The Current Hiring Environment is Benefiting Job Seekers
2018 is a banner year for employees; a year that pits employer against employer, competing for the best candidates using higher salaries and hiring perks to attract and retain them. While such tactics are not a new development, the strategy continues to intensify as employers contemplate the impact of prolonged position vacancies.
While some employers continue to leave a position open as a cost-saving method, more are discovering unfilled positions come at a cumulative cost to management, personnel, customers and the existing team. These impacts include higher workloads, unmet goals, increased stress and decreased satisfaction for team members and customers, not to mention an uncalculated advantage for competitors.
Competition for Job Candidates
In this environment, it’s imperative for companies to change direction and begin to induce quality candidates with better salaries and perks. With 63 percent of U.S. companies planning to hire full-time permanent workers in the second part of the year. Candidates are finding themselves in the driver’s seat and competition for the best will be fierce, according to CareerBuilder’s Midyear Job Forecast.
With hiring expected to increase 60 percent during the second half of 2018, particularly in the areas of customer service, sales, IT, and product & business development, successful hiring must include other incentives.
Hiring Perks
- Casual dress code – 36 percent
- Employee discounts – 31 percent
- Ability to work remotely – 25 percent
- Extra paid time off – 22 percent
- Signing bonus – 21 percent
- Free lunches – 14 percent
- Gym memberships – 12 percent
- Work from home Fridays – 10 percent
- Daycare – 8 percent
Current Employees
The proliferation of tech also impacts the highly competitive hiring environment. A majority of those surveyed, 69 percent, said the technology required in many jobs is changing how companies interview and recruit. But once hiring is complete, a company cannot rest on the laurels of higher salaries and sign-on bonuses. Employers must prioritize improving the culture and environment for all employees, not just new hires, including salary increases for current employees.
This is the plan for an estimated 58 percent of companies surveyed that will give salary increases of 5 percent or more, to current employees. Without such inducements, employees who deal with an unsatisfactory manager, culture or environment can easily find a reason to move on to the many other employment options.
Still not convinced? CareerBuilder also finds that 1 in 5 employees report the likelihood of changing jobs in the second half of 2018. Considering the time, effort and financial aspects of the hiring process, it’s often smarter and more economical to find ways to keep employees’ content in the job they’re in.
This article is brought to you by Staffing Kansas City, a full-service Kansas City employment agency that provides contract-to-hire, direct hire and contract employment placement services.