Why you’re struggling to hire in 2021
& how you can improve (part II)
Having recently seen both The Guardian and The Times talk about staff shortages and what to do about them, I wanted to detail my own 2021 experiences. They are lengthy, so I’ve broken them into two parts. Part I here, part II below…
In part I of this article I talked about the huge talent bottleneck facing the UK’s digital sector, and outlined the three (of five) changes companies had to make internally to improve their hiring practices.
These included increasing salaries, adjusting expectations, and streamlining interviews.
Now I want to look at changes four and five which are more external-facing. These changes will help broaden the number, and quality, of applicants companies get for a job.
Broaden your location search
The remote working situation is about to come to a head. Do people really want to be in an office? Can you make them come back? Are you going to pay a London salary if the employee has moved to Cornwall? Have these conversations now as the outcomes will change where you look to hire talent from.
If you do remote working then why does the person you’re hiring need to live in London, or in the UK for that matter. Open up the talent pool by opening up your geographical search.
Many British nationals have moved abroad, simplifying some of the administrational issues in hiring international talent, and if the time zone works then what’s the problem?
You can also target EU nationals who have moved home. They’ll have strong English language skills and experience working in the UK market, and this will again open up your talent pool.
Widen your age range (life doesn’t stop at 39!)
While there has been good progress in diversity hiring, companies still feel nervous about hiring those aged 40+. I believe this is mostly related to salary i.e. someone older may ask for a higher salary as they have more experience and a bigger cost base.
But we also see this age discrimination on salaries for those in their mid-twenties. Most frown on paying someone younger a higher salary, despite them being a high achiever with promotions under their belt.
It seems odd to penalise older experience or younger achievement, but this appears to be a London tech thing. It means companies are left looking at those between 27 and 39 which slashes their talent pool.
Don’t focus on age. Focus on energy. I have friends in their 50s with more energy than friends in their 20s, and if we only employ people up to 40 then we’ll all be in early retirement despite an increasing life expectancy!
Final thoughts (for part II)…
Companies need to start addressing some of their long-held assumptions. Today’s candidates are getting multiple job offers and the increased competitiveness means you need to be more open-minded.
Don’t go to the job market with the same strategy as you had in 2020, or indeed the same salary you’ve had for a decade (more on that here). You can’t buy a flat in 2021 on a 2011 budget. The same applies to hiring talent.
Are you ready to rebuild and hire this year?
Get in touch with Santa Monica Talent today. We help start-ups scale up by building exceptional sales, marketing, product and leadership teams.
About Santa Monica Talent
Since 2015, Santa Monica Talent has helped start-ups scale up by building exceptional sales, marketing, software, and leadership teams for them. We’ve been instrumental in creating explosive growth for game-changing brands like Vaynermedia, iZettle and Planday.
Get in touch with Ell Seder on Linkedin or at info@santamonica.digital to find out more.