Today I came across an interesting article written by Peter Capelli which actually related quite well to the previous post written by Aviva about using external search firms in the current economy. In Peter’s article entitled Difficulties in Finding Qualified Workers he discusses the fundamental reason why in the current economy many employers still find it difficult to fill their positions when the labour pool is so abundant.

In Canada the unemployment rate currently sits at 8.4% Labour Force Survey: Statistics Canada and in the United States it is nearing 10%. If we live in such a global economy why does it remain difficult to fill key positions?

One of the primary reasons is that individual organizations require unique and specialized skills and as Peter Capelli states, “jobs with the same job title get performed very differently across otherwise similar organizations.” Every job requires a combination of qualifications and competencies, hard skills and soft skills, education and experience.

The most challenging aspect in finding the right candidate for a position are the work based skills that conform to the job, the company and the culture of the organization.

At times It’s like trying to put a square peg into a round hole and for that reason, it will remain a major challenge for many organizations to fill their key positions regardless of how many applicants are available.

Corporate Recruiters’ jobs have become more challenging. That’s right. With the economic downturn, one would think that with all the available talent, it should be easier to fill open positions. Unfortunately, all the resumes flowing in from job ads are turning into piles of under-qualified, mismatched candidates that take more time to screen, leaving less time to speak with highly qualified candidates that organizations want to hire.

In this market, many companies with hiring needs conclude that one way to reduce spending is to eliminate over priced placement agencies. One may think that with a single ad there would be many more applicants making it easier to find talent on your own. But is this the top talent you seek? In some cases, yes. But can internal Recruiters spend the time required to identify that “diamond in the rough”? Not all active candidates are poor quality. There are some top talent individuals that have been affected by company closures and market changes. But on average, organizations are finding a way to retain their best and brightest people in hopes that the economy will soon turn. And it already has started. Most of those displaced top talent professionals that were actively looking for their next career have been snatched up and have once again become the passive candidates companies desperately seek.

More applicants does not translate into “easier to fill open positions”. If anything, it means higher volume resumes and more time to sift through them. It often also means longer time-to-fill cycles and higher stress for internal Recruiters. It can even mean lower quality hires and in the end, higher recruitment costs.

The best recruiting strategy is to ensure a comprehensive approach: keep an eye on active candidates but purposefully hunt within the passive candidate pool.

The past 6 years have been an amazing journey in the growth and development of HCM Advantage Consulting Ltd. As the founding partner, I’ve seen a lot of changes and challenges in the recruiting industry that have fueled my ideas in Candidate Sourcing and Research and have provided the inspiration to create something different enabling us to grow and prosper. Today, together with my partner Aviva Kraizel, we are proudly announcing our new name change to Intellidig Research Group Inc., which is an important milestone in our business that more closely reflects our research based services.

Aviva and I will be taking turns writing in our Intellidig blog. You can expect us to comment on top of mind challenges the industry is facing along with solutions, resources, advice and occasional musings of interest. Most of all, we look forward to engaging with our clients and colleagues to continue to build upon the great relationships we have established and we welcome new visitors as well.

View our press release here.