Skill shortages are being reported across most industries and it seems that finding the right candidate is like searching for a needle in a haystack. If you are finding it hard to recruit, a fresh approach could help your organisation discover hidden talent.

Recruitment Challenges

In theory, remote working should increase the talent pool. The opportunity to work from home breaks down geographical barriers for both employers and employees. However, there remains a candidate shortage. Companies in all sectors are finding it hard to recruit and retain team members with the desired skills, attitudes and values.

This makes the strongest candidates highly desirable. These individuals are likely to be applying for, and being offered, multiple roles. As a result, they can select the company with the strongest brand and best rewards, career progression opportunities and desirable working conditions.

Recruitment is a time-consuming and costly process. Therefore, it is frustrating when the pool of candidates fails to secure the team members your organisation needs. Either you can’t find the right match for the role or, you do, but they have already been snapped up by a competitor. Do you start again or offer the position to someone who doesn’t tick all the boxes?

A LinkedIn article* highlights some of the reasons why it is hard to recruit in 2023 and provides advice on what companies can do to increase the chance of finding a talent match. However, I’d like to suggest an alternative option.

Do your Employees Have Hidden Talents?

Sometimes, the ideal candidates are right under your nose, working as part of your team. Your current employees were selected for a specific role and that is how you see them, yet they may have hidden talents. You already know they share the company values, have a good worth ethic and get on well with colleagues. Do they also have skills and strengths that could be developed?

When we define individuals by their skills, rather than their job role, we start to see opportunities to fill gaps and harness potential. So, how well do you know your team and what they enjoy when they are not at work?

Does the person who organises all the social events, family holidays and household budget have an aptitude for project management? They may not have a qualification, yet life experience can make them more confident and competent than someone who does.

The challenge is, that many of us are unaware of our hidden talents. If we’ve never had the chance to project manage, deliver a presentation or lead a team, how do we know if we can do it?

Employee Profiling

Fortunately, employee profiling offers a solution. Aptitude and ability tests and strengths assessments are often used in the recruitment process, yet they are equally valuable as a means of harnessing the potential of your team.

Offering your team the chance to complete aptitude and ability tests and strengths assessments is more cost-effective and takes less time than the recruitment process. Employee profiling provides insight that helps you see your team in a fresh light. Then, you can identify who is ripe for career development.

Career Progression Opportunities

Developing the skills of existing employees is also a critical factor in staff retention, as identified in a CIPD article**. The research cited in the article identifies that 66% of UK employees would consider quitting their job within a year if no learning and development opportunities were offered to them.

So, if you have found it hard to recruit, I’d recommend looking at your current team with fresh eyes. Given the opportunity, do they have the potential to fill your skill gaps?

* https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/5-biggest-recruitment-challenges-2023-how-overcome-them-

** https://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/article/1808719/majority-employees-say-l-d-vital-factor-choosing-employer-survey-finds

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