How to navigate a fast-moving recruitment market
By Suzie Walker
Through a combination of economic changes, skill shortages and changing strategies, we find ourselves, as recruiters, in a market that continues to move at an astonishing pace for senior leaders in marketing roles. There are no signs of it slowing down and the competition for talent makes recruitment a demanding and unsteady area for many employers.
I would like to take the opportunity to run through the best ways of ensuring that you not only attract the right candidates for your senior marketing roles, but that you also retain the talent you already have. By following this advice, you will ensure that strategies are delivered effectively for the sustained growth of your organisation.
Retain talent
Before even embarking on new hires, take some time to look at your current workforce – engage with them through feedback and consultation to gain a clear understanding of what makes them tick, in both the role and within your company culture. Your team is both your greatest asset and advocate – they have the knowledge and ability to support senior leaders in making decisions and forming policies that not only retain talent but also attract more.
One area of retention that always remains high on the agenda: learning and development. Repeatedly, the opportunity to progress through technical and leadership knowledge presents itself in talent feedback and research. Not only will this support the workforce to achieve their ambitions, it also ensures that your organisation is in a great position at a time of serious skills shortages.
The skills shortage is a significant obstacle and often forces organisations to offer roles to candidates who simply aren’t ready yet. And, it’s not just technical skills. The past few years have highlighted a need for senior leaders with the right soft skills to support an evolving company culture. To have a great leadership team, this requires training and a clear understanding of what makes a great leader.
Act quickly
In a fast-moving recruitment market, you will find candidates are within several recruitment processes at any one time, and they are receiving offers quickly – even pulling out of certain processes in the final stages. The reason is, quite simply, it remains a candidate’s market. After the past few tumultuous years, many senior leaders have a new mindset of ‘purpose and joy’. They want to ensure that any company they join has values and a culture that aligns with their own. It’s not just about the job title, it’s about feeling they’re in the right place.
So, it’s essential to move quickly through the recruitment process and to be completely honest with candidates throughout. Find out their motivations and consider a balance of both technical and soft skills to ensure the right candidates get through to the final stages. That way, you can make a decision that feels right for both your organisation and for their own career journey.
To foster a positive and efficient recruitment process, it’s also essential to stay connected with candidates along the way. Don’t keep them waiting. If they feel they need to chase on feedback and decisions, you might just lose them.
Utilise experts
Talent acquisition is hard, especially when you’re juggling multiple functions and areas of expertise at a senior level. That’s why talent and HR teams often work alongside a specialist executive search firm, for several reasons: firstly, they have strong candidate networks for the exact role you’re hiring for. For example, Suzie Walker Executive Search focusses specifically on senior marketing roles. We regularly recruit for interim and permanent Head of Marketing, Head of Brand, Head of Performance Marketing, Marketing Director, and Chief Marketing Officer roles, so our network is stronger and more targeted than a generalist recruitment firm.
An executive search firm will also provide a robust and efficient process. They will take you through the search, shortlist, and interview stages quickly and efficiently, utilising experts within the team to present a selection of best-fit candidates for interviews. For interim roles, our new senior hires are in situ within four weeks. Of the four offers we’ve received for candidates for senior interim marketing roles this week, one will start within a week, two within a fortnight and one in four weeks’ time.
Finally, an executive search firm can provide advice and honest feedback when you need it. We have the knowledge and experience to guide you every step of the way.
Prepare clear and compelling policies
In a competitive candidate’s market, we know that preparing clear and compelling policies on flexible working, for example, will give you the edge over more rigid and traditional approaches. Organisations that offer a flexible way of working, regardless of personal circumstances, are not only retaining the talent they already have, but they are also attracting new hires. This could be a hybrid approach with focussed opportunities for collaboration and belonging, or it could be complete flexibility to choose how they work. Compressed hours and flexible hour policies are becoming the norm alongside hybrid working.
Whatever approach you choose, it’s essential to be clear about company values, culture, and policies from the offset. Honest conversations and understanding will help both parties throughout the recruitment process.
Onboard early
Finally, due to the competitive recruitment market, companies can still lose new hires after their contract has been signed. It’s not something we have encountered with clients but it’s being talked about, and we would recommend that you engage with new hires early on. They will be delighted to keep in touch with you and to receive invites to events – they want to feel a sense of belonging as early as possible.
And, from the first day in their new role, make sure that a cross-departmental induction process is in place so they can quickly gain a thorough understanding of the organisation, with a strong introduction to objectives, processes, and culture. From then on, regular opportunities for collaboration and feedback will ensure they are the best they can be in their new role.
If you’re looking to hire for interim or permanent senior leadership roles, or if you’re ready to make your next career move, get in touch to see how we can help you or connect with us/send a message on LinkedIn.
Suzie Walker Executive Search is a firm of specialist headhunters with an expert team recruiting interim and permanent senior leaders for marketing and digital roles in consumer-facing FTSE 350 and private equity-backed companies. Find out how we can support you by connecting with a Consultant below.