How to Recruit for Hard-to-fill Positions

According to the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD), more than half (57%) of employers have hard-to-fill vacancies, while over a quarter (29%) expect ‘significant’ problems in hiring for such openings over the next six months (as of February 2023).

Sectors where employers are especially struggling to hire include customer service. Of organisations with hard-to-recruit-for roles, 40% had skills shortage vacancies. Meanwhile, a report on one HR website last autumn said that more than 90% of UK employers had struggled to recruit for vacancies over the previous year.

For highly specialised roles, or those in locations where the talent required is scarce, you’ll need a fresh approach with updated recruitment strategies. You may need, for example, to combine traditional approaches like job adverts with online or modern techniques such as tapping into employee networks.

While some vacancies are down to a simple lack of interest in the role, they can also exist due to a skills gap which may not have been apparent in previous years. Equally, some jobs are hard to recruit for because of societal changes, and some roles or industries not being as popular as they may have been, say, 30 years ago. Meanwhile, in the wake of Covid, some staff want to work remotely and so won’t apply if this isn’t offered. Additionally, some openings remain unfilled because of the sheer competition for the best people, with too many employers chasing the same talent pool.

What is a hard to fill position?

For the avoidance of doubt, hard to fill positions are those which recruiters find themselves unable to staff over a sustained period. And the longer a vacancy remains unfilled, the harder it is to get someone in post. The reality is that a position that’s still vacant after a month will probably stay that way for three months or longer.

Here are some recruitment strategies and recruitment best practices for hard to fill positions.

Form your recruitment plan

When recruiting hard to fill positions, unfortunately it’s simply not enough to post them online or on jobs boards. But with the right strategy recruitment should become much easier. Take a step back and consider why you are struggling to hire, and at potential solutions. Look at your current recruitment process and how it could be bettered.

Tailor your job description

Ensure the language you use stresses the rewards and advantages of working with you. Highlight company benefits, exciting projects and training and career development opportunities. Set your organisation apart. Read the job description again and ask yourself why it would make someone apply to you rather than a competitor.

Involve current staff members in writing the job description, and make sure it doesn’t seem lengthy or outdated. Finally, add anything which might make your package more competitive.

Recruit for staff in the right places

In specialist areas such as language recruitment, be sure you’re hunting for staff in the right places. It may be that the traditional platforms won’t work for your hard to fill vacancies. Think about where the ideal candidate would be most likely to spend their time, virtually and in the real world. Consider recruiters targeting a particular audience.

Consider a recruitment agency

Given the possible problems, a specialist language recruitment service could be your best bet in terms of efficiency and speed. A language recruiter knows how to source the best talent in its field, and quickly, with easy access to an extensive pool of talent across multiple languages. It will have hired for vacancies like yours many times previously.

Hire interim staff

The expanding contractor and freelance economy means you could buy some time with temporary workers.

Talk to recruitment specialists

Talk to us at Recruitment Direct. We have nearly 25 years’ experience recruiting for many different sizes of organisation across the UK, Ireland and the rest of Europe. We specialise in multilingual vacancies for sales, recruitment and call-centre work, on a contract, permanent or temporary basis.

Get in touch to learn more about how we could help your recruit for your hard to fill, multilingual vacancies. Submit a multilingual job vacancy to Recruitment Direct today.