Our industry has had the biggest shock that I have ever known in the last 2 years, which is of course, the same as the rest of the working world! For me, the year 2000 was uncertain in IT recruitment for a number of reasons, but when the pandemic hit in March 2019, it left companies and employees; confused, frozen and pulling in all directions to survive.
Clients reacted in vastly different ways. Some closed the doors and stopped everything whilst they watched and waited as they thought it was only going to be a short-term reaction. Others immediately suspended hiring; putting the majority of their staff on furlough as a precaution and continued with the bare bones of their staff as normally as possible. For those within the infrastructure sector, office-based employees could be sent to work from home, but plants and operating facilities had to continue to support the countries vital public services.
After the first 3 months of 2019, we started seeing companies adjusting their working practises by planning to continue their projects in a different way; adapting their workdays and methods to allow their staff to work safely, whilst adhering to the lockdown restrictions that were in place. All interviews went online, MS Teams and Zoom took over and if you ‘kept calm and carried on’ it became a measure of how flexible and resilient you were. After the summer of 2019, we had companies readjusting and trying to operate in the “new normal.” Hiring budgets were slashed and companies consolidated and reduced; taking the opportunity to cut back on any underperforming teams.
2020 started out as the ‘recovery’ after another knock back at Christmas (restrictions on numbers and groups working and socialising in close proximity) and the positive and fast paced roll out of the vaccine. Hiring continued and increased, almost starting to balloon towards the end of the year and during early 2021, we even saw some parts of industries bounce back and actively grow their talent acquisition plans.
Consequently, there has become a candidate shortage over Q4 2021. This would seem like an ideal environment for recruiters and search consultants; especially those who research and head hunt- but none of us like too much of a candidate shortage as this means counter offers and frustrated clients.
I think that employees have changed their opinions of their current employers over the last 18 months. Especially if they were out on furlough, and potentially, subsequently ignored whilst being at home. Those I have spoken with have suggested that if they did not react swiftly to the online working way of life then there was little support available from their employers. This left a lot of people feeling forgotten and undervalued which is not what you want from your workforce.
We have all talked to hundreds of skilled candidates over this period and there is most definitely a general consensus. They are looking for employers with flexibility and at least a 50/50 working from home policy. Flexible working hours, which reduce time spent commuting as well as a well-being programme.
Here at Search Tech, our clients and candidates alike strive for great working relationships, where input is rewarded, and output appreciated. We are lucky to have such an amazing collection of valued connections.
I am super proud of SearchTech for surviving 2019-2020 and all that came with those turbulent times. Luckily for us, it was easy to change to remote working within ST as we have a non-micromanagement environment which we all thrive in. Our markets came back quickly as they are major infrastructure projects, plants and energy services which meant that they could not stop recruiting for very long.
Looking forward, 2022 looks really promising. We will continue the momentum of our steady growth, enabling us to service our clients’ requirements and to work with the ebb and flow of the current candidate shortage in the marketplace
We have learnt from our candidates and have responded to those things most valued by employees. We have adapted our working practises to fully embody flexible working and employee wellbeing – even introducing unlimited holiday days! We trust our team and measure our success through the happiness of our candidates and clients alike. If this sounds like the type of company you would like to work for, then reach out as we would love to hear from you. We currently have three brand new vacancies and cannot wait to fill these positions with the perfect candidate and see what 2022 holds for us all.
Merry Christmas everyone.
Sally at SearchTech