.

      Anabel Morales echoes this saying, “The key to scaling our culture successfully is equipping our leaders with tools to scale trust, transparency, and inclusion. When we hire managers or promote somebody into a management role, we’re introducing them to our leadership principles and educating them on how to live up those values.”

      2. Encourage open communication and feedback

      Create an environment where employees feel comfortable sharing their ideas and providing feedback to one another. This helps identify and address any challenges or barriers employees may be facing, and can support their growth and development.

      To Anabel, this means “facilitating inclusion and teaching people how to build trust. Leading without micromanaging, asking for feedback, and being a good listener are basic things managers sometimes forget to do.” 

      “The psychological safety piece is also very important. It is something you need in a team to ensure innovation. The last thing you want as a manager is to have a team where everybody just agrees with you. Create an environment where people feel open to speak.”

      3. Explore personal drive and growth

      Provide employees with support and guidance as they explore their personal drive for growth. This might include offering advice and mentorship to help guide their self-reflection as they define their purpose and future goals.

      Sacha Luthi says, “If you look at what success means, it’s very broad. I can make things very complicated as an HR person. Or, I can try to build an environment in which people want to work with you. I don’t want people to work with me because they have to. The true reason is finding the ‘Why are you here?’”

      4. Measure the impact of deficiencies

      There are endless avenues to take when it comes to professional development and growth. So many possibilities might become overwhelming, causing employees to struggle in picking their starting point. As a leader, aid employees in identifying personal development needs to plot their course.

      Reflecting on his own experience, Sacha says, “it took good leaders to see things I was not able to see in myself. You need people along the way who believe in you and build confidence.”

      Encourage self-reflection to measure the impact of deficiencies in order to identify growth opportunities. Sach poses a few questions for individuals to consider: “How do I find out what I’m really good at? What gives me energy? Where is the space for it to be used?”

      “If you are not good at something you should also look at it from a collective perspective. There are other people around you who may jump in or cover the gap, so look at performance and career. We still value and recognize individuals but how do we put those strengths together so the collective output is better?” 

      5. Provide opportunities for learning and development

      The opportunity to continuously learn and tackle new challenges continues to be the number one reason software engineers enter a career in the field. Employers should offer compelling career development opportunities to attract and retain software engineers and ensure they feel adequately challenged in their roles. 

      Based on our survey of software engineers, more than half said it’s important to them their employer provides professional development opportunities. 72.2% reported new challenges and continuous learning most attracted them to a career in software engineering.

      Set the tone for personal growth & professional development in your organization

      If you want to create an environment to encourage employees to develop new skills, cultivate new strengths, and continue the evolution of their careers, build an inclusive workplace and keep growth in mind from the hiring process on. 

      Tune into Hired.com’s podcast, Talk Talent to Me. Hear what top experts have to share about the strategies, techniques, and trends shaping the recruitment industry today.

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      Editor’s note: at the time of the podcast recording, Anabel was VP of Talent Acquisition, in August of 2022, she became VP, People and Culture. Congrats, Anabel!  More